Here's my new wire person. I made a few yesterday with a dress-form body. My husband doesn't like these. He likes the other kind I posted a couple of days ago.

Wow, it's the last day of 2005. I s'pose it was a typical year -some good and some bad and, thankfully, a lot of ordinary.

My top 5 best things of 2005

1. In May at school honor programs, how well the girls did.

2. Thomas Mann workshop at Arrowmont

3. Teaching at Hummingbird in July

4. Getting started on creating my home studio - finally

5. Getting my camera for Christmas

What about the top 5 worst? They were bad, so why bother bringing them up? Besides, they ALL involve other people behaving badly and I really don't think I say unkind (although TRUE) stuff about people here.

What about 2006? I will turn 39. Both of my girls will be teenagers. Whit will start her last year of middle school.Both of my parents will turn 60 - wow, old. (Hi Mom)

The Top 5 Things I Want to Accomplish in 2006

1. Finish home studio and keep it organized.

2. Get rid of all the stuff we have around here that we don't need or use.

3. Make art every day.

4. Get published in a real magazine.

5. Read at least one good book every month.

6. Exercise every day for at least 30 minutes. Yes, that's 6, but it's my list.

Hapyy New Year.

peace, love and paper,

Debbi

How to Avoid Work

Another day of inventory, another project to get out of it. No, really, I counted most of the day, but I hit a problem in the afternoon and these little rebar wire people were my stress release. They are about 8" tall and made of wire and wire mesh. No glue! The entire body is made from one length of rebar wire, then the hair and clothes are added. They are freestanding. Not the best pic in the world, but i'm still learnin'.

My metal experience is skinny, at best. A little of one semester of my college 3-D studio was spent doing metal and wire. I took a 2-day workshop with Keith LoBue in 2003 and I took a 5 day workshop with Thomas Mann last July.
I guess I like metal because it isn't fussy and it's okay to get your hands dirty and you get to whack stuff with a hammer. It also has relative permanence and I like rust. I'm a cold connection kinda girl, but I often shop for soldering irons, as I would love to make jewelry to sell. Maybe that should be on my 2006 to do list - make some cold connection jewelry to sell. I might do more of the people and sit them out inthe store for sale.

I really want some good pliers.


peace, love and paper and metal,
Debbi

What I Did Today

I made this after I dreamed about it last night. It's a project in Claudine Hellmuth's second book, Beyond the Unexpected. She calls them Poppet dolls. I named this one Time Flies. The beads over her head say Happy New Year. My daughter says the skirt part is too long for the body.

I hope you made something fun today. You're s'posed to over Christmas break. It's also inventory at my husband's store. I can't stand the counting, but I do it every year. It's just part of having a family business. I didn't count today. I made the doll.


peace, love and paper,
Debbi

There Really IS a Santa Clause

Yup, there is and he brought me a digital camera! Whopee! Now I can put pics on this thing. Before I had to borrow my father-in-law's camera. I am so excited. I am taking pictures of everything trying to learn how it works. This is a picture of my 2005 daily art journal. Only 6 more entries and a new project begins!


I hope your Christmas was fun and your new year is even better!

peace, love and paper,
Debbi

Changed my mind...

Since xmas of 2002, I have made and sent a small number of handmade holiday books to a certain select few of my book-binding buddies, book teachers and artists I admire. I had my '05 book planned out and everything, but I just felt so unmotivated to make them. So as of Tuesday, I totally shifted gears, designed a new book and started making them last night. I will get them inthe mail Saturday. Yup, it's a little later than normal, but I think the book is cute enough that no one will mind. (If they even care at all, I guess.) The subject of narscissism will come up later.

Are you a whistler, hummer or singer? Elyse Manning came up with this system and it's kinda cool.



peace, love and paper,
Debbi

Three Dimensional Edible Collage

...otherwise known as Faux Gingerbread Houses. The PTO group in my school wanted to use the art room to make g-bread houses with every kid in the school, but the art room is occupied 4 days a week. So I offered to let the parents come in during art classes this week to do the activity, withthe understanding that there would be LOTS of parent help. It's a very hands on thing and the sight of all the candy and just the outright nolvety of making edible art - a combination for icing-covered disaster. They are using graham crackers for the walls and roof and royal icing made with meringue powder for the glue and TONS of donated candy to decorate. Really cute and really fun. We have quite a few under-privileged kids who probably don't have the funds at home to create something like this, so I'm glad we can provide this opportunity for them.

My husband has a tummy bug - ick and keep your distance, dear.


peace, love and paper
Debbi

Button Ornaments

Here are the ornaments I am giving and selling this year. They are based on a project I saw in Somerset Studio. I think it was the Sept/Oct issue. I adapted them for ornaments with holiday colors in the buttons, ribbon and papers. I made my own notions labels for the cards to cute them up a bit.

peace, love and paper,
Debbi

Druthers

Perhaps you've played this game before...where you state two things and ask which you'd rather (druther) have or do. For example:

hot dog or hamburger?
lots of little zits or one great big one?
unmatching outfit in public or messy hair in public?
and other, grosser, darker ones

Here's one for us artsy types: Would you rather be copied or ignored?

I would rather be copied! By anyone in bad ways with ugly colors and NOT EVEN CREDITED than ignored!


peace, love and paper,
Debbi

Root Canals and Art

So I had my root canal on Thursday, my second one ever and hopefully last. It's those tiny little files that they use to clean out the root - scar-y! After the first one, I had lots of pain and felt lousy for about a week. This one hurts, too. I hate taking the pain med, but it does it's job.

Now for art...Went to the museum yesterday. Saw an exhibit of Arts and Crafts. It was OK, but I was with my art pals, so the company was good. We ate at Puck's, which was delish.


I hope I get a digital camera for xmas so I can start putting pics in this thing.


It's almost Thanksgiving week. I have so muchto be thankful for, but the best thing has got to be that I was born in a time and place where women aren't limited and that my two daughters are growing up in a world where nobody tells them they can't do something because they are girls.

peace, love and paper,
Debbi

Saving Private Ryan

This movie is TNT right now. My biggest problem with it is that I like Tom Hanks, but I dislike Matt Damon, so I can't see Tom getting killed saving Matt. I do not like Matt Damon for three reasons.
1. He broke up with Minnie Driver ON Oprah
2. He played a guy that was mean to Brendan Frasier in the film School Ties
3. He got as Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting...since when does proving that you can use the really bad word as all eight parts of speech constitute good writing?

On the other hand I like Tom Hanks because I remember him on Bosom Buddies, when he was young and skinny and because he is so willing to go the distance physically to play a role. It's hard to believe that Forrest Gump is the same guy talking to volleyball or playing a giant keyboard with his feet.I'm pretty sure Matt is only qualified to play 20-something smart-mouthed cutie-pies.

Root Canal Tomorrow!


peace, love and paper,
Debbi

The Real World and Laguna Beach

...the guilty pleasures of MTV. Yes, I watch them. No, I do not allow my kids to watch them. My best Real World was the one with Pedro and Puck. I think the first one I watched was the one with cowboy John - San Diego maybe? Couldn't stand to watch the season with Coral. Wasn't crazy about last season and to be truthful, this season is a little difficult to watch. Maybe I'm just over it. Laguna Beach - complete waste of time - but I watch it. How in the world did Jason manage to date every single girl on the show without them figuring out he was just, as they say, a player? He's not even that cute, so he wasn't livin' on looks and charm.

I am getting a new 'do tomorrow after school

Root canal Thursday - Yikes

Art museum on Friday

Basketball on Saturday

The furnace isn't working right

The truck got hit at Lowe's

Anyway,

peace, love and paper,
Debbi

Ramping up for the Holidays

ok, in real life, I'm an elementary art teacher and with scheduling, Thanksgiving and an impending root canal, I have already started my Christmas art projects - santa, elves and all the usual suspects. It's still okay to do traditional Christmas stuff where I live, but the school system just to the north has banned Christmas decorations...BUT I BET THE TEACHERS STILL TAKE CHRISTMAS BREAK FROM SCHOOL! Celebrate Christmas or not, I don't care, I'm just saying pick a side of the fence and go for it - with passion. While I am a Christian, I do not celebrate Dec. 25 as a religious holiday. I once read a like-minded person call it "a holiday, not a holy day" . That's where my head is. As soon as I figure this out, I am going to post some pics of my holiday creations.

Be nice to somebody tomorrow who you don't really like. Just for an experiment in how YOU can change your feelings through your actions.

peace, love and paper,
Debbi

Hello Blogdom!

OK, so now I have a blog, along with everybody else in the mixed media art universe. Yup, I do the art thing, too. I think it's tout la rage to call myself a mixed media artist. It's just a fancy way to say that I will try to make art out of anything that will sit still.

Why in the world would anybody read this?

I make art every day - no matter what - and to that end, I have decided to make a paper doll every day in 2006, Lord willin' and the crick don't rise, which I plan to post here...paper doll post.

peace, love and paper,
debbi