Thankful for You.

Hello Art Fans!
As it is getting very close to the Thanksgiving Holiday, I wanted to take the time to mention one of the things that I am thankful for...my customers. Without you all I wouldn't be able to do what I do every day.
And a big part of how you help my business grow is by leaving reviews for my work. Your reviews help other customers find and make decisions regarding my shop.  Reviews also help me to know if I am doing a good job providing services or if/where I need to make improvements. Your thoughts and comments help me adjust my work or shop to get the most out of my business.
Here are a few of my most recent reviews. I just want to say how awesome it was to read these and to know that I made someone's experience a good one.

This review really tugged at my heart strings. :)

I love this little guy so much! My university mascot is a bear and I'm actually an amputee, so when I saw him I had to have him. He's beautifully made and shipped very quickly. I definitely plan to buy more sculptures from MysticReflections in the future!

The fabulous platypus has arrived safely, he’s perfect and astonishing of details. Contacts are simple and clear, you can with no problem buy magic objects from this shop. Thank you so much for your talent

Absolutely amazing. Stunning. I am tickled by this beautiful piece of art and I will treasure it forever. I'll be back to build my collection.

To read more of the reviews on my shop and merchandise or to leave a review, Please visit my Etsy review page. :) 

I appreciate all the feedback and Love that you all show my work. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Thanks for reading!
~Caralyn 

10 Years of Dragon Con!

This labor day weekend marks the 10th anniversary of my artwork getting accepted into the Dragon Con Art Show.

Ever since attending this amazing convention for the first time, I dreamed of being a part of their art show. With encouragement from my family I attempted to join the show. But was rejected by the judges. :( The next year I reluctantly applied again. 2008 was apparently my year, I passed the jury.

I proudly set up my booth with my make shift signs and backdrop. I felt like a fraud that first year. I was selling my artwork next to amazing artists, with years of experience behind them. No matter what I felt or not, the artists and art directors welcomed me into the DCon family.

This was the set up at my 1st craft show ever, as you can see my booth has come along way from this first tiny show.
I didn't even have sculptures yet and Yes, that is a poster-board sign with masking tape. LOL

More handmade signs and displays.
My family and I call this colorful table cloth "the magic carpet" and it has been covering my booth table every single show since 2007.

2009 and you can see my booth is looking a little more put together. 

2nd Dragon Con booth set up. Not too bad, still had so much to learn though.

2011 Dragon Con booth set up. Starting to look legit? 

Dragon Con is the largest Sci-fi/Fantasy convention in the South-East, with over 80,000 attendees last year, but only a decade ago it was bringing in 30,000 people, still the largest show I had ever been a part of.
10 years later and this art show has proven to be my most successful convention each year. I have won several awards in the Art show, from best fairy to best horror, believe it or not. :)

I have also met the most crazy yet most interesting people here and made many friends and con buddies.
I completely believe you never stop progressing and improving as long as you keep doing, and the same goes for shows/conventions.  Each year I learn something new about my art and the business.

2014 booth set up.

2015 booth set up.

2016 booth set up.

2017 booth set up.

Though it is a stressful time, getting ready for this convention every year;

Taking months to build inventory and working many nights and weekends to prepare, I love this Art show and the inspiration it has been for me.

Here's a look at how far my artwork has come in the 10 years of Dragon Con. :)

Dragon pals 2008

Dragon Pals 2011

Dragon Pals 2014

Dragon Pals 2018

Steampunk Dragon Pals 2012

Steampunk Dragon Pals 2013

Steampunk Dragon Pals 2014

Steampunk Animal Pals 2013

Steampunk Animal Pals 2014

Steampunk Animal Pals 2015

Steampunk Animal Pals 2016

Looking forward to being apart of Dragon Con again this September. Can't wait to see everyone there. :)
Thanks to everyone that has supported my art and encouraged me over the years. And Thanks to Dragon Con for letting this little artist be a part of this awesome show for 10 years. :)

A super special Thank You to the people that help me at the show every single year, without these few I would not be able to handle the stress of those 4 con days. I love you all so much and appreciate all your help. Laralee, Julie, JR and my sweet wonderful husband.

Thank you for reading!
~Caralyn

I say Gryphon and you say Griffin

Back again with a Step by Step blog for you all today. :)

I am working hard on building my inventory up for the Dragon Con Art Show in September. Last Dragon Con cleaned me out so I will have a whole bunch of new pieces this year. 

So here is one of my gallery pieces, a Gryphon (Griffin) and I am super excited about it because this is the first one of these I have made on this scale(over 3 inches) before.  

As always, I started with the general shape I wanted, used glass beads for the eyes and began to sculpt small details into the face and torso. I wanted this Gryphon to look sort of like a parakeet so I kept his beak short.

Also I wanted my gryphon to have feline-like back legs and bird-like front legs. So I made his little clawed feet and began to build then up with hair. Giving him a puffy chest.

Time to add some color to our guy. I normally start with colored polymer clay but since I wasn't sure what color I wanted when I started, I had to use white. It didn't take me long to figure out his color scheme though. Since he was already very parakeet-esque I went with blue and white.

Now to add some ears, because a gryphon without ears is just a bird with a lion butt. LOL  

(Fun Fact: Back when the crest or suit of arms was just an animal head, the gryphon would often be mistaken for a bird or eagle head so it was then always depicted with ears to clear up any confusion.)

Now usually I am diligent about photographing my steps but with this piece I got super excited and neglected to take pictures of my process of making the wings for this guy. No worries, my phoenix I did last year is happy to help with an explanation collage. :)

Traditionally gryphons only have one set of wings but our guy needs to be special so he gets two! I couldn't decide which position I wanted , open or folded, so I went with both. That is one of the great things about fantasy creatures, you can make them look however you want, your imagination is the limit. :)  

I like my gryphons to be very cat-like aswell so this little one is going to get a nice fluffy tail to finish him off.

He is all sculpted, now we can paint small details to our sculpture.

Our Little Gryphon is ready for his Art Show debut.
This sculpture will be available in September at the Dragon Con Art Show.  

Hope you enjoyed my step by step blog.
Check out my social media sites for more of my artwork. :) 

Thanks for reading!

~Caralyn 

Giving Little Red her Hood

In many of my blogs I have walked you through, step by step, how I make my fairies/Myxies, framed or other. Here are a few of my step by step fairy blogs if you missed them. :)
Step by Step Unicorn Fairy
Step by Step Robin's Egg Fairy 
Step by Step Framed Fawn
Step by Step Myxie
I usually start with the head and move onto the torso, finishing up with the hands and feet. In this blog I am going to tell you a little about the process that comes after you have finished sculpting a piece.
With this piece I also sculpted her some white gloves. For form fitting clothing such as gloves or stockings, I usually use clay to avoid a bulky look on such a small sculpture.

I don't always jump around with a piece but this one had a small accessory that I was anxious to get started on. With white polymer clay I sculpted a fun tiny Wolf Mask. This mask would be the focal point of the sculpture. I cut out the wolf shape and sculpted teeny swirls into the face. Added a stick and baked for a lovely masquerade prop.

My Unicorn Fairy modeled my mask for me. 

After I have completed sculpting my piece and attaching it to the frame or base or whatever they will be displayed on, I then paint tiny details to the face and body. I like to use colored Polymer Clay because I think it gives a softer look than painted clay so the small details are the only parts that will be painted. For the pink skin hues I use chalk pastels, again it is softer than using paint in my opinion. I shave some of the chalk dust off and use a paint brush to add the color to the sculpture's skin. Then I use acrylic paint to add the color around the eyes, lips, eyebrows and details on the fingernails.

For this sculpture I am giving her eyelashes. I cut small strands of doll hair and glue them in place one at a time. This is super time consuming but I haven't figured out a better method of getting realistic eyelashes. I then coat the hair with gloss to keep it stiff. Now my girl has lashes.
Her gloves are then painted and jazzed up with some black beads.

Now lets get this lady some clothes.
By taking small sections of fabric and gluing them in place on her torso, I can make a fun little dress without even using a sewing machine. Sometimes hand sewing is required but it never takes long on such a teeny doll. I made all her clothes and accessories black and white so when I added her Red cloak it would POP!

But before we can make her Riding Hood, we must give this girl some hair. I portion small sections/locks of doll hair out and glue each small lock to her head. I start at the base of her skull and keep building lock over lock until her head is full. Then I style it.

Time to give her a Hood. For the cloak I mostly hand sewed and then glued it in place. Since this piece is a framed sculpture, I didn't want the hood to move too much so it would not mess with the look of the piece.
She is All Done! Little Red Rising Hood is ready for he fairytale.

So I hope that explains a little more of my after sculpting process. When you work with mixed media, your work is not done just because you finished sculpting.
This lovely piece will be available in September at my Dragon Con Art Show Gallery.
Thank you all for reading.
~Caralyn