Papillon

Papillon was one of those dolls that was supposed to have been made a long time ago. I had her in my head....sort of. I even managed to draw several sketches of her. But she was always in my peripheral vision and she would never come to where I could "see" her plainly. I had made her stand months ago.....even then I couldn't convince her to come out of hiding!

Suddenly one evening....when I should have been going to bed, I knew I was ready to begin work on her. She came together so quickly that even now it seems like a blur.

Papillon is 19.5" tall including her base. She's paper clay and fabric over an armature.

The Red Thread

"An invisible red thread connects those
who are destined to meet,
Regardless of time, place or circumstance.
The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break." Chinese Proverb

I came across this proverb just a few months ago and it really struck a chord with me. So many of my dearest friends are the type of people that strike me as "I feel like I have known you my whole life!" I wanted to incorporate this proverb somehow into a doll/dolls that would show this. I had also been sketching ideas for dolls that would center around the idea of the FATES from mythology. The two ideas collided and thus the dolls, The RED THREAD were born.



The dolls are approximately 10" tall. They are paperclay covered with cloth. The clothing of the dolls is pieced and quilted together.

The first doll is the one who spins the thread and finds the joy of life in the "making". The second doll finds her joy in the beauty of the creation....and simply enjoys "being". The third doll finds her joy in the knowing and understanding of "completion". Each one is complete unto herself...but becomes so much more as she is connected to the others.

To all my dear friends who are and who are yet to be, I dedicate these dolls to you! May this new year bring you joy in the "making", "being" and completion" of your artistic endeavors.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a creative New Year to all!
And one holiday hint....food eaten standing up has only half the calories! And if someone else made said food...calorie consumption drops to a mind altering quarter! Cheers!

This image is a small holiday quilt approximately 4"x7". The face is hand drawn with colored pencils.

Thanks to all of you "bad girls"......

....and comment posters! Your comments are hot chocolate chip cookies for the soul!

And who are the "bad girls" you ask? Taggers!!!! That's who! LOL

One is no other than Shelli Heinemann of POTBELLY ARTS, such a sweet bear artist by day, crazed-internet tagger by night....who knew! AND Chantal another lovely bear artist and all around lovely lady.....at least till this tagging incident!

Since I've been tagged, here is what I get to do....I write 5 random things about myself and then TAG five other unsuspecting individuals. (That part sounds fun!!!)

1. I love anime. Anything from FRUITS BASKET to GHOST in the SHELL.

2. I miss snow. It doesn't snow in Houston....though I did hear that they got a dusting a couple of years back. Just a little snow on Christmas would make me very happy!

3. Susan Wallace (who I am TAGGING), makes the BEST purses!!! In fact the last one she made is actually mine.....she just won't give it to me. While this isn't totally a random thought about me....I do want the record to show that Susan needs to give me my purse! LOL

4. I've never been camping. I did see an ad for a camping trip that I would be willing to think about. It's a little pricey, but what it is a $595.00 a night camping trip in "big sky country" that comes complete with a butler to make your campfire for you and maid to turn down your down comforter at night! Now that's camping!!!

5. I have lived in Houston for over a year now and still can't decide on curtains....partially cause I will make them, and when I want to sew....bears and dolls seem soooo much more exciting!!!

And, seriously.....a heartfelt thanks to all of you that read and or comment on my blatherings! Group hug!

Silver Scales

I've been pulling my hair out trying to think of a great December post. Thanks to my children, there are 3 Christmas trees of assorted shapes and sizes, all over the house. ("Oh mom, that poor little tree looks so lonesome sitting here in the store next to all these other big trees!") So, while I have an abundance of trees and tinsel, there's nary a Christmas doll in sight. So how about the next best thing! A mermaid!!! I know it brings to mind one of my favorite holiday tunes:

"Silver Scales,
silver scales...
it's swimming time
in the ocean!"

Hum along! I know you know the tune!!!

This is my doll Naiad. Poor dear doesn't actually have a name. That's as much her fault as it is mine. Every time
I have asked her what she is called by her mer-friends, she just rolls her eyes and flips her tail at me! Cheeky!


Naiad would be about 18" tall from the top of her head to the bottom of her fin if she stretched out. She is sculpted from paper clay and painted with genesis paints and acrylic paints.

I think the real reason she's a bit testy is that I overheard she doesn't have her Christmas shopping finished.
Not that I would know anything about that....

Ad ice or Alice

That's supposed to read "Advice for Alice", but.....well truth be known, I'm not the most proficient of typists. I took Typing 1 twice in high school, so there's no excuse for it. To this day I ALWAYS type my name wrong on the end of emails. It comes out Anglea. Why?...I don't have a clue.

So, back to the weird title. I kind of like "Ad ice or Alice".....makes the viewer think! The title is sublime, mildly elusive and highly strange...but it's cool. I should have told the people that pointed it out to me, "Yeah, I meant to do that!"

Oh well.



This doll was an entry into the Houston International Quilt show. I would like to say that it was an error on their part that she was mistitled....but it's all me! When you submit work for the Quilt show, you have to fill out a form that will go to the group that puts on the show. I thought I was being so cool by filling out AND submitting the forms on the computer. What is it they say about pride....hmmm. I depend entirely too much on spell check....it tags my name every time I spell it Anglea! But spell check never was meant to gauge whether what you wrote was sane. And it doesn't help that "ad", "ice" and "or" are words....well, I guess I need to get my own personal editor.


So despite that fact that it will forever be immortalized as "Ad ice or Alice" in the handbook for the Houston International Quilt show, it is supposed to be "Advice for Alice".

Alice is inspired by the book "Alice in Wonderland". Always one of my favorite parts of the book, right up there
with the cheshire cat bit.



Alice is about 7" tall, made from paperclay that is then covered with cloth. The mushrooms are from Aves Apoxie sculpt. Both Alice and the caterpillar are removable from the base.

Big WORD Wednesday!!!

It's been such a longggggg time since I've posted.

You know the feeling. You've been there.....

A week passes and you begin the lies. "Tomorrow....definitely tomorrow." Before you know it a month has passed and you feel queasy everytime you think about blogging. Even visiting other blogs make your stomach hurt for all the guilt and shame that hangs around your throat like so much bad HTML.

Then the unthinkable.....2 months pass by....and anytime anyone casually mentions the word blog, you are sure that they are secretly making the LOSER sign behind your back.

Ahhhh, the humanity!

Well, I don't have a good excuse....not even a lame one.

So to assuage any who think that my first post "back" should be something spectacular, here it is. An installment of BIG WORD WEDNESDAY!!!

It's a strange game that a friend of mine and I play.... (Hark! Could it be this delectable, yet highly-ineffective
use of time that creates my blogging dilemmas?)

Nah!

Strap on those dictionaries and go for it:

Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minific;
Feign do I fathom your nature's specific
Exaltedly set on the aether capacious
A reasonable facsimile of a gem carbonaceous.

Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minific;
Feign do I fathom your nature's specific

And....can you finish this?

Tetrade aggregate plus heptad twelve-month period gone, patriarchs belonging to us, effectuated......

And because this is supposed to be a visual blog of sorts, here's a picture of my dog...uh....she....uhm... ate my blog entries for the past couple of months!.....yeah! that's it! My dog Nutmeg ate my blog entries! Very sad ....'cause they were REALLY, REALLY cool.

A thing of beauty!

What do you do when it's way too hot outside....go to the library of course! Actually, the kids and I practically live in the library.....and we're always playing revolving door.....take 10 back, check 20 out. It makes my stomach lurch sometimes when I notice that we have 90 or so books checked out.

Today we decided to take some back. Everyone gets out of the car carrying a pile of books. My 4 year-old jumps out of the car and hands me 2 books that her older sister, Maddie, should have been carrying, but I add them to my pile.

Just as I am about to drop these 2 particular books in the slot, Cayla...the 4 year-old, dances by and tells me that I
shouldn't put those in the slot. Now you have to understand that this daughter is ALWAYS telling me something...like her stuffed cats just had to play with the Play Doh and COULDN'T put it away......or her current invisible friend NEEDS to paint....or, the geckos on the back window just HAVE to come in.......etc., ect......so you might understand why I just smiled at her and rolled my eyes as I dropped the books in.

Cut to 30 minutes later......we are carrying out more books than we took in.....my stomach lurches (I have nightmares of forgetting which house on the street is mine.....thereby making it impossible to return any of the books we have checked out!) We get in the car and Maddie wants to know where her two books are that she left on her seat.

Uh oh!

I tell her that I returned them. Maddie at this point looks stricken. My husband tells her she can just re-check them out later.....he's already pulled out of the parking lot.....and it IS hot....no WAY we're getting out of the car, swimming through the humidity and going back in. I apologize to her and tell her that "Monday we'll come back!"

My husband and I start talking about how weird it is to see armadillos....we had just passed one. Not like the squirrels and hundreds, no thousands...... of rabbits you see in Missouri. However, my "mommy" radar is buzzing like a bad headache.....I look toward the back to see that Maddie has her face turned toward the window.....and from the bit of her face that I can see I can tell she is crying.

Maddie is one of those children that cries without sound. Her private griefs and momentary miseries that break her little 6 year-old heart are always without show. Now Cayla, when she cries, the neighbors know about it. But not Maddie. Her eyes, which are huge and beautiful, just leak a sea of silent tears. Whenever I see her cry I want to do anything in the world that would help her stop. (Heaven help her future husband!!!) Of course I have to console her......."Maddie, we can go back and get that book Monday." She looks at me with those incredible eyes. "It's not the book mom....I had Rita's ATC in it as a bookmark." Now my stomach really lurches.

Rita is our best friend, surrogate-mom-grandma, best hugger in the world....and she is back in Kansas City. She and her husband Bob, are the biggest reasons we have found it so hard to "deal" with moving to Houston. Every holiday and sometimes for no reason at all, they will make the kids cards and ATC's (artist trading cards.) This past Easter was no different. It was ATC's with rabbits, eggs and glitter. I still remember that when Maddie saw her card from Rita, her eyes got big and she sighed, "beautiful!"

And it had never really registered before, but whenever I would see Maddie with a book, that ATC would be somewhere close by. I never connected that that was her bookmark. (I did ask her one time why she carried it around instead of putting it in her folder where she keeps other cards.....she told me that she keeps it with her to remind her that Rita loves her.)

Well, I dumped everyone else at the house and Maddie and I went back to the library toot sweet! The librarian found the book in the back.....and the card was still in it! When she handed it to Maddie, she told her that she
wouldn't have wanted to lose something so beautiful either! Maddie smiled and told her, "Rita made it!"


So Rita, if you read this, know that you are a "thing of beauty" to us....and that there's some poor librarian in Texas going, "Who's Rita?"