Alice, Put The Kettle On

-- and we'll all have tea.

Hello everyone!

First things first. Thanks so much to Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist for putting this show on for us today -- for the third annual Mad Tea Party. If you go here, you will be able to view so so many Blogovians having their MAD TEA PARTIES.

Now, I am not mad. Just a little dizzy! Ha! You would be too if your pen just magically started drawing on its own, producing some familiar characters ...

And if minutes away from guests arriving, your cat drank up something that caused this --

Say, didn't I tell you to leave that alone? Poor old Kit.

and then because his mantra is curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back, he nibbled on something and this happened ...

Get him away from the tea set! He's still growing!

Now you won't see the expected crowd. Not even a Red Queen, thank goodness. Altho her ladies in waiting are attending this year. I hear they are fast friends with Tweedledee and Tweedledum, but I think they are a bit easier on the eyes.

But you see the ever so charming Miss Wonderland plus a couple of faces you might just recognize, guests who rarely are invited anywhere. That girl with her personal White Rabbit, for instance.

Although for the life of me, I can't imagine why no one would invite a pig!

I hope you are enjoying the day, tea or no tea. If there is no tea, have mercy! Just get you a cuppa joe.

Candace, Still in Athens.

You Are Hereby Commanded

By The Red Queen

To Have A Spot of Tea & Magic

With Molly Brown & Company

Saturday, 26 June, 2010

At 4PM Eastern Time.

Art Shenanigans Will Be In Attendance.



Your Pal,
Candace. Still In Athens.
Reports of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Adopted Goes Two Ways

Hello Everybody!
Remember that early March evening in 2008 when Chris and Misha let friends know that Devon was going to show up? He will be TWO this September.

And now, just look at him. Tempus fugit, for real! He has teeth. He's talking! And he is such a great little kid. I’ve adopted him as my Stand In Nephew/Baby. His shirt says “iPood”. (And yes, it was from me, if you doubted it! His adopted Aunt Candace is nothing if not off the chain.)

The Happy Family. We met at De Palma’s in downtown Athens for dinner. We had just seen each other for lunch at one of our most favourite of places – The Last Resort. So Saturday was a Double Bubble wad of pleasure. Devon was in excellent form the entire day, flirting with and charming the waitresses and other diners.

Work and other matters have kept me from creating and posting as much and as often as I like. That’s just the way it’s going these days. But earnings is winding down -- so I hope (ah, hope -- that most elusive and irritating of words and concepts) to be catching up, and will be back next week, sharing some creative bits with you for real. As it stands now, here are some very early sketches...

A detail of a piece called "Mr and Mrs Happy Together".

Masque.

I hope to paint this one.

" I'll Have A Shirley Temple".

Until then, don’t forget Vanessa’s Mad Tea Party here. And Victorian Lady has a lovely inclusion as does Sarah in this copy of Art Doll Quarterly. And speaking of babies… ! Congrats, Mere! It’s always good to hear from friends and especially with news like hers.

Say, what's THIS? Well, it's my last ever (okay, okay, for a while) Sake Bomb. Two dollah! Into a glass of PBR Light, we sink the ubiquitous hot sake cup. And presto, change-o! A delight on a hot Southern afternoon, trust me.

And just why is it the last? Well, Peeps, I am on this new super duper medication regime (for a few weeks, nothing serious!) and that means NO al-kee-hall for a while. Sigh. Let us pray... ! No shellfish and now, no liquor. But a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do.

Now, if they tell me No Coffee, as My mom used to say, "I might as well curl up my toes."

Take care, everyone. Back in a few.

Candace

SouthWorks 2010 and More

Hello there!
Come on in and just sit a spell. It's been a while. But better late than never... Anyway, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so do let these photos do the talking for me. (Fat chance, I know...)

Last week, I finally made it to SouthWorks, an annual artfest in nearby Watkinsville held every spring -- and would you believe it, it's the first time I've been? I always forget or I'm away or I'm working. Not this time, though.

T enters the SouthWorks 2010 Juried Art Exhibition in the OCAF Cultural Centers Building. OCAF sponsors this thriving art community and why don't we go just go from the ridiculous to the sublime? I think most of you know that's what I usually do anyway.

Now look, there is NO WAY I can show it all. So I took pix of my and T's (mostly MY) favourites. If you want to see the whole she-bang, you need to come visit us next May. I think that's only fair.

The Three Graces by Barbara Balzer.

If I had the bucks, this sculpture and the next one would have come home with me. Honest. My measly photos cannot do them justice. I took more than one angle of each, and you will understand why in a second.

Next is APPRENTICE by Barbara Balzer. 24 inches tall.

(T finally insisted I get away from this and give other people a chance to look it over.)

The next two are quilts. I can only remember the first one's title.

THE LOVERS. This one is gorgeous -- multidimensional and very tactile. And look at her pocketbook! incredible!

T and I thought of our friend Jeanne who made each of us a sweet half quilt before she left for her new life in London two years ago.

Fun, huh? There's more where this all came from but not today, Kids.

Say, don't forget to register for Vanessa's Mad Tea Party! It's not too late to join in!

I am so there on June 26th. Hope to see you too.

And, I am working on another doll... and speaking of dolls, look at THIS fun post. Congrats to Sarah! So thrilled to see her work up and at 'em.

Take care.

Candace

Changing Our Spots

First Look....
Can the leopard change her spots?



Meet Kat Fish. Her two photos show a bit of the work put in her. She's about a foot long.

Yes, as Kitten said, her name is perhaps a little corny but there IS such a creature as a Leopard Fish. So I’ve made the Leopard Fish my first merdoll. And just wait till I do my Lion Fish Merman. Dreadlocks you will not believe. Here she is stuffed almost totally and I am showing what I used to work on her. I put the denim and leopard fabric on felt... 4 sheets/$1 at HL... and glued the leopard skin onto the denim.

Kitten’s doll was quite the winner! We bugged Hobby Lobby for a while, looking at what else could be up re: the doll’s custom wear. This is a first glimpse. Neither of us have what I’d call “finished” works. But I do love this "mod" look Kitten's Long Tall Sally is sporting.

Alas, I did not even get started well on mine until we had Art Shenanigans over. Wild weather plus work, to be exact, plus T had a very rough evening and day healthwise and is still not up to snuff. Errands all day by myself on Sunday do NOT count as a day off.

Not to complain, however! Art Shenanigans is fun, no matter what! PLUS, I learned a new stitch, called the blanket stitch, and got some fun sites to look at as well, including one of my favourites -- which you can check out here. (I have it as Doll, under My Blog List.)

Mimi Kirchner is just fantastic in her work and all around daily philosophy. And I do love her fishies! Being a water sign, I guess I would.

Have a great week, everyone! Say, and what are you reflecting on??? Speaking of which, check out all those reflecting lights around those girls!
Take good care.
Candace

Earth Angels

Of course, you know her. Considered the most famous of paintings, this considered beauty is actually eclipsed by another on several lists.

Yet, almost everyone on our planet knows who she is. Her reputation precedes her. Nat King Cole sang a song about her. There’s a movie with her name, a British film about a mysterious woman who brings a man to ruin… of course. (What else are mysterious women good for, if not that? Yawn…)


And then there is “Flaming June”. My most favourite of Victorian paintings could not be sold, even for a mere pittance -- $160.00 (!!!) -- in the Swinging Sixties. The style had fallen out of favour so no one wanted her or anything like her. She now resides in the Ponce Museum of Art in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As they say: Priceless.

I saw her up close and personal when I visited my brother and s-i-l a few years ago. She’s considered THE painting of Puerto Rico. I think she should be considered for the painting of Earth Herself.

And say, I wonder who sings about this little earth angel?

Take care!

Candace, Still in Athens.

More Fun With Reflections

Hello everyone!

After a furiously fast and busy Saturday, I was ready for Sunday Reflections and found a fun subject with glassware at The Royal Peasant, my local pub, while T shopped at Earthfare.

My own happy glass of Blackthorn cider… giving me pause to reflect on the past week, as well as "drowning my sorrows" over losing glasses of a very different sort. Yep. I sure did. My prescription glasses are gone, baby, gone -- somewhere between the door and the car. A time portal nabbed them, no doubt.


But all is not doom and gloom in the Classic City. Earlier today, while visiting Athens Antiques, I found this beauty still there. I first saw her sitting all by her lonesome last summer. Never did I think she would still be waiting for someone to claim her, name her and take her away…

But there she was and away her carefully packaged self went, home to 235, keeping company with a couple of cigar box treasures.

Just look at Romeo y Juliet. That's artwork, isn't it? And the wood is perfect.

Below is a shot of the teacup and saucer T had to have. (Almost as bad as I am.)

A trio of very old dolls I named The Gleesome Threesome… and yes, of course, they’ve seen better days, but think about it. Haven’t we all?

And now, The Shape of Things To Come -- no, not the movie! Some templates Kitten gave me on her last visit. She is such a great friend to me. We have a good bond, especially over art and life in general. But say, I wonder what she’s hinting at this time?

I already have bits and pieces started up. Colours have been chosen. Fabrics are in place. I hope to have three of these li'l darlings finished this time next week -- one, a plain old Lovely Lady (okay, I guess if you have a fish tail you can't be too plain); the second, a hinged piece; and the third, a multimedia darling.

Take good care!
Candace