Backwards...Opus...

This is the end result of weeks of hard work...I have everything backwards here...(it would seem I'll never get this right)....I now have my left thumb in a brace, and my right wrist and thumb in a brace..Didn't do the left thumb from making this guy...my guy was opening a door just as I was going out on the other side...dislocated it..gah!!!

He looks so different, when photographed indoors......................

At a certain point, I ripped off his bottem "feathers", as they were too bright, and I hated them...

See what I mean...I also covered his white "nose crest"..didn't like that either....In fact, I nearly chucked the entire project, but the gallery owner, Sonia, came and talked me down...

I used several shades of silk....fused together with a product called "Heat Bond"...in order to stiffen it, then cut hundreds of "feathers" and glued them on...hundreds...and hundreds.

I made his "base" from silk..(don't know why, as it didn't show), but it was lighter than other fabrics...I sewed it to buckram, and then, stuffed fiberfill in him (sort of "trapunto" style)..then, quilted him..to keep the fiberfill from falling...Then, I sewed him on the canvas using copper wire..cutting myself alot...Hey, this wasn't easy..

How to make an eye...backwards, of course

His "pupil" is a velvet-covered button I made..then, I glue Swaroski (sp?) crystals to make the "catchlights" (that's a photography term for the light in an eye) This shows the "fusion" process...This was not an easy project...

The whole point of this is explained on the Stinger Studio website...go - read - enjoy-

http://www.stingerstudio.com

Happy Valentine's Day, Ya'll

Well, I have been gone (in case anyone noticed)....Blogging takes time, and it takes responses to keep one going...I do appreciate the responses so much, and to be truthful, just got discouraged. But, I am sucking it up, and moving forward.

Happy Valentine's Day...I made this card for my husband, who said, "that's nice", and then, I had to ask for a hug...this is turning me into a curmudgeon, isn't it? So, here..have a lovely day...(maybe I should have finished my coffee before this) Actually, if you can guess what this is, you are amazing...This is why I've been so busy of late...
Stinger Studios here in Georgetown, Texas has put out a "call for artists"..It's called "Art for a Song", and Sonia, the owner, has taken a wonderful song, (I won't reveal it yet), and we all chose a line from it to interpret...My line is, "And the nightbirds cease their song"...I have lost my mind.
Below, is the drawing, taped to a huge canvas..(that's the foot of my bed it's leaning against)..the canvas is five feet X 3ft.

I have the background in place now...(the entire thing is going to be velvet and silk)..the rest is a secret...Right now, it reminds me of the cartoon character, "Opus"..remember Opus..?

I will do my best to keep you posted...now, off to make feathers...

XOXOXO

Who Is Jessica , Anyway?

She's a photographer, and photostylist, who recently did a wedding in Massachusetts...She's been out of the business of shooting for awhile, but enjoyed not only styling it, but shooting it.I love to use the sepia tones...especially, since in olden days, it could only be achieved by printing the photo, then, going back and bleaching it, sepia toning it, and washing it...again...It's like being delivered from the Dark (pun intended) Ages.

The most important thing in styling/shooting a wedding is to keep everyone comfortable (especially, the very nervouse bride - and the groom)...For her especially, this is the day she's dreamed about...it has to be perfect...seamless...fun...

Thank goodness, for the most part, the days of the "hideous bridesmaid dresses" is a thing of the past...I loved doing these lovely girl's makeup and hair...always simple, always "relaxed"

Preparing the bouquet toss..

Capturing the fun times, and the tender moments...the Bride, cuddling her nephew...

Did much of the floral design, and all of the styling/photography...

Back to the past...I was a Civil War Reinactor photographer, hired by the US Government, to go to various Civil War battlefields, and capture the living history...ended up owning a gallery in an 1860's schoolhouse in Wisconsin for four years...

Utilizing techniques I learned from as early as the Civil War (or, if you are from the South, the "War Between the States)...for many years I styled and photographed children - shooting in Black-and-white, printing, then, sepia-toning, then hand-painting with special oil paints

I developed a line of greeting cards from portraits I did over the years, called, "Here a Chick Greetings"

I first discoverd floorcloths about twelve years ago..they were the precursor to linoleum...canvas, painted front-and-back...then, sealed to protect them....art you can walk on..

Over the years, as an Interior Designer, I've done many homes from the ground up. I especially enjoy doing "Parade Homes", as I am able to select everything...including the furnishings, accessories...ETC (There it is again)....This was one of my favorites...When the photographers, who have the special equipment to photograph the spaces(I don't), I do the styling...

Once, I did a sixteen-hour photo-shoot (the styling, that is) for SubZero, that was a video, going to Paris to introduce Wolfe Stoves to them...Food styling is all an optical illusion...turkeys cooked with blow torches, cereal with white glue...by the end of the shoot, when at 3am, 12 people sat down to shoot the dinner scene, it was pretty to look at, but, oh the oder...hard work, but fun

My Texas Kitchen....................................

I love doing window treatments...designing and sewing them...I also did the pillows..paint colors, etc..The bed headboard was designed by Candice Olsen...The dog was so sweet...wish he were mine...

Glazed 1,000 square feet of walls in this home I designed from the ground up...my first, massive fireplace...Every home in Wisconsin should have a fireplace (or three)....This is not a room, it's a set - three walls and a floor...for Graber window fashions....same glazing technique; put the Southwestern background in the windows via photoshop.Same set, only "flipped", restyled, and a New York Skyline....This is one of my favorite things to do..This house was built in the 1800's...it's in Louisianna, on a bayou...My client's did most of the work themselves, but it was fun, selecting colors, bringing it back to life.... This photo was taken in the 1920's...

Lovingly restored to it's original splendor...............

This may seem to many a blatent, piece of self-promotion...well, I do have my reasons.........

Still, it's fun to look back at the last several years, and be pleased that I've been blessed to do the things I love....................