Janet's Art Journey

About the Art

2012-01-18T15:32:00.000-06:00

From now on when there is a "disturbing" picture, I will put it on another blog or flikr and provide a link. I don't mind critical or negative reviews of my work at all, but I don't like if something I do sparks a terrible feeling in another person.

BUT, those will only be certain ones. I can't put everything that *might* disturb someone elsewhere. Just some. And anything that may be construed as erotic too. I guess rather than oppress me, it might open up my floodgates and let me paint and draw and crochet and sew things I would not have before. Yes, I think that will be good.

Anyway, if this is the link you have, keep an eye out for elsewhere, then if you like the new one, join that too.

Thanks, Janet

New Crocheted Hyperbolic Plane

2012-01-04T13:27:00.000-06:00

This piece can be put into other formations, somewhat. Some pieces can change more than others. This one isn't as big as some, so only has just so many ways it'll go. But it seems to hold the shape I put it in well. This was made of yarn from my yarn stash.

Bookworm Emerging

2011-12-28T21:00:00.000-06:00

This is a piece I did to donate to a library in Florida. It is a used book, glued and painted shut, fabric, tissue paper, various things. It is called "Bookworm Emerging". From the side it sort of looks like the book and the worm are grown together. It's one of my favorites. I hope it's happy in Florida!

Flowers in Colored Pencil

2011-12-21T15:49:00.000-06:00

This piece was done in colored pencil.

2011-12-13T21:08:00.000-06:00

This is a crocheted hyperbolic plane piece. I guess it could be said there are two planes in one piece, because I increased the number of added stitches at some point. It is 100% cotton yarn. This is a gift for my granddaughter.

New Baby Doll

2011-12-05T14:47:00.000-06:00

This doll was made from an old garage sale doll that really should have been headed for the trash. I love "saving" them. She was a fabric doll with red yarn hair, loose limbs, embroidered face. I fixed her limbs so they do not move. She's covered in paper and painted with washes. She has taxidermy eyes for some mammal, either a wolf or fox, but on the small side for that. Everything except the socks, paint and eyes is repurposed, upcycled, you know.... I may put a ribbon around her head. We'll see how I like that look.

The top picture came out a bit dark, colors more intense than they are, but shows her features anyway.

The pink heart blankie thingy she is sitting on is part of the whole piece.

She'll be $120 when I put her up for sale.

Thanks for looking!

Five pictures.

Reclaimed Doll

2011-11-18T18:17:00.002-06:00

Okay, anyone who is following my art blog is seeing me needing to learn how to use my camera. I see some things I need to do, like iron the fabric in the background. I also see though that using a tripod is giving me clearer pictures that I used to get.

Click on the image to see a bigger view.

Doll, black and white picture of a reclaimed, repositioned, refinished composition doll. She was evidently poured from a mold made of a vintage or antique porcelain doll. She was probably made in the early 1980's. I redid her in late 2010.

Through the Glass

2011-11-17T14:06:00.000-06:00

Just for fun

2011-11-14T16:18:00.000-06:00

I work intuitively most of the time. I also draw for pain control sometimes. This was one of those, and to relax, etc. I did not think about it much while drawing, just did it. When I do things like this, I have no meaning planned. I usually look at the picture later and see what it means to me. That is the case with this one. However, I find other people's visions more interesting than my own.

Mushroom

2011-11-12T13:27:00.005-06:00

Okay, something is wrong with the full picture. I do NOT know why, but it looks a bit wrong, distorted. I think it isn't that tall on top, OR the cap is wider. Could be an illusion that only I am seeing.

In person the color is better. Also, if you scroll down about three posts I think, you'll see this mushroom before I padded the cap. It's a tiny bit bigger now. I just like it better. Looks more organic this way.

Still not at all happy with my photo results, but that's why I'm doing this, to learn. I may try stopping now and work on dolls in the daytime and photographing art at night. One problem was that there is a window a few feet behind the light tent I'm using. We'll see how this does at night. And moving the lights further away from the tent may help too.

Trying to set a price. Thinking less than a hundred. It's about 6" tall. Mixed media. And as with a lot of my work, it's nearly all re-purposed stuff that is now gracing my shelf as a mushroom rather than in a landfill someplace. There is a bit of clay for the face and hands, and paint. That's all that I can think of that were new.

The last two were taken from slightly above, looking a bit down.

Three Egg Babies

2011-11-11T14:41:00.000-06:00

Okay, this was my very first attempt with my new light tent. I think it's a dud. Going to mess with it. I am NOT a photographer. My poor father is turning over in his grave right now!

Colored Pencil on Canvas

2011-11-07T19:55:00.000-06:00

This is colored pencil on gessoed canvas. I will never do that again! It ground down my pencils as though it was sandpaper, and took ages to finish. I am reasonably pleased with how it came out, and it will be on my granddaughter's bedroom wall soon.

One warning if you ever want to try it, the color rubs off onto your hands. I am going to try using a fixative to set it better. I hope that works.

2011-04-29T22:56:00.000-05:00

These pictures are of a mushroom in progress. It is made of almost all recycled materials. The form I got at a thrift store for 49 cents. It was a mushroom then too, but had a crocheted "skin". I am using old pattern tissue for the skin, paint, a sculpted face and hands.

I am not happy with the cap here, so put the crocheted skin back on the cap part and am putting paper and paint on it. It won't be smooth on the cap like it is now. It'll be a bit lumpy and a tad bit bigger. I think that will suit the piece better.

It'll be finished in the next few days, I hope. I may put it up for sale, but have no idea what to ask. 75 to 100 dollars? I dunno. I've made dolls that went for more than that that were less work.

Final tad

2011-03-04T08:25:00.001-06:00

I didn't do well on TAD this year. Got under the weather and didn't do it every day and didn't post what I did to. Thought I'd post one final thing. Then maybe next year, God willing, I'll do the whole thing!

Untitled

2011-02-10T23:05:00.001-06:00

You might think I'm kidding when I call this my dream house. Well, a tad. BUT, I would love to have an old vintage trailer that was in good shape that I could art up. Then I'd love to hit the road with it.

I've never really wanted to carry a house with me camping. I always tent camped. But if I could get a very cool, vintage trailer, I'd sure consider that.

The problem with living in one is where would I do my art?

Janet

Untitled

2011-02-09T22:09:00.001-06:00

This is a crocheted hyperbolic plane, sort of curled around itself right now. I am beginning to embellish it. I didn't complete it today or begin it today either. I made the hyperbolic plane over a year ago. Started embellishing today. I may not get it completed before the end of TAD. Maybe it'll get done in time for TAD 2012!

Untitled

2011-02-08T17:39:00.001-06:00

I missed TAD day 7, because I was just way too tired to take a photo or finish a project, either one. I hated to miss a day, but such is life sometimes.

This isn't a baby egg this time. It's a ghostly egg. A person haunting that egg, or so it looks to me.

Usually things I make come out however they come out. I seem to have little control over them. These eggs have been fun to make. The three real eggs and the wooden one are all done now. I have some hanging ones. We'll see what I do with those. MIght save them until later.

Untitled

2011-02-06T21:01:00.001-06:00

My yarn stash has gotten too big, so I'm starting to use it up. This will be a small blankie. I started this a couple of weeks ago and am working on it a bit at a time, when I'm resting. I think it will be backed with some soft fabric to make it particularly cozy and extra warm over the legs. I hope to have it completed in time for the last TAD, but who knows?

Untitled

2011-02-05T23:16:00.001-06:00

This one is a real egg. The other day someone asked me about how I sterilized them. I told him that I'd blown them. But then I remembered, these few I have were done by someone else. I still did bake them in the oven to sterilize them though.

These are fun to do, but maybe tomorrow I'll do something else. I hope to do it earlier in the day, because I'm up way too late tonight!

TAD day 4, egg baby, nombre deux

2011-02-04T22:57:00.001-06:00

Another egg baby, only this was a wooden egg. I started it months ago, and now for TAD I'm finishing projects, so far anyway. The little nest it is in is the same hyperbolic plane I displayed yesterday's egg in. I have two real eggs left that were started. Then I have a bunch of plastic eggs, but they haven't been started yet, so we'll see what direction I go with those.

TAD day 3

2011-02-03T22:21:00.001-06:00

The egg is a chicken egg, blown and sterilized. A baby face is attached, and the whole thing covered in paper and painted. It is resting in a nest that is a crocheted hyperbolic plane. I made the hyperbolic plane last year. The egg was a work in progress, so I decided to finish the project today as my TAD. I think this year's projects for my TAD might be largely projects I've been meaning to finish.

Thing a day, days 1 and 2

2011-02-02T22:37:00.001-06:00

Picture I recently found

2011-01-31T16:22:00.000-06:00

I recently found this picture in my stash. I did it probably about 3 1/2 years ago.

Thing a day

2011-01-29T15:57:00.000-06:00

If all goes well, I think I will do the thing a day in February on posterous again this year. I'll post the pictures here too.

I've been feeling bad for several days, real bad some days. Today I find that if I take walks, I feel better. So, I will take walks.

Okay, thing a day coming!

2011-01-21T13:40:00.002-06:00

Above is a "put together" doll I made. Her body and legs were from one project, her arms were supposed to go on a baby doll. Her head was for yet another doll. And the wings from yet another doll that I finished and decided it didn't need wings. Good thing too, because this one looks so right with those wings.

The wings are made of an old, silk jacket I just loved. One day we went out and I wore that. When we got home I took it off and noticed that the armpit areas were tearing. The silk was pulling apart. Looked terrible. So, it went into my sewing pile and turned into wings.

The eyes are green marbles. The hair off a chinese scarf.

It's interesting having body parts around the house, then gather them up and see what can come of it. I'm running out now though. I haven't been making much lately. Mostly just getting through the days each day now.

Nothing seems to change much

2010-05-04T22:17:00.002-05:00

Oh man, I just read a list I did a few posts back where my friend Sher had asked for some things to share about myself. I just read that list, almost a year and a half later. Nothing has changed really. Maybe some small things, but basically I seem to be living in a state of suspended animation.

Well, I do stuff. But I'm still me.

My speaker made a noise, then another noise. I hope all is okay.

Crocheted hyperbolic planes

2009-12-21T18:00:00.003-06:00

This is a picture of my recent project. I wanted to play around with hyperbolic planes in crochet. I bought a book. It explains the math, which I have not yet absorbed. I understood how they did it though, so tried my hand at it. This is one piece, two angles.

The whole thing is crocheted as one piece. It was fun to do. The foundation chain is only 20 stitches, and by the time I was done, the last row was hundreds of stitches. This is addictive. I am playing with other things too, and finding what I want to do. This one was done with scrap yarn, as are the rest I'm practicing on. I ordered some yarn at a good discount, but it's very nice yarn, so I'll only use it for something I've made a practice one of.

Janet

New Picture

2009-10-18T20:07:00.002-05:00

This is "Mary".

New pictures

2008-12-06T14:52:00.003-06:00

Now that the 30 days of Contentment therapy is over, I will get back to this being an art blog of sorts.

Above are three pictures I drew over a period of a couple of weeks. They took hours and hours. They are all done in colored pencil, prismacolor markers, and pen and ink. They measure 9" X 12".

These were fun to do.

2008-09-01T16:44:00.003-05:00

Toilet Seat Art DONE! YAAAY!

2008-08-14T18:23:00.001-05:00

It is FINISHED!!!! I'm DONE WITH IT!!! I cannot tell you how glad I am to have it done. I enjoyed every single moment I worked on it, and when it was done, I was done too. I have pictures at my site, but I believe it looks better in person. I hope so anyway. But then, I'm attached to it. I cannot see my own stuff, I seem to only feel it, so I don't know how it looks. I hope it will be okay for the auction.

Somehow when I have things in my mind, they don't always go as planned. I'd meant to do a few things differently, but it all went how it went, from the skin color to the hair to the hands and legs, it all just went how it went. That's why I cannot be a fine artist. I'm not patient enough to make things go right, I just like them to go how they go.

Here's the link to my site. Click on Gallery 2. There are several pictures. I sure wish they were better pics. Maybe when I go out there to visit my little Town Greeter before long I'll get better pics out there.

http://www.madtel.net/~fishbowl/

You know, as you might be able to tell by the Mary Jane shoes, this art doll started out to be a girl. But it went how it went, and wound up looking kind of androgynous. I also think a town greeter should look more friendly.

But then, I have no idea what kind of morning it had, if maybe someone threw a beer can at it a moment ago and hurt its feelings. So, I just let it be. We all have our days, after all.

Thanks for looking. And thanks for listening to be go on about toilet seat art. I tell ya, it was fun. I'm going to start a new one, today probably. This one will be for my own wall.

Janet

2008-08-02T22:35:00.002-05:00

Above are two old Raggedy dolls. The top was a doll that was headed for the trash. I rescued it at a garage sale. Nobody would have bought it, it was not very good. Anyway, I cut it up and turned it into a collage. I was going to burn the edges and did fine, but I accidentally caught his face on fire. I nearly got discouraged, but my motto is that there are few mistakes in art, go with it.

I finished the picture, and was very touched by it. I call is "Raggedy Andy's Very Bad Day". But you see, he keeps on smiling.

The next one is a Raggedy Ann that I made in about 1995. She was a source of comfort for me that year. Well, until my old Siamese cat decided to rip into the embroidery on her face one day while I was at work. I put her away for a long time.

Then a few years ago I got her out and painted her. She's an aging Raggedy Ann now, with a George Hamilton Tan. In fact, that's her title, "George Hamilton Wants Me Bad".

Her dress is made of duct tape.

Not much going on. I've almost got my toilet seat art ready for the final painting, which will take a few days, no doubt.

Oh, I know. I want some ballet slippers to wear when I make art. It'll help me designate to myself when I'm in art mode.

Janet

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-23T11:13:00.002-05:00

No Hotdog for YOU!

2008-07-15T22:02:00.004-05:00

I never told you about the hotdog nazi. Remember Jerry Seinfeld's "soup nazi"? That was one of the best segments in his show, ever. It just cracked me up, and I understand that the skit came from some real life situation.

Well, I had a hotdog nazi in my life for a few months, only at lunch time a couple of times a week. I never have forgotten that woman. She must be long dead, but she's not forgotten by me.

They were a couple who were of retirement age. I don't know why they had a hotdog stand downtown Long Beach, California in the mid 1960s. I don't know how long it'd been there before I came upon them, or how long they were there after I left.

I worked downtown. And a couple of times a week, I'd go to the hotdog stand. They had a list of how you could have your hotdogs, up on the wall in their little stand, behind the counter, on the back wall. The stand was so small that it was easy to read the sign. The husband worked at cooking the dogs, and she took orders while he put the dogs together.

Well, they had two things I really liked. Chili dogs and cheese dogs. They offered both.

One day I asked if I could have a chili cheese dog. The lady told me NO, I could NOT have that. I told her I'd pay extra, so couldn't I order the chili dog and they could put cheese on it, and I'd pay extra for the chili cheese dog. She again told me NO, and told me they do NOT make them that way. I couldn't have one.

So, I told her that was okay, that next time I'd just bring my own cheese and put it on my chili dog. She told me if I did that, she'd never sell me another hotdog. Basically that I'd be 86'd from the hotdog stand. She was mad by this time.

So, I ordered the chili dog and walked off, incredulous. Yes, I know, I should have just walked away, but these were chili dogs to die for, really great. Never have had one as good since.

The odd thing was that couple just looked just so sweet. As I recall, he was milder than she was, but he never bucked her rules, and besides, he was so focused on cooking that he didn't greet anyone.

I'm glad for these strange things in life, they make for memories, markers of time. And if no one else remembers them, this lady who has since moved to Kansas remembers them and their hotdogs.

Janet

Kitten

2008-06-27T14:10:00.004-05:00

The top picture is the kitten last night. The bottom picture of him 13 days earlier. First of all, you can see he's grown. But he is also a whole lot healthier today than he was two weeks ago when we got him.

This poor kitten had ear mites, giardia, 3 ticks embedded in the same place, and eye infections. He's had 4 different medications to heal, plus lots of good food. His appetite hasn't suffered much! LOL

When we decided to keep him, if I had known all that was wrong, I might not have kept him. So, it's probably good we didn't know. He's been to the vet 3 times. This "free" cat has cost us over 100 dollars now.

He could be the poster child for why people need to get their pets spayed and neutered. If we had turned away that little kitten in the second picture, he'd likely be dead or suffering greatly by now and not look anything like the kitten in the first picture.

Janet

What have we come to?

2008-06-06T19:51:00.004-05:00

Today I saw a news video. It was from Connecticut of a man, I think they said he was 64 years old, who was hit by a small pick-up truck on a busy street. There were cars going by, there were people walking on the street. They simply had to see that man lying in the street, it was only a two lane street. All those people, and they just let that man lie there.

In fact, no one even called the police. Finally, a policeman who was going for another call came along and got help for the man, who was stillalive as of the news story.

It reminded me of falling down in EMporia, Kansas and no one coming to help.

Or the time a woman fell behind my backing truck, and no one calling to me, and no one rushing to help her. Luckily, I got aflash of a glimpse in my side view mirror of her tripping andslammed on my breaks. I got out of my car and asked if I'd hit herand asked her a few times if she was okay. I had not hit her, and she thanked me for checking on her.

But the kicker there is that there were several women standing a fewfeet away watching this whole thing. I saw them looking at her before she ever fell and they watched the whole thing, never checking her, never coming to help her get up.

My son fell on ice at a busy intersection and had blood running downhis face. He laid on the ice, stunned for a few moments, then gotup. NO ONE stopped to help.

I have a friend who fell down in NYC. She laid on the sidewalk withpeople walking around her, stepping over her. She was asking for help, please. She started to cry. Nobody helped her for a while.Finally someone came along and helped her get up.

What have we come to?

Now, in the town we're in now, Larry slipped and fell on ice in aparking lot and didn't even know anyone saw him. A man going bygot a glimpse of him falling and came back around in his truck to besure Larry was okay. That was good.

When i travel alone, I stay in populated areas. if I go solocamping, I never go into the wilderness. I mainly stay on well traveled roads when I'm alone. But you know, I have no illusions that I'd be automatically helped if something bad happened.

It's a weird life out there. It always shocks me to hear things like that or to experience them myself or to see them happen tosomeone else. Larry and I were brought up to help if we see someonewho needs it. I hope we brought up our children the same way.

But there are a lot of people who simply don't help anymore. And that incident of the older man being hit by a car and NO ONE helping is a chilling example of the world cooling off. Or at least our society.

People help me with doors when I use my cane or motorcycle (mobility scooter.) Would someone help me if I fell off my scooter?Why do we expect people to be charitable when they can't even help a struck and fallen man?

Off my soapbox.

Janet

pictures

2008-05-28T18:12:00.002-05:00

Okay, I've tried to post here, and for some reason, they aren't showing up. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong. Will try again.

Below are some pictures I listed on ebay:

My Day Monday

2008-05-06T10:25:00.003-05:00

Gotta tell you what happened to the top of my head this morning. It actually brought tears, it shocked me.

I sat down in my recliner. My recliner is a rocker too. I hadn't noticed, but Mighty Mouse, our little Siamese, was sleeping up on the back of the recliner. I flopped back and knocked him off.

He latched onto the top of my head to keep from falling! Oh man, I had to disengage his claws. He wasn't stubbornly hanging on, his claws were just sunk into my scalp as he dangled off my head.

But that shocked me a lot, I tell you what! I'm okay. It didn't leave any real damage, and I heal fast. It is very weird and disconcerting and awful to have a cat hanging off the top of your head by its claws.

The older this cat gets, the more "siamesey" he gets. He yells at us a lot, and last night he just had to see underneath my sock. Well, my sock was on my foot, but he was so determined that I finally lifted my foot so he could see and so I wouldn't get hurt. I don't know what I stepped in, but it musta been good, because he went into this weird rolling on the floor in front of my foot. Like maybe my foot had attained Feline Deity status.

Anyway, I survived a cat hanging by its claws off my scalp today, so I'm good to go now!

Then this afternoon, the phone rang. It was our son Tim. We talked for a few minutes, then grandson Aiden (5 1/2 years old) wanted to talk. He talked to me, then asked to talk to Grampa, but Grampa wasn't here. So, he talked to me. And he talked and talked and talked. I guess he had a whole lot of catching up to do. Then he talked some more, then more after that.

Tim found him and told him it was time to do his homework and he could talk for two more minutes. After two minutes I reminded him it was time to do his homework. So, he just kept talking. hahahahah

Finally, Tim came and got him again, took the phone and told Aiden to go do his homework. LOL Then Tim told me that Aiden had taken the phone and left the room to talk to me. He was in his bedroom sitting on his bed talking to me that whole time. That cracked me up.

THEN, when Larry got home from work, he called Aiden because I'd told Aiden that Grampa would call him. So, he talked and talked and talked to Grampa. Then he talked some more.

Then he said he had to finish his homework. So, Grampa told him okay, figuring Tim would get back on the phone. Grampa said, "We love you, bye bye." And sat there waiting for Tim to take the phone. Silence. Then Aiden said, "Grampa, you hang up first." LOL So, they hung up, Grampa first.

About two minutes went by and the phone rang and Larry answered it and it was Aiden. He said, "Grampa, I'm still here!" hahahahahaha Then he had to tell Grampa even more stuff. It's amazing how a 5 year old can have such very long stories.

Janet

Words Can Hurt

2008-05-03T22:25:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure why this came to my mind. Oh yes, I remember why. I said something to someone in an email that was thoughtless and tactless. I didn't mean to, and she was gracious about it. But I feel bad.

I am not a fan of perfumes. I don't mind lightly scented soaps, in fact, I enjoy those myself, and if the fragrance lingers, you about have to bite me to sense the smell. I use febreze sometimes. I'm not a fanatic about going scent free at all. But I don't wear perfumes and just hate it in church when someone sits behind me loaded to the gills with perfume. It can give me a headache.

Well, in the mail today came some old cloth dolls I bought on ebay. I don't mean vintage, and I don't mean art dolls. Just old dolls. The sort that I'd buy at a garage sale whose next step really should have been the city dump. I give them "new life", turn them into fresher dolls, art dolls. At the Grassroots art center they call my dolls I do like that "recycled dolls."

Anyway, they smelled very strong. I didn't know what the smell was. Was it air freshner? Bug spray? I've gotten things I had to leave outside for a few days due to the ebay seller having sprayed them with something to mask that tired smell or smoke smell of some object.

Anyway, I wanted to know what was on these dolls, because if it was bug spray, I would handle them with vinyl gloves and paint the first coat on outside. If it was air freshner, I'd just air them out for a couple of days.

So, I wrote, thanked her for the great, speedy, smooth transaction. Then I asked her if she'd sprayed the dolls with bug spray or air freshner, or what? I explained I needed to know due to an allergy.

She wrote back and graciously told me that the dolls had been on her vanity for quite a while and it was probably her perfume. Then she kindly told me what perfume it was, in case I needed to know.

How awful! I felt terrible for suggesting that her perfume smelled like bug spray! I'm a jerk, go ahead, call me a jerk. sigh...........

And that's why I'm saying that words hurt. I had no such intention, but asked too blunt a question without thinking it out.

That is one way words hurt. There are much more serious ways people hurt each other with words. I guess we've all experienced that, huh?

I'm okay, no one has hurt me with words too recently. I imagine most of us can think back to ways we've been hurt with words, sometimes badly.

"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

Did you learn that as a kid? Did it make you feel bad, wrong somehow, for feeling so hurt when someone verbally smacked you around? That saying is a lie, and it shouldn't be taught to children. They need to know that their feelings can be hurt with words, and just as important, they need to know that their words can hurt someone else.

Janet

Quandry

2008-04-19T09:25:00.004-05:00

I'm wondering if I should do this or not. I am leaning towards doing it, because it would at the very least save all the other artist's hard work somehow.

See the image below of this life-size doll? She is very cool in person. She's made amazingly interestingly. She is also old and stained, which is a GOOD thing. You know how people tea stain dolls? Well, this one didn't need that. She's got the real thing. It's subtle, but it's there.

She was probably made back in the 60s as a college art project, like a term paper sort of thing. The artist's name is not known. We just don't know who made it.

Now, the problem is, the fabric is aging. It is getting a bit fragile. Eventually, it'll be in such a state that it'll be tossed in the trash, this art piece lost forever. It's not something a museum would preserve, I think.

I'm trying to decide whether to just let nature take its course and someday have a little ceremony as she gets placed into the trash in a few years. OR, another thought was to make her a new "skin". In other words, I'd make a doll, using this doll as "stuffing." I'd leave the doll intact, just slide a new outter body over what's there. I might have to add some stuffing. And would do some needle sculpting. Might cut into this doll to add some armature stuff to support her back and neck. She's so well made that her back is still fairly sturdy without an armature, but her neck is very floppy. Her legs bend a lot and could use an armature too.I would likely cut off her hands and totally redo those.

Doing this will compromise the doll. It will lose value as what it is right now, and basically ruin someone else's art. But the alternative is that her art will be tossed in a landfill someday. It would gain value as my art.I can maintain the general shape, and the stitches (except where I had to cut to insert dowling) will be intact, only hidden from view.

It will become my art. It will become a collaboration that the artist 40 some years ago wasn't expecting. Whether she's living or dead now, would she have been okay with me doing this? I know I'd be okay with it if the alternative was to throw it in the trash one day.

Once I'm done with her, she also may not be sitting there like a lady waiting for someone to come have tea with her. She may turn into a creature like most of my dolls come out to be. She would be painted as well, and the paint could seep through onto the inner doll.I'm thinking on it.

Janet

2008-04-01T17:27:00.003-05:00

Well, I added the wrong picture. Doesn't matter. This is a work in progress. Today she's painted and assembled into a doll. I have partially dressed her. She still needs the rest of her clothing and her hair.

I've been depressed off and on some lately. Don't know why. I kind of know why, but not really. Like, I think I know why, but then wonder if that's really the reason I'm depressed, or if being depressed brings up those memories.

Doesn't matter that much really. It's not getting me down badly. I think it's maybe more feeling subdued than depressed. That's the ticket! Subdued.

Tarantula and bike ride

2008-03-25T15:48:00.001-05:00

Above is a picture of Mildred, my sweet, shy, non-aggressive tarantula. I got her for my birthday from my sweet husband, because he knew I wanted one. But he isn't as fond of her, and he denies paternity. He says that no child of his has 8 legs. HUMPH! Well, I love my sweet little Mildred.

After two years of being laid up with my bad knee, it's really, really hard to get going again. Oh, I'm reclaiming my house, but to get outside after being so very isolated is harder than I ever realized. It makes me feel so sad for people who have lost hope and just stay in their houses, depressed, while the rest of the world is out there. I imagine there are a lot of people like that.

I got dressed and went for a bike ride by myself. Just now got back. I always go too far, because I"m having fun. Then when I get off the thing, I have to do it next to something so I can balance myself a bit. I'm kind of old for this kind of thing.

This was my first solo trip on my trike. Usually Larry goes with me, because I was afraid to go alone for some reason. But today I just decided to.

I even stopped at a place around the corner that sells puppies. I don't want a puppy, but thought they might appreciate some free advertising on my website. But no one came to the door or answered the phone, so I moved on.

Went downtown, past the antique store and doctor's office and city hall, mostly all on brick streets.

Past a church or two, saw Vernon, but didn't wave, because I didn't want to stop in the middle of the street for a teasing by him for a half hour. LOL He did stare at me, likely hasn't seen a recumbent trike before.

Past both beauty salons. Past the phone company and the bar and a bunch of closed stores.

It was a nice bike ride in a small town. I enjoyed it. It's a bit hot today, almost up to 60 degrees out there and Sunny. What will I do when it gets up into the 80s? I guess I'll bike in a bikini. If I can't find a thong bikini in extra huge, I'll crochet myself one. LOL

New Art Blog

2008-02-14T20:46:00.000-06:00

Oh, I think I'm going to like this place a lot. Cool!

Janet

This is my new blog!

2008-02-14T20:34:00.000-06:00

Wow, I can't believe I found this and figured out how to set it up so quickly.

Janet