The Bewitching Hour is Upon Us...

This past week I finished Maltilda the Classy Witch, a collector art doll who stands just 8" tall (well, excluding her fancy hat).  What fun she was to make... and she turned out just the way I saw her in my mind... a lovely, weathered face full of wrinkles and crevices and a hook nose that only a witch could love!  Her spell book has many pages filled with all sorts of witchy delights.  If you look closely at her chin, you will see a glittering "diamond" embeded in her chin "dimple".  Look at her hat...and you will see a bat that actually moves when you touch it... all that is missing is the spooky music... Halloween is just around the corner.

If you live in the Victoria area and are attending the Sidney Fine Art show this weekend, I will be doing an art doll sculpting demo on Saturday between 5 and 7.  Drop by and you will be able to see Maltilda in person along with two other collector art dolls, Jock, the Scots Curler and Monsieur Pierre, the French waiter.  People are surprised when they actually see these little people... first at the size they are (much smaller than they imagined) and the difference in depth perception seeing them "in person".  They are pretty darn sweet if I do say so myself...GRIN

Hope to see you there,

Sharon

My Little "Guys" Make it to the "Big Time"..

I had some wonderful, exciting news the other day ... two of the roomboxes (although I call my boxes, bookshelf boxes as they are meant to sit in a bookshelf among books... rather like a surprise when you discover them...) made it into one of the premier juried art shows, the Sidney Fine Arts Show, here on Vancouver Island in mid October.

Out of over 1000 pieces that were adjudicated for the show, they took 400... 2 of which are mine.  I have never seen any miniatures/small stuff that have made it into the show before (other than one other of mine that made it in last year but it wasn't a bookshelf box) so I am over the moon!

Once the show begins, I will post more photos (the show organizers don't like it when you spoil the surprises awaiting folks who come to the show).  I have to admit that the photos don't really do the boxes justice...they are a lot smaller than they look in a photo. 

The other day a friend who had dropped by for a visit began "studying" them.  She had seen some of the preliminary photos I took along the way and said, "Boy, you are right. You just don't notice all of the tiny details in a photo (the devil is in the details and it is the details that absolutely make the pieces come to life) and photos just can't show the size and depth of the 3D effect!".  I totally agree. However, I think you can certainly get an overall impression of them nonetheless.  That being said, here are a couple of photos to give you a sense of what I sculpted and created...and yes, it was a lot of work, took a lot of time but was so much fun watching it all come to life...

This first photo is Dr. McPherson, the English Professor who is a visiting Oxford Don... he has traveled the world and now loves to just sit around and share his vast knowledge of literature and the world with his students... in the bookshelf box, he is surrounded by over 60 miniature books and of course his suitcase and satchel...

You recognize this guy below, don't you?  Who could miss him with his wild hair?  I am an Einstein fan... if you ever want an Einstein quote, let me know, I have hundreds of them. This bookbox was made to commemorate the Centennial of the publication of Einstein's theory on relativity (1915-2015).  The bookbox is an artfully rendered version of Einsteins office at Princeton.  Einstein had a delightful sense of humour and some of his quotes are quite insightful... especially the one about the constant state of mess on his desk:  "If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what then is an empty desk a sign?"  Yes, indeed!  I will leave my desk in a mess from here on in...GRIN

The Sidney Fine Arts show runs from Oct. 16-18 at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney, B.C. (Elizabeth May country...*) so if you are in the area, drop by to take a look at some wonderful art from Vancouver Island artisans.

Stay tuned... photos will be forthcoming...

Cheers,
Sharon

* P.S.  Who is Elizabeth May you ask?  Well she is one effervescent, fiery, and very smart female politician who is the leader of her party (the Greens) currently running for office in her district, Sidney/Gulf Islands, in our on-going, long drawn out, (and for me) totally boring Canadian election.  She lives in Sidney and is one cool lady!!

Happy Hearts Day...

If you have been wondering where I have been... well I have been having just too much fun playing ... a day hasn't gone by since the Christmas holidays without something happening in my art room.  Time just evaporates when I am creating... and I will have lots to show you in the coming months... just have to take the time out to take pictures and to blog!

So I am just dropping by today for a quick visit, to wish you all a Happy Hearts Day and share something rather sweet with you!!  I have been busy all week making valentine heart cupcakes with sprinkles and cinnamon hearts...

Alas, they are the non edible kind... which gives a new meaning to wearing your food! LOL

These little earrings are so darn cute...the photo doesn't even do them justice!  They swing and dangle beautifully!  I made some for a couple of friends and myself and ended up having to make more as a number of pairs were spoken for practically as they came out of the oven!  Maybe I should start up a cupcake earring factory and make my millions one set at a time... GRIN

These little earrings gave me the idea for my valentine surprise for the "little ladies" at our neighbourhood elementary school.  As some of you know, I volunteer as a crossing guard there in the morning on my way home from swimming.  Every "holiday", they get a surprise from me... be it "smarties", pencils, balloons, popcorn or something I have made.

A guessing game started this week with some of the girls when I told them to get ready for their valentine surprise... there are about six of them that I see each morning and they have been coming up with all sorts of guesses... it has been a fun little exchange each morning!

I decided to make them backpack dangles just like the earrings only this time with chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles and a little chocolate heart. I think they will just love them, don't you?

The boys won't be left out... they'll get packages of valentine smarties... I don't think they would appreciate cupcakes!  Ohhh, ugh, girl stuff!!  You get the picture I am sure.

I got my Valentine treat a few days early this year... Hubby took me for tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria yesterday ... What a lovely afternoon we had together drinking special teas, eating dainty sandwiches, strawberries, scones, devonshire cream and scrumptious dessert morsels.  The tearoom is so beautiful... it dates back to 1908 and the acoustics are marvelous.  The enchanting strains of classical music played by the pianist on the baby grand only adds to the room's charm and delight.  Nobody does the traditional "Victorian tea" like the Empress!  

Happy Hearts Day to you...I hope it is SWEET... till next time...


Sharon

Get creative with old denim jeans...

I've been having some fun this past week... in all my spare time (what a hoot that is!)...hanging out in my sewing room surrounded by old jeans and bits of fabric!!  I wanted to do something different for a couple friends for Christmas this year and came up with the idea of making some jean aprons.  I only had one pair that I had been saving... the other ones were too far gone to make anything out of... so I paid a trip to the thrift store and bought a couple pair to play with.

They are pretty easy to make... just take some left over material from other projects, old jeans that aren't totally clapped out (grin), some patience, a good iron, a sewing machine,bits of this and that (i.e. buttons, ribbon, old doilies, you get the picture) some more patience and time...  I am rather pleased with how they have turned out so far.  I even made one for the grandson of one of my pool buddies (unfortunately I didn't take a photo of it... just plain forgot!.

This apron has a light blue striped material around the edges and some red polka dot ribbon for "braces".  I raided my button jars and sewed a bunch of red and white buttons on the pocket! Salvage the labels off the jeans... you can use them for decoration too!

This one was a fun one to make with some bandana fabric I bought last summer for another project (which is now not going to happen because it's been confiscated for these aprons... oh well...)  If you want to tackle one like this just make sure you have a good sharp jeans needle in your machine!

This next one is a "shortie"... great for wearing around a barbeque... maybe hubby will get this one under the tree!

And just to show you something you can make with jean "scraps"... here's a table runner... and yes it is straight... it's just the angle that the photo was taken at that makes it look out of "whack"!

Here's another apron... this one with some green polka dot material around the edges, a piece of an old doily and some rick rack...

If you are interested in finding out how to make these... just leave me a comment.  If there is enough interest, I'll write up a small tutorial.

Happy Sewing...

Sharon

Sidney Fine Arts Show...2014

A quick update...am packing to go off to the U.S. of A. to a storytelling festival in the morning but wanted to touch base with you all before I left.

Just got back from the Sidney Fine Arts Show... oh wow... fabulous art...fantastic artists... wonderful show! There are a little over 400 pieces of art accepted out of the 1100 that were submitted for adjudication.  If you live in our area, take it in...it's a great way to spend a couple hours putting some colour in your life on what the weatherlady is saying is going to be a rather dull and rainy weekend.

As promised awhile back on Facebook when I let you know that my pieces got into the show, below are the photos of my two pieces.  Both of the pieces got fabulous placement and here's crossing my fingers that they go to a nice home with people who love them as much as I loved making them...

My mixed media piece - Just my Type 2 - Thanks to a couple of art buddies for their spare letters that I put to good use!  The top background is a page from an old Eaton's catalogue from 1902, some letter blocks I made a number of years ago for another project, an old typewriter ribbon tin that I made and an antique pencil sharpener.  The bottom background paper is some that I made and then printed with the sage old typewriter practice piece... The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog... a sentence that has every letter of the alphabet in it.  The ruler on the right is a very lifelike digital copy mounted on heavy bookboard of a ruler that I have but am not quite ready to part with yet!!It's a bit hard to see but the middle piece is on the front of the canvas while the rest is recessed.  Was a fun piece to make... but likely one of the last mixed media pieces I will be creating for some time as I move more and more towards sculpture.

My little, handsculpted polymer clay people

Meet... Mabel & Jake - Two lovely seniors who recently met in a seniors retirement home who have decided that, "Takin' a Chance at Love Again" suits them just fine!

And yes, I actually made the bench all by myself... no help from hubby... just figured it out.

These little guys aren't very big... they look much bigger in the photos than they actually are... they are about 10 inches high standing up... half that sitting down.  They were definitely a labour of love from "manufacturing from scratch" original slopers to design and make their clothes to creating their accessories (i.e. Jakes Birkenstocks, Mabel's purse and matching shoes) and making sure they had some age spots on their faces and hands.  The little box on the bench has four tiny cupcakes (for afternoon tea of course).

When our granddaughter saw them for the first time, she squealed with delight "Oh Gramma, Mabel has pearl earrings and she even has nail polish on her fingers!"  Granddaughter approved sculpture!

Just before the show, I added a small hankie to Mabel's hand that isn't in the photo. I kept on feeling that there was something missing and then it occurred to me... Mabel needed a hankie!! All in all, the entire project took close to 80 hours to complete and I loved every minute of it!

Gotta run for now and finish packing...

Have an artsy week,
Sharon  

Introducing the Whimsy Pumpkin Gals...

What a great summer we had in Victoria! The weather was spectacular and I got to spend a fair amount of time in one of my favourite places... the beach.

Hubby and I also had a lovely week up in the Okanogan (Canada's wine country in the interior of British Columbia) sampling all the wines and having a very delicious experience in the five star restaurants attached to the wineries.

In September, we ducked down south of the border to Portland for a stay at the Kennedy School hotel for few days and then over the Oregon shore visiting Cannon Beach, Seaside and Fort Stevens.  How lovely it is at Fort Stevens with its miles and miles of white sand. The drive back up through Washington state is one that I always enjoy. Yep it was a good summer all around.

I was anxious to get home... I missed messing around in my art room and I had a big box of goodies from Blick that I brought back with me that I could hardly wait to get into.  Nothing like a couple of weeks away from creating (and a trip to the art store) to get my juices going again.  And.. with Halloween around the corner, the idea for the Pumpkin Gals popped into my head one morning while I was at the pool (I do my version of water aerobics every morning for an hour or so at the crack of dawn).  What fun it has been coming up with these two beauties!

I chuckle every time I look at them... and now that they are finished I am a bit sad... the juice, the fun is always in the getting ready to create phase and in the creating itself!!

Now I just know you are going to ask...what are they made of?  It's polymer clay sculpted over very large glass Christmas bulbs.  The bat and the cat are also made of polymer clay. The bat is attached to a pipe cleaner so that it moves when you touch it.  The cat just lounges around and looks smugly cool!  They are free standing but can also be hung on a Halloween tree or in a window.  I just chuckle every time I look at those false eyelashes!

Halloween is just around the corner... what are you going to create???

Till next time, have an artsy week,
Sharon

Posts from the Past..Chapter 1

Today. with close to 200 blog posts already under my belt,  I thought I would go back into the blog "archives" and pull up a couple older posts you may not have seen when they were first published OR if you are a more recent/new visitor to myStoryART you may not have discovered yet.

First up is a blog post from July 2010 "Feeling Stuck, Bogged Down, Need Some Inspiration?"  That's kinda how I felt this morning when I started this post!!  Once again I had put my thinking cap somewhere and darn it, I couldn't find it. So I took my own advice... and I am back in the groove!

As many of you know, I love stories.  So here's a short, ah... romantic tale...from 2009 that, guaranteed,  will bring a smile to your face ... one you may have missed along the way... The Storm

Hope you have a wonderful week... and I will do this one again... it was fun taking a look back at older posts!!

Cheers,
Sharon

Chalkboard Labels for the Spice in Your Life

Here is a quick project that I completed on a recent Saturday morning... chalkboard labels for my spice jars.

Originally I purchased a spice jar "spindle" at a garage sale with the idea of using it in my art room.  The spindle doesn't take up much space (and I need lots in my art space) and the bottles are very handy for storing little stuff like seed beads, pins, elastic bands, x-acto knife blades, eyeballs (yes, you read that right...made from clay) and other small things that you use a lot.  I already have one and thought a second one would be handy...after all there are 16 bottles to have fun filling up!!  And then...

I got a new RED KitchenAid mixer... the super duper one that you can make all sorts of wonderful things with especially bread!!

I love baking bread and as hubby says:  "You are probably the only person I will ever know who could burn out a KitchenAid making bread and goodies!"  That's exactly what I did recently to the one I have had for 10 years.  Oh it still works but only at beating speeds... okay for whipped cream...not good for bread kneading.

I decided that perhaps it might be an idea to paint this spindle the same colour as my new machine, put some cute labels on the end and free up some space in the cupboard.  Being an avid cook, I have more herbs and spices than you could possibly imagine... a whole cupboard full of them!!  And yes, in case you are wondering, I use them all.

Thanks to my friend Geraldine, I was able to borrow her 1-1/2" round punch (just the perfect size for the tops of the bottles) to get the job done.  A few minutes on the web produced a plethora of free labels for personalizing and printing.

Interested in doing this kind of project?  Here's what you need:

Avery full Label Sheets #5165,5265™, 5975™, 6465™, 8165™, 8465™ (anyone of these will work)
Clear contact paper
A 1-1/2" round punch

World Label has free templates for different types of labels, many of which you can personalize on your computer and then print off. The chalkboard ones can be found here.

Once I completed filling out the template, I reduced the size of the graphic in my graphics program to make the labels smaller.  You may need to fiddle with this a little bit to get the labels down to 1-1/2" in order to fit on the tops of the bottles.

You can find all sorts of labels there for labeling jars in your pantry.  I save the mason jars from store bought sauces and then fill them up with nuts, dried fruit, rice, quinoa, beans, etc.. and slap a label on the front.  Using clear contact paper on the front of the label means that you can (carefully) clean the bottle when you refill it.  As hubby found out recently... don't let it soak in the washing up water while you check the latest news on your laptop...your label will be ....uhh... toast!!

Have fun with this project.  Your cupboards will definitely pass the "mother in law" test once all your spice jars are done!

Till next time,
Sharon

The Happy Gardener Reycyles Cookie Tins!

These past couple of weeks have been spent sprucing up my "secret" side garden and the deck off my living room with flowers, flowers and more flowers.  It's just lovely sitting out there with my morning coffee and my Kobo... a little read,a cup of good coffee, some sunshine and this kid is a happy camper!

First let me tell you about those flower boxes.  They are the best thing since sliced bread for putting over a railing.  They are adjustable to the width of the railing but the best thing is that they have a leveling piece on the bottom of them that allows them to remain upright... no sagging, no danger they will fall over or off.  They also have a reservoir in the bottom of them so that in warm weather your plants won't be suffering from thirst.  They are more expensive than most planter boxes but worth every penny.  Called "fence and railing planters", they are available from LeeValley.

Recycled Cookie Tin Project

One fine sunny day, in the early days of spring, I was cleaning up and clearing out "stuff" that had been lingering forgotten in my downstairs pantry.  I came across some old cookie tins I had been saving for a couple of years.  They were the big ones from Costco that had once held some very delicious Christmas cookies.  I couldn't remember why I was saving them so they were earmarked for the recycling bin.

As I was about to place them in the bin and send them to recycling heaven, it hit me.  Of course, use them to plant flowers in this summer!  But boy the first thing they would need would be a paint job and some sprucing up.  They were okay as cookie tins but pretty ugly for fleurs!!

Over to the hardware store I went to buy some primer paint and some hot red and yellow spray paint for the second coat. Well it was a bit too nippy outside to do any painting so I had to put the project on hold till it warmed up some outside.  But in the meantime...

I went looking for vintage flower seed packet graphics and found  a whole collection of Seed Catalogues at the Smithsonian digital collection.

I found a bunch I liked, re-sized them in my graphics program to fit the sides of the cookie tins and printed them off.  Because they will be outside all summer, I decided to ModgePodge them with a couple of coats to protect them from inclement weather.

Fast forward to a warm spring day.  Out the door into the backyard I went with a big cardboard box, my primer paint and the tins.  Put the tins in the box to paint as spray paint goes all over.  Even being as careful as I was with both the primer and finish coat of red, I ended up with some rather pretty but unusual colored grass!!

Take your time painting inside and out.  Get into all the crevices with the primer.  Let it dry thoroughly... best to wait overnight.  The next day you can start with the your chosen finish colour for the outside of the tin.  You really don't need to do the inside.

Once your tins are thoroughly dry, you can modge podge your graphics to the sides of the tin.  Do all four sides as you may be turning the plants around for even blooming. Punch a bunch of holes in the bottom of the tin. Take a kitchen garbage bag and cut it to fit inside the tin, fill it with dirt and then your plants.

I made three of them... two red ones for the bench in my secret garden and one yellow one that sits on the table at our front door...

Happy Gardening,

Sharon

Fun Projects - Messenger Bag/Tutorial

Well my friend Karen recently "lightly and gently" scolded me for not posting more often! "it doesn't have to be a long post you know... you do some cool projects we all want to see."

Okay, my friend, I promise I will do a series of small posts over the summer.  And the first one is the "I need to grab my wallet and go to the store" messenger bag project I just completed a couple of days ago.

I don't know about you, but I ABSOLUTELY do not like having to haul my big tote bag (with everything but the kitchen sink in it...) to the grocery store or the beach.  So one day last week with a couple of hours to play in my sewing room, I decided to make a small kid sized messenger bag that fits my sunglasses, my wallet and keys. Here are the 5 things I like about it:

1. strap is wide and fits either over my shoulder and diagonally across my body
2. was made from left over fabric in my stash
3. has a little inner pocket to tuck my car/house keys in
4. washable
5. lined with iron on fleece to give it shape and body

 Here's a photo of the finished project:

I made the "body" out of jean fabric, lined it with the outer fabric and used another piece of fabric for the strap.  It's a great way to use up those scraps of fabric from other projects.

Here are the fabric size cutting instructions I used for my bag:

Flap - 1 - print fabric - 9.5" x 8"
Flap Lining - 1 - jean fabric - 9.5 x 8"

Body - 1 - jean fabric - 12" x 17"
Body Lining - 1 - print fabric - 12" x 17" 

Strap - 1 - print fabric - 40" long x 4.5" wide

Iron on fleece - for strap - 40" long x 4" wide
               - for flap - 1 piece - 9.5" x 8"
               - for body - 1 piece - 12" x 17"

You can find excellent picture sewing instructions for a kids messenger bag here. 

If you want to add an inner pocket, there are also instructions at the site for measurements and how to do it.

The pictorial is especially helpful if you need some assistance in learning how to attach the lining and strap to the bag.  It is easy as pie once you "get it" but it can drive you to drink (chuckle) if you don't know how... it is not an intuitive assembly!!

If you want to add a magnetic snap to the bag, do it before you assemble it!!  I forgot and then decided to just leave it off altogether rather than mess it up!

To strengthen the strap and allow it to "lie" nicely, top-stitch it on both sides and sew a couple of "lines" through the length of the strap.

So there you have it... use up your stash...make one for yourself, one for a friend, a neighbour, a favourite sister or niece and while you are at it why not make one for each of your kids, your grandkids, the neighbour kids, their friends... Just kidding...

Happy Sewing,
Sharon

Character Faces & Dolls in Polymer Clay

Well  it's hard to believe that it has been so long since I last posted!!  It has now been well over six months since my hip operation and I am glad to report that I am coming along just fine. I still can't walk very far or stand for any length of time but I am back to my early morning swims and trips to the gym, as well as dutifully (chuckle) going shopping  spending hubby's money and for the last couple of months teaching myself how to sculpt character faces in polymer clay.

I remember hearing somewhere along the way that it takes about 40 tries until you get it.  Yep... whoever said that was right!!  I have created some absolutely hideous looking faces and heads over the last few months.  I decided right at the beginning of this adventure that I would keep making them and smushing them up until I got one that looked like it wasn't from outer space.  Took about 25 tries and in the end the clay was so absolutely filthy from so much handling that I tossed it out too!
 


But today, after much trial and error, a bucketful of frustrating moments, a few choice words here and there and hours and hours and hours of practice,  I am absolutely tickled to share with you the fruit of my "labour"!

Meet Sister Mary Catherine, the music teacher and Samson, the music room cat.

 

Her music stand was easy to make to scale.  A couple of pieces of cardboard, some paint, a dowel and clay and she was in "business".  Her music book is made from some black leather I salvaged from the cover of an old encyclopaedia and some mini music sheets sewn together.

And Samson, the cat... well he's just being a lazy ole cat, lying there being lulled to sleep by the sweet voices in the children's choir the sister is leading in song.

At just 10" high, I think her personality shines through beautifully.  She has the sweetest face.  I discovered that I like to do older faces  They just have more personality.
 

It has been quite an adventure in costume making!  I scoured the Internet looking for doll patterns for nuns habits and came up empty.  Finally I decided that the only way she would be completed is if I figured out how to make her habit myself.  Well, if there is one thing I am good at, it's research!!  And, being a non-Catholic, what interesting information I stumbled upon along the way. 

Did you know that a nun's belt has five knots in it?  There is a knot for the five wounds of Jesus at his Crucifixion (both hands and feet and his side). 

In Mary Catherine's habit, there are seven pleats across the front for the seven virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, charity (or love).  In a real nun's habit, there are 7 more pleats across the front for the 7 deadly sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride)for a total of 14.

She has a set of little keys hanging from her belt as well as her crucifix which hangs around her neck. A gold ring, which signifies her marriage to God, is on her right hand (as some married Europeans do).  Some nuns wear their ring on their left hand (as some married North Americans do).

Her rosary (or prayer beads) with the cross tucks into her belt by her side and has 6 black beads (our Father beads) and 53 little pearl beads (Hail Mary beads)for a total of 59 beads.  If you are interested in finding out more about the rosary and how it is used in the Catholic faith, there is an excellent article here.

So I hope you have enjoyed being introduced to Sister Mary Catherine and now... on to my next project... an old fart and his "new" older gal friend.  This one is gonna take awhile!!

Wishing you an arty week,

Sharon

Sooke Fine Arts Show 2013

What fun it was to go to the Artists Reception at the Sooke Fine Arts Show last night and discover my piece on display amongst all the other beautiful pieces of art in the show.   When I go to an art show in which a piece of mine is showing, I am rather like Nancy Drew on a mission (grin) wondering in which niche I will find it on display.  What a thrill it is to turn a corner and voila... there it is!  Last night was no exception.

My hip operation was cancelled at the last minute (it is re-scheduled towards the end of August) so I was able to attend the show.  It was made even more special knowing that my  piece had already sold.  

That was the message on the answering machine that greeted me when hubby and I got home from a last minute trip to Seattle to see the Chihuly Gardens of Glass which I have been wanting to see for quite some time now and still get back in time for the show.  

Preview night (the night before the art show officially opens) attracts gallery owners and art lovers who pay a premium to get into the show beforehand to browse and purchase art they are attracted to.  It's quite a thrill to have a piece sell on preview night.

As promised a couple of weeks ago, here is a photo of the polymer clay shoe I entered.  The name of the piece is "Malona Flanick" and yes, it's a pun on a rather famous Spanish shoe designers name... the shoe designer reputed to have created "toe cleavage" in the women's fashion shoe industry.  If you ever watched "Sex in the City" when it was on T.V.... you'll have a good little chuckle as you make the connection!

When you first see the fruit on the "flan" part of the shoe, it looks very real... almost good enough to just pick one of the mouth watering berries off and pop it in your mouth!  What fun I had making that shoe.  Having it turn out exactly the way I had envisioned it right down to the colour of the "custard" on the "crust" and the "blue-black" of the blueberries and blackberries was a real bonus.

Thanks for stopping by for peek.  If you live in the Victoria area, make a point of going to this year's show... it's on until August 5th.  This year's show is even better than last year's... and I thought that one was hard to beat!

Have an arty week...

Cheers,
Sharon

If the Shoe Fits...

 Fantasy Art Shoes that will bring a smile to your face and a chuckle to your heart...

Oh naughty me for not having posted since the beginning of last month!  My big excuse... I have been very busy with art *stuff*, doing some spring cleaning and supervising (tee hee) hubby's planting of our garden for this year. 

It is about to get even busier in our household as my hip replacement surgery date was set this week for the middle of next month.  Of course this would happen after I bought my super duper backpack beach chair for this beach this summer!  The sun had better shine a lot in the next few weeks so I can at least get to use it LOL

I did promise awhile back to post photos of the shoes I created for entry into the Coast Collective Shoe Show in mid May.  Of course I meant to post them earlier... before the show began... and alas the show has come and gone BUT I did take photos of my entries. 

The show was delightful to wander through and discover paintings, sculpture, and drawings you could purchase of  vintage shoes, boots, running shoes, fantasy shoes, RCMP riding boots, sandals, high heels as well as real shoes all "gussied" up... you name it, it was there.

I had a real blast making my shoes for the show.  It was a lot of fun and I laughed a lot as they came together.  It's delightful to experience that kind of joy when creating "art"!

The first shoe is called "Meal on Wheels" and the wheels on the shoe actually do turn!  Made from polymer clay, that cheeseburger, topped with a dill pickle and the crispy fries look so real you could almost pluck them off the shoes for a little snack and the strawberry for dessert is mouth watering luscious. 

I was surprised that this shoe "art piece" didn't sell at the show... it is just adorable sitting on a windowsill or shelf in a kitchen.  It certainly brings a smile and chuckle to the faces of people who see it!  Guess it is just waiting for the right person to come along, see it and want to give it a home in their kitchen. In the meantime, it will sit on the top of my pie safe in my kitchen along with Chef Pierre (remember him from a few posts ago?) and look cute!

The second shoe "Which is Witch?" is something to behold when you see it with light shining on it.  The sparkles are glorious... and something that photos just can't seem to capture and do justice to!

This shoe is a combination of many different mediums... a real shoe, paper mache, bookboard, clay, ribbon, acrylic paint, and more glitter than you can shake a stick at LOL. 

Anxious to see what it would look like and being somewhat impatient to get it finished,  I started applying the glitter at my art table.  I just happened to look down to see my little white dog, hovering around my feet,  starting to glisten and sparkle in orange, purple and glow in the dark glitter!  Well outside we went, pretty darn quick I can tell you, to finish the job.  Hubby remarked that we had the only glittering grass in our little village for at least a week. 

Once it was done, I just smiled every time I looked at it.  What a perfect Halloween shoe... I just loved the way it turned out.  Well I wasn't the only one it seems... "Which is Witch?" sold at the show and is now in a new home... no doubt bringing smiles to the face of its new owner.

So there you have it!  There is a third shoe that I did... I was definitely into this... that is just as delightful as these two... actually I think even more so,  but I am saving it for now.  I may enter it into an upcoming show and see if it makes the cut.

Have an "arty" week and see you soon...

Sharon