Tag: Me and My Studio

Posted on by

Harry Potter and the Temple of Hug Me! Slugs

Before I forget…I set up a brand new fan page for Ruffing’s over on Facebook. I’m posting photos of art from each of us, and my videos, and anything new that comes up. Please “become a fan” if you are over that way. To those of you who already became a fan, thanks very much!

We are getting some snow and sleet here, the only snow we’ve had so far this year. I hurried to get a couple of “Hug Me! Slug” orders out ahead of the storm, just in case we got snowed in. There isn’t much snow, but I don’t know how the ice will be.

You might notice I am playing with my slug sizes. Super Slug is a little bigger than the other small-sized slugs. I’m still experimenting. I’d like to just have a small and large size, instead of having a medium in between. I might even leave the Super Slug a bit larger than the other slugs. He is super, after all.

I made his cape fuller too. It’s easier to do more with his cape when he’s bigger like this.

He came out about 8 1/2 to 8 3/4 inches tall, instead of the 7 1/4 inches of the small slugs. I might make them closer to 8 inches tall. I’m fiddling.

I also changed my web site photo. I asked my mom to take some new photos of me. I was going for more casual, a little more nerdy.

I find this one amusing, and the next really sad.

But I do think my eyes look really cool in that one, even if I look forlorn. Click on it and you’ll see what I mean. Kind of cat like, with the light center and the dark rim. It’s interesting how whatever you stand in front of brings out different aspects of your appearance.

These are one of three or four cheapo reading glasses I use. I have different strengths, depending on the focal length I need.

People have been having fun on Facebook talking about my photos. So far, I’ve been compared to Princess Diana….

and Harry Potter! Haha!

Posted on by

Retro Thursday

I had a bad headache today, and so I scanned some old photos to take my mind off of it, and off my frustration over the long delay in my sewing machine being repaired. This is me in the 12th grade. This photo was one of several proofs I still had from the photographer. Each one had a different expression, ranging from peaceful and dreamy-eyed to very annoyed. I think I was trying hard to be patient while posing for my senior photo. As I recall, that black thing they insisted all the girls wear was drafty and way too small for a self-conscious teenager. Somehow I managed to look composed anyway. Hm, this might be a theme here, me trying to be patient and maintain my composure. I’m going to be very happy once I don’t have a headache and I have my machine back in working (knock on wood) order.

A nice surprise for today, one of the sluggies I put up just yesterday jumped right into an Etsy treasury. Thanks, Aimee, for including her! This is Aimee’s very first treasury, and so that’s extra nice of her.

Posted on by

Goodbye to a(nother) decade

I’m still getting some orders out that were placed just before Christmas, and I’m recuperating from my mad dash before Christmas to get them all out on time. Already New Year’s is approaching, and it’s a big one this time around, the turning of a decade. At first I was reflecting on this past year, but when I tried to take in the whole decade, I realized a lot really has happened for me personally.

I moved from a place I’d lived all my life to a place I’d never even seen before, leaving some good friends behind, for a place where I knew no one. I moved from the country to the city, and back to the country again.

I hoped to “find someone” and maybe start a family. I met and dated a few people I wish I’d never met, yet alone dated. Yikes.

I watched ten more birthdays go by, and managed not to freak out about most of them.

I learned how to use a computer, and got one for the first time. I learned about digital photography and printing, and made my first art prints. I learned about web design, and launched two websites. I read lots and lots about having an online business, and started one.

I got a more fuel-efficient car, and a fancier sewing machine.

I painted a few paintings, and made a lot of toys.

I hope that I learned a few things, like to when to stick up for myself, and when to refuse to settle for what I don’t want, even during those times when it looks like that’s all there is available to me. I hope I learned that things change, and often for the better. I hope I learned to stop trying to be nice to everybody, all the time, especially if in doing so, I end up not being nice to myself. I hope I learned when to say no, without feeling guilty about it.

I lost three kitties to illnesses, and miss them very much. I gained three kitties that people left behind. “Nature hates a cat vacuum,” someone said to me. Still, I thought about Mr Laurence, when my last birthday came around. I wish he’d been here to eat a hole in the top of the cake when no one was looking, just like he always tried to do.

I got a clock for my last birthday, a kitty with a tail that wags, like I used to have as a child. I now have a clock in my workroom, something new for me too. I’ve got lots of ideas for things I want to try, including revisiting the idea of some illustrated stories for children. Most immediately, I’m planning to finish some art doll projects, try a couple of new toy sizes, and experiment with making some handmade books, just to see what I can do.

Most of all, as I look back on this decade, I hope that I won’t ever give up on myself or what I want to do. I don’t intend to. Sometimes I have some big disappointments, and quite a few small ones too. I want to keep trying, and I want to believe I can. I was just trying to finish that last sentence, but I think that’s what I mean, I want to believe “I can,” as opposed to “I can’t.” I want to believe in myself and in the presence of goodness in my life, and I want to have hope for the future. Thank you for following my journey, round-about as it may be at times. I wish you all the best on your journey as well. Happy new year to you, and all the best for the coming decade.