The fascination of the miniature

I have learned to window shop instead of actually laying out money, like many people do. Its so tempting this time of year to buy too much because of all of the stores advertising 'deals'. I was reading one of my favorite blogs M.M.E's newest posts about how to save money during this holiday season. Window shopping on etsy is one of my favorite ways to virtually shop and not spend any money. I've got a couple other ways that I like to save money and also support local artists.
1) Shop at local craft fairs. You will find quality and handmade goods that will last longer than mass produced items from the mall.
2) Have a clothes swap party with friends or a material swap with other artists. Items from someone else's closet always looks more interesting...
3) Use newspapers and old fashion magazines to make paper chains to decorate a tree or mantle or the rooms in your apartment.
Here are the artisans whose work is pictured: Asian Tea cup and tea pot rings set by charlieccbb, Fiesta ware miniature tea set by paulaspatchwork, mini fruit by minihandmade bathroom set 2 pieces-Patchwork Collection by yevgenia, wood fired creamer and sugar pot by ippuku

These faces are for you...

I had this quote re awakened in me this morning by my boyfriend about seeing objectively and being aware of what was around you, that the world is a cornucopia and has everything that you could want.
" Do you have doubts about life? Are you unsure if it is worth the trouble? Look at the sky: that is for you. Look at each person's face as you pass on the street: those faces are for you. And the street itself, and the ground under the street, and the ball of fire underneath the ground: all these things are for you. They are as much for you as they are for other people. Remember this when you wake up in the morning and think you have nothing. Stand up and face east. Now praise the sky and praise the light within each person under the sky. It's okay to be unsure. But praise, praise, praise." by Miranda July from the story collection 'No one belongs here more than you'
The beauty of faces, of leaves that fall on the street has been in my thoughts as I hear news of friends losing their jobs. We seem to need to remember that opportunities are all around if we can only see them and shape them into something that works.

More progress on my life size bust sculpture!

I can almost say that my piece is finished and ready to fire. Here are pictures of the hands and torso at first cut up and in the process of being hollowed out and then fully formed and re attached.
I used 6 bags of clay to make this piece and then peeled away most of it. If I hadn't hollowed it out, it would have weighed about 100 lbs. Also, there were hundreds of air pockets that would have expanded and blasted the piece to pieces!
It was an almost meditative process to take away the clay and to scrape the inside of the body. The torso started to remind me of a building made of stucco. I included a picture of the inside of the body just to give a feeling of what it was like.
In the pictures you can also see some of the other interpretations of the bust. I truly enjoyed working side by side with these other students and the atmosphere was fantastic, positive, and curious. Most everyone was older than me and had lived varied lives, from working as a butler to whispering to animals. For anyone interested in the figure this is an amazing experience.

Progress! first post on my sculpture

I finally went out and got a new digital camera--a Canon PowerShot G11! This isn't an ad for this company but I'm really happy with it. I understand the wheels and buttons and its not too big and it can take decent pictures in low light.
Also, now I can take better pictures of my artwork which right now is the flat drawings I've been scratching into clay. I also took pictures of the life size bust I'm making in my sculpture class. I will post pictures of the notes I've been taking each class as well.
I've learned so much during this class and so any questions you have about the process I'll try to answer.