Witches Brew

Hello Everyone!

A few fun things for everyone who checks in now and then. This week has been crazy busy at work so this might be my only time to post until next week at this time, possibly even missing the Original TransAtlantic Countdown. (Dry your eyes! I know you're busy too!) Wow, a month from today, I will be on my way BACK from the Mother Country.

It was a lot of fun working on all sorts of "cards" and the like the last week or so.

Altho I have learned more the last year or two, I find I always go back to simple line drawings and illos with simple coloured pencils and pen and ink. Watercolours are another new thing I am re-exploring. I had watercolour in college but that's been a while.

Happy Halloween, Punkin!

Hold on to your hat! Halloween is here!

The Eyecandy Art Giveaway is over, as you know, and several of you (hopefully) received your card by today -- Halloween! -- one of you as far away as Malaysia. Wow. Several here in the good old USA, one in PR, and one in South Africa. If they're a little late... we will blame the Post Office. I won't go so far as to say it's their fault, mind you... just that we will blame them and theirs.

So for now through even tomorrow, All Saints Day, good scary shows on the BoobTube and a Peach Bellini or two (the original recipe from Harry's Bar). TGIF... altho I have half a shift of work tomorrow as well. whew....! talk about scary...!


And here, the last fun thing, His and Her Nibs, Don and Kitten, not 15 minutes ago in this house on their way to a wild and crazy Trick or Treat Party in downtown Athens. They are so loved and so loving. I so rarely go out now on H'ween. But I think hanging with them would be more than fun. Who knows? Maybe next year, I will be Tagalong Tutu.



Pleasant Screams and have a great weekend, everyone!

Candace

Mad Hatters Tea Party

Below is an antique image from teaspirit.com of two grannies having tea... although some say they are witches. Whatever they are, they appear to be having a good time. A cup of anything shared with a friend is always good for the heart... and around this time of year, the spirits, don't you know?

Hello Everyone!

Saturday, 25 October, yours truly is hosting the Inaugural Mad Hatters Tea Party. Yes, there will be hats! I have this outrageous one I will be wearing -- and you will see photos, I promise.

I love hosting a tea party or a brunch for friends and newcomers. Let them eat cake! As in an oldfashioned Sally Lund cake as well as other delectables, savories and whatnots; teas, coffee and hot cocoa will abound. And the infamous cheese biscuits, courtesy Kitten! Plus party favours for the guests.

To the right are a couple of works in progress, and as you can see they are still on plain backgrounds, done with the watercolour pencils and Crayolas. Yes, I am still a big kid.

The first is called "Blondie" for lack of a better title.

This other morose kid is called "Green Eyed Monster".

Work is pretty tiring and depressing this earnings season what with the financial upheavals... and now it's obvious that the "globalization" everyone touts means that other countries are feeling the pinch and how! Be sure to remember there are those very much less fortunate and pitch in where and when and however you can.

And now, putting away the soapbox I have just stepped down from, I remain very truly yours,

Goody TwoShoes

Monday's Child

is fair of face --

Hello everyone!

Remember that old nursery rhyme teaching children the days of the week using happy and occasionally woeful attributes. Hopefully one will think that this Monday's Child is indeed a good looking babe. Kitten said, "Oh look, you didn't draw yourself." LOL. I used only the pen and two coloured pencils for this and am pretty happy that it turned out this well.

Today the new passport arrived. How fortuitous as yes, indeed, it is time for The Official TransAtlantic Countdown. Five weeks from this very moment, I will be leaving on a jet plane, as the song goes.

In the news today, catching up with the Bloglandia Bunch, it seems that everyone and her sister is getting to take these fantastic weekends with Art Shenanigans! Go check out femminismo's site here and see what a great time she had and where she went. That gal is always up to something fun! Also, that sweet Michelle Allen gave her mom a fabu birthday present this weekend -- a visit to Art and Soul -- which you can check out here. Hey, who wouldn't like a treat like that?? Lisa Kaus's blog is one of the best, believe me. And Judy Wise's site is full of good works and deeds. She is just in from RAEvN's Nest in Wisconsin... I cross my fingers, hoping to go one day if only to reclaim a long ago friend.

Don't forget the Eyecandy Art Giveaway. Check the post before this one (Miles To Go) for details. I think it's a good fun way to reach out and touch someone -- which reminds me. It's time to make some phone calls.

Take it easy or not at all...

Candace

Miles To Go --

-- well, forget before I sleep. How about miles to go before I do anything?!

Hello everyone!

Yes, I am dithering about entering the Holiday 2008 Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa (extra "a" and all...). It's not that I do not think I am 'good enough'. No no. That's not it. Is it the $50 fee? Mmmm... just before London, too. Let me think this over. Is it the fact that, for these events, the culling is swift and brutal? Bring it on! I'm tougher than I look. You know I will let you know what I decide. I have till November 1st to make up my mind, which isn't nearly as tidy a process as making up my bed, sad to say.

Here's another denizen of the deep. I am obsessed with these fellas now. Look at that incredible luminosity around this baby.

And that's yet another project I have to get crackin' on! ArtFest '09 will be here before you know it -- and I am determined to take a couple of little beauties with me for fun and whathaveyou. (If you knew how until recently I struggled to show my artwork at all .... Kitten loves reminding me how timid I was. It cracks me up every time she impersonates me showing a piece of art to someone.)

ART GIVEAWAY: Say, who wants a handmade, one-of-a-kind Halloweenie card from Yours Truly? If You get your street or mailing address to Me (canwiggins@gmail.com) no later than October 25th (next Saturday, Kids), I will mail out a little something to you. All will be or are slightly different as I make each card (or postcard) one at a time. They're raw, they're wild, they're untamed! Like the artist. Smirk.

None of this artwork will have been seen before. It won't be fancy stuff, mind you. Then again, maybe it will!

Get More of What You Love,

Candace

I Can't Stop Loving You

Hello Everyone.
And so it begins. Solid rain all day yesterday, not warm, not cold, just solid unrelenting rain and the soft silver sky. Today, there is no doubt. Fall has not only arrived, she is unpacking her bags.

This little pen and coloured marker drawing was done in memoriam to another "old orange cat". He actually wasn't really orange. He was more of a pinkish gold fella. He had real problems and was not what most would call a "good" cat. He was quarrelsome and aggressive, he bit, clawed and terrorized everything and everyone around him. He picked fights. He was sweet ONLY when it was bedtime.

And yet, he is the one most mourned and missed. The title popped into My head and I realized, yes indeed. I Can't Stop Loving You. Sing it, fellas, one time for me. Beading and backing on this starts next week.

And now, OFF to the Wedding!

Get More of What You Love,

Candace

Fall or -- Hello, Beautiful!

Fall brings us the best and the worst sometimes, election year or not. As Judy Wise stated this past week, it's that time of year when we say goodbye to things. We are sorry to read that her beloved Hermanito was one of those farewells.

Hello everyone!

Sometimes, the other side of that coin is, it brings out the beautiful, the bizarre, even the commonplace which suddenly takes on a different type beauty or grace.

Is that the dying of the light just over the ridge there? Hello, Beautiful! What a good girl this Clown Princess is. She's listening for a last shout out from her unrequited love, Scrap, before she's called in for supper.

And My Very Own Kitty Boy is seen below, patiently waiting on me to climb into the sack and reward his attention-grubbing behaviour while I, on the other hand, attempt to read "just one more page, please" before we touch noses, rub his head, massage his back, hold his paws ... with alternating doses of disdain and tolerance thrown in.

Get More of What You Love before that cat takes it alllllll....

Candace

PS -- Friday, A Personal Art Tour of recent Art Shenanigans. Then it's On The Road, to visit my folks as we gather to help marry off my niece's daughter. Yes. My great niece. How'd she get to be 25?!? Amazing...!

Northern Lights

Hello Everyone!


The photos are courtesy of my Thister ( -- hey, I was three, I couldn't say Sister. Yes, I still call her that sometimes.) who is over here with some penguins, three grandkids and not enough time on her hands. Seriously.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, she did not take these photos. BUT she and I would probably go to events like this if we ever did have time on our collective hands.

So please -- enjoy the Northern Lights over Yellow Knife Canada and a Fire Rainbow -- one of the rarest of natural phenomenon. Then go say hi to her. She always welcomes a visit.

No tour today, Kids. I know that in any type game with Nature, She always bats last.

And This Is The Fire Rainbow. Cool, huh?

Get MUCH More of What You Love.

Candace

Life's A Fiesta

Hello Everyone.

This weekend was fun, fun, fun for a lot of reasons. Saw several friends I hadn't seen in several months to a year. There are more than just one or two who are always a blessing to myself as well as others.

Life's A Fiesta! This is a coaster from a popular Mexican restaurant nearby and I really like the colours and the graphics, thinking about parties and all sorts of spectacles this time of year. But when I turned the coaster over, what I saw that "Life's A Fiesta" is about, is remembering that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Smackdown into reality, eh?


A couple other shots of things going in My Journal which would now need a crane to lift it -- okay, okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. But seriously once I set my cap towards something, it seems like suddenly -- hey, there it is. There's another one! Hey look, another one! Golly, just check it out! TONS of them... get them all.

I can't decide which journal the lovely bit below belongs in... My Travel Journal (India, which has lots of peacocks and is a place I've always wanted to visit) or My Journal, as I generally love peacocks just for themselves. Altho I do not like pink, "pink", per Diana Vreeland, "is the navy blue of India." And this pink background makes these fellas simply POP, doesn't it? Very nice... although I would love love love to get a really great graphic of a white peacock...

We've had rain and wind... The trees are really getting into the spirit of Autumn now, their leaves deepening their individual colours or changing colours altogether to another section of the spectrum!

Take care,

Candace

Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones

Hello Everyone!

While I try to figure out which skeleton to put where on the card, please note that the weather in Athens, GA, will be in the 80s till Wednesday's low 70s due to thunderstorm. This is what's called Indian Summer here in the States -- a tip of the hat to the Native American version of the Pleiades! -- another warm and inviting respite against the coming cold.

Of course, the dogwood can't tell and is doing what it does best this time of year. Just look at this baby go! I can't imagine what it's going to look like in another week or two...

And now that Kitten has shown me how to cook Red Lobster's garlic cheese biscuits,

some of us can't wait for that cold to show! But we have to. Nature knows best.

This weekend, everyone hereabouts seemed to have a wonderful day Saturday -- and Sunday, too, mostly due to the weather. Lots of company on Sunday and was I ever ready for it. I like to cocoon as much if not more than the next person, but once a month or so, I'm definitely a Social Butterfly and I do enjoy it.

Let's have the usual tour of a few sketches and works in progress here. Most are done in my tried and true coloured pencils, but I have to admit, there's some Crayola crayon in there, too.

This one is "Play Ball".

This Madonna and Child is really untitled.

Sorry she's so dark here. The lighting was not the best but it looked fine on screen.

Mod Squad. This was just for fun. I don't do blondes usually but I wanted to do a fun and zippy piece.

Well, Art Shenanigans almost always chases the blues away. Not that I have the blues, but just working on art or reading good books is almost always a cheering prospect for Yours Very Truly.

And, talking about good weekends, femminismo of "One Day At A Time" had a great one, it sounds like. She and I must have had a couple of parallel stars in the heavens at birth. Go here to read what was up with her. How I envy that gal's other other "art" weekends sometimes! And trust me, getting it done in this biz and done right IS an artform... LOL!

Over on some of My Other Peeps' blogs, I find that they aren't going into Autumn, because they are in the Southern Hemisphere! Ain't Blogland grand? And so, they are going into warm weather after the cold of their own winter.

Just take a gander at Denise's springtime herald here. She and I love both paper -- hey, who doesn't!? -- but she quilled a gorgeous little flower on this already lovely piece of art. Give those REAL Southern Gals a shout out when you visit their blogs. I find them truly fascinating. Different and yet share more commonality than we'd guesstimate. (Yes, that's considered a word now. Isn't it disgusting?)

Okay, we are on The Official TransAtlantic Watch at my house. Seven Weeks and Counting Down Until I am in The Mother Country. I talked to Jeanne my friend and soon to be hostess with the mostest today. Hoohoo! I can't wait. (But I have to wait... but I can't wait... but I have to wait... Nature knows best.)

Get More of What You Love, and I love an old orange cat.
Candace

Keep Going

"If you're going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill

Hello everyone!
While I cannot say I am going through anything as dire as hell, times are tough everywhere. Just read the paper, listen to the folks at the gas station or grocery stores, the ministers in the pulpit if that's your thing, and/or our "leaders" as well as our leaders. Listen to your friends and neighbors, your kids and siblings.

Then, just remember to listen to yourself and keep going. Eat a salad. Ride a bike. Read a good book. Watch a movie you love. Give someone flowers. Do the dishes. Pet your animal or your babies/grandbabies. Invite someone over for cards ("52 soldiers in the Devil's Army" according to my grandmother -- who knew how to keep going.)

Above we have yet another Creature of the Deep. (This is a photo, not artwork. Wow, do I ever wish I was this good!) ArtFesters will know why I am "suddenly" enamoured of these denizens of the deep. And folks who know Me, water sign that I am, will as well. I had a fun and challenging idea, thanks to Victorian Lady, and will be working diligently on it from now till -- mmmm. Till I finish! Howzat? LOL.

It involves sculpture... sort of... which I really enjoy when I do it. You folks will be the first to see it, I promise.

Say, speaking of which, I was the first to see this Housewarming Gift I snatched up for My Sis's new house. It was at the Athens Farmers Market. (Why shop at Macy's?! I can get something for everyone on Arts and Crafts Saturdays at the AFM! It's local, it's almost all handmade and it's one-of-a-kind -- like the folks I know!)

Here's hoping you all have a good weekend. I have company in here this weekend but will be sure and post more shenanigans by Monday!

And remember: Keep going!

Later,

Candace