Bears with attitude and head xeroxes!

Before I make a bear or a doll for that matter, I usually will sketch.

These are 3 little bears that I can see so clearly in my head....but when I try...and I have tried several times....to put them on paper, they always come out looking like bears with a LOT of attitude! They stare at me from the paper with their, "yeah, just try to call me cute!" sorta look.

If I could invent anything, it would be the head xerox.

You'd get a great idea...connect yourself to your computer (this is the tricky part) and woohoo!!! Instant great idea on your screen!! It would change the world...it would radically reduce the frustrations of artists worldwide. The world would become a kinder, gentler place because artists would no longer stew in a "I-knew-I-should-have-become-an-accountant" haze when ideas go bad. Instant xeroxing would radically reduce the hours ideas stay in your head, thereby alleviating any undue rottage! Instead we as artists would take to the streets, handing out chocolate and planting flowers! It would be beautiful!!!

I can see it in my head soooo clearly......if only I could figure out that "head-computer" connection thingy.....hmmm.

Crazy people....?

I am such a people watcher! I love to just sit back and watch people interact. Especially people that are really emotive, and use a lot of gestures when they talk.

One of my favorite places is at the post office. Most people, when the line is really long, sort of zombie out. They look like they are almost in a hypnotic state.....trying to "peace out" and find that happy spot, so that they don't go "postal" while waiting for their turn at the window...their turn to talk to that government employee who is even unhappier than they are at the moment.

Occasionally, there will be one or two in this crowd that must be so sanguine that they can't hold it in. You've seen them....they are the ones that talk to anyone and everyone...and use big sweeping gestures and laugh long and hard at their own insights. They are the few, the proud...the ones you are afraid to sit next to on a plane. But standing in line at the post office they are great. They help to pass the time....sort of like a low level stand up comedian.

Today, standing in line at the post office, with my kids no less....there was one of these individuals two people ahead of us. She was so expressive...it was almost like a dance. She had my 12 year-old son enthralled. The best part of it was that she wasn't actually talking to anyone in line, even though the man in front of her kept turning around to her, just to be sure. She had long hair that hid what I hope was a headset to a phone. But part of me thinks that maybe she was just passing time....talking to someone that obviously was highly entertained by her...but that the rest of us just couldn't see.

When I was a teenager I used to get to ride the bus "downtown" on Saturdays to go to the library. And every Saturday, rain or shine, there was this woman that sat in the back all by herself, holding court with an unseen crowd. She would talk, laugh, gesticulate and once I even saw her cry. I remember telling a friend that I thought that the next Saturday I saw her I would go sit by her and talk to her. My friend told me that she was probably "crazy" and that was why she sat alone and that I would be crazy to go talk to her.

I never did get up the nerve to go and talk to her. Wish I had. I may have discovered that maybe she wasn't all that crazy. Maybe she was just having a good time....practicing for her next time in line at the post office....

Aster

This is ASTER, named for what is probably one of my favorite flowers. I did a partial picture of her on a previous post, but then I found this picture on my computer and wanted to add it. I next want to make a bear for a DAHLIA and then one for a RANUNCULUS, both gorgeous flowers that we are going to try to grow in planters this year.

A window with a view.....

It was such a beautiful day here that I took an extra long walk with my kids today. All four of them chattering about totally different things, not caring that because they are all talking about different things that I can't understand any of it.....they were just happy to be able to share their thoughts with the wind.

Conversation turned a little ugly from my 4 year-old when she saw a fire ant hill. She has an enormous fear...phobia...of fire ants after inadvertently sitting on one of their mounds last year.

She fell to her knees and yelled that she couldn't walk anymore till someone moved all the fire ants. It's a shame you can't do that as an adult. Right in the middle of the mall, "I can't walk anymore....till someone brings me a mocha...with a scone!"

One thing that was especially wonderful about the walk was all the flowers that were beginning to bloom. Of course they and the newly budding trees make me sneeze and feel like my head is full of cotton.....but beauty has it's price!

So in honor of my walk today, here is an art quilt that is titled "A Window with a View". It's for all that have bad allergies or humongous fears of fire ants.....sometimes it might seem tempting to watch the world from a window, but it's always better outside!

Procrastinators unite....tomorrow

I saw this on a T-shirt tonight when I was at the library. I almost laughed out loud because just a second ago I had been making a list of things I could put off doing for a while.

Here is a picture of a baby fairy that I just sculpted. She is sleeping peacefully on my desk at the moment....every time I look at her I feel the overwhelming need for a nap. My youngest daughter, who just turned 4, is fascinated with her. She keeps asking me when she will wake up.

This is an image that I just finished for a group book on birds. It feels like a self-portrait.

Our family recently moved.....after 14 years of living in the same house. At first it was exciting. Sort of like going on an extended vacation......800 miles from home! But now after 7 months, the reality of living somewhere so different is setting in. It hit me hard the other day that this may be where we spend the rest of our lives so far away from friends and family. So for now all I can say is, "this is my home."

Maybe one day it really will be.....

Bears

I haven't made too many bears lately, but I thought I would add a few of my favorites:
This is Bridgette and her sidekick Mouse. Bridgette is about 4" tall and made from mohair fur and lots of quilted fabrics.




This is Aster....she is a fully crochet thread bear. She is about 7" tall....and loves gardening.







This is my Bonsai bear. He is trying to grow a bonsai, but is worried that it is so small. Maybe more sun will
make it grow better!

Kilt Pins

These are Kilt Pins for a swap that I am doing with an online group. I should have been vacuuming, but the poor kilt pins have been sitting forlorn on my desk for sooooo long! What's a girl to do? They are embellished with African trade beads, twine, copper wire, odd beads and some shrink plastic that is heated and debossed with a rubber stamp. The bottom one also has one of my favorite beads from GREEN GIRLS Studio. The little mermaid. She's so adorable! Now I have to clean up the gi-normous mess I made putting these together....