Octopi! Oh My!

I had three big deadlines last week, and I managed to produce pieces that I was happy with for all three of them. Last night I was up until 3 am cleaning up the aftermath of my flurry of activity. 

The three figures that I created are customized vinyl toys. Two are mini munnies and one is an off-brand that I got at the craft store. I dropped them off at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton for the Urban Decay Show. I'm looking forward to seeing the variety of work there, including the work of two local artists, Jeremy Gann and Gabe Pons of PonShop Studio.

This first piece is my Octopus Bride. I removed her arms, added wing/fins where the arms were and then attached a deconstructed octopus toy to her bod and added lots of color.

Neptune is a modern guy. He has tunnels in his ears and a resin-filled ocean in his belly complete with a little gold ship floating in it. I haven't seen this particular body modification on a person yet, but I suppose it's just a matter of time until someone figures out how to do it.

Diver Dan is ready for anything. He has scuba fins and a very sophisticated breathing apparatus. He also has a mohawk made of lite brite pegs.

In other octopus-related news, I have a piece called Octopus in the upcoming Regional Show at FCCA

 

 

 The photo on the left shows the way the piece looked the day after our "painting around" session last November. The photo on the right shows the finished piece.  I checked it out with the other artists who helped me paint the background and they gave me the go-ahead to submit it.

And, last but certainly not least, I completed my quilt for the Art and Old Lace Challenge Sponsored by Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria. I grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take to make this quilt, and the journey wasn't exactly a smooth one, but I am pleased with the finished product. For now, I can only give you a sneak peek:

 

I have fallen in love with the colors on this quilt, and now I'm in the mood to redecorate my kitchen in a sunny vintage style. Perhaps one day I'll have some spare time that I can devote to a little kitchen facelift. Let's not mention it to my husband just yet, though.. my decorating projects have a way of snowballing that results in a lot of work for him, and I just got the kitchen table clear of art supplies. I'll try to give him a few weeks of low-chaos living before I spring this one on him! (Love you, Honey!)

A Beautiful Day

It's been so long since I posted because I've been out having all kinds of fun!
We attended the wedding of my cousin Julie and her new husband Will.
They had a vintage tea-party themed reception and all of the guests were invited to dress up as well. 

  Julie and I are distant cousins. Our grandmothers were sisters, and I am old enough to be her mother, but we are also kindred spirits and very special friends. The age and distance between us disappears when we are together, and I'm looking forward to spending lots more time with the new Mr. and Mrs. Skaarup since they will be living closer to us now.

Each bridesmaid wore a different dress. I got to make earrings for each one of them.

 Cherry Blossoms for Emily

Pearls and tiny victorian handbags for Tina.

Pearls, lockets keys and dictionary pages for Becky.

I have a ton of pictures that I'm still editing. I'll post more on facebook soon.

In the meantime, I've been working on my teaching schedule. I'll have a list of upcoming classes posted soon!