What I've been working on..... O/T

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sandhills_rabbits

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This doesnt have to do with bunnies again..... Sosorry about that! My husband breeds exotic reptiles and snakes, andshows and sells them at local Reptile & Insect shows. I go withhim, and have lately tried selling some of my wares at the shows. I'vebeen taking homemade reptile & insect themed necklaces, and artworkthat I've done. (pretty image intensive, to say the least!) I'mthinking maybe i should start going with a bunny theme! After all,bunnies are cuddlier and cuter! Lol....

Anyways, here's some of the prints i've finished....

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Oooh. Very nice.

I especialy like the iggy and the snake (BallPython?). And the first gecko, I love it'seyes. You really captured the sweet look they have in theireyes. Very impressive.

-Madelon
 
Elf Mommy, thanks for the kind words! Are you anartist? You said that it made your fingers itch to do some artworkyourself..... When I go to shows I sell individual signed and numberedprints for $15 to $20, and I sold the framed, matted, signed andnumbered prints for $50. I never would have imagined there was such abig demand for reptile and insect artwork, but the reptile & bugenthusiast's really welcome it.
 
The artwork is amazing! I especiallylove the Luna Moth. What kind of jewelry do you do? I collect jewelry(pins) of birds,butterflies and flowers (especially orchids).There is an on line store that benefitsshelters and rescuegroups that sells work from artists if you want to take a look..(ideasmaybe) Or if anyones interested....treefrogs?
 
Absolutely stunning! Although I'm not a big fan of reptiles, I do enjoy entomology.

I certainly hope we'll get to see some rabbit artwork by you soon!

Pam
 
Thanks babydoshia, BigFloppy, and Pamnock for thepat on the back. Pam, I know how you feel about the reptiles.... somany people have mixed feelings about them. My mother and sister aredeathly afraid of them. My mother-in-law puts up with them, and isactually getting to the point where she likes them. I've loved allcritters big and small since i was a little child, so pretty much theonly creature that gives me the willies is Cockroaches.......EEEEEEEEEW!

babydoshia, yep... the snake's a Ball Python. I've got 4 ball pythonsthat are my babies (and were my inspiration for that picture) thatinhabit a huge tank in my bedroom. Their names are Big Boy, Diamond,Little Pretty, and Stripie.

BigFloppy, the online store that you spoke of that benefits animalshelters and rescue groups is a wonderful idea!! I'll have to look intothat and see what i can find out. As for jewelry I've done a lot ofwork with Sterling Silver wrappable wire, gemstone drops, SterlingSilver animal-shaped pendants, hemp, and quite a bit of beadwork. I'vealso love working with sculpey to create my own cabochons to use onunique necklaces. Were you saying that you like treefrogs? I dont thinki have any jewelry with treefrogs right now, but i've got a few treefrog print watercolors:

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sandhills_rabbits wrote:
Elf Mommy, thanks for the kind words! Are you an artist? Yousaid that it made your fingers itch to do some artwork yourself.....When I go to shows I sell individual signed and numbered prints for $15to $20, and I sold the framed, matted, signed and numbered prints for$50. I never would have imagined there was such a big demand forreptile and insect artwork, but the reptile & bug enthusiast'sreally welcome it.
Click to expand...
I don't know if I'd say whether I'm an official artist or not. I guess I'm an aspiring

artist. I designed the logo for the Chamber of Commerce in my home town. I've done

drawings and artwork for several websites. 75% of all gifts I give are artwork--

jewelry, sculpture, drawings. I've designed tattoos for hundreds of people (although

I could never stick a needle in someone myself). I've been dabbling in photography,

especially nature shots. One of my coworkers has asked me to illustrate a children's

book that she wrote. I'm doing it in cut paper, and having a blast. I do Pysanki every

spring (Ukranian Egg Dying).

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So...um...am I an artist? Well, maybe. :D In between being a District Standards

Coach, Wife, Bunny Owner, Boxer Owner and Full-Time Mom (to one who got sick all

over the floor in various parts of the house last night). I always figured, if I had 5

years to really just do artwork and be prolific, I may be able to get set up in the art

world and my local community (which is trying hard to be an artists community). Then

I could do artwork full time. At this point... it just hasn't happened. I can't afford to

stay home.
 
Oh my gosh... Elf Mommy, those eggs that youcreated are just breathtaking!!!! Are you an artist.... Definatly!! Nodoubt about it!! And in my opinion, from everything you've accomplishedI'd say that your very successful at it!!!

The Pysanki Eggs are just amazing.... do you ever sell them? I knowabout three trillion people in my family that would love those!
 
My husband was out of work for 6 months. During that time, my coworkers stepped

up to the plate (and it was my FIRST year in the job) and helped me with bills and

food and presents at holidays for my kids. As a thank you to all of them, I made an

egg for each of them (over 30--some not pictured). I have never sold them. Ukranian

legend says that as long as women are still making pysanki, the world will go on. :)

They are often given as Valentine presents and Wedding Presents. I still have eggs

that I made when I was 5years old. :) It is a family tradition. I will be making them

again this year, and will be demonstrating the technique at an art festival at one of

the middle schools I work at. :D

Bunny Egg from when I was 5

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Cross Egg I made when I was 6

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How do you make prints of your artwork?
 
Elf Mommy, the legend about Pysanki is wonderful!I'm sure that everyone that you've made eggs for are so appreciative oftheir beauty and time that you've put into each and every one. It wasamazing seeing pictures of the eggs that you made when you were 5 and6.... the Bunny egg you made goes to show that you must have had agreat love of rabbits your whole life! :)

How long did it take for you to learn the craft of creating thesebeautiful works of art? I've never learned that particular craft, but Iused to paint eggs with a very small paint brush and acrylic paints. Icreated an egg for a Egg Campaign, you know that incredible, edible eggthing? Well the egg i painted was in a local show and it was a sunsetscene with the sandhills, buffalo, and little tiny covered wagons onit. I gave it to my mother some years back, and hope it's not broken!lol....

When i make prints of my artwork I take them to a specialty print shopand have them professionally done. I recently was in a bind and went toKinko's for prints.... BIG mistake. I spent a lot of money, and thequality made me want to cry!!

 
sandhills_rabbits wrote:
Elf Mommy, the legend about Pysanki is wonderful! I'm surethat everyone that you've made eggs for are so appreciative of theirbeauty and time that you've put into each and every one. It was amazingseeing pictures of the eggs that you made when you were 5 and 6.... theBunny egg you made goes to show that you must have had a great love ofrabbits your whole life! :)

How long did it take for you to learn the craft of creating thesebeautiful works of art? I've never learned that particular craft, but Iused to paint eggs with a very small paint brush and acrylic paints. Icreated an egg for a Egg Campaign, you know that incredible, edible eggthing? Well the egg i painted was in a local show and it was a sunsetscene with the sandhills, buffalo, and little tiny covered wagons onit. I gave it to my mother some years back, and hope it's not broken!lol....

When i make prints of my artwork I take them to a specialty print shopand have them professionally done. I recently was in a bind and went toKinko's for prints.... BIG mistake. I spent a lot of money, and thequality made me want to cry!!
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My mother is an art teacher, so I've always done her "examples" for herart classes. I have fun going to visit her, knowing I'll be asked tocreate the latest project for her classes to look at.

I have loved bunnies for that long! :) Ever since I can remember, Iasked for a bunny every Sunday whenI prayed (ok, probably notright, but no one had ever told me it was wrong). I wished for a bunnyevery time I blew candles out, and nothing else, until I was 12 (when Igot Brindy). l was meant to be a bunny mom.

The egg you painted sounds beautiful! Do you have any pictures of it?I'd love to see it. Working with eggs definitely takes a gentle andsteady hand. I've been practicing since I was five ;). hehe I used tobe very adamant that I never would use someone else's design, and I hadto make my own. When I was doing multiple eggs this past year, Ifigured I would go with the standard designs, change the colors, andjust make it as perfect as I could. I still had mistakes, of course.

How much does it cost to have prints made? Do you do your own mattingand framing? If they do it, how much does that cost? I know when I'vetried to have things matted and framed it seems to cost a fortune. Itmakes sense why art costs so much to buy with as much as they charge todo the simple stuff.

This is an egg I made in high school. The egg is framed with lillies as a border.
 
Daughter Stephanie had taken one of those eggdecorating classes, she really enjoyed it. The ones you guyshave done are beautiful!

Pam
 
Elf Mommy, actually the prints are prettyreasonable. With the frame and mat, I'm able to still set prices atshows where I can move "inventory" quickly and still make a profit oneach sale. What i've found is that it's much cheaper to have moreprints made, then to just get one or two. You've gotta love quantitydiscounts!!! About the framing and mat, I do it myself.... I think thathelps keep overhead low.

It must have been so wonderful to have a mother that was an artteacher!!!! I bet you had the chance to do some amazing projects inaddition to learning the Egg Painting.

I think i can get a picture of the egg i painted, it might be a coupledays, but when i've got one I'll post it. I also painted an egg for mymother-in-law that is a bright robin egg blue with pink roses all overit....

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It's not as detailed as the creations that you make, but I had fundoing it. I shaded the roses so they have varying shades of pink, andthen I used a glitter acrylic on top of the roses to add somesparkle....
 
Elf Mommy, I love the egg you made in highschool! The colors are so pretty and vibrant against the dark background.

I also especially love the 5th egg in the top row, the 8th egg in the 2nd row, and the 4th egg in the bottom row!
 
Oh that's a gorgeous egg! Reminds me of Cloisonné.

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It always interests me to see which eggs people like. :) In February I will start

making the eggs again. If you have yahoo, let me know in a PM what your nickname

is. I do the eggs live on camera for my friends to watch. :)
 
Wow! That would be so interesting to be able to watch as you paint the eggs! That is so neat that you do that.....
I'm not up on the whole "instant messenger" thing because I've neverreally used it before, but I'll have to learn how to use it so I canwatch and see how you create your works of art!!!
 
Well, as a preview, it's not really painting, it's Batiking.

I blow out the contents of the egg.

I wash the egg with vinegar and then hold the egg in a tissue so the oils of my hands don't get on the egg.

I sometimes draw guides on the egg with pencil.

I then take beeswax and a kistka (drawing tool) and draw with wax the parts of the egg that I want to stay white.

I then dye the egg in a light color, say... yellow.

I then use the kistka to draw whatever parts of the egg I want to remain yellow.

The egg is then dyed in another color, say... green.

I then use the kistka to draw anything I want to stay green.

This process is repeated with many different colors of dyes. Thefinishing dye can be a deep red, a royal blue, a dark green, brown, orblack. I favor the black because I like the striking effect.

I also enjoy doing the two color eggs...They are so interesting even though they only use one color.


At the end, I melt off all of the wax over a candle flame, and thenvarnish the eggs so they're nice and shiny! This year I tried out hotgluing findings on the top and bottom (something I will do a littledifferently this year) and attaching embroidery floss so they can behung.
 
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