I incorporated some found objects in this piece, the eyes are actually pebbles. I also decoupaged some fabric at the skirt area. I tend to shy away from fabric because of fear of the piece looking less artsy and more craftsy, dolly. if that makes sense :b And, lately, I feel inclined to not call these little figures dolls since really they are not toys and probably shouldn’t be played with.

More dolls in the works but I need to make an excursion out of town today for a visit to the craft store. Its been a while since I have purchased supplies and while I could probably go a whole year without buying any more supplies there are some specific items that make my heart art production faster and easier. And, honestly, I just need a craft store shopping “fix”

Kaleid Gallery (San Jose, Ca) invited me to participate in their “Exquisite Corpse” exhibit opening July 14th. I was assigned to do a torso. We were also given specific parameters for the type of paper and dimensions. Since I do not have the proper brushes to do a water color in my typical low brow style I decided to do a mixed media somewhat abstract. I started out doing a drawing with prismacolor pencils, one of my favorite tools but given the size of the paper and time constraints I ditched my first efforts, I did cut it up into bits and pieces for some future endeavor

Check out Kaleid Gallery on facebook
and their website.

In other news I finally saw our neighbor the peacock! Stunning! I could not get a good close up of the plumage but you can still see enough…

Also, we made a visit to the Santa Barbara Botanical gardens and I couldn’t resist photographing one of my fav flowers, gigantic white poppies, I will be planting some!

I so adore this poppy!

Wonderful mixed media piece by artist Nina (with a long i)

Learn more about Nina and her art here

I am an artist and an intuitive person with the ability to not only see but empathize and recognize the beauty in chaos, the beauty in a single rock and the beauty of the hearts eye. I have a friend who has inspired me by his ability to see beauty in “monsters” and outcasts which always has me trying to see through different eyes and recognize that there are many things and people who at first glance appear to be beautiful but are deadly or evil or ugly in reality. There are people like Ted Bundy who are attractive but a lie and Gacy who pretends to be funny and a friend to children, pure evil. People turned their heads aghast at the elephant man who’s deformity was mistaken for an ugly heart when it was those who tortured and exploited him who were much more ugly. Why we mistake external beauty for goodness is kinda crazy. Crinkles has a twinkle in her eye and offers up a flower and if you look at her expression closely you will see there is nothing menacing in between the lines. XO

Listed in my shop today: heart

Valentine

I often wonder how creepy images fit into the whole art scheme of things. It seems so often that for many people if the art isn’t about beauty or have some deeper spiritual meaning its not credible or valued or taken seriously.

I’ve never wanted or even considered locking myself into an accepted form of aesthetics and have always believed that even the darkest subject matter can teach something. Would I hang a very dark image in my own home, well yes I would. As far back as Goya artist’s have been depicting dark subject matter. One of my all time and maybe my ALL time fav painter is Francis Bacon who’s work is so raw and visceral it resonates life’s angst in the most profound visual way. I could easily live with Bacon’s work in my home and never tire of it. But then I’m not a pottery Barn kind of person. Things don’t even have to match in my home. I love antiques for this reason, they carry a history with them and are interesting and unique. Have you ever seen antiques Road Show. I never get tired of hearing the history behind all those trinkets, chatch kees, furniture and artwork and I’m equally amazed at the people who retain it all in there head.

Anyway, I have gotten off on a tangent.

So this latest work is a bit challlenging for some people and most of the comments which come from other communities I participate in are basically that its “creepy” and nightmarish. Well okay, but can anything else be appreciated about it. I mean as a sculptural form its quite intricate. Its also very surreal. Its intriguing. Just offering up some thoughts that maybe opinions don’t have to be so automatic and pre determined and dismissive. Isn’t there something to be valued about this kind of art?

I didn’t make the bones, grateful to a great artist for sending them to me all the way from Canada

air dry clay

For those reading who participated in Barbie Redux, there is another inspiring altered Barbie exhibit in SF
altered Barbie