New Gargoyle Series

I've been making the Gargoyle Pendants and Ornaments for some time now and people seem to like them. However I've been getting a little bored with making them so I wanted to have a little more variety. Since the next big holiday comign up is Valentine's Day I thought gargoyle couples would be cute. I haven't quite decided what I want to call them, my first though was Gargoyles in Love but I think they would work just as well for gifts between good friends as well so I'm not sure exactly what would fit.

This is just a quick photo, I'll take better lit ones for my website once I've finished adding all the jewelry findings and such. Check out the tails, I think that's especially cute. The only problem I see with these right now is the size, they are quite large, a little more than 2 inches across. I worry that it makes them too big to be worn as a necklace and maybe they would work better as pins or barrettes or just as ornaments? I'm not sure yet.

Christmas Goody

So Christmas went pretty well, everyone got sculpted ornaments from me. My best friends and her husband especially like the dragon ornament I made them. My parents were sneaky this year, I had no idea they knew I was looking into a toaster oven for baking my smaller sculpts with. So they got me this very nice one, which is much better than the cheap $20 one I was looking at which was much smaller. Now I don't have to feel so guilty about the wasted electricity or possible fumes from baking my sculpts in the kitchen oven. I'll still need to use the kitchen oven for the occational really large piece but most of the time I won't need to.

If you look to the right you can see that I've added a Tip Jar. If you enjoy my blog or my artwork please consider leaving a donation or better yet purchasing something from my Gift Page to get something for your money.

What Makes it All Worth It

So my best friend took me out to eat at a Chinese restaurant yesterday after we dropped her husband off at work. While we were there our waitress complimented the Cthulhu's Gem necklace I was wearing and I told her I made it and showed her the little pocket portfolio I keep in my purse. The way she looked at the photos and tried so hard to tell me what she thought about them even though her english wasn't very good nearly made me cry. Then she brought over one of her co-workers to look at it too. Selling my sculptures is great and for my own survival I need to do it but it's reactions like hers that really get me motivated and shows me that what I'm doing makes more people happy than just myself.

Also there's something to pay attention to here. Always be prepared to show people your work as an artist. You can get a pocket sized photo album just about anywhere for a few dollars, business cards or postcards are cheap to have made, if you can wear your art in some way as jewelry, t-shirt, button, etc. do it. You may meet people that way you never would have otherwise.

Selkie Emerging Update #2

Another update on my Selkie Emerging sculpt. I'm been texturing the fur on the seal half, which isn't very difficult but is tedious and takes time. I've only got one of the flippers and the underside of the piece of seal skin being pulled away left to texture.

My immediate next step is to get the arms finished and give the poor girl some nipples. Then I need to start working out the weights I'll be adding to the base so it won't be so tippy (that's what the clamp is for, it's keeping her upright). Finally I'll do the hair and base. It's actually driving me crazy, I want to work on the hair now because I hate seeing her bald but some of the hair will be touching her arms so those have to be finished first.

2007 Retrospective

So now that 2007 is nearly over it's time to start reflecting on what I've accomplished. Most likely I wouldn't have thought of sharing this if not for Troy McDevitt from the Clubhouse forums who posted a thread asking everyone to cram their 2007 portfolio into one 600x400 pixel image.

Now there's still a little while to go in 2007 so I have a few small projects that I may get finished before the end of the year but nothing significant. While I was compiling this I was able to reminisce over the creation of each piece, what I learned, and the progress I've made. With everything I sculpt there's always something in the end I know could be better but even so I'm really happy with the rate at which I'm improving. As long as I keep learning and improving that's what I think is the most important thing.

Going left to right from the top: Satyr (January), Octopuppy (January), Perma-Pets (ongoing series, started February), Squid (August), Odin's Runesong (September), Lionfish Mermaid (November), Baby Rat (May), Hatching Turtle (July), Frog Ornament (November), Cthulhu's Gems (ongoing series, started June), Cephalopod Pendants (November), Gargoyles (ongoing series, started May).

Sculpting Resources - Part I

I'm always searching for new reference material online so I decided to share new finds with you periodically.

My first installment is goodies from the Internet Archive.

• Constructive anatomy - Bridgman, George Brant, 1864-1943.
• The Human Machine The Anatomical Structure & Mechanism Of The Human Body - Bridgman, George B., 1939.
• The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organization (Volume 1) - Cuvier, Georges, baron, 1769-1832
• The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organization (Volume 2) - Cuvier, Georges, baron, 1769-1832
• The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organization (Volume 3) - Cuvier, Georges, baron, 1769-1832
• The horse in motion as shown by instantaneous photography, with a study on animal mechanics founded on anatomy and the revelations of the camera, in which is demonstrated the theory of quadrupedal locomotion - Stillman, J. D. B. (Jacob Davis Babcock), 1819-1888

For all my finds, check out my Squidoo Lenses:

• Sculpting Tips and Techniques - Links to sculpting specific sites
• Resources for Figure Artists - Human anatomy, proportions, and reference photos.
• Resources for Animal Artists - Animal anatomy, proportions, and reference photos.

Doing a Good Deed

The local middle school always has a charity project for the year, where they pick a charity and do events throughout the year to raise money for it. Part of this is the annual charity art auction right before christmas. I've donated 2 pairs of gargoyle ornaments in decorative tins. I hope they're a hit!

This year they are raising money for the Pine Tree Camp, a camp in Rome, Maine, that gives children and adults with disabilities the chance to experience camp activities such as swimming, boating, and team sports. They are currently building Maine's first ever fully handicapped accessible treehouse! Which is just the coolest thing ever.

The auction will be December 12th at Telstar Middle School in Bethel, Maine, from 5pm-8pm. I'm going to try very hard to be there to talk to the kids running the show and see their artwork.

Tortured Artist???

I don't usually do these little online quizzes but I was bored today and this on particularly appealed to me. Apparently I'm far more tortured than I thought.

I am 45% Tortured Artist.

I have some artistic ability, but it is probably a hobby and doesn't drive my life into a dark abysmal hole were I am alone and against the world.

Take the
Tortured Artist Test
@ FualiDotCom

I also seem to be 80% Evil Genius, that total didn't surprise me in the least. According to the test results: I am pure evil. I lie awake at night devising schemes of world domination, and I will not rest until all living souls bend to my will.