Cinnamon Reindeer Games

Ravyn sent me this Reindeer-costumed Foppet. Cinnamon Poppet makes a near-perfect playmate, so I paired the two to wrap up the holiday sale. Please forgive me for adding it on late, but it is so cute I couldn't bear to let it sit until next year. (Though I could've been persuaded to keep them for myself.)

It's Monday, and the last two weeks have seemed to be made up of 48 hour days and not much sleep.

It's like that during the holidays. The business is, well, busy. The museum project deadline is upon me and others, including the Strange Roads cover.

And this weekend Alison and Logan visited, Orion's best buddy Sophia had her birthday party...

it goes on and on. All of them good things, like loads of happy, healthy kids running around the Discovery Museum, sweet baby kisses and shopping for gifts online.

And yes, packing Poppets with notes to collectors.

Still, it's A LOT of good things.

So last night became one of those nights when I kept waking, thinking of lists and deadlines and worrying about things I could control and things I couldn't.

Trying to convince myself that I'm more 'enlightened' than the exhausted, stress-out human tossing in her covers didn't help a lot.

Even my favorite pillow seemed to be working against me.

So I found myself sort of lost in a blizzard of loose thoughts, stumbling much like the Poppets from my header, toward a vague light ahead where things can be sorted out with clearer vision.

Today I'm not so lost. It took a step back, a cup of coffee, watching a geek-humor-laden Simpsons episode with Pete and appreciating a view of the snow on the mountains. I know a good life when I see it, stresses and ow-my-back included.

I don't have to be superwoman today. I'll be happy to be a person who gets the day's orders shipped out and the plants watered.

Wish you all safe passage and hot chocolate in the winter weather.

Ghostly Pony, Wheels and Creeps

I received Foppets from Ravyn to join "Play With Toys." We have a big pony--and perfectly, slightly, ghostly -- for the Little Pink sculpture.

And a Foppet on wheels to go with a special Poppet painted meticulously with jacks and balls.

Also, artist RB DeWolfe stopped by the studio yesterday. I met her several years ago at the studio of the late bronze artist, John Kennedy.

You can see her work and learn more about her here.

Luckily, I managed to wrest a couple of pieces from her for the sale; a "Creep", this one, Nosferatu, and a "Smidgen" Nosferatu. I've listed them both at introduction prices and a bonus Little Red Poppet.

I had to. They're just too weird not to share.

Hope you're enjoying the Play With Toys pieces and your winter, so far.

We like changing our hats

I like it when Orion decides to join me for creative time. He says, "Today, I am a painter."

Which seems a poppety way of looking at things-- as they are, without pretext or qualifications.

It doesn't occur to him to think "I will be a painter," or "I might be a painter."

He paints, therefore he is a painter.

When the music went to an upbeat track, we gave each other that crazy look, took off our aprons and our jig, polka,

kung-fu combo took over.

We danced and so for the moment, were dancers.

For the moment can be a very good thing.

Tomorrow more Poppets will be sent on their various journeys. Then I'll be a painter too for awhile.

Tonight Pete and I saw "No Country for Old Men." We saw a window this evening to catch a movie and jumped a the chance to see a Coen Bros. film, knowing little else about it. I found it sparsely beautiful and well acted and early on was stuck by the quality of the writing. Sometimes, it's not a terrifically easy film to watch. The credits revealed it is based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 book of the same title.

That explained a lot.

I read McCarthy's The Road this year, finding it one of the most moving books I've ever read.

Poppet Tricks

Today the voice of sanity spoke up and told your artist it's time to rest. This piece, called "Poppet Tricks" will wrap things up except for a couple of Foppet's Poppet (arriving in the next couple of days from Ravyn) and two other ooak Poppets. All adorable, of course.
The other art pieces will have to wait until January, for I must turn my attention now to completing the cover painting for Strange Roads.

And, I must start getting some sleep. Otherwise I'll be known as your late artist.

So there-- those of you bidding on pieces in the sale can know where things are, and that I won't spring a must have on you at the last minute. As much as I like trying to wow you, reason prevails.

Anyway, here is a little video of Poppet Tricks, an illusion box that proves most difficult to photograph, especially for a tired artist in a paint-stained apron in need of less coffee and more dreaming.
As always, I truly appreciate your enthusiasm and love of Poppets and other creations. Ebay doesn't allow mention of donation, but each sale sends support to organizations including, NCAC, NORML, CBLDF and The Bill Hicks Wildlife Foundation.

Because Poppets are more than pretty faces. As are you, dear readers and thinkers.


It begins to feel a lot like winter. Stay safe! Time for feet up and the joy of TiVo. (I do look forward to spending some time with that darling "Reaper" devil. As Bugs would say, "Ain't he a stinker!"
G'night

Play With Toys!

Saturday morning.

Play With Toys is officially open!



I'm happy to introduce "Whirligig I", the latest Bent/Lisa collaboration and "Goodbye Kitty", the newest RatBag rat sculpture.



And, sigh. We're still not done. It's terribly windy here with rainy, cloudy, changing skies. Not so good for photography. Not so good for artist types either, as we tend to linger at the windows.


Still, everything should be up by Monday, so please check back for new listings.


Play with Toys! Have fun.

and... Happy Almost Winter!

Here We Go...

Play With Toys doesn't officially begin until tomorrow, but I've already begun to put auctions up if you want an early look.

Today has been cold and rainy all day. No school tomorrow, YAY! The pool looks forlorn, but Orion and I toasted marshmallows in the fireplace. It's cozy inside...

but not so great for taking photographs,

so

tomorrow I'll put up more auctions and very likely more on Sunday, including a BRAND NEW RATBAG RAT and even some HATS for your favorite Neil Rat.

And yes, even more Poppets.

In answer to the comment from Gerald Perry: I think you're referring to the kinetic sculpture called "No Refunds, No Returns," which is part of the Dark Caravan series. The series resides currently at a private residence in VA, but will be installed next year in the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

---time for apple cider. I think there may be some snow on the mountains.

Happy Winter--ish!

Sometimes Poppets Wear Green

We won't see snow on the ground here in the desert, but maybe on the mountains soon. It's at least nippy enough for sweaters and to light the fireplace mornings and evenings.

I thought these little evergreen poppets might bring me a touch of the weather I'm missing. And they did! I gave them just a touch of snow.


Outside, there's fragrant smoke from other chimneys and the oranges are beginning to be, well, orange.

The Original Dancer, revisited.

This original sculpture is called "Love Be Nimble, Luck Be Quick." It's largish and kinetic (electrical) and lives in a niche in the stairwell at Neil Gaiman's house. It has lived in the niche for a long time now and may even be a bit dusty. But Neil tells me it still works creepily and that its story lives somewhere in his head.

Play With Toys will offer the first few releases of a limited edition of the original yellow jester from the sculpture. It's very much like the original jester, poor thing, that must eternally evade the lustful Frog, who attempts to snag him with an umbrella.

The edition includes the wire and cobalt cat's eye bead hanger-- a very small edition of fifty numbered sculptures.

We're putting in lots of hours, drinking lots of hot tea and yes, having some fun.

Wow. "Play With Toys" begins in a couple of days.

Surely we had fun. The days of November simply vanished.

It's like time travel.

Self-Explanatory

Bigger Inside than Out, Thankfully

I woke at 6:40 in a fluttery sort of panic, wondering why my alarm hadn't gone off and why I was sleeping in Orion's room. Then I remembered that there's no school today and that I'd come in when Orion had a nightmare.

I fell asleep again to dream about a clean city full of lights that reflected and refracted off wet buildings and huge drops of falling rain. Orion and I glided down broad empty avenues in joyful abandon, banking turns like surfers on boards, two Bandicoots racing through a world in my head, temporary and colorful as a soap bubble.

When I awoke again, it was to discover the mild cold of yesterday had grown mighty and invaded my chest which now seemed full of lead. I tried to locate a part of my body that didn't hurt. My hair, I think.

Cold medications, a long hot shower and tea with honey and lemon from a neighbor's tree will make me human enough to function. Because today is a day for gathering with loved ones, feasting, and remembering things that are good.

Of which there are many. Among them, for me, the certainty that we humans are larger inside than out. We have the ability to create worlds and change this one. That and the hope that one day we will move past our human infirmaries and our fears of one another and CLICK! All those lights will illuminate at once and we then will fly.

I wish you all a safe and very happy Thanksgiving weekend.

Poppets Like to Play

Yes. We are having fun.






Deslily has created a waving poppet on her blog and other photos. Her Poppet (named Kester) also encounters Gandalf. That one cracked me up. Thanks Deslily!






The studio is bustling with activity, the household is bustling with activity. We find ourselves in the season where days begin early and end late. Where parents hand off information like relay batons, dividing to conquer tasks and searching out holes in schedules to spend moments together. It's difficult work, but leaves us feeling alive and purposeful.


In my head, I'm forever finding ways to distill concepts into simple representations. Of course I am. My work is just that and it follows that I'd think that way. Hmm. Or did I think that way first and the work followed?


no matter


For instance, yesterday Orion brought me a seemingly impossibly tangled Slinky to fix. Truly it looked like a lost cause, but I managed it. (hint--requires concentration and patience)


In my mind , a person who can untangle a Slinky without damaging it will likely be able to manage a business successfully.

On the other hand, a few weeks ago he brought me one of those little parachute toys with the strings seemingly impossibly tangled.

Without a second thought, I cut the strings off and put new ones on.


Possibly it's not only the ability to untangle the Slinky. Possibly it's also knowing when to untangle and when to start over.

I'll think on it.

But now, it's time for coffee and sculpting.

Autumn's Monarchy and Poppets that Smell

Good.

...that smell good.

Poppets that smell good. Like Pumpkin Pie---or at least Autumny and Pumpkiny and maybe a little Poppety.

Anyway. They are nice on tables---we like them as place markers for really special dinners, nice in warm spots but mostly, we like them because we can't stop picking them up and smelling them.

Something about humans sniffing their Poppets is funny, and weird....but mostly sort of happy.

And weird.

Anyway, we've already made some available, so you can look weird too.

Oh, and the King and Queen stopped by too. Yes, we are beginning to have fun.

Mad and Grumpy Elves

Today, after forgetting for the third time what I'd gone to the shelves for, it dawned on me that I've been working Angie's hours with her, Ben's hours with him and my own.

sheesh
I am quite achy, and apparently, becoming, ahem, somewhat grumpy.


Tomorrow I plan to read, watch a DVD with Pete (Daywatch--no spoilers please) and play some games with Orion. Maybe I'll play with some clay while reacquainting myself with a certain sofa.

Sometimes working at home is a very good thing.


Still, the studio is bustling with new work. Ben and I are very happy to have Angie join us.

We have been three mad elves, making.

Though the nights are cool with dark starry skies, the weather is too warm for fall. The time change from the totally nonsensical 'daylight saving' summer hours adds it's own bit of chaos.
It's not a thing like time travel.

But none of that has slowed the madly making. It will be interesting indeed to see what comes about when the temps drop and we can work with the doors open.

******
I thought you might enjoy the work of Sue Boehme. I do. I have a small piece of her work that's a clay sculpture from what must be a very strange garden. I hope to have more in the future.




























***



Also, I am remembering to thank Ravyn for designing the bookmark given as part of the RIP Challenge.










Now, time to recharge.

g'night

Art and Comets

Today was a wonderfully productive day in the studio, spent doing work both challenging and satisfying.
In other words, we had way too much fun.

Tonight Pete and I took a look at the Holmes Comet. You can see more about it at Dr. Sky.

There is no substitute for looking into the night sky.

None whatsoever.

g'night

November 1

I like this photo of the door. When I first saw it, I got the impression of peering into some surreal daytime landscape in the distance.

Hope you had a good Halloween.

We did, though there was little time for decorating. I truly missed building something huge and knarly this year, but don't regret focusing my efforts into the work for Poppet Planet.

So...

While Two Dads took Orion and Sophia for Tricks or Treats, I ( having managed to wrench my knee) spent an unusually quiet evening with my feet up, reading in a house of jack o lanterns, ghouls and rats.

And thinking about new things to make. It seems I'll be able to now, because I've selected my assistant and after her first two days of working, I can already see more studio time for myself.

This is a very good thing.

So, between reading (a bit of Stephen King, a bit of a new and odd story in progress by Mr. Gaiman) I thought of new things to make and projects to finish up.

It's November 1. Poppet Planet is spinning happily on its axis.

Time to stretch my wings, I think.

It's November 1. Coffee is ready.

Here we go...

Now you see it, Now you don't.

Yesterday the sky blazed with pinks and oranges, the sort of desert sky that only appears in the fall.



These spectacular orchestrations of moisture and light are impromptu performances, quick and viewed only by those diligent enough, or lucky enough to catch them.



In fact, as Orion learned, a sky full of colored light can vanish as though by a magician's trick, leaving a sense of wonder with a touch of loss.
Next time the sky blazes, he may watch more intently, waiting for the disappearing that he now knows comes next.


I was, not diligent, but lucky enough to capture Orion's experience on camera.

I feel a little like an intruder, and you might too. But how often, really, do we get such a close look at a moment of learning? Orion, thank you.

Today is Halloween. It's a good day, with jack o' lanterns blazing through the house. Tonight will be for Tricks or Treats and playing in the dark.

Then tomorrow it will be gone. Just like that.

Still it leaves us full in Autumn, the season lots of us love best, with moments both bright and dark for us to wonder at.

Happy Halloween. Happy Autumn.

Smoke, Evil Beagle and Da Bounce

Already this morning the fires were on our minds. We begin our days with the news, hoping for improvement, sad for the damage already done. By midday we could see the smoke moving over the mountains and by four thirty, when I took this shot from our back yard, it brought us the somber reality of loss.

The LA County Public Health site used a photo I posted here last year, of other fires.

You can see an update of the fires and containment status on Google Earth.

Peter Beagle, it appears, got his dose of Vitamin Evil during Vcon last week.

Thanks to Rubius for this photo.

Strange Roads will be available in January. I've read the three stories. You won't believe where Peter has taken Poppets.

Or possibly, where Poppets took Peter.

Either way, wow. I'm both honored and delighted he went there. I look forward to sending you down those very strange roads indeed.

On the home front:

I like this bit of baby action best when I hear little Logan in my head...I don't like it.I don't like it.I don't like it.

But then, I know he does.

And, finally,

The Poppetzez haz lef the buildin'.

Whew! If you're expecting some, they're on the way.

G'night

Thank you

Packages will be shipped out every day for the rest of the week. Poppets and other creatures head out in many directions, seeking new homes, adventures and friends.

If you've ordered something and are wondering where it is, it's very likely on its way. If you have any questions, you can reach me at the harlikn7@aol.com address.

Thanks to all of you for your comments and reception of the Halloween season creations. We had way too much fun.

On Friday Orion and I swam in very cold water. I'd tell you the temp, but I really don't want to know because I suspect if I did, I wouldn't get back in. It was fun, and funny and really cleaned and scrubbed all the rooms in my head. It's sort of like swimming in summer. It just takes longer to get in and out of our suits and instead of checking for prune fingers, I check for blue lips.

It was too windy for swimming today and, unfortunately, perfectly windy enough for fires. It's that time of year again. Fire season in SoCal. Things are not so good in Malibu.

Tomorrow is for dusting off giant eyeballs and other things for putting in our front yard.

Shadows and Light

Orion was assigned a presentation about shadows.

So, we played in the dark, talked about light and how photographs are made.

He left for school with a photograph and new information pinging around in his head.

Soon enough he'll put it aside, then later on, he'll connect it to other information, constructing, piece by piece, his map of how things are.

*****

Today I received new stories from Peter Beagle, written around art images I sent him. I was both surprised and delighted at how he interpreted the art and where he went.

Strange Roads indeed.


*****

I'm reading bits of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, looking forward to more bits. Later I may envy you, wishing I could read it again, for the first time.

***

Orion and I won the Gran Prix of Mario Kart today. He in first place and I in second.

We rode in the parade. We danced...for real.

***

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has erected its first billboard in Madison, Wisconsin. If you live comfortably near Madison and have a Poppet and send me a Poppets On Tour photo of your Poppet with the billboard I will happily send you another poppet of the color of your choice.

No kidding!

*****

And a few days ago Derek Ash sent me two new Halloween poems. They are cool and sort of...poppety.

***

Today was the first day of a shipping marathon. Poppets are headed out in many directions to all sorts of new adventures.

**

Lots of creativity these days. Lots of making. Shadows and Light.

Poppet Soup, Onithoptors and Love. In the Dark.

Poppet 1 Flyer

We had dinner at Supreme Dragon. We talked about many things, Pete, Bent and me, but eventually, we got around to talking about thestateofthings, as we seem to do.

The stateofthings seems as dark as always, a bit darker in places.

I can't stop noticing the several ridiculously huge fish swimming in the gigantic aquarium a few feet away. It's a tall

aquarium and the fish appear to congregate at the pane nearest our table, turning in near unison to stare our way. I think of how little kids assign sentience to all creatures. I think of fish staring down from a tank in the center of the room at humans who sit at tables, eating fish and discussing thestateofthings.

When I still believed ladybugs mulled things over, I listened to my parents and their friends at dinners, talking about thestateofthings. I couldn't understand what they said, just that they were worried and if they were worried, thestateofthings must be pretty dark. The world was different outside of my back yard. And sometimes darkness was very near indeed.

So I played.

Now it's my turn to worry, think and do what I can about thestateofthings. I know ladybugs don't have brains.

But I still play, mostly in the dark.

Atomic Garden Soup

Kama II