Busy Day

NEW and currently For Sale!

It's been a busy day of uploading and picture taking. Working on pieces is only one aspect of studio life. Documenting the work is another. AND it is a time consuming venture. I'm sadly behind on all things web related but I did manage to upload the latest pieces including a lovely Mini Ravenhill and a David Mayer foal. The foal, btw is for sale and she's at a great price! Snag something great for the showring! I'll have more goodies to show off by the weekend! I've got all burners going on full speed!

Mini Ravenhill done on commission

Spring Break

Very beginning stages of production

Spring Break....

Spring break came and went hence the radio silence. My son was off from school for about a week and for me that meant a slow down in the studio to enjoy my son's smiles, laughs, creative expressions and playful attitude about life. I believe that the later part of that list everyone should indulge in every now and then. Playful attitudes about life are just what I needed to regenerate the ol' creative juices. We did a little bit of everything including messing around with clay and paint and we visited some fun "kid only" places. Nothing like watching your child run around and enjoy life. It is soothing and tranquil. Not sure why that is, but it is.

Today I finally sat down at the studio desk and I've been on fire painting horses. I'm excited to share everything with you. I did take a quick shot of the upper studio desk. Good vibes going on all around. I'm completely blissful.

Sweet Bliss.

Quick shot of the desk today

Ooppsie!

Peek-a-boo!

Oopsie!

Well, that didn't go as planned! I thought I had molded Lil Pumpkin well. I crossed all my "T"s and dotted every "i" and still, the resin seeped out all over the place and her legs are just not forming. I've wasted a bit of time trying to get a nice copy of her to send to MVS. In the end I'll just send the original and pray all goes well with delivery.

The mold just isn't right

I will have to figure out my mold problem though if I want to cast a silicone version of Pumpkin for porcelain production. It will be quite a challenge. I figured as much but not so early on.

Woah...put on the brakes

"“I love walking in the rain, 'cause then
no-one knows I'm crying.”"

Crazy week.

Can we hit the snooze button?

Slam on the brakes?

Better yet, can you just pass me that eraser over there?

One thing that happens when I get down in the dumps is the little critters come to comfort. It's always been like this. I don't know why, but I let them come and sit for a spell. I let the images flow as they may. I guess this time around there is a party. A sucky party, but none the less, a party.

The Party

I spied my bulbs slowly
starting to bloom

Thankfully, spring is pretty much right around the corner according to the daffodil bulbs. I'll take it!!! Anything to get closer to the warmth and comfort of summer. Anything.

Silicone Friday

Preparing the mold box

A very deep breath....

....was needed today before I encased my original sculpture "Lil Pumpkin" in silicone. I made sure to pour the portions properly and mix well. I tried not to get too many bubbles in the mold, although that won't matter as I only need to obtain 3 decent castings from this one silicone mold.

Two resin castings a silicone one are needed. I will send one resin casting to Mountain View Studios for proper casting and one I'll keep just in case the first gets lost in the mail. I have found that the moment you don't cover your butt is the moment you should have! The silicone version will then be molded in plaster for porcelain production.

No turnin' back now

Most of the ceramic artists use earthenware for casting. I have used both earthenware and porcelain and I greatly prefer porcelain. I get the feeling it prefers me too. I have learned it's odd characteristics and I feel more comfortable with it. Even on the pottery wheel my preference all around is porcelain. It's clean, easy to pull and trim and always makes a far superior product in the end. Even the glazes look better on porcelain.

In any case, any "ceramic" adventure is a wonderful opportunity to learn and I anticipate many new learning curves. This portion of Lil Pumpkin's production has honestly been my personal "fire" which has helped me finish her and get her to this point.

BTW, information about this resin release and future artist copies will be made on my Studio Danza News group. If you haven't joined please do.

Waiting...

I admit it...I'm hooked

3:15 PM...

...and time is really going slow as I wait for my niece to get home from school. She has promised to bring me the next book in the Twilight series to read. Ok, I admit it....I'm hooked. It wasn't my fault though! I sware! It was a combo of discovering Paper Back Swap online, which rekindled my urge to read, and finding that silly book about a queen vampire named "Betsy" on top of the garbage heap on the street about a month ago.

After I finished "Undead and Unwed" I decided to trade it in on PBS for another vampire book. "Why not dive into Twilight?" I thought. That was four days ago. I've never been so hungry for words or to find out what happens next in a book. I never ever read that fast. I never ever had a reason to. My mind is always on a million things with a combo of drawing or painting or creating something playing along side thoughts at the same time. It's like a room with multiple TV screens all playing something different. It is very rare for my mind to focus on one thing for any length of time. Focusing on Twilight, and only that, was actually very therapeutic for me.

Commission for a Mini Ravenhill

Ok, ok, I admit it...I also begged my niece to bring over the dvd. I need to see the movie too. And while I sit and watch it tonight I'll have two pieces by my side to work on. A foal that is being painted a flashy appy and the Mini Ravenhill to blue roan appy. Although, I'm thinking I doubt I'll get much work done on them, but the intention will be there.

3:25 PM...

...still waiting....