OMG Dragon Con is Coming for Me!

Hello my little darlings!
It is crunch time people, only 2 more days until Dragon Con. Fortunately I'm not worried…okay I lied, I am a little worried but that always happens to me before a big show like this. And being that this is my first time having a booth at Dragon Con, I will say there are a few butterflies squirming around in my tummy…don't know how those little suckers got in there.
I am pretty much all set and ready to go, I have a few finial pictures I am matting tonight and then I should be all done. It has been a long, tiring month but it's all going to be worth it at the show.
Please everyone come by and see me while you are there so I don't get lonely. I will be in the art gallery and I'll be the one covered in Myxies, can't miss me. :)
Unfortunately I won't have a computer with me this weekend so I won't be able to answer any messages but you can leave them for me anyway so when I get back I feel like I have lots of friends :D
Well, see all you geeks and nerds and Trekkies this weekend.
~Caralyn

A place for my Myxies

Only sixteen more days until Dragon Con and I still have so much to do.
The project I am presently working on is MYXIE LAND! The second happiest place on earth :)
It’s a stand for my Myxies. Before, now my little creations were homeless, sitting on a cold table at each show waiting for that special someone to come along and give them a home *sniff sniff* but not anymore. Now they will have a happy little shelter, a place to rump and play while they wait for their new family to adopt them.
It’s a beautiful dream come true.

I started with craft foam. Craft foam is that stuff usually used for silk floral arrangements, but I’m using it for the base of the stand. It is light, Thank goodness, I have enough to haul to shows without adding a 20lb Myxie habitat. Also craft foam is not difficult to shape, so carving hills into it a breeze.
Covering the foam in a green felt creates a nice illusion of grass and topping that with craft moss and flowers completes the naturalistic effect.

The last part is going to be a large tree that will enable me to have a place for my hanging/flying Myxies. The tree I am using was actually old decorations I purchased after Christmas. YAH DISCOUNTS! It isn’t quite the right shape, unfortunately so I will need to shave off a few limbs and crop the base until it's right.

Well, all this is going to take some time so instead of jack-jawing with you fine folks, I’m going to get back to work.

Tootles

Preparing for Dragon Con

Getting ready for Dragon Con would’ve been so much easier if the organizers had let me know a bit sooner…but I can’t complain because at least I got in, right.

So now, on my agenda for the art show:
First, making more myxies. I have several ideas for some I think will be really neat but unfortunately I only have time for a few…Alas. *PANS* I am making two pans, these will be my first try at sculpting pans and I’m excited to see how they turn out…so far so good. Also I have now made Myxie wind chimes I call them Mynd Chimes …just kidding. Then I need to make about seven more regular Myxies, and about a zillion more Myxie pals, and that’s going to take awhile. The process is going slow but undoubtedly worth every minute.

Next on the agenda, inventory organization. At past shows I just had a box with my art in it, the customer would ask for a print and I would fumble though the box until I found the right picture. Well that’s not going to cut it anymore, I’m playing with the big boys now. I have to get my stuff straight for the D-Con… Plus it will just make it SO much easier to find prints for customers if my art is all accounted for and organized.

Then comes ordering more supplies (bags, business cards, mats, etc..) this is not my forte, I prefer doing just the fun stuff, my art. But these things are essential to running a business. Fortunately I have family and friends that help me with that side of things.

And with a multitude of other galling little tasks to fulfill, I am a busy little beaver. But I am excited about Dragon Con so I promise not to stress over it too much.

I don’t know about you but I’m tired now.

Thanks for listening,
Caralyn

OMG! I GOT IN!

Holy Hot pockets Batman! I just now this very second received a call from the Dragon Con Organizers, and guess what…No, I didn't win the best costume contest, I GOT IN TO THE ART SHOW WHOOT! The guy told me I got the last booth. How cool is that…of course he could just tell everyone that but who cares, cause I got in. So, yes my little darlings, I will be at D-Con Aug. 29th though Sep 1st in the art gallery, so why don't you stop on by and say Hi.

See all you fellow art lovers there.
Caralyn

My Thumbs hurt so Bad!

In my short time as a Myxie creator I have discovered a few things, such as if you leave a sculpture in the oven for over three hours, it turns into charcoal, also I've learned a little about which clays work best. I have chatted with a few fellow artists that told me about Sculpey. This is great polymer clay for someone with a light touch, Sculpey is extremely easy to mold. But for someone like me with led fingers, I found this clay usually left me with odd looking Myxies. Discovering a polymer clay called Premo helped me solve my problem. It is firmer and takes slightly more effort to mold, making it the ideal clay for making my sculptures as detailed as I desire. Like Sculpey, Premo comes in various colors. But for reasons unbeknownst to me, different colors can be easier to mold then others, thus sticking me in the same predicament as I was in with the sculpey. After trying a variety of different Premo colors I settled on one that was the perfect firmness for my creations, Premo Beige. Unfortunately using only the one color makes it difficult to have different skin colors. Since I didn't want my Myxies to be identical, same skin colors caused a problem. But with having so many options of colored clay to choose from, it wasn't a problem for long. By mixing a small piece of another color I found I could keep the firmness of the Beige while being able to have an array of different skin colors. A small piece of white for lighter skins, a piece of tan for darker etc. Which brings me to the reason for this blog. All that mixing and kneading leaves my thumbs raw and blistered. It's not unlike how they felt after hours of playing Final Fantasy 8 with my brother. They look like I was using them to stir a hot cup of coffee. But alas, the Art must go on, so until I found a better way of mixing the clay I will continue to have blistahs on me fingahs. But enough complaining from me.
Have a great day

Dragon Con Art Show Update

I just heard back from the Dragon Con Jury…And Guess What…Drum roll please…..I got in! Whoot!
Whoo I was so excited to get that news Dun de dumdum Dobedo do do That's me singing the happy time victory song.....
SCCCRRRREEEEEEECCHHHHH and that's my happy fun time screeching to a halt because unfortunately even though I passed the jury, Dragon Con had too many applicants this year and had to cut a few and I was one of the ones cut :(....
It's not all bad though because now that I've passed I will be able to pass every year so my plan is to keep trying until I get a booth. I will however still be going to D-Con and passing out business cards and flyers, cause that's a great place for marketing. Anyhow I know you are all disappointed that I won't have a booth….or at least you are good at faking it, so Thanks, all of you for rooting for me. ....
.. ..
Talk to you later Fans :P....
Caralyn ....

Fireworks Art!

The 4th of July, a time to reflect on our country’s independence…and there is no better way to do that then to grill 8 different kinds of meat and to blow stuff up.:)
But since mom won’t let us play with matches here’s a fun SAFE way to make some creative fireworks. What you will need: paper, paint (as many colors as you like), water, and a drinking straw.
Mix your paint with water making it liquidly, dip the straw into the mixture and let the paint drop onto the paper. Next using the clean end of the straw (and I can’t stress that enough, unless you want to look like you made out with a clown) gently blow the drop of paint until it spreads out creating a colorful array of your very own firework art. Just the kind of thing our forefathers would want…and no threat of blowing off any digits. ;)

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Dragon Con Art Show

For those of you who know what Dragon Con is you know it is fast approaching, and for those of you who don't know what it is, D-Con is the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the US.
Dragon Con's art show is one of my favorite exhibits that D-Con has to offer, artists from all over come to display their work. It is amazing to see all the different styles of professionals and armatures lining the walls and this year I want to be part of it.
First step to reaching my goal to be in the art show is applying for it and paying the application fee..Done and Done!
Second step is deciding what art to send into the D-Con jury. Yes the jury will decide my artistic fate. And boy was that a chore. The tedious task begins with picking which pictures I want to submit. That's not too hard you may think, but for a person like me who is incapable of making a decision when it comes to my art, it is a long drawn out task that usually ends in tears and half my hair missing. But after sopping up my face and covering my hair in a hat I made my choice. Time to send it to the jury…Dun Dun DUN!
Third step…we wait. I hate waiting, someone as impatient as myself doesn't wait…we simmer…like a pot on a stove getting warmer and warmer until the lid flies off (yes that has happened to me before, apparently you aren't supposed to leave a pot on high for 12 hours…who would've thought). "Oh please, oh please, OH PLEASE pick my art for the show" runs over and over in my head as I wait…as patiently as I am capable for the letter saying "you are accepted". If I had gone to college I imagine waiting on that letter would've been much the same.
Unfortunately step three is where I must leave you…I know the suspense is killing you right….me too, but I haven't heard back from the jury to whether or not I've been accepted. I will keep everyone posted though. Check back in a few weeks I should be hearing from them soon.
~Caralyn

We Are All Artists

I’ve found sometimes that after people see my art they say things like “I wish I had talent” or “I’m not creative”. Just because you can’t draw or sculpt the way someone else does, doesn’t mean you aren’t artistic. The definition of art is (the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.)

Art can be anything that shows an individual’s creative side, like acting or writing. Even building a spaceship out of Legos can be art. YAY for Legos! Expressing yourself in any form is a way of being artistic. So show off your creative side people, because you are all artists! :)

Decorating Easter Eggs

This is actually an old trick that my Dad taught me. Boiled eggs, a white crayon and an assortment of egg dye are all you need. First, take a boiled egg and with the white crayon draw anything you want… stripes, dots, the Mona Lisa... anything. Then dip the egg in the dye (don’t forget to follow the egg-dying directions) When you remove the egg from the dye you will see that the dye only stays in the places not colored by the white crayon, neat huh? Then after it dries, draw something else on the egg then submerge it in the dye again. This time when it comes out the drawing that you did the second time will remain the color of whatever you dyed the egg first. Repeat this as many times as you want to make your egg a beautiful array of colors.

Happy Easter Everyone!