Creativity flowed this weekend...

Ilysa and I got together in CT (boy was it cold!) to film four- that's right- four! new crafting DVDS. We used canvas, resin, acetate, paper, clay, inks, paints, silkscreens, you name it- and created some really cools stuff. We also INVENTED a new product! You heard me. When you allow yourself to play, a lot of discovery happens along the way. I don't allow much time for play in my crafting life, I view it as time and money wasted- part of my "issues" because I feel the grown up need to be totally practical all the time. It was nice to say, let's try this, and when we saw what happened it was amazing. My drawings are now going to be packaged up in several ways to create a miracle product. Here's one of my projects- a metal ATC case, and a card to go inside. It features Magic Transfer Clings- coming soon to an internet near you :)

Jewelry design- it's an art

I enjoy creating leaf beads out of clay. My leaves are cane creations, meaning that the color and form go through the whole piece of clay, creating marvelous color and resistance to the breakdown you get with plating or painted surfaces.

This bracelet features my own leaf beads. When I blended the colors, I wasn't sure where they would lead me. I always lay out a pile of leaves and then I start sifting through my bead collection. I allow the beads to call to me, suggesting their own story and coming together. My favorite concept and Principle of Design is Unity- the perfect blend of harmonious shapes, colors, and sizes of beads.

LOL. I am grateful, really I am!

I think weekly is my limit. I am grateful for every breath I take, and every sight I see- I think today I'm grateful for my eyes. I am an artist-what would I do without them? This morning I took a photo with my new phone that I thought was very funny at the time- in the lingering half-dark of dawn, a million blackbirds were lined up on the street poles at the crossing of Pines and 75. There were 6 birds on each traffic-cam- sitting under the lovely "bird-proof" metal fluff-looking thing they put on top of the cameras to keep the birds off. Four birds on top of each camera, and birds on each side sitting on the wires that project out from the sides. Nice job, engineers. Plenty of room for the birds. I adore where my tax money goes, into such useless projects and pieces and parts like bird-proofing.

Gratitude on the Eleventh day.

Today I am grateful that we chose to live by the beach. I think I am most grateful for my 12th floor balcony with water views on both sides. It is freeing to live up so high, see birds flying right by, watch the sun rise over the ocean and set over the intracoastal. The view is mostly sky up here, reflected by water. It is peaceful, and one of those things you might "dream" about if you saw a picture in a vacation magazine. I'm glad we chose to live here.

Sickness trumps Gratitude...

I've been so sick, I forgot to be grateful :(
But, I'm grateful that I have all my energy back today! Amidst extreme head congestion and fatigue from 4 days sick and still working, this evening I'm feeling pretty good. Here's a sneak peek at some digital things I've been working on. The photo is from Lisajen_Stock on Deviantart.com. They gracefully offer lots of photos in nice poses. I've colored and enhanced the photo, added elf ears and a pretty pink finch. Next I'll be giving her a gorgeous landscape. Then I'll take her into Artrage and create some digital painted magic.

Gratitude, Day 4

Oops, I missed a day! It was inevitable. I got sick, things happen...
Today I'm grateful for stories and their tellers. I am a fan of fantasy. Perhaps it's partly due to family influences. You see, I'm Yolen offspring, and I was given many gifts of books by my mother's cousin, Jane, when I was young. My favorite of all time is The Hundredth Dove (and other tales, actually an anthology.) I grew up with a love for modern and old fashioned fairy tales, and I really love finding out what the REAL endings to the stories are, not the "disney-fied" versions. Let's see, the top shelf of my bookshelf includes...Grimm's Fairy Tales, Where the Sidewalk Ends, 100 Vicious Vampire Tales, 100 Wicked Witch Tales, The Mermaid's Three Wisdoms, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, Strunk and White. I see a trend. And today, I'm sick and lying on the couch. Thankfully, there is a Harry Potter marathon on today- and it's the extended cuts so I'm seeing scenes I haven't seen before. Stories can be so helpful at times like this.

Gratitude, Day 2

Wouldn't you know, I would feel grateful for health and then...today I'm coming down with a cold. My first in months! LOL.
Today, I'm grateful for my ability to learn. I am quick, and it's a gift. Not everyone has the gift of natural ease of learning. In school, I was a quick learner and that trend has continued into the rest of my life. I often learn new things just from hearing or seeing them one time.

31 days of Gratitude- Day 1

This coming year I have big plans. But I believe the most important thing to do is first step back and ground myself if what is real. December seems like a good month to do this.

Day 1: I am grateful for my health. I just had my first physical in about 6 years, with full bloodwork. Secretly, I was hoping something was wrong. After all, I haven't been sleeping well, and goodness knows I've been trying to lose weight for years. If something was wrong, it could get "fixed." But nothing was wrong. In fact, I am in such good health internally that I'm convinced I will live into my 90's just like my two grandmothers. My cholesterol is low, my "good" cholesterol number is so high I couldn't believe it. So, I am thankful that my health is not something I need to worry about.

For the kids...

Yes kids, sometimes it's all for you. When I say "the kids," what I mean is, "my crazy (loveable) highschool students." When you hear teachers say, "I do it for the kids," what they really mean, is they endure great hardships on behalf of their students.  Grading papers, monitoring progress, deciding who gets it and who doesn't, and how to fix it, figuring out how to make art history "interesting" to the 17-year-old mind (is that even possible?) and overusing quotation marks. And writing blog entries about the kids at 9:38 at night at the beginning of Thanksgiving vacation. Because, kids, realize that half my vacation will be spent setting up YOUR next three weeks of work, tests, study guides, directions, rubrics, blog posts, and essay questions. Muahahahahah! I don't know any teachers (thank goodness) who don't do it for the kids. They are really all we've got, when it comes down to it. I'm delirious. Can't wait to get to work on my schoolwork, for now I think I'll watch some more Photoshop videos. Oh yeah, that would be...for the kids.

I love ning.com!

There are so many great networks there. I just found this one, http://willowing.ning.com, it is so pretty and full of great information, beautiful art, and hopefully, nice people.

Teacher Shoes

Ha! Walk a day in my shoes. But make sure you really look at them. Really.

I keep my two pairs of "teacher shoes" under my desk, inside my office. Yes, I am blessed with an office this year. One of the "perks" of having a very large classroom for the very large number of students I have in my elective classes. So I get the big room with the separate office. This is a good thing, because I am not a desk-sitter, and my kids know it. Of course, they still try (and sometimes, unfortunately, do) to get away with playing the Halo Demo while I am on the other side of the room helping someone else. But I digress...

Yesterday, I wore a long skirt. After the first bell rang, I went into my dark office and kicked off the flip-flops I customarily wear to school, to exchange them for the high heels under the desk. My shoes of choice are Onex shoes, American hand-made, very nice. One pair in black and one in cork- the same style, so I don't have to have aching feet from changing styles all the time. I just wear whatever matches my current outfit. Unless it's a Tuesday, the day I choose to wear one cork, and one black, shoe all morning long. Just goes to show how very observant my students are, that not a one said a thing. I looked down around lunch time and had a WTF moment, as I saw my two different colored shoes. Such is my life.

Facebook LOVE!

I really do love fb. A lot of people don't, but I am now connected or re-connected there to almost everyone who ever mattered to me. I have moved around a lot, and it's really difficult to stay connected when you have friends in every port. Especially for me, due to childhood experiences (dare we say, baggage?) I am a really disconnected soul. Disconnection from those I care about is a defense mechanism, if you (tell yourself) not to care, and you act like you don't care, it's much harder to get hurt. I guess for me, fb offers me a way to be able to send a quick message (don't even need email anymore!) and let my friends have a little glimpse into what's going on in my life. I am not a fb addict, telling everyone everything about my day, and I do tend to lurk- I love reading everyone else's updates, while not updating much on my own.

So does all this digital stuff encourage, or discourage, community and connections? I challenge whomever says that we are less connected because of the internet. I feel very connected, and it works for me. Everyone is different.

Pricing Strategy experiments...

I read in a lot of places to increase your prices and see the sales pile in. I tried that, and it didn't work! So, last weekend I repriced everything on Etsy to a slightly lower and more competitive price-point, and I had 6 sales in one week. I think that's a record! I think I have finally found my sweet-spot, which means it's the price I can live with, and the price my customers will easily pay. I don't wholesale my work, although I've been thinking I would like to. But I think I would develop a different line for wholesale, something more robust at a higher price-point would work IRL sales situations. But online, you have to convince someone they want what you are selling, for your price, and you have only a few photos to do it. IRL, people can touch and hold your items and fall in love with them :)

Inventory!

I've got so much finished jewelry lying around...I've been listing in my etsy shop like crazy! Experimenting with prices, reading a lot of seller blogs trying to figure out my best tactics, and generally still getting decent views but nothing is selling. hmmm...

hmmm.....is Etsy the answer?

For the past week, I've been checking my google analytics to see when people view my shop, which is mostly between the hours of 5-8 pm EST, and I've been attempting to either list a new item, relist a sale or relist expired items at least once a day during that time. To keep my items in the first few pages of their categories, as is said to be key by experienced and successful sellers. It hasn't been working. Not sure what is going on, but I haven't had good views since mid-August when I listed a particular necklace. I'm thinking that necklace was popular but people didn't want to spend $28 for it. Hmmmm. I am trying very hard right now to balance my online prices with what I can live with wholesale, and what people are willing to pay! It's difficult. I sat down last week and made 28 new pairs of birdie beads in different colors so I can get those into the shop in time for holiday shopping, plus I am going to several art/craft shows this fall- a new thing for me. So I need to get in the habit of creating inventory, a concept I am unfamiliar with.

How to create a blog background with a scanner and CS4-

OK, here it is...
Step 1- draw funky flower and leaf designs on white paper with Black Staedler India ink pens
Step 2- scan drawings
Step 3- open with Illustrator. Live trace, expand, and clean up all the lines. This creates a pleasing vector line drawing.
Step 4- copy and paste the paths into Photoshop.
Step 5- save each item- flower, leaves, and cherry blossom, as a separate brush.
Step 6- create the drawing, layering flower and leaves. Erase overlaps as necessary.
Step 7- Using the paint bucket and color picker, fill areas with flat color. I chose this method, rather than using gradients, so I would get flat colors that would load more quickly. Remember, online, load time is important when you make a graphic intensive background.
Step 8- finalize the position of the elements. I created a large-ish repeat, my actual background graphic features the big flower with leaves and the cherry blossom 4 times, flipped and rotated so that a repeating background would look seamless and nice.
Step 9- save as a .png with a transparent background. This way, only the black lines and fills will need to be represented, and float over the background color I choose in my CSS. This way, I can actually change the whole color scheme of my blog on the fly- and not have to ever go back into my background graphic again if I don't want to.
That's it! Step 3 is what took the longest. When you convert line drawings into vector art, there can be an awful lot of cleanup involved.

Back from Ireland

I predicted that I would love Ireland...I know myself. I was right.
Not Dublin- it was certainly not the most beautiful foreign city I have seen, and it reminded me of Upstate New York, with older buildings. Cold, rainy, gray. Not a place I want to return to- if given a choice :)

But the rural countryside, that was another matter entirely. I did not know this- but Ireland has no large predators- no large cats, bears, coyotes or wolves. This makes the island country the perfect place for raising livestock of any kind. Sheep and cows wander freely, and are gathered in for yearly shearing and check-ups with the help of dogs. So while you are out driving or hiking, you come across random animals. One sheep even came over to say hi. BAAAAA, really. Interestingly enough, the locals don't seem to be into overfarming and raising absurd amounts of anything (like in America, where the aim is always to maximize) so the cows and sheep appear very content and not overcrowded. The beef and lamb is incredible at restaurants and pubs, because it is all local, grassfed, happy animals that donate it :)

I spent 5 days in a Vagabond tour vehicle with my brother, sisters, spouses, and Dad. It was awesome. We visited mountain passes, we kayaked with harbour seals, we hiked amazing trails that we NEVER would have volunteered for here at home. 45 minutes, uphill at a 45 degree angle with no flat bits? Sure! Give me two, please! Have you ever seen an old movie, where the heroes are captured and driven to a castle on top of a mountain, in a carriage at alarming speeds at the edge of a cliff? We replicated that- take one LandRover, 12 passengers, one luggage trailer, and an old copper-mine road. Add in a couple of passengers who are afraid of heights, and you get one hell of a ride! We drove on another road where 200 meters of it had fallen into the sea 2 years ago, and had to be rebuilt. A very comforting story for our tour-driver to tell while we were driving on the new part of the road. The gents loved Jean on the first 2 days, and all the ladies secretly fell in love with Sam and his accent. We had to change drivers mid-tour, due to the laws for drivers. It was fine, as they are all knowledgeable and fun.

I'll write more about specific moments once I get my pictures ready!

Creative things that I did this week...

I just finished watching Julie & Julia- it's the movie about the blogger who made every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook, and blogged about it, for 365 days. How fun! And ambitious. I know I could never do that, because although I like to cook I simply can't imagine cooking all that food for just me and Rob (without gaining 30 pounds each, anyway.) Plus, it would have to be my only hobby and if you don't know me well, let me tell you- I already have too many. But what a delightful story and life-changing experience for Julia Powell.

As for blogging daily, that would be an adventure too! I still haven't got the gist of this, it's too personal for me to write every day about everything.

I have just discovered the joy of drawing! I decided that I wanted some designs to transfer onto clay and perhaps turn into stamps so I took out some white cardstock, got a folder and some Staedler pens, my stack of Dover reference books, and started to draw. I am now down to about 3 hours for a completed and acceptable drawing. I've done 4. I am enjoying it so much I don't know if I will ever stop. I just bought a new sketchbook and had to get a new purse that can properly hold it! And I'm thinking my blog background might have to change. We'll see.

Today is my Birthday! Celebrating with Whimsey...

A Fairy was born this morning on my desk. She is Orange, Pink and Purple (of course!) and she holds high a banner that states "Whimsey." I didn't even plan it that way, it's just how my favorite colors came together naturally once I sat down to create. I have been immersing myself in Intention for the past 3 weeks or so, as I face almost certain unemployment in just under 3 weeks.

My teaching career in public school will be a "flash in the pan" of my life. And that's ok, because I think that the public school system will never compensate or appreciate me the way I deserve. I have come to believe that teachers in general have collective low self-esteem. We allow ourselves to be used, mentally tortured, financially abused. We try to do our best- and the excuse for why we take the abuse is "It's for the good of the children." How come I have to do what's best for YOUR kids, when you don't even care enough to make sure I have a budget to buy supplies with? Why should I spend MY money on YOUR children's education? These are only a couple of the many questions I have about the public education system right now. I think it's broken from several points of view, and since I don't support having negativity in my life (saps the energy, ya know) I don't think I will mind if I lose my job. Of course, if a miracle occurs and I don't lose my job, I will go back and volunteer for the abuse all over again. I do love those kids, and they love me back. My friend Marsha says we don't have low self-esteem- she calls it a "Sense of the Higher Good." Well, they do say Kharma is a bitch- and she's coming for any of you parents who don't help your school systems find real solutions.

Anyway, I have been thinking that unemployment really just means "time to work for no one but me." So I've been planning and scheming. Add a dash of Whimsey to the mix, and maybe I'll even have fun figuring this all out.

Gardens-

Gardens... should be like lovely, well-shaped girls:  all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises and then still more curves.  ~H.E. Bates, A Love of Flowers


Found at QuoteGarden.com- I love that site!

The Mind/Body/Soul connection for artists and intellectuals, like me

I had an interesting breakthrough this week. I realized that for most of my life, I have been told by my guides (parents, teachers, other important adults, and popular media) that I had the mental and artistic gifts of artist, musician, and intellectual and therefore, it was unimportant and unexpected for me to develop my physical body. I bought it- hook, line and sinker. And so I find myself, at 37, unhappy with my health, overweight. I never question why- I know it's because I'm a thinker, not an athlete. But my body is weak, my spirit is sick, and yup, I'm very very smart. I can't create- because I'm so stuck in my mind with my unhappiness.
So here's the breakthrough- I realize that during my time here on earth, I am made of three parts- physical body, intellectual mind, and creative soul. I need to develop balance so all three can be united equally, and produce equally, without one detracting from another. I hurt my back earlier this week, causing me to have to lay down for most of it. That made me angry, because I couldn't teach, study, or create. Going to workout makes me angry most days- why should I waste time in the gym, when I could be absorbing information? (I have learned most of what I know from reading, studying, and practicing.) I always feel like time spent moving is time spent wasted- because I would rather be learning. This is a fatal flaw- and must be corrected. I have decided that I need to encourage myself to spend equal time learning, creating, and moving. Only that way will my inbalance and unhappiness be cured. I spend so much time learning- which basically means sitting-still; reading, watching videos, or practicing my skills on the computer- that I have made my body sick and with it, my soul. My soul can't reconcile the fact that my body doesn't match my mind- and so it worries, constantly- and can't embrace the creation process fully. I'll let you know how it goes.

Tough being positive

It's been tough lately. I went to Photoshopworld in Orlando three weeks ago- which was fantastic and made me feel like I could make a living with my computer, Wacom Tablet, and CS4. But then reality bites. I have bills to pay, I'm about to lose my job (at least all things point to that) and my poor husband is already unemployed in a very bad market for a job. We don't want to move- we've done that too many times already. Morale is very low. I don't have a whole lot of time to whip up the kind of stay-at-home business that will match my current pay scale. It's frustrating. wah.

Use the Muse contest!

Well, I've taken the plunge and entered the Use the Muse beader's contest...and I was pleasantly surprised when I received my kit in the mail. It's lovely, with wooden pieces, crystal, seed beads (yeck! lol) and a couple of unmentionables, including the "Muse" which is a secret piece. I can't say too much, but I'll post pictures soon. Let's just say the possibilities for my style of work are great, and it's pushing me to create in a new style that's been on my mind, but I just haven't sat down to do it yet. So all in all, it should be a fun contest that get's my creative juices flowing!

Figs and Sunsets....

This weekend, I took more steps in my Creative Every Day journey towards making my house a home. I bought a Fig tree, a blueberry, and tomatoes, red & Jalepeno pepper plants. And the gardener through in a young rosemary as a gift! The fig is awesome, it's a small bush and already has at least 20 figs growing on it. While bringing it up on the elevator, I met a man from Turkey who told me all about how to care for it and tell when the fruit is ripe enough to eat- lucky for me, because I bought it on instinct and impulse, hoping to figure it out later! So now all these lovely little plants live on my southern-exposed balcony.

I left the fig on the west side, hoping to give it more sun, and put the smaller herbs and blueberry on the east side so they would wake up with warm sun and then be protected from the harsh afternoon heat. I'm watching them to see how they do with this arrangement! I had a very green thumb when I lived in Portland, but here I'm nervous. The climate is more harsh to plants.

It's been a rare thing to see a sunset of such beauty as there was tonight..Here's a pic for inspiration.

Out of the mouths...and hearts...of highschool students

When I left my room for lunch today, I saw this writing on my white board. I have to share it, because the fact that it is there made my day and explains exactly why I teach high school and love it. My students say I work them hard- that's because I refuse to give them much homework. Many of them take AP classes and push themselves with academics, ROTC, sports and music- and I know if I push them during the 100 minutes I have them, they will learn a lot. Plus I use Adobe Creative Suite 3, which most of them don't have access to after leaving my room. I am constantly amazed that I have managed to teach 42 students at a time (times 6!!!) as much as I have in only 5 months! And here is why.....

Home Month at Creative Every Day....what I did today!

Today, DH and I decided to wake up at our regular weekday time (5:45 am) and go down to the beach to watch the sun rise. We hatched the idea last night, when it was breezy and clear. I always want to go to the beach- after all, we live across the street. But he is not into it during "winter" when it's ONLY 70 degrees outside. LOL. So it was pretty impressive that he agreed to join me on the adventure to sunrise.
So, we awakened to a cloudy morning, got dressed in layers, grabbed a blanket and travel mugs of hot tea, and walked across A1A. We sat on the back steps of the pool area, which gave us a great view. Of course, there was a big thick gray bank of clouds on the horizon. I got some great pics which I will get around to uploading later. We had rushed to get over there and so we were a little flushed from the exertion- but after we cooled down it got really cold! So we only stayed out until 7. Then we went up to the Flea Market because we both need sunglasses- and that's how things became creative!
We live in a cold, white, mirrored condo. The back wall is all glass, looking out onto our balcony. Above it is a 2 foot expanse of blank wall, which is where the cantilever for the balcony above is located. It provides an interesting decorating dilemma. I have wanted to put a starfish garland there since moving in, but the only place I have seen the type I want is at the Coral Castle in Miami, which is too far to drive just for that. I've played with the idea of buying the individual shells and such, but always stop because it's going to require a lot of work to create what is in my head. I always talk myself out of starting, because I've been so busy lately with teaching. In stepped Serendipity today. Turns out, in the rear of the Fleamarket there is a little shop called Seaside Cottage- full of kitschy shell themed things mixed with really beautiful things. They had lots of garlands and shells. I bought one! I spent the afternoon unstringing it and restringing the kinds of shells and seaglass I want to hang up above the windows. I only got 1/2 of one side done and I still need to hand-knot the whole strand, but I'm really excited about how it's coming out. I will post pics as it comes together.

Trying to mix Diamond Glaze with UV Resin

I live by the beach, in a high rise condo, with southern exposure. My balcony heats up like a frier! But it's great, because I always have sun and no blockage because I'm far enough away from the next building. That makes playing with UV curing resin lots of fun.

I love glitter and shine, but I don't like to polish my polymer clay, and glitter doesn't bake well. So I've dabbled with Diamond Glaze, but I really don't like it because it's not waterproof- and there's nothing a beach girl hates more than diving in with pretty jewelry that's set up for a melt-fail. So I avoid Diamond Glaze for jewelry- and I usually advise others to do the same. IMO, that product is for scrapbooking and mosaic wall-pieces. Not for something you're going to wear.

Resin is a better choice. But then there's the 2-part resin problem. Not curing correctly, overheating in my climate, and the general mess of having to wait for things to dry. Not fun in a 3 cat household- usually hair will land on things before they finish a lengthy drying process. So in steps UV curing resin to the rescue!

Right now on my worktable there is a test pendant with a puddle of Diamond Glaze mixed with glitter, waiting for tomorrow- when I coat it with Magic Glos and put it on the balcony. 15 minutes later I should be ready to know if I can do that and have it work. I'll post results!

My Digital Playground

So, I can't have the same blog background for very long. The reason is simple- I have a different mood for practically every moment! I really love the one I have right now- which is this:

It's a little garish, I know. But it usually fits me. The problem is keeping with it. Sometimes I want to change it, so I will! I like how this one tiles. And incorporates my favorite colors, which are pink and orange together. My Twitter page has this, and I will totally keep it that way. I really like how it looks on twitter.

The reason I call this blog my digital playground is simple too. I enjoy testing new ideas, graphics, widgets, blog topics....so I will go ahead and do it here! I have felt limited in the past, to having to blog about the "same" things to get readership, to having to keep my website the "same" so people will always know it's me. But that's the thing- I am so easily bored! My friends know this, and they will just have to get used to the idea that things here might change once in a while :)

Creative Today

Here's something I love to do. I go to the craft shop...either JoAnnes, AC Moore, or Michaels, which are all local. I have no particular plan, and I just go to look, think, dream, and plan projects I may or may not ever take on. I pick things up, think about them, put them back down. I admire new products and think up new ways to use old ones I am familiar with. I did that today. I came away with a great idea and a plan for a new line of pendants, which I started working on tonight.

Taking the plunge...ordering shipping supplies

Today, I realized as I packed an Etsy order, I handwrite my return address on all packages. Well, although it's no big deal, I think a label would be, prettier I guess. So I went to VistaPrint, picked out a nice one in pink and red floral and ordered 200, added 250 free biz cards because my address has changed, plus I bought KiraSlye.com and I want to start using it, and paid a whopping $10 for the total! You really must check out VistaPrint.com, especially when you just want to try something on for size, like the labels.

For my regular glossy business cards, I love Gotprint.com and have ordered from them many times.

And here's a bonus- I order great little (tiny) 200 lb test boxes from uline.com- they fit inside a padded, or even regular, 6x9 envelope. At first I thought I would just send the box, but it is 4x2 inches and the postal lady told me it could get "lost" under the other mail. She suggested I put it in a larger envelope- and the strength of the little box allows me to do that. Plus, now the shipping cost of most of my little packages is under $1.50! So, I am under $2 for total shipping cost.

Creative Every Day

I joined the Creative Every Day challenge a few days ago. Yesterday, I kept a promise to myself to visit with a friend from the http://SEFPCG.com- South East Florida Polymer Clay Guild, of which I am the VP. So. My friend Carol, who loves fairies, and missed our meeting the day I brought some of my fledgling fairy sculpts to our general meeting, has been wanting to see them ever since. I, on the other hand, know that she has a huge collection of Genesis heat-set oil paints, plus a crazy home studio. Her children are grown, so her crafting room has taken over part of her house. Plus, she has a bright purple fairy-themed bathroom. Well, you learn lots about people when you make the leap from casual-acquaintance to "come on over." I always equate friend-making with dating, I think it's funny. So anyway- she has two cats and a DH who, after talking for a while, I found has the same musical preferences as I (classical, with a bent towards the string section) and a collection of Celtic Woman CDs (he let me borrow for my ipod) and not one, but two violins- acoustic and electric which I was allowed to hold and caress. I have been wanting to, but hesitating from, learn the violin for a while now. You see, I always saw playing the piano as a strategic nightmare- you can exactly carry it to a party. My piano resides in my school's music department right now, as the condo we moved into this year left no room for it, and the music dept. needs it more than I do. But holding that little blue electric violin got my juices flowing. We'll see.....

But, onto my visit with Carol. She likes to make fabric dolls, plus she beads and does clay. Her dolls are lovely. I told her we should collaborate to make a mermaid- I love fabric dolls but have NO interest in sewing the bodies. She, on the other hand, is quite good at it. So, we're thinking about it. Before I left, she gave me a piece of slate and permission to scoop as much Genesis paint onto it from her collection as I wanted. So, I made myself a nice palette, which I will take a photo of sometime soon, and resolved to make her a fairy in return. Sometimes gift-making is what I need to light my fire. It can be hard for me to create "just because." I entered this year's challenge to challenge myself to create for me- rather than to sell, give away, or some other cause. It's my personal challenge to get away from the practicality of needing a reason to create something.

Something just for me

I get in the habit sometimes, of thinking it's not worth making if I'm not going to sell it. I was at Michael's a couple weeks ago, and I hardly ever buy beads there because I can get them online so much cheaper...but while browsing the sale rack, I found some resin beads for 99 cents! I bought two matching sets- the donuts, and some gorgeous aqua stick beads (to be featured at a later date!) I was inspired to use some of the Swarovski siam flatbacks I have left over from my sister's wedding last summer- don't ask, but I'll tell- I hand-cut 1,000 flowers, and hand-glued 1,000 crystals into the center of those flowers for those 100 invitations. Swarovskis come in 1,444 packs- so I had 444 left over! They look so nice on these new earrings, floating above the surface of the resin. So I spent some time today bringing these to life....

First, I spent some time looking at them and thinking. Of course, my thoughts went to polymer clay. The pendant below, which features a beautiful stamp on the bottom layer, then some handpainted ink to extend the design and color the flowers, several layers of poly-juice for shine and dimension, and finally glitter and a Swarovski on the front. I have to wait for the glue to dry before brushing off the excess glitter, there will just be a tiny bit for sparkle when it's all done. But I am pretty excited about the idea. It is a deep design, with things happening in all the layers and I think it represents a new direction for me. I have been playing extensively with Magic Transfer Paper lately, as well as with real paper- and I have been creating some tiny designs that I think are going to end up as embellished transfers, layered like this one. Today was a testing day. I ruined several pendants, made some molds, tested my inks and embossing powders, and generally made a mess. But I finished with this pendant and my new earrings, so all-in-all, not a bad day!

Cold days in south Florida!

It's been chilly down here! But I love it. I relish the chance to be outdoors in 60 degree weather, wrapped in a blanket, drinking tea. It's one of my best childhood memories. I don't know why I developed the habit, but I remember many moments on the back porch, facing the trees, in the wind, in my lawnchair too far into autumn to be considered comfortable or normal by anyone but me.

Now, with my water view balcony and wild sunsets almost every night, I get to take advantage of the chill any evening I want! I dragged my poor DH out to downtown Hollywood tonight, all bundled up, just to get some fresh air. We ended up in a Turkish restaurant, having Mezzas, baklava, and a delightful fruity Rose wine. Plus I found a factory outlet for an expensive boutique and got the most beautiful top! A fun and unexpected night. DH and I had to celebrate, because he starts school tomorrow and I won't see him again until Friday. He's taking night classes, and won't be home in the evenings until I'm in bed.

But on the upside, it gives me evenings to myself in the condo, so I can get myself going again. I created a bunch of new jewelry prior to Christmas for a sales-party my friend was giving. It was nice to have a fire lit under me, so-to-speak, and I was very creative for a spurt. But I'm really reconsidering my direction lately. I love two things very much- fantasy, and digital art. Fantasy like elves and faeries, and digital art like seriously fantastic, grungy, gritty stuff. So I've been experimenting with photoshop a lot, learning new tricks with layering, patterns, brushes and such. And I found this awesome clay that doesn't have to be baked, with allows for some interesting ideas for the integration of things that can't be baked. So I'm hoping to carve out my new niche soon.

In the meantime, here's a fun link to a site I found a few days ago. Been meaning to post it....Duirwaigh

I am great at highjacking my own posts! On being an expert in my field....

A previous post spawned the thoughts in this one, so I figured I better divide and conquer!

I have some things I would like to do- this year is my year to get published. Ilysa and I are writing a book about polyclay artists around the world. It's a look into their studios and minds, and we are excited about it. After that, I plan to submit to the magazines. Here's the most important fact about the Polymer Clay World that no one will "tell" you, but everyone knows- if you're not published, you're no one. Even though I demo for my local guild once a month and everyone consistently gushes over how "talented" I am, what a "good teacher" I am, and how "knowledgeable" I am, they still say they want a "Real" polymer clay teacher. What am I, liver and onions? So, it's obviously time to sell my soul to Art Beads, Bead & Button, Belle Armoire, and PolymerCafe. Otherwise, I am obviously just an untalented hack not worth paying for my expertise :)

Is Artfire catching up to Etsy?

I really like my Artfire shop, although I havent' sold anything there yet. I admit, I haven't really been trying very hard. But, I LOVE the way Artfire is doing things. It's a snap to upload things straight out of my etsy shop, so I don't have to spend a bunch of time reposting a listing. If I really wanted to, I could import my whole etsy store straight into artfire! But, I've been seriously contemplating my future online, so I've been holding off.
Back to why I like Artfire- there's a great Bio feature, that shows a pic of me, selected Gallery pics of my work, and has space for 4 website links. So I get to say a little something about myself and direct traffic to other sites, like Polymer Clay Podcast and the PCAGOE.
Then, there's the market hub feature- this has links to EVERYTHING I do online! Etsy, here, twitter, facebook, even IndiePublic. I am thinking about switching kiraslye.com to point to my Artfire account just because of this! At this point, kiraslye.com is just a hub flashpage anyway, that points to my online doings. Now I can utilize a place where I actually attempt to sell, as a hub! All at no extra cost, since I signed on with Artfire in the beginning and my shop is only $7 a month for life as long as I don't cancel. I like how Artfire assumes that you are a working artisan, and doesn't limit you from promoting the heck out of yourself. Etsy limits you- you can't point users away from it and god-forbid that you suggest people go check you out somewhere else on the web. Plus Etsy doesn't do flat fees, so I already like Artfire's fee structure better. And with automatic listings on googlebase, that's great too! I just hope traffic catches up. Etsy is older, so it gets more traffic.