November is Here!

 I had my booth at the Queen of Arts at the Elverhoj. I did better than years before, but that is not saying much ;). It is always nice to mingle with adults and get people's reactions to my work. It was a very pleasant 2 days.

I got a lot of my pieces done, but the rings I made still need stones set and I hope to get some new crow and small song bird necklaces cut soon. I put out some my old paintings from college at the show as well, and it was great to get feedback on them. It really makes me want to paint. Maybe next year will be the year I get out some canvases and paint! 

I made a new batch of paper clay tags that can also be ornaments so I thought I would show some of my process here.

To start off (not shown) I roll out the clay and stamp them with either my hand cut stamps or my favorite milagro heart stamps. I cut them out, add a hole and some decorations to the sides.

After they dry, I paint them white and give them an antiqued look with a black paint wash.

I use colored pencils to color them, mixing them with multiple layers of color. This is a fun step, but takes a while. 

They really come to life when I add the last coat of thick, super high gloss. A lot of people thought they were ceramic. I never thought about that until the show. I leave the back blank so it can be easily written on. That way you can use it as a tag on a gift. They are very light weight. Then they can be used as an ornament on the tree. 

 

 Here are some of my birds, almost finished. I really enjoy these. I base them loosely on real birds, which makes it extra fun for me (I love birds and took many Ornithology classes in college). And below is how they ended up. All of these birds are at the Art Hus now.

 This Oriole is one of my total favorites.

 Yesterday was a wonderful sketch day with my dad and daughter in Solvang. We sat in the sun in front of the Solvang Bakery and sketched the windmill and other buildings on the street.

It was a great way to start our weekend. I still have more work to finish and bring to the Art Hus and a super awesome trip to Seattle to see my sister coming up. Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!