Where Bloggers Create

*** Update - The Winner of the mummy is MagicLoveCrow! Please email me your mailing address to debbielynn.w@ gmail.com***

Welcome to my Where Bloggers Create blog party, part of the fabulous party being hosted by My Desert Cottage. I am thrilled to be a part of this event. My studio is always a work in progress and not quite as organized as I had hoped it would be but here it is.

Welcome to my little oasis! The room that I create in, the room that I escape in, my fun little art studio.

I needed a  sign to let my family know when I was really, truly working, not just "playing". So I made this.

And this guy is holding that sign. I saw this hook at World Market and I had to have it! 

One of the things I have made sure to do was to add art to my studio. I have had craft rooms in the past and they were basically storage rooms. Beautiful rooms with walls of shelves but no beauty. This room is FULL but I have intentionally decorate parts of the room rather than filling it with shelves - which I could totally fill!

Alice in wonderland is one of my favorite themes. There is something about Wonderland that spurns my creativity, even when I am feel creatively stuck! The above quote had been inspiring to me on many levels. I have changed and grown so much over the past 5 years. My life was set a spinning and when it stopped it was quite different but still pretty dang great! To remind me to look forward instead of backwards I cut this quote out of black vinyl and put it over the closet in my studio. If you are an Alice in Wonderland fan you can visit my Mad Tea party post (also today) by clicking here.

Here is what you see when you walk in. My table is where I work. Originally I had planned to work on the counter against the back wall but that became a display and staging area for works in progress and finished pieces that I have made or been given by other talented artists. 

This is my sweet Rosie. She is almost 17 and that is HER chair. When I try to sit in it she comes running and gets behind me. She'll then lay down and push until I am on the very edge. 

To the left of the door when you walk in sits my computer and two $17 book cases from wally world. They do exactly what I want them to do. Hold patterns, books and paper and then offer a display area for more of my favorite things!

I love to travel though I don't get to as often right now as I would like to. I took these pictures during my travels (except the one on the bottom right, that was my grand father's dock in Smyrna, Delaware. My aunt gave it to me when he passed away because he and I were so close and I spent many an hour on the Rehoboth Bay with my PopPop :0)

I used to own a scrapbook store and while I no longer scrapbook as often as I used to I found that I use decorative paper ALL THE TIME in other projects, along with brads, decorative clips, glitters and many other scrapbooking items. That is why I have so many bins full of things... really, it is!

Yes that is a chandelier hanging in front of my aprons. I have two and I love them. I don't really have a place for them yet but I know I will eventually.

 Works in Progress

My Convection Oven

I use this convection oven exclusively for baking clay. It is amazing. I do remove the items sitting on top of it before I turn it on. It holds an even temperature and allows me to bake in my studio instead of running downstairs to to kitchen.

Another Favorite Quote

More works in progress or Art Dolls I've received in swaps. 

The paper plate on the right is actually signed by Billy Idol. My daughter and I were one of at his concerts and he was signing paper plates on stage and then throwing them like a Frisbee. We got one.

I love being part of the online blogging art community. I have participated in some really awesome swaps. Most notably the Doll Swaps that Val at Yarni Gras Swapper Spot hosts. There are several of the amazing dolls I've received on display in my studio. They are so much fun and many of them are zombie themed which makes them even more epic! Click here to see the Hatter in Zombieland I created for one of Vals swaps.

Bins of Amazing Stuff

I was really going to try and organize a bit better before today but it just didn't happen. These bins however are organized and labeled. I have bins for tibetan lamb, mohair, enamel paint, glitter paint, clay, more clay, specialty clay, and lots more. I love these bins. They are clear and I can see what is in them wihtout too much trouble.

My Work Space

I found that lighted magnifying glass, the big one hooked to the left on the table in the picture for less that $10 at my local thrift shop. My old eyes love it when I am painting faces. It makes is so much easier to do detail work. 

 This is the chandelier that hangs over one of the windows in my studio and yes those are sheer spider curtains. I found the chandelier in Apple Hill, California at the High Hill Ranch one Autumn and I had to have it. Of course the first year it was hung up at Halloween but after that first year I just couldn't bear to pack it away so I hung it up in my studio. It beings me joy every time I look at it and when I turn on the battery powered candles I am just beside myself. My family just smiles. Thankfully they don't try to understand.

Bins from Ikea. I took a face painting class and I made all of these cute little heads. Since I wasn't planning on making bodies for them I chose to display their happy little faces in buckets of silk along side a couple of Voodoo dolls and a Halloween critter.

Fabric - Yikes!

Computer Area

Behind the Door

I have tons of rubber stamps, ink, beads and ribbon among other necessary things. One of the reasons I love figurative sculpting is because I can use so many of my favorite things during their creation. I get to sculpt, sew, bead, ink, paint, sew some more, and then accessorize using all sorts of things. One more reason I have so much stuff - really! I never know what I am going to need.

My Butler

We got this guy for my son for his birthday one year. My son kept telling us he wanted a butler. We found Jeeves at an auction and got him as a joke. Josh enjoyed his butler until he went to college, then I got him for the studio. This is another one of those things that makes me very happy. His tray is in for repair, once it is fixed he'll be holding a figure or two.

Another work in progress (the dragon) and a sweet little sculpted figure from my friend Patricia Hedegaard

So that is the grand tour. I am glad you stopped by. I am going to be giving away one of my Mummies at this party. I'll have a picture of him up here by Sunday night. For a chance to win all you need to do is follow my blog and leave me a comment. I'll be choosing a random winner on Monday, July 21st. My mummies are poseable and have glow-in -the-dark eyes. Check back Sunday night for a picture!

**Update** Here is the mummy. He is currently waiting for his hands and feet to cool so he can be finished. I'll post another picture once he is finished. I am loving him, he is poseable and already has tons of personality and he isn't even done!

I am off to see the other amazing areas where bloggers create!!