It's been so long since I made a new octopus stash jar, but YAY snuck one in before the craft fair next week :)

A post shared by brandee blank (@brandeeblank) on May 4, 2018 at 4:48pm PDT

Small Listings & other thoughts

I have been in the (slow and arduous) process of updating my shop with some small listings that I have never posted before.  It is SO MUCH work for such tiny items.  But with the craft fair coming up and an itch to get some stuff out there, slowly but surely things are going up.  So far I only have my sari earrings and some of the small faux fairy gardens posted.  This past weekend I worked on re-stringing some of my older pendants that I was never really happy with how I presented them.  They are next on the docket!

I've been way more into getting into the embroidery game lately.  I've got four five six projects that are all started and at various stages of being done.  Here is a little sneaky peak of (yet another) cicada project, nearly finished and update coming:

I've also just realized that I never posted my completed embroidered and beaded dewey spider web inspired necklace because I never took a picture of it.  I'll get to that in the next few days

Special shout out to the lovely woman I just had a chit-chat with at Peet's.  Sometimes all it takes is a few nice words from someone that turns out to be encouragement enough to update a much neglected blog.  Thanks Barbee!

It's been 6 months??

Holy shoot I had no idea so much time had passed since my last post!  I haven't been doing much in the way of making (had surgery so that took a big chunk of my life ) and I came out of that on more of an embroidery kick than working in polymer.  Guess it is image dump time!  I'll start with my latest first.

Embroidery:

Embroidered stuffed cicada inspired bug pin

9 inch long embroidered and stuff beetle wall hanging

X-mas gifties for my nieces:

Mermaid tail necklaces

Ocean waves jewelry set

Group gift special order:

Ocean textures rings

Buncha jars:

Journals:

Succulent necklace: 

Well seeing it all laid out like this I made more stuff then I thought since I last posted.

Rick & Morty Fan Art

I was commissioned last month to make  two Rick & Morty jars.  The task was left open ended at first and after talking to my client we came up with a Mister Meeseeks jar, and an Ants-in-my-Eyes Johnson jar.

I tackled Meeseeks first.  I knew I wanted to do the Meeseeks box and then a variety of Mr. Meeseeks around the bottom.  For reference for the non-fans out there:

The fist version of the jar came out thusly:

Doing the 'box' graphic as a round lid proved to be difficult and the final version here is the product of 3 trials that ended up in the garbage.  I also wasn't 100% satisfied with the characters around the body once it was done, so went ahead and produced what my second idea had been from the get-go:

The box top is amazingly easy once you are working on the 5th one, heh.

The one I love the best and really wanted to keep (seeing as I am also a  Rick & Morty fan) was the one based on this unfortunate soul:

My original thought was to have the bottom section appear as if he was on fire too (something that happens later in the episode) but I learned that I suck at making fire so left it alone.  Et voila!

Super love this guy!

A Succulent Problem

Well, I don't know if it is quite a problem. YET.  I love succulents so much.  They are such hearty, lovely plants in all their shapes and sizes.  I am not an expert on the plump little beauties, but I do know that when I go to my local succulent nursery, I leave with a box full of babies and end up with a mudroom full to the brim of new plantings.

On my last journey, I got a whole bunch of little interesting cacti too that had crest mutations - something I never really heard of before.  So now my mudroom has such lovelies as this joining the ranks of my succulents:

I also got this weirdo plant that looks like alien finger suckers on the end.  Such wonderful strangeness.

You can see a couple of my clay critters hanging out in the planters there.

Since I went a little nutty buying new plants, I decided to cull my leggy plants that have grown crazy over the last three years by propagating the cut heads and replanting them in time for the annual craft fair I run.  So, these little monsters (once I get some moss added) are headed out to new homes next week:


I'm not gonna lie - I hope these don't sell out.  I want to put them back in the mudroom!

My succulent game is set to be pretty strong this year at the fair.  Aside from these real succulent mini-gardens, I am also coming stocked to the gills with faux-succulent mini plantings and jewelry.  I have mini clay gardens in shells, watches, and jars.  There will also be succulent jewelery in the form of  necklaces, rings, and pins.  I'm super excited!
(clicky for bigger images, or just go to my flickr gallery)

Oh and PS, this one is NOT for sale... its a proof of concept that I am madly in love with.  I will likely make one to go into my etsy shop eventually though!

Busy End'o' Feb Weekend

I had an eclectic weekend!

Made this fuzzy stash jar monster man!

And this weird little snail jar.

And I tried to make some pendants.  I did a couple of florals I didn't take snaps of, and this strange little thing.  I think they are all destined to be decorative badge holders rather than necklaces to appeal to folk at the business office craft fair in May.

And now to start work on what I have in mind for this weekend!

Finding Purpose

I struggle with creativity and 'making' as most artists do from time to time.  With me, I am more often struggling than creating; this has been the case ever since I can remember.  Usually, I have to have external motivation to get going - an occasion to give a gift, running the craft fair and feeling like I also should have a table, or a custom order coming through my Etsy shop.  It makes me sad that I am not naturally motivated and prolific, but that is just who I am and maybe one day I will square with that.

Last month, I was clicking about on YouTube and a suggested video came up.  It was one of the hardest things I have ever watched, but I made myself do so because it is important to be informed about what really goes on in the world.  The video, a BuzzFeed mini-documentary, highlights the work of Marc Ching, founder of the Animal Hope & Wellness Foundation.  The documentary shows how Marc and his foundation are working to save dogs that are caught in the brutal Asian dog meat trade.  If you don't know the realities of the torture and butchery that goes on on a daily basis, then you too should make yourself watch the video, here.  Be advised it is heart-wrenching.

I have never been one to champion causes or go out of my way to be preachy about something.  But, this has hit me harder than anything has before.  I am not a wealthy person.  I don't have a lot of free time, and I don't live near the AHWF headquarters to do anything hands-on with them.  And I sure as hell don't have the stomach or mental fortitude to go into Asia and do something on the ground.

But what I can do is dedicate my creativity to this cause.

I have, therefore,  pledged the net profits of Brandee Blank Art to AHWF starting this year and have their blessing to use their name and logo on my websites and during craft fairs.  I feel really good about this decision. I feel like my art has meaning now.  I have been inspired to actually clean up my disaster of a craft room. I have a notebook filled with ideas and experiments - it is the first time I have even cracked open my notebook in months.  I even finished a couple of "no rush" back-burner custom pieces that I really didn't want to deal with.

All in all, I feel like this is one of the best decisions I have made.  It is helping to soothe my broken soul by giving me a way to help the Foundation and at the same time lending me inspiration where perhaps I wouldn't have had it otherwise.

Thank you, Marc.