My Desk Companions

I have a big black wooden organizer that sits to the right of my laptop, and on of top of that I have some buddies that keep me company while I work, play, and create! I just received a new addition to my collection, so I thought I'd introduce you to the gang. Here's a group shot:

From left to right we have: Wolfy the wolf pup, Oso the bear, Jazz Kitty the beanie baby, Illia, and Lirael. I an also see a little baby food jar I stick odd beads into to someday possibly use, and some candy canes from Christmas I've never eaten :P

Wolfy was given to my brother and sister of the heart, John and Becca. We all love wolves and whenever I see it I think of them! Oso was from my brother and his new wife (then fiance) Tanya. Jazz Kitty is from my dear best friend Mel.

The two art dolls are the work of Meri - they are what I really want to show off! First the one I've had for a little over a year - Lirael.

Lirael is my art muse. I loves her so much! If you look closely (don't think you can see this all in the photo) she has earrings, a necklace, bracelet, and anklet. And she's purple. Isn't that perfect for me? We work well together.

Meri also made Illia for me:

She's my D&D character, bard, and an adventurer. In this shot you can see her bow (her quiver's on her back), her short sword, and her harp :) Isn't she cute? She's going to be working with Lirael to give me some more geeky ideas to work into my art. 

I love my desk companions! Do you have anything special on your desk? 

Thursdays Spotlight on Kamila's Dolls

First, just let me say, I know it's not Thursday! Sorry, I usually try to get this post out the day after the show and life got in the way this week. When I had such a great artist too! 

Thursday night we met Kamila. Kamila is an art dolls artist and you can find her work and all her links at www.woodedwoods.com. She told us that her husband is very supportive of her art, and he not only does all the web-site building, he also helps her take the stories that form in her head and put them down on paper to publish with the dolls! That sounds like a wonderful partnership. 

Now Kamila's art dolls are not what you might typically imagine when you think of an art 

doll. Through away all your previous concepts, these are NOT your mother's dolls! Which is probably why I love them so much. 

Kamila has an eye for the strange and the creepy. One of her inspirations (and it shows!) is Tim Burton. We were all telling her on Thursday that we look forward to the day when we can say "I know her before she went to work on Tim Burton's movies!" Her works so incredible that I can see that as a real possibility. 

When asked about her prior art experience Kamila told us that she's always loved to draw, and that's still an important component in her work today. She often sketches out a piece before she begins work. One thing that amazed me was that she had never really worked with polymer clay before she began making dolls! That floored me considering how detailed her work is. I also enjoyed hearing about how she searches in thrift stores for the right fabrics and components to complete her work. 

Kamila works full time as well as devoting time to her art work. This means she often works late into the night when the inspiration strikes her because there is simply no other time to do it! Lately production has been slowed a bit because she's pregnant (congratulations!) but she does have one piece up on eBayright now that you can purchase.

I hope you can join us for next weeks interview Thursday night at 9pm EST - it will be a lot of fun!

~Ruthie~

http://roseworksjewelry.byhand.me