My new website: October Cat Studios

Without further adieu, here is my website.  I will still keep blogging here but my website is for those of you who just want to see my work without listening to me ramble on and on.  It still needs tweaking but here it is!

http://octobercatstudios.com/

I made the name plural (October Cat Studios) because I have many creative outlets and in my mind each one is a different studio, but sometimes they  like to visit each other.

More Art Dolls, this time with a story

Since my last post my writing has really taken off!  I have jumped into the wonderful world of fiction writing and as of today my first story is up to 20,000 words.  What am I writing you ask?  Fantasy for young adults.  I enjoy reading books with the main character being around eight to ten years old so this is who my book is for.
     In January I had a rough idea for a story and as I was sitting in my art room I noticed  my three art dolls "talking" to each other, they had a story to tell me.  My first book is their story.

Meet Azraella, the matriarch of my woodland friends, she is very calm and level headed.  Oh and she is an ant.

Meet Bazorg - He is the "clown" of the group.  He is a bird and not too smart at times.  He and Edric (the raccoon) don't get along to well.

Meet Couna - She is a bat and is very shy and quiet,  She only trusts a few other animals and Bazorg is her best friend.

Their names begin with the of letter of the alphabet in order in which I designed them.  "A" for Azraella because she was the first one I created.  Bazorg was my second and Couna my third.  This first book, so far, has characters named through "G".  I would really like to turn this into a series but I don't want to jump the gun yet.

     Domin-eye, Edric, Frena and Gumlop have also been created (3-D) but I don't want to share all of my secrets yet.

Featured Friday Artist: Betsy Youngquist

I am a HUGE Pinterest person (you can find my page here).  I have a board called Art Dolls and Softees because not only do I design art dolls I LOVE looking at other peoples creative imaginations as well.  Be warned, on my Pinterest board I have pinned 579 pictures in this category alone! 

A few months ago I pinned this picture:

My first thought was "How did she do this?!"  I was intrigued by all of the beads and how they all just made sense, the colors, the placement, the sizes, everything.  Then in the winter issue of Where Women Create she is a featured artist!  I was so excited to learn more about this very talented lady, Betsy Youngquist. In the article her work is described as "Betsy's work reflects a fascination with the intersection of humans, animals and mythology.  Stemming from a  lifelong love of all creatures great and small, her work weaves together the human and animal spirit."

Here is a link to her website if you would like to find out more about this very talented artist: Betsy Youngquist.

And here are just a few more of her designs:

She also sells her work on Etsy at: Betsy Youngquist Beaded Mosiac Sculpture

The Newport News Fall Festival of Folk Life

A BIG, HUGE thank you to everyone that came out to support me.  I ran into old friends and met new ones.  I forgot how much fun these shows are!  The comradary between the artists, the park rangers who took care of the ground bees (I only got stung once) and being able to wave to my parents who had a tent in the marketplace section (I was in the juried section) was a blast!

And some close ups of some of the new items I had for sale:

I got so many new ideas from customers last week that I've already bought fabric for 4 more bowls.  And please remember you can contact me directly (kimberlyjoan1009@gmail.com) for a custom order and I also sell my stuff at a shop in Yorktown called Auntie M's American Cottage

More Art Dolls!

Here is a glimpse of some of my new (and not so new) art dolls that I've been working on this summer:

And now a look at a few "dolls" from my Halloween collection (my favorite holiday)

All of these will be for sale plus many more (including my Christmas collection) at the Newport News Folk Festival the first weekend in October!

Creating more art dolls for the NN Fall Festival

I think about Halloween year round which is good because the Newport News Fall Festival is the first weekend in October and there will be lots of Halloween themed booths (by the way I received my official acceptance letter a few days ago).  So my latest creation will fit in with my Halloween themed art dolls.  Let me first show you the "before" photo:

 

From the photo you can't tell that the moon (and on the other side the sun) are both raised.  So I first needed to sand them down a bit.

After I sanded it it was still raised a bit so I covered it in a texture medium then painted it orange

I then painted a spider web on it, drilled four holes then reattached it with fun yarn.  Next was to create the rug for the cat.  For the rug I used the same technique as my fabric bowls then I added a decorative trim around the perimeter.

 

 

The fabric I used is black with candy corn on it but because the sun is shining on it it makes it look grayish.

 

And another "before" and "almost after" photo of one of my other art dolls:

 





 

(More on her later)

Auctions and Estate Sales

Last August my next door neighbor died.  He was a very nice elderly man who lived by himself.  I didn't get to know him too well because I only moved here two years ago but we spoke on occasion.  This past weekend his family had an estate sale at his house.  I had mixed feelings about going over there because I knew Mr. Marshall.  I have thought about him a lot since his passing because when I work at my art table my window faces his house.  But I decided to go.   Super nice family.  I talked with his niece for quite a while and I'm sorry I didn't get her name, her name tag read "Doll Lady".  As soon as I read that I knew we would connect.

I have been working on a mixed media art doll made out of nuts and bolts and screws with a clay head for a few weeks now.  But, as with all of my dolls, I get to a certain point and then I need to let them sit for a while.  At Mr. Marshall's estate sale I had a ball in his garage!  He was very organized and kept everything separated and labeled.  This is what I ended up getting:

I LOVE all of the different size springs!  I went to the hardware store two weeks ago looking for springs but couldn't find the size I needed and now JACKPOT!

Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures at the end of the week of Metal Girl.

Great news!

First I want to apologize for being so negligent in posting but I have great news!   One of my dreams is finally coming true!  Secretly I have always wanted to be in the Newport News Fall Festival.  Here is a link to last year's show at Newport News Fall Festival 2012 My mom has been in this show for years and I thought if I could just get in I would feel like my art was validated.  I love what I do but it's a little on the "whimsical" side (I haven't posted a picture yet of my cat/pig or my bat/fish).  A few months ago my mom, in passing, said that I should apply to the Newport News Fall Festival.  She planted the seed but might not have known how much it meant to me.  My mom, an artist, was validating me!  Yesterday I found out that I had been accepted into the juried side of the Fall Festival! So if you're in the area please come out and see me this October in Newport News Park.

Next, I bought a dry erase board for my work area because I have so many projects going on that when I sit down to work on one I don't know which one to pick up first!  So here is a look at my list:

 

Here is a look at some of the dolls (and a bat like creature) I'm currently working on:

 



And last but not least I'm still working on my Hoffman Challenge doll.  I LOVE the way her skirt is turning out but I always have trouble painting faces so this is usually done last on my dolls.  Last night I sat down and painted her face.  I'm pleased with the way it turned out:

The green eye shadow isn't as bright in person as it is in the picture; and her gold blush is a lot more translucent too. I haven't attached her hair yet, I just layed her head in the hair so you could get the full effect.  She will probably be wearing earrings too.  I just went back to the only store in the area that carries the Hoffman fabric today so I can get started on her peacock this weekend.

So I think that's about it from My Art Room in Portsmouth, VA.  Thanks for stopping by!

Update on my Hoffman Doll challenge

Well I'm coming right along!  Because I have two young boys I'm not able to devote as much time to working on her as I would like but "where there's a will there's a way!"

As you remember these are the Hoffman Fabrics for the 2013 Challenge (except for the teal one):

Step 1  Body finished
After sewing her body I decided to add lace around the bust line to give her more curves.  Her necklace is made out of seed beads and an old earring.

 

Step 2 Legs and shoes finished
The legs are made out of one of the Hoffman challenge fabrics then I painted the shoes and laced them up with gold ribbon.  The soles and heals are painted brown.  Later I may add more embellishments to the top of her boots.



The most fun I've had with this challenge is creating the skirt. I first thing I did was to create a crazy quilt with the challenge fabrics. I then started embellishing the seams and creating decorative designs within the blocks.

 

 

And just today I finished her arms, hands and shrug around her shoulders. I have taken these photos because I'm so excited about her but her skirt isn't finished and not even attached yet! And of course she needs a head (which is still waiting to be stuffed). But this is a first look at what I've been working on these past few weeks.

 

 

Her left hand is "palm open" because she will be feeding an animal but I'm not going to tell you what it is yet incase it doesn't turn out.

Sneek Peek of my "whimsical" dragon

When I decided to do another "art doll" I started to look around my house for inspiration.  My boys were watching Mike the Knight cartoon and I thought, I'd love to do a dragon and then maybe have a little girl sitting or riding on it like they were friends.  So I started sketching (something I rarely do).

In my stash I had the perfect orange and gold fabric for the dragon and then I found a dark red print for the girls dress.  He is completely stuffed and the girl has a soft body with a polymer clay face and hands (then I painted the face).  I created both patterns.

While I haven't finished the dragon yet (he still needs hands and horns) I really wanted to show you all some pictures of his progress.  There will also be a gold cord around him somehow that the little girl will be holding onto.

In the next pictures I take I'll get a shot of her hair because it's rather long and she has a jewel in her hair that matches the one on the front of her dress.  Plus a picture of her hands because she has some wicked long red nails.

The Hoffman Challenge

Last weekend my mom and I attended The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA.  My mom and I go every year and I love the new and innovative ideas I walk away with.  Not only is there a quilt show but also vendors, lots of vendors, selling everything from fabric turners to dyed silk pods. 

Also there is The Hoffman Challenge.  Every year I am intrigued by this competition.  There are six categories: Pieced Quilts, Appliqued Quilts, Mixed Technique (pieced and appliqued), Doll, Clothing, and Accessories.  There are many rules for this challenge but the main one is to use the Hoffman fabrics they have selected for this year.

I am most interested in the doll challenge. Here are a few pictures from this years competition:

And check out the detail of her toenails!

Here are a few more:

 

 I have dedicated a board on my Pinterest page to the past Hoffman Challenge entries here.

Every year I am inspired by something at the Quilt Festival and this year it was The Hoffman Dolls.  I love a good challenge don't you?  Four days ago I bought the fabric and have quite a few ideas I'm knocking around in my head.  Here are the four fabrics I bought:

The design that is prominent is the main fabric for the challenge.  The only one that is not listed for the challenge is the teal one but I wanted more blue in the palette.  One is allowed to use other fabrics but the top one has to be incorporated into your design.  My picture doesn't really do it justice because each one of them has this gold shimmer to it that I love.  I've also bought gold and teal ribbons and beads to embellish later.

I will try to post pictures as I go along but I am also working on two other dolls that I want to show you too so stay tuned!