The kids will be ringing the bell later....

Probably not going to even be here when they ring the bell...

I do miss getting into the whole dress up and fun of the day.

Of hanging out with a gang of kids an' doing fun things-

while collecting coins and treats from happy old neighbors.

Life changed.

Now I am one of the old neighbors handing out treats and tricks to the little ones.
Oh well...
I do make a point of handing out toys and jewelry as well.
Candy is so not good for kids especially on a school night.
Yet I offer the passing adults and older teenagers the candy as they pass the porch. Walking home from a long day at work or on their way to a party.
They often light up that I offer them candy to choose from.
Adults, I think, should be ENCOURAGED to be a part of the fun!
Well, that is jut me.
I like to involve people in events.

The doodle, I just made today before the sun came up.
Actually, it is still dark out. It is 6:30 am.
I hope it is not too cold today.
*Smiles*
Have fun, be safe, and above all, be HAPPY.

DigiArt

I made the digital collage for an art exchange.

twenty twenty twenty four hours to go-o-oh--- I wanna be sedated...*too much to do!*

I cannot sleep. Too much to do...
Deadlines left and right.
Requests for samples, requests for book art, requests for zines, for jewels, for pages, for layouts.... hmmmmm....
I kinda like it... yet I have trouble putting myself in bed.
I have been terrible to myself as far as getting to sleep.
Well... it is a constant art party in my head and I don't want it to end.

I didn't get to sleep last night. In fact it is now 5:20 AM and yet to sleep...
I was making doll art for the last 3 hours. You can NEVER consider me a lazy daisy! Not a lazy bone in me!
It would be nice however if my body could keep up with my energetic mind.

Here are two images that I concocted and will be making cute plushies with them.

Splendiferous BEAUTY and LIFE!

The sun beams breaking through the clouds were INTENSE. I changed the light value in PS to show how STRONG it was. The freedom and peace we felt through the entire day was incredible!

The two pictures combined, don't even show the whole view. I had to catch the two ends and paste them together --that is why the angle in the pics are off from one another.

It started to fade a few seconds after we got home, and so we caught it just in time.
I posted two of the pics that I joined together to show how big it was.

Leaving a comment to a post... You do not have to be a blog member to do it!

My comments section is actually moderated by me and I approve messages that are not private to be posted to the blog.


You do not have to be a blogger to leave a comment.
All you have to do is click on the word "comments" under each post. This will make a window pop up that lets you type in a comment. Then you can sign your name and choose the "Anonymous"
button. That will prevent you from needing to sign in and enter a password.

If you would like to leave me a message, and you just want to keep it private, just let me know, and I will not approve the message to be added to the public forum.

IF you have a question you should leave me an email address so that I can get back to you.

As many of you who already know how to leave comments may see, I do not always "approve" the comments that you leave for me to be posted to the blog to be seen by the public.
But I do get your comments.

I would like to have a super duper machine

Above: My Paris purse


Well, I want a great machine.
The machine and programs that I *need* for the type of work that I hope to do, not just want is the price of a used car!
($3,500) with the feet and threads etc.

Shifting the voice of color.

I love manipulating color and light.

Here is my experimentation for the day.

Well,
I love messing with Photoshop! Hope that I didn't scare you away talking about pollution.

If you are still here, reading, the guy in the pic that I used to make the art is my best friend from HS.

:o)

*big grin*

He is the one making the AMAZING custom designed wall unit too!

~*Yay*~ An Emmy! And Pages for Vickie Enkoff's Daughters and Husband

So I somehow flipped the TV on to FOX and got used to the mindless chatter of pre award show red carpet banter.
What I mean is, I turned the TV on for background noise and wound up watching the Emmy's.
It was funny at times, dry at others... I think the best part was when some guy got on the stage and started saying things that I wish I could tell the Network "masters."

Stop interrupting programs and stop giving us A.D.D.! LET THE CREDITS ROLL AT A NORMAL SPEED AND DO NOT DO A SPLIT SCREEN!!!!
He said some other great stuff too, but I was so busy listening to DH agree with everything the guy on TV was saying that I sort of lost track of it all.


It was a cheer out loud moment for me as I was happy to see Current TV win an award, and *TOM* presented it.
Well, I guess I was happy mainly because I am on a featured POD shown on that TV station so it was like cheering for something that I was actually a part of!
LOL

I also got to see another few friends from school on TV too.
It is fun to see people grow, evolve, and be involved with the arts that we worked so hard to learn growing up.

OK, I logged on just to post pictures of the pages I had made for Vickie Enkoff's family.
Michelle Young is making a chunky book with our embellished pages for Vickie's 2 daughters and her husband Grady.
Catherine van der Hoeff was kind enough to let me use a picture that I took of her artwork as the base of my page.
It was not easy making work for this project, because of the stabbing sadness that I still feel over the loss of my old friend Vickie. I know that she would have just been happy to be told that she was appreciated. I needed to "show her" that I appreciated her.

It would have been nicer to have more time to spend on making these pages, but I only had a few hours to play around with my ideas.
Each page has a mini book and a Frida shrink plastic portrait on it.
The blurry image is intentional.
Shows a "brokeness" to the physical form.
The glue I had on hand when I glued the images to the cardstock did not cooperate, and I did not have time for a do over.


Amber

~*Goodies for Lori*~

Lori A. sent me a book with a CD in it.
It was a book I had never seen before, and had hand drawn fairy tale illustrations within. It is a scrapbook layout embellishment book. I like it!
Lori asked if I could use the book to create a charm for her in exchange.
Here are a few of the pieces I put together.

~*Black & Whites*~

Here is a sample of what I made for the Black and White swap.
Too many people dropped out at the last moment so I ended up making a set of charms for each member.

I also swapped for a partial set for Kari Bryde.

Here is what I made for Ann Marie.

I will be using some of the extra charms that I was sent to raise money in an auction!

Here is a sample of what I made for the Black and White swap.
Too many people dropped out at the last moment so I ended up making a set of charms for each member.

I also swapped for a partial set for Kari Bryde.

Here is what I made for Ann Marie.

~*Orlita likes to dance & Amber likes to design.*~

Orla, a friend of mine, sent me a bag full of lace and ribbons in the spring.
In exchange, I needed to create something for her to wear.
Since Orla likes to dance, and Tango, I decided to make her a wristlette.
I used dozens of Swarovski Vintage Congac, Seal, Topaz dentelles and a hematite color square stones.

I loved the paisley shape of this piece and felt it would look best sitting vertically on the wrist.

Thank you for the goodies ORLA!

Amber

Trials with the flame. I am experimenting. Self taught *ADVENTURES*!

Fun abstract beads.

FUN character skin test. For cartoon beads I want to make.

Blended glass with intentionaly trapped air bubbles.

Triangular shaped bead.

Trying to encase... Bead Release got loose. Had to quit. The design was SO cool. I had intentional trapped bubbles, and my stringer design was encased green and mint.
Bubbles... Intentional and cuter in person.

The letter "J" for Jan in CA.

These two beads fused together by mistake. so I added the dots to tie them together.

My little sister and I designed this one together. She stood next to me and directed the general placement of color and form of the bead as I went along. The red dots were my extra little touch.

These beads were made too fast and I had them in the wrong spot of the flame, too hot. So hot in fact, the glass looked CLEAR when I was working with it! It was a LOT of fun to see this stuff all hot and gooey!!! Now it is hard and makes a very pretty clinking noise.
I LOVE GLASS!!!

Zines, swaps, glass beads, and more.......

I have been SO busy doing it all in the past month that I have barely been online.
I bound 8 zines (3.5) yesterday, before I set up my makeshift glass bead studio in the kitchen.

The month of August was extra busy for me in that I had a house guest for the majority of the month and house guests require a lot of attention and entertaining!

Making a neatly embellished glass bead is NOT as easy as I had hoped that it would be!
I am so used to the ease of rolling a polymer clay bead into a perfectly round shape.
Rolling a glass bead into a perfectly round shape is something I will need a lot more practice with.
My interest is really not in making perfect round beads, but rather sculptural and artistically expressive pieces.
Still, it would be good to know how to master the flame and molten glass to achieve those results.

I am in full swing zine production again, I just have to wing it for issue #4 (After I finish mailing the dozens of #3.5 Bling Bling Glitz Baby copies)

I will take pictures of the beads, they have been in the kiln for a few hours and as soon as the cycle is done, I will take pictures and share my interesting trials.
*Smiles*

Oh, I shipped all but a few of the black and whites.
Lori, Ruth and Heather, I still have yours.
You guys have the extra trade stuff that I have to include, and I plan on shipping them out before Friday.

I joined in a small project for the Enkoff family, and will be working diligently on that as well.

New charm swaps for OCT. are open for sign ups.

~*Black & Whites*~ ~Update!!~ Vickie Enkoff passed on.

It was a GREAT week!
Spent several days around Manhattan with my DH and Lil sis.
Took her down to China town for the first time (her and I together for the first time) ... showed her Pearl Paint.
Brought her to Herald Square for the first time.
We walked to Madison and 23rd street... Spent a few hours at Barnes and Noble a couple of days and enjoyed several of the wholesale stores.
(My first time taking her in with me)
Then Fri. We hung out with Regina for the first time since Christmas!
That was fun.
We each made some jewelry.

Spent the day *reading* in the sunlight yesterday.
That was LOVELY!
The sky was SO blue and the day, although it was warm, was very windy.
I took many pictures to share, but will post them much later.

I am now packing up the B&Ws today.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I signed online today, and learned that V died a few days ago.
The news is heartbreaking really.
She was an awesome pal to all who knew her.
I knew her well a few years back, and we talked almost daily for a while.
She was a very supportive friend to me, and kept me smiling, and I know that I did the same for her. I will miss her, I do miss her.

If you would like to send some art work, Frida Khalo work was her favorite (they were both artists with a broken body yet brilliant mind) she created a Frida type shrine days before she died. Please send your art work to celebrate the passing of Vickie to her husband-
Grady Enkoff
P.O. Box 3695,
Fontana, CA 92334
Remember to let people know how much they mean to you, they come and go pretty fast!
Amber

~*Stardust*~

To celebrate the end of summer school (extra credit) for my li'l sis... DH and I took her to see Stardust.
Although the movie hadn't gotten such rave reviews, I myself LOVE the movie.
It was a fun fantasy movie, and I really enjoyed seeing it on the big screen as opposed to waiting for the DVD.
As an added bonus, a woman in the row below us, wore
Dior Addict Eau Fraiche
"Notes:
Mandarin, Jasmine Petal, Bergamot, Orange, Mandarin Leaf, Gardenia, Queen of the Night, Bulgarian Rose, Mysore, Sandalwood, White Musk.
Style:
Sensual. Soft. Feminine." -Sephora

It really matched the movie's visuals, and I suppose enhanced the experience.

Better than smellorama AKA smellovision.

Bob De Niro made me laugh a lot!

As usual though I was the only person who clapped and said "Yay" at the end of the film, then a lot of the others followed... Why are people so shy?

It is as if people need someone else to break the barrier of expression to make reacting out loud OK. Well, I am not complaining, I am just concerned.

DH didn't care for the movie because of the animal sacrifices (done old world style)... Reading entrails for answers to the witches questions. I too do not care for those scenes, however since I have done my share of dissections I was not as easily grossed out by the handling of innards.

Now, Stardust the movie is a colorful feast for the eyes, it is full of surprise moments and a few wonderful cameos that leave their mark despite the quick come and go.

If you like movies like Legend, Labyrinth, Willow, The Fifth Element, Shrek, The Prince and the Pauper and LOTR... you will probably like this movie.

The Trailers we saw included ~*Spiderwick*~... We are really looking forward to it.

A few other movies too.

We needed to start going out to the theater again. Just wish that it was not so expensive!



I got tagged by 3 people that I still need to catch up on- Sonji, Amy & Heather... I will get to it soon.
Thank you for thinking of me!!!

15 years ago

If you think the furniture he is making me is impressive, you should see what else he can do!

This was what he made for me 15 years ago for my birthday.

What a sweet gift!

P.S.1, Harry Potter, Flooding, expressive opinions

I will start with the flooding.
It rained a lot here Wednesday.
The basement filled up with water.
Many people LIVE in the basements in this area, and they were a sad sight to see.
I went out in the morning and saw cars that had been washed onto the sidewalks, Some cars were UNDER water.
One building a few blocks away, the basement garage was *full* of water. There was about 3-7 inches of clearance between the water and the top of the garage door.
So many people were standing outside in disbelief. It was a sad sight.
It was SO hot and humid too.
DH worked from home... I caught up on some much needed sleep.

I worked with polymer clay and had some fun pulling canes of flowers.

I used his computer with wireless this weekend and watched You Tube for the first time without having to wait 45 minutes for a 2 minute video clip!
I have to get wireless!!!

Well, we were out for most of the weekend.
Saturday we hopped on over to Forest Hills and spent a little while on Continental, then Austin.
Hung out with a shop keeper in a store we love, walked to Barnes and Noble to check out some mags, and flipped through some books.
Then took a tour through the gated community.
It was SO quiet that we could hear the flapping of *sparrows* wings, the munching of nuts being chewed by squirrels and the sound of flies buzzing here and there.
Earlier in the morning DH wanted to go to a farm, but I think FH is good enough because I did not want to *smell* a farm.

After a nice walk we headed back to the 'hood, and got some provisions from the market.

Sunday the CRAZY parade was outside this time it was another country celebrating it's life here.
Good gosh was it LOUD!
Very abusive.

DH wanted to go to the field to fly kites, but there was no real wind.
So we hopped a train to LIC and I figured there would be wind by the water.
It was SO quiet over there by the train yard, that he just took in a deep breath and thanked me for getting him out of the neighborhood.

We walked over to P.S.1 and it was our first time going inside.
It may be my last.
We were both more impressed with the building interior and exterior itself than with the art.
Some of the "art" was just AWFUL!
Too many people mistake the concept of expression with the form and purpose of art.
Yes, there IS a difference.

I must admit. My favorite's included some morbid lazy bones installment that I didn't even bother looking for the title of.
It was a HUGE black skeleton laying in a hammock that was braided with skulls and heads hanging.
NOW before you think I am nuts, I didn't see it as a dark and dismal piece. I actually saw it as if the bare bones in the hammock was representative of war taking a rest.
I liked it. And the braiding was cool.

There were a few wall pieces that made me smile.
I liked some of the DOTS.

Sadly though, much of what we saw was NOT art, but conceptual babble.

There were some VERY interesting black and white compositions painted in the stairwells which inspired me.

There were some serious fire hazards that DH was pointing out as we walked through the basement.

I was just not impressed with some of the ridiculous mind numbing garbage on display.
Dragging an electric guitar over grass and blasting the sound that it makes is NOT art.
It is noise pollution.
OK so I am a critic.


The food was overpriced, I didn't order any, there were FLIES all over the place.
The food DH ordered was supposed to be hot. It was barely lukewarm.
The staff was very sweet.

I had more fun walking through the factories and pawing through the dumpsters.
I didn't take anything, but saw some cool fabrics.

The graph yard was full of kids, and aero artists.
I still need to take some pics to show you my favorite pieces.

After that we walked to Queensborough Plaza, and then hopped a bus to Kaufman Astoria Studios.
It was a bit late so DH grabbed Star $'s
We went to see HP.
Figured we could rent the Borne U.

HP was too fast, but it was fun.

I never read a HP book, but the movies are pretty cool.

That's all for now, I want to get back to making stuff.

~*Black & White*~ Charm swap

This is a private swap that I hosted.
I will list names on the picture for you to see...

What a great day....

What color is your soul painted? Blue Your soul is painted the color blue, which embodies the characteristics of peace, patience, understanding, health, tranquility, protection, spiritual awareness, unity, harmony, calmness, coolness, confidence, dependability, loyalty, idealism and wisdom. Blue is the color of the element Water, and is symbolic of the ocean, sleep, twilight, and the sky. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

So, all in one day, out of the blue DH got a mid year raise Which we needed SO much!
Today I saw several old friends... That was really cool. I visited with a friend who I met when I was teaching polymer clay classes at the art store. We went to that art store to shop a bit, saw a bunch of old friends, who just happened to all be there (Some were students and customers shopping, and some were employees) It was pretty great timing!
It was SO cool to see all of the new products on the market.
Thanks Pilar!

So I bought some unusual pearls, felt glue, ombre ribbons, WHITE staz on ink, memory glass, chipboard letters, and wooden disks and a square paper puncher. All goodies to create items with to fill up my Etsy shop. NICE store sales.

So.....

I got the COLOR thing from reading Heather's blog.

Hi Heather!

Well, I have been dealing with the zine deadlines, and using my *new* printer to print inserts for issue #3.5.
AND I have been packing up swaps from charm swaps.

I will post pictures of the black and white swap this weekend!

HISTORY and tradition.

***************************************
After just seeing this as one of the headlines on AOL- I HAD to post this because, well, people need to know something important, culture, and history, before theorizing and analyzing some ART.

Another last supper thing--- <--- Click here

I am so at a loss why people would waste time looking for answers to history in an artists rendition that are not even accurate of *possible* truths.
Example-
The last supper, would not have been eaten sitting in chairs.
The truth would be, that they were either sitting on pillows or a soft bed type thing on THE FLOOR. Or something like chaise style loungers
The Passover meal (which is what the last supper was, a Jewish religious observance) is eaten in a reclining position. Reclining as in like NOT sitting on a chair at a table.
Besides that, I think, but I don't remember this for sure, the meal would have be served in a "U" pattern, so there would not even be a straight table. It would be like 3 banquet tables set up in a "U"

Knowing the truth about customs, traditions and observances is key to really looking into HISTORY.

This post is not intended to offend or insult anyone. However, it is intended to help prevent ignorance.

OK....
If someone knows how the Passover meal is served, can you remind me if it was a "U" pattern?

Stories, myths, history, whatever you see it as, try and put the logical pieces together first.

The goods keep coming!

There have been way more goods in my life than bads, and I am *happy* to tell you that last week, as my old printer was driving me crazy for the hundredth time (probably more than that but...)

I just happened to surf through Craig's list in a section I have only gone to 2 or 3 times in the past few years...
THE BARTER SECTION!!! It is usually full of crazy requests and nonsense.
But I felt compelled to take a look with no clear idea of what I might find. Not really looking for anything specific.
What happened there? I found listed for barter the same exact printer that I LOVE and had been struggling to use and keep working with, being offered for trade!
The person offering it was willing to take something small in return too.

The best part?--- It is in PRISTINE barely used condition! It was an expensive model that I paid half a grand for in the late 90's... But I cannot afford one this good at this time!

I got another for *free*

In exchange, I gave the guy who brought it over (drove a distance), a Schwinn Stingray OCC black chopper style bike that was taking up space in my art room over the last 2 years.
When DH purchased it, he thought he would motorize it ... however, that is illegal here in NYC so we were stuck with this useless thing for a few years in the house. (that bike is SO not designed for pedaling!

Now I have a WORKING LIKE NEW printer that I LOVE and I am able print covers and special inserts for my zine again!

ALSO- last month, I went to a close out shop, and found rare papers that I had run out of a while back, that I used for inserts in my zine.
I would say that I am feeling so much more encouraged to continue my zine production!

I am SO happy to finally be free of the heavy chopper looking bike... OUT OF MY STUDIO SPACE!
HAPPY to get back to my Beau Ideal!
STRESS FREE PRINTING!!!
YAY!!!

((NOTE--the printer that I had, was damaged after I bought it, so it was not a malfunction, but rather damage ... so a new one is WONDERFUL!))

The doodle project

~*Furniture progress...COOL? Or What?*~

He is amazing!
I am still in AWE!
Here he is working on my piece today!

Evolution of a doodle... done by a girl who loves to create!

This is how this character came to be...
It started like this.
Started as a marker sketch, boyish but cute.

I transfered it to the computer, made it look more like a boy... Then a silly but cute girl....Then a vampy "Sweets"...

Not sure why I went this way with it...

I like it.

TIME FOR ME TO TURN IT INTO STICKERS AND JEWELRY!!!

FUN FUN FUN!

The Spirit of the Beehive

Just watched the ending of this movie.
I *wish* that I had seen it from the start.
The children are gorgeous and really great actors.
The scenes were wonderfully set.

I cannot wait to see this again.
I would love to know what was happening.

Hot Rod Sweets Graphic from a doodle.

ETSY - PORTALS - LIFE

I will start selling stuff on ETSY to raise some money.
OK I need to raise a bunch of money.

LOTS of stuff like charms, beads, rhinestones, paper, brass and copper stampings, vintage goodies, crafts, fabrics, keys, polymer clay etc.
All from my personal stash.

If you are interested in seeing my ETSY listings, email me and I will send you a link when I list the first few lots.

----------------------------------------------

I got the issue of Portals this weekend, and it looks like fun.
I have been enjoying this new found zine.
Heather did a great job rounding up talented artists to feature.
YAY Heather!

______________________________________________

Life has been a little funny lately.

Another doodle....

I love to sc'tch... kinda like scratching and sketching with a pen.

I needed to destress after a day of sad news and HOT weather.
Gosh is it *H*O*T* here in NYC!
Too hot for me!!!!
I doodled this picture and had fun playing with my new Photoshop CS2 that Heather sent me.
Thank you again Heather!
I am LOVING this ability to manipulate/distort my charms to turn them into earrings that fit on this chick's ears. I designed the charm for Heather's zine Portals.

Robin's motto:Love your life through all circumstances. Blessings are abundant, (even in the worst of times), if we only will have the attitude that allows us to recognize them. A positive attitude gives us strength, makes life sweeter, easier and more joyful. I'm lovin' my life....RBW

Robin Whittemore (July 28, 1952- July 9, 2007)