Also

Go play with THIS!

See Shells

A few See Shells amongst the Seashells

Here's my new favorite photograph!
I wanted to update some online profile pages, and thought of this shot.

Next

Stamp kit found at the thrift store for under $3!

In thinking about what kind of a business card I might want, I knew it would need to be something different, a little weird, memorable, something to represent me, my ideas, my art, my photographs. Something that the card itself will remind you of me.
One of my favorite ideas was to use something upcycled as the card itself, and collecting old board game bits led to the idea of using board game money.
Eventually, I will have a customized rubber stamp made to look like a business card, with my blog address, and store(s), stamp it on the back of old board game money, and cute, unique business card.
But until I actually have all the addresses, and get all my stuff figured out, I'm not going to NOT hand out cards, right?
I found this rubber stamp kit at one of my favorite thrift stores for $2.98! It seems to have come from a set, everything goes together, though there was no box or instructions, and it appears to be almost complete. There are two trays with lids with two font sets, one all caps; two rounded and two rectangular stamps to put the letters in; a stamp pad and a plastic tweezers thing.
Until I get the letters sorted out and the stamp made, I've hand written a few business cards. So...
NEXT is sorting out a bunch of tiny, tiny letters. Good thing I have a good light!

Museum Pieces

Mother & Child

Family vacation in the summer of 2012 took us to the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was awesome!
Too much to see, pennies to smash, cousins to keep up with, I only had time for a few photos. Most were of this wonderful artwork.

The sign says:

Junk Art Figure of Mother & Child

Created by renowned "junk" artist Leo Sewell of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Believe It or Not!, these people are made from common kitchen utensils, plumbing supplies, auto parts, toys and rubbish.

Spoiler: I believe it.

  

"Child" has a Fisher Price mom in his face

Show & Tell @ Work Day

Evidently it is. Happy Friday.

Poly Clay

Poly Clay
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

Here's a bunch of beads and things I made with polymer clay several years ago. These are examples of different techniques I tried, some from books, some my own designs, some pretty good, some not successful at all, but that's what practicing is about.
Next week, kids gone for Spring Break, I will be delving a bit into the old poly clay stuff. Funny, I worked so much at it for so long, and now haven't for so long. I have to figure out where I was, go back and pick it up, and see where to move on to.
Part of my process, I'm realizing, I becoming ok with the time lapse. There were many reasons this, my favorite art form took a back seat, some reasons I will have to work through. So I guess the poly clay is a bit of therapy for me as well.
Art Therapy 101.

LOST Art

Even if you know nothing about LOST the television show (where have you been hiding?) here's enough info for you to grock the point of this post:
LOST is a huge mystery. A mystery within a mystery. And everything and anything can be a clue, anything on the show itself, or on the mini-games and clips on the web. The interest in this show (IMHO) is trying to piece together clues, and come up with theories on what is actually going on. Maybe like a giant interactive game of Clue, or one of those murder mystery parties.
Not too long ago, one character was doing some watercolor painting. I always love to notice when television or movie characters do arts and crafts, it doesn't seem to happen that often. And unfortunately, a lot of the times I've seen characters doing arts and crafts the character was where this one was: a mental hospital. (So does television tell us only mental patients do arts and crafts? I don't think so, I just think television doesn't want to remind us too often about the creative things we could be doing while or instead of watching-it doesn't want the competition. ;p That's my crackpot theory, and I'm sticking to it.)
So this character was painting with watercolors, and I, like every other LOST watcher I presume, started thinking about the clue that was in the painting. Does it mean he was abducted by Penny's people that are stationed in the Arctic? Does it mean the LOST writers are going with the super crackpot (again, IMHO) theory of the hollow Earth, and that the island they are on is directly tunneled to the North Pole? Does it represent that character himself, and that he was at some point in the cold weather?
Sorry, I probably lost a few non-LOST-ers there. Suffice it to say that there was much speculation over the painting.
Anyway, I heard an interview with this actor, and when questioned about the painting, he admitted that the producer just told him to paint, not what to paint. So whereas the actor thought about what his character might paint, the producer and writers did NOT have a specific clue in mind.
Sometimes a cigar is really just a cigar. But why he's eating the Cheetos is still a controversial question. ;p

There's lots of places out there on the net with screen grabs, I got this one from one of my favs: Lost Easter Eggs. Thanks.

And The Beginning of 2008

My Goals for 2008
Creative:

• Continue to research and create things for selling on Etsy. If it comes slowly, there's a reason. Enjoy the trip.
  
• Work on Art Scout projects!
  
• Really start the 'retro craft project'! A little at a time is fine.
  
• Keep exploring, looking for inspiration, trying new things, and write about it. Don't be afraid to make mistakes!

Bloggerific:

• Be a better blogger, so I can has cookie! IE: Blog more often, with more photos! And stop writing blog posts in my head, and forget to actually post them!!
  
• Show appreciation for the podcasts I listen to and blogs I read by leaving comments!
  
• Continue to improve my sidebar, my 'about me' pages, and other little projects that will make my blog more fun to read.

Personal:

• Work on first step of going back to vegetarianism: Reduce red meat intake.
  
• Move my body more, maybe belly dancing?
  
• Be more social!

Art Scout

I was never in Girl Scouts, we did 4-H at our house. I learned a lot, and for a short time even had a boy in our club. I got to take cookies (well, OK a cake that had to be baked three different times) to the fair, not sell cookies. I was then and am even more so now glad that I was never indoctrinated into that cult. But I did envy the badges.
Now there is an artistic alternative! Art Scouts is an awesome on-line club for creative types. I am so going to join and I'm getting started on my first button, the Art Journaller button, because I've already been thinking about starting an art journal, so this is a great way to get started. I have to do nine of the sixteen items, but I just may do all of them!
Does anyone want to play along?

Art - 0 - Mat

faceplate
Originally uploaded by clarkwhittington.

Here's the actual art-o-mat that is in our town. I haven't had a chance to go see it and buy some art yet, but I will soon!

Art-O-Mat

So I'm picking up the ArtistExtreeme later after school today, and as he's getting in the car, he asks me if I've ever heard of the Art-O-Mat. Well, of course I have. That's the awesome project where they've taken old cigarette machines and revamped them to dispence art. One of those kind of things that is way too cool to ever come to our town, but maybe someday on a vacation we might get to see one and buy some awesome art.
"Well," he says, "I met the guy that makes them today."
What???
Let me back up a tiny bit. I haven't talked too much about my kids on this blog. That's partly because they are teenagers, telling their own stories on their own pieces of web space, and I'm reminded of how Garp felt when he realized his mother's book had stories about him in it. If I had a blog back when they were little tykes, I probably would have been more of a mommy blogger, but this blog's focus is my creative endevor. But considering that they are both so creative, I'm sure some of their creativity will spill over onto me and my blog.
The ArtistExtreeme is 14, and in his first year of high school. We are lucky enough to have four focus high schools in our school district, including the Arts and Humanities high school, where the ArtistExtreeme attends. He goes to his regular high school for two periods first thing in the morning, then walks a couple blocks to the A&H high school. (We're also very lucky that the one A&H high school is right across the way from our regular high school)
So it turns out that the University of Nebraska (which is located in our fair city) arranged to have an Art-O-Mat installed in the theatre close to campus. Clark Whittington, the Art-O-Mat creator was in town for a week, mostly at the University, but today, he was as the Arts & Humanities high school.
How freeking cool is that!!??
I wish I could have gone to school with him today!