New work in my Etsy Shop

I added a few new creations just now to my Etsy shop - I love these little creations! I may just have to go make myself a few - I have a perfect shelf to display them on!

Santa's Workshop is in full swing!

I worked for a few hours in my studio today and thought I would share a few photos from my messy work bench. I looked around and had all these little faces staring back at me. I was just telling my friend Sharon yesterday that I have this beautiful work table made from a recycled door - it's a nice large space to work on BUT at the moment I have an 8" x 10" area that I can actually work on - supplies take up all the rest - time to clean it up! I'm very excited about some of the pieces that I have recently finished - I'd love to keep them for my own tree! I hope to actually make a few for myself!

Hard at work

I have been feeling great and working hard.  Over the past couple of days I've whipped up a batch of naked spun cotton ornaments - here's a photo of them hanging out in a bowl eagerly awaiting some love and a fresh coat of paint. Now I'm off to create a few Santas before I head down to the studio to paint. We'll all see you soon!

Almost back home!

I checked into the hospital this past Tuesday for my latest round of chemo. All is going well I am doing great and I will be back home on Saturday morning! Just in time - the debut of my Etsy shop has gone well with five sales since Sunday. I have been busy sketching and have some great ideas for Christmas. I can't wait to get home and get creating!

My Etsy shop is FINALLY open!!!!

I opened my Etsy shop in March of 2008 always hoping that I would have the time to create work to fill it - but it never happened until tonight!.......3 years later.  What do they say, better late than never?

I'm so excited and proud of myself - I have created a batch of funky art dolls and spun cotton ornaments that I am very happy with. Yeah my shop is open!  Now to market it...

Here are a few pictures of my fun creations.

When life chooses for you...

Well once again I am making an excuse for my absence from my blog and my artwork.

This time it's a bit more than my simple procrastination and I guess not really an excuse.  On July 29th, 2011, life chose a very different path for me. I hadn't been feeling well for about three months (fevers, fatigue and then eventually pneumonia) I figured it was time to do something about it. I found myself a new doctor (instead of going to the walk-in) and he started off by running a complete blood panel on me.  The results came back a few days later that I had Leukemia. I was yanked from my little world and placed into the not so friendly world of cancer.  July 29th, the very day, actually hours after finding out the diagnosis of Leukemia, I found myself in a room at Smilow Cancer Center at the Yale New Haven Hospital here in Connecticut - a room that I called home for the next 33 days. The girl who was only in the hospital her entire life for one week when she had her son spent the entire month of August in a hospital bed - culture shock!!  They wasted no time in starting my treatment for T-Cell ALL. Within those 33 days I completed a full round (Part A & Part B) of chemotherapy.

As I write this it is October 27th and I have completed 2 full rounds of chemo which marks my halfway point! I'm not blogging about this to whine, crab or complain only to share my experience. I have been so lucky and blessed ( I know that sounds funny given that it is cancer) -  but I have handled this situation with a very positive attitude- and I believe this has made all the difference! My body has tolerated the chemo very well and I suffer no nausea as a result of my treatments. I do rock a very snazzy bald head though. The good news is that I'm in remission with no signs of the Leukemia in my body!!! My chemo treatments will be finished in February and at that point I will start my march to be cancer free for 5 years. According to my doctor I am a boring patient!  Boring huh? - not a problem I will take it!

I am so very thankful to have the most amazing family and friends that have rallied around me with support and prayers - I would not be where I am without their love - I wish that everybody could be this lucky.  I find myself with a lot of free time on my hands and when I am feeling good I am happy to say that I am making ART!!!!!!  It feels amazing to be creating again - I will keep this blog updated with my new work so keep checking back in!!

Blog Shame...Empty Nest

I do I have an extreme case of blog shame.  It has been well over three months since I have last blogged. (sounds like I'm at confession)

Summer has been busy with work, weddings (my younger brother is getting married), my son is leaving in a few short weeks to head off to college (empty nest).  Empty Nest  - that brings up a good thought - my nest will be empty soon but I have great plans... I will fill it with creativity and art.  I have many projects on the horizon!!!  Please don't give up on me blog-world I will get better!

Willing Spring Along.......

Its bright & sunny here in Connecticut today but very windy with a crisp chill in the air.  I decided to take matters into my own hands - I needed a glimpse of spring. I found the most amazing teal green planter a few weeks back at Goodwill and I have been so excited to plant in it.  On Saturday our local garden shop, Mack & Twine, opened up for the season and my mother and I paid them a visit. I headed straight for the succulent section and grabbed a bunch of plants!  This morning I planted up my container - I'm so excited to have this little bit of spring on my coffee table in the living room.  Ahhhhhhh Spring - will you ever come?

Jaw dropping....WOW!

I stumbled upon artist Laura Lloyd's work yesterday on Etsy and WOW my creativity sirens went OFF!  I was so excited!! Her ceramic sculptures are whimsical, fun, AMAZING - she uses great colors & I just want them all!! (She's a painter too!) I immediately started envisioning all different spots in my home where her sculptures would look fabulous - I must start saving so that I can buy one!!!

Shout out to you Laura Lloyd! - I love your work!

I'm a marketer at heart and believe in promoting and sharing when I find something interesting, exciting and new - so without further ado...........Laura Lloyd ~ check her out!

My favorite piece is top left - It's titled: "Dream-Big---Flap-Hard"  <--- That about sums it all up!

New Work - A Gift for Joel

I just wanted to share a few pictures of the art doll I created on Sunday as a gift for my son's 20th birthday.  This piece is great fun and I am very excited about how it turned out! The blue polka dotted fabric on the ear was from a tie Joel often wore in prep school. The sweet little zombie bunny and the dolls arms are all made from spun cotton.  I'm having a fun time putting my own twist on this great technique.  Creating this doll sent me running for my sketch book with more ideas. Feels great to be creating! More to come....

Birthday Wishes

Today my son Joel turns 20!  I can't believe it - how time flies. I am so proud of him - he's a great kid with a wonderful sense of humor, always keeps us laughing! He has an artistic eye and is very creative - here are a few shots he has recently taken.  Happy Birthday Joel!   xoxo ~ Mom

! ! ! Happy Birthday 2ME ! ! !

My birthday arrived two days early in the form of a package from California! My incredible AND talented friend of many years Sharon Bloom sent me goodies!  I'll turn 40 on Friday and you'd think that at this age I could be mature.  HA - not a chance!!  I tried to be so good and wait until Friday to open this package but the little kid in me won out!  Its impossible to have a box from Sharon Bloom sitting on your table and not tear into it right away!  I want to share with you what she sent and why I'm a lucky lucky girl!

It starts with this great card - love this cat!

Sweet as sweet can be clay house and tree!

The most AMAZING owl plate! (insert your jealousy HERE!)

I have a shelf in my bathroom that I display many Sharon goodies on - check this out...

My son Joel's birthday is nine days after mine and Sharon always remembers him too - she sent him a gift card in this great owl card - I will frame the card for his room!

Thank you Sharon, not only for these amazing gifts but also for your friendship - I am glad that you are in my life! Together we will rule the world!!  XOXOX  Christine

.... My First Spun Cotton Creation ....

I'm home sick from work today hanging out with a not-so-fun friend, stomach bug.  For the moment I feel ok so I thought I would try to sneak in a post.

Saturday was my spun cotton class with Paula Walton - I had an amazing day with her learning this technique!  With Paula I made two people ornaments and a cat - The cat is not finished yet but I will post once it is.  I had a little bit of time on Sunday to practice and made my very first solo creation!  I took the traditional techniques she taught me and tweaked them a bit making an ornament with a bit stiffer feel.  I created this precious bunny girl. She's a cut little thing measuring about 5.5 inches. So very fun to make - I look forward to creating many more!  It was my sister's birthday at the beginning of February and I owe her a present so this very first creation is going to her!

!! Excitement !!!

Tomorrow is my private spun cotton ornament class with Paula Walton of A Sweet Remembrance.  I am so excited to learn this technique and to spend the day with her.  I turn 40 (ugh) next week and this is my birthday present to myself - Happy Birthday to ME!  I will post tomorrow and show you what I learned!

Hanging Art Doll

I have to agree, this does look great hanging on my wall! - I found the perfect wall space between my kitchen and living room. She looks small in the photo but is actually 16" tall.

Something I have failed to do in the past is to keep art that I have made for myself - so I am going to make a few pieces to keep and then get busy filling my etsy store!  I'm so in love with these dolls and the process of making them -  I hope when the time comes I will be able to part with them - or I could always become the Great Art Doll Hoarder!!!

Creative Stride!

I am excited to report that I have captured creativity and I have no plans on letting it go!
It's MINE all MINE!

I worked last night and this afternoon in my studio & I have some
goodies to share!!!!

I like how these three pieces work together & decided to create a new blog header from the group shot.

Next goal......create more and add work to my Etsy shop!

This guy is not finished yet - I wonder what I should do do with him?

coconut curry soup for the creative soul

Another passion of mine is cooking - I love to cook (the cleaning up after myself part - whole other story) How I decided to be creative tonight was to craft a pot of coconut curry soup! I owe my love of cooking with curry and thai ingredients like lemongrass, ginger and kaffir lime leaves to my friend Kara Lynch. Kara introduced me to curry paste and kaffir lime leaves and a whole new world of cooking opened up. Thanks Kara! I would love to share the recipe I used for this soup but to be honest I don't have one. I read a lot of recipes and then take what I like out and create my own. So the best I can do is this phot0 of my ingredients and to tell you that it smells and tastes incredible!

Ah Ha!

For a while now I have really been hard on myself for my lack of creativity. I head down to my studio and rearrange my space. I move this here & move that there (stall tactics - that I am VERY good at). Knowing that I have stalled enough, I sit and grab a canvas or my sketch pad, thinking I'm going to come up with something great....... and within 20 minutes I'm angry with myself and I shut the light off and turn away defeated once again. I beat on myself and send that creative spirit fleeing even further away.
I have been thinking a lot about this lately and I'm working very hard at putting an end to this destructive thought pattern. I have decided to cut myself some slack! When I was creating art full time to support myself and my son I was in the studio every waking minute with my hands dirty working on different projects - The creativity flowed as easy as breathing.

What changed? How did I fall off my path?

Feeling a bit burnt out an opportunity arose and I took a full time graphic design position with a publishing company. That was five years ago. Don't get me wrong I am very thankful that in this economy I have a job. Its just that everyday I'm creating at my job for someone else and then when I get home I have nothing left for me! Its time for some balance in my life.

I've recently had one of those Ah-HA! Moments.

When I go into the studio to create and nothing happens its not because I'm not creative or because I suck as an artist and have no talent. Its because I have put my creative spirit in a different direction. I need to be a whole lot nicer to myself and lighten up! I can't expect myself to creatively preform on command if I haven't been working in my studio in a long time. I am going to turn that creative spirit back in a direction that makes ME happy! Yea!

So here is my plan!

I have been kicking around the idea for a while of taking a class from Paula Walton - I'm lucky enough to only live about an hour away from her. So I did it and signed up! On March 12th I have a private class on spun cotton ornaments!

I also will be taking an online course in June - Painting with Plaster.

I am so excited to be getting my hands dirty again! I will keep you posted on this journey back to creativity!