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. ....
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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!

How to make your own pop-up Valentine ’s Day cards

It’s not hard… all you need is some different color construction paper, scissors, glue and markers. First, fold two different color pieces of construction paper in half. On one piece, draw a heart shape making sure to draw it so the bottom and top of the heart are on the fold. Cut along the heart shape but don’t cut it all the way out. On opposite sides of the heart leave about an inch of paper uncut, this will hold the pop-up in place. Now push the heart shape forward so it is folding the opposite way as the rest of the construction paper. See how it stands up now, cute huh? Apply glue to the back of the construction paper except for the heart pop-up. Now just stick it to the other folded piece of paper, making sure the sides meet. And Voila you have a pop-up! Then you can use the markers to write sweet notes to your Valentine, or just decorate it with more hearts.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Taking the New Year One Step at a Time.

A new day, a new year…a new resolution.

Unlike most people I am not intimidated by this. What’s my secret you ask?

I believe in taking it one step at a time....like my drawing. People often ask me how I draw so well. The truth is I didn’t start out that way. When I was a child I couldn’t draw at all, not even a legible stick figure, so instead I would trace everything. I would place a picture up to the window with a piece of paper over it and draw over the lines. After a few years I was able to change small things on the pictures without tracing, until eventually I didn’t need to trace at all. I took it a step at a time. I guess you could say tracing was like my artist training wheels. So my advice to everyone is, if you want to knock out your new year’s resolution this year, take it one step at a time.

Christmas Tree Art

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are your branches…

That’s because of all the Art on them. Yes, I said art. No I haven’t had too much eggnog. :P

The Christmas tree is the ultimate expression of oneself, just like art. That’s why no Christmas tree is the same. When I decorate my Christmas tree, it’s just like when I sit down to paint. The tree is my canvas and the ornaments are my brush. Each piece makes the whole picture and when I’m done its art. Even if it’s lop-sided and there are too many of the same color glass balls hanging together, it’s still my masterpiece. It’s not art that only one person can make, everyone is a Christmas tree artist. Merry Christmas!

Classic Thanksgiving Turkey Art

I traced my hand and made a turkey with it today. As I put the little triangle on the thumb to make the beak I remembered making hand turkeys as a child. How clever the person who first traced their hand to make an animal must have been. It always came out looking just like the gobbler no matter how bad you were at drawing. Now, as I look at the awkward misshapen creation, I wonder if people would still eat turkey if it really looked like this… Probably. As strange as the hand turkeys may come out, I’m thankful that all children have a built in turkey stencil.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!