A Folk Art From The Heart Challenge

Turns out I didn't bite off more than I can chew. This piece is really coming along nicely. All that's left now is to finish his broken arrow, and antique him. Actually there is one more thing left to do. He needs a name. I am going to let you all do that. And who ever comes up with the best name for this little guy will win a gift certificate worth $20.00 to be used either on my website or at my Esty shop. The winning name will be announced January 1st. Just click the comment button to participate. Don't forget to leave me your email address so I can notify you if you're the winner! Good Luck!



And here he is completed!

Oh Boy...

I sure hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. As I have told you in an earlier post, I rarely like the first [draft] of any of my sculptures. And so far my poor little cupid is no exception. He's already lost his arms and his sash and but lucky for him, I like his feet. He's now got eyes and hair and a cute set of wings. So I'll be continuing on to reconstruct his arms and this time I may even add his hands! Stay tuned.

Here we go again...

In my never quite satisfied but constant, self imposed challenge, to create the perfect sculpture, (or at least my own version of it), it seems my quest has led me to yet another fork in the road. My direction of choice still seems to be strongly toward the whimsical rather than the realistic. So in that vein, I am working on my own representation of cupid. So far, he's coming along nicely. Stay tuned to see how he will turn out. I'm curious myself, because my pieces seem to evolve on their own and with very little help from me.

From Conception to Completion

The making of Finial Santa Begins with an idea. I never draw anything first like normal artists do because, for one thing, I can't draw. And for another, my piece rarely turns out like my original idea. The piece evolves during the creation process and I almost always hate the first attempt. In this case, while I'm not overly fond of the first attempt, I thought I'd share it with you anyway, since I went to all the trouble of documenting the process. And while I do love Santa's face on this piece, the body didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to. But here it goes anyway.



This is how every piece starts.
With a foil core.
This is the beginning of Santa's Boots.







The foil Core gets covered
with a layer of Polymer Clay.








The tops of the boots are added
and strengthened with wooden dowels.









Lastly, the details are added.
Then it goes into the oven for 15 minutes.

While the boots are baking,

it's time to work on the body.

It also begins with a foil core.







The first layer is added and textured.

I bake between layers so

I don't loose the texture

while I am adding the next layers.







The process is repeated

for the next two layers.











Time for the head,

then the fun begins!











Now for the nose and lips.

I like to make them as large

as possible. I think it makes

the piece more whimsical.







Then I add the beard and

usually a moustache, but

in this case, I added hair

instead of a moustache.







The beard and hair get their

texture too. Aren't those

lips to die for?











The hat is added and

then the finishing touches.










Lastly, I antique the intire

piece to bring out all the detail.
Once the antiquing medium

is dry I add the blush tint to

the lips and cheeks.

Then I sign and date the piece.

Have you ever felt the need to clean?

Well this morning I sat down at my computer to do some promo work, when all of a sudden I was overwhelmed with all the icons on my desk top. Not only do I have a bazillion shortcuts, but they all look the same. I decided right then and there I needed to change that. So off I went into cyberspace to find an Icon maker so I could make cute little pictures for each of my shortcuts. 3 hours later, my desktop looked much better. Then I noticed that my handy-dandy Icon maker also makes cute little teenie pictures to replace the myriad of folders in the various drives on my computer. Well, 6 hours later, I have lots and lots of cute little pictures on my desktop and cute little teenie pictures that replaced the boring file icons on my computer, and, well, nothing else done. But my computer is a lot more fun to look at!

Since I'm back from my Break...

I thought I'd show you what all the hoopla was about. These are my darling Baby Grands.

This is Grace, and she is every bit as smart as she is adorable. She will be 3 in November.




And this is Joshua, her baby brother.
He is 6 months old, and oh so sweet.





I was babysitting them for the summer while my daughter and son-in-law made preparations to move to Iowa, which is why I was on such an extended break.
As most of you know, we were planning to move to Iowa this summer. As a matter of fact we were supposed to be there already. But my lovely sister-in-law, who was supposed to be the executor of the estate my in-laws left behind, not only spent her share of the inheritance, but ours as well. So it was with a heavy heart and many, many tears, that I had to say goodbye to my sweet baby grands and watch them, with their parents, move to Iowa without me and my husband.

But all is not lost, because we have God on our side and He will help us see the good that He has in mind for us through this very difficult time. We have been able to recover a portion of the money that was stolen by my sister-in-law, and in due time we will be able to move to Iowa as well, so I am trying to use my time wisely and constructively, so I won't dwell on all the after-affects of what my sister-in-law has done, but rest in the fact that God is in control and in the end, what He has in store for us will be much better than anything we could have come up with.

And now my daughter is expecting her 3rd baby, another son, so that's one more blessing we have to look forward to.

I'm Back...

Yippee! I'm back from the longest break of my life, but let me tell you, all the ideas that were piling up in my head, have come to life in my newest creations. Here are just a few:



This is just a sample of the newest additions to my etsy. To see more great Fall and Winter offerings, drop on over and check it out. Just click on the link below.

My Etsy

Just in time for Mother's Day

Introducing

Mommy and Me

This piece can be custome ordered to fit any need. Be it skin tone, pregnant or not pregnant, amount of children, sex of children color of clothing, even a dad instead of a mom! Whatever you need, just convo me and I will custome create it for your specific parent. Just add five dollars for each additional child. Of course the opposite is true as well!

Mommy and Me stands 11 inches tall and is very light weight. This piece has been antiqued to bring out all the details. The perfect addition to any mom's Prim~Folk Art decor. Mommy and Me will come signed and dated and ready for display.

For more information, and where to purchase this piece just go to My Etsy

April Monthly Challange Entry...

Here is my Entry for the April monthly Challange for PCAGOE. Polymer Clay Artist's Guild Of Etsy. Voting starts April first at PCAGOE. So make sure to head on over there and vote!

I'm it! I've just been tagged...

So I've been tagged by Lou from Hunters Designs. A very talented gal by the way! Thanks! Here are the rules:

Here are the rules:



1, Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2, Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3, Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as their blogs.
Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Fact one: I've been married for 25 years and have 3 children and 2 sub children.
I got married and had all my children by the time I was 24 years old so I'm a young grandmother as the norm goes so I find it hard to use the g-word. I know, I'm vain, I can live with it....¤Ü¤

Fact two: I'm the proud Author of a wonderful murder mystery. Check it out if you get the chance.

Fact three: Winter depresses me and I loose all my creativity. It's a wonder I get anything done.

Fact four: I have to have something in my mouth at all times, so I chew gum like crazy, (and I swallow it too...¤Ü¤).

Fact five: My son-in-law is the same age as my youngest sister.

Fact six: I can draw, paint, write, sculpt, but can't cook to save my life!

Fact seven: I hate talking about myself!


So here's who I'm tagging:


Kabi Designs
DivaDea
Dancin Jules
CLB Creations
Vicki Cockcroft
Humble Beads
Iris Mishly

What are you Waiting For?

Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the latest information on the happenings at Folk Art From The Heart. And to receive codes for offers available only to my faithful customers who receive my Newsletter! There's an event going on right now, so hop on over to my website and sign up for the Newsletter so you can join in on the savings!

Go On...Vote!

The Monthy Challenge for Feburary is now going on!
Go to: http://www.pcagoe.com and click on the monthy challenge tab
to vote for your favorite entry! You will even have a chance to win a prize for yourself!
Here's my Entry:

Primitive Crafters and Designers Auction...

The first annual PCAD Auction is about to begin! Click on the link below and bookmark the site so you can get in on all the Fun!

Oh My Goodness...

As you all know, because I've told you, that I sell my wares on Etsy. Well what you don't know is that I belong to a guild within Etsy called Polymer Clay Artists Guild of Etsy, or Pcagoe for short. Well, let me just say, I have never seen so much talant concentrated in one group in my life! We all work with the same medium, but the results are all so different and equally wonderful. Below are just a few of the artists that I count myself lucky to be among.

Jack the Whimsical Rabbit

Wow, his little face says everything doesn't it? This whimsical, folk art rabbit is just walking along, collecting carrots for his basket. And once that's full, he hung them on his walking stick. This entire piece is created with polymer clay, including his walking stick. Once baked, I then antiqued him to bring out all of his wonderful detail. He measures a full 12 inches tall. My tallest piece yet! He will come to you signed, dated and carefully wrapped and ready to display along with the rest of your spring decor.

Another wasted Goal?

Well I hope not. But just as I decided to try something new, yep, you guessed it, creative block. Or maybe I just need to tweak an idea or two before they will become a reality. However for today, am trying yet again something new. I am creating my largest piece to date. I am finding the need to fire him in stages. I say him because he was a boy from the conception of my idea and he hasn't change during the execution of the idea. Right now he's in the oven, naked and armless, but his face, which is the hardest part for me is complete. His eyes will be painted on last which is another new idea for me. Stay tuned, my timer is going off...

Something New

Hey there,
Welcome back. I'm trying something new this year. I would like to see if I can set a few goals. I would like to add jewelry to my line. So the goal I have in mind would be to try and complete a piece a week. I know that doesn't sound like much to you, but being that I am OCD to the extreme, (at least to my extreme, and that of my lovely family) I have the hardest time staying on task. If I come out of my studio I can always find a counter top that needs clearing or a floor that needs attention, a towel to be folded, a sock to be mended and the list goes on and on. Eek! Maybe my first goal is to put on blinders so I can walk through to the microwave to heat my coffee without seeing the "other stuff" that always seems to grab my attention.
Well, here goes nothing.....

Welcome...

And thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visiting my Blog. I am new to this venue but it has become so popular that I thought I would give it a whirl. To the left you will see a slide show of examples of my Folk Art. Each piece is made using Polymer Clay. Once the piece is completed and baked, I then add an antiquing medium to bring out all of the wonderful detail and achieve my signature look. The Lord has given me the gift of art and my wish is to share it in a way that would bring glory to Him. Sculpting is my first love, but I also love to paint. You can visit my website to see some examples of my canvases.



But the thing I am most proud of is my Novel. It took me exactly 2 months to the day to write it, and even longer to get it published. But it is finally here and available where books are sold. You can also purchase it through my website as well, which will garner you an autographed copy!



The Quilt

by

Kimberlyn Owens



ISBN 1-4107-0318-5



Clair has the perfect life; a wonderful, loving husband, two healthy children and the house she’s always wanted. So why does she keep having these disturbing dreams, dreams that haunt her even during the day so that she can’t enjoy her life? They seem so real, so vivid yet nothing about them is familiar. Suddenly a stranger is taking an interest in her life. Could this stranger be the answer to her dreams, or the reason she’s having them? Although Clair is nervous she cautiously moves forward with the friendship because whatever the outcome, Clair must have some answers so she can return to her ideal life.