awesome art day!

PHEW!!! what a day! I finally got my Dark RR book ready~ It was quite involved and i am tickled though with the end result..it lived up to my hopes~ mY book is about a 10 year old vampire and her story of how she became a vampire...and her adventures of the last 200 years~ The cover of the book was so fun to create...it has a medallion on the front that I made fromsome thingie i got a garage sale..it think it was supposed to be a Mayan calendar or something. I alcohol inked it and added a bee and sparkles. The character;s name is Amelya...it has a 'y' in her name only because after i glued on the letters as i found them...realized there was not an 'i' available...lol~the inside cover explains my expectations...the 5 page letter on the opposing page is Amelya's letter of introduction...i think this actually could be the begiining of a really cool story! if you want to read it..leave me comment and i will email it to youthe sign in page...Timothy is somewhat of a graffiti artist....so i figured i would have the sign in on the castle wall. Timothy is Amelya's best friend....and I used papers I had designed as some of the elements...they seemed fitting for this book
Amelya'sfirst home before becoming a vampire..the castle is a pop-upthe introduction of Timothy...he is a fun friend..no?...

Amelya's parents...from 200 years ago...
The doll trunk the book travels in...outside
inside the trunk...along with the paper doll versions...and some extra friends
inside the drawer...I am hoping the participating artist will do one spread in the book (rather than the required two) and then either add or alter the trunk..this is the CRS powder that Amelya and her vampire friends use after feeding on their victims to make them forget the incident...the will only awaken with two odd puncture marks on their neck....CRS=Can't Remember Shit
I was on a roll...after I finished my book, I thought i would work on the pages from the next one in line..called the Dark Continent. It is in a fun format. the binder has loose pages with a protfolio style cover. I did two pages front and back. the first was an Egyptian spread...can you belive it the majority of this page is from a skittle ad!!! lol!~
the back side..images from a vintage book from 1918

and i have had this darling vintage image of a dance couple printed out forever...they were perfect! I was honoring their 'distant heritage"since their coutnry of origin is Africa..noting some similarities...the dance was ever so important to their culture
a bit wild on the back side~

so now I can rest easy...i will be mailing both out tomorrow to my recipient and this marks the beginning of our RR..okay it was very delayed...what was I thinking when i started a RR in December.....i know I had lost my mind!

so now we can get this party started!

xoxox

angela

sorry no new hints yet...

I am being a good girl and am working on my dark RR book...a story of vampires. It is ridiculously late...if i weren't the hostess i would have banned myself..*sigh* Once i get it going though, it should run smooth after this. The last 6 months have been crazy..starting with 4-5 days a week of football back in July into school prep, party prep, Thanksgiving reunion and all the other stuff. I am praying for a couple of boring months just so I can catch my breath around here~.....I was almost going to drop and just hostess...but then i decided that since this is probably the last RR I am going to participate in, that I will make it wonderful and fun!...my last RR hurrah~

I have so many new and exciting things happening right now....that I need to concentrate more on those and stop the swaps~ I loved the past 4 years of swapping..but as always all good things eventually come to an end....now it is time for new good things!
I will post a new hint maybe later today..and hopefully pics of my fun RR book!!
xoxox
angela

today's clue....

I didn't get far yesterday, Ty had swim practice..then supper and kids to bed so forth..weekdays are just so busy~..and no where today..It was busy with errands and taking Oscar in for puppy shots and his check up..but this is what I did after i posted yesterday...keep guessing!

ADD day....

ha ha...did i catch your attention..today is a fun Artist Distractive Disorder day....i have gone from cleaning up the kitchen, throwing in laundry, putting my tree in the studio away, printing pictures for my RR book*(that I am horribly behind on..)working on that here and there as I pass by)now that i got my paper revisions done, working on some new collage sheets, picked up the Christmas wrapping mess in my work room, looking at the pile of laundry a hundred times...and pretending like i really didn't see it...to finally starting on something i have been dreaming about for a while. I had made a comment to one of my friends the other day when i had my meltdown that i needed to work on something I am passionate about...well today i started...I am not going to tell you right out what it is..but I will give hints along the way..One of my promised this year was to get this certain thing started.....here is a hint..it is inspired by this fabulous photographer if you search through..you can find the photo that has inspired me so here ya go: finally found my safety glasses.....this is what i really should be doing...nah! i can do that tonight after I am too tired to be creative...

and this is what I am working on...got the intial cut down done..off to my band saw....If some one can guess what i am making, i will send you a little suprise of some sort....leave your guesses in the comments...go check out Fack to Bront's photos for the hint

today's gratitude btw: I am grateful for my crazy ideas...they reeeeaaaally make me happy~ and again i am so grateful for my friends...Kari started an exciting group....yay!~go check her buzz out...love that girl!~

later all xoxox

more gratitude!

first of all today i am grateful for a GREAT nights sleep! phew!!! Amazing how good sleep can give you a dose of a positive attitude adjustment~ 11 hours of it! I think for 5 nights in a row i slept 5 hours or less..probable cause of meltdown yesterday!

And as i was sitting here dinking on my computer...visiting flickr friends and new discoveries and instigating some retail therapy....i stopped and looked around me...and realized that so much of my inspiration comes from just being up here in my studio....and my little office!

So i decided to take pictures of what i see everytime i sit here at my computer...i love my space..even if it is soooo messy!

So here is a set of pictures of what i see and a little blurb about the joy i see when i look at all of these wonderful things!!

my "wall" It is the half wall that surrounds the lower foyer. We had put a half wall up rather than a railing so we wouldn't have repeling wanna be's going over the edge. I would hate losing this wall because it has been a favorite place to perch gifts and special things from my art world.

Here you see the word "angel" a gift from Andi, a canvas i made for the cover of one of our diva calenders, the mini journal I sent with my doll for our doll round robin and a glimpse of my bulletin board packed with artwork and stuff~

a further view of my wall..a purse I made, an angel dog i found at goodwill, a gorgeous doll Stephanie got for me on her trip to NYC and a really cool accordian book from one of my 12 days of christmas swaps...what agorgeous creation it is!!! under it is a panel of fabric with quilting labels that i pinned there for inspiration for my new paper line my desk top..it got hot up here last night so i took my blouse off....and a pile of misc junk!
this is directly in front of me...it makes me smile everyday! It is full of things that have so much meaning to me! a piece of art that i painted that was accepted into a student art show years ago..he looked perfect on the purple, below my very first art print I recieved from my dad and Carol this artist is so fun! My art doll from katie Kendrick. She has inspired me for years! One day i hope to meet her. This doll is also very special to me because I had asked my guardian angel for a sign that I was on the right track...a few days later...unbeknownst to mehow special this was, a Diva Friend Angie Platten had mentioned a tutorial she found on Katie's sight....so i went and looked and saw this angel. I rarely buy much art from other artists(that has changed quite a bit since then) and I HAD to have this angel....so she comes a few days later and i saw a tag on her...her name was Gracie ...well that is my guardian angels name..the angel of grace aka Anunchel...and the doll is doll #13....that has been my lucky number since I can remember! Other items on this wall...a fun assemblage doll created by one of my most favorite local artist friends Joane Huffmanm a pocket fairy from a lovely artist in France, Helinina~ and a gorgeous leave created by my son Turner who at times says he is an artist too!! and a couple of beautiful angel fatbook pages RAKed to me by a fellow fatbook artist(can't remember her name)
all of my tarot decks and awesome vintage books one of the reasons I got into rubberstamping! I had seen a technique on one of those decorating swap shows on HGTV and they used a sun image to paint a huge sun on the wall! Art's last name is Sonneborn and means born under the sun....so i love sun images and wanted one on my wall too! this was one of my first stamps I purchased...I projected it with my art projector! and then filled it in with a black paint pena print I purchase from DJ Pettitt another one of my inspiring artist friends. It says flying on strong wings...i love angels and RED is my favorite color..i had to have this. Unfortuantely she has already sold the original...but I got the next best thing! and on either side a gift from my brother Michael..an amazing nautre photographer...one of his hobbies~messy cd's////i need to organize those,a beautiful canvas from the 12 days diva swap..from Terry~ and a couple of other pieces from friends
my window to the world....and more art from my friends...Karen Campbells gorgeous mailart puzle piece from a couple of years ago..Lenny the king guinea pig from Christy Grant, an ATC from Angie Plattenm vintage photos in a basket...more in the file cabinet
ACK!!! messy messy shelves...this I really plan on organizing and cleaning up soon!!


so there you have it...my cram packed but wonderfully inspiring office...I am so grateful to have my own space...to create and play! And all of my beautiful artist friends and acqaintances!

just for fun...

I decided to dig around the internet for images of larger women called big, plump, rubenesque among other things...very interesting reading! Of course any of us perplexed with weight issues some days just feel so alone..well We need to relax..not only through out history but even today women have been larger and rounder and plumper..you damn those idiots that brought out that super skinny woman back in the early trhough late 1900's...being round doesn't mean unattractive or unworthy....so here are some of the images I have found..I think this support my idea of a photography book I want to create..the everyday diva...soon every one..that is one of my goals for this month..to work on getting my studio ready....remember that long oddly shaped tube i showed afew months ago....you will find out soon what it is!!!

So first I decided to search for some Leonardo DaVinci artwork..i knew that his women were frequently full figured...here is one example of an angel drawing...never saw this one before..

then I came across the term rubenesque and did a search for Ruben'spaintings...here are some that i saw...as you can see the round woman is portrayed as very sexy and beautiful!

Hey if EVE is round...what in the world are we worried about..she is the original woman...geesh what was all this fuss about?

and look at their beautiful creamy white skin....no artificial tans here... a more modern painting..unfortunately there was no statement of who the artist was...but really it is a gorgeous painting and the women look so....well womanly

and yet an even more modern painting..I find her so adorable
and besides the well known vixen of the earlier part of the century..the well known blonde bombshell..Marilyn Monroe here is my all time favorite full figured woman. It was interesting..I found this on a BET blog and there was aman just slamming her...talking how horrible looking she is...okay she may not have the most beautiful shape in the world..but if you watch any of her movies you can see how comfortable she is with herself...her size does not stop her! She is fun and is beautiful inside and out! She can always brighten my day watching her moviesand my most favorite full figured woman image was this one...It is just so amazing...To see a group of women like this....they are having the time of their life here...there is beauty in that~
and last not but least a fun cartoon from this talented guy a large sized wonderwoman~....what fun..and what a super woman~

much better now....

Okay now that i have vented and had a few close friends come to my rescue and Art and I had a lovely lunch together with rational conversation....i feel better. I think sometimes a good pity party and some tears helps vent the frustrations and all that negative stuff...now I can express some things that I am grateful for that was brought home today with my melt down this morning!
like I said my children and then for my biggest support system First and foremost..i reeeeally have a wonderful mate in Art..I know that he loves me and he loves me today no matter what i look like. He loves me for what is inside..and tells me I am special and one of a kind..and that they broke the mold then made me..he he.. I know that he really is trying to help me and has promised to back off a bit on the advise. I am so sensitive, that when i am having a bad day it really bothers me bad. He did make a comment that was true...he says it looks like to him that I am waiting for something....stalling on doing all that i need to do with the weight loss...he seems to have something there...I wonder what it is?..why i am doing that?..some fear maybe....well maybe that fear that I am only loved when i am thin....and that i need to believe now the way I am now that i need to love...our brains are so much fun aren;t they?...so confusing at times...lol! So I am better in that department and I just need to soul search on my own a bit and figure that one out...and not be so hard on myself...I know all of this is my own insecurities talking...man be nice to me angela..gees

The other thing that I am grateful for are all of my wonderful girlfriends in Diva land that came to my rescue this morning and cheered me up and the ones that have been cheering me on and helping me name my papers and such the past 24 hours!! Thank you!! I cherish each and every one of you and am so grateful for having you all in my life!

I am also grateful for my health. Other than being a bit fluffy and I have high cholesterol(that is hereditary but under control...) I have excellent health. I get maybe one or two flu/colds in a year..a sniffle a couple of other times and that is it...and i get through them in 1/4 of the time than most people..I heal fast! I am in good shape....with lots of muscle and even if I am round I do have a waist and figure...think rennaisance figure here..lol! so I have many things to be grateful for..and as for all the things breaking..well none were too aweful and so far only 200 for the computer repairs..hopefully the belt for the blower isn't too much and the washer repair on monday...Like I said all minor pain in the butt stuff...oh yeah..today i backed into the garage...so there 2x3 in 3 days..that equals 6 ...I think i must be done for the year....now on to the good stuff..so tonight...some wine..and benadryl for sleeping.....and a good night sleep here I come!
xoxox