Alice in Wonderland or Me in Aliceland

Marie who? Seems my Marie Antoinette kick may have taken a back seat for the moment to Miss Alice herself and her wacky friends, like M. Hatter, Esq., pictured here popping out of the house I made for him. Doormouse, Cheshire Cat, Duck, Dodo, Lory and Eaglet are in the back window (not seen here) along with Alice. So many strange characters in that book! Isn't that where one finds Toad the Wet Sprocket? I think someone besides the Caterpillar may have been smoking the hookah when writing. Of course, that was Lewis Carroll back in 1865.

Meanwhile, I was inspired to create a Baby Alice art doll (Linda and Opie O'Brien Who's Your DADA?-style), Alice as a Young Girl art doll/canvas assemblage (inspired by Lisa Kaus) and a Zettiology-style (inspired by Teesha Moore) Alice skinny book page. Small doll head from Kris Hubick of Retro Cafe Art. The black framed pieced is a 3D collage under glass with vintage silhouettes. I think that may actually be inspired just by me. Maybe that's the author explaining his book idea to a comrade. March Hare/White Rabbit (who is whom?) winks knowingly on the front of the piece.

Body of Evidence or Mad Scientist at Work

I've had so much fun stuff on my art to-do/wish list, and tonight I finally got to make a dent in it. Actually, my list of things I want to do includes both art and writing. With work (a lot) and sleep (a little), it's hard to get very far on my 'what I'd really rather be doing' list.

But thanks to a burst of inspiration last night, I got some writing out of the way that is due July 3. I've been lucky enough to receive the Rylan Harris Memorial Scholarship to the Midwest Writers Workshop July 23-25 in Muncie, IN. Not only am I excited that the cost of the workshop is covered, but I am thrilled beyond words that the fiction and poetry I sent in were apparently good enough to earn this award.

There will be sessions with published authors, literary agents, writing contests and manuscript evaluations. To warm up to my writing, I wrote a review of my recent visit to the American Visionary Art Museum for the 'guest reporter on location' spot on Vintage Indie. For the writing workshop I needed to have done the first five pages of my proposed novel, a synopsis and query letter, another five pages of a short story for a contest, and five pages of poetry for the evaluator. Most of that was done at midnight last night, with poetry from midnight to 2 a.m. Then I started reading a book on writing non-fiction memoir and got sucked in until 3:30 a.m.

So tonight I was determined to make a doll out of a fat canvas and porcelain doll parts like Lisa Kaus and Beth Quinn have done. See those here and here. I got this particular doll head from Kris Hubick at Retro Cafe Art, and I've been saving it especially for this project.

I set up my art table and got out the supplies I would need, knowing that some would carry over into what else I wanted to accomplish. I had already painted my 4" x 4" chubby canvas that I got on Ebay (although you can get even fatter ones from Dick Blick).

I cut out some scrapbook paper that I had gotten at Archiver's into the shape of a dress. Then I embellished that with several layers of ribbon and lace, and some scraps of sheet music and a page from a children's book.

Once I assembled the dress, (after tea-dying the biggest piece of lace out in the sun for awhile), I attached everything to the canvas with Golden's gel medium. I used E6000 to attached the head to a bottle cap and then to a fabric covered disc and then to the canvas. I used wire and eyelets to attach the porcelain bisque legs and arms.

I finished my dolly up with some jaunty vintage millinery in her hair and an exquisite passementerie flower and leaf that I had received in a swap. Then I brushed a thin coat of melted beeswax over the entire canvas. I added a sawtooth hook on the back for hanging. Not sure if she will stay or go to my Etsy shop. Lisa's dolly canvasses have been featured in Romantic Homes, Somerset Studio and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines and regularly sell out immediately for $200 or more.

While dolly was drying, I grabbed a couple of smaller old German doll heads and some paper clay. Both of the heads were broken at the neck, and in one case part of the cheek and the end of the nose were gone. So I built them up with paper clay as you can see above, and now they'll be usable in a project.

With the paper clay out, I sculpted an owl and a mushroom by hand, hoping to paint them as cheerfully as Pam Garrison has done here. I can't stop looking at her critters. I love her journaling, too. I only hope my paint job turns out half as cute as hers did. Paper clay takes about 24 hours to dry, and then you smooth any cracks with a little household spackling and water. Dry some more. Then paint. Big fun.

You can see in my pencil doodles I tried to emulate Pam's owl there also. I've been admiring all the talent in Suzi Blu's art group as well and can't seem to stop doodling girly faces. A few pages a night seems to be what the art doctor has ordered. I like doodling best with woodless graphite pencils. Then I spray a little fixative to keep it all from smudging away.
Lastly, my 17 pages for the Marie Antoinette Mail Art fat book collaborative that I blogged about pre-painting here, were ready for me to start painting the faces. I drew the face I wanted in my sketch book first, then I traced it on tissue paper. Next I cut 17 of these faces out of tissue paper and adhered them directly to the book pages with gel medium.

After letting that dry awhile, I painted the faces with Golden's liquid acrylic in titan buff and then I painted the hair with Golden's white, adding some white Pearl Ex pigment for shimmer, some Gesso to thin it all out, and some Golden's molding paste to give the hair texture. So far, so good. I have my ribbons, rivets, filigree findings, gold leaf and fabric at the ready to finish my pages, well before the July 20 deadline. Can't wait to see how they turn out. More importantly, can't wait to get my finished book back. There's so much talent in this upcoming book. It will be fit for a queen.

Although I was kept busy tonight and last and although I always try to stay chirpy on this blog, I am deeply saddened by all the deaths today. It is strange feeling to hear about the icons of one's childhood- icons in some cases one's same age almost-dying much too soon.

I grew up tearing Michael Jackson pictures out of Tiger Beat from about third grade on. I remember my dad driving us past the Jackson's house in Gary back in the late 60s. We lived nowhere near Gary, so I think we made this a side trip in addition to visiting the Indiana Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan. Such a talented family, those Jacksons- five, six, seven of them-how ever many performed in addition to the core group. One has to wonder what will become of Michael's three (or is it four?) children.

Farrah Fawcett. Who did not want her hair when I was in high school? Or for that matter her job or her bathing suit body. I spent many hours forced to look at her famous poster in a boyfriend's room. I wonder if he is thinking about her tonight.

And Ed McMahon. Didn't we all feel comforted closing the evening with Ed and Johnny, waiting for the television set to go to snow after their show?

Icons of my generation for sure. They will be missed.

Off to Art & Soul PDX and Blog-land Friends

Yes, that is one grumpy cat. The suitcase has been perpetually out for weeks and weeks. In fact, one day last week I was in four states in one day. You can see here where Larry tried to go to A&S once already. Tomorrow, I head west, instead of my usual Midwest or east, to Art and Soul, Portland. This will be my second A&S this year, having already gone to Hampton, VA in May. Yes, I liked it so much, I wanted to go to another.

But the real attraction is not only Portland itself, which I have never seen, but my dear blog friend Michelle of Hold Dear whom I have also never seen! But will. Tomorrow. We've been blog friends for well over a year, having bonded over charms and mermaids and other common interests. I don't think we can even remember who contacted whom, but we've been emailing and speaking on the telephone and have decided we are like-minded enough that a brief co-habitation is not too scary!

So, Michelle graciously invited me to stay with her and her husband Glenn, and some other art girlies, specifically Cassondra and Julie of ArtNest, will also be there.

After my cross-country flight, we're planning lots of artsy shopping and acquainting me with the Portland art community. Friday, we both have classes with internationally-acclaimed instructors. I'm taking a jewelry and beading class to make a necklace called "The Beachcomber" with Beverly of Gilbert Designs and a collage and doodling class with Traci Bautista, whom I've met a couple times before, most notably at CHA where she signed her book for me. Traci also knows a couple of my Cali art friends, Miss Vicky and Shosh, both of whom will also be at A&S.

Since Michelle lives there, she is also taking classes Wednesday and Sunday, and I can't even keep up with all she is doing. I do know one class sounds great: Junk Drawer Metalsmithing. Can't wait to see what she does.

Friday night there will be a number of authors there for book-signings, including the charming Michael DeMeng and also Kelly Rae Roberts, whose new book I absolutely love: Taking Flight. Some ZNE friends will also be there, signing books and teaching, like Miss Sally Jean and Lisa Kaus. Saturday we are hitting more vintage and artsy spots before the nearly-famous A&S vendor night. One could drop mega-bucks...or just drool a lot. All-in-all it should be a very supportive, art-filled weekend before I hop a red-eye or should I say red-eye-all-day-and-night-long flight back into my own time zone. Can't wait to post pics from the event.

Me & Larry, Heading to Art & Soul, Except Larry's Not Really Going. Shhh! Don't Tell Him!

With Art & Soul Portland http://www.artandsoulretreat.com/ just 15 days away, I knew I needed to get some swaps made. Trading little bits of art is a wonderful tradition at art retreats. I don't ever want to go empty-handed because the goodies made by other artists are such fun to receive. Some people make little bags of ephemera or supplies; some make artist trading cards (ATCs) or other small-scale art. When I went to Art & Soul Hampton in May, I took both charms and ATCs, and with A&S PDX looming so soon, I resorted to making the very same charms again. I call them Ballerina Moons. It's not hard to see why, although it is hard to see in these pictures. But after several hours to make 28 charms and already putting them in their tiny bags with Moo cards from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/lillysoflondonish, I couldn't see unbagging them all just for a photo-opp. Hopefully, I will get some cards made as well, and I still need to get some class supplies. I am making a 'Beachcomber' necklace with Gilbert Designs http://www.gilbertdesigns.net/ and am taking a collage class with Traci Bautista, author of Collage Unleashed. You can buy her book on Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Collage-Unleashed-Traci-Bautista/dp/1581808453/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221365456&sr=8-1. I'm also looking forward to staying with Dear Michelle of Hold Dear http://michellegeller.typepad.com/, my firstest and bestest blog friend, who is going to show me around Portland. Looking forward to seeing Maria of Collage on Alberta http://collageonalberta.typepad.com/ again, and I just found out tonight that Shosh and Mike from Hannah Grey http://www.hannahgrey.com/ will be there, too. And, some of my new ZNE art friends, like Lisa Kaus http://lisakaus.blogspot.com/, will also be in town, especially easy since Lisa lives in Oregon. All in all, it should be like old-home art week. Fetch my umbrella. Can't wait!

Larry the Cat looks really excited, too. But, I have bad news for him. Unlike the charms, he is going to get unpacked, and soon.

Seeing Stars at ZNE

I am sort of ho-hum impressed by 'famous' people (read: celebrities), but show me a published artist or author, and I go ga-ga. So the ZNE book signings at Convenzione 2008 http://znecon.com were quite a thrill. I purchased the book Crowns and Tiaras so I could have Pam Garrison http://pamelagarrison.typepad.com sign it for me, which she did, top right, with Lisa Kaus http://www.lisakaus.com, top left, who was also signing her feature in Lynne Perella's new book, along with JoAnnA Pierroti or 'Mossy' of Moss Hill Studios http://www.mosshillblogs.com. Although I didn't take my hardcover copy of that because I was flying, I was lucky enough to get to know Lisa a little bit and have her sign her "Birdy" canvas I bought. She's just as sweet as she looks, and so is Pam. I also got my 1000 Artists' Journals signed by editor Dawn DeVries Sokol and Pretty Little Things, signed by author Sally Jean Alexander.

Sweetness, or maybe cuteness is the proper term, certainly is evident in the second photo, with the Traveling Princess of Scrapbook Royalty, Elena Etcheverry, http://www.elena.travelingprincess.com, left, and the inimitable Miss Vicky Breslin http://www.cut-it-up.com, right. Elena is just so cute one could eat her up, what with her adorable outfits, tiaras and equally adorable aprons. I kept waiting for Elena and Diva Danielle of Diva Craft Lounge http://www.divacraftlounge.com to get into a tiara tussle, but apparently there is plenty of fabulousness to go around. Everyone really likes each other. Miss Vicky, a scrapping veteran, still retains her excitement about crafting and is so generous and nurturing of all artists in her midst.

And finally, just a teeny tiny bit of fame for moi. In the bottom photo you can see my framed mixed media collage "Let Them Eat Crow" being shown in the Worthington Gallery West in Pleasanton, CA, where it will be part of a month-long ZNE mixed media installation, which opened Aug. 22, 2008. So, I'm "gallery hung!" Off to update the resume!

What's a Convenzione without a little Shopping and Swapping and Selling?

The ZNE Convenzione http://www.znecon.com/ last weekend had so much eye candy that I don't think my glasses fit anymore! Naturally, I had to come home with a "few" treasures. Few is a relative term when your suitcase gets weighed. In the top photo is a little nestie I got at Miss Vicky's Cut-it-Up store in Colfax, CA. It is by blog friend Karyn Gartel, so that is even cooler. The batty girl is by Lori Mitchell, and I got it at American Harvest, an unbelievable store in Pleasanton, CA., where you can buy works from Lisa Kaus, Ingrid Pomeroy, Iva Wilcox, Colleen Moody, Sally Jean Alexander and many more artists from our little circle. The dolly box is by Iva, and I got it at the ZNE vendor fair. The bracelet is by Miss Vicky herself-talk about eye candy-her bracelets are good enough to eat. More about her store later. The birdy is a Lisa Kaus original and is a 6 x 6 chunky canvas, which she signed for me.

Next up are darling ATCs I got in our swaps. Pictured are cards by Gina Gabriell, Nadine Johnson, Gina Halle, Jackie Baxted, and Lani Kent. The cards I made are here http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com/2008/08/on-zne-convenzione-countdown.html. Finally, we also did a chunky or 'zaftig' book swap. I made the cake pages here http://lillysoflondonish.blogspot.com/2008/06/sunday-storms-sweets-siblings-and-swaps.html and in return, received this book chock-full of 4 x 4 pages by other artists. The cover is by Donna Cook, but each book was entirely different. It was fun to get a page by Nadine Johnson that nearly matched the ATC she gave me! It was also fun to see pages from friends who were not there like Mary Ann http://firstborn.wordpress.com/ and her sister Jo http://labouroflovex3.blogspot.com/. Extra books were sold as a fundraiser by ZNE We Care Coordinator Elena Etcheverry of Scrapbook Royalty http://www.elena.travelingprincess.com/ and proceeds benefitted Bernie Berlin's A Place to Bark http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com/ and the Pink Sky project http://chelise.typepad.com/stevie_brianna/

Come See the Stars at ZNE Convenzione

The first-ever ZNE Convenzione http://www.znecon.com/ promises to be out of this world, and how can it not be, in a town with the sweet name of Pleasanton? After meeting ZNE founder Chelise Stroud-Hery http://www.chelise.typepad.com/ at the ZNE Castle in the Meadow event last month, I am more excited than ever to see her suceed at putting this together. And succeed she will, because again, how can she not, with an unbelievable lineup, including Michele Beschen http://blog.couragetocreate.com/ of HGTV/DIY Channel's 'B Original,' the artist SARK, musician Jon Troast, and unbelievable teachers like Lisa Kaus http://lisakaus.blogspot.com/, Kari Ramstrom http://artsymama.blogspot.com/, Chrysti Hydeck http://www.artbychrysti.wordpress.com/and more, all descending on Plesanton Aug. 22-24, 2008.
Some of you know I will be taking a class there from Bernie Berlin, she of the no-kill animal rescue and shelter, A Place to Bark http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com/. I'll be showing her the auction copy of the fund raiser/book my Yahoo! group Arte du Blythe http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/Arte_du_Blythe made to sell for her and asking her to autograph the winner's copy. Bernie's also the same "she" of the book, Artist Trading Card Workshop, an eye candy volume and the 'bible' on ATCs.
I am also terribly excited because not only do I get to meet the inimitable Miss Vicky http://www.cut-it-up.com/ of Cut-it-Up store/book/web fame but I get to hang out with her at her home. I'll also be meeting fellow Hoosier artist Kris Hubick http://www.retrocafeart.com/, but we had to travel cross-c0untry to get that accomplished!
There's so much more going on than what I've said here. In fact, and you can be assured I'll be mentioning it again and again and again, but there is also a gallery showing of ZNE member works and I'm in! Yippee. "Let them Eat Crow" is off being framed so that it can be shipped to sunny CA posthaste. There's also a documentary screening of the 1000 Journals project and a private showing of never-before-seen works from Claudine Hellmuth http://www.claudinehellmuth.com/. And the best news? Well, two great things: it is not too late to register and registration is already open for 2009 http://www.znecon.com/. Go. Now!

Where Did All the Time Go?

This little stack of envelopes on my desk looked so pretty I just had to take a picture!

Between blogging, scanning, uploading, ebay buying and selling, reading posts, reading other blogs, responding in ebay art groups, ZNE and Artchix (my newest adventure-love their stuff!), I keep wondering where all my creative play time went. Hmmm, imagine that! But, I think most art folk know this drill.

Suddenly and stealthily, all the technical stuff overtakes the creative stuff, and the Muse starts screaming for oxygen or demanding a vacation (gotta love that Muse!). Suffice to say, I have been busy and am making myself crazy with all the things I want to make, but sometimes am just too t.....i...r....e...d...zzzzzzz.

Oops, what was I saying? In any event, I have quickly realized I just cannot blog every day. Besides, I'll bore everyone to death.

On a final note before I go play, I have to say I have been thrilled with some of the blog comments! I have also heard from some well-known and published artists and bloggers, such as JuJu http://www.jujulovespolkadots.typepad.com/ and Lisa Kaus, whose blog and business are both listed at right in my favorites. Visit them both; you won't be disappointed.

Stay tuned for a contest/drawing among comment-makers for some fun art bits surprise gifts!