And here's.....Greed!!

After dealing with 7 Deadly Sins....I'm so ready to have Hope spring from my fingers....

Here's to the arrival of Hope!

Envy and Pride......

Okay....I have 6 Sins done now.  Here are Envy and Pride.  

Today I shall create Greed.  Oh my.....

So I read up on the Seven Sins and it seems that all the sins flew out of Pandora's box...except "Hope".   

Hmmm...so what was Hope doing there with all those Sins?

And so I guess that Hope didn't escape into the world?

I think it must mean the Hope lies always within us...The sins are out there flying around, but Hope springs eternal...and internal.  

I  like keeping Hope close to my heart.

I like finishing this Pandora piece with the little Hope that will stay within her belly.  :)

a small hotel in Paris

Our home for our last four days in France was a darling little hotel in Paris.  

Tiny rooms, but the decor of the small lobby and the blue paint of the facade were wonderful!

Tout droit, tout droit, tout droit....

Sloth and Gluttony...oh, my!

I've been working on my Seven Sins piece....here are the latest little Sins....!
Gluttony and Sloth...two of my personal favorites. :)
So fun!!

Two Sins ...Lust and Anger

It's so fun creating these Sins.  :)   

I look into a mirror and scrunch my face into feeling whatever emotion I am making, and I then try to interpret that into the sculpt.

I love the big red lips on Lust.

Tomorrow....maybe Envy or Gluttony.... :)

Here are Lust and Anger....so fun!

Pandora and The Seven Sins.....

I've been working on a piece for my Sept. online class, 

called Pandora and The Seven Sins.

The photos in the postcard ad, over to the left of this posting are of one I created and sold a couple of years ago.  Of all my pieces, this design has been one of the more popular ones.

And it's so fun to create, so I thought others might enjoy creating one too.

  

I get so lost in the act of creating.  I really think artwork for me is like a meditation.  

I become so focused on what I'm doing that the chatter in my head stops and I find myself in the moment...to moment...to moment.  

I think that must be what happens for anyone that finds that one thing that allows them to focus so intently...whether it be meditation or surfing or golf or gardening...or whatever.

But anyway....back to Pandora....

The piece is created with a gourd which is hinged so that Pandora can be opened at her waist and you can reach inside and withdraw your Sin for the day!  :)

Pandora, herself, is done now and I am working on the Sins....and I began with "Lust"....which is really fun cause I'm making really big red lips!  It's really challenging to figure out what Envy...or Greed...or Sloth might look like.

If anyone is interested in joining me for this class, just check out the info. on this site:

http://www.thatcreativeplace.com

I have to say that I am surprised how fun it is to not only teach these classes, but to be with others as they create a piece of artwork.  And to be connected to others all over the world, creating the same piece, through the magic of the internet, is just ...amazing!  I love it!

I extend an invitation to you to join me.  If you have any questions please email me.

The more the merrier!  :)  We begin on Sept. 20th.

A French lady ... and me!

When I was at a fleamarket, in Paris, I purchased a painting of a beautiful French woman.  

It's done in black and white with just a touch of red.

The seller told me the story of the artist, who lived in Paris, and who has only painted one subject for his whole career...and that was always his wife.  AND....he only sees and paints her now as he remembers her, and as he sees her in his mind's eye....beautiful and young, although they've been married 50 years.  Isn't that precious!   

I just picked up the painting from having it framed and I remembered that my husband took picture of me, long ago when I was 18 yr. old...and printed it in black and white....and when I held it next to my French lady painting, we were both at the same angle...the same black and white....the same photo of a young woman in profile.  

My husband and I have been married 41 years now, so this photo was taken a long time ago....but I like to think that he still sees me, as the French artist views his bride and muse....

as the woman he fell in love with all those years ago.

A Medieval Castle in France

The next morning we headed "tout droit"......

By late afternoon we found our next chateau....a true medieval castle out of a historical novel!

It was amazing!

Turrets and a working drawbridge, thick stone walls and small little slit windows for the archers to defend the castle from seige.

We were transported back hundreds of years when knights and their ladies crossed this ancient drawbridge.

A Little Princess Mouse

I love this little mouse.  :)  Not something that I usually create.....

She was inspired by Angelina Ballerina and I made her for my daughter's children's store.  http://www.teapotparties.com

Tout Droit Tout Droit Tout Droit!

We got lost everyday in France.  Phyllis drove and I studied the map...writing down all the turns and road names and directions to follow and then we would confidently head out.  Stopping for a freshly baked quiche or cookie, Edith Piaff singing her heart out...we would always get lost.  We would come to those wonderful "round abouts" and head around, and around, and around searching for the road that the map said we should be on...and weren't.  

But always....always....we would one moment be completely frustrated and confused and the next moment we would look up..or look to the side...or stop to stretch our legs and there, right in front of us would be a sign for our chateau..... or road..... or exactly what we needed to take us to the next destination.  Whenever we asked someone, they always said  "tout droit".  

tout droit tout droit tout droit!   That meant..."just keeping going the direction that you're heading."  And so we did just that...tout droit...and always found ourselves where we belonged. Having gotten lost again...we tout droit-ed our way right to our next Chateau.  

Chateau Mas de La Monet.  Wow!!  We were princesses again!