Are You Afraid of the Dolls?

Recently I have posted some doll-related images in my Facebook feed (e.g., Barbie doll head gumball dispenser or the jewelry of Margaux Lange), and my friends who commented reacted either with "That is so cool, I want it!" or "That is so creepy, I wish I could unsee it!" So that was the inspiration for this Ten Two Studios Halloween challenge, my altered Altoid tin Little Shrine of Horrors using a lovely selection of dark and creepy images:
 

So when it comes to creepy dolls, do you fall into the category of "Want them!" or "Make them go away!"??? Feel free to leave a comment below!

If you love creepy dolls, check out the blog of my friend Gary Warren Niebuhr and his Flickr gallery of his mixed media sculptures. Or the studio space of my friend Jessica Poor who has amassed quite the collection of dolls & doll heads to use in her art.

And I recommend the documentary "Of Dolls and Murder" about miniature crime scenes made in the 1930s & 1940s that are still being used to train police detectives.

Beware of the Dolls....

I'm Undead and I Vote!

It is time once again for those of us on the Ten Two Studios design team to meet Lisa Vollrath's Halloween challenge. Since it's an election year and I live in a battleground state, I figured some political ATCs were needed, using zombies, witches and a dapper Day of the Dead gent. The initial theme and color scheme were inspired by Steve Hockensmith's latest novel Cadaver in Chief in which the president of the United States is suspected of becoming a zombie.

Inspiration also came from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels which feature a plethora of undead characters including Reg Shoe, the first zombie member of the City Watch and an activist for dead rights. From his Fresh Start Club, we get the slogan "Undead Yes, Unperson No." Pratchett also wrote Equal Rites about a girl who inherits a wizard staff but is told that women can't be wizards.

Although apparently claims of the dead voting are more myth than reality, shouldn't the dead be allowed to vote if they can get themselves to the polls on time? Just think of the years of experience that the undead might bring to elected office! After all, being dead is only the beginning!

Art Marathon - Finish Line!

Made it to the finish line of the Cream City Illustrators Art Marathon by completing 26.2 works of art in 30 days.

  

  

For my fractional portion, I counted the pieced and quilted background, part of which became an experimental 3-D fabric house ornament. After free-motion quilting, I used some fabric paint and stencils to even out the patchwork a bit.

 

There's actually slightly more than 26.2 things in the Flickr set here.

More Art Marathon fiber art

This past week I've been doing some fiber art for the Cream City Illustrators Art Marathon, including some fabric collage ATCs:
 
I finished a crochet poppy pattern from the book Crochet Bouquet and did my variation on a jellyfish pattern from Amigurumi Toy Box

When I started the amigurumi jellyfish, it looked like a little Rastafarian hat so it is now known as the Rastafarian jelly fish....

I also finished these wee quilted houses, which may eventually end up in my Etsy shop.
 
You can see all my marathon art in my Flickr set here.

Art Marathon!

I'm participating in the Cream City Illustrators Art Marathon, which challenges you to make 26.2 works of art in 30 days from June 14-July 14, 2012. I've primarily been doing ATCs (of course), and here are some of my favorite ones so far.

Day #4 - Jellyfish (fabric collage)

  

Day #5 - Bird of Paradise

  

 Day #8 - Amigurumi Bear

  

Day #11 - Alone

  

You can see the full set to date on Flickr. Also check out what other participants have posted on the Cream City Illustrators blog.

I'm Baaaaack! (and still not organized)

Really I was never gone, but just very busy with non-artsy work. I had every intention of posting "before" and "after" photos of how I organized my creative space this spring, but unfortunately I never got past taking the "before" pictures. I did accomplish a few organizational things such as moving a good chunk of the art supplies out of the dining room and living room.  Here are a few very carefully cropped and staged photos that give me a vague sense of accomplishment while completely hiding the mess piled out of sight.

The living room was briefly craft supply free with new pillows made from fabric found at the thrift store. The area behind the couch that had been craft supply-infested is now "The Library." (And I admit there's a big pile of crochet supplies on the library table now.)
 
In the "Craft Room" we finally hung up the pegboard that had been sitting in the closet!

And the Ikea Bygel rail & cups that had been sitting on the floor! (Just ignore all the stuff that was piled on the floor next to it.) Unfortunately every time I try to clean I get distracted by things I would rather be doing. ("Look, unfinished art projects!" Or "I'd better go look up some storage ideas on Pinterest!") So it will be awhile before you see any real "after" photos.

Some Etsy Treasuries

Well, it has been a busy spring, and I'm slowly working on trying to reorganize and consolidate my work areas (which will be a future blog post). In the meantime here are some Etsy Treasuries I posted recently. Click on the image to to go the treasury, where you'll find the links to each item featured.

For the Birds

Is It Spring Yet?

Robot Roll Call

Yes, this last one was inspired by Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and though it says it was created in December, that's just when I started it, and then it sat pending until Spring!

You can see all my treasuries here. The older the treasury, the more likely items will vanish as they are removed from folks' Etsy stores. You can check out my Etsy store here.