My polymer clay sculpted rabbit

Well .... we had snow !
so today I pulled out the polymer clay and I made this little rabbit .
I am going to make more sculpted things for my etsy shop .
I'm already thinking Valentine's Day and Easter

Have a WONDERFUL and HAPPY New Year !

Heidi Shaulis art

A few years ago , I discovered paintings by Heidi Shaulis.
I had horribly slow, PAINFULLY slow Web TV , but I would sit and wait for her paintings to appear on my TV screen . It was worth the wait . I admire her work so much . then ... somehow she found me and it made me so happy that she wanted MY clock for HER studio
She has a beautiful studio that her husband built for her .
It's so much fun ... I love how we have all become friends through Etsy and our blogs .
Visit Heidi's blog and then make sure to visit her Etsy shop too !
Thank you Heidi !!! It's a pleasure to know you !
http://heidishaulis.blogspot.com/

looking back

I'm looking back at the things I used to make ....
way back in the eighties and early nineties .
There's more below
take a trip with me down my memory lane

a little history , and plans for 2009

In 1980 ..... I discovered 'Sculpey'. It was a brand new product . I must have bought the first box !
It seems so long ago now .
I sculpted HUNDREDS , HUNDREDS of characters . all kinds of animals and people .
They were sold at shows, in many gift shops ,even in catalogs . There were two shops in Boston that sold my work in their shops and catalog. [ Bear Necessities and Hog Wild ]

Then a company took my work and had it reproduced in China, distributing all over the U.S.
But I was not happy with the reproduction of my work .[.... remember , that was back in the eighties]

....so that was a disappointment .... and my fingers were getting tired .
so I picked up my paintbrush again. I'm so happy to have my paintings in impressive galleries and also have an Etsy shop.... I want to thank everyone who has bought my work and for all of your support and love.
SO >>>>> I am adding new work to my Etsy shop >>>>>>>>>> http://sandymastroni.etsy.com/ .......... and I am planning to pull out the polymer clay again. Here you can see two of my sculpted characters AND also a book box .
The rabbit and book box sold right away but I will be making more ! I'm also planning on doing more give aways in 2009 .
Thanks for looking. Thanks for visiting. Happy New Year everybody !

Drawing

I try to avoid looking forward or backward,
and try to keep looking upward .
{ charlotte bronte }

Diane Hoeptner art

Do you ever wonder HOW
you found an artist's blog ?
I have NO idea ...
I don't remember.... HOW I found Diane .
I love her paintings of flowers
BUT
I have to say I went crazy over her paintings of old toys .
She makes me want to paint JERRY!
Pop over to her blog because she has a series of Pinocchios set up in a
'Brady Bunch ' style .
You'll enjoy seeing all of her paintings!
She's also a very very nice person .
http://dianehoeptner.blogspot.com/

blog give away winners

Alice in Paris
Abby Creek Art
Diane Hoeptner

Please winners send me your addresses
My email is on my blog profile page .

Jerry's shoes

Last night I said to Jerry :
'Jerry , you need SHOES ! '
and as soon as I said it ,
I remembered.... somewhere... in my house .... someplace
my very first pair of baby shoes!

I found them !
They fit him perfectly

Bookmark Give away

I had taken a few days off to clean !
But I couldn't stand much more cleaning .....
so today I made cat bookmarks .
I'm in the mood for another give away .
Please leave a comment .
If you don't have a google account , email me and I will include your name .
I'll ask Jerry to pick THREE names in a few days .
Please tell your friends ... I would love to have more people come and visit my blog !

Jerry loves the snow

I wonder what my neighbors think of me .
the crazy cat lady artist who brings her little
boy out to play in the snow .
I don't care . Jerry and I had fun .
We had our first snow last night .
It was beautiful at 3 a.m.
perfect beauty , perfect stillness .

when it snows like this ......
all I can think is .....
Be still , and know that I am God .

I feel God in this peace and still beauty .

Michael tried to make a snowman but ...
it's too cold . too much work .
snow was too soft .

Happy Sunday !

Etsy shop sale

I just spent almost two hours marking EVERYTHING down in my Etsy shop .
I really want to redo the whole shop , which I plan to do in January .
These two drawings here are just two I found in my
" drawings drawer "
I have little drawings EVERYWHERE .
Have a happy Tuesday !

Maria and Susan win

I can never decide which photos to post.
Jerry is so photogenic.
so here's all the photos !
I made two paper dolls .
Maria and Susan won .
Thank you !
and Maria and Susan :
please send me your addresses !

Greenwich workshop winners and a Give Away

The Greenwich Workshop has announced the winners .
YAY .... I got into the top 40 !
which means my painting will be in their gallery in Fairfield Ct. and the painting will also be in their catalog .
I didn't win any money though .
Oh well
but I am still happy .
Happy because I am included with some very good painters
I am self taught so just getting in with these other artists is very wonderful
I am doing a give away . Here is a little paper doll with arms and legs that move . She is about 5 inches tall ......
I WANT TO THANK YOU

thank you for voting for me and thank you for leaving a comment on G. Workshop's blog .
I really appreciate and love you all .
You keep me going .
Please leave a comment and if you do not have a Google account .... you can email me , and I will include your name .
You can email me from the my profile page on this blog .
so thank you again everyone .
Jerry will draw a name [ maybe two ! ] on Sunday .
today is Thanksgiving Day . Happy Thanksgiving Day !
You can see the winners by clicking this link :
http://smallworksna.com/winners08.asp

Cat bridge

I found this drawing of mine in one of my many
" Drawings drawers "
[ that's hard to say ! ]

When I saw this I thought :
wow , a cat can be a bridge between two people .
We have four cats
no kids
we love our cats
thank God for them
they fill our home with love ....
even when we argue about whose turn it is to clean up the cat puke .

Time for a Cupcake.....sold

I made a clock today .
I wished I had a cupcake ...
and a rabbit too ... and a pug , and maybe a
few more cats too
This clock is now in my etsy
shop
have a good weekend !

Winter Time clock girl.....sold

My husband just left the house , all bundled up in a hat and thermal underwear . He's cold .
I couldn't wait for him to leave . As soon as he left ... I opened all the windows and turned the fans on .
I'm hot .
Oh today is beautiful ... with cool clean crisp air .
He wants to move to South Carolina . I want to move to Maine .
I just have to remember to close the windows before he gets back .
anyway ..... I am home working . happy .
This is a new clock I just put on Etsy .
If you want to see the rest of her ... please visit my Etsy shop .
Have a wonderful cool crisp November day
http://sandymastroni.etsy.com/

Kim Meuse watercolors

I bet you are wondering .... WHAT is THIS doing on Sandy's blog !
well it is something beautiful in the midst of my silly paintings
I have an artist friend . She lives only a few blocks away but we never see each other
because .... artists are nuts
I personally live like a mole . staying up to 3 and 4 a.m. painting
I think Kim is like me
She loves to paint . She loves to go into her magical world of watercolors .
She is so skilled in this medium and each painting she does is a work of beauty .
I am in awe of her work
Please take some time and visit her blog to see her work and MAKE SURE you enlarge this photo so you can see her work in detail .
http://kimberlymeuse.blogspot.com/

Winter Beauty book page

Today I took photos of my snowmen and posted them in my Etsy shop ............I find that after I spend some time making cute things .... I HAVE to do something a little creepy .

so I just finished this . I love doing book pages because strange things sort of happen .
I didn't plan this out. This is what I did >>>>>>>>I grabbed a page out of an old book , drew a lady , added flower and berries and THEN realized what the page was about . The word 'crimson' appeared in the red of the flower and I saw ' winter beauty' after I painted her deathly white flesh . But when I saw Strawberry on her forehead .... well , I added a strawberry in the corner .

I love when things ' happen ' without ME getting in the way

oh ... I forgot ...... The word 'sight ' appeared under her eye

weird
click on the image so you can read the words

autumn leaves

My mom is gone 15 years today . I miss her . I know she is happy with the Lord and that makes me happy because she had some terrible sadness in her life . She had a child like spirit and a twinkle in her eyes [ pretty blue eyes ] and she could still laugh and give people hugs !
I'm not a hugger .... I wish I was . I took after my father in that way .
But today I am thinking of her . She taught me about God , sang silly songs, taught me to knit and sew , she encouraged me with my art , she would gently touch my face and tell me I was beautiful .
So today I walked in my own backyard and thought of her . I found beauty in my own back yard .
I would love to post a photo of her . One of those great photos from the forties when she was young and in love and happy
But for now I will post the leaves in my yard , which is perfect because the fall was her favorite time of year .

Puzzle Lady Art

Puzzle Art

These are a few of my puzzle pieces . I made a puzzle .... painted it . Glued it to masonite and then cut around all the ins and outs on my saw . These went to Cavalier Gallery .... for the Miami show . I like these because when one is hung on the wall .... it casts a cool looking shadow.
It's a lot of work .... but it is fun to do .
I have another idea for these but I haven't had time to do it .
I actually made these way back in September .
My very good friend Beverly Kaye has posted ANOTHER one of my puzzle ladies on her blog
Beverly has a gallery in Connecticut and a great website .
Please stop by her blog and take a look
http://BeverlyKayeGallery.blogspot.com/
Thank you for writing a lovely post about me Bev.

Shadow of the fish

Late last night I experimented with salt and alcohol on wet watercolor.

It was fun .... it's fun to see what happens .

Tonight at dinner my husband was looking all over the kitchen for the salt .
OH .....I quietly went upstairs and got it .
I never use things for their intended purpose . Most things end up being used for art !

I think I am finally [ almost ] finished with things for the Miami show .
I can't believe how many things I produced ..... under pressure ....the last few days I made some strange things .
Do you remember the Beatle's song 'She's Leaving Home ' ? I drew these two ladies ....
and thought wow .... they look like land masses , little continents ....... anyway when I looked at them this song came to mind , so I added the words .
This one and the clowns are painted on old atlas pages from a very old book .
The close up face is sort of Katherine Hepburn . A book about her was laying near to me so I just drew it .
I might try to do a few more things tonight but it's already 1 a.m.
I don't know ........I'm sort of burnt out
and relieved ... next is sad [ sending these out ] then there is faith [ hoping they will sell]
this is all an emotional roller coaster
I wonder if you know what I mean .

Give a Chirp pillow

Cathie took my little birdie drawing and embroidered it onto another pillow .

I get such a kick seeing her transform my drawings in stitches .
She amazes me .... I never would have thought it could be done
She does such good work !

visit her shop !
http://bobetsy.etsy.com/

she just sold the little girl with cat pillow AND a ballerina tea towel . Yay Cathie Jo

sweet cat now in my Etsy shop

Today's cat .
on canvas

watercolors
Inktense
pen
chalk

now on Etsy

Derwent Inktense aceo day

I'm back to my Etsy shop watercolor AND INKTENSE aceos

I decided to paint a few aceos today , here are the four watercolor paintings that I JUST finished . I will be putting these in my Etsy shop later tonight >>>> and YES ..... I used inktense pencils too [ on Bainbridge illustration board cold press ]
scroll down ... enlarge if you want a closer look !

and .... my tip for the day >>>>>

If you are in your house ...... and you are cold , [ if your feet are cold ] ....
wear a scarf . a scarf around your neck warms your little tootsies

Have a nice ' thinking of snow ' day.

BIG snowflakes