Hello, World!

Welcome!

For those of you who are not computer geeks like my husband, Hello World is a phrase known by computer programmers when they are inventing basic applications in software. This may sound easy but the steps required are mind-stretching and require a learning curve, the growing of dendrites in one's brain and practice and correction of mistakes just like any other skill one has not learned before. When the programmer has successfully achieved his goal, the computer screen will pop up those deceptively simple few words declaring, "Hello World." Well, that has been somewhat like my journey creating this blog. I visit blogs, read them, hop them, admire them, and subscribe to them, but until now, they have just been a mysterious part of the 21st century I have not personally delved into. Kinda like the Denny Crane character on Boston Legal who said, "Oh, a blob...let's write one of those blobs..." So bear with me folks. It may take a while for the magic to come about effortlessly, and for now it might be a bit of a potholey road...but hopefully charming and worth traveling down a while.

The real reason I decided to do this NOW will be revealed in a moment or two. I am an artist. I have imagined and created things and stories since I was little. I didn't start seriously thinking about "Art" until I was in my 30's. Mostly I have done painting; oil painting with forays into acrylic and watercolor, and loving to experiment with zillions of other mediums, materials and techniques that catch my fancy. Of course, this does nothing for focus or deciding which field or medium to apply one's energy to--once you get started on one thing--KABAMM--another siren catches your eye and you're off to that other thing!!

I have always loved Halloween, and celebrated, decorated and dressed up. I had been watching some Halloween swaps come and go for a few years. This year I said, Enough watching already. Time to DO! I have been addicted to Alpha Stamps and their designers, projects, and goodies they sell for years now and they were hosting a Sugar Skull Swap. The challenge was to decorate the skulls in any way and they wanted to see "how we used all those wonderful things they sell." Alpha Stamps was also offering a generous prize and the winning art would be featured in one of their future bi-weekly online newsletters. What fun! I let my imagination run free with my three skulls. I had such a blast making them!

And then I got the news that my Lorelei, Queen Mother Mermaid Crone had been selected as the winner!! Holy cow, I was (and still am) over the moon! In thinking about things, I realized how much I like to read about the artist and their process with their art piece, and started to consider putting together a blog, to be followed by an Etsy site when I get up to speed. So here I am, although it may be the longest blog post you've ever read....I felt it was necessary to introduce myself. And now to introduce Lorelei. Her story was enclosed in an envelope on the back of her head:

Lorelei Queen Mother Mermaid Crone
Lorelei lives beneath the waves with all the mermaids and mermen that live and have come before. She is the oldest in their underwater community and all revere her wisdom and wonder at her mysterious ways.

Here is the list of supplies used to make Lorelei. Don't faint! The list is not too long but have a brandy if you need to fortify yourself during this long long post!! ;0

Alpha Stamps:
-Chipboard Skull

-Artfully Musing Collage Sheets: Mermaid Garden #1 and #3

-Eyeball Cab in Setting-blue

-Tiny Real Seashells in Tin, or Seashells in Plastic Tins for different shape/color

-Large Shell (eye patch, my stash) but there are those kinds of shells on Laura’s Mermaid Garden #3

-Acrylic Bead Spray (my stash-Alpha Stamps carries the Clear ones)

-Glitter/Doodads/Starter bits sent with swap (rose, beads, confetti, etc.)

-On Skull: Acrylic Paint Base (marbled blues) and Lindy’s Starburst Spray Tibetan Poppy Teal, mixed

-On Shell Eye Patch: Lumiere from Exciter Pack: Pearl Magenta and Sunset Gold

-Accents on Fish, Seahorse, Crown: Lumiere colors(Exciter Pack: Halo Blue Gold, Halo Violet Gold, Halo Pink Gold, PearlTurquoise)

-Other Accents: Stickles: Waterfall, Starry Night, Patina, and a few that don’t have names on the bottles

-Raffia Hair: Tan which I painted with green and brown acrylic paint, then accented with spots of Lumiere
-Beaded Trim: Coral-like and iridescent, to add to hair.

Thank you for visiting! I will post the other two skulls soon. Have a wonderful day!
Happy Creating and Be Blessed, sheila