Doll

It’s been a weird week. When I finish some pieces that I really like, as with the forest girls, it can be very difficult to get on track again. I started a number of new girl dolls this week. They are in a pile on my desk. They have had faces on, faces off. Then on again. And off again! Legs on. Legs off. New legs. Legs reattached. Clothes made and rejected. Hair on. Now I am sure it needs to be redone. A very frustrating week. Jodie is very eloquent about it here.

The weather has turned beautiful though after all the rain. I found this on the road while taking a walk-

A little bird skull.

And at the park, all the turtles were out catching rays. It seems so early but really, what do I know about that.

Yesterday, Ben and I went to the Western Ave Studios in Lowell. We visited Liz-

Liz-

and Linda, who I forgot to take a photo of- sorry! It was a beautiful day to get out of the house and studio and go for a ride.

I did finish one doll this week. Well, I haven’t looked at her today but last night I thought she was finished. Hopefully I will get some photos later.

Happy Easter!

You may or may not have heard, but we’ve been getting a lot of rain here. Record amounts. Luckily for us, the roof is sound and the basement is dry. The backyard has another pool but that will be gone in a few days. I wonder how the flowers that have already come up will fare?

Yesterday, when the rain was really coming down,  I went to see how a local stream was looking. Pretty full-

Today we had a little excitement around a downed wire- it involved sparks, smoke, fire… The firemen showed up and kept an eye on things until the electric company arrived to deal with it.  We chatted. It came up that I am an artist. I showed them what I do and told them I needed a photo for my blog.

Thanks guys!

wouldn’t these make fantastic robot legs?

I’ve been trying to organize my various numbers to figure out taxes. Ben (husband) has been having fun with those numbers- he’s that kind of guy. Below is a map of all the places in the US that I have sold something on Etsy, total. I opened my Etsy shop in March 2006. Ben collected the zip codes, son Julian made the map. Thanks guys!

And I’ve sold to 24 countries-

Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States.

He made me up some other charts like the curve of my Etsy sales but I won’t bore you!

Today is a messy weather day. We started out with pouring rain last night. It changed to snow in the night. We woke up to an instantly recognizable pinging sound on the windows- sleet.

We call this slop. It is heavy and messy to shovel.

What is that expression- “start as you mean to go on”- that is it, right? So the first thing to work on is my biggest goal- making more real life connections. I am inviting Boston area crafty business people to meet-up with me in Davis Square. The first meet-up will be Wednesday, Jan. 13 at Starbucks at 10am. If you can’t make it but would like to be notified about future meet-ups, send me an email (mimik(at)pobox.com). At some point I will start a google group or Facebook page or something. I need to come up with a catchy name- any ideas?

We had our first cardinal at the bird feeder- so pretty in the snow!

some photos from my walk today. Hope everyone had a great day!

This seems to be the time of year where very little posting happens here- too many secret projects. I looked back through some other years and yep, pretty quiet around here.

But, there is a lot going on. I don’t like post without photos near the top so I’ll start with the wildlife adventures-

Yikes! Mouse in the house! Mango assumed that Santa made an early visit, just for him. Our neighbor says about mice- there is never just one… I am hoping it came in when I brought the plants in from the porch.

And, we have rearranged the living room and put up a bird feeder. This is my view as I work on the computer now-

We got snow from the big East Coast storm although not as much as a lot of other places. The kiddos are trickling in for Christmas. Peter has been home for more then a week- sleeping mostly or at least when I am awake he’s sleeping. Julian came home last night, just after the snow stopped. Pick-ups at the airport in snowy weather are becoming a new Christmas tradition. Eleanor is due in on Wednesday. I guess we should assume that means we will be getting more snow then.

I’ve got lots of projects going- enough that I am making myself crazy and they will never get all finished. Hey, another Christmas tradition! I want to try out this bleach pen technique, inspired by this post at Angry Chicken. I had a heck of a time finding a bleach pen. Then I did some tests. Now I am super nervous about the actual project- Silly me!

I am doing some baking and major mess making in the kitchen. We got the tree on Saturday before the snow came. It is not decorated yet. I no longer do Christmas Tree- someone else can do that job. I can be very Grinch-y around Christmas. It is a very stressful time for a maker. Especially when you also have a family that expects to have a Christmas. I find myself screaming in my head to everyone in my vicinity – If you want a f…ing Christmas, help out a little around here!! I keep it to myself though. My problem. Breathe.

Very soon I am off to the Boston Handmade Downtown Gallery. I’ll be working there today- 11 to 3.

I am having a 20% off sale of everything in my Etsy shop, starting now and ending at midnight, 10/31 wherever. Just write “blog” in a buyers message, or send me a convo with that information and I will refund 20% of the selling price (not shipping).

Okay, now that you are back, let me explain. When the market was canceled 2 weeks ago, I was left with a vague feeling of letdown. And, a pile of dolls with nowhere to go. There is no greater disincentive for me to get to work then having many finished dolls looking at me. I’ve got to get those guys moving out and get the energy going into new work. So, I thought I’d give this a try!

It’s not as if I am not working. I am just not finishing anything.

I am working away on the pattern- tweaking, testing. Today I worked on photographing the steps. Mostly done with the kitty part.

Next, the clothes.

And some more tattooed ladies-

and now for some nature photos because Hey! It’s autumn and everything is very pretty right now!

We had to pull all the pots off the front porch when we had a few nights with frosts. That always seems to happen right before the brugmansia is about to bloom. Now it is in the enclosed part of the porch, looking beautiful and giving off a most exotic fragrance. When we open the front door, it perfumes the house!

Fall! The last things blooming in my garden- chrysanthemums and dahlias. I love how all the blossoms on the mums are facing in one direction.

Walk in the neighborhood. It is surprising what you see when the leaves start to go.

And my class on Saturday- so much fun! There were 5 of us all together.

This is the Haunted house!

And here is the table with all the felt and wool-

The market on Sunday was canceled- we were having a nor’easter here in Boston- wind, rain, cold… I was not sorry to miss standing under a tent from 7am to after 4pm. And then it snowed! It was the right call. Still, I’m left feeling a little deflated- all the anticipation and hope that comes as I prepare for a show. The next show I am scheduled to do is the South End Holiday Fair- Dec. 12 and 13.