Unusual Girl Studios

Forwarded to me fron my Aunt- Calmness in Our Lives > >I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and >we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. > >By following simple advice heard on the Oprah show, >you too can find inner peace. > >Dr. Oz proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to >finish all the things you have started and have never finished.' > >So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started >and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this >morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, >a bottle of Tequila, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my >old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some >Doritos, and a box of chocolates. > >You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now. > >Pass this on if you know anyone you think might be in >need of inner peace

I SAID BONDING- NOT BONDAGE! Warning- these are not the most flattering pictures of me. In effort to keep going in the last days of July (August has to be dedicated to getting ready for the upcoming semester and the two classes that need major renovations!) I decided to work on little lady's face. Paper mache applied this thickly will take days to dry and I just hope I don't have to worry about mold. I have the dehumidifier going right next to her. I decided to share with you this portion of the project because its somewhat spiritual to sculpt a face. I found myself deep in thought about the day and my place in life as I worked up her facial features. I felt almost as if I were creating a real entity and I watched her come into being before me. I smoothed and pressed and shaped and thought to myself- I could do this every day and if I could do this every day- what stories I could tell!

More flashbacks? Man, if only I'd known back then.... Well, I'm stuck on Helen's neighbor ladies. They each hold something which has been created but needs to be painted (by the way my daughter is sitting next to me buzzing like a fast car rather than doing her practice math and I am resisting the urge to reach over an knock her right off that stool- God, I hate noises!)but I'm stalled at the painting part. And the odor eaters...well, do I paint next...or should I use marker to create the little drawings on them? Should I hang one from its piece of driftwood? Do I do one or work in stages on all three of them. Maybe that Etsy store will never get opened! So to keep moving- I have all these ideas waiting to come to fruition- I started a different project. Not a new one- this one has been waiting in line- in the form of a tomato cage that I've tripped over a dozen times. So far I've attached a head using a large paper mache egg purchased on clearance ...

"Grow." said the Earth "Reach your roots down deep into my soil and I will secure you." "Grow." said the Sun "Reach towards me with all your might and I will nourish you." "Drink." said the Rain "Drink me in and I will sustain you." "Dance!" said the Wind "Bend with me and I will teach you resilience." "I am not certain..." I said "that I can trust." "Look around" They said in unison "does not the grass and the trees grow?" "Believe." whispered Time "Believe." "Believe." said the Moon, newly entering the sky. And the birds sang the song of ending the day. When they were quiet and shadow wrapped me I began to hear a noise steady within me. Thump.... thump....

Or maybe it was Remember the Alamo! Welcome to my learning experience! I am trying to figure out how to transfer an image. I had some instructions. I think I did it wrong but.... something... happened. I reversed an image on the computer and printed it out. Not my laser printer which is still at the store but my regular 'ole inkjet. I used gel medium, coated both surfaces and stuck 'em together. (Notice my professional terms as I lecture.) After the image had dried completely I wet the backside of the paper. That part was easy to get right as it was the side sticking out. Starting in the center I rubbed the paper gently until it started to roll up. I worked my way outwards. Rolling, rolling....not the first time I tried to learn how to roll something... that didn't end up so well either.... The foot on the right is what it looks like when I am all done rolling...right? You see a foot there, don't you Cheech? I rubbed some areas too much and removed the image all togethe...

I had to hurry and get this one finished. I was perusing a Cloth Paper Scissors magazine and came across a call for a 'winter holiday swap'. (Its the issue with orange at the top of the cover page 64, I believe!) I thought, I could do that...then I saw the required dimensions. 5x7 was no problem it was the 1" thick that had me running downstairs with a tape measure. Only this lady had a flat enough face. The tip of her nose comes under the 1" requirement by a nose hair! But she sure wasn't wintery! Orange and pink and sky blue- wintery? So I tried everything in my box of tricks and somewhere along the way came up with an idea to have her hold a cut out of the state of MI. But I was like- still not wintery- not like a snowflake or a tree..... and so the State of Michigan Christmas Tree came into existence and now my life is complete. By the way her hand points to my county. I think I'll make some more of these for the- dare I say it- Etsy store I might, just mi...

That's how the saying goes isn't it? I've been driving over this little plant for a few days now thinking "Ooooh that's gonna make hubby mad- seeing that plant in the middle of his expensive driveway.....!" But I believe in messages- whether they are the ones unexpectedly set before us or the ones we imbue into an everyday occurance. Why would I notice one little weed that cropped up in the middle of a crack in our drive? Maybe because its at the crest of a hill and the sun behind it highlights it very dramatically. Maybe because I'm dramatic. Maybe because when I see it I wonder how such a tiny seed could find its way into that crack and survive long enough to take hold and thrive? It sure puts a slant on the term opportunistic. Maybe I notice that little weed because its beautiful in its existance. It bloomed because it could. I think we should all bloom because we can. What permission are we waiting for? (By the way Kim- I have a weird toe ...

It all started last winter- remember? She sat waiting for a long time- this new sculpture with the unfamiliar structured shape. I didn't know what to do with her. I really wanted the shape to dictate the result. I tried this. Sure...it could be done. But was it too "Alice-ie" in time when Alice had just been released upon us and everyone was crazy in love? By the way- just saw it for the first time and I, too, heart Alice. So "Off with her head!" Or "Off with the birdcage! By the way, I wasn't kidding- I can't find it-its not ever shown up again... Then this came about and I was off and running. So I thought. There's been a lot of stops and starts along this path. But, finally, here she is. She's formally named- Elsita's secret garden Elsita is a name I came across while blog hopping. I can't find it since then but it was a South American doll artist. Perhaps Venezuela? I thought this lady looked like a south American beauty and so ...

"You expect me to believe this?"" "Why YES Dr.!" "That your dog has a dependancy on Zoloft?" "Who's to know if its JUST Zoloft? Although that is the most interesting drug in there!" "Yes, that brings up the feasibility of a border collie getting into a medicine cabinet...?" "Well, doctor, its not really a cabinet. More like a lavendar colored bin on a shelf in the linen closet." "But still- aren't the bottles child proof? Do you see my confusion here, Ma'am?" "Yes, I do, sir. SHE'S A DOG not a child. Does that help? "Okay! Enough already. Why are you bringing me your dog today? You already know what drug she's....err....taken." "I'm afraid she's OD'd. You see it appears she took 1/2 a pill which you might think would be just right but then perhaps it was too much because ten minutes after I ga...after I caught her red pawed....she fell down. It takes ...

My girlfriends from highschool, middle school and elementary did not want me to take their picture before we went Kayaking down the river on the 3rd. "You have your hair done- its not fair!" They whined and made me put on a hat. I knew what they were thinking- Great! Its either going on Facebook or her Blog. Yep! You know it! How's about both? But while I thought it was really a pretty good picture of all of us I do try to be sensitive to the feelings of others and even as I am typing this I'm thinking "Blah, blah, blah- who the hell cares what we look like! We're standing upright and that's something to be said at 40ish right?" So I photoshopped the picture just a little. So we had a good time, too much sun, a little booze- got caught up on all the gossip. I can tell you we looked a lot worse at the end of the trip than the beginning. One lesson learned is that even at 40-ish if you go alone on a trip, even though you mention your husban...