Yeti for SpookyPooky

This was a small hanging doll I did for a swap with the very awesome and talented Alexz aka SpookyPooky.  Seriously, go check her out. Her work is so adorable and she is constantly putting up new designs. She is obsessed with yetis and so I came up with this little guy. I bought a new book on fantasy polyclay sculpting and it has completely revamped my techniques.

Fairies Gnomes & Trolls: Create A Fantasy World in Polymer Clay by Maureen Carlson

I highly recommend it to everyone wanting to tackle the task of facial sculpting and expressions. It has done wonders for me! Every page was in full gorgeous color and the pictures are so vivid, making the instructions easy to follow.  

I was so proud of this yeti when he was completed. But I wasn't sad to send him away. He seemed to just be begging to be sent home to his yeti loving new friend. :)

Let me know what you think of him!

Belly Dancer Doll

As some of you know, I am a Craftster swapping ADDICT. Craftster is an amazing crafting forum that has done wonders for my art and inspires me everyday. One of the great features that the Craftster community has to offer are the Organized Craft Swaps. Nearly any theme you can think of and they are constantly changing. I treat these swaps as kind of assignments in the sort of art un-college of life that I am attending. I grade myself based on my partner's reaction when they receive their items. If I can manage to create a perfect gift for a total stranger, I have passed in my eyes. And as an added bonus on top of the proud validated feeling I get from a grateful partner gushing about how much they loved their package, I receive an amazing box of goodies that someone else has poured their heart into, working to fit my own tastes.Swapping has forced me to branch into different styles, techniques, and even mediums that if left to my own devices I would have never tried. 

Basically, it's the kick in the ass that a loony artsy slacker like me needs.

So all that being said, I would like to share with you the latest of my swap creations (latest in that my partner has received this one and it is now safe to post elsewhere on the interweb) my Belly Dancer Doll. 

 

She was created for my belly dance swap along with a matching burgundy hip scarf. The doll is sculpted from poly clay and stood about 6-7 inches tall. I had wanted to do something inspired by those dancing hula girl statues that have a movable piece around the waist, giving them a bit of a wiggle and a shimmy. I was disappointed that the covered ring of wire that I added the beaded fringe and chain to to was unable to move as freely as I would have liked. I first tried to attach the ring with a bit of clear elastic through a whole bore through her waist at the sides but that only allowed for a front to back tilt of her "hips" Not what I was looking for. I filled in the hole and attached eye pins to the front and back of her and to the ring itself. It gave a bit of wiggle but because she was so small the fringe just kinda tilted to one side (as you can see in the picture.)

Despite her inability to "dance" like I had in mind, I was still quite proud of her. Though since sculpting her a couple weeks ago, I have completely rethought my clay technique. I've been studying a new book about fantasy sculpting and it has taught me how to approach things like facial features with ease and detail. Just wait till you see the things I have created since this. Thanks for looking and let me know what ya think!

Alright, enough playing around. It's time to get serious.

I am quite pleased with the look and feel of this blog now. After spending two days designing this and swearing at the html, (I felt so stupid once I realized how simple the problem was lol) this finally looks like a presentable respectable blog for an artsy whackjob like me. So now it's time to start using it. I want this blog to be more than just a half-assed portfolio. Ideally, it will be at least a weekly updated journal of my adventures in my art. I know I have thrown words like "weekly" around before on other things and followed through for oh about a week but dammit this time is different, (I hope).

So to kick off this new bloggy attitude (wow I kinda hate myself for using the word "bloggy"), here is my current project and goal list. I am hoping this helps me keep track of everything that I start and never finish. I have a habit of having like four billion projects that I plan out and then get distracted and forget about. I have a very short attention span, combined with a mind that is always scheming about something new. Hopefully this will be the kick in the ass I need to get going and take things seriously. The Mad Gypsy is getting her head in the game now.
  Everything I have planned or in the works already. I'm going to try to keep this list as updated as possible.  Expect this list to reappear as things can be crossed off and others added. Items for gifts or swaps that are a surprise will have more detail to them once they are crossed off.

 Project List 2010

1. Belly dancer doll for Belly Dance Swap
2. 3 dotee dolls for dotee swap round 8 (1 of 3 done)
3. Personal swap with Alexz "SpookyPooky"
4. Jar of Whimsy swap
5. Make-A-Friend Package #3
6. Alien tattoo design Commission
7. Halloween Book Purse 
8. Moon Book Purse
9. Beach Book Purse
10. Halloween puzzle piece necklace
11. Halloween altered puzzle
12. repainting the wooden giraffe from Jai
13. Gargoyle doll Commission
14. Large Scale 6ft monster Commission
15. 5 Fuzzy Kitty Lump dolls for Etsy
16. belly dance belt and hip scarf for Jaime and Leslie
17. wooden tree wall hanging
18. Pink monster pimptress sculpture
19. small monster doll for my dad
20. "Witchy Red" Belly dance costume
21. Jai's rainbow "Skants"
22. 25 pairs of earrings for Etsy 
23. FINISH MY DAMN NOVEL
24. 20  cards for Etsy
25. Geisha wall hanging
26. Wooden Castle Jewelry boxes for Etsy
27. Three eyed goddess doll

I think I am going to try to post one new completed piece every Monday, Wednesday I'll post an update about a work in progress, and Friday I'll share something like a tutorial, inspiring art or artists I have found, or  something else that caught my artsy attention. Sound like a plan? I am going to try.


My birthday is in July and all I really want for my birthday is a fanbase.
Well, a fanbase and my flower sleeve tattoo. Let's try to make both of those things happen.

Luna Smile Wall Hanging

This is Luna Smile. She's a wonderful three dimensional wall hanging. Painted molded canvas, 15" by 11"

For Sale

Tiny dolls

I made these dolls for a craft swap. They are all about 6 inches tall.


I call her Vera Rose.My partner who received this shark doll named her Esmeralda.

Eip The Pie Nymph

I'm not quite sure what drove me to draw this annoyingly cute, terrifyingly sweet little nymph but nonetheless, here she is in full blinding tooth rotting color.

Prints available

Cactus Monster

I adore this little guy. He started out as a small doodle of his head shape and eye in my sketchbook that I looked at and thought, "Ehh, this probably won't amount to anything." And so I went about my business. Every now and then I would look back and add a little something here and there. Eventually he grew into this finished little cactus and sure enough, found himself a home among my favorite little monsters I've drawn.

Colored pencil.

Prints available