Orion in the Middle. Poppets are Marching

Orion and Mimi play "Green Eggs and Ham" with help from Gurtie, of course.

Ravyn arrived today. Already he's claimed her for a bit of Wii Play.

Ravyn and Orion Mii.

Ravyn demonstrates Wii billiard technique with the real thing.

Poppets are on the March. I've begun to list the March Poppets in the store.I'll be adding pieces throughout the weekend. Even tonight, we'll be working on Foppets, so we may be able to get some freshly created ones up as well.

Light and Poppets

Carl V mentioned in comments that he'd like to see postcards and such. I agree!

We'll do that, eventually, I'm sure.

In the meantime, this lone Sourpuss seems to need a thought bubble. Be my guest!

We experimented with natural light and controlled light.

I learned a lot and we came up with some good ideas for future images.

Mimi has gone home and now I'm preparing the March Poppets that will go into the ebay store this weekend. It will be worth visiting for the photos alone. Well, I think so anyway.

This afternoon Orion and I built a Lego castle, complete with catapult and siege engine. Then we just threw blocks at each other for awhile.

Friday, Ravyn will arrive to work on other projects.

This is a busy house of comings and goings of all sorts.

Works for me.

g'night

Photo Perspective

Mimi Ko is here this week. With her help, I'm upgrading the photography lighting for the studio.

I'm enjoying experimenting with photographic images. Working in less familiar territory always seems to pay off. The poppet image is a group effort. I made the Poppet and umbrella, Ben sculpted the cat, Mimi lit and photographed them, I added the effects on computer.

I liked the desert photo of me because everything about it is Mimi's unique sensibility. It becomes recognizable, looking through her portfolio. She has a certain way of seeing her subjects, even when they're not seeing her.

The last one, taken last night in available light (both subjects were actually sleeping on the sofa) I'm pleased to say is my own work.

We'll be back in the studio tomorrow morning. I highly recommend working with something new and unfamiliar. It seems a good tool for expanding vision, getting unstuck or boosting creativity. And...it's fun.

Today was mostly about the sky, it seems.

It was a day of bright changing skies. Took a couple of photos.

Tried to focus on working, but couldn't stay inside.

This evening, I haven't accomplished much since about 7:30. Pete phoned from a gig (I'll paraphrase his description: omega list celebrities, audience possibly including illuminati and definitely including Monte Burns) to tell me the lunar eclipse was visible.

I couldn't stay inside much after that. There were white clouds moving about, a bit of sprinkly rain and our beloved moon, in rare light.

I didn't even try to take photos. I know better.

Started taking photos of some new Poppets---here are three of them, sort of hanging out--but the light wasn't right and mostly I wanted to be with the moon instead. Will take more photos tomorrow.

Again with the sky. Some Poppets carry their own skies.

Here's a peek at the new chapbook. I'll keep you posted on its availability---should be very soon.

Poppets raining, in a stormy sky.

Time for food, and such. And after all is settled, a blanket and hot drink outside. Something tells me I need to spend some time looking up. G'night.

Growing Pains, Irish Poppets and Neil's Dead Bees

Our mail carrier is a very petite woman with a great disposition. More often now, she lugs our mail to the door in a bin that pretty much dwarfs her. Today I gave her a Poppet.

Poppet Planet is gaining its own dynamic. I think I began to really catch on when the Strange Studios dental insurance cards arrived. Bent and I must regularly redefine this animal we seemingly have by the tail. We've had a few months of very long work days and lots of decisions.
Hence, not so many blogs. I'd thought of blogging the experience as it happens. That would be sort of cool, right? On the other hand, it's really hard to grasp these life/professional lessons from inside. Most of them require the perspective of time. It's difficult to tell a story well without knowing the ending.



Lots of hard decisions. I'll tell you this though---one of the gleanings of late---I'm finding that when trying to choose between a this and a that, the best answer quite often is neither and both.

Quite the balancing act it becomes.



Hmm. Well, there you go. Maybe the answer to the blog or no blog question is to blog some.

I suppose that's what this entry is.



The largest box in the bin was from Neil. The first thing I did was to listen to it. Then I shook it and listened again. Bent and I took it outside to open. We immediatly agreed the estimate of 2000 was off. There are more. And they weren't completely dry, so opening the bag released a nice little cloud of....well, death. Yeesh. As bad as that was---thank goodness for dry desert air--experience teaches me that death is better than grape jelly as far as smells and dead insects go. Trust me on this one.

Now they're laid out on industrial sized sheets of aluminium foil in the sun. I'll have to keep an eye on them. Several things could go wrong at this stage, none of them good, from wind blowing them away to a bird feeding frenzy and any number of Gurtie or gardener related adventures between.



If enough of them survive the next couple of drying days, I'll make something---likely it will be for CBLDF. But we'll see. Technically, they're my dead bees now, but I'll always think of them as "Neil's Dead Bees." Just like "Neil's Dead Flies" and "Neil's Dead Cicadas" and...hmm...how about, just for fun, oh dear and brilliant one, send me something that isn't dead---like socks or candy?

I'll keep you posted on whatever 'bee' art transpires.

In the meantime, yes, we are working hard, if quietly, here in Palm Springs, with life going on all around and between. I'll try to blog about it a bit more often.

So far it looks like Poppet-wise March will be all about being Green, with a bit of having fun.
Get your Shamrock Poppets HERE!

Poppets gather for farewells.

The amazing technicolor Poppet astounded the Red Queen's court, then went quietly on his way...



Today was somewhat about photography. Thought you'd like this group shot before Poppets go on their separate travels round the planet.

There was also some time for being outside and repotting plants and doing simple things, including accidently hosing Gurtie, who was none too happy.

Aubrey is baking more than ever now. She hopes to one day own her own specialty bakery. I can see it. We find delicious looking things covered in clear wrap with post-its that say "Do Not Eat" or "OK to eat." The last OK to eat was warm cornbread from scratch. The "Do Not Eat" was for her friend's birthday. We will all have to exercise more, but the house smells extra good, more often than not. She doesn't have school tomorrow. I'm hoping for pound cake.


g'night

Cotton Brain

No bees have shown up yet. I'm sure they will, the moment I forget about them. The weather is great here. Reading about the storms in the southeast, I hope the best for the survivors, sorry for the losses. Feel almost guilty when I walk around this neighborhood. I feel myself developing a growing sense of gratefulness for whatever day I'm in.

The studio is very busy, as usual, with several projects going on at once. We're walking in the mornings.

I got nothin', really. My brain is tired from way too much administrative work and lack of feeding. I'm taking some breaks. Opened the latest Smithsonian to find an ad for nullphysics.com. Sheesh. Terrence....for shame.

I need a good geek-out! But first, a break from all thought. The easiest way to go there is to get into a zone. Pete is working, Orion is settling in. Your artist is going to shut down this house, put on Rez and tune out to some excellent shooting.

It's like a massage for the mind. (hope it works--tomorrow will tell)

g'night

Neil's Bees, Little Dead Girls Like To Play Too

Little Pink's Playset is the last of the pieces for the Valentine's sale.

As for every event, we have works nearly finished but not ready. Now that the ebay store is up and running, I can add those pieces when they're done.

The Neil phoned this morning, having suddenly found himself in possession of two thousand dead bees which, naturally, made him think of of me. So next week sometime I expect a box of bees at my door.

I hope they don't smell like grape jelly. Or any other sort of jelly.

And I hope they're actually dead.

"Bees are strange," he said, "you might think they're dead, even when they're not."

I could sense his grin, so I told him not to get his hopes up---I'd open it outside. But I did promise to have someone with a camera, in case of whackiness.

I'm thinking he'll keep them inside at his house for day or so to check for dead-deadness. I'm thinking a box that suddenly began to buzz wouldn't go over well at the post office.

And I'm thinking about having fun with two thousand bees. Thanks Neil!

Happy February.

Sadness and Light

Palm Springs has lost Earl Greenburg. This is sad news and many will miss him. He leaves a legacy of spirit and kindness.

Today was for spending time with Aubrey and Orion. It was a simple day of shopping, eating and driving around in the sunshine, made all the more 'sweet' because Orion absolutely fell in love with a little concertina and being five, wanted to play immediately. You haven't lived until you've driven in traffic with live accordion 'music'. Rubber floors make for interesting acoustics.

Tonight is for TV and possibly fireplace-roasted marshmallows.

Life is short. It's up to us live ours meaningfully. Love is a verb. Happiness is a choice.

moment by moment we go

g'night

February Sale, Poppets Kissing video, Sourpuss

Here's a quick no-frills look at the kissing Poppets in action: In case of earthquake, kiss.

And a photo of a new Bent and Lisa Poppet collaboration series we're very excited about called "Monday Poppet and Sourpuss."

Pink is the New Black? Pfffuff. Whatever.

The Poppets Love February sale is up and running. The open edition Poppets are up and all of the ooak Poppets (5) as well. We'll be adding a few more pieces this weekend.

Yay! February!