The NEXT Arty Party will be on November 26, at 6:30 pm Central. Stay tuned here for links and details. Remember that you save money by shopping the Arty Party–I appreciate so much your coming to chat with me about my pieces that I believe you deserve a discount! 

Look at this cutie! She and I needed to spend some time together while others were taking care of necessary business…which is why the blog post is late this week. Well, that and my abominably slow internet.

This is my great niece, Emmi. I often get to hold and care for her, which is such a treat.

This Week in the Studio

I had an inspiration yesterday while listening to a podcast. This particular podcaster writes blog posts, but then also records a video based on his blog post; and it dawned on me: I could do that, too! I have such trouble getting videos made for my channel, and maybe this is the answer for me.

So this week, you have the option of scrolling on to read, or watching here. If it’s not uploaded yet, just check back in an hour or so…did I mention I have abominably slow internet?

Let me know if you like the format!

This week I worked on a pet portrait commission for a friend. My friend Renee had heard that her friend’s dog, Loki, was very ill and not expected to live. So she commissioned his portrait. She sent me some delightful descriptions of him along with many photos of him so that I could get a good idea of his personality and see him from several different angles to pick the best one.

Loki sadly passed a few days after I began the commission. But he is immortalized here in pastel.

I’ve been working on several pottery commissions, too: personalized mugs, platters for two wedding gifts, and herb harvest bowls. What’s an herb harvest bowl?

Here’s a photo of one I’ve made:

And HERE is a link to a short video example, showing how they work. My price for these will NOT be as high as the one in the video, so if you want one, let me know.

Unboxing!

I know how you love unboxing, so when I purchased a new set of pastels, I knew you’d love to see me open it. That’s on the video, but here’s a photo of them and the trials I did with a few.

These are Diane Townsend Soft Form pastels (pricey!) in metallic, hot, and fluorescent colors. I have been wanting these for awhile, so when they went on sale at  Dakota Art Store, I quickly ordered them. They came in yesterday, so I saved the unboxing for you!

I’ve been wanting them because of the abstract direction my painting has been taking lately. My use of these exotic colors is sparse and subtle, but I love the pop they bring. Now I’m raring to do some painting!

Doggy Art

I wanted something light and fun for our blog discussion today, and one of my family members suggested animals making art. I woke up this morning with a fun idea! Read on for more.

I believe that the natural works of many animals are very artistic. As far as we know, the animals aren’t deliberately making art for the sake of art, but what I do believe is that the Great Artist created the animals, and His creativity extended so far as to give the animals instincts and abilities to fashion all kinds of beauty in His world.

Just think about ants making labyrinths of tunnels…spiders making webs that sparkle gorgeously in the dew…birds that decorate their nests. There are many examples of just natural things that animals do that bring beauty and wonder into the world.

But then, under human care, animals can and do make art–and sometimes for fun! In my research I found the following article, which I recommend to you. It’s an older article, but it opened my mind to some possibilities that I had not even considered: that animals actually get pleasure from making art!

Birds Do It, Bees Do It: Taking Animals’ Art Skills Seriously 

I’ve been interested in animal behavior for a very, very long time, and found this article fascinating for several reasons, but mostly because there’s a hint that some animals actually show some enjoyment of making “art” without human manipulation–the humans only offered the supplies. The animals’ reactions were entirely voluntary.

Of course, there are other ways animals “make” art, with human training and guidance. Many zoos offer art made by the animals as a fund raiser for the zoo itself. My mind immediately went to the famous hippo Fiona and her mom Bibi, who “kiss” paper after having paint applied to their snouts. Zoos encourage it because they’ve discovered it enriches the animals’ lives, which is so good for them: bored animals are sick, depressed animals that no one wants to see.

Elephants do it, Chimpanzees do it. Hippos do it.

My dogs do it. Well, now they do. Because, you see, that was my idea. I’ve never really experimented with encouraging my fur babies to participate in my art. The extent of their participation has been digging in the studio trash and chewing up paper that I’ve wiped off my brushes on. And Tweed recently discovered he liked to crunch soft pastels. He doesn’t eat them…it’s the crunch he’s after. I put a quick stop to that, because at $6 a crunch,  I can’t afford it!

I set up a situation where they would have the opportunity to voluntarily created some art, and…tada! they did! If you want to see the whole shenanigans, watch the video. Here are my doggos:

That’s Jubilee (Jubi) on the left, and Tweed on the right. They are both rescues and approximately 10 years old.

Here’s the artwork. It turns out that Tweed is much more food-driven than Jubi…he was willing to get his feet mucked up several times for the treat…not Jubi! She wanted the treat but no way no how was she going to put her feet deliberately in that goopy stuff!

I’m not sure which is the better artwork, though: the one on the paper, or the one on the studio floor…

They are tired out from all the excitement! Even snoring.

(for those who are worried: the paints are non-toxic, the puppies were thoroughly washed after this romp.)