Category Archives: art

Oct29

Creative Creepiness

Posted on October 29, 2014 by heretherebespiders

My three-year Blogavarsary has come and gone, oops!

In honour of missing my big 3: for three years, I’ve been wanting to share something special to me. And for three years, I’ve never found that ’roundtuit’ that I needed.

No more! Tonight is the night. With Halloween so very close, I can’t wait another day unless I want to wait another year. Nope.

I love – love! – to paint three-dimensional objects. I’ve not done it in many years, but I’m going to have to look into doing it again. I miss it – and as you will see – I’m good at it, dammit.

I love painting tiny details; getting it just perfect, no matter how many re-paintings I have to do.

Some of these are ceramics from a shop in Akron, Ohio, and some are cheap plaster kits from a US craft store (probably Pat Catan’s). I love all of them, no matter if they are cute and smily or creepy and realistic.

These were painted in 1995 (I dated the bottoms). Cute n cuddly plaster stuff! The witches are my favourites and I shout “I found the bitches!” when I unwrap them every year.

More of the same cutesy set (there are six different ones). Also some of the tiny tiny candle holders which were painted in ’92. There are two of each kind: Frankenstein’s monster, witches, and my favourite of the set, spiders in sneakers and top hats! The pumpkin is ceramic, and I can’t see the date that I made it as there’s a candle in it. I’d say about 1999/2000? I really like it.

Squeee, my spiders in sneaks and hats! I can’t believe they are in such good shape after over 20 years.

The pumpkin stack is one of a pair – also plaster – never really liked my work on these as they are too monochromatic. The skull stack is ceramic and newer. I broke it last week. Thank fuck for superglue.

The fairy houses in the back? Not mine. Hand carved by my amazing dad!

My pride and joy – a huge pumpkin bowl. Ceramic, the inside is glazed hard black and can be used for food. We use it for our candy-dish when giving out treats on the big night.

Sep24

Black and White Three – Beautiful Messes

Posted on September 24, 2014 by heretherebespiders

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Urlaur Lake, Mayo – one of my other favourite places and so close.

More boats from around Killala harbour.

I took the same shot in colour – it is good too, but I still like the B&W better.

Which do you like better?

Sep16

Black and White Two – the Aneala and a Druid’s Glen

Posted on September 16, 2014 by heretherebespiders

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More Hipstamatic shots!
Taken on the Mayo Coast near Killala a ship out of water.

Taken while driving near Kilkelly – hence the blur, which I think makes the shot. I always call out ‘druid’s glen!’ when the trees meet over the road.

A reminder: these photos are under my copyright and cannot be shared without permission and a link to the original source, this blog. Thanks! (don’t make me have to watermark the shit out of these, okay?)

Sep15

Black and White One – Mary and Spot

Posted on September 15, 2014 by heretherebespiders

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I love the Hipstamatic application – I love the setup I use, anyway. I’ve never gotten around to playing with the dozens of other ways the app can be used. I know my favourite grouping of lens & film will always capture the image I see in my head.

I have too many good ones to share all at once – I’ve just realised this as I started uploading. I’ll only do a couple at a time.

Taken inside a local pub.

My good boy Spot on a sunny day.

May16

Rockin’ the Looking and Actually Seeing

Posted on May 16, 2014 by heretherebespiders

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At work, we have a new parking lot. Less than a year old. It’s gravel, and had to be put in to keep us from parking where a big damn truck might hit our precious car. I park in it every damn day, because I’m the later shift and get there after everyone else.

I also sit out there for my lunch break, weather permitting. There is a raggedy chair that sits inside the back door. It seems to have no proper home in the, so I wheel it out and park it next to an air-conditioner that I use as a table. Classy! But private, for the most part, and I get the sunshine.

I see this stretch of gravel every day: sometimes four times a day, sometimes just twice. But definitely 10 times a week at the minimum.

Today when I went out for lunch, I saw something that caught my eye instantly. Can you see it?

Weeds – yes. Boring grey rocks – yes. Occasional cigarette butt – yes. There is something else there. Something amazing. Look again if you can’t spot it!

…

No, not my stupid damn finger in the shot! The one special rock. The one with a perfect fossil.

Would you look at that! The most beautiful things can be right in front of you. You only have to really see when you look around. This seems to me a theme with me lately! I’m getting quite visual of late, since I let my meds run out (a tale of complaint for another day). No matter: I’m glad I was the one, the only one of the many many people who have walked on, driven over, spread, transported, and quarried this load of gravel that spotted and now cherishes this bit of beauty that was there all along.

Okay, confession time – I licked it to make it shiny for the last pic. I’m disgusting like that. Do you feel I’ve let the post down by showing off my blurry finger and my spit?

Meh, it had been in my pocket for a few hours, sure it was clean enough…

May9

May-rry Christmas!

Posted on May 9, 2014 by heretherebespiders

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Yeppers, it isn’t Christmas in July. It’s Christmas in May!

On Tuesday, we received a notice through our letterbox that we had a parcel for pick up. I wasn’t expecting anything, and it was addressed to both myself and iDJ – what could it be? Who was it from?

Well, dammit, it was too late to go and find out by the time iDJ got home at 6, so we had to wait and wonder a day longer.

The next day, the universe conspired to give us a small disaster and we were both home from work by noon. He drove up to an post and oooh! it was from my sister, now living near Anchorage, Alaska. We are a well-traveled small family – she more than I! In any case, they had only recently settled into their new digs in Alaska when the holidays rolled around. Dealing with all the paperwork and phone-call crap that comes with moving, their adorable three-year-old, unpacking, and having (of course!) our mutual genetic tendency toward being late as hell for anything that is supposed to be on time, sis got a parcel off to us at the end of March. As she said in her card*, “if I wait any longer, it will be next year!”

*I sent an email off to the creator of the card because the photo is too funny and I’d like to post it, but will not without permission and appropriate links. I’m too impatient to get this post up to wait for a response, however!

Do I care one bit about late? Hell no! A surprise is even better, actually – and since it came during aforementioned small disaster, it was even more welcome!

Hubby got two shirts – one I really want to steal that has our brother-in-law’s work logo on it. So wonderful to have a bit of his work uniform and feeling a bit closer to him. Also, it’s long sleeved jersey material – ooo, so perfect for work this time of year! **Rubbing hands in a crafty gleeful shifty-eyed way.**

But what I got? Way more awesome. Oh yeah.

Please bow down to the awesomeness that is: Hairy Leg Slippers.

Now, my actual legs aren’t quite as hairy as the slippers, but the fur upon them isn’t lovely soft and blonde – oh no. I’m quite the brunette. Why doesn’t grey hair grow on my shins? It would save a lot of effort. You know, on those very, very few times I bother to run a dull razor over my legs…

When is the last time I changed those blades…

Anyhoo! They are totally awesome, because of this:

Incredibly my sister had saved this photo and held on to it for years. She had an idea, a pattern, and the ability to crochet, and now my new slippers have my toenails! I can’t tell you how awesome that is – I can have my rainbow toenails even in the winter now!

By the way: I just re-read the post that the toenail pic came from (the shot is tiny, I know – I was new at blogging) and it is actually quite funny and explains an awful lot about my world view. Only two fellow bloggers even saw it at the time, being as it was my early days. Please have a gander – I think it is pretty good! Rainbow Toes, Fake Flowers, and the Fabulous Cow Coat

My sister is one of the very few people in my life who could conceive such an incredibly creative idea, and know exactly who would love it to bits.

I love you, sis – and thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

May4

Tulip Trifecta

Posted on May 4, 2014 by heretherebespiders

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I can’t believe that I’m posting about tulips yet again. Seriously, they never get much time from me on the blog. Considering I have a total of six blooms, I’m even more astounded at the press they are getting this year.

I have four solid-purple blooms. They all came up together last week, tidy tight blossoms in one repurposed Celebrations chocolates tub. Before they fully opened, it got windy as hell and one succumbed to the wind and broke off at the base. I brought it inside and stuck it in a vase; and begorrah bajezus, it is still going strong.

Yesterday morning I moved it from the fireplace mantle to the kitchen windowsill, and was awestruck by the light coming through the base of the stem.

I did my best with the iPhone, and we intend to get out the real camera for better photos if and when we have some damned sunshine in the morning. It’s just been miserable out there all weekend, which really sucks as it is also a bank holiday and we have tomorrow off, too. Nothing but misty rain and clouds, FFS.

This is a pic without flash – it is overexposed due to picking up the backlighting. But I can’t care that much, it is stunning.

The centre rather looks like a giraffe’s head, doesn’t it?

I used the flash here, to see into the centre of the flower. It is much more true to the actual colour of the petals, but I hate seeing all that rubbish out my window.

Amazing, isn’t it? I love my people, and my pets – and I also love my plants. I could never create art as beautiful as this simple flower.

*I didn’t mess with these photos at all, other than to crop them.

Apr2

More Seeing and actually Looking – or Looking and actually Seeing

Posted on April 2, 2014 by heretherebespiders

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I got a very funny look from one of my coworkers when I took this photo. All I could say, with a shrug, was “I take pictures of all kinds of weird things. Want to see the spider I found?”

I’m a bit sad that he can’t see the beauty in this. But seeing what you are looking at isn’t for everyone.
(totally un-mucked-around-with, hurried iPhone photo while being given the ‘what the fuck are you doing that for?’ look)>

Mar21

A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words?

Posted on March 21, 2014 by heretherebespiders

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I’m super low on energy as I have some sort of upper respiratory infection.

Also, coming down off the Paddy’s Day festivity excitement is slightly depressing.

Also, I always get a little weirder than normal in the spring. Even as a child, spring has messed with my head. All that potential life and energy and just plain potential, stored up and waiting to burst into…. well, I never quite managed to burst into anything particularly special so maybe that’s why I get a bit bummed out.

Anyhoo – I got a wee ceramic watering can and some narcissus bulbs for Christmas. I planted them and left them on my kitchen windowsill to grow.

And they did, of course. And they also looked like Spottie’s favourite snack – a long stringy thing. After he had a good munch, I moved them to the fireplace mantle, which is out of reach and too crammed with stuff for Spot to consider jumping up.

I thought I was just taking a picture of my flowers. But what I saw was a little snapshot of me and who I am, displayed above my fireplace. Shall we have a tour?

Left to right: The plate is one made by my dad and his wife. She is a potter, amongst many other talents, and for several years they made Celtic pottery and toured the USA selling their wares at Irish festivals. Absolutely stunning work, and I’m very happy and proud to display their craft where it can be seen immediately. I’d love to share a link, but sadly they have retired from pottery-making.

The skulls – in old Ferrero Rocher chocolate boxes, no less – are ones I found myself. Top is a fox, bottom is a groundhog. I have a cat and an opossum, too – they just aren’t in the photo.

Well, the flowers of course. The wee watering can actually works as one, so it is pretty efficient at getting rid of excess water, despite having no drainage holes at the bottom (ye know, where they normally are). If you have time to stand around holding it at an angle to drip while keeping the long leaves from breaking. Meh. Will move the narcissus elsewhere I think.

The wonderful Celtic-carved skull! Man I love that thing. I bought it at the Cleveland Irish festival one year when dad came to sell their wares. I just fell in love with it. I believe I got it from Gaelsong – be warned, they are more than happy to send you catalogs full of drool-worthy items. I don’t see much stuff of their quality even over here. Maybe they just have an awesome photographer…

The wee white thing is a Philips IMAGEO LED candle light – we have them in red and blue and just love them. That’s the US/Canada link, but of course they sell them in Ireland and the UK (not sure about Australia/New Zealand). Cheap to run, charge quickly and cheaply, can be used on the charge base while lit, and give nice flickery light for hours and hours with no fire danger. I’d give them a 10 out of 10.

There is also the tiniest bit of a postcard that Socks sent me from her vacation to Maine in the fall of last year. ‘got lobstah?’ Hahahaha! I’d love to go to Maine.

Last – because it is not the least, not by any means – is the Ouija board.

I wrote so very much about that board that I think I will have to take a better photo of just the board and do a separate post. It’s incredibly important to me and deserves an explanation.

What treasures do you keep in a place of honour?

Jun23

Watering it all down a bit

Posted on June 23, 2013 by heretherebespiders

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I’ve been trying out watercolours for the first time since my age was measured in single digits. I didn’t like it then, as I’m too much of a perfectionist and it annoyed me that watercolour paint didn’t stay where I put it.

But life itself is much more fluid these days. I thought perhaps I’d let loose of some of my control-freak nature and just see what happened.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to share my work or not. Again, letting go of the control freak, I decided what the hell. But I still have to give an advance apology/explanation for my efforts. 1. I have NO training on how to paint with watercolours. 2. I’ve not tried to do this in over 30 years. 3. My brain isn’t working quite right.

So. I meant to find hubby’s pastels and play around, because I had some good clean cardboard I didn’t mind wasting. Instead I found his watercolour paints, from… high school era. Black, white, green, red, blue yellow. Not a lot to work with! Also the only proper watercolour paper I have was gifted to my by Socks, and is post-card sized. So I sat down and looked at what she’d sent me. Paintbrushes that hold water in the barrel. Big black pencils that, mysteriously (to me) said watercolour on their sides. Hmm. So I did a quick sketch of the first thing that came into my head, in black, and then filled it in with paint. Here’s the result.

The eye is terrible – but that’s the first thing I drew and the rest didn’t quite follow along those Disney lines. Ah well.

So, next was to find something else to paint. I wanted to do the bell from my local church. While thinking it over, I realised something. I’ve had a small set of expensive Derwent coloured pencils since I was a teen. I recalled that the tin they live in says ‘watercolour’ on it. Holy shit, I’ve had a good set of watercolour pencils for decades and didn’t know what they were for.

So I drew the bell. The perspective is all wrong. I know. I refuse to care.

I thought about it for days before I finally got the nerve up to wet it down.

I actually made the perspective worse! But I learned a lot and it was fast and, dare I say, fun. I’ve another project in mind, way above my skill, but screw it, you have to start somewhere.

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