Z is for...

Z is for ZEBRAS. This may seem like such an obvious Z word but I really love ZEBRAS and the beautiful black and white graphic pattern of their coats. I own so many items from my lunch box to my cell phone cover that are reproductions of this beautiful animal's coat. Like our fingerprints, no two ZEBRAS are alike. Can you imagine how many infinite patterns there are? Artists and photographers have recreated their graphic interpretations of ZEBRA skins for centuries.

And last but not least, my last doll does have a name that begins with the letter Z and her name is ZORA. 

Enjoyed the challenge this year.

X is for...

X is for XANADU. The letter X is always a hard one but I kept thinking about the 1980 movie XANADU starring Michael Beck, Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly.



 I remember taking my kids to see it. They liked anything that had to do with music and fantasy.

As I remember, the movie didn't do that well at the box office  but it was entertaining.

 

The one thing that I always remembered about the film was that it loosely referenced the nine Greek Muses who bring inspiration to artists, historians and scientists.

Every now and then the movie comes on television and it's still fun to watch and I've been able to share it with the next generation, my grand kids. X is for XANADU.

V is for...

Time is short tonight. I'm working hard to get ready for a show next week, hopefully a windless one. Just enough time for one small V. V is for VIERA and VANESSA, two of my favorite dolls. VIERA was adopted last year and I know she is making another home happier. V is for VIERA and VANESSA.

U is for...

U is for UNFLAPPABLE. I had the hardest time coming up with something that began with U that I wanted to write about. I decided to use an online dictionary for inspiration and I found the word UNFLAPPABLE. It's not a word that I use very often and I have to admit that the sound of the word makes me smile.

The definition is: "one who is marked by assurance and self control, persistently calm, when facing difficulties or experiencing success; not easily upset or excited; imperturbable; composed."

I love this word. It would be so nice to be UNFLAPPABLE when dealing with life's daily stress, especially at work. I can think of people I've had to work with that always know how to push your buttons and drive you crazy. To be an UNFLAPPABLE person would probably drive them crazy in return because they couldn't get to you.

Anyway, U is for UNFLAPPABLE.

T is for...

T is for THANKS. I am so overjoyed at how many people I've met on this year's A to Z Blog Challenge. I want to THANK everyone for the follows. It's almost doubled in the last three weeks THANKS to some extremely helpful advice about changing some settings. I promise to stay in touch I hope you will too.




                                                                                                                                                                                                              I only have two dolls whose names begin with "T", Tasha and Tia. Good night everyone, see you tomorrow.

S is for...

S is for SOCIAL Media. I have a love hate relationship with SOCIAL Media. For a long time my knowledge of the Internet was pretty basic. I only used it for work related projects. My one and only email account was the closest I got to SOCIAL Media.

When I was taking some business classes a few years ago my classmates teased me because I didn't know what facebook was or the difference between Twitter and Tweety Bird. I had my blog page for a couple of years but didn't post very often and had no followers. Another friend advised me that for business purposes, SOCIAL Media was necessary to stay connected and for exposure. So, I took some time and I figured out faceboook and Twitter and created accounts. I found a lot of relatives I didn't know I had and a lot more information about them than I needed to know which supports the warnings about what kind of information should be shared publicly on the Internet.

I love the interaction with new people. I can post some of my work and get feedback and also new business leads but sometimes I kind of fall into a black hole. If I try to keep up with all of the different types of SOCIAL Media I lose track of time and hours go by. Then I get mad at myself because I really should have used the time to work on some of my projects. If I don't make it, I can sell it.

I now limit myself to only a few options and maybe an hour at a time three days a week and I try not to be tempted by so many of the side tracks that take me off into so many different directions. S is for SOCIAL Media.

S is also for my dolls: SASHA, SABRINA, SONJE, SAMANTHA, STAR, SUNDAY and SUMMER.

R is for...

R is for REALITY TV. I have to admit that I am a REALITY TV Show fan. I used to tease my mom for watching American Idol, The Bachelor, The Apprentice and Survivor several years ago when there weren't so many of them on the air. I couldn't see the point of REAL people going before the camera to make fools of themselves or to make their very private lives, defeats and disappointments so public. I'm still not a fan of The Bachelor or Survivor but a few years ago I found myself rooting for a couple of teams on The Amazing RACE and I am now a regular follower. I am so envious of the opportunity that they have to see so many beautiful countries.

I then found myself enjoying the singing contestants on American Idol, The Voice and a few other singing competitions that I can't remember at the moment and because I am an artist and a designer I have also gotten caught up in the design challenges on HGTV, BRAVO and STYLE. I really identify with the creative processes that the designers go through to complete the various challenges they are given.

But wait, it gets a lot worse. I have also become a follower of two of the many Real Housewives Of...  programs. I won't say which ones but I now tune in every week to watch these silly people behave foolishly. I'm not ashamed, I admit it, I've become my mother. R is for REALITY TV.

R is also for my only R doll, Roxy.

I am getting ready to try a new doll design that I treated myself to. I bought a couple of Tilda's Ideas books and can't wait to learn how to make 'Tilda Dolls'. I hope I have one finished for "T is for..." on Tuesday. Have a great weekend.

Q is for...

Q is for QUESTION. I've raised two sons and I have four grandchildren. All parents and grandparents know about the 'terrible twos' stage, the 'no to everything' stage and the 'fall out, screaming tantrum' stage of early child rearing. There is also the 'incescent "why?"' stage. I found this one more easily handled as a grandparent than as a parent. I watched both of my sons each go through it twice with clenched teeth and exhausted patience when their children were small, "but why daddy?" for the hundredth time in a day. I just smiled and thought "what goes around, comes around, it's your turn now". I also reminded them of how important the 'why stage' is when children are growing up. A child who QUESTIONS 'why' when they are little and receives a patient satisfying answer in return will have the courage to ask QUESTIONS as they are growing up and as adults rather than to always blindly accept things as they are. We want our children to grow up to be good leaders and to recognize when changes are needed and to be able to choose when to act on them.

So, if any of you have little ones in your life, remember that they will be in charge of the world you get old in.

Q is for QUESTION.

P is for...

P is for PRAYER as my thoughts and PRAYERS go out to Boston tonight as they are going through yet another violent experience.

O is for...

O is for OMG!!! I 'tried' to do a craft show today but the wind was blowing 12 to 20 miles an hour with gusts up to 35. My tent kept blowing across the parking lot until I got the weights attached but the wind was determined to show me who was boss. I tried setting up my displays but a strong gust would hit and blow everything over. I had to fish my dolls out of the bushes twice and when it happened the third time I declared the wind the undefeated champion and gave up. My poor dolls were in a piles all over my tables and it looked like a war zone. The other vendors were struggling too. Even the vendors who had heavier crafts and merchandise had their tables blown over and some had breakage. Anyway, I apologized to the event coordinator and packed my tent and left. She had asked if I could just lay the dolls flat on the table, which looked terrible but just as she was making that suggestion, two of my dolls got caught in a gust of wind and blew into the booth next door. I told her that I couldn't sell anything that wouldn't stay on the tables. I packed up my girls and went home. OMG what a day.

O is also for more of my dolls, ONDINE and OLIVIA and yes, all of my dolls are hand made by me.
Good night all.

N is for...

It's been another long day and another (N is for...) late NIGHT. N is for : NAOMI, NYAMBEE and NIA. Good NIGHT all.

 

 

 

 

M is for...

M...one of my favorite letters. Hmmm... where should I begin. M of course is for MERMAIDS. Before last year I didn't know much about MERMAIDS except for I would hear my two granddaughters talking about. Little girls love MERMAIDS! Last year I entered a call to artists to create Black MERMAIDS for an exhibit at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston, South Carolina. I created two MERMAID dolls

and a MERMAID quilt.

I was overjoyed when all three pieces were accepted for the exhibit and I was able to travel to Charleston for all of the opening events.



M is also for MUD CLOTH and MUSEUM. Being a textile artist I have a love of the beautiful geometric patterns and symbolic prints found in MUD CLOTH designs.

Last summer, I attended an exhibit at a MUSEUM in Oakland, California. A few of my fellow textile artists from Sacramento had quilts and fiber art pieces in the exhibit. I'm very proud to be connected to theses talented artists.







M is also for two of my newest dolls, MARGARET and MAKIBA.

M is also for my dolls MIRANDA, MADELINE, MAIXIU, MARIAH, MARTHA SUE, MEG, MILEY and MARTHA. I guess I really do like the letter M. Good night, see you tomorrow.