ADO Elemental Challenge - Earth - Hamadryad (Dryad)

Hi Everyone! :)

It's time for The ADO Blog challenge, or shall we call it a party since this is so fun?! Yeah! Paarteeh'!

As previously mentioned, I'm participating in the ADO Elemental challenge, the challenge was to make a art doll/figure with one, two, three or all four of the Elements as inspiration, everyone was invited to join in the fun, members and non members, all levels and/or no experience necessary. We had a great turn out, 90 participants! Please be sure to visit the ADO blog to check out the fantastic pieces and other artists that were inspired by this challenge! The participants list is on the left. Please show some love by commenting to letting them know you stopped by. :)


I'm so glad I participated, it really motivated me to continually work on the piece and not procrastinate until mildly loosing interest. So far I'm really excited about where shes going and how close it is to what I envisioned.

Although today is the day we post our photos and I've been working on her as much as possible, I haven't quite finished yet. I'll be working on her more over the weekend and as I do hopefully we will get some nice weather so I can take some updated, clear pics. For now, I snapped a few just as the sun was going down. Just this side, the others aren't quite as finished ;) hee hee



In closing, I was asked the other day why I refer to her as a hamadryad. I thought I'd share, in case anyone else was wondering. There are different types of dryads, and wikipedia has provided me with the following definition to offer regarding this type...

Hamadryads (Ἁμαδρυάδες) are Greek mythological beings that live in trees. They are a specific species of dryad, which are a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a specific tree. Some believe that hamadryads are the actual tree, while normal dryads are simply the entity, or spirit, of the tree. If the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it died as well. For that reason, dryads and the gods punished any mortals who harmed trees. The Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus lists eight Hamadryads, the daughters of Oxylus and Hamadryas:

As always, thank you so much for visiting! I truly appreciate that you took time out of your day to visit little me! :) Have a super fantastic and wonderful weekend!

BIG giant hugs,
Sprite

New WIP -- Dryad ~ Hamadryad

Hi everyone :) My goodness time has flown!

I had another surgery recently, I guess the first time wasn't enough but lets hope the second is! Now I'm trying to catch up on all things. Not too inspiring being stuck in bed, I must say! but I did manage to set up my etsy shop which then inspired a few small sculpted pendant type bead thingies and ornaments. Some of these items should be available soon. Thank you so much for all of your kind comments and inquires, they all mean so much!! :)

A few weeks ago I started a large piece which was mentioned on the ADO blog. (Thanks Zan!) Versions of this piece have been in my heart, head and have shown up in my drawings for years. The armature sat on my worktable for at least two, tell me why the uncontrollable cravings in my hands to sculpt it after all this time came at 2:30 in the morning when I needed to get up for work at about 6:30?! I never get enough sleep, insomnia, I've always had a form. Like it's wasting too much time to sleep even when I know it's important and heals our bodies. As I get older I'm starting to feel the effects and hope to get on track, I'm trying! but when things come out as a result of lack of sleep I remember why I have this problem in the first place! Not enough time in a day. So many sculptures would never have been born if not at unideal times! ha ha ha. :)

Anyway, as luck would have it, the desire to create it came at the same time as the Elemental ADO challenge so I am trying to focus and use this motivation to make the deadline and finish it. It's going to be a big and wonderful event! If you haven't heard of it yet please check out the blog for details. You can even participate even if you are not part of ADO :) and I sure hope you will! If you're not familiar with this group of fantastic artists, please check out their blog to see some of their work and of course to visit them from July 17-19 to see their finished challenge pieces. Such a nice bunch too!

This is my Dryad, well a hamadryad...

Some of you may have seen a couple of these but I wanted to share a few more since I was finally able to get a few alternate views and of the lil creatures found tangled in there. Do you see what I see?

I'm also working on a new dragon and it's much bigger than my norm. I'm having so much fun! Pics soon but for now time to catch up on some blog hopping! Oh how I've missed you ;)

As always, thank you so much for stopping by!
Take care & stay well.
Big hugs and tons o luv,
Sprite

Random post, and pics to prove it! :D

Hi Everyone! I hope you have all been super :)

Things have once again been crazy. The new classes have just started and so I may be a little quiet here and there while I finish up the rest of the lessons, but not today! I cannot believe how many photo's I took!!! While I pulling em' I thought maybe I'd show you a few of the others snapped recently that were mixed in the bunch :) Here we go!

First up - I AM in fact? the queen of procrastination!

A few weeks ago, while I was supposed to be working and preparing the lessons, I took a little much needed break. We had a gorgeous day ahead so I wanted to take advantage, plant a few flowers and clean the deck before it was too late to plant flowers on the deck - again. My little sister and I went to home depot, picked up some pretty flowers and when I headed outside to plant them and clean up the deck, I quickly remembered I still had the once living Christmas tree sitting in the middle of it. Woopsie. (Notice the pine needle covered floor?)

It's been there a while so I just kinda overlooked the fact that maybe it shouldn't still be there?
I had foot surgery and at the time the easiest solution was take off the vintage glass ornaments so they didn't break and put it outside. Although it's now MAY, this is still acceptable since I use these branches & needles in my work right? (yay more reasons to never get rid of anything :D) After all, I did need sticks for the cage class right? But how many? There lies the problem.

I love twigs, branches, leaves all of that, I collect them and sometimes to what might be a seemingly unhealthy level. (I have twigs, crunched leaf bits & have been known to have a few rocks on occasion... in my purse. You know its not right, when you put your hand in your bag and come out with a splinter!) With that said, so low I hope no one heard it, selecting just a few to use for class was not an option because they are all so unique and individually different I needed them all!? So, instead I spent the next few hours, (uhhh first removing the lights I had not taken off previously because I could not hop around the tree to get them) and then clipping the branches off the tree and putting them in a box to use for the class piece later and some just to hold on to.

Can someone please tell me why my photo is coming up sideways?


By the way, the other half of the tree is still on the deck. Who needs branches? ha ha ha jk!

Here's my Lenny cat looking all kinds of cute through the kitchen window :)



and this is three of my five kitties looking at mommy like she's nuts through the screen door. Really, they wanted to come out to play :) Although Sabre's eyes are slightly closed, I'm excited that it came out at all. It's been impossible to get them together, one either moves, eyes closed, meowing, etc..



Next up, I have a new dragon who may just be the first to see ebay :) I love how this little guy is turning out so far so we'll see ;) That and if my sister doesn't steal it. Whenever she/they stop(s) by the house she sticks them right in her pocket and tries to get away with them! She doesn't even seem to mind if they are finished or not, just that they should be hers :) Too cute!

This one is a beach - glass dragon. He's sculpted in polymer right onto the base but his base will also consist of shards of beach washed glass and most likely a mix of earth and sand. His horns and scales are also beach glass. This is the only clear pic in the bunch but I'll put up others when it's complete. I've started painting it in my usual washes and layers so its always interesting to see what color it ends up, right now purples. My first very purple dragon!

This little guy in the middle will be in a pod or shell of sorts. He will probably be the first available on etsy. I'd like to get two finished and up there at once so he's not all alone ;)



And this one I just can't wait to get back to! My lil rodent faerie. She looks a little rough here, she has only had her first wash. I've done a little more on her since, but haven't taken photo's yet. ;)

Oh! I almost forgot, I should have a few mini tutorials to share with you soon. Once I started snapping pics for the lessons, I could not stop myself, there was so much stuff I wanted to share! So the bonus's I'll put on my blog for everyone to see if and when I can find the time to put them all together. There just isn't enough hours in a day is there.... sigh.. ;) Oh well, I'll just have to live an extra long and/or immortal life so I can get it all accomplished! ;)

Have a great day everyone and thanks so much for visiting!!!

Big hugs,
Sprite

New Pics! - Miniature~ Baby Dragon in Nesting Cage - Class :)

We've had had mostly rain and not much sun for the past couple of weeks. When I snapped the class photos indoors I knew they were a bit dark and kinda figured they didn't look quite right, it was driving me mad!

We had a little sun this morning before I left for work so I rushed out and snapped a couple pics since we were expecting thunderstorms again by night. My earlier blog entry photos really are pretty bad considering you can actually SEE the piece in these new ones! My apologies for the dark and/or crappy pics earlier, but thank you so much for all your kind comments and support regardless! Very much appreciated!!

I'm adding a few of the photos taken today in natural light and hope they are a bit better. For those who have already signed up I sure hope you like the more accurate ones! :)

Click to enlarge

(See the difference from those in the post below?)

For anyone who would like more info on these two classes, please see my previous blog post or you can visit Jean Bernards online class website for the details :) Early Bird Specials til May 15!
Thanks so much!

Have an awesome weekend everyone! and a Happy Mothers day to all the moms out there :) ((Luv you mommy!!)) :)

Big hugs,
Sprite

Baby Dragon & Nesting Cage - Class! :D

Hi Everyone!! :D Hope you have all been super!

I mentioned in my last post that I would be teaching classes online shortly, well its time! :D I've finished the pieces for them and I'm excited!

They are available through Jean Bernard's website, and for those of you who might be interested it begins May 15 and I'm kicking it off with an early bird special!

I'll be teaching two classes, one being... my miniature Dragons :)

This is the lil dragon we'll be making in class. It's the same dragon as above, only this pic was taken indoors.
One of my favorite thing about making these little guys is that since they are small, they're portable! I can usually work on them anywhere in the house or cupped in my hand instead of being glued to my sculpting table! A few lil ones have even been born on my morning commute ;)

The second one is the hanging nesting cage/cradle area for the dragon. So much fun to make!

The techniques can be adapted to create many other types of cages
and faerie/creature dwellings too, simply by using larger items ;)

Some detail pics:
The back of the empty cage...

It can be hung on the hanger, or taken off...

and placed somewhere else, without it :)

For more details, please head over to the class page on Jean's site or you can email me @ brokenplanet@aol.com

While your there check out the free tutorials she added and to the new site and the other great classes available that you may enjoy :)

I thoroughly enjoyed snapping pics and being able to share the process. I learned so much about myself, my creating habits, and many new techniques which are included in the lessons! I was having so much fun I couldn't help but keep adding more to it :)

Please wish me luck :)

Have you seen the collaboration yet? If you haven't you have got to! It's simply amazing and I'm so honored to be a part of it.

Jean has included fiber optics in the vessel! :OAnd Sherry's harpist.....
Isn't she just beautiful?
My piece will be added to the back of the vessel, listening to the beautiful sounds of the harpist...

oh and guess what?
This very much counts as part of my ufo/wip challenge!!! Another month spent creating and productive! My house surely needs cleaning but woo hoo I finished something!! :D I also started a few new pieces that I can't wait to work on some more, including my lil rodent faerie. I'll have pictures to share shortly! :)

Thank you all for visiting and big warm welcome to my new followers!

Have a super-fantastic , wonderful and creative day everyone!

Big giant hugs,
Sprite

New stuff, Very Exciting News! and a Contest! :D

Hi Everyone!!

Well, I said I would finish something by the first of the month for the UFO/WIP challenge and I did it! Technically. ;) I've been a lil busy (and tired!) so I hadn't had a chance to take pictures until today but never the less I made it and I'm here with proof! hee hee Of course, it was something new and therefor not shown in the wip pictures on my previous entry but that's ok right? :)

Quick note for all those who are participating or would like to, we extended the challenge to cover completing wips/ufo's and any new piece, from start to finish. :) We've had a few new people jump in too! They are listed on the participants list over there on the right if you'd like to see what they are up to. If you'd like to join us, super! just let me know so I can add you to the list. It's fun, motivating and inspiring!

Speaking of inspiring,....I had a bit of an explosion. While finishing up the pieces (mentioned at the end of this entry) I could not stop myself from starting a few new WIPS during the process! It seems once working more frequently the creative energies really started flowing. About 5 new little hatchlings emerged (will be available soon!) and a couple more heads too!

Here are two of the new ones, they even got a some paint, woo hoo!!
Am I on a roll or what? ;)ha ha ha

The bluish woman's face with molting is pretty large, about 4 inches and will part of a larger piece. This is my lady of the orchard type piece a few friends and I are experimenting with ;)
She'll be entwined with branches and the creatures that live among them.



and a new lil one...



I'm really enjoying working on these :)


and now, last but certainly not least, some very exciting news!! :)

I will be teaching an online class later this month in collaboration with the amazing Sherry Goshon and Jean Bernard! :D woo hooo!

Many of you know already how I feel about online classes right? Love em! Teaching among these two fabulous, giving artists and putting a class together for others out there who share this love, and for self expression is a HUGE inspiration. :) (thank you!)

Jean is currently running a Contest on her blog for her New Beginning Celebration!
By heading over to her blog and sharing your experiences by answering the question that is there, you will have a chance to win prizes as well as free classes! :) (You can also see how she torments us by showing only part of what she's working on!)

If you'd like more information about my portion of the class please email me at brokenplanet@aol.com . For more info on this class, updates, classes in general and/or free tutorials and tips please sign up for Jean's notice list on her website.

I'm excited! :) What fun!

Oh wait, was I supposed to tell you what it is?
a sneak peak wouldn't hurt would it? ;)

Samples ;)



As always, thank you so much for visiting.

Have a super, fantastic and wonderfully creative day! :)

BIG hugs,
Sprite

Major Awards! :D

Oh my goodness, I received 4 awards over the past couple weeks and I am completely honored!!

I am a little overwhelmed doing all of these at once but will do my best to do this difficult task of selecting just a few of you for each. Even more difficult considering many of you may have them already. I may add to this later if the rules allow :)

If you don't particularly like wearing badges or already have the award I’m tagging you for, no worries! How great to be thought of, and possibly more than once huh :)

In the order received:

Helena thinks my blog is fabulous!


Thank you!

The rules state that I must list 5 things that I'm addicted to, and pass the award along to 5 blogs I admire, and they must do the same.

Chetta Cheese Chatter

Sherry Goshon

Linda Fleming

Jacque Utez

Bonnie Jones

The Sisterhood Award.

At admit I giggled when I first received this little pocket badge but I absolutely

LOVE what it represents and am honored to receive it from the fabulous Sherry Goshon.

Thank you Sherry : )



This award is presented to blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude.

The requirements of accepting this blog are:

1. put the award logo on your blog and/or post

2. nominate five other blogs that you feel show the spirit of the award.

3. to let the nominees know about the award, comment on their blog.

4. Link to the nominees in your blog post.

5. To show gratitude and friendship to the person that gave you the award, link to them in a blog post.

Lisa Gatz

Barb

Judi A

Bonnie Lee Fontaine

Pattee
Sue
Karen

Yeah, that's right I snuck a few extras in there that deserve this one, and what huh? :) hee hee

The Kreativ Award
Thank you Nita! :)


The requirements of this award are that the recipient list 7 things that they love and to pass the award onto 7 other deserving bloggers, and to notify those bloggers, I chose:

Jean Bernard

Sherry Goshon

Lotti

Helen Grossman

3rdeyemuse

Horriblesweet

Loopyboop

The Proximidade Award was given to me by
Pattee , Thank you! :)

The description of this award is as follows.

This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!”

and so I give pass this award to 8 other bloggers, friends...
and ask that they do the same....

Jean Bernard

Sherry Goshon

Mary O

Annabel

Nita

Helena

The Whimsical Goblin

I'm supposed to list 5 addictions and 7 things I love/like with the above awards so I'll combine them into the following:

Like/Love, Addictions and/or a lil something about me in no particular order of importance,

Coffee, especially w/ coffeemate

Red wine

Having a world to get lost in...

Creating…drawing.. sculpting, painting....

Organizers!

Family, friends and pets (my kitties and froggie)
I absolutely love frogs!! And all animals, earth/science/nature (and collecting fragments of it)

The rain, and walking in it without coat or umbrella.

The violins in an orchestra.

The sound of a piano.

I love all trees, and especially bare ones.

and our deck (no matter how unkempt it is.)
I go to bed later than most of the world and wake up earlier. I get little sleep.

While the world is sleeping and all is quiet I’m usually enjoying coffee or wine out there, beneath and gazing into the trees, listening to the wind rustle them and their beautiful chimes.

No matter how busy or chaotic life gets I can walk out there, look up into the trees and deep in my soul feel a sense of connection, calm, and peace. Even if I’m only out there for a moment.







Thanks for the awards, and for visiting. ;)

Hugs,
Sprite