Monday, September 30, 2013

The Other Day, Here and Now, Into the Future

I think I’ll begin at the end, or rather ‘into the future’.

While it is still 2013, artists start planning for the next year’s shows. It’s time for me to be thinking about such things, making plans, organizing, getting my head together. Oh, alright. I know that last one is a bit ambitious.

In any case, I know for sure that one show I will be attending is the Artist Doll and Teddy Bear Convention in Philadelphia.    ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

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The reason is that I will be doing a presentation called “Creativity, Ideas & Inspiration: Getting Where You Want to Go”.

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Of course, I’m not the only one who is presenting. There are loads of others too. And workshops! All kinds of workshops. Click here for more details. If you want to sign up, keep in mind that there are a limited number of convention spaces available. Last year it sold out. Hurry! Hurry!

As for the ‘here and now’ portion of this post, I have a few new photos to share. Actually, I have more than a few but I am selecting four to share now. If you remember this photo from before:

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You can see in the following photos that I have made some progress since then. First I mixed up some goo.  I meant for it to be this exact color too.  A lovely shade of not quite green, not quite something else.

I wanted the effect that this technique offered so I was determined to make it work.  The first time out of the gate was a massive failure since I only thought I had read the instructions completely.  Seems I overlooked a minor detail that really goofed up the whole thing.  That’s what you call an education.  In the end it turned out to my advantage because I did some research and found out how to get better results by going a bit beyond the instructions.

This photo shows the goo applied to the stencil.  This was quite satisfying in itself – all smooth and even.

Next, the removal of the stencil.  It could have been nerve-wracking but I didn’t have time to consider the consequences lest I goof up again.  Just like ripping off a Band-Aid.  Don’t think about it, just do it.

Whew!  When it was over, it was so worth it for it to come out like I had hoped.

Lastly, ‘the other day’, Sebastian posted a video of Topher. There were some technical difficulties which I hope we have resolved by using You Tube this time around. So, if you missed it the first time, here it is again. Sebastian wants me to tell you that it’s okay if you want to watch it twice.

Just for Fun–Topher!

That’s all for today. Thank you for reading!

Happy Monday!

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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Hanging Out

Hi ho. Sebastian here. Have you missed me? I’d like to tell you that I have been working hard but alas, I cannot tell a lie. I have been busy but not working very hard. Are you wondering what I have been doing? I thought you’d never ask!

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I’ve been hanging out with The Toph. That’s what I call him – The Toph. He makes me laugh so hard I nearly split my seams. At the end of the day, he is really, really tuckered out and I am really, really tired from laughing.

So much so that I don’t have any energy left to type but . . .

me and The Toph have worked out a system and that’s why I am here now. We’ve sorted out how he can play and I can laugh and I still manage to update you on everything I think is newsworthy or nearly so.

It’s simple really. I throw the ball and The Toph goes to get it. I laugh. Then while he is trying to decide what to do with it once he has it, I type a few words. Then we have a snack. (We don’t have the same one though. He’s partial to bugs and stuff but my palette is more refined – you know, cookies and stuff.)

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That’s the way it goes. Toss the ball. Laugh. Type some words. Eat. Toss, laugh, type, eat.

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Of course, we might mix it up in the future. Instead of one ‘eat’ we might have two or three and maybe we’ll add some more ‘laughs’ in the middle.

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Anyways, you wanna see The Toph in action? This is my favorite video and the best part is watching his back right leg. It makes me giggle so hard that I forget the typing part of the routine and go straight to the eating part. Oh well. That’s the way it goes. (By the way, you-know-who says this video only seems to work on Internet Explorer so far.  You just can’t get good help these days!)

Since I am featuring The Toph today, I thought I would say hello from both of us and wish you a happy, happy, joy-filled day!

With love and hugs from,

sebastiansigns &  toph_signs

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Pumpkin Work in Progress

I don’t think these photos impart much information about this project but

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that’s okay because if I had shown you my initial idea it would be totally misleading seeing as

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I have changed the overall concept since I first began

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and now I think this sentence needs a period.

There. Off to dreamland now. Good dreams I am hoping because last night’s were pretty weird.

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Before or Behind?

Gee, am I behind? I thought I was ahead – for a change. Most of the time, it seems like I get my Halloween inspiration about 3 days before the trick-or-treaters begin ringing my doorbell. You see I have just finished my second Halloween piece which is unusual for me. Here she is standing at close to 5 inches tall. I am hoping to include her and A Scary Delight, the box from this post, in a website update or something similar. I’m still trying to decide.

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Anyway, I was in a shop just this evening and saw Christmas goods edging out the Halloween stuff. Not that I mind the opportunity to get a few supplies ahead of time to work with but it’s a little disconcerting when you are in the midst of Halloween projects and Autumn has not yet officially begun.

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Thus, the question about being behind. I still have several more Halloween ideas and hope that at least one of them will come to fruition before I change gears. It might not be wise to undertake something at this ‘late’ date but I am crossing my fingers that I can hang onto my intentions and carry on to see it finished. Here’s the start.

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Monday, September 16, 2013

Topher and the Paparazzi

Over the weekend we discovered that one of our favorite festivals was going on downtown. It’s the one that has street painting each year.

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We thought Topher would enjoy a little variety in his socialization opportunities.

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The street painting showcased the talents of many artists in a wide variety of subjects.

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The one pictured below has to be one of my very favorites. The shading and execution were excellent in my opinion. If you had no reference, you wouldn’t know this was chalk on pavement.

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We would walk a little ways, look at the artwork and answer questions about Topher.

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He was pretty good about complete strangers coming up to him and giving him a little love.

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One time we were admiring the art in progress when a lady came up to us and ask us if we could bring Topher over to where she and her friends were having lunch at an outdoor cafĂ©.  We are glad people seem to like him so we were happy to oblige.

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Here is a photo of one art panel that I manipulated with some special effects on my camera.

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I was caught by surprise another time when I was holding him up for someone to say hello and realized that he had photographers on either side taking his picture.  We didn’t mind but it was kind of like going down a rabbit hole.

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It was fun meeting people through Topher.  He’s a very good sport about going with the flow until it’s all over and he says, “No more photos please.  I am bushed.”

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Thursday, September 12, 2013

A Scary Delight

I am excited to post these photos of “A Scary Delight”. It has a bit of a surprising twist which makes it all that much more fun to create. So . . . if you dare, read on. 

Did you get your invitation to the party? The Halloween party? The Halloween costume party?

Here it is:

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With just a turn of the spindle at the top, you get a peek into the party place.

 

Meet your host who is just a wee bit batty.

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He warmly welcomes you to join him at his sp-o-o-o-o-o-ky party.

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On the shelf you will find all kinds of concoctions. What’s in those bottles? I would be careful to ask before you indulge.

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Providing a bit of atmosphere for the conviviality: a skeleton tree conjured from a cast iron kettle.

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Some of the invited guests are doing the bat wing boogie up above

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and below, the jack o’ lanterns lend their light to the gathering.

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But sometime in the dark of the night . . .

Lightning strikes!

Yikes!

The lights go out but there is an ominous glow. What is it?

Why it’s the costume party! It carries on even in the dark!

The edge quotes radiate light along with the dotty scroll works and skull tree topper.

And - the eyeballs cast a wild look around while jack o’ lanterns really do glow albeit with a little bit of a smirk.

You can easily find your host by his luminous necklace.

He might tell you to help yourself to some potions and refreshments . . . if you dare.

“I am delighted you could join me at my party. Thank you for coming. Mwahahaha!”

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