The Artful Life Comic Strip

I wanted to create a little something special to celebrate the Beauty in each and every one of you!
As my own way of saying THANK YOU for all of your wonderful comments and sharing in a part of my art filled life!
















CELEBRATE YOU!
Signing off!
Until next time my friends!
All of my rubber stamp images are available at Stampington & Company.

Without Further Adieu...

The One World One Heart project has been a wonderful experience. I loved visiting a lot of new blogs and seeing everyone's beautiful artwork. It really did take us around the world!
Now for the moment you've all been waiting for. The winner of my giveaway is...

One World One Heart & Where are you Bart?

I have been seeing this One World One Heart logo on everyones blog and wanted to join in on all the fun! This is such a wonderful event hosted by Lisa Oceandreamer of
Heart of the Nest and I'm so happy to be able to participate!
And now for a young love story and Valentines Day giveaway!
My first *True Love 4Ever* was in 1st grade, he was the cutest little guy who always wore spank'n new jeans and plaid short sleeve shirts! He had a sweet crooked smile and big blue eyes!

When Valentines Day rolled around our teacher had us decorate brown paper lunch bags with red construction paper, white paper doilies and a little tub of paste glue ( remember the ones with the bristle brush connected to the lid)?!

We wrote our names on them and then she hung each one along the window sill with scotch tape and we all took turns going up and delivering our Valentines to the appropriate bag, with little Ooooo's and giggles when the "known"class crushes were deposited!

The teacher then handed out each bag to us along with a few pretty heart shaped sugar cookies adorned with red hots,

and we spent the remainder of the afternoon reading our Valentines and sipping on pink lemon aid punch! Ah, those were the days!

When I finally came to THE Valentine I was looking for it simply said:
I LIK YOU DO YOU LIKE ME? CIRCLE YES OR NO ...BART
I was smitten! Well, any way Bart moved away just before school was out for the summer and I never saw him again! I did sneak a kiss at recess out by the tether ball pole on his last day!

Leave your One World One Heart comment on this post and the winner will receive this precocious little "Misfit" he has a head of smooth white porcelain thats as translucent as an egg, a pink silk poofy hat decorated with 6 natural pink jade beads and a blooming rose collar I created with poly clay, the stand is an antique brass candle stick and the entire piece is just under 8 inches tall. It's the perfect little display piece to show off a collection of fancy brooches! I will pick the winner on Valentines Day and will ship him out to any corner of the earth! Be sure I have a way to notify you if you win!
Blogging has been such a fantastic creative outlet for me and am thrilled beyond words at the way we are able to connect with people all around the world and thanks to Lisa we have yet an even better way to share the LOVE!

Oh, and by the way I circled YES! But don't tell my husband!

I will not chew gum in class

Daydreamer, that's me, always has been, always will be! That's how I was as a kid, couldn't keep my mind on school work when the sun was shining ever so brightly and a clear blue cloudless sky poured in the window! When a sing songy wind came rushing over and past my face just calling my name! Remembering times I sat down on the warm side walk, shooing all the ants away (so they wouldn't get smooshed) and drawing out that familiar pattern of boxes with numbers in them, usually with a piece of heisted school chalk! Ok, you caught me, I spent a lot of time erasing chalk boards for the teachers and no it wasn't out of the kindness of my heart! Rather as punishment for Oh, lets say, Gum.
I will not chew gum in class.
I will not chew gum in class.
I will (did) not chew gum in class. Sometimes I'd stick a (did) in there and have to write twice as many the next day!
I will not chew gum in class.
or for being too much of a chatter box,
I will not talk in class.
I will not talk in class. And lets see, no passing notes in class, no foil balls( don't ask!) and a whole host of other things! I was/am filled with a love for life and didn't want to waste not even one single solitary moment of it! And was determined to carry that spark with me always!
And so we arrive back here in the present day. I am always at a loss for words when someone asks me what I do for a living! Sometimes I even break out in a cold sweat, it always comes out the same, I hum and stutter a bit and then say ever so proudly "I'm a maker of stuff"! And lots of it! You see here some of my earlier porcelain pieces. When I first started making porcelain dolls, over ten years ago, there were always lots of little mistakes here and there, sometimes I would cut eye sockets a bit too large and the intended glass eye did not fit properly,

or sometimes the whole head would simply sink into itself like a souffle!

And there was always the occasional split and crack during firing in the kiln . I couldn't bear to toss these misfits out so instead of becoming a nice little replica period doll, I transformed them into art pieces,

Pin cushion heads and Story Tellers who carry with them hidden messages tucked inside.

There are added bits of fancy vintage dress lace to create a frilly ruffled collars, and are attached to old metal candlestick bases!

Little bits and scraps were used to create the fancy headdresses, I use them to hold a small collection of antique brooches,

and old hat pins and even a charming little locket that was a souvenir from the Paris exposition at the turn of the last century. And of course a few stick pins, so there is always a pin around when I need one!

This piece is attached to a heavy brass candle stick, for plenty of support as it is a larger doll head.

It has a sweet little secret, look closely, ever so closely, stare and even squint into her eyes!

You are sure to find a pleasant surprise,

looking right back at you! A funny little guy with a big friendly smile! The apple of my eye!

A hand written note to dear old Mom, is glued down and sealed around the edges so the little guy inside doesn't escape, this was absolutely necessary in his case!

And there is a comical little bumpy one, with a sweet disposition,

I covered regular cotton balls with fabric to make the poofy balls for his cap,

In the close up you can see where one of the kiln cracks happened, a split right down the side of the face, so I just put a lace band aid of sorts on it and one on the other side so it looked like it was done on purpose!

Shredded and cut up bits of ribbon were used to create the rim of the costume.

And now we come to the end,

All I can say about how my misfit dolls come into being, I refer you back to a "daydream" and just go exploring, explore and explore some more!

A Crow's Cage

Inspiration, that magic little "?" that sparks your imagination. It's funny how sometimes all it takes is the quickest glimpse of something to set it off!

How one thing can lead to another and so forth and so on. It all started with a single photo by Robert ParkeHarrison titled "Flying Lesson".

Suddenly I realized how absolutely impossibly necessary it was for me to build a Crows cage and fill it with mysterious little creatures!

My Crows cage stands about 6 feet tall from ground to the top of it's feather plume. Its built from wood scraps and some chicken wire and odds and ends and this and that.

I wanted it to have the feeling of a deliciously decorated cake of sorts, albeit a wire cake,

trimmed with prickley dried vines, to keep the spiders out of course!

and old turn keys to make it safe, a long and winding tale it is and so let us begin.

Pots with little smiling faces peer out,

and giggle here and there,

then Shhhh,shhh, shh! Some one is ever so quietly watching, from up above the rest,

just waiting for the perfect moment, waiting for a chance,

to lower herself down and settle beside her.

All the while unsuspecting and floating on a breeze is a dandelion fluff,

busy as a bee, teasing and taunting the flower shop girls!

And the little bitty lacey winged ones flitter all about,

buzzing in and out,

and up and down,

trying out their wings.

While butterdrag or draggerbutt, which ever you prefer,

looks on and oversees the youngsters,

to keep them out of trouble!

Which is no small feat, might I mention!

Keep an eye wide open,

keep a good long watch,

and though those delicate gossamer wings

seem fragile at a glance,

she's the keeper of peace,

and queen of the land,

that no one dares to challenge, not bug, not bee,

or frog or pillar, cater that is.

Well, at least you can't say I didn't warn you in the beginning!
It isn't easy being green, but it sure is fun! Wait, what were we taking about?!