New Year's Eve reminders

Not all of us get to party tonight. Please spare a thought for our first responders, who'll be on the job to keep us safe!

Holiday Cheer for Our First Responders, a painting by Teresa Ascone.

Be nice to them at checkpoints, and designate a driver, please!

Keeping us safe this Holiday Season, a poster by Teresa Ascone.

They're working hard tonight! Don't give them more to do!

IMAGE: Many thanks to Teresa Ascone via Fine Art America for her Holiday Cheer for Our First Responders painting, and to Teresa Ascone's "Holiday Art" Pinterest page for her Keeping Us Safe this Holiday Season poster. Thanks to Bonfire Designs for the EMS greeting.

On picking up the pieces and moving forward

What is this week? Specifically, what’s the middle of this week? 

It’s the moment when the balance shifts, from Solstice-and- Christmas-stuff toward New-Year thinking.

It’s the time of the week when, if we’re back at work from a break, we’re picking up the projects we’d temporarily laid aside, and gearing back up for business-as-usual. Many of us are dealing with a pile of deferred work that’s been stacking up while we were gone, just waiting for our return to trigger the avalanche.

If we’re still on holiday break, we’re cleaning up the shreds of wrapping paper and ribbon, and deciding if it’s time to start taking down the decorations yet. If we had a live Christmas tree, it’s probably turning into a dry, brittle fire hazard. We’re living on leftovers (and more than a little bored with them by now). If the Christmas jigsaw hasn’t been fully pieced together yet it might be time to give up and put it back in its box.

The Unfinished Puzzle, by Daniel McLean

Some of us are traveling home. Some of us are still trying to figure out where to put stuff. Some of us are relieved that we survived for another year, while others are so depressed we’re not sure we did survive.

But the one thing about this point in the week is that while we’re making our Gotta-Go Soup* or Googling eco-friendly things to do with our old Christmas tree, we’re also shifting gears and moving toward the dawn of a New Year. What will 2017 bring? 

Well, some things are a given. A new Presidential administration, for example. That there will be more winter in the Northern Hemisphere before we get started on spring. That time passes and change happens.

Other stuff is less predictable, but when things happen they must be dealt with (even “good” stress is still stress). Perhaps a loss or gain in your family (or your waistline), a change in jobs, locations, or marital status. A new opportunity. A health issue.

Stuff happens. What we do about the stuff that happens is the test.

I hope you’ll move into the New Year from a place of wholeness and peace, but not all of us are so blessed. Whatever place you’re in, today, there are things you can do, steps you can take, plans you can make (although always with at least a Plan B, because life is like that).

I hope your plans will include two things:

(1) Being good to yourself
No one is as big a screw-up as they sometimes think they are, and everyone deserves a break sometimes. I don’t mean just pampering yourself, as with a “spa day,” though if that’s really what you need I hope you can find a way to manage it. I mean choosing good paths for yourself that lead to a better-for-you way of life, whether that’s an improvement in diet, a set of priorities that allow more exercise, or the setting of healthier personal boundaries.

(2) Finding or nurturing a passion
Without meaningful purpose in your life nothing is worth the effort. The needs of the world are many, and the challenges are great. We cannot solve all problems, but we can work with like-minded others to solve the particular problems that call to our hearts. We’ve recently had Boxing Day as a reason to consider what causes we value and believe in; now, more than ever, we must find ways to support and protect the things, the people, and the foundational principles we cherish the most.

So take this middle-of-the-week, picking-up-the-pieces day, and consider well how you will meet the New Year. We can go forward in despair, repeating old patterns hopelessly, or we can go forward with determination to hold the line on certain things and push forward for improvement on others.

Each of us gets to choose.

***

*Gotta-Go Soup:
If it’s Got To Go, it’s a candidate for Gotta-Go Soup (a variation on Leftovers Supreme). This is my grandmother's recipe:
(1) FLAVOR-MATCHING: Assemble your leftovers. Evaluate what flavors would go together best, and separate them out (put the others in the fridge or the compost/garbage, as appropriate). Figure out what kind of stock or base would best compliment the flavors you’ve assembled.
(2) COOKING: Get out a big pot. Put it on the back burner filled with said stock or soup base. Reduce all your other selections to small, bite-size pieces, and put them in the pot, too. Heat it all up and simmer for at least an hour (smell up the house real good). Season to taste.
(3) EATING: Serve with warm, crusty French bread or other favored accompaniment. You might be surprised how good it tastes!

IMAGES: Many thanks to Life on the Buy Side for the photo of the daunting office paperwork backup, to the blog Meanders for the wrapping-paper wreckage photo, and to Daniel McLean and his Flickr Photostream for the image The Unfinished Puzzle (permission granted via a Creative Commons License). 
I appreciate the availability of the snowy highway photo (in Eden Prairie, MN--doesn't look quite so Edenic in this photo, though) from Minnesota Public Radio's Updraft blog. Many thanks also to the Buy a House Club for the image of the discarded Christmas Tree (from an article on better things to do with them), and to Inspiring Buzz for the quotation image about changes in one's life.
I greatly appreciate the quotation image about being tender with oneself from Helen Hirst's "Self Nurturing" Pinterest board, and to The Huffington Post for the Fabienne Fredrickson quote on passions as our calling. Finally, many thanks to Video Blocks for the photo of the soup pot.

How can we be both generous and wise?

The Artdog Quote of the Week

Today is not only Kwanzaa, but also Boxing Day in much of the English-speaking world. No, contrary to some of the stories I've heard, Boxing Day isn't called that because we bundle all our unwanted gifts back into their boxes and return them to the stores that day.

The name of the holiday comes from the alms boxes or the poor boxes that churches have put out over the centuries, to collect aid for the poor. In other words, the holiday seeks to honor and promote the tradition of charitable giving during the holidays.

Maybe you have some newly-received "Christmas money" fattening your pocketbook and would like to share some of it, or maybe you are seeking a nice tax deduction before the end of the year. Maybe you simply have the altruistic generosity of love for others overflowing in your heart (wouldn't that be lovely?).

Whatever your motivation, today is a traditional day for charitable giving. If that's your aim, then God bless you!

If you are in the habit of giving, you probably have your list of favorites already. Mine include our local animal shelter, the Great Plains SPCA, my church, Harvesters, The Nature Conservancy, the ASPCA, the Southern Poverty Law Center, K9s4Cops, and Wikipedia. I'd give more to the many deserving others in operation, but as I noted last week, all of us mortals are finite beings with finite resources. If I may disagree slightly with Anne Frank above, it is possible to impoverish yourself from giving, although the intrinsic benefits are many.

I hope you have your own list! But wherever you give, may I also suggest that you run it past The Charity Navigator (another excellent candidate for receiving donations, by the way), for a dose of clarity and realism before you invest too deeply? Unfortunately, wherever generous people seek to help others with their gifts, there also are unscrupulous people who seek only to enrich themselves in the name of "charity." The Charity Navigator helps us to be both generous and wise. 

Happy Boxing Day!

IMAGES: Many thanks to Inspired by Familia, by Mari Hernandez-Tuten, for the Anne Frank quote image. Her article includes some perceptive insights you also might find interesting. Many thanks to Period Oak Antiques for the photo of an alms box from about 1450; there are more views of it on the website. We now have more efficient ways to give, though no less need. The Charity Navigator logo is from the organization's website.

Christmas Blessings to all

IMAGE: Many thanks to the University of Alabama-Huntsville for this image.

Could this be how Santa does it?

Special Christmas Eve Artdog Image of Interest 

Does Santa have a special helper, Who makes sure he gets to all the children? You decide!

IMAGE: Many thanks to Fansided, for this image. It accompanies an article about this year's Dr. Who Christmas show.

Get drunk, light a fire, and eat dumplings or fruit! it's Winter Solstice!

It's the nadir of the year. The longest night, the shortest day. What're you gonna do?

What else? Have a party!

That's apparently been the Winter Solstice solution of choice for cultures all over the Northern Hemisphere since at least Neolithic times.

The famous triple-spiral design incised inside the Newgrange tomb, popularly thought to be Celtic, actually predates the Celts by several thousand years. It bears a striking resemblance to sun symbols seen elsewhere in northern Europe. The opening of the tomb precisely frames the rising sun of Winter Solstice.

Humans have undoubtedly been aware of the Winter Solstice for much longer than 5,000 years, but some of the earliest evidence that they took it seriously can be found at Newgrange, Ireland, where a Neolithic passage tomb that is thought to be at least 5,000 years old is aligned with the rising Winter Solstice sun.

I can't find any archaeological evidence that those early Irish folk had alcoholic beverages, but it's fairly likely. Fermentation is a process that happens naturally. Pottery jars discovered at Jiahu in China, that date back as early as 7000 BCE (about 9,000 years old) were found to contain the residue of a fermented beverage made from honey, rice, and hawthorn fruit, so it's not hard to imagine that other people may also have created fermented drinks, but stored them in less long-lasting containers.

Patrick E. McGovern discovered that these 9,000-year-old pottery jars from Jiahu in China contained the world's earliest known fermented drink.

Those are two of the four essential ingredients for a universally human Winter Solstice celebration: (1) knowledge that the Winter Solstice is a thing that happens, and (2) alcoholic beverages to drink. The other two are (3) Food for feasting, and (4) fires for warmth and light.

Maria Kvilhaug offers a detailed description of Old Norse Jól, or Yule traditions and cosmology. "The Yule celebration as a whole was often referred to as “drinking jól”, as in “to drink” yule. This descriptive term strongly suggests that drink was an important part of the celebration," she wrote.

Greek Poseidon (left) and Roman Saturn (right) each were honored by their devotees with several days of drinking and feasting at the Winter Solstice.

The Norse weren't the only ones who partied hearty on Winter Solstice. The ancient Greeks celebrated the Festival of Poseidon, god of the sea, with several days of drinking and parties. Perhaps better known these days is the Roman Saturnalia, celebrating a different god, but at the same time of year, and in pretty much exactly the same way--with feasting and lots of drinking.

In eastern Asia, the Winter Solstice festival of Dōngzhì focuses more on food than drink, with dumplings served more often in the north and dumpling-like filled rice balls called tangyuan served more often in the south.

Dōngzhì delicacies seem to focus on rice flour wrapped around assorted fillings. The main point: they are all warm and tasty.

The Iranian tradition of Yaldā Night also centers on food, especially red-colored fruits, and sweets. It is a gathering of family and friends to share the last fruits of summer and prepare for the leaner period of winter. The gathering continues until after midnight, the middle part of the year's longest night, thus seeing themselves through an inauspicious time into a more hopeful period. Another traditional practice is reading or reciting poetry (especially the poetry of Divan-e-Hafez, sometimes used for divination of the future).

Hafez poetry and fruits help carry this Persian lady safely through Yaldā Night.

The fourth ingredient for a quintessential Winter Solstice celebration--especially one in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere--is a good, warm bonfire to light up the night and keep bad spirits at bay.

Most of us know about the Yule Log, which was adopted as a Christmas tradition throughout much of northern Europe. This is a large log, sometimes a whole tree, burnt through the course of the Yule season. If there was anything left, it sometimes would be kept to light the following year's log. 

Large outdoor bonfires were often a feature of Yule, Beltane, midsummer and Halloween, in pre-Christian traditions. More recent festivals have combined the bonfire idea with the even more widespread and popular tradition of the Christmas Tree. After Christmas old, dried-up trees from many households (fire hazards, by that time) are sometimes brought together and burned in a public event.

San Francisco's Richmond-area "Friends of the Rootless Forest" safely burn discarded Christmas trees on Ocean Beach for their annual "Post-Yule Pyre" event.

IMAGES: 
Many thanks to Knowth.com for the Newgrange tomb image (from a book by Michael and Claire O'Kelly; I couldn't find a photographer's credit). 
Many thanks to Patrick E. McGovern, the biomolecular archaeologist who did the analysis of the Jiahu pottery, for both the photo (thanks also to Z. Juzhong and the Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology), and for an interesting article about the find.
Many thanks to Gods and Monsters for the image of Poseidon (there's an informative article at this link, too), and to Antiques.com for the photo of the Carthaginian marble statue of Saturn and the accompanying article about it.
I am indebted to Your Chinese Astrology for the photos of traditional Dōngzhì foods, and the informative article that accompanies them. 
Many thanks to Wikimedia Commons for the photo of the Persian lady reading Hafez while surrounded by fruits on Yalda Night. 
And finally, many thanks to the Richmond District Blog for the bonfire photo by "ampoda" (sorry no link available), and the article about the 2012 event by Sara B. 

How do we choose the gifts we give?

The Artdog Quote of the Week

We can never give as much as a person can imagine, in material terms. That's because (to borrow a line from Han Solo) everyone "can imagine quite a lot," but we mere mortals are finite beings with finite resources, no matter what we might wish to give.

Of course, if the recipient can be expected only to calculate material value, we are talking about a very shallow soul, indeed. I hope you don't have too many of those on your list (if you do, perhaps you should consider a few life-changes in the New Year?).

For most of us, giving gifts out of obligation, perhaps, but we hope also with love or at least respect, the key is thinking our way through to finding a personalized expression of our understanding of that person. That is rarely easy, and the effort should be valued far more greatly than we usually do.

If you're still on the quest for those perfect gifts, I wish you good hunting.

IMAGE: Many thanks to PeaceFlash, via QuotesGram.

Repurposed wraps: "second careers" for a variety of items

Artdog Images of Interest 

Do you believe in second chances? Second acts? Second careers? How about onsite recycling?  Today I have a lineup of repurposed items you might want to reconsider for their gift-wrapping value. You might be surprised and delighted with some creative ways to re-use things that it's possible you have already lying around.

And anyway, it's almost Christmas! Who has time to go out for wrapping supplies, when there are options available at our fingertips--if only we have the creativity to see them!

Wrap it in . . . 
In Thursday's post I shared the idea of using fabric scraps in place of wrapping paper (among other ideas), but those aren't the only non-traditional wraps you can utilize.

Remember printed-paper newspapers? Well, some of us old fossils still like to read that form of news. Among their dozens of other secondary uses, they can make attractive, economical gift wrap.

Here's another blast from the past: paper maps! Yes, we used to rely on them to get us places. Now they can enjoy a second life as gift-wrap. Designer Bryan Patrick Flynn offers an example here, and suggests we might choose a map of a specific place the gift-recipient knows and loves.

Designer Denise Sharp recycled these old film tins for gift-enclosures, and gave them a special look with a well-chosen ribbon. Here's a creative challenge: what old baskets, boxes, tins, or jars do you have lying around? Could they be exactly the creative wrap-up you were looking for?

Top it off with . . . 
Accents and flourishes make all the difference when your goal is a stylish presentation. Ribbons, bows, and other tie-ons can make even ordinary butcher paper or kraft paper stylish. Here are a few recycled creative toppers to brighten up your holiday gifts.

Is your old Scrabble set a few tiles shy of a full box? Recycle the rest as eye-catching gift box name tags, as suggested here by designer Bryan Patrick Flynn, then hint to your family that you need a new Scrabble game! Don't want to break up your perfectly good, complete set? Scrabble tiles are also for sale as craft items, though that kind of defeats the "onsite recycling" idea!

Here's another creative idea from Bryan Patrick Flynn: use paint chips as colorful gift-box tags. Cut them into shapes, strips, or use as they are, with printed or permanent-marker names added. 

It might seem like a "well, duh!" once we mention it, but if you've done much gift-wrapping you probably have lots of little scraps of cool-looking wrapping paper left over. Recycle them as eye-catching accents, if there's not enough left to cover the whole box. This example comes from designer Morgan Levine.

In the right creative hands, all sorts of odd bits and bobs can become attractive tie-ons to set off a gift package. These are old pieces of artificial greenery and cinnamon sticks, from Handmade Holidays,. You might also consider the potential in old toys, cut-outs from Christmas cards received in past years, old Christmas ornaments, or pinecones from old holiday wreaths.

I hope this series on creative gift-wrapping ideas has helped stoke your creative fires and brightened your holiday a little. Yes, I know it's another whole week till Christmas--but after seeing a good idea, making it happen takes time. I hope I've offered up these ideas in time for you to actually try some. Happy wrapping!

IMAGES: Many thanks to the Honolulu Advertiser, for the illustration of several ways newspapers make creative gift-wrap. Thanks also to HGTV, whose "Holiday Gift Wrap Ideas" collection continues to inspire. And a big thank-you to designers Bryan Patrick Flynn, Denise Sharp, and Morgan Levine, as well!

The fabric of the imagination

Bonus Artdog Images of Interest

This month's pre-Christmas Images of Interest have focused on creative strategies for wrapping gifts. In today's "bonus round," we'll look at creative ways to re-use various kinds of fabric and notions, to brighten up your gifts with a creative wrapping touch.

H. Camille Smith uses leftover fabric trim to add texture and color to gift-wrap.

Wrapping a shipping tube? Use a fabric remnant, and a scrap of ribbon from the notions box. H. Camille Smith came up with this one, too.

Wrap your boxes in paper or fabric, and finish them off with a yarn pom-pom, for a unique look. Thank Marian Parsons for this realization of a popular DIY craft idea.

Layla Palmer made these mantelpiece decorations with fabric-accent gift ties and upholstery fabric wrap. What works for the mantel could also work under the tree.

Got a raggedy old sweater you never wear anymore? Re-purpose the knitted fabric as a cozy holiday wrap for a candle in a jar (as here, from H. Camille Smith), a tin of cookies, a candy jar, or other gift that could use a warm and snuggly look. Tie with a scrap of ribbon, et voilà!

IMAGES: Many thanks, first of all to HGTV, whose "Holiday Gift Wrap Ideas" collection continues to inspire. Many thanks also to designers H. Camille Smith, Marian Parsons, and Layla Palmer, whose ideas made this post possible.

Does your gift-wrap do impressions?

Artdog Images of Interest

While researching creative gift-wrapping strategies for this month's series, I discovered an interesting sub-genre of creative wrapping approaches: gifts that look like something else.

Mary Dacuma's creative gift-wrap evokes a chimney with stockings--your very own Santa-stop, whether your home has a fireplace or not.

Pair your chimney-and-stockings with a Santa suit, and everyone can say "Ho-ho-ho!" (also by Mary Dacuma)

No one will mind if this turns out to be a "stuffed shirt"--in fact, I suspect they'll be pleased. 

Your "Christmas shirt" can also sport suspenders . . . and candy "buttons," too.

And speaking of candy, what sweeter way to disguise rolls of quarters (a great stocking-stuffer idea!) than this candy-roll look, attributed to Martha Stewart?

Although these clever disguises won't fool anyone, I bet they'll amuse some of their recipients--and the givers will get extra "points" for creative approaches. Challenge yourself: what kind of creative "impressions" can your gift-wrap do?

Blogger's note: Life intervened lat week, and although I had planned this topic to be last Saturday's post, I never got it posted. So sorry! But it's still not Christmas yet, so I figured this would still be timely. I hope you agree!

IMAGES: Many thanks to Mary Dacuma and E-How, for the chimney-with-stockings and Santa-suit gift wrap ideas. For instructions on how to re-create these looks, check the E-How page. The "stuffed" Christmas shirt and the shirt-with-suspenders gift wrap ideas are both from Lawrie Gullion's "Christmas" Pinterest page. The quarter rolls disguised as candy are attributed to Martha Stewart, though I couldn't find a direct link to this photo on her page of gift-wrapping wonders; I found this photo on the Room-Mom 101 Pinterest page.

Which are the best gifts?

The Artdog Quote of the Week 

Kinda hard to argue.

IMAGE: Many thanks to the Search Quotes forum.

Remembered at the end of the day

The Artdog Quote of the Week

On Saturday I made the point that "whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, The Winter Solstice, Brumalia, Yule, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Boxing Day, or anything else, it's likely you're [giving] presents in December." Gift-giving is at the heart of many cultural traditions in December, and (partially, but) not only because a large segment of our economy depends on it.

Even the best material gifts are only the outward symptom of an inner state, or they are meaningless. When the inner joy is stripped away, all we have left is an ugly exercise in greed.

Gordon Gekko was wrong. There's a reason why greed is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and it's because ultimately it is bad for us: bad in fundamental ways that wisdom instinctively knows, but we often do our best to ignore. Listen to the voice of the wisdom within you. Hold it close to your heart this holiday season, if you want to seek the truest joys. 

IMAGE: Many thanks to Suzi Istvan, on the Splendidly Curious blog.

5 slick tips to make your own wrapping paper

The Artdog Images of Interest

It's December (I know. Already!) Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, The Winter Solstice, Brumalia, Yule, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Boxing Day, or anything else, it's likely you're wrapping presents in December. So this year, on the first three Saturdays of December, the Artdog's offering some creative gift-wrapping solutions.

1. Designer Marian Parsons used stamping to create this wrapping paper--but this only scratches the surface of the possibilities with kraft paper, butcher paper, newsprint, etc., and stamps. In this case Parsons used a wood block stamp and white paint, but those are more like guidelines. Your imagination is the limit.

The ideas in this post involve, as you see, some personal craft capabilities, and require some advance planning. That's why I'm running it first. Gives you more time to plan, and execute said plans.

2. Here's another brilliant idea from Marian Parsons: making decorations with stencils. Use butcher paper for this, so the paper won't pucker. Parsons uses diluted acrylic paint. You'll probably want to make some test runs on scraps of butcher paper before you take on a big piece, to get your mixture just right. Otherwise your stenciling efforts could get really smeary (voice of experience, here).

Don't hog the glory. Most of these ideas are easy enough that kids can do them. If you're going to make a mess anyway--and if you have the odd child rattling around the house--by all means, deal them in! (Even if they're not odd, they'll probably enjoy it).

3. Speaking of children, here's a project that's actually designed for them. First, wrap your boxes in plain blue construction paper.The uniform round circles are made from a pencil eraser, dipped in diluted white craft paint then stamped onto make the design--snowflakes, a snowman's body. Then add permanent-marker arms, eyes and mouth, and a wedge of orange paper glued on for a nose, and a snowman appears. Of course, it's okay for adults to do this project, too. Thank designer Morgan Levine for this one!

4. Here's another ultra-kid friendly idea from Marian Parsons: Potato prints! Never heard of them? It's not only easy, it's a lot of fun. Parsons offers step-by-step instructions for this project here. You've never had such brilliant wrapping paper! Give it a try--even if you don't have any kids around. Big people can excel at this, too.

5. Here's another stamping project, only this time you're using a wine cork, cut to make the oval shape of a Christmas light. Might want to make several, perhaps one for each color. Wrap your boxes in butcher paper or sheets of unprinted newsprint. Then brush the paint onto the cork stamp(s) and alternate colors in a row (maybe you could "cheat" and add a pencil line to follow). After they dry, go back and darken or draw in the line with a permanent marker. This genius idea is from Morgan Levine.

As you can see, these five ideas all require gathering things up in advance, and planning a work-space that can withstand a little wet paint. But with some advance planning and acquisitions, I think you'll find these are fun and easy creative ways to make wrapping paper that will most definitely impress. Have fun!

IMAGES: I must confess, all of these images and ideas were really easy to find--they're from a gallery of 50 Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas presented on HGTV's website. Many thanks for all the great ideas, and for rounding up all the bright-eyed designers!

"Coming Through!" multiple-original paper sculpture joins my Etsy lineup

I thought you might like to know I have a new limited edition multiple original listed in my Etsy shop.

I've listed two Artist's Proofs of the image Coming Through!, which features an assertive unicorn powering through a patch of day lilies.

These particular Artist's Proofs represent a very short run of two. The variations are lighter-yellow lilies than I've decided to offer in the eventual edition of 25, and a "floating" oval that is cut out and elevated above the backing.

I originally created the Coming Through! image in 2012, but I've been playing with variations on it ever since. In all its variations, it has been well-received at the science fiction conventions where it has been exhibited, but I'm hoping the Etsy listing will gain me a larger audience. Why not offer something in time for Christmas, right? (If I can get things matted, I hope to offer more soon).

Here's a look at some of the pieces I must cut out and sculpt, to create a Coming Through!

As with any of my multiple originals, each of these pieces is unique. Even when working from a digital output, the cutting, sculpting and assembly process requires individual, hands-on work. No two are exactly alike, although I do try to create a consistent edition once I find a combination that works for me.

The proofing process is the way I find that combination. These two proofs ended up not being practical for an entire edition, but I hope their unique qualities also will appeal to art-fanciers.

I score the back of each piece, then turn it over and work the front, each time I create a piece of paper sculpture.

I was an undergraduate art major with a Printmaking emphasis, so creating these multiple originals is second-nature for me. I spent a good part of my young adult life as a graphic designer (when I wasn't being an art teacher, a mom, or a writer), and I still use the Creative Suite to manipulate my images digitally.

If you count the 2011 Mail Piece Project's five multi-dimensional artworks as my first three-dimensional multiple originals (as I do--click on the links for glimpses of the New Year's, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter Mail Pieces--dang, I didn't document that series as well as I thought I had!), then Coming Through! is my seventh foray into multiple original imagery. The sixth (or first, if you count stand-alone pieces that aren't part of a series) was Common Cliff Dragon--Male, which I'll list on Etsy and feature here once I've gotten mats and spacers cut.

IMAGES: All images are photos taken by me, of pieces of my own artwork. You're welcome to download and re-blog them, but please include a link back and an attribution. Many thanks!