how cute is this?

well, i finally finished working on this. i started with a chintz salad plate and then glued a nest dipped in glitter (on the bottom) down onto the plate. next i took an egg i had saved (and cleaned!) and then stained it with various colors of distress ink. i then sprayed the inside of the egg with color mists as it was too white for me. then i added the little girl that i glued onto some chipboard. i colored her dress in a light pink and added tiny dots. then i added the little bird to her arm. the nest contains feathers and tiny sticks from my yard. finally i added the dome which is from a cheese plate that i got at the thrift store. i finished off with some vintage ribbon. ok, will have to post pictures later when blogger is cooperating. until then go see the "dome nest" on flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/lemoncholys.

tim holtz weekend, continued

the weekend was very organized. tim's assistant, mario, was meticulous about organizing all our supplies, drilling holes when needed, handing out glue, paper towels, whatever we needed. women, in general, are demanding. now add women who are crafting and you are running back and forth! those 2 have a lot of patience! each class kit contained a goodie bag full of wonderful ephemera, vintage items (like faucets, jacks, light bulbs, etc.) - just fun stuff! they also had a little store in the back with mario as the proprietor, where you could purchase some of these fabulous items (and of course i did!). tim is also very good with tips and has found lots of clever ways to do things easy. i'm a big tip person (like at my hotel, in the morning at breakfast, i found myself handing out "tips" to make things easy. 2 older gentlemen wanted to take some hard boiled eggs, but didn't want them rolling around on their plate and falling off, so i piped in, put a napkin under the egg and then it won't roll. well, they looked at me like i was the most cleveriest person in the world!) those are some of the types of clever, but simple tips tim always had for you.

after each morning class, we would all take our things and our chairs and go outside to have a pre-ordered lunch while tim and crew set up for the next class. as soon as we were done eating though, it was back into the store to shop!

kate and her staff had an awesome system for helping us shop and to keep it organized. during each class, if tim discussed an item we wanted to purchase, all we had to do was hold up our pre-assigned # and someone from the store would put it on your account. same thing while shopping. you carried around a basket, then gave it to a clerk with your # and they entered it into the system. at the end of the night you just had to pay and viola - you were done! i never waited in line more than 5 minutes; and you have to consider that the store was PACKED with Tim Holtz crazed women!

Weekend with Tim Holtz, at Absolutely Everything, Topsfield, MA

I just got home from a wonderful weekend in Topsfield, MA - outside of Boston. The drive is long when you are alone, but i listened to some audio CD's to pass the time. it reminded me a lot of the times when i would drive from the beach in North Carolina where i was working for the summer back to school in Burlington, NC (Elon University) - usually took about 6 hours.

anyway, i left on thursday, the day before classes, so that i could meet up with Jackie, whom i met at the soldered tiara class. she had gratiously invited me to stay with her during classes so that i wasn't spending $ on a hotel room (that meant more money to spend at Absolutely Everything!). we were going to hit a few antique stores and then eat. We ate dinner at a really cool restaurant (can't remember name). we had a delicious, funky salad that had spiced, grilled watermelon in it! sounds weird, but it was really good! i also managed to suck down 3 yummy pomegrante cosmos!

after eating we decided that we still had a bit of shopping in us, so we hit a mega Marshall's where i found a great pair of jeans, a pair of shoes and 2 great tops!

Friday morning we are there early as we want good seats (geeks!), no, i wanted to make sure to get a seat at the end of the table so that i had room for these long legs of mine! i tend to get a little claustrophic, especially if i can't stretch out my legs. I saw many familiar faces and you could feel the excitement in the air! This was class one of eight! to be continued!

just me and my tiara

okay, so here is a picture of me wearing my Miss Universe style tiara! it is the first time i've done my hair and makeup in a few weeks, so that was all i was waiting for! i will also post "official" birthday pics with me wearing the crown out to celebrate!

A zine questionnaire i answered

Recently someone sent out a call for artists to answer some questions for a zine she was publishing. here is the question i answered. It is such a reflection of who i am that i felt the need to share it.


1. Some artists say they do their art because they
must; especially at times of transition and stress,
finding comfort and a sort of grounding in art
making. Have you found this to be true in your life?

I have always done some sort of art ever since i was a little girl. I've never had any formal training, it is all things that i have taught myself. It is only recently that i have begun taking classes, in altered arts. i like the "unstructuredness" of it all. there aren't many rules and you can insert your own creativity as you go along.

I feel the need to be constantly creating. i've been like that forever. There is something satisfying about creating something and in turn, giving it as a gift or even selling it. It is an amazing compliment when people want to buy my things. I think without the "formalized" training, it is hard to think of myself as artist; so the act of them wanting to buy my work makes me feel great!

I feel very grounded when i am creating. If i go for a few hours without working on something, i actually feel a little edgy. My art is a stress reliever. I have an older son who is severely disabled; a result of medical malpractice. He was born healthy and normal. He was the sweetest little baby and gave me so much joy. all that changed when he suffered a brain injury at 16 months old. He is now 17 years old. So i have poured my grief, sadness, stress, sorrow, pain, etc. into art. The experience left me with a broken heart and a never ending well of grief. The void has to be filled somewhere. That emptiness needs to be addressed - so i create.

I can literally spend hours creating. I lose myself and time when i am in my studio. it is my own little world. It helps me feel whole again.

kecia deveney
Wall, NJ