I Never Need To Rent Another DVD Again. Seriously.

Whew! What a crazy holiday it's been. I haven't done any claywork in what seems like ages and I feel quite guilty. My poor, poor shop. Yes...guilty is definately the word. Ugh. Could be burnout, could be exhaustion, could be both. But whatever it is, I hope I get the energy to create more soon. I've done a lot of ceramic painting lately, for what it's worth. Painted a couple neat large bowls for my "Creatures of the Deep" bowl series. God only knows how many series' I have going on right now. I think it's more than 4... But I love the bowls. I need to take some photos so you can see them too.

Christmas was great! I got to spend it with the whole family--Christmas Eve with my mom and brother (who flew up from Phoenix--I haven't seen him for a year because he's in college) and then Christmas day with my brother, Dad and Grandma. It was lovely. And my family knows me very, very well. When all was said and done, I wound up with close to 10 new dvds. Glee! Pirates of the Carribean II (the 2-disc version, of course), a special edition version of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Kill Bill volume I, Pulp Fiction, Constantine, Little Miss Sunshine, The Red Violin, Being John Malkovich, Napoleon Dynamite... Good god, I have a freaking video store in my house! 90 dvds, from when I last counted. But that's not all. I was also graciously given gift cards and cash to buy yet MORE movies. Egads. Some new cds are now also in my possesion, much to the delight of my ears and 20gb ipod.

I spent half the money on some new tops, which I really didn't NEED, but couldn't resist and had to have. The rest of the money will go towards an antique typewriter or Brownie camera and some dvds.

And now, I just watched one of my favorite flicks, Amelie, and will watch Being John Malkovich shortly to ring in the New Year. What a perfect evening! Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your holidays were also grand and that the new year brings you even more grandness...or something like that... :)

Merry Christmas!

I'm signing off for a few days for Christmas Mania! Here's to hoping you have a splendid Christmas/Holiday as well. :)

Back From The Darkness

Many of you probably already heard about the storm that plowed through the Puget Sound/ Pacific Northwest area Thursday night. It was a doosey. My power was out for a couple days, but it's back on now (woot!). My house is typically the last house to get it's power back, but for a strange and welcome stroke of luck, this time it was one of the first. But many still don't have power and they're going strong on three days now without it. And it's wickedly cold, too. Here's to hoping they get there's back on quickly.

It seems like every year we get slammed with a bad wind storm, but this was one of the worst. I live near the Hood Canal region which recorded winds up to 75 mph. I think all the bridges around here closed down (including the Tacoma Narrows--which has never closed in all of the state's history) due to the high winds and a lot of streets are still blocked with fallen trees. It's really crazy. So far, there's been a recorded four deaths due to the storm and lots of injuries and carbon monoxide poisoning (which isn't wholly unusual for bad power outages, unfortunately).

But my family and I are all okay. The pets are fine and we're warm and happy. If anything, I learned one big thing from this storm: ipods are an absolute godsend. They drown out the horrible wind noise and make living in the dark just a little more comforting.

Candy Wrappers As Art

I'm always on the lookout for neat things that inspire me to create. And when I find said objects, I hoard them like a magpie. Grocery stores are like treasure boxes filled to the brim with endless illustrations and neat packages. Whenever I go out to buy another loaf of bread, I always end up in the gourmet candy aisle, scoping out designs and cool packages that catch my eye.

This candybar caught my eye on the last trip. I love the illustration (and there's a whole series of these bars, each with a different mind-numbingly beautiful illustration) and the fact that it was a Chai Tea chocolate bar completely cinched the deal. Okay, so it was $4--big deal. Look what I got because of it! A gorgeous wrapper that's getting framed and some kick-ass chocolate. A win-win situation, folks.

Zombie Submarines

So, I may not have any new merch for the shop right this week, but look! A quickie sub drawing! Look at the cute portholes! Behold the adorableness!

I don't know why this came out, really. It just...did. I doodled it in a couple seconds while watching a zombie flick, and it wasn't until a solid 15 minutes passed when I realized that yes, I had actually drawn a cute little submarine while watching zombies gorge themselves on bloody human flesh.

Huh.

I still don't know what posessed me to do that. The creative subconsious is a mysterious abyss, I tell you...

More Movie Talk

I've felt kinda chatty about movies lately. Therefore, I haven't gotten any more new designs done for the shop. Sigh. But it's not like I haven't been busy or anything--I've been raking in the hours at work and I'm feeling pretty burned out. Yay for the holiday season...

Anyway, a friend of mine lent me "Tetsuo: The Ironman", which I watched tonight and enjoyed. Those who don't appreciate surreal/arthouse flicks should stay far, far away from it--but if you're anything like me and love to watch not only the mind-numbing entertainment flicks (...like Pirates of the Carribean...) but also films that challenge the cinematic industry and what you perceive as art/film, then you should check this one out. It's older, came out in the 80s, and it's so....crazy. I honestly don't even know what to say about it. Seen "Eraserhead" by David Lynch? Did ya like it as much as I? Cool. This movie is kinda like that. Only faster, darker, much more graphic (...it's not rated for a reason), and more mysterious. It's pretty intense, but boy could I ever appreciate how it was filmed! The camerawork (it's all in b/w, by the way) is perfect and edgy and fits right in with the futuristic man vs. machine theme of the flick. Oh, and did I mention that there's also stop-motion involved? My absolute favorite form of animation. So, overall a really neat flick. Worthy of another watch to absorb it all.

This year there were two magician-themed movies that came out: "The Illusionist" and "The Prestige". I'm in a bit of a conundrum. The Illusionist comes out to dvd first (apparently this week) and I'm debating which of the two I should end up buying. They both looked really good (though I wasn't able to see either in the theaters) and got decent reviews. However, I'm not entirely sure I want to own them both (from the trailers at least, they just looked a little too similar--both being period flicks about magicians). So, I either buy The Illusionist, or wait for The Prestige to come out. I was told The Prestige rocked, but none of my friends went and saw The Illusionist, so I have no way of comparing the two. Ugh. Decisions suck.

I think I'll go lock myself in my studio and try to get some artwork done instead.

Christmas List

After the constant urging of family members, I put together a little Christmas list of stuff they could get me if they felt like it. Honestly, I don't really want anything. I'm happy just to see everyone (and my brother will be home for Christmas this year--yea!), but I also don't want to be a royal pain in the ass when it comes to buying gifts. I know all too well how hard it can be to figure out the perfect gift for someone that doesn't want or need anything. So, here's my list:

Books:
* "Gregory Crewdson"--a collection of photographs and production images of his photographs from 1985-2005. Probably one of my all-time favorite photographers. He has such a wonderful surreal/dream-like/cinema look to his images and I love the amount of thought and work that goes into making them. I know that seeing them in a book pales in comparison to seeing them in real-life (you can't squish all that awesome detail down onto an 11x10" page) but it'll have to do and is head-over-heels better than drooling over a pixelated internet version.

* "Twilight: Photographs by Gregory Crewdson"--all 40 plates from the Twilight photo series by Crewdson. Love 'em all.

CDs:
* "Castaways and Cutouts" by The Decemberists--I. Love. This. Band. What I love even more is that a lot of people surprisingly still don't know who they are. I have all the other albums, but ran out of money when it came to buy this one.

* "Notes from the Underworld" by Persephone's Bees--Such a happy, sing-along, get-stuck-in-your-head cd. I'm sure everyone's heard them by know from the commercials, but there's so many other awesomely good songs on this album that haven't been hyped up yet.

Movies:
* "Pirates of the Carribean II"--doesn't everyone have this on their holiday list this year?

* "El Mariachi"--I already own Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (which I love dearly), but the first flick in the series is harder to come by. It's not in any of the stores near me.

* "Pulp Fiction"--I love this movie but don't own it yet, and it's shameful. I'm extremely embarassed.

* "The Red Violin"--for some reason, the Best Buy near me doesn't have this in stock and hasn't for the past year. It's such a great film and I'd love to own it.

Other:

* vintage black typwriter--saw my dream typwriter at a nearby antique store but, alas, it was $40 and I didn't have enough money to buy it. Seemed like a little too much to spend on one...But it's so gorgeous! I'd just want to sit it on an end table and stare at it all day.

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

And so, those are the items I came up with. I'm giving almost everyone I know handpainted pottery this year. Mugs, cups and saucers, chip & dip plates... They all turned out great too! Couldn't be more thrilled.

Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland

Here ye, here ye! Holiday charms are listed in the shop and ready to go to new homes. I do have multiples available of both the Mr. Frosty charms and Lollipop Guild Charms--let me know if you're interested in buying more than one and I'll set ya up.

I'm completely and madly in love with the lolly charms. Sigh. Peppermint lollipops make me want to smile all freakin' day long. They're just so...cheerful. Unbearably so.

Anyway, the Winter Wonderland Charm Theme Pack (pictured above) is one-of-a-kind and I won't have another set available before Christmas--just so you know ahead of time.

As far as other stuff is concerned... The weather here in the Sound has been insane this past week or two. I'm no stranger to cold weather--I lived in central Washington for a few years while in college and we had some killer winters there. The Seattle area doesn't get bad winters, trust me. Usually a snow storm or two every year, but they're pretty mild (and last year I don't think we got one snowfall, oh the humanity!). But this past week we got caught in a cold snap and the temps plummitted. Then came the snow. And the ice. No one was prepared for it, which meant lots of bad, bad traffic problems. And then we all woke up one morning and the temps were 20 degrees higher. Huh. So, the snow is melting, the ice is long gone, and things are going back to normal around here. Most people around here hate the snow and complain when we get our measley 4".

I for one, love it.

Goodies On The Horizon

The pendant shown in my last post ("An Affair With Mrs. Darcy") has now been sold. But fear not, chilluns'! There's still a couple more left from that black/white series. You can find 'em in the shop--but hurry up, as they surely won't stay there for long. The one shown above is my "Natural Selection" pendant. Yup, another fave of mine.

Just made a bunch of charms at long last. I've been meaning to for a while now, but with my day job at the ceramic studio, I haven't had much time lately. It was a very, very busy weekend down there. Anyway, the charms rock and are all new designs for the holidays. Cute snowmen, striped lollipops, presents... Lots of good stuff! Also a couple new earring designs as well with more feminine flowers and umbrellas. Aren't you just busting with excitement? Look for 'em in the shop this week.

Get 'Em Now, While You Still Can

Pssssstttttt.... If you've been thinkin' about buying something from the shop for some kick-ass gifts for your friends and family, get 'em quickly to ensure they'll actually make it to ya on time. The postal system is always fun around the holidays. *cough*

Just went on a listing frenzy (well, for me at least) last night and loaded up 3 new pendants to choose from! All are part of a little black/white series I did, kinda on accident. I'm super duper pleased with the outcome. They're all elegant (which is something I'm not really known for) but still have that touch of funky whimsy that my stuff always has. I especially love the one I've thoughtfully entitled, "An Affair With Mrs. Darcy" (shown above). What can I say? I was in a girly mood when I created it and was watching Pride and Prejudice. Yes, the dvd sits in a collection that contains such greats as Star Wars, The Rutles, Reservoir Dogs, and Rushmore, among many others. If that ain't juxtaposition, I don't know what is, frankly.

And now, I'm off to chill out, take a relaxing bath, and write a short story about a cannibalistic snowflake.

Keeeyaaaa! Ninja Stealth!

It seems the Etsy fellas are doin' their homework. A lot of the site malfunctions I was experiencing earlier are now gone (whoopee!) and I can edit my listings without it stalling on me. This is really good news, folks. And, I have to admit, some of the features I was bitching about earlier are starting to grow on me. I now love how the new photos are layed out on the site and in everyone's shop. And there's some really useful seller tools as well. Overall, I'm pretty stoked with how the site is coming along. Sure, there's still a few more things to get fixed and my Featured Seller interview still isn't linked yet, but baby steps! I'm hoping to get some more stuff listed by early next week on my next day off from work.

Ninja studs! These have been in the store since last week, but I wanted to share a photo of 'em. They're so cute.

Oh! Also wanted to say that I now know what "theme" I'm doin' for my Christmas tree this year! Ready for this? It'll be a "Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" tree. I know. Isn't it great?! I'm so excited! Annnnddd...I managed to snag an aqua tinsel tree from an online store! It's a 3 footer (small, yes, but I already have a 6 foot douglas fir fake tree and I don't need anymore that size) and cost me about $30. You can see it here (looks a wee scrawny in the photo, but that's the style and trust me, it's hard to find these things in this color--I know, I've searched high and low). I can't wait to throw some yellow and blue ornaments on that thing! By the time I'm done with it, it'll be bursting with Team Zissou spirit. Splendid. I'll post pics of the ornaments I'm making later.

New Site, New Bugs

Oh dear God. I guess I didn't realize that ALL of my linked shop photos in my blog would go missing due to the update of the Etsy site. Eeeewy. All those damn Xs. Sheesh, I'm really sorry about that, but there's no way in hell that I'll be relinking all those images. Ain't gonna happen.

So, now that the new site is back up, what's my opinion of the new Etsy? Honestly? I'm a bit dissapointed actually. I'm willing to give it some time though before I crawl into a corner and breakdown in tears over how much I miss the old version. A lot of what I'm not thrilled about is the look of the site. Seems a little ebay-like to me now. Bigger fonts and all. I don't like the homepage at all. And while I love how all the photos on the site now look (super clean and crisp, yay!) I don't really care for the gallery view of my current items. My eyes get overwelmed with all those large pictures and I don't know which one to click first. I prefer the older look of my shop: large featured items at the top with smaller thumbnails of my other items below all lined up in a clean vertical fashion.

What's most dissapointing for me though is that my Featured Seller interview is gone and there's no longer a link for it in my shop. Oh the humanity! Etsy guys, if you're reading this (and I know you aren't because you're swamped trying to fix the new bugs with the site), bring it back please!

Things are a little hectic over there right now. Lotta kinks need to be hammered out, so I'm kinda staying low until it becomes a little more functional. Which, in all honesty, is okay because it'll give me more time to create new stuff. I just hope that these huge changes and problems don't put a halt to my shop's success, especially for the holidays.

Anywho, the above image is one of my latest creations (yup--it's up for grabs in the store). It's a sculptural mini camera pin! And the camera is on a bow made of negatives! Weeeee! Ahem. I get excited way too easily. Seriously though, I love this piece majorly. It was one of those "damn, this is cool" ideas that come to you in your sleep (and those are always the best kind).

Site Down For Weekend

Just a quick head's-up: the Etsy.com site will be down all weekend while the guys upload to the newer version. What this means for you is that my shop will also be down during that time. It'll be back up and kickin' on Monday!

I've listed a bunch of cool new stuff too, so be sure to check it all out! :)

Back And Better Than Ever!

Yep, folks....I'm back.

The trip was absolutely incredible. I can't even begin to describe it all. Let me just say though that as an art history minor and lover of art, even I got overwhelmed with all the art I saw. By the end of the trip, I was avoiding all the churches and cathedrals like the plague because I just saw so, so many of 'em and all the awe-inspiring art inside that I honestly couldn't stand to see any more. Coming from my mouth, that says a lot.

And while the trip rocked my socks, I have to say, it's good to be back home. And yes, the shop has been re-oppened and I'm scrambling to get some more stuff in there. Just listed this neato pair of un-brithday party earrings that are so bright, dangly and full of pizzazz! They're sure to cheer someone's day right up.

So Long, Dear Friends

Aaannnnndddddd.....The shop is now closed 'til I get back from my bitchin' trip to Italy. I'll open it back up on the 29th or so. And now that I'm done with custom orders 'til the new year, I've already begun pumping out some new designs and I have to say, I'm stoked, guys. I love it when I stumble upon a new idea that I just know will be a hit and then I create the item and it's just how I imagined it. I'm hoping that my trip will spark even more creativity and arty ideas (that's a good reason why I'm going).

So, until I get back, take it easy, kiddos...

I Said DRAW!

Another painted piece I've done lately. I'm a huge cinematic freak and absolutely love movies. A friend of mine and myself have begun painting these cool "widescreen" styled ceramic plates that are ultimately film genre cliches. Because, it's just fun stuff. And honesetly, what could be more cliche for a Western than a showdown? So, this is my first in the film cliche series. I'm hoping to do a horror genre one next. Oh the possibilities...


As far as my jewelry business is concerned, I wanted to throw out there I'm on my last custom order and will not be accepting any more custom requests until the new year. My poor shop is depleted as hell and I need to get some new designs created and listed. But thank you to all who I've done customs for! They helped pay my bills. :)

Double Trouble, Boil And Bubble...

Next month, I'll be leaving for Italy [insert very excited squealing here]. I'm totally pumped! I minored in Art History as an undergrad in college, so going to Rome and Florence is a lot like visting the Holy Land for me. I'll be closing down the shop from the 11th-29th, so if you gotta have something before Halloween, I suggest you buy it now.

I have a few more items to list over the next couple of days. This is an adorable little bubbling cauldron charm that's all set to be made into a zipper pull or a simple small pendant on a necklace. It's quite cool with all its little bubbles and over-flowing green soupy goo... I also have a matching pair of earrings listed, and they're currently still available.

Alrighty...Back to the clay...

More Of My Painted Pottery...

More crazy pottery photos...

This pic shows a few of the pieces I've been painting for my own kitchen set. I looked high and low for dishes with this exact retro/modern pattern and color combo with no luck. So I thought I'd just paint my own, damnit! This is a very long and tedious project since they all have to look the same. I still have 4 plates, 3 cups, and 2 bowls to do. Ouch.

Here's a mug I did a few months ago in homage to one of my absolute favorite flicks, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Ahhh, I love that movie. The front of the mug, as you can see, has the film's logo (a real pain in the arse to paint lettering that small, might I add).

The back has a crayon ponyfish adorning it. Ain't he cute?

More pieces are getting listed in the shop, slowly but surely. I still have a couple custom orders to do, but they shouldn't be too hard to get done. Came up with a nice new charm design that references those totally awesome aluminum trees from bygone days. A year ago I was absolutely obsessed with the things and had to have one. But it's a little difficult to get your hands on an authentic one of decent size that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Sigh. Some day...

Hand-painted Functional Art

Over the next few weeks, I'll be gradually listing more goodies in the shop. But I thought in the meantime, I'd show some of the ceramic pieces I've painted lately. Generally speaking, and I really wish this sounded more modest, I'm pretty good at painting. I love both oils and acrylics, but recently, due to my job, I've found a new fascination with ceramic glazes. They're so much more challenging than any other paints I've used, due largely to the fact that they change so drastically when they go through the kiln. It's always quite a surprise.

This first piece is my lil' baby. I worked on it for a whole month and it's the first in a series of pie plates I'm doing that depict juxtopositions with the sweet pies they'll one day contain. This has a serene sky on the outside and a flock of dead blackbirds within.

The cool thing about pie plates is that you can do some crazy stuff to them, since the artwork is getting covered up and then gradually becomes visible. I just love that.

This next piece is an octopus sushi platter. I never eat this much sushi, but I love the long shape of the piece and thought it'd be fun to do something dramatic. A little hard to tell, but the octopus is actually a dark chocolate brown.

I'll post more images a little later. It seems Blogger is having issues with my file sizes (what can I say? I like large picture files).

Oceanic Gift Tags, Ahoy!

Okay. I did it. Hand-drawn gift tags with tons of oceanic flair are now up for grabs in the ol' shop. I just love making fun little ephemeral stuff like this, so I thought, what the hell? I know when I give gifts this year I'll be attaching little hand-drawn gift tags just like these because they just make a package so much more cooler. I mean, c'mon. A squid? An octopus? AND a sting ray?! What's not to love about that?

This actually brings me to another point I've been thinking about lately. Christmas gifts. That's right, the big "C" word. Am I uttering it a little too soon? I'm thinking about giving everyone I know some hand-painted pottery done by yours truly, since I get a massive discount at my ceramic studio job. I've done some amazing pieces in the last month that I'm incredibly proud of--I may just have to whip out the digi cam and snap a few photos to throw on the blog. For some odd reason, I'm on a massive squid/octopus and bird kick. I can't paint me enough birds and cephalopods!

Hmmm...Gift Tags?

The holidays are coming up and I'm scrambling to get more pieces put together for the shop. I'm also beginning to cap off my custom request list so I can focus on some newer designs. Probably next month I'll put a hold to all customs and tell everyone to wait until January for any custom work. It just gets way to exhausting.

I'm also throwing around the idea for some paper-related things to go in my shop for the holiday season--you know, for a little added variety and exposure. My pieces are all polymer clay jewelry and accessories, but I do a ton of painting and drawing in my freetime as well (I mean, hell, I'm the friggin' Art Director for a ceramic studio--I'm around paint all day long), so I thought it may be fun to offer up some hand-drawn gift tags for the holidays and such. That way, people can purchase my jewlery (which already comes in killer hand-painted boxes, by the way...) and attach some cute little gift tags to go with them for presents. Cuz, a pretty little box without a hand-drawn squid gift tag is no gift at all. End of story.

Okay, back to work I go.

A 70s Kickback

Duuuude....They're, like, lava lamps or something.

Why, yes. Yes, they are. But they're also earrings, and that's way cooler.

Check these bad boys out. I sculpted mini versions of those awesome glowing lamps you'd sit and stare at for hours in your parents' basement while being stoned out of your bloody mind. The "lava" in these lamps is stationary, but still has that fluid look like the originals we all love. I also added the magenta freshwater pearl drops below to make 'em more fun and dangly. As if wearing lava lamps from your ears wasn't fun enough.

Yes! They are still available and are just $14 in the store.

Spooktacular!

Now that I'm pretty much all caught up on custom orders, I can focus on stocking up my depleted store. The holidays are approaching quickly, and I know I'll get hammered if I don't get some more items listed soon.

Every year I switch gears into Halloween-mode way too early. Usually happens in July, but this year it's a little later in August, and now I'm in full-swing Halloween frenzy. My sketchbook pages are filled with Halloween ideas and doodles. It's by far one of my most favorite holidays.

Be on the lookout for some cool Halloween-inspired pieces in the shop soon. I have a bunch of realistic pumpkin charms that I'm beginning to list (and at only $4 a pop, you can't go wrong) and they're so adorable! Lopsided and dirty, just like the reject pumpkins nobody wants.

Ode To The Crow

Whew!

What an insanely busy past week it's been. My shop is drained of items and I spent the entire day today filling custom orders and making a couple new items to be listed in the shop. Right now it's just embarrasingly empty. But I'm so pleased that it is because that means I made a killing off the Featured Seller interview. My profit really shot skyward this month, so here's to hoping I'll continue with that trend (knock on wood).

This latest pin of mine is a crow because, well, I love crows. I love how smart, mysterious and eery they are. I really love this pin (man, don't I ALWAYS say that?) and can't help but think how insanely awesome it would look on a lacey white blouse around Halloween. Only $8 in the shop.

Lets All Have A Picnic

I just listed an adorable picnic charm bracelet that will make you dust off that old picnic basket and break out the hamburger buns. I love this piece. Was a little apprehensive at first; I was going to put itty bitty sculptural ants on the tablecloth charms.

Imagine the horror when I realized just how creepy ants actually look.

Now, I really think ants are interesting little insects. Hell, I had an ant farm when I was a kid and spent a good long time cultivating and raising my humble little ant family into a bustling ant metropolis. But it wasn't until I actually began sculpting them when they creeped me out. Reminded me of little black spiders. Blech!

So, I bagged that idea and put "representational" ants on the bracelet by means of black glass beads.

Problem solved.

Orders Galore

Good Lord. Since the Featured Seller interview has been posted on Etsy, I have been swamped with orders. I'm up to my eyeballs in custom requests, sold about 10 things today alone, and to top it off, I'm running out of new items to post. I guess all my so-called planning wasn't good enough.

And I tell you, life is sweet.

Featured Seller? Me?

The secret's out, kiddies. I'm the new Featured Seller for the etsy.com site! I can't even begin to tell you how stoked and amazed I am. I woke up this morning to a complete barrage of emails from fellow sellers and interested customers and I'm completely overwhelmed with everyone's interest and kindness. I've been stocking up my inventory for this week because I know it'll get pretty crazy. I already have quite a few custom orders to fill.

Anyway, you can check out my interview here and see some of the new goodies I have listed.

White Witch Earrings

Made a ton more stuff to list in the shop, but I'm waiting til next week when the "surprise" is revealed. However, I just couldn't keep myself from listing at least one thing, so I listed this pair of dangly White Witch stud earrings, inspired by the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia, which I read all last summer. I have sketchbook pages filled with quick little doodles of outfits and accessories I imagine her wearing. This pair of earrings was born from one of those sketches. More coming soon...

A Pair Of Pears

I've been busy working on more creations for my shop because something truly big is about to happen. Can't tell you yet though, it's a surprise. :)

I've made a few new pairs of stud earrings--all with a fruit theme. Just kinda happened that way, I swear I didn't plan it like that. Also made another hand-drawn pendant necklace that looks awesome. But, for right now, I just listed the pear stud earrings to wet your appetite for more. The rest will be listed very soon with the coming of the big surprise...

A Glimpse Into My Studio

I know that I myself love to see snapshots of other artists' studio spaces. It's kinda like peeking into their creativity and getting a firsthand glimpse at how those artistic thoughts emerge. My studio space isn't all that inspiring, I'm afraid. I have a room set up as my "studio"--it has my oil painting easel, lots of canvases, a long dresser that contains all my creative tools, lots of books, and lots of sketchbooks/journals/portfolios. Part of it is nice and clean so I can concentrate (the side that's in the photos here) and the other part is an ungodly mess with no order or rules of any kind. It's all about creative harmony. :)

My walls are white. My dresser is white. I know it looks unbearably barren, but it actually helps me to concentrate on colors. My work is very color-oriented and so if my walls were all orange (...which wouldn't be so bad, it's by far my favorite color) I might find myself in a color rut of primarily orange-dominant pieces. And that's not what I want. As far as the actual sculpting is concerned, I usually don't physically sculpt my pieces in my studio, as crazy as it may seem. I go there to get inspired, plan out my next project, and do some quick experiments, but I actually sculpt on a 13"x9" tile that was leftover from a bathroom makeover. This way I can sit anywhere in the house with my tile and tub-'o-clay and sculpt until my hands hurt. I usually end up sitting on the floor--I guess because I have more space and that's how I worked in college when I had no furniture.

There's No Place Like Home

I've been busy like a bee for the past couple of weeks. Custom orders, work at the ceramic studio, way too much housework, and the list goes on and on. I did get this cool Wizard of Oz inspired pin done though amongst the chaos and I'm thrilled with the result. I've never sculpted slippers so tiny and was pretty surprised with how challenging they were. Lots of ruby-red glitter makes these puppies sparkle and now I find myself lusting desperately bad over a pair of my own ruby slippers.

Always wanted a pair when I was a child (of course, what little girl didn't?) and the movie still inspires me to create to this day. I have to be doing something artsy when watching it--I guess it's just one of those kind of films.

Anyway, the pin (complete with awesome Dorothy-esque gingham bow) is 10 bucks and up for grabs in the shop.

Cherries Are Cheery

I started making cute little cherry tile beads earlier this year and still haven't stopped. They're just too cute! I now have a "cheery cherry charm" in my shop along with this ultra-adorable pair of Cheery Cherry Dangle Earrings. Part of me desperately wants to keep these for myself. You can buy 'em for just $10.50 in the store.

I'll be listing more goodies in my shop next week. I have some cute ideas for pins that I'd like to get working on and also want to make another deep sea inspired sculptural pendant. The Littlest Squid sold incredibly fast, and I have to admit, I was sad to see him go. It was my favorite piece to date. But he went to a good home--a fellow Washingtonian snatched him up.

Star Wars Fans Unite!

Most of my polymer clay work is sculptural, but I do occassionally create hand-drawn pieces as well. They're extremely time-consuming, taking an entire day or more to complete (add onto that another day of sketching and planning out my design), so I don't do them that often and when I do, I price them much higher than my other works.

They've been very well-received and I've sold most of them almost immediately. This stunning Princess Leia Hand-Drawn Pendant Necklace is the exception though. She's priced at the higher-end of my hand-drawn pieces, but she was by far my most challenging. The realistic portrait is on a bead only 1" long and I worked on it for two days straight. It's a piece that I'm extremely proud of and would love to see in the hands of another avid Star Wars fan and collector like myself. She's still available in my shop, so take a peak!

Heart Me!

A while back, when I first started up my online Etsy store, I was lucky enough to get one of my bead sets on the highly sought after "Top Items" list (which, if you've not familiar with the site, lists the top 100 items for sale by artsy chicas like myself). It was on there for well over 2 months and actually made it to number 7 before being sold out. Pretty cool.

Anyway, this amazing Lost In Wonderland Sculptural Pendant has a good shot at getting itself on that list as well. 6 people have "hearted" it already--so what are you waiting for? Sign up on Etsy if you haven't already (it's free, you get to buy amazing handmade goods, and live a guilt-free life without those nasty big corporate stores) and "heart" this pendant to get it up on that list!

The pendant is just $12.00 in my shop and is by far one of my favorites.

Tutti Frutti

A few weeks back I came up with the idea of creating "theme packs" of my polymer clay goodies. Each pack would not only include awesome jewelry sculpted by yours truly, but also a handbound mini sketchbook and another surprise to go with the theme. My first theme pack is a Tutti Frutti one, complete with paint swatch "Tangelo" mini sketchbook, two sculpted apple charms, a pair of neato sculpted pineapple earrings, and three handpainted cherry gift tags (I love these things--perfect for tiny gifts to friends!). Lots of fun goodies for one low price. And I'm so proud of the pineapple earrings. Whenever I look at them I want to break out a ukulele and throw on a pair of flip-flops.

Umbrellas?...In June?...

My latest obsession in my artwork has been with clouds, rain, and umbrellas. I guess it has something to do with the fact that all month it has been cloudy and gloomy here where I live. Where the hell did that sun go? I guess I can't complain too much because I have made some cute jewelry pieces inspired by the Northwest weather.

This little Northwest Umbrella Charm would make an utterly adorable zipper pull on a winter jacket, but all my charms look great on bracelets, purses or even strung by themselves on a necklace. I'm especially proud of this one and it's up for grabs in the shop for just four bucks. I wish I owned a yellow umbrella...Sigh. One of these days.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Since summer has now "officially" arrived with the closing of all the local schools, my day job at a ceramic studio has been keepin' me on my toes. It's a retail-art teaching-painting kind of job (great fun, but doesn't pay a whole helluva lot) and I'm also the new Art Director, which means I'm also in charge of the displays, other art teachers, and look/feel of the studio. I still have my eye set out for graphic design work (which is what my degree is in) but it's hard to come by and tough to get. Sigh.

My sculptural bead and jewelry business gives me a bit of an "escape" I guess from real world jobs. I'm the boss, I make all the decisions, and I can be as creative or lazy as I want to. Which really means that most of the time, I'm sculpting in my pajamas with an ipod plugged in.

These two pics are of some more pieces up for grab in my shop. I put a ton of work (and believe me, I went through an exhausting amount of failures) to get the Guitar Pendant to look perfect. I'm so pleased with that one and I'm a little surprised it hasn't sold yet. It will, I guess the right guitar-playing chica hasn't come along yet.

The Rain Cloud Pin was a more recent one and I'm utterly surprised with how cool it turned out. It was one of those ideas where I said to myself, "Yeah, that's pretty awesome, but what are the odds that it'll actually turn out like that?" and what do ya know, it actually did. Score!

Bzzz...Bumble Bee Studs

Things are beginning to really kick off in my online store so I thought it'd be a good idea to set up a blog and record my busy thoughts, share my work, and get myself focused.

Just listed a bunch of new stuff in the shop, including these cutesy lil' bumble bee stud earrings. I've been having a ball making these sculptural little bumble bees and just recently thought I should offer up some stud earring designs (especially since those mini sculptural focal tiles are so perfect for studs).

If you're new to my work, go ahead and visit my shop to get a feel for what I do. I promise you won't be too dissapointed.