Dreams & Schemes...

First off-

Happy 2012, Everybody!

It's a bright new year!  Already, I find myself behind (it took me 18 days to get to this post...), but such is my life.  I'm thankful that I can say things are going along well this year, if busily.

Like many of us, I've been doing some reflecting about this new year as it relates to my artistic and personal goals.  As always, I find my self seeking ways to be more orderly and organized (the eternal quest!), productive and at peace with my vocation.  Last year was not my most artistically fruitful; moving twice along with transitioning from single Californian to married Washingtonian/Oregonian took time, as I well expected.  But now I'm nice and settled (for the present) and I've jumped back into my work with a renewed spirit.

So, what do I want to accomplish this year?  Many things, two of which I'm marking as priorities (after I finish a couple of promised projects, of course!); Sculpting and my Grand Animation Project.

I've two(ish) sculpture projects in the works- a Baroque horse in Levade, and an American Indian Horse.  Neither of them are presentable for public viewing (the baroque horse lost & barely regained his head recently), but since I'd like to share something, here are two of my original concept sketches for the baroque boy (recently tweaked because they looked a little off to me, since drawing them):

I'm working on doing two versions of this little guy (he is SM scale)- Adagio (a musical term which means "at ease"), and Spiritoso (another musical term, which means "spirited").  Adagio will be my calm, steady guy- his mane neatly braided up with bows.  Spiritoso is a little on the wilder side with a windswept mane and tail.  I was inspired by baroque and rococo paintings of horses, as may be evident!

Regarding my animation project, I won't say too much about it just yet (as I know it is going to take me forever!).  I'll just note that I have a story I feel called to tell, and it involves people, lots of people (and a few animals), so to that end I've been working on sharpening my drawing skills.  I've just begun a new figure drawing class at my local community college, and I'm happy to say I think I'll learn a bit here- the teacher is very knowledgeable and has already given us some great tips.

(My 1st attempts at two 2 minute sketches.  Last time I took a class like this was 11-12 years ago!)

So, those are my top projects, and needless to say, I'm going to have to cut back in other areas to make enough room for them.  This will mean less painting and ceramic production for the moment, though getting these sculpts done should mean more shiny stuff in the future!

But speaking of shiny, one of the projects that fits into my "promised" category are the pair of "Mini Scarletts" I'm currently painting for Thomas Bainbridge.  I understand they will be up at auction after they are completed- I'll be sure to post all of the details!  Here's a picture of them in progress- they are a little further along at the moment (i.e. in the kiln as I type this), and I hope to finish them up soon:

Bay Sabino Scarlett & Black Appaloosa Scarlett.*  Such a cute mare!

I'll mention one more project in this post- one I hope to squeeze in!  My husband decided that our cat, Jeanie, needed a children's picture book written about her.  So, on our days off, we've been dabbling with this idea.  I'm doing the illustrating, while he's writing the text (it helps that he used to be an English professor!).  I haven't quite captured the graphic look I'm after, but below you'll see one of my tests that is getting closer to what I have in my mind.  Jeanie is quite the character, a perfect subject for a book.  Of course, our spotty dog Clover will have to make a cameo... :)

All right!  There you have it- my top projects, plus a few.  I know that I have a tendency to pile a bit more on my plate than I've room for, so I am not holding to any fast deadlines on any of these endeavors.  I'm going to take it day by day until I can get myself into a good flow, knowing what to work on which times, and when to switch over to a different scheme, to keep my creative spirit buoyed.  I find I'm quite ready to begin experimenting with new things, such as my animation dream**; to stretch creatively and grow as an artist.  I'll always treasure my first love, ceramics, but I do feel the Spirit is moving me to tour a couple of different paths, as I journey along.  Come meander with me; I hope to show you some lovely sights along the way....

:)


*Of course, I had to do a black appaloosa!  I know I do that color a lot, but it allows me to experiment each time with different techniques.  Actually, I did a bit of experimenting with the sabino... I hope it all works! :) 

** The animation dream came to me oh, about 6 years ago...  I decided I should finally act on it!