The Pet Shop of the Old Ones Coloring Portfolio

It's finally finished!! The folio has been listed in my
shop and I'm hoping for a good response to it.

People have been asking for something with my magicked animals that was less expensive than the actual dolls. I've always enjoyed writing the descriptions of the animals and decided writing a story might be the way to go.

Here it is! 22 beautiful drawings by my husband, MJ and a story by me, in a nice string tie portfolio. I hope this folio is popular. I enjoyed writing the story and deciding on what illustrations to use.

I already have ideas for a second folio.

My Ode to Cats- In My Life and in Art

I love you my darling cats. Jackie, even when you jump off the
plant shelf and land with a huge bang on MJ's drawing table.... I may jump 10 feet, but I still love you.


Or when you have a wild game of "run and tumble" with your siblings at 2 am, I'm usually up sewing anyway.


Even little Kirby's turning into a vampire that one night wasn't that bad. He was abandoned at such a young age I guess the suckling thing is to be expected.

But sometimes I like my cats to be artwork. It's nice to look at a painting or sculpture of a cat. No biting or scratching or craziness. Just beautiful cats.

Cellic http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5412690
the etsy shop run by Cheryl Ellicott shows cats in all their regal beauty. I am so in love with Devon Rex Prince M. I love to look at this beautiful
painting.

But sometimes the joy of having
a cat is witnessing it's occasional zaniness. Papermoongallery's cats are so charming. I love the giant eyes and teeny legs these sculpts have. Sophisticated Kitty Cat is quite the charmer. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021458

Yes, I'm a crazy cat lady and I do love my cats.

New Cat Preview

This is the first Cat Woman in MJ's beautiful new series of ACEOs. The image is drawn in graphite and colored digitally.
It's funny how different artists see things.When I suggested doing a Cat
Woman Series to MJ, I was thinking along the lines of Cat Women like My Mystic Cat Dancers. More cat than human was the way I approached this idea.

As I look at MJ's Lady Blue, I want to try a new series more like her, but I suppose that the way I work I would end up with another figure similar to my Calliope.

Making Resin Eyes Tutorial

My husband makes a lot of the eyes I use in my dolls and jewelry.

He wrote this
tutorial to add to my blog .



First you'll need a silicone mold of a sphere the size you want your
eye to
be. It needs to be a one piece mold thats open at the back.


Get some Devcon Clear Two Component Epoxy from your hardware store. Also
get some dry tempera paints.

First, mix up a small amount of epoxy and use the black tempra paint to
make it black. VERY CAREFULLY, using a toothpick or some similar tool,
collect a
blob of the black epoxy on the end of the toothpick and carry it to the
mold.Let a pupil sized drop fall right into the middle of the spherical
mold. Don't let it hit the side of the inside of the mold and run down to the very
bottom, you must hit the center/bottom of the mold on the first try. You are
creating the pupil of the eye, and it must be perfectly round!


As this sets up, mix a larger batch of epoxy and tint it the color that
you wish the iris of your eye to be. Using the toothpick again, or better
yet a cheap disposable paintbrush, collect a dollop of the iris colored epoxy
and drop it into the mold right on top of the black pupil that you have just
created.
Of course, the iris color should flow beyond the area of the pupil.
Again, hit the center/bottom of the spherical mold the first time! to get a perfectly
round iris.

While this epoxy is setting up, mix a larger again batch of epoxy and
tint it a cream or white color. This will be the white of your eye. Mix
enough to pretty much fill the rest of the mold. Pour it into the mold and it's
best to let the whole thing set overnight. The following day, demold the eye
and see how it looks. If you are happy with it, and since most dolls, figures have
TWO eyes, you now get to make a second eye just exactly like the first! Good
Luck! Once you have your TWO eyes, I would lightly sand them both to get rid of
any textures that may have formed on the surface of the eyes. Once they
have been sanded evenly, coat them both with an untinted coat of epoxy to give
them a wet look. Sometimes a second or even third coat of clear epoxy is needed to
get a uniform coating.

This is a really down and dirty way to make fake eyes.Your biggest
hurdle will be to get some molding silicone to create your spherical mold.
You'll also need a sphere to mold. A Ping Pong ball, large marble, etc.

Locate Burman Industries on the internet to purchase silicone molding materials, and
information on working with it.

Good luck! Be forewarned -This takes a great deal of practice, silicone for the molds is expensive and expect a high failure rate while you are learning.

Adding More New Items

MJ is adding a new line of Limited Edition Art Cards to our shop.

The Bleak Girls are the first set.


His next series will be Cat Women.






The Pet Shop of the Old Ones Coloring pages will be listed this week.




I'm finishing off a new Futhark Feline and a little cat soon to be either a Moonlight Cat or a short haired HexCat. I'm still undecided. It depends on how the body turns out. I've only made one short-haired Hexie so the idea is appealing. Micah was one of my first HexCats. I was looking in my files for a picture and came across this one of him and it got me to thinking about getting out the velour for a Hexie.





I'm starting a couple of new pieces too. This sad story made me want to do a memorial to poor George. Since I want to call it St. George, I'm going to do it in accordance with traditional portraits of Saints. He's going to be all battered from his fight. But I don't believe all angels are pretty.... Especially when they're being brave. http://tinyurl.com/38mnv5


I'm also staring a medium sized longhaired Hexie. I just got the most beautiful black,white and purple faux fur and MJ made me some beautiful deep purple eyes. I love fabric sales.