Celebrate SPRING with the Goddess of the Harvest

In the Ancient Greek Myth, Demeter (Ceres) was the Goddess of the Harvest, Goddess of Agriculture. She controlled the seasons, and was capable of destroying life on earth. Her daughter, Persephone (Proserpina) was abducted from earth while picking flowers and taken into the underworld. You may be familiar with Bernini's sculpture Pluto and Proserpina that resides in the Villa Borghese Museum in Rome.

After Persephone's' abduction, Demeter wandered the earth day and night searching in grief for her lost daughter. She neglected her earthly duties, causing it to die—turning the earth into a Winter wasteland. It snowed. It snowed a lot. Demeter wandered to Eleusis where the Goddess Baubo offered her hospitality, she offered Demeter wine. But, that didn't work so Baubo playfully lifted her skirts, revealing herself and making lewd gestures. This caused Demeter to laugh. The laughter transformed Demeter's balance and in turn, transformed the balance of the earth.

Eventually Zeus convinced the gods to let Persephone return to Demeter for several months every year.

Persephone's yearly visit to her ecstatic mother, Demeter joyfully resumes her fertility of the earth—the flowers bloom and the birds sing. We have Spring.

After this year's dreadful Winter, the Spring will be specially sweet. Celebrate Persephone's return. Celebrate the rebirth of the earth!

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WhineStoppers ...Chapter 2

My sculpting has gotten out of hand (in a good way) and I’ve managed to create 60 of these little buggers. Even though I’ve been a visual artist all my life, I am new to the selling-my-art game. Doing the festival circuit has always been one of my goals, but it hasn’t come together until now. When developing my plan, it wasn’t long before I figured out that maybe people who purchased these whimsical creations may also want to display them—as opposed to throwing them in a kitchen drawer into a life of seclusion. I went through many versions trying to create the perfect display—holders for one, two, and three at the most. They could be something that my soul mate (my left-brained partner, otherwise known as husband, Ted) could create from wood. They had to be relatively small, easy to transport and priced low. Classic stained wood was the first solution then the second was painted wood. However, this idea never quite got off the ground. Then, a couple of weeks ago I bolted upright in bed in both an A-Ha! and Duh! moment. It was one of those “why didn’t I think of this before” slap on the side of the head. The holder to display these heads would be the body! Of course! So, here they are—Whiney Hineys! Also sculpted from polymer, they are interchangeable bodies that can fit any WhineStopper head.

I have applied to my first serious outdoor festival in Cary, N.C. If I’m accepted, I’ll buy a festival tent and take this show on the road. Wish me luck and stay tuned on that, but for now if you need me, I’ll be in the studio …

ARTIST RESOURCES!

Here is a partial list of more of my favorite haunts! I didn't list the most obvious like Dick Blick and Amazon, but some others to add to your favorites! Happy surfing and shopping.  

ART/CRAFT FESTIVALS

Sunshine Artist Magazine http://www.sunshineartist.com/
Crafts Report Magazine http://www.craftsreport.com/
AmericanStyle Magazine http://www.americanstyle.com/

PACKAGING PRODUCTS
Staples Industrial http://www.staplesindustrial.com/
Impact Images – http://www.clearbags.com/ (envelopes and blank cards for printing, clear bags for packaging prints, other merchandising bags)

ART SUPPLIES
Hollos Papercraft http://hollospapercraft.net/
Dharma Trading http://www.dharmatrading.com/
European Papers http://www.europeanpapers.com/
Munrocrafts - Wholesale crafts http://www.munrocrafts.com/
Save On Crafts http://www.save-on-crafts.com/
Science Surplus http://www.sciplus.com/
Cernit Polymer http://www.clayfactoryinc.com/

REFERENCE
The Mother of All Art and Art History Links http://umich.edu/~motherha/
Reading recommendations http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/index.html

WHINEStoppers! Chapter One

In a previous post, I mentioned that I love to sculpt people. Obviously, I love to write. What you may not know is that I also love to taste wine. Just announce Friday night happy hour and I’m there! This was my thought process (thoughts that usually happen in the shower, sorry for any visual you may be getting right now). So, what if? Wine stoppers that were people’s heads? All different. And they each had a “whiney” story. I’ll call them WHINEstoppers! Some are people that I invented, and some are characters like Albert Einstein, Jerry Garcia, and Andy Warhol. They are all individual sculpts and limited editions. I guarantee they will make you smile and that is one of my main goals.

Well, long story short, this project has snowballed and I had my first show this past November with 60 WHINEstoppers. Here’s a sample.

Albert Einstein

Jerry Garcia

Phineas – He dreams of becoming a fishmonger

Otto - He is known for the potato chip tattooed on his shoulder














Skinner – He likes sipping a beer on the porch of his double-wide













Stay tuned for WHINEstoppers Chapter Two!