Time Fly's !!

Hard to believe that the month is almost over, it seems like the pace is really picking up towards the end of summer now.

I was featured in another treasury, I just love the colors and whimsy of this one so much I had to share.  What fun!

Hope everyone's summer has been great as we head forward into August !!



Cheers,
HMB

July !!!

Happy July !!!  The monsters and I have been busy, though its hard to see it in the Etsy shop!  I've been busy with some private commissions and preparing enough stock for some shows that are happening locally ^_^

The monsters though, they are abundant on Etsy, I love it when I am honored with being included in a treasury someone has made, and here is another one I was featured in I wanted to share:



Hope everyone's summer is going rawr-tiffic!!

Cheers
HMB

RAW-R Monsters!

Just sharing a work in progress, this little beastie is up to something mischievous, I just know it!!  All the other creatures are looking on in curiosity, waiting to see what this guy is going to be doing.

Cheers, 

HMB

whimsy and fun

Hello!!

I've been included in a super cute and whimsical treasury over at Etsy.com, that I wanted to share with everyone!  Love all these creations:

Cheers,

HMB

cute and fun!

Hello !!

I hope that everyone is doing well with all this very crazy spring weather!  So much about this year's season is odd to me - its challenging to go from sunny days to cloudy days to sunny....I truly look forward to more significant summer time sky's  !!

I've got a few big art and life projects underway right now that have kept me from blogging as much as I would like to!  After launching the Etsy store and starting to show my creations around, I have received several commissions which are very fun and exciting.  I'll share some pictures soon, when they are a little more progressed than they are now.

I also have been doing a lot of research lately to start planning attendance at some art shows.  I feel very blessed to follow the path of so many wonderful artists who have taken the time to experience art shows and share their invaluable perspective.

In the meantime, for all the folks who haven't really made anything with Polymer clay but love cute creations, here is a tutorial I found on youtube for a super super cute owl you can make.   I hope you enjoy it!




Cheers,
HMB

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday!!!  Without her love and support, her humor and wisdom my life would not be as wonderful as it is!  She is an inspiration with her creativity and a rock of solid smarts.  I love her, and I am so so so happy to celebrate her birthday with her!  

Also, my good friend Emmy's birthday is today too!  She is a wonderful artist at EA who is the mastermind behind the My Sims designs - among many other amazing contributions to The Sims label.

Happy Birthdayzilla's !!!!

the zilla

Ah....the creative process!!!  Sometimes it seems like I am on this crazy roller coaster that goes up and down and all around with ideas and energy and action!  Other times I feel like I am sitting on a very still lake, my normally vibrant gypsy boat and bright jewel colored sail waiting for that windy action.

I do quite love what Elizabeth Gilbert said about the creative process/muse in her lecture, that if you can just show up every day and say "I'm here, I'm ready" then at the very least you will have done your job. What happens after you show up, every day is so different but the act of showing up despite how you personally feel is enough sometimes to get going.

I think as an artist, its a common struggle to have the best ideas and intentions but sometimes struggle with execution.  I have a personal theory that is why a lot of gifted artists never achieve a level of viable commercial success, because the output required and quantity cannot always match the muse of creativity that will show up for the artist.

I have a drawing that I made a few months ago that I'm still trying to figure out how to best take images of to sell it, photography with art can be tricky.  The scan I made didn't really represent the colors as best as I had hoped so I'm struggling with how to best showcase this.  I have a new scanner, but something with the calibration and picking up color pencil work that is light isn't really giving me the quality I was hoping for.   In any case, I thought I would show off the pictures I have taken here, just to share.  This is an ACEO size, 2.5 inches x 3 inches on bristol board archival paper with prisma color pencils:

scanned in version, that I'm not so thrilled with:

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with camera:

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playing around with the image in a border, I don't think this is an ideal way to present the art, but it does show an accurate view of the actual size:

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In other news, the Avant Garden Veggilution art auction went really well.  They had it a few weeks ago and I'm happy to say that my drawing "Nature's Friend" did sell at the event (yay!) but the sweet little Veggie Monster I made did not.  Though, to be fair, when I saw how they displayed it and the fact that it had no signage at all, nor an auction sheet for people to buy it, I knew it was probably going to come home to me.  I was surprised about that, but I think it took a huge effort to get this event into reality so I understand how it could happen.

Cheers!

HMB

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Changes

I've been meaning to get back to this blog layout and change it up a bit, and I finally did!  I loved that grassy version with the cute dandelion but I found it to be too generic to keep permanently.  This new layout is also very simple and plain, but I think it gives more room for my art to stand out.

I'm exploring some more personal graphics to add in, but that's going to take some time to decide and design so I'm going to wait.   There are some really great tutorials out there, I enjoy learning new things and trying out new styles.

My little monsters and I are in a creative show and tell these days.  I've been sharing with more and more friends what I'm doing so they are getting in quite a lot of travel time!!  I am on the hunt for the perfect monster carrier, so I don't have to fret so much about them getting hurt amongst all the adventuring.

In the meantime, I want to share this fun little birthdayzilla monster that I made for a favorite customer of mine as a thank you gift, I think he is ready to party - don't you?   I look forward to making some more of these guys for my Etsy store very soon!

Cheers,

HMB

the sun is out this week....

Hello!!

I've been thinking a lot lately how much I talk about the weather, but as a creative person whose moods are influenced by the weather I think its less random a topic.  I thrive on days that are bursting with sun, it motivates me and pushes me into action.  When its overcast out, I tend to be more pessimistic and indrawn for some reason.  Unless its a proper Autumn, when those days are so lovely after the dry and long heat of summer.

This little wild thing I recently made reminds me of a nice cozy cup of hot chocolate.  I think if he was made of chocolate for real, he'd be awfully yummy ^_^  I'm really happy how he turned out....

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Cheers,

HMB

On a train....

Hello!

I had a lot of fun yesterday taking a train to San Francisco, its always nice to get out of a routine of driving everywhere.  I had little memories pop up of trips I've taken to England and using the trains there, and of when I used to live up in the north bay city area.

The whole experience was so much fun, I think I'm going to do it again soon!  I've been having this little thought about taking a trip in the back of my mind and its been an slightly irritating thought making me a tiny bit antsy. The train trip yesterday soothed that for me unexpectedly and really reminded me of how much fun it is to be on an adventure!

In monster wild things news.....I got a new friend !!!  He arrived in the mail the other day, and I adore him. here he is peeking over my laptop saying hello....(great artist on Etsy made this)

So much fun!!   I also listed a new troll who has a fondness for world peace:

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I'm pretty happy with the way he turned out.  I liked mixing the (faux) fur for his coat and his little troll peace sign cracks me up all the time.  I'm going to be working on some new wild things that are pointing in directions soon - which is always helpful for folks who have a funny scene they want to set up.

Cheers,

HMB

Sneak Peeks

Funny how I go from a week of taking some time off, to a week of complete busyness and lots of fun new creations made!!  I also got a lot of new ideas for some fun things, that I'm quite excited about, I can't wait until I finish making them and get the pictures up.

I found some new photo spots to utilize near my flat, that are very magical and monster whimsical.  I re-did some of the photo's I had of existing monsters waiting for adoption. I definitely believe in going back to older pieces and freshening the view people have on them with new pictures....besides I've grown in my understanding of light and how to use my camera too.  I found some good articles about picture taking on the Etsy Success blog, things about how to correctly choose the white balance depending on where you are taking your pictures.  I am definitely in the noob zone when it comes to taking pictures!!

I've listed a new bunny and a new little monster wild thing for sale at Etsy, here is what they are:

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and for a sneak peek, here is a new monster I'm going to list this week, a new Gooberzilla monster stack, and a look at the other bunnyzilla's that I made that will also be listed very soon on Etsy::

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YAY for creativity !!!!!!

Cheers,

HMB

hooray, the weekend!

I've been really busy this week getting quite a few little creations made!  I'm very happy its the weekend though, I can use some downtime ^_^

 My little gooberzilla monster stacks have been flowing out, they are so fun to make and create. I've noticed that several of the new ones are more expressive in their faces, its making me laugh quite a lot when I'm sculpting them.

 I wanted to share a few of the new gooberzilla's I have on my Etsy store with you, and a sneak peak at some bunnyzilla's coming soon!

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Cheers,

HMB

Etsy Treasury fun!!!

I've been so excited about the treasury feature that Etsy has, where you can make a grouping of items that you love and share it with everyone.  There are so many gorgeous treasuries, I get lost for hours sometimes just browsing through the rich colors and interesting art that so many creative people make.

I recently came across a great site, Craft Cult, that has a tool that makes this script allowing you to embed the treasury into a blog post, so now I'm super duper excited because I can finally share some of the ones that I've made here on my blog!!!

The first one I wanted to share, was of some very talented illustrators over at Etsy, who really capture the magic of childhood and the whimsical imagination of that time:





this other one is for the April Poetry Month, its based on a poem by Mary Oliver titled "Sleeping in the Forest"





those are the ones that I have made above, I do have the great honor of being featured in some treasuries made by others too! This is a most recent one, for spring that my Bunny Yeti was included in ^_^





Cheers, HMB

Gooberzilla's

I'm pretty excited, I've got 8 little creatures completed and ready for some furring which means:  New Monsters this week !!!  Somehow my idea of taking 2 days off last week turned into "this is nice, let's take six days off!"  and so, things slowed down quite a bit.   I've been working and planning on this fun Etsy store for about 3 months before I opened in March, without really any days off in that time frame.  I think once the pressure eased at launch, I finally felt my exhaustion and needed a little bit of downtime.

Creativity though, happens whether you are on vacay or not, so I did make several monsters and I'm really excited to complete them and share them with everyone.

I am going to be offering another monster sculpture to the tribe at Etsy, that will be a regular item. They are a trio of "Gooberzilla's" that are stacked on top of each other who enjoy the squashy companionship!   They won't be furred, but they will have texture details on some and others will not.  I love making these and they are a great in-between monster to sculpt if I am not ready to fur something, and don't have time to make a full monster.   I think they are really silly.

Here is the first one I am sharing, that I listed on Etsy today:

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Cheers,
HMB

oh Spring, stay stay stay!!!

My ideal scenario:  two weeks of sunshine, with each day gradually getting more and more warm!!!

Right now, spring seems to be a bit moody with blue skies one day and grey skies another.   Perhaps I just long for some consistency so I can catch a bit of wind beneath my creative wings!

I've been making some creations lately that are making me pretty happy.  I think I am developing a style that I didn't expect with some of the face sculpting, so the creatures are varying quite immensely at the moment.  I like that though, each one is a unique and original creation - no molds, no copying....just like us human's  ^_^

I've been featured in a few treasuries lately that are whimsical, I'm so pleased to be included in those.  My shop has also gotten a lot more favoriting this past week - that is really great.  Everything is going according to my idea of how I hoped this would unfold, nice and slow with a gradual following of folks.

If I was sold out of everything it would be rad, but I'd be scrambling to catch up and make things which would be incredibly stressful.  For me, I want it to be a fun profitable experience but mostly about having a space to create and share my art.....I'm going against the business mind here a bit, because I do value the experience rather than the outcome of it.

Good stuff !!    I saw today on Etsy's facebook page, that they are doing a celebration of April being poetry month.  They were asking folks to make a treasury based on a poem that they liked.  Of course, Mary Oliver's incredible poetry comes to mind immediately !!!  I was so excited, I made my treasury quickly and I'm so pleased with how it came out.

Here is a link to the treasury:  http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d9e2208dbbd8eef75191098/sleeping-in-the-forest-by-mary-oliver

and here is the poem I chose,  "sleeping in the forest"

I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.


Cheers,
HMB

Sunshine, THANK YOU!

Things in monsterville are chilling out for the moment.  I'm slightly past my halfway milestone marker,  I have 29 little creatures that I can say are now done.  I'm currently furring several ones to be posted up in the next few days, I'm happy that I've gotten as far as I have.

I had a funny idea that I'm going to test out with my little miniature monster faces, of stacking them up as a group sculpture.  I'm going to give it a whirl next week and see how the creativity flows.  The only thing with all the warm sun, is that the temperature rises and my hands are warmer....not so bad, except it makes the clay I'm working with extra soft.  One slight misplacement of a finger or fingernail or tool and I've just lost something I sculpted. I can't tell you how many times in the beginning of doing these I lost a face shape because I wasn't paying attention to where I was holding the creature  >.<    I am much more alert when sculpting for the most part, its really critical to be constantly awake to where you are placing pressure on an unbaked creature.

The good weather has also brought upon my itching to get into spring cleaning, and I couldn't resist organizing my art area today.  I've noticed that there are key materials I keep reaching for and pockets of "dead space" in my shelf areas where I rarely venture to grab anything.  I switched everything around so that it flows better and what I'm using a lot is properly grabbable.  Just small changes but a huge improvement for flow, I'm so pleased.

I've finished this little Troll guy - to me he has a sort of sheepish and "ruh-roh" kind of look that is about to bloom.  The photoshoot was funny, my cats think I'm so strange now for putting the little creatures next to them these days.  Fun stuff!!

All is well !

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Cheers,

HMB

Grey Sky and Sun

I think its perfectly good and fine to take naps on a grey Saturday!  The weather has been so odd, we had near 90 degree weather for three days after more than a week of rain and grey, and today it is overcast again.   My whole life seemed jump with joy in those sunshine days, but here come the clouds and I'm napping!!  With so much to do !!!  >.<

The good news is that I've got 5 little wild thing creations made that just need to be furred, and one I posted up at Etsy yesterday.   I'm still working towards my goal of having 50 pieces up, and trying to be more consistent with listing one a day if not every other day.  The thing I like about furring the creations is that even if I'm weary or tired its a ball I can keep rolling down the road, unlike making the faces with takes a much steadier hand and concentration.

I also need to get back to making some more greeting cards and tags, but I've just not been able to juggle the time for that yet.  Oh ya, and networking, I've still been unable to carve out the time I need to manage all the PR tasks yet to take on.   I prioritized the making of the "the 50" before all else.....but now that I'm a few weeks into that priority I'm re-thinking this strategy.

Anyway, those are the shenanigans that I'm up to in managing all of this!!  Exciting stuff, I know.  =P

Here is the troll I posted up recently, I wish the color had come out a bit more accurately. Even with photoshop color correction I wasn't able to fully capture the hue of green that he is.   I had the most fun taking the picture with my cat Chubba.  I was giggling in between photos, which I had to calm down so I could hold the camera steady.

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Cheers,

HMB

I love the Yeti !!

I've been following a really fantastic blog for all things Yeti for a few year's now called "I Love The Yeti".  I wrote to the owner of the blog, and let him know all about the HappyMoonBelly Yeti's and was beyond thrilled because he liked my little creations and posted about it in his blog!!!!   I had a big grin on my face the whole day when I got the news.  Its just one of those things, the little idea that one day it would be rad to make something cool and be in that blog, and I am so happy that it became a reality.

^_^    

Here is the post:  http://ilovetheyeti.blogspot.com/2011/03/clark-yeti.html


Hooray for Yeti's !!!!!!!

Avant Garden Auction 2011

I'm so pleased to say that I'm going to be in an upcoming gallery showing, the "Avant Garden" !!  Its an art auction for my favorite local farm, Veggilution, a non-profit that is raising funds for its continued growth.  I've volunteered a few times on the weekends at this place, and its a wonderful awesome garden to learn and participate with.

They sent out an email to folks on their list quite a few months ago, a call for artist's who might have something to donate.  I jumped in right away, because I knew it was going to be for a good cause and a great opportunity to share some art.

The event is happening April 15th, you can read all about it at the links provided above.  I've donated a color pencil & ink drawing that I framed, titled "Nature's Friend"  and a small sculpture, appropriately titled "Veggie Monster"  ^_^

here is the Veggie Monster going up for auction:

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and here is the drawing I completed and framed for the auction  ^_^

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its started off looking like this, its the scanned in version:

and then I put in a few bits of color and it started to look like this:

and here are a few details of the bird and the girl after I finished it:

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I'm really pleased how the frame came out, I applied some painted details and leaves to it:

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I'm now diving back into making more creations, there is so much to do !!!!!  I need more hands and a clone to help me fur my creatures and pull the graveyard shift for me so I can double time it up :D

Fun stuff !!!

Cheers,

HMB

The fun of experimenting !!

Sometimes an idea arrives and you must follow its song of creation.  Lately I've been getting all kinds of inspiration and images for dragons and cats.  I have no idea why, but its a challenge for me to creatively pursue in how I could express the idea in my imagination.

What I see inside is a dragon with multicolored scales, and lots of mixed media elements for the fur.  For this first try, I've used a polymer clay base and polymer scale applied onto it, with green tufted fur and multi colored wool.  It was a lot of fun to experiment with, and I think I now have an idea for what I'm going to do in a smaller sized version.  This dragon here is about 2.5 inches in height, not very tall but bigger than what I'm aiming for in my ideal version.

For my cat, I'm still playing around.  I wanted to do a mom cat and her kitten(s) and I also wanted to work with the dark brown polymer clay that I have.  I'm not sure if the face is looking like how I see it in my minds eye, so I'm going to hold onto this cat for awhile and make another few to see what develops.  I used wool fiber that I applied by hand in clumps of different colors.  ^_^

I did complete one item though, that I'm really pleased with how it came out.  Its a Wild Thing Troll Monster that I posted up on Etsy for sale today.  I am so pleased with how it came out, it was exactly what I was seeing in my mind with what I wanted to do, and I love the ears especially.   

Cheers

HMB