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    • Mannequin Progress and other Adventures

    2010 - 03.07

    Tags: , , , , , , , , Category Art, Design, Socializing | 1 Comment »

    Sorry for the blur...they're just too fast!

    Went to my first Roller Derby last night at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium with Mike. I thought it was crazy awesome and can’t wait for the next bout. The seats might have been less than awesome but we definitely got a birds eye view of the action. Next time it might be nice to have ringside seats to see if any derby girls fall in our laps (but they say that we can’t take them home with us if they do…darn) Knowing very little about Derby before coming I was really excited to figure out the rules and see how it all works. I also didn’t know who to cheer for so I randomly chose the Garda Belts (based on their intro that featured bag pipers) and the Dagger Dolls (based on the fact that some of them were wearing tutus). Sadly they both got trounced by the Atomic Bombshells and the Rockits (respectively) but that’s okay…they played really well… The game was all sold out so I was really glad Mike got tickets earlier this week. Super Win.

    Base coats are pretty much all done!

    Started to paint the Constellations into the torso

    Left (Silver) will be a mechanical arm for the concept of technology, Right (Black) will be splatter painted for the concept of Art

    Just in case you thought I was slacking off on the mannequin I thought I’d update with some pictures so you knew that wasn’t the case. It’s been a little dull because I was determined to get the base coats done on all of the limbs so that I could paint on them simultaneously and make sure things came together alright. Have a little bit of touching up to do but I’m pretty much at the point where things will get interesting! yay!

    In addition to the Mannequin project, I’ve taken on a collaboration project with my graphic designer friend who wanted a series of paintings for his newly painted office. He designed the layout and the subject matter, I’m going to paint it…should be interesting…especially with the crazy tree he decided to throw at me…jerk… Just started griding off the canvases based on the photoshop file he sent me last night and can’t wait to get started! :D Cause you know…I need a new project like I need a hole in my head… oh well…it should keep me out of trouble. :p

    ahh, blank white canvases...time to change that...

    Good times…very good times…

    The Wildcat Sanctuary

    2010 - 02.27

    Tags: , Category The Wildcat Sanctuary, Volunteering | No Comments »

    Amy's Going away Drawing

    Amy's Going away Drawing

    Last night at my friend Amy’s going away party, her roommate had us all draw something for her. I got a little carried away and took over the far left portion of the page. Good times. It was fun to play.

    Today was my first day of Volunteering at the Wildcat Sanctuary. It was absolutely amazing getting to do so much for these cats that have been so mistreated by people who thought they could own or tame them. TWS does such amazing things and I’m glad I finally have time to participate and help them. Here are some pictures from the tour that we had as part of our orientation.

    Big Cat in a small body

    Big Cat in a small body

    One of the many “Domestic” Bengals that are taken care of at TWS. These cats are bred to have the coats of wild cats like African Servals and sold to unsuspecting owners that expect to get all of the beauty of wildcats with none of the fuss…they couldn’t be more wrong

    Sampson and the Servals

    Sampson and the Servals

    Sampson is a Caracal that enjoys the company of the African Servals at the Sanctuary. Birds of a feather may flock together but cat’s don’t have to have the same fur coat to share a perch.

    Aslan the Lion

    Aslan the Lion

    Male lions might be called Kings of beasts…but Aslan’s Queens don’t let him get too far out of line. He knows who’s boss and they get the hammocks.

    The Pride

    The Pride

    Aslan and one of his ladies, I still can’t distinguish between Asha or Shanti but they’re both beautiful ladies there to boss the big guy around. We couldn’t get the Lionesses to come say hi to us until we got Aslan’s attention and he came to say hi, then the two girls had to come and see what he was up to.

    Titan

    Titan

    Titan is the Male tiger they have on the grounds. Lily, his girlfriend wasn’t nearby at the time. But I got some great shots of Titan pacing by the fence wall. He huffed his hellos to us and was disappointed when he realized we weren’t the feeding crew.

    Titan

    Handsome Man

    Had to post another shot of Titan, he’s just so handsome!!!

    And yes we did actually get work done, it wasn’t all just fun and games and seeing the pretty cats. We helped get more work done on the Cougar Cove enclosures. it was hard work but so very rewarding…and I have to say, it was odd being the Cougar’s entertainment for the day, I’m sure they had fun watching us toil over them! :p

    If you want to learn more about The Wildcat Sanctuary, check out their site www.wildcatsanctuary.org

    *note: TWS is not open to the public, this is to ensure that the cats are kept safe and to keep people who are not welcome off the property. Look at their website to find ways that you can support their cause. It’s worth while and a truly beautiful thing they are doing for these animals.

    Day 3 of the Mannequin

    2010 - 02.12

    Tags: , , , , Category Art, Crafting, Design | No Comments »

    More progress! I’m having way too much fun with her so far…it’s great.

    This evening I’m going with a friend out to Donnie Dirk’s Zombie Den…I love this place, it’s oddly classy, delightfully quirky and very cozy. pretty yummy drinks too… can’t go wrong with Zombies…for real.

    Tomorrow is a day of shopping, painting and relaxing…should be wonderful!

    My Valentine’s Day plans consist of an all day Art day with my dear friend Christine who is going to teach me how to crochet! then later in the evening Debbie and I are going to “According to Coyote” at the Children’s Theater. I have a nice and busy weekend but I’ll be busy doing the things I love with the people I love. Good times!

    Early Images of the Mannequin

    2010 - 02.11

    Tags: , , , , Category Art, Design | 1 Comment »

    So far just making progress on the torso, I’m having way too much fun with this iridescent paint I got yesterday. I can’t wait to see how this project evolves from the idea I have in my head to actuality.

    I love how I have limbs strewn about my studio, it’s been scaring guests and concerning my family for quite some time…but I’m having fun and that’s all that matters… :D I haven’t named her yet…I’m open to suggestions but it might become more clear after I get more done on her.

    This may or may not become a yearly project, depending on A. How long it takes and B. How in love with the final product I am…although I wouldn’t be opposed to getting more mannequins in the future. They’re really fun canvases and create very exciting opportunities for concepts. I’ll have to keep my eyes open for anymore.

    I’m going to get back to it before the rest of my paint dries…but I wanted to get some photos up so people know what I’m up to… More to come later!

    The Mannequin

    2010 - 02.09

    Category Uncategorized | No Comments »

    Last summer while garage sale-ing with my friend Amy, I stumbled across a retail mannequin being used as a purse holder… I asked the woman who owned it if it was for sale too and she said sure…$50. I talked her down to $25 somehow and threw my new headless wonder into the trunk of Amy’s already full car…in bits and pieces so she’d fit. As odd as this is, I had the idea of using a mannequin as a canavas floating around in my head for quite some time. Acquiring this was phase one of a dream come true.

    I spent all this time, cleaning it, priming it, ignoring it, moving it, priming it again because of the new scuffs from moving and then little ideas began trickling into my brain this week…enough to motivate me to start painting it for real. unfortunately there will be no before shots because my camera decided to die…but I think I’ll go get a new one tomorrow. I want to take pictures of the various stages she goes through. Right now she kind of looks like a spandexed super hero because of the cartoony solid blue and red base coat I put on tonight…but that’ll go away soon…never fear…

    So, sorry there isn’t any photographic evidence of my most recent artistic activity, but it will come soon, never fear. Time for bed now though.

    “I wish these Winter Boots were Walkin’ Shoes too”

    2010 - 02.07

    Tags: , , Category Travel | No Comments »

    Birds by Brianna Lane, very very delightful song, sad and lonely sounding but really good. Quite appropriate for my mood at the moment. My friend is escaping the cold Midwest and going south of the equator, past the international date line and far away to a warm island on the other side of the world with little more than her bike, a tent and some clothes. She was in a tizzy today getting everything set and I don’t blame her.

    I need an adventure… I wish I was more brave like her…

    Cooking experiment!

    2010 - 01.31

    Category Baking, Cooking, Goodies | No Comments »

    This morning was time for a cooking experiment involving a recipe I found last week for Oven-Puffed Plum Pancake (with apple instead of plum because that’s what we had) Basically an apple dutch baby. The result was amazing! Check these babies out…

    cooking experiment…a success.

    Paintings…quite a few of them (in various states of completion)

    2010 - 01.30

    Tags: , , , , , Category Art, Crafting, Design, Fire | No Comments »

    Last week I went to the new Blick store in Edina and spent entirely too much on new painting supplies to celebrate my new free time. Since then, I’ve painted every night at least…practically all day when I can. I’m having so much fun experimenting and playing again, I don’t really care if it isn’t good, I’m just enjoying the journey. so here’s a sampling of what I’ve been doing, in various states of completion and goodness… sorry about the crappy light and camera…not much I can do about it. I would say that most of these aren’t done yet. but I was too excited not to post something and share what I’ve been working on. Feedback welcome!

    Cupcakes!

    2010 - 01.16

    Tags: , Category Baking, Goodies | 1 Comment »

    Had to test out the apron today and see if it passed the test of keeping rogue food-stuffs off of me.

    it succeeded, my shirt and pants were perfectly clean even after cake flour exploded and chocolate was going everywhere…mmm chocolate… check out these yummy little beauties!

    Cherry Cupcakes

    Yellow Cake with chopped up cherries inside with chocolate frosting and a cherry on top!

    Plain Vanilla cupcakes

    Good ol' plain vanilla cupcakes with wonderful chocolate frosting!!! mmmm...

    This is a really good recipe that begs for further exploration and elaborations…check it out, I love this woman’s blogging style and her photographs are just gorgeous! The Pioneer Woman has some truly amazing recipes.

    Mission Accomplished! (finished the apron!)

    2010 - 01.13

    Tags: , , , , , , Category Art, Blogging, Crafting | 4 comments

    One quick post for the night because I accomplished my mission and got the apron done. thought I’d show it off a bit!

    Aaaaaaaaannnnnnnnddddddd It’s time for bed…I need to start getting more than 6 hours of sleep a night…I’m getting old. but hey, getting farther in season 2 of Lost and now know enough about making this apron that I can make another for my friend quickly before she starts traveling. I really hope she likes it!

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