spirit of the elephant is in the shop

it's taken me a couple of days to blog about it, as i'm still catching my breath over the loss of my pita pup, but i have new products in my shop from my spirit of the elephant painting.

the full painting as a print

makes a beautiful comforter

as a tote

a notebook

and the shirt made me laugh so we kept it

and the cropped print

as an iPad case

and a mug

these products and more are in the shop!

until later,

jenny

finally 'finished' a waiting piece

i re-worked this piece today...

she's been sitting patiently in the studio with me skirting her every time i needed to move around the area.  she's a huge one, and i was not yet happy but hadn't found her muse yet.

today, she found me.  i guess pain really does help the artist create beauty, and art helps us thru the pain.  how can this be a win?  i don't know.  just one of those questions we will never be able to answer.

here she is!

she really pops now

 even in bad lighting

there are hints of her past life still visible.  

i adore her, and she will be getting a new name.  

"spirit of the elephant"

now we have to figure out how to photograph her to put her in the shop.  have i mentioned that she's huge?  cause, she is.

until later,

jenny

my blog is 1 today!

happy 1 year blogiversary to my little old self!  i've done pretty well with it as i have 54 posts up as of this one.   i didn't put up a post a week like it sounds i did, but i'm really impressed by what i accomplished when life was rolling on.  i've grown as an artist as well as a blogger and thats what my intention was.  so, it's a good day.  heres to many more!

i don't have cake or balloons to celebrate, but look!  i have an orb!

what a cute little orb it is!

yesterday i sketched another prospective octopus pose because i didn't feel well, and i also put a few more details in the coral, added some bubbles, brought in some more light rays, clenched my teeth and added the orb.  

it was pretty frightening for me to add a big bold egg shape to this enchanted ocean background, but i live with anxiety and fear in my daily life so i decided to put my foot down and not be afraid of my own art!  this is how an artist grows, and i am refusing right here and now to be afraid to grow as an artist.  i refuse stagnation in my art.  

today is another rough pain day.  i think it's the weather changing as it's cold and windy again today.  so, i sprayed my painting with a ton of fixative to let dry until i'm ready to play with the octopus!  i'm going to continue sketching her until i've refined the pose to one i'm willing to live with.  each night i've been seeing tentacles when i close my eyes...

as an added 'gift' to you, and i've shown glimpses of it here and there, i'll show you my upgraded elephant i thought was finished last august.

here he is then

and now

i can't wait to hang him up in our bedroom, but i'm still wanting to get his eyes 'just right'.

pita and pixel wondered what i was doing

until later,

jenny

the elephant, and a studio tour

my elephant really would not leave me alone until it was pretty complete.  he still has some finishing touches to him, but he is only whispering to me now, instead of nagging me night and day.  when i was not working with him, he pestered me!

i'm listening

so, here he is.  i'm resting with him until he tells me he is ready for my signature;

it's been difficult to get a good photo without glare.  he looks great in person.

and, you might have noticed the floor in the last photo.  yes!  my studio flooring was installed over the weekend.  my poor hubbys body can attest to that.  i owe him big for this!

hubby and son working hard

and some photos of the (almost) finished studio.  i refuse to wait for trim before bringing in my supplies.  the less necessary items will wait until hammering ends, of course.

my bead storage

my dads childhood desk

view from my work table

work table has storage in the back, too

front of work table

my painted brick wall

my stamp drawer

this one holds ink, stencils and other mark-making items

it's so pretty!  i even have a tv for youtube videos

i hope you enjoyed the tour.

until later,

jenny

the canvas that was a bust... wasn't!

my last post was about the learning process, and i think the biggest lesson i have learned from it was trust.  trust the process.  trust your intuition.  trust the canvas when it speaks.

this one spoke to me.

"i'm not ready yet"

at this point i was frustrated, because i loved where it was.  i was sure that i could not get a better feel from this canvas than i was getting right then.  

and then i got over it.  i again put on music and danced it out.  and it was good.  better in fact.  it spoke to me.  it sang.  it called.  it screamed at me.  i ignored it for a few days, just letting myself relax.  but it would not let me be.

"jenny, i'm an elephant!"

this canvas has elephant spirit to it!  i can't deny the fact.  and i need some of elephants wisdom in my life.  elephant medicine includes strength, commitment, confidence, and patience, all of which are skills basic for the building of my new journey and dreams.  elephant comes at the right time for me to utilize her power.

and, so, i found some old magazine photos, and started sketching.

he's already been thru several incarnations with the chalk, some of which i refused to photograph.

this is how it rests as of publication

and a photo of where i worked on the canvas today;

why did i work in the sitting room instead of my studio???  because i have bundles of flooring in my studio, waiting to be installed!  whoo-hooo!!!

before mark brought home the flooring, i knew i wanted to commemorate the new studio and express my gratitude for his existence in my life, so i wrote him a little love note in paint;

orm is a geek name of his, so i am mrs. orm

my wonderful man bringing me my flooring after a long days work

it's ready for the weekend installation!

hopefully, the next time i write will be to show off my new studio in all it's glory!

until later,

jenny