It's Time Again for the On My Own Time Art Show

The art is going up and it looks like it is going to be a great show this year.  The OMOT show is organized and produced by the Business Council for the Arts.  As you might remember my digital illustration "Horse Feathers" won Best of Show last year.  You can view the 2009 catalogue here.

I am very excited about the pieces I entered this year.  Two pieces have already been revealed here on our blog.  They were Christmas gifts made for family members..."Big Cheese" and "Lunchbox Kitty".  Since I hadn't been in the studio almost all year, I had to borrow back these pieces to put in the show.

I was able to get in the studio for a few weeks to put together one large Found Object Assemblage project to place in the show.  I have also entered an enhanced photograph.  These will be revealed after the judging of the show...about two weeks from now.

And even greater news, Rabbit's son, Zach, decided to enter an art piece he did for school.  Zach is an undergrad at the University of North Texas working towards an Art degree.  His project is so awesome!  He is actually competing against me in the Sculpture category!  I'm pretty competitive, but it would be great if he won.

School's Out For the Summer

Bunny back....I know it's been awhile!  Sorry, I've been ill and been busy.

School may be out for the summer but there are still rules that should be followed at home.  Every family should have these rules posted in their house.  I can't take credit for the words, I found an Etsy seller who had posters for sale...but for the life of me, can't seem to locate the seller now to give credit.  I wanted my version to look more like a chalk board.  So I painted my board black, typed and printed out the words, and then transferred the words using graphite paper and a scratching method.  It took several nights to do this since my hands get tired easily.  This is the finished product.

This project was given to the step son's favo-RIGHT girl for her 21st birthday. 

She is very representative of all of these. 

Happy Birthday A!  We love ya!

Things and Deals and Stuff

So sorry for the delay in posting.  Rabbit and I celebrated our anniversary at Oak Alley Plantation in Louisiana over the weekend.  It was a wonderful gift from a wonderful man.

I promised pics of the loot we brought home from Antique Week. So enjoy.

sewing machine drawers; cast iron flowers; brass keyhole;

Triumph stickshift knob; brass picture nails, etc.

chrome drawer pulls; sheet music holder;

chrome sugar bowl; brass clampers;

wooden thingy (can you guess what I will turn that into?)

coffee sack burlap; crochet balls; belt buckles

If you have seen my art you will know how most of

the items above will come in handy.

Rabbit's loot

Rabbit came away with these items: an old microphone; guitar neck from the estate of Rusty Cox, a Texas Hill Country musician; some 45 brass shells; and an old goat head.  Rabbit had to buy the goat head after the conversation that happened...

we're in the booth with many other women, he picks up the goat head and turns to me and asks... do you want an old goat?  Okay ladies, can you guess what my response was?  --No thanks, I already have an old goat.--  Ha! Ha!  A lady standing near by  looks at him and tells him, you set yourself up for that one, didn't ya?  It was hysterical!  Poor Rabbit...gotta love him!

A few more pics of some interesting things we saw in the fields of Central Texas.

skeleton made of various cow bones

(at least that's what we hope they were)

honey comb

Rabbit with a childhood favorite "The Shamrock Dino"

Dog in a pot.

Texas Antique Week -- Warrenton, Round Top

Waves and waves of rusty metal, crisp linens, chippy furniture, cowboy boots, garden ornaments, stained glass, old screen doors, broken doll heads and art.

These babies were priced at $425. We have one in our

kitchen we made.  Bought the industrial whisk for $8

at antique store and the light kit at HD for $15...

homemade...priceless!

And lets not forget all the taxidermy, including a sequin covered boars head!  ...yes, what every person wants in their house!

Wonderful weather was the order of the week, except maybe the great gusts of wind blowing tent flaps too hard and knocking over a vendor's collection of glass gee-gaws.  We had a great week in Warrenton and Round Top.  If it isn't there, it doesn't exist!
 
Rabbit and I hopped our little paws off day after day looking for those one-of-a-kind treasures from the past that grab at your heart strings when you lay eyes on them, and then take your breath away when you look at the price because you know you have just found the bargain of the week.  Your heart is beating rapidly knowing that you can probably get it for even less...maybe, just maybe. 

I had been searching for a european linen bed sheet to place on the bed so that the doglettes could sleep on and not hair up the nice comforter.  I figured since linen is "in" right now and it is easy to wash, it would be the perfect thing...that is until I saw how expensive they were.  Even ones with stains and repairs were in the $75 range...kinda high for a dog blanket.  Then into a booth I walk, no vendor around, there was a small bed covered with some stray rose printed sheets from the 50s and laying neatly folded under a pillow was a white euro linen sheet with no price tag...dang, where was the vendor?  I turn around and a cute little lady walks in and sees that I'm holding the euro sheet, I ask, how much for your linen sheet?  I'll take $15.  Gulp!  I thought, it must have holes in it somewhere or a big nasty stain that even boiling water and lemon juice can't get out.  I unfold it and take a closer look...not finding any flaws except a slight yellowing in one area.  She sees I'm inspecting it closer and says, well, I could take $12 for it. 
SOLD!

We just can't get enough of the rush that these adventures bring to us. This year we made sure we couldn't buy anything large by not bringing the BAT (big-ass-truck) along to haul stuff home in.  We had to limit ourselves to the smaller treasures of long ago.  Next posting will be of those.

First Day of Spring

Well today is the first day of Spring and here in Dallas we have a chance of snow. Yes, that is right, it's going down to 32 degrees tonight and there is a Winter storm warning.  For the past two weeks the weather has been very spring like.  Us rabbits have ventured out of the warren and started work in the surrounding grasses.  The first signs of Spring include the red breasted robins lighting upon the budding oaks and maples singing like they are auditioning for American Idol.  The iris are blooming and we even bought and planted the last saucer magnolia tree that the nursery had.

The gorgeous weather got me (Bunny) wanting to create...something for the pasture.  I scavanged through the hutch and found these times.

Cyclone fence post toppers with roosters, jello mold,
lamp finial, and chain

Rabbit drilled holes into the edge of the jello mold and attached the finial to the bottom, which then became the top.

I then took the whole afternoon sitting out on the back deck and attached the chain to the roosters (thru the eyes...ouch!) and then hung the chains from the holes along the edge of the mold.  Attached another chain to the top of the finial and walla...instant wind chime.  Of course I have to give credit to Rabbit since he had created a wind chime similar to this one but using some 10 to 12 roosters.

Here is the result...

 

HAPPY SPRING TO ALL!

Need a Hand

No new projects, so thought I would showcase some past pieces.  The first one is something that Rabbit created for his daughter, Brittany, to display her jewelry.  He took several items that had been sitting in the garage for several years...bought from junk stores and Round Top.  Using an old wood plinth block he added a painted mannequin hand and some metal hooks and this is the result.

Will hold a ton of jewelry...and she has a ton of it!  But that is exactly why she went into the jewelry making business. 

Check out the Etsy Bloggers Team article that showcased her and her jewelry.


Below is a small piece I created for our artist friends in Mississippi who dream of having their own BarBQue business one day.  They can smoke up a great brisket that keeps you coming back for more.  I actually created this piece, not telling the friends and then asked them if they had their business what would they name it...and after they ran through several renditions using their family name they finally decided on Shaw Co. BarBQue... exactly what I had painted.  Was so glad because I wasn't creating a different one!

Dog, Cat, Frog - More than just 1st grade words

Bunny present...

Well I haven't hopped into the studio since the holidays.  It is still a severe mess. Just wish the weather would warm up enough for me to crawl out from the warm warren so I can at least clean off my desk. Wish there was a contest for the messiest studio...I could definitely win...see for yourselves.

The last of the projects I created for my family for Christmas are about to be revealed.  Besides being art these three are also handy dandy storage units.

We'll start with a doggie design that instead of chasing the mailman, he will hold your mail.

"Springfield" - letter holder body; clothes hanger head;

cabinet door catch nose; dice feet

With this next guy you can hold your lunch, well maybe not anymore, but it is purrr-fect for holding precious possessions.

"Lunchbox Kitty" - workman lunchbox body;

view master head; skate key mouth;

screen door spring tail; jello mold feet

The last of the found object assemblages will sit nicely on a shelf and on those hot summer days can help you out by holding a mouth full of ....say flys.

"Friggin' Frog" - bait box head; film canister eyes;

food processor body; food tong arms;

jello mold feet