Mumps

I got a very unusual present for Christmas this year. I am the mother of two adult sons and grandmother to four grandchildren so I am well past the age of juvenile infectious diseases. I can remember having measles, German measles, chicken pox, whooping cough and numerous bouts with tonsillitis but I don't remember having the mumps. When I was growing up, we didn't have vaccines for any of these. It was just a rite of passage that you caught these miserable little diseases as a part of growing up.

I got up Christmas morning to make the fabulous dinner I had planned for my family. For about three days before Christmas I had a horrible headache that wouldn't go away and I felt tired and achy. I was trying to taste a sauce I was working on and when I put the spoon into my mouth the worst pain went up the left side of my face behind my ear and down my jaw. When I put my hand on my jaw it felt sore and tender. I went to the mirror and the left side of my face was swollen and 'deformed'. It was so tight it felt like it was going to bust. I couldn't even enjoy the Christmas dinner I had prepared.

I found out the next day that I had the mumps. You can only catch the mumps from another person when they cough or sneeze. I guess when I was in the crowds of shoppers doing my Christmas shopping, someone was out there sharing this very 'special' gift. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, so I'm staying away from people for another couple of days, the contagious period. Aspirin for the aches and a dry wash cloth warmed in the microwave is the remedy for the discomfort and swelling.

Beware of folks with swollen faces and please! stay away from coughing, sneezing people!!

Victoria Secret and Coconut Cream Pie

Every year before Christmas I take a deep breath, drive to one of the large malls in my area and I head for Victoria Secret for my annual shopping trip to buy the beautiful lotions, bubble baths and fragrances they carry for friends and the ladies in my family. 

I hate mall shopping and I avoid malls like the plague, especially at Christmas time.

I was in the store trying to focus on what I wanted to buy and I had to laugh at a conversation I overheard between the sales clerk and a man who was trying to buy something for his wife or girlfriend. The clerk showed him how to spray the sample fragrance on the little blotter sticks they provided so that he could decide on what he was looking for. The clerk asked him a number of questions about his lady's personality and what she liked. That didn't seem to help him decide. The clerk then tried spraying the sample fragrances on the blotter sticks and described each fragrance in detail. One she described as sporty and outdoorsy, the next she said was sexy and seductive, another she called sophisticated. The man still couldn't decide. The clerk sprayed another fragrance called 'Coconut Passion' on a blotter and waved it gently in front of the man's nose. 

She described it as tropical with a little hint of vanilla. She said it would make his lady smell like a coconut cream pie. He looked at her with disgust and said he didn't want his lady to smell like food, especially coconut cream pie because he hated coconut cream pie. I could see the frustration in the clerk's face and felt for her but I had to agree with the man I don't want to smell like food either. Anyway, it gave me something to laugh about on my dreaded trip to the mall. 

Cousin Ida Mae

I found a box of cards that someone gave me a few years ago. The series of cards was called 'Brown Sugar Babies'. 

The cards were a collection of vintage photographs of babies and children from about the late 1800's to the early 1900's all dressed in their Sunday best. 

The photos influenced some old fashioned doll designs that I wanted to do of little girls in lace dresses. 

I introduced Martha Sue a few months ago and I finally finished her cousin Ida Mae. She is all dressed in blue lace and satin ribbons.

She's wearing lace trimmed socks and matching blue shoes and She has her favorite stuffed animal toy with her to keep her company.

Angel Peace

This is my second Christmas angel, Peace. 

Even though she doesn't have a face, you can read her expression as she coaxes the scared little dove to fly.

She is dressed in a yellow gown with gold sequins and gold wings. 

She rescued the little dove after a fall and nursed it back to health until it was strong enough to fly again. 

The little bird is still a little frightened and needs Peace's encouragement.

Pre-Kwanzaa

Last Saturday I got a chance to attend a pre-Kwanzaa celebration for the Black Social Workers of Sacramento. I have been working or going to school for the last few years and have been out of touch with community celebrations so attending this one was very joyful.  

There was a wonderful storyteller who made us all begin to think about ourselves in a different way. So many of our young people have gotten caught up in this fast paced, high tech world and so many of us, young and old alike have put so much importance on our superficial images and have neglected the person within, the person we really are. It's become so much about what other people think of us and not enough about what we think of ourselves.

The food was deliciously prepared by volunteers who made sure that everyone had a good meal. There were African dancers and praise dancers to lift everyone's spirits and a powerful drum group that got everyone else dancing.

 Usually Kwanzaa celebrations begin the day after Christmas but this Pre-Kwanzaa celebration seemed so appropriate because it put us all in a celebration mood and gave us all a sense of community and connection to each other.

Phoebe

This is Phoebe, one of my clients requested her as a birthday gift for her best friend. I was very honored to be asked to create this special one of a kind gift.

Phoebe is a wonderful friend. Not only is she a great gardener who grows beautiful roses she is also a skilled needle crafter.

She loves dogs and long walks...

and she is an avid facebook game player.

Crystal, A Christmas Angel

This year has been really crazy. So many ups and downs, good memories and sad ones as well have been made this year and now the year is almost over. I hate it when I go through the days, weeks and months at high speed because some how I miss out on my own life. Last year I vowed to myself that I wouldn't do that and as the old cliche says I would take more time "to stop and smell the roses." I started out the year at a sensible pace and like someone on roller skates going down hill I kept accelerating. I will try again this year.

I did very passionately make time for my dolls and my textile art. Someone earlier this year asked me how do I find the time to create and make art. I hadn't really thought about it until the moment she asked and my own answer surprised me. I told her that to an artist, we have to create or our lives are out of balance. Creating art is like food for us, we can't live without it or we wouldn't survive. 

I haven't been very good about posting my new work or writing about what has been going on with Cre8tiv Glory. I had to decide whether to spend the time creating things I'd like to write about or writing about the things I wanted to create. I chose to create instead of write. But now I feel the need to catch up on the writing and to give each of the 12 dolls I've created over the last few months her day to be debuted. I will start at the end first and present the first of my three Christmas angels.

I made two angels last year and I wanted to do the same this year. This is Crystal, she is my first Christmas angel for this year. I kept all of my angels very simple and chose to make them without faces. Three of my favorite artists paint and sculpt and create images without faces. I saw an interview with one of the artists, Cynthia St. James and she said that even though her images had no faces you can still see and feel the expressions and emotions and the viewer fills in the face from their own memories and experiences.

Crystal is a beautiful snow angel and she holds a strand of snow flakes. Only an angel's touch is so light that she can create a garland made of snow flakes.

She is wearing a midnight blue gown with silver sparkles just like the night time sky when it is filled with stars...

...and if you've heard the tinkle of a bell recently, it means that Crystal just got her wings.

Mermaid Adilah Adopted Too!

I am so excited. I just found out that my second mermaid doll, Adilah was adopted today. I'm so happy that they will both be in good homes and that someone appreciates my art expression. A little bit of me will travel with my dolls to their new homes.

Brindle

I actually got a Halloween project finished this year 'before' Halloween. This year my goal is to not try to mass produce but to focus more on fewer pieces that are really good work. In the past I've been caught up in the rush to make tons of 'stuff' for the holidays and I kind of lost the joy of my own art and craft. This year has taught me to choose projects that I really love, create designs that I'm really proud of and to take a leap of faith and present my work to places I've been afraid to try. This plan has been good for me, I haven't had any creative blocks since I've been choosing projects that have some meaning for me. Having my work accepted by different places has also given me confidence and I have a better appreciation for the value of my own work.

This is Brindle. I wanted to make a Halloween witch this year using one of my favorite patterns. I was putting together some doll bodies for some other projects I have planned, and I had a small piece of green fabric in my stash. Of course all of my projects begin with a "what if" so I wondered "what if" I cut out one of my doll bodies in the green fabric. I always do my doll bodies in skin toned fabrics but when I did the 'Dia de los Muertos' dolls, I used white fabric to represent the calaveras/skeletons in Latin culture. Now, I'm open to the possibilities of using other color fabrics to make my doll bodies.


























I love the black, orange, purple and green colors that are in so many Halloween decorations so I wanted to use them for Brindle's costume and accessories. She has purple streaked hair, a broom for "transportation" and a jack'o lantern to light the way.




Her witch hat is embellished with an orange flower, purple ribbon and a black net.

Brindle is at The Market Place Folsom at 1325 Riley St. in   Folsom, California and would love to go home with you to celebrate Halloween. The Market Place Folsom is open daily from 10am to 6pm.

One of My Mermaids has been Adopted!!

I got s call earlier today from the curator at the City Gallery in Charleston. She wanted to tell me that Malika, one of my mermaid dolls has been adopted by someone  who was visiting the gallery. I was so honored just to be a part of this exhibit and now to find out that someone wants to take a piece of my work home is amazing to me.

I just assumed that both dolls and my quilt would be coming home in a couple of weeks. I'm so happy that she will be going to a good home. It's always a little bittersweet for me because I miss my dolls when they are adopted but so happy when someone else loves them too.

Dia De Los Muertos

These are my two latest dolls designed for the VOX Gallery for Dia de los Muertos. The show will open on October 13th and the Gallery is located at 1818 11th Street in Sacramento.

This is Martha, she is in honor of my mother who was my strength and I miss her still.

This is Dolores designed in honor of a friend. Her wisdom and advice still influences my life today.

San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles

 I didn't make the deadline for the "Masquerade" exhibit. I have to remind myself not to spread myself so thin. I am learning that when entering a juried competition with a set theme that it takes some time to design and develop a piece of work that will have the kind of quality that is required to be competitive.

I did get another email about another juried show for fiber artists that was accepting past work created within a certain time line. I pulled seven of my best dolls and decided to give them the star treatment and took some new photos of them. Getting ready for the mermaid show, I learned about taking good submission photos with the right dpi, resolution, pixels, etc., ect., ect. I never understood any of that before but nowadays you can google anything and find a tutorial. I used to do a little photography many years ago with a Minolta SLR camera but the cost of developing film killed the joy of that hobby. Digital cameras make things so much easier.

The show I entered is called "High Fiber Under Five 2012" showing at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles from October 20th through November 4th, 2012. The jury selected 263 pieces out of  over 371 and my "Girls" were included. I am happy to be able to share some of my "Gloria's Girls" dolls with another new audience outside of Sacramento. These are the seven dolls that were accepted.
I'm staying creative and busy turning ideas into projects and ready to meet the challenge of the next show. I read a really good article about being creative on demand. The author of the article talked about being able to take advantage of more calls for artists and client opportunities especially with specific themes. Having the ability to come up with an art or design concept that meets a prospectus and executing and completing it on time is pretty powerful. I am going to try hard to follow some of his suggestions

Masquerade

I've been bitten by the juried competition bug again. After so much work getting ready for "Mermaids", I still have so much creative adrenalin. I needed some more "trouble" to get into. Someone sent me another call for artists called "Masquerade". At first I said no because I wanted to just take a breather. But then I started getting images in my head the same way I did for "Mermaids". I'm not completely sure what to create yet. The good news is that they will only take one entry per artist which will keep me from being tempted to make more that one piece. The bad news is that the deadline is the end of this month. The prospectus is so intriguing. It asks artists to call on their 'sinister', 'festive', 'macabre' and 'mischievous' creative spirits to create a virtual masquerade ball. Artists are to think of  Mardi Gras, Venetian and Brazilian Carnivale and Halloween. I'm going to dream on it another night and see how I feel in the morning.

Mermaids

Yemaya’s Feast Day Celebration September 7^th, 2012

As part of the three day Opening weekend for Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore: A fiber Arts Exhibiton we invite you to join us,

September 7^th at 6:30  pm Fort Moultrie, Sullivans Island,  South Carolina, for a very special Celebration.

September 7^th is the Feast Day to honor Mermaid goddess Yemaya.

According to Yoruba elders, The Black Mermaid  is the "unseen mother present at every gathering."

 She is omnipresent and omnipotent. Her power is represented in Yoruba teaching  reminding us that "no one is an enemy to water."

       High Chief, High Priest Nathaniel Styles of the Yoruba Kingdom, will introduce and educate us as how to honor and celebrate the Black Mermaid Yemaya.

       You’ll gather in a circle, that represents the eternal cycle of life.

Your heart and feet will turn towards home, and then deeper to our first home, the waters, as the ancient beating of the drums of The god Sango will sound.  Nigerian Prince Aderele will fly in from the Motherland especially for this celebration,the Prince  will call down  Sango The God of Thunder      to beat his Spirit drum, dance His Sacred Dance, and he will perform for us the fire eating ritual  in honor of the Deities as a purification rite.

You will have a once in a life time experience.

      Yemaya invites you to reclaim our feminine strength to take in  universal wisdom of the water goddess.

 Being  whole means to be balanced. “The goddess woman whole in

herself. She speaks to us of a power that is our birthright. And our men are more at peace when they too join the circle of celebration, as all men need to rebalance the masculine and feminine energy as well.

To know ourselves means to know one another.

We are asked to wear white if possible and to bring a financial offering for the Chief High Priest and Prince.

You are also invited to share a meal with us afterwards. Chief High Priest will also take appointments for private sessions.