Finishing the snake and what follows...

Well, I finished the snake. Will had to get up on our tallest ladder to take this picture and you still can't really see the image that well. The new owner said she was going to put it up this weekend so I may be able to take a picture of the the snake installed in it's new home this week sometime. YAY!
I have been obsessed with circles and geometric designs as of late. I used to work with these patterns a lot in the late 90's and left them off for bigger surface space for imagery. Now they are creeping back and taking over. And boy are my hands tired!

SSSSSSSSSSS..........

This is the project I have been obsessssssssing over the past couple of weeks. A friend of mine, who is also my delightful massage therapist, ordered this series of tiles to go along her wall at the ceiling. She is a great lover of wildlife and nature so we came up with this swamp theme featuring the main character Susie the snake. She is not one certain type of snake, all though I did use the copperhead as a sort of model. I had great fun creating each tile with all of it's hidden animals and plants. On the back of the tiles are fun facts about each animal and quotes about them that I found from famous people. I added a couple of little sayings of my own. There are 13 tiles in all, each measuring 14 x 12 inches a piece. Right now as I write, 5 tiles are in the kiln glazing away.....keep your fingers crossed that they don't warp or crack.......

Wow! It's been too long

We've been on the road again. First to Cleveland, Ohio, then across and up to Lake Ontario in NY, and finally a straight shot back home to NC. Whew!...( all with the three dogs!) ...and though we had such a wonderful time.....
We are glad to be home.
I have missed everyone and can't wait to catch up on the blogisphere and all my blogging friends. I know y'all have been up to some great art and can't wait to see what magic you all have created. Until I get myself together enough to post a new looooooong project that I have been obsessing over, here are some pics of the vacation.

Hope all of you are having the best of summers!
Leanne

The eyes are watching, always watchinhg....

Here are the eye bottles finished. I am liking the color, the crackles, the eyes.....but the shininess is a little too shiny? Is that possible? Too shiny......it seems almost like saying too much icing...As IF!
But I am saying it. Too Shiny.
Too much like candy. It makes the bottles look commercially made.
I would like to tone it down just a little.



Now the glaze on the eye box is one that I am in love with. I think it gives the eye design more depth and more creep...that is a creepy feel.

New Clay Work

More Ophelia.....she is an obsession and she is everywhere. Drawings, paintings, clay....everywhere. I love her.

And the the eye bottles of which there are 3.

























And finally another crazy monster bottle with lots of heads on the surface.








Recently, I have been making lots of clay work, finishing orders, and thinking. Thinking about what direction I would like the forms to take. Mostly I am thinking about pushing the boundaries of the forms I am used to making. So far I am only thinking in sketches. When I get some nailed down hopefully they will be good enough to share....


Happy 4th everyone!!!

Ophelia #2

After the spring season I decided to rededicate myself to painting every week. Well, I think I went a little overboard. I haven't touched clay in almost 3 weeks....is that possible?
At first I missed it terribly. But it seems now I am obsessed with Ophelia and her blue tragic glances.
Planning to get back to clay tomorrow. Orders are amassing as the days go along and I am getting way behind.....
It will be good to get my hands in clay again.

Finished.

Done.

Update

The new painting with oil.
There is a problem somewhere in the left corner. I am thinking about turning the hair dark blue and taking out the stripes. Or taking out the flowers in her lower hand.
It is so wet now that I think I will have to stop for awhile..............
On to the next one.

Ophelia

My newest painting of Ophelia. It is rather large for me....maybe 3 feet by 2 and 1/2. This is the under coat of acrylic using just Prussian Blue and White.
I have started the top coat of oils now using only blues. I am limiting my palette right now because I am scared to paint, timid in my choices. This limitation makes me bolder and the lack of color choices makes me concentrate on the strokes, the composition, the whole of the work. We will have to see if the limitation works....

Ophelia and the Bird

I love this painting Ophelia by John Everett Millais.
I ashamedly first saw this painting in the teenage love story/movie named Fire with Fire (and a movie I watched numerous times as a teen with my best girlfriend). If you were a girl born in the 70's and were 16 when this gushy film came out you will understand the attraction.

Any hoo, I have since ( thankfully ) seen the painting in person and not from some old TV screen.
All I can say is It Is Amazing. I know that it is over used in adds, prints and the like.....but it is Amazing nonetheless. I am fascinated and dumb struck every time I see it.

So, when I came home from London this time (after standing in front of it drooling for a couple of hours) I wanted to take up the subject of Ophelia myself. Here is one result on a pot.
And the following sculpture/bottle is the Bird King, claiming attention again, resenting Ophelia for her beauty and seductive ways.

Back in the saddle....

Sigh.
No rest for the weary.
Back in the studio working like a mad woman trying to get ready for the last show of spring all the while planning a trip to NY on Saturday.
Here's a peek at what I am working on.....
More bottles but now with faces. It wasn't until I made 2 that I realized they look like Gumby and therefore are not quite as appealing to me. Will thinks they look nothing like Gumby....what do you think?
I am surprised it matters to me. In the beginning I was completely in love with them.
Now I am thinking of not even firing the little fellows. It is always amazing to me how quickly my interest can fade if I feel like I've referenced a cartoon, another artist, another person's design too distinctly. I do feel though it is impossible not to be influenced by the visual stimuli around us.


On another note.....
I don't want to leave out some of the pictures from California.
I really had an amazing time. The people were sweet, welcoming and gorgeous.
The flowers divine.
The succulents were huge and some of them....truly.....were bigger than me. (I'm 5'2")
We went to the beach and looked in these amazing tide pools finding hermit crabs and bright blue-green sea anemone.
We were blessed to go to a Very Fancy fashion show. And though I felt like a redneck disguised in black velvet and heels....It Was Fabulous! So much fun!
And of course Diane and Jared, our wonderful hosts, were so much fun to be around.
Thanks to them for being the bestest!

ps. The show was a success and a lot of fun!

Extinct

National Geographic is a favorite magazine of mine. A couple of months ago, they published an issue showing many animals that are extinct and some that are going to be extinct in the near future. I was disturbed by this more than I expected. Really disturbed. So much that the images followed me into my dreams.
I think when we are pursued by a thought, a lingering image that we are meant to pursue back. In an earlier post I opened up the old sketch book and showed an image of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow. A small bird that is now extinct. I felt for this little fellow.
Here is my painting of the Sparrow.
The start of the series.

Finished.

Voila! I present the first painting I have started and finished in a month in a long, long time.
I am done. No question marks. No doubts. Done.
This is a statement that I can't usually make for years.

How do we know when pieces are finished? With the pots there is a definite ending. When the whole piece is carved it is done. But a painting is so ephemeral...so vague....so squishy. I always struggle to know when to let it be done. I have ruined many a painting not recognizing when the painting had had enough.
This one just said it. I'm done.

Some New Work and Random Acts of Art Around Here....

A large brown Owl bowl.


















A Murder of Crows

























A Gift for the Fairy Tree.
( i secretly suspect that fairies live in this tree. don't tell anyone)




















And the Crazy Rabbit Trade from Facebook. These guys hang on the wall and chatter obscenities at their owners.

Going Back to Cali...Cali....Cali, Going Back to Cali.....Hmmm I THINK So!

Can you hear LL Cool J in the back ground?
So, I am going to be in San Diego California for a trunk show with my good friend and jewelry designer extraordinaire Diane Owens.
I am super excited to revisit this wonderful town. Last year I met the most fabulous people and had a wonderful time seeing the beautiful coastline of Cali.
If anyone out there in the blogisphere is in San Diego, or close by, and wants to come to the show the particulars are:

The Diane Owens and Friends Trunk Show
Saturday May 2nd.
11:00-6:00
4970 Mansfield St.
San Diego, California

Facebook Rabbits and Such....

Lately I have fallen prey to the seduction of Facebook.
I refused the siren call of "Crackbook" (as it is often called) for a long while. I resisted the tales from facebook lovers of meeting up with old friends....reconnecting with family....
And then, my sweet friend Diane told me of all the business opportunities on Facebook so I joined.
My hubby would roll his eyes and say, "Yeah, right." But one can always pretend.

Anyway, I have had a great time on Facebook so far....too much fun because I spend way too much time online. One of the great things that has happened is I have met up with some amazing artists. There is a small group of NC artists that I have had the best time exchanging rabbit/evil bunny pictures. We all decided to exchange actual work and I received my first evil monster bunny yesterday. He arrived in a cool package decorated with a sweet pink bunny drawing. Then out he came wrapped in gauze. Will was taken aback by his appearance. So, we slowly unraveled the gauze and Mr. Crazy Bunny was there!He is super detailed carrying a bloody knife behind his back. And he has an incredible face when his bloody mask comes off.
He is AMAZING! and a little scary. I was almost afraid to sleep with him in the house but I think he likes me.



Although, the night before he arrived, I heard some strange screams out in the woods behind our house.....










Artist: Andrew Sedberry
felt, buttons, fimo, fabric, awesomeness....

Easter Chicks and Bottles

So I found this cute pattern for crocheted Easter egg covers and couldn't resist.
Mine look a little bit crazed and are definitely not as cute as the original pattern but I still love them. This is a free pattern posted under Donna's Crochet Patterns. Go have a look at the originals! They are super sweet.




And.......even more bottles. Who knew one person could hang on to one shape for so long? I reached the sticky point in this 100 bottle project around the 45-50th bottles. (See post here about said sticky point.) I was just hating myself for even thinking up the challenge. But now, I can barely convince myself to make anything else but bottles. These new skinny ones are my favorites so far. The shape beckons to me and I just want to fill up a whole room with them.