Studio Cats

Our youngest cat, Simba, is an artist at heart. Named for the Swahili word for lion, because it would be hard to find a kitten more adventurous and courageous.  We had a devil of a time keeping him away from our unusually large (95+ lbs) greyhound when we first brought him home.  Our greyhound is so fond of cats that he thinks he himself is a cat, but he is not used to dealing with a 6-8 week old kitten, and can be a little rough.
  At 6 months of age Simba continues to approach every new situation as an adventure. He sits, barely able to keep from dipping his paws in my watercolor paint water, and watches me paint. He looks at the images and looks back at me as if to say "how did you do that?"  When I'm sculpting, he's a bit of a problem. I don't know how many times I have left a piece while I took a short break only to find Simba standing on it  and squishing his toes into the clay.  It can be frustrating, but at the same time I really love that he is so captivated by my work.  And now I must go and smooth yet another pawprint from a bowl I'm working on!

What's New

I'm in the process of trying (once again) to create some ceramic mobiles.  Every time I decide to do this I get sidetracked and never manage to complete them.  This time I'm using some great old pieces of embroidered and eyelet fabrics to create a pattern. I think I'm going to start with three "dangles" instead of planning some huge piece. I REALLY need to apply the less is more mantra to more of my life's issues. I tend to over think a lot. I'm going to force myself to keep this simple. Stay tuned for further developments! ;)

Welcome Poppy!

As a very young child I became a lover of Beatrix Potter books. One of my favorite stories was of Mrs. Tiggywinkle, my first introduction to hedgehogs. I always found them fascinating and they continue to be one of my favorite creatures to sculpt in clay. My husband (ever patient in my love of animals) gave me a baby hedgehog for my birthday. We named her Poppy, inspired by the prickly poppies that we discovered growing wild near our home. Our Poppy has a coat every bit as prickly as her namesake...well, maybe not quite THAT prickly.  Although she's prickly she's a cuddler too. I'm amazed at how quickly we've become friends. She loves to get up next to my skin and snuggle up, smoothing her quills back so she doesn't prick.  She actually reminds me of a tiny little dog. She will look up at me with her dark eyes and then tuck her little head into my hand and yawn, sticking out her long pink tongue.  I've learned that when I want to hold her, I wake her up by calling her name and giving her a little time before picking her up, now she's easier to get going than my own daughter is!

Thinking of Spring

As I can see it's been a full month since I've posted, I've got a new treasury to add. It makes me so happy to see these cheerful items listed by some of my new and old Etsy friends!

Visit my Etsy Shop and save 25% with my coupon code: Butterfly!

'She's a Butterfly' by ALDDesigns

The monarchs are visiting my milkweed.......and laying eggs!

The Monarch Conserv... REALBUTTERFLYG... $39.99	Flutterby Butterfly... peacelovevinta... $23.00	35% OFF SALE - Fly ... Raceytay $19.50	One day I'll fl... gardensofwhims... $12.00
Table Decor, Paper ... LBCpaper $48.95	Lemon Chamomile, H... TallulahsSoaps $6.00	Blooming Tea - 5 as... TableLabs $7.99	Yellow Mod Sunflowe... redtilestudio $28.00
Marigolds linen tea... giardino $22.00	Vintage Leaves Felt... ekofabrik $45.00	He Loves Me, He Lov... BeSomethingNew $12.99	Gemyma -Orange Butt... judithhowellde... $4.95
organic baby quilt ... SewnNatural $120.00	Into the darkness -... Lori411 $25.00	Matte Gold Butterfl... DanaCastle $17.50	elyse SIGNATURES Ci... elyseoriginals $109.00

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