This is a picture of my front yard.  We used to have a lawn, but I killed it because I hate Bermuda grass with a furious passionate loathing.  In the summer, I let it go dead, but in the winter, I have a vegetable garden and I overseed with flowers. Last year I threw down California Poppy seeds, but this year, I added Flanders Poppies to the mix. That’s what you see here. The default is red, but after a few generations, they spontaneously mutate, so we have some that are white, some that are pink, and some that are red and white. I’m quite proud of them.  They have almost inspired me to take up photography seriously, but the rational part of my mind says that I have too many hobbies and interests as it is.

This is a sign I made for the reading at Wiscon that some fellow writers and I are going to do.  I started with an old piece of matboard that I’d painted with several layers of acrylic.  I believe it had a basecoat of reddish brown, followed by gesso and sage green, but it was so long ago that that might be wrong. 

Using a wide nib calligraphy dip pen and some waterproof ink, I wrote “Nightmares” in an old fashioned calligraphic script. Underneath that, I wrote “In pleaant Dreams” in what was supposed to be copperplate but ended up looking like bad cursive.  This was also in waterproof ink, but using a finer point pen.

I printed a stamp of the dandelion silhouettes with pigment ink, and while waiting for that to dry, mixed some interference red paint with gel retarder. The mehindi-type designs in the corners are also a purchased rubber stamp.

I’d printed out the information on porous block printing paper that I’d cut to 8 1/2 by 11 so that it would fit in the laser printer.  After choosing the text that looked best, I cropped it to fit.  The original plan was to tea-stain it, but that would have reduced the contrast–a major disadvantage on a functional piece.  Instead I found some art paper that complimented the sage green and coppery tones of the background.

By adhering it to a rectangle of matboard, I ensured that the piece would have depth, and scans have a tendency to exaggerate depth in a piece.  I polished a piece of copper wire and bent it into a spiral, which created a second focal point and draws the eye to the most important part of the piece.

The reading itself should be very fun.  If anyone who reads this is going to Wiscon over Memorial day, please stop by and see our reading.

My nine-year-old daughter painted this. I’m very proud of her.

I made this for my niece Emily, who is seven years old.  I bought the wooden box at Michael’s and spent a few weeks decorating it.  The butterflies are cut out from art paper that I bought at the Paper Studio (one of my favorite stores!)  The lettering on the top is made of polymer clay, and considering how much work it took, it ought to look a lot more spectacular. 

I made the velvet base out of mat board and polyester quilt batting, then sewed on the jewelry so it doesn’t bounce around too much in transit.  I wanted to make the whole thing look a lot more extravagant, but I ran out of time and ideas. 

I made this for my niece Jessica, who is five years old.  Like her sister’s box, it is a wooden box from Michael’s that I spent a few weeks decorating.  I used violet interference paint, mixed with gel retarder, to stamp the leaf patterns on the lid and sides.  I tried to make a polymer clay embellishment for the lid, but it turned out poorly, so I used the gerbera daisy cut out instead.

Inside the box is a rhinestone tiara.  My focus group says this sort of thing is appealing to the 5-7 yr old girl demographic.