Photo of the Week - March 30

I had looked forward to photographing the sights in and around Lincoln City last week, but between the fog and the rain, it was too wet to risk taking out my "real" camera. We did manage to bundle up and get one good walk on the beach, so I put my old point-and-shoot in my pocket before we left. Even though the breathtaking panoramic views were nearly completely obscured, there was still plenty to see in the details.


I love to collect shells on the beach, but these mussels were all I found this trip.


Oregon's coast is made up mostly of volcanic rock. These ancient lava flows are everywhere, forming tide pools all up and down the beach.


Let's see... I see sea anemones, mussels, barnacles... I didn't notice any shrimp or crabs this day, but you never know what life you will find in these pools.


This massive sea star looks well fed. I've never seen such a pretty red one before.


I didn't draw this, but I couldn't resist taking a photo as I walked along with my own Jake. I "heart" him too, LOL.


We got back to the suite to find this "Psycho Crazy Gull" trying to terrorize the girls into giving him some food. He and a buddy were actually pecking on the window to get their attention. Too bad seagulls can't read -- the sign he's standing on reads "Thank you for not feeding the seagulls."

I know, I know... I am WAY too easily entertained.

The First Week of October 2008 - a Rant

Last week was a doozy for sure, and I'm not even talking about the stock market. As I sat down to think about what I wanted to write in this post, I'm a little amazed that I am able to think about it calmly. If I had *known* what the week would bring, I would have stayed in bed.

In spite of the fact that the Oregon Rains came early this year, we got our corn crop safely harvested. It's all cut, siloed, and covered with no delays and no accidents for another year, thank God!

I had a cold and felt like @#$%^&*( all week. Ugh! What made the sinus issues even less fun than usual this time was our neighbor's new "bird cannon" which goes off at irregular intervals every few minutes. It's not that loud, but oh! when you have a headache...!

My sewing machine is STILL in the shop. I drove to the city on Saturday to demand its return, but there it was still in pieces on the work bench. I have no idea what is going on, so I raised the roof a little. I hope I managed to light a fire under SOMEBODY. Time's a-wastin' and I need to get a costume put together for my DOD doll before the challenge deadline.

Fortunately, I still have a healthy supply of Paverpol, Aves Apoxy, glue, and paint. :-) She now has her "wooden" shoes at least.

Our TV died. (At least my little 25 year old b/w portable is still usable for another few months so Jake won't miss his beloved football.) I miss the movies I put on for background noise, but at least I was able to use the time to work on my current rotation of projects.

So, what do I have to share this week? Messes, that's what. I haven't managed to actually FINISH anything, which might be contributing to my crankiness, but Progress Is Being Made, so, oh well...!

Below is my 4th attempt to create a believable illusion of sea foam floating on the wind on my Tide Pool piece. I mentioned the rains came early here this year -- I think the humidity is affecting the Paverpol's ability to harden enough to stay in place without drooping. If this doesn't work, I will put her aside until we have a few drier days. So far, so good though.


Here's another little Mess-In-Progress I've been playing with. I always have little bits of apoxy left when I work with it and I hate to waste it, so I've been adding the little dibs and dabs to the inside cover of this box. This weekend I decided it was pretty much done, so today I am painting it. The colors complement the piece of hand-dyed silk velvet that lines the bottom of the box. Note to Self: Next time, paint the lid THEN add the velvet.


I don't know how well you can see them, but the brownish bits on the tinfoil are little accent pieces I sculpted that will fit inside the bottom of the box. When these all dry, I can varnish them, glue them in, and get everything ready for a sprinkling of micromarbles and glitter. Ah, don't you just love sparkly stuff!!

I've got one more picture for you -- a close-up of the inside cover of the box. Do you think I might have gotten a little carried away? ...hee hee...

Diving in!

I should go without a sewing machine more often -- I have not had such a creative week in years, LOL! (On the other hand, I am becoming VERY annoyed at the delay, and will be picking it up this weekend whether it's ready or not. 5 weeks for a cleaning? Sheesh!)

Does anyone remember this piece? I know I blogged it, but I can't find the original reference. She began as an experiment with Genesis paints on fabric, then morphed into a game to see if I could sculpt a face in profile. I never really did take her very seriously - in fact I almost threw her away in the last purge of my studio because I just didn't know what to do to her. That was BEFORE my experience at the Retreat in Iowa!

This week I sculpted and attached her hands and forearms, draped some hand dyed silk in blue and purple over and around her form, and draped cheesecloth over that. I had another piece of cheesecloth billowing up and off to right, but I had to take it off. I forgot to stir the Paverpol before adding the fabric, so it never did get hard and it drooped rather depressingly. I am going to replace that piece tonight -- it really needs it to balance the extreme curve of her body -- and I WILL remember to stir the Paverpol this time.


The pebbles, shells, and sand are attached to her base and skull with Aves apoxy sculpt. I gathered all of them myself on various trips to the Coast over the years. I think Jake is relieved to see the results of my beachcombing finally being used in something at last.


I know this piece was a favorite of my mother's. I am happy to finally be finishing it -- I just wish I could have done so while she was alive to see it. There isn't much left to do to her, but each layer has to dry before the next is applied, so it is taking time to complete.

To kill time while each layer dries, I started playing with something else. Just for fun you know, and to see if I could pull it off.


Judi Wellnitz makes the most fun artsy pincushions in the shape of severed hands. She issued a challenge over on the Doll Street list for others to try making them too, and *this* is the idea that just popped into my head. It doesn't really conform to the rules of the challenge so I probably won't enter it, but it was SO much fun to make.

The bones are sculpted in polymer clay on a 99 cent Goodwill wine glass. (Would you believe it only took me about an hour to sculpt those bones?) The red is several layers of alcohol ink applied to the inside of the glass, and the pincushion is needle-felted wool. I got a little carried away with the "bubbles" of potion oozing over the edge, (large and small holeless beads and glitter applied with glue) but I still love it. I can't help but smile when I look at it.