Lovely Luna

It has been ages since I have been on my blog...computer problems and others to numerous to mention have kept me away. Hopefully all that has changed and I will begin to post again. During the time that I have been away a beautiful fairy came to me. Her name is Luna. Luna is part of the Traveling Doll Project with ADO. She came to me from Ayala Art in California, and this is how she arrived. I was to add to Luna then send her on to Jasmoon Butterfly in London. Luna stayed in Florida for awhile and then continued her journey. Her trip was delayed because of volcanic ash and we worried about her and anticipated her arrival in England. After over a month of travel time she arrived safety.

I had the choice of what to do with Luna. I decided not to dress her, but to add some accessories to enhance her story. I made the moon for Luna to sit and wish on from paper clay and added pearls to the base. While in Florida Luna found and oyster who shared his pearl and the pearls of many of this friends with her. I also used the pearls in her hair. I decided to make Luna's hair green because she had a greenish tint to her skin. I used several different shades of hand dyed mohair for her wild mane. This is how Luna looked when she left for England on the back of a dolphin.

Luna is in London now and soon she and her journal will be completed and she will go home to California. I can wait to see the complete transformation of this lovely creature. She will go back to the glen where the fairies dance, but she will always remember her time in Florida where the whisper of the waves as they touched the shore helped her find magic.

And the Winner Is.....

The winners of "Love at First Sight" in the One World One Heart giveaway are:
Kathy and Carrie of http://calkatthejewelryjunkie.blogspot.com Thank you to all who visited my blog during this fun event. Hope to see you all here again next year!

Traveling Art Doll-Victoria- Team Muneca

Victoria is on her way to London. She is part of the Art Dolls Only, Traveling Doll Project. Hand sculpted from polymer clay, Victoria has movable arms, big hands, big feet and a permanent look of surprise on her face. She was not what her mother, the darling and star of the circus, expected when she was born. Tiny Margaritte, tight rope walker and Jon, elephant trainer, had high hopes for their child. We know that she will be part of the circus family, but where will she end up , we do not know. The rest of Victoria's story will be told my Jasmoon Butterfly of London and Ayala Art in California. Victoria was sent to London a blank canvas. It is up to the other two artists to complete the doll and tell the rest of her story.

Along with Victoria is a journal that travels with her. I placed a picture frame on the cover so that her picture can change as she changes and a picture of the final doll can grace the cover at the end of her journey. The journal is made from brown paper bags covered with different scrapbook papers. I can't wait to see the changes that will happen to Victoria and to read about her travels in her journal.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Luna from Ayala Art. She is traveling to Florida from California. Together we will dance in the moonlight.

Frog Prince Visits Kentucky

The Frog Prince is getting ready to leave Florida and make a trip to Kentucky this weekend. He thinks he might need to pack some long johns to take with him.This froggy boy will end up in Liberty to top the cake of a very special boy for his first birthday. He hopes they will let him have some ice cream because he tired of eating flies.

This princely croaker is hand sculpted from polymer clay and painted with acrylic paint. He is approximately six inches tall and four inches wide. He wears a jeweled crown fit for a king.

He is excited about meeting his new family and knows he will be happy as long as they don't put him out in the snow.

Spreading Peace and Love-One World One Heart

If you had told me a year ago that I would be participating in a blog event, I would have said you were crazy. A year ago I had never even read a blog much less created one. I started reading in February and in April I created DellaRae DeZines. It has been a fun nine months. I have made some wonderful friends through blogging and won some wonderful prizes from the many give a ways. And now I am a part of OWOH http://awhimsicalbohemian.typepad.com/a_whimsical_bohemian/one-world-one-heart.html my second blog event. There are lots of great prizes to be had and many wonderful people to meet so go and visit and let the fun begin. This past year has been an adventure that I hope continues for a long, long time.

So jump on the magic carpet and fly into my world.

I am an art teacher by trade and an artist at heart. I have been creating as long as I can remember. I love to paint, sculpt, read, and cook. When you come back to my blog in the future you will see many different things....paintings, art dolls, recipes and nature photography. I am participating in a Traveling Doll Project starting February 1st so you can travel along as our dolls progress.
I live on a lake in central Florida so I find different creatures every time I step outside. Some are old friends that return daily for a handout and others are just passing through. I am always looking for something new to learn. Right now I looking for a soap making class nearby. I started creating art dolls a year ago. And what a year that has been. I have met some incredibly talented doll makers on the internet and even sold a few dolls. My art dolls are all one of a kind and are usually described as whimsical. I would love for you to have one. SOOOOO........

Rub the genie's magic lamp and maybe you will be the winner of

"Love at First Sight".Can't you tell by that goofy look on his face that he has just met the girl of his dreams and his heart is pounding out of his chest. This little snowman is hand sculpted from polymer clay and painted with acrylic paints. He is approximately six inches tall. He has twisted wire arms ready to hug you. Fancy yarn adorns his hat and a yarn scarf completes his outfit. He is covered with a clear glass glitter. To win this little guy, just leave a comment below and a link or an email address where I can reach you should you be the winner. The winner will be chosen and announced on February 15th.

You can also have a chance to win another of my creations, "The Queen of Hopeful Hearts" if you visit the http://artdollsonly.blogspot.com/ . Several members of our group have donated a piece of their fabulous work to be given away. So by visiting you can look at some amazing art and maybe the genie will let you take one of them home.

The Queen of Hopeful Hearts

Her sad eyes tell the story

Of a love that went away.

A queen in all her glory,

Whose heart was broke today.

She'll tuck away sweet memories

And hold them deep inside

Forget about betrayal

Just remember how she tried

To keep him close beside her

The one who wouldn't stay

And hope that love will come again

And find her some sweet day.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog. Please come back again and again. I hope that you have found something here to brighten your day. I will leave you with one more thought....What have you done today to make the world a better place to live? It all starts with just one word, one smile, one act of kindness. Do it now, get out there and create some happiness....make the world a better place.

Willie's Words

I wanted to share a picture I did of Willie Nelson several years ago. To look at this picture from a distance you would think it was a pencil drawing of Willie....but when you get up close you will find that is all the words to his songs that I could find at the time I drew it. I chose Willie as my subject because I liked his music and he had an interesting face with lots of character. I thought he was perfect for this style of art. If you stand back as far as ten feet you do not see the words at all and the pencil blends so it looks like a drawing.

People who see the picture often ask me how long it took to finish the picture, and my answer is I really don't know. I did the picture for an assignment for a class I was taking. You had to turn a picture into a piece of word art. I started the picture by sketching Willie lightly in pencil. Then I used different hard and soft lead pencils and colored pencils to get the effect I wanted. After the intitial drawing, I put the picture on a table and would work on it when I had time. Sometimes it would be for a few minutes and sometimes a few hours. At the time I didn't know how much I would like the picture when it was finished so I didn't calculate the time.

The picture is composed with Willie's name and the words to his songs. His name is repeated many times and some of the songs are repeated and some are used only one time. I used them where I thought they fit on the picture.

For example, "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" had to go in his eyes. This is only picture I have done in this style and many have asked, "Has Willie seen it?" and my answer is ,"No." Someday maybe he will.

Gourd Queen Giveaway!

The Gourd Queen is having a wonderful giveaway...you have a chance of winning this little Gourdy Snowman ( don't you just love his devilish little grin) if you visit her blog. You will see some amazing art there. Just click on this link http://thegourdqueen.blogspot.com/ and enter a place of magic!