The Director of the Creative Arts Center of Otterbein Lebanon (OH - where we live) invited me to have a one-woman show this year. It ran from July 25 to September 5. I've had one-woman and two-woman shows before so my expectations of sales weren't super high, but WOW! I included both paintings and sculptures in the show. During the Opening (a very nice one!), EIGHT paintings sold! Over the run of the show, a total of 16 paintings and one of my books sold! Now the walls of our home have very vacant spots here and there, since I had a lot of those paintings hanging up as our decor!

 

The difference this good show made is that I'm so encouraged, I'm working many hours a day creating things for the Otterbein Harvest Fest November 8! I've made gnome ornaments, a couple of 3-D gnomes (one's a Santa) with holes in their hats for fairy lights, some Spring-themed ornaments (maybe I'll do some Fall ones too?) and I'm making earrings and pendants with some of my alcohol ink paintings. What fun!

 

I've also recently been told I can sculpt again - my hand surgery is completely healed! I researched various clays other than plastilene (my favorite, but you have to make a mold and castings to have a finished piece, and it takes a good bit of strength to compress it properly). My research resulted in my learning about air dry clay. It dries hard and it works like ceramics clay and does not need to have a mold made or castings! That's what I've used to create the gnomes and other things I'm working on and it's SO MUCH FUN! And what a JOY it is to get back to sculpting!!! It really is where my heart lies.

 

I expect my air dry sculptures to be more abstract, less detailed than my bronzes, and they'll be painted in non-traditional ways. What fun AGAIN!! I loved what I used to do, but this new medium has me so excited! Stay tuned to see new work on my website!