down day

I can't sleep. Anyone else out there who can't sleep?
I took 3 sedatives... count 'em, 3! The most that could do was put me out for 3 or 4 hours. Not exactly a night's sleep.
I wake with dreams rolling around in my head, but only flashes of this and that. Nothing that I can pin down. Sometimes while doing something with my hands (often during handwashing, or making something) I get those dream images that flash just fast enough so that you can see them, but not slow enough so that you can catch them.

The cats see me up, and must think it's time for breakfast, but it's not. They walk into the kitchen and munch on a little left over hard food, knowing that the soft canned food will have to come later.

It's nearly quiet outside, but not totally. There's always a car or two, or a truck or bus passing by at every hour. Already the traffic is starting to build out there. The early birds going to work, I guess. Or the night shifters coming home.

It's cold outside, but the heat in the house is way too warm. I have no say over whether the heat is on or off. Not my call. I need to keep the windows open to get some air.

Yesterday was full of disappointments at every turn. Got news that I wasn't getting an apartment which would've saved me an awful lot of money every month. Then I heard that I shouldn't have expectations of getting the grant for the camera, which I've been waiting for. This is second time I got a "for sure" followed by a "don't get your hopes up too high". Well, of course I get my hopes up high, but for now, I'll have to put it in the "expect nothing" category.
Besides that, I have had a few household accidents, just to put the cherry on top, I guess.
And oh yea, someone returned one of my necklaces to the boutique (after wearing it a month), because she feels that the magnetic clasp may not be secure enough, and she wants a different fixing on it. Gimme a break!

So, all of this is draining any creative energies I thought might be stirring. I just want to go to bed.

hail to the chief

I am happy to say that today we have a new president... President Barack Obama. I wish him, and us, the very best to come.

a quiet afternoon

The sky is very white today. It looks like snow, but there's none coming.

It's a quiet day outside. A major holiday.. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. I hardly hear any traffic out there today. Maybe people partied big time over the weekend, and are just chilling out today. I know there was some major football game on tv... guys going to the superbowl... Arizona Cardinals, I believe. I just happened to tune into the end of the game, otherwise I'd have no idea about these things.

Today I am cleaning a bit, then taking a break, then cleaning a bit, and taking a break. My back can't withstand much for long lengths of time, but after resting a while, I'm good to go again.... and again is now. :)

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Finished the living room, and now it's snowing lightly. Such a pretty sight to see.

For the 3rd year, I am joining Sarajane Helm's miniature mask swap. In previous years the masks were to be all of a similar theme/style (which the artist would choose themselves).. this year, the masks can all be different. That's a lot of different masks! I joined one group, as usual, and will make 10 masks, and get 10 back (including one of my own). So far, one idea has come to mind, and I think I'd like to make some Mardi Gras masks, in the traditional colors of purple, green, and gold. Now that we can make everything different, I'm not sure what type of mask/s will come out of my hands.

Here are 2 of the masks I've made for previous swaps. Size is maximum 3"x3". Each one had a similar style (although the face was sculpted to look either male or female, and sometimes androgynous), but colored/finished differently.

dream pillows and a lady

Here are a couple of dream pillows I made... they're about 4x5 inches, and stuffed with pine needles, lavender, and agrimony.

Here is poor Lucinda, and unfinished Lady of Abundance, who, unfortunately, was a rushed piece of work. My patience got the better of me, since she was doomed from the start, having been sculpted from several different shades of clay. As I mentioned before, her hands and feet were less than an after-thought. She was a good practice piece, though, and I really like her luxurious hair. :-)

not waiting for snow

Nearly 2am, and I'm awake, having fallen out too early last night.

Word has it that snow is on the way, and I always seem to be awake on nights when snow is expected. I'm usually waiting for it, but not tonight. Tonight I'm just awake.

I did a figurative sculpture of a woman a few days ago. Unfortunately, I had already decided that she wasn't a particularly good piece by the time I got to the hands and feet, so I just slopped my way through that. Ends up I like her pretty much, except for her deliberately rushed extremities.

It was my patience that got the better of me while I was sculpting her. I didn't have it in me to focus on the fine details necessary, and I had already convinced myself that it wasn't going to turn out well, overall.

The critic is a nasty thing when it comes to creating, and mine has a very loud voice.
What do you do to silence the critic?

mother earth

The Icon Doll Challenge has now been posted on the WildArtDolls yahoo group site, so I'm able to show it here. I did this a couple of months ago; it's my depiction of "Mother Earth". She is 16" tall. The materials I used are:Yarrow sticks Hawk, Pheasant, and Cardinal feathers,Cave egg (white stone),semi precious,gemstones,buffalo hair,chamois leather,half of a seed pod, and a stone bead.

 

 

 

prosperity doll

Prosperity doll (click on pic to see larger view)

The prosperity doll has copper bracelets hanging from her arms, which hold USD (cash & coins) and Euro's. The states and countries depicted on the coins reflect my love of travel. I chose the US quarters at random, and the states depicted are: California, Oregon, West Virginia and North Dakota, to symbolize travel through the United States. The Euros have the symbols of Italy and Finland on them, to signify European travel. I would like to get more coins from other countries.

She is holding a book which represents reading/learning/writing/book-keeping.
Under one arm she has a rolled up fortune from a fortune cookie, which say: "You will begin a successful new busniness venture."

She has a Herkimer diamond attached to her 3rd eye (hard to see it in the picture).
She is 9 inches high.

Thanks to Stefania Morgante for giving me the inspiration to create a prosperity doll for the new year.

prosperity : the condition of being successful or thriving ; especially : economic well-being

materials used: gourd, polymer clay, paper clay, coins/dollars (USD & Euro), trimmings, paper, Suze Weinberg's Bedazzles, silver leafing, copper wire, cone-shaped thread spool, face mold, fortune cookie fortune, a double terminated Herkimer diamond

a doll

Whether it is one you play with
or one you covet behind glass or
display upon pedestals ~~ a doll is

the one who knows you

Your light side, your shadows
the places you've traveled
within and without

Your secrets , your hopes.

Sewn with dreams, sculpted with visions,
welded and wired and painted and stuffed
with myriad worlds of your imagination

All the parts of you that need to live
to express
to weep and to howl, to dance with sheer joy

Are there, in a doll
created

***

© Valianti

outside in

Looking out the window on this pale pink morning, I miss the luxury of being able to step outside without stepping into the world. The wide wood terrace in Roveniemi, Finland; the French doors, opening to the backyard, in National City, California. These two come right to mind.






Living six stories up, I am close enough to the street to hear all the traffic, but high enough to overlook many other apartments and houses, and see the sky. The sky is my terrace. It's no Montana, I'll tell you that much!

Today it's a soft light powdery blue, going whiter down by the river. The sun is behind me, so I can't see it, but it's reflecting off the roof structures in a soft yellow white.
I know the air is chilled, but it's going to about 40° today, which is quite mild for this time of year.

I'm working on the prosperity doll. She is losing much of her simplicity, but the idea was to build her up with symbols of prosperity. I'll probably get a pic with my friend's camera later on today. There's more she needs, but I'm trying to find available objects around the house. Maybe an old blouse with a fabric I can use. I'll have to go on a mission for this stuff. There must be some trinkets and stones just waiting to adorn her.

welcome 2009

It's new year's day (evening now). I just wanted to drop in and write a line or two, since keeping up with this log is among the things I want to be more diligent about this year.

I have that kind of tired that comes at the end of doing something big... a sort of relief that the holidays are over.

My Little Guy cat wants to give me some lovin', since I was gone all day.

Be it ever so humble.

May the year be as you wish.