The high priestess is a woman of mystery, abundance, femininity and love. This piece is made primarily of polymer clay, along with ribbon, beads, lace and wire. She has many of the symbols connected to the standard high priestess representation, including the scroll, pomegranates, pillars and crescent moon. This one took a long time, and I almost started over a couple of times, but now I think she is my favorite. Today I will sketch the next card, the empress.
1. So You Think You Can Dance. I cannot believe Will went home. Holy cow! It was probably a matter of everyone who votes figuring he wouldn't have any trouble and voting for the underdog. Or maybe not. Who knows. But what a brilliant dancer that guy is. Wow!
2. Soap from Pam at countryheartgifts. I just received a bunch, and my favorite is the dragon's blood scent. It is wonderful, as are all of her soaps. Plus, she is a very busy seller and still manages to give outstanding customer service every single time. Yay!
3. Dr. Horrible. I'm sorry to report that if you want to see it, you have to get it on itunes now, but it is so worth it. Absolute Joss fabulousness. Who knew Doogie Howser could sing?
I've been keeping a little six-jar wooden spice rack around forever. Every time I sort through my supplies and materials (which is more often than you might think) and throw away stuff I will never use, I keep these little glass jars because they are so cute. It's one of those I'll eventually use this for something items, for sure. I finally covered two of the jars with the same canework I'm using for my High Priestess tarot art. The lids are made by slicing the puffed-out, distorted ends of the cane off before it got reduced too much, and the bottles themselves are covered carefully by laying on one slice of canework at a time and rolling smooth. It's hard to tell in the photos, but there's some glitter and metallic clay in the cane, so these have a great shimmer.
These could be used to hold art supplies, make-up, spices, salt and pepper, fairy dust, secret messages...
At PCAGOE we're collaboratively making two alphabet mosaics to be donated to children's hospitals. Each person is making a letter tile. I love this project because I have always been obsessed with letters and alphabets. When I was a teacher, I had a wonderful pre-K and K curriculum with oodles of alphabet activities, from art to cooking to math, and I used to make big elaborate alphabets to hang in the classroom. I had them made out of paper, sandpaper, and a million other materials.
Anywho, one of our mosaics is going to be a color spectrum, like this:
I made the PCAGOE logo part for the bottom row this weekend, and I like the way it turned out.
Here are the 18 tiny canes I made to cover the letters:
I used only a few slices of each, so now I have lots of pretties to make other stuff.
I think this project is going to be a real eye catcher that will be enjoyed by children and adults wherever it ends up hanging.
I usually do canework, but I decided to try my hand at a little decoupagery. This is not my favorite activity of all time, but I like the way these turned out. They've got polymer clay bases, and then the stuff (including paper, stickers, ribbon, bits of comic books/Christmas cards/Monopoly money, etc.) is decoupaged on with Sculpey glaze. My sister Bird made the blue one.
It's time for another post about the wonders of polymer clay. You can make it into just about anything, in fact I'm thinking of building a Fimo house. OK, maybe not, but it is amazing the way artists are inspired by times, places and people to create their polymer clay art.
How have I managed to never see an Alfred Hitchcock movie before this? How fabulous are they!?
How do I get hit by a wave, do 12 somersaults, nearly drown, completely bloody up my knees, yet still manage to have my cute little rose barrette emerge unscathed?
Why are people so rude in public? Especially parents. Especially dads. Your children will remember, and they'll either emulate you or continue to be mortified later in life. Ugh.
Miniature golf is not as annoying as I thought it would be.
It's the latest craze. Really. You set up the croquet wickets in random places all around the house. If you're in a duplex, well then, the neighbors have to be in on it, too. Use bits of rain gutters for ramps and large dogs as obstacles. Mow designs in your lawn and leave some areas of really tall grass. Remember that the balls float, so feel free to play close to the pond. Oh, and most importantly, start at 9:00 PM and play in the dark.
Here's the second card in my tarot series - major arcana #1, the magician. It measures about 7 by 10 inches and is made primarily of polymer clay with a bit of fabric, felt and wire. The magician symbolizes a person in control of his surroundings, a manipulator, someone who's able to influence his environment to suit himself. He holds the wand in his hand and has the other three suits, or elements, laid out in front of him (sword, cup and pentacle). I'm pleased with him and have already started working on the high priestess.
This weekend, I also finished another gaggle of 10 goddess pendants in all sorts of crazy colors (they're in my shop if you want to look at them) as well as my first ever pair of goddess earrings. Look how cute!
Yep, I am a television junkie. OK, not in the sense that I come home from work, watch for 6 hours and go straight to bed, but in the sense that I've actually started to like some shows (and by "like" I mean "be completely obsessed with.") When did this happen?
The current one absolutely not to be missed is So You Think You Can Dance. I am not a big follower of reality shows or talent competitions in general - I won't touch Hell's Kitchen or American Idol (gag) with a ten foot pole. But the dancing on SYTYCD is uplifting and just plain makes me happy. But before we even get to the dancing: I like the people on the show. The judges are actual experts, not a bunch of yahoos, and they are critical but not nasty. Cat Deeley, although I would swear she had her dress on upside down last week (the gray one with the ruffles at the top, did you see it?) is really good at her job, always positive, never stumbles over a word - oh to be half that good at public speaking. Jordin Sparks was on last week. I had never even heard of her (see the aforementioned aversion to American Idol), but it was so refreshing to see a normal-looking woman in a normal cocktail dress instead of pink shorts and vinyl thigh high boots, singing an normal song without the need to acrobatics along with it. What a joyful singer - who knew? Also, Adam Shankman was a judge last week. I love that man. You just want to hug him.
Now, about the dancing. Katee and Joshua have been my favorites since week one, and they continue to be fabulous. They have taken every style thrown at them and become totally immersed in it. Amazing. This is just one of their incredible performances.
My other favorites are Chelsea and Mark
and also Kourtni. But, sadly, I think she'll be going home soon, likely tomorrow. I blame her partner.
The other show I'm watching on actual TV right now is Swingtown - I know, you wouldn't think it would be a good show, but the characters are wonderful. On DVD, it's Big Love. Done with season 1, awaiting season 2 in the mail. This one is going to be in my top ten favs, I think. And of course, there are shows I'm anxiously awaiting. I really want to see Fringe. I hope it's as good as all the hype they're giving it. I'm also excited for the continuation of the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Where, oh where, has Chuck gone? I hope he comes back. And, of course, my world will be complete if Dollhouse ever actually gets on the air. All hail Joss.
