Afri-kill

Gotta make this short - burning through the last few minutes of internet time in Nairobi.

Along with tons and tons of live animals out in the Serenghetti - I saw zebra carcasses and tons of skulls from wildebeasts and waterbuffalos and even an elephant!

Showing some art

It’s been years since I was last in an art show. I am so bad at going out and promoting myself. So when someone contacts me to participate, I make an effort to put together something to display.

However, I always want to do more, add more details make things more grand that it’s easy to never finish a piece. It’s hard to say something is done and fine, I always want it to be more perfect. Somehow I was able to get four pieces completed and whisked away to the gallery.

I created a new style of two-headed mouse that is different than the ones I have been doing for years, and this one is displayed in a circus theme with the ringmaster presenting. I wanted to keep adding more and more “flair” kind of like the Winchester Mystery house I want to keep adding.

Also I was working on unicorn-ish mouse and called my friend Jeff in Russia to get some information on some of the native people in Siberia for research, and I must give him credit for the wooly idea for the Siberian horned mouse.

I’m not much one for self promotion, this is about as much as I do to tell people I got art out there… So, hey – I got art out there…

Oh, they have a page about the gallery and the show here:
www.myspace.com/decoupage

Frantic creativity

I was asked to be in an artshow, which is great, because I just don't go out and promote myself and look for opportunities, so it's important to strike when offered.

This one came when I was already frantically insanely busy. My plate already overflowing, I piled on more.

Not only that but, there was only 2-3 weeks time to prepare all new creations to display! It's a sideshow themed show which is perfect for me, and I am spending every waking minute building little dioramas for my little creatures.

I'll get some sleep next week.

mucho multi-tasking

I just moved, things are still in boxes.

I'm taking a class, and seem to have tons of homework.

On top of that, it seems like every shop that carries my critters is asking for more -- and -- I just got approached to include some of my art in an artshow on circus sideshow type things (and they need them in two weeks!!!)

It's like that old commercial where the housewife has all these tasks swirling around her head and she cries "calgon, take me away!"

So I've been spending every moment that I'm not using my hands to make more cotton armitures for my meeses. While sitting in class, on the bus, and most impressively, while laying in the dentist chair getting my teeth drilled. I've been making them for so long, I don't even need to look - and my dentist is totally cool with what I make, and having the lap full of cotton was fine...

Not forgotten

Yesterday, I was downtown getting some new eye glasses, and, completely oblivious, I was staring out across the street. I was staring straight at the 1906 earthquake fountain.

I've wandered by it a million times. Only occasionally remembering that its there. (Same with the golden hydrant).

There were colorful flower wreaths and bouquets of flowers in the fountain, and the statue itself has been restored to be much nicer than I remember over the last 20 years.

Even when the ground shakes, you just can't leave this city.

Good Deeds

Last year, after the hurricane, I put some of my goodies on eBay and donated all the proceeds to a local charity in New Orleans. eBay has a pretty neat program that allows you to find charities and donate part of your eBay sales to them. It was really nice that they went for a higher amount than my regular auctions and in some small way was helping out for the disaster.

Today, in my e-mail I got this note:
++++++
Congratulations, mouseangel!

To recognize and thank you for your commitment to helping others through your eBay Giving Works listings, you've been awarded a DonorsChoose gift certificate worth $80!

At DonorsChoose, public school teachers propose resources that their students need to learn.
Please spend this gift certificate to fund the proposal that speaks to you. Think of it as a shopping spree for students in need--where everything is free!

Best of all, you'll hear back from the kids in your classroom and know you've had a direct impact on their lives. On behalf of all those you help, we thank you for making a difference!

++++++

Basically it was $80 that could be “spent” on a huge list of schools and programs needing funding. I’m a bit of a science geek, so I went looking for something science oriented and that hadn’t had many donations. I chose to support a geology class for a grade school in North Carolina.

I thought it was really cool of eBay to add donations to programs like that!!

New Digs

After eight years in my underground, inlaw apartment, I've moved.

With the bright and sunny new place, I live in chaos. All of my stuff is hidden and tucked away in boxes. I have a list of orders waiting to be filled, and I can't find half of my supplies.

The room where I am setting up my workshop has this inset sort of faux closet with tons of shevles - which should hold everything - but everything is just a little off. There is no such thing as "standard" for containers so things that used to work for organization no longer do.

Hopefully, once it's set up, I'll have a really nice place to do all my art!!

Offensive content

As you know, I sell my mice on eBay. Today I had a HUGE bump in views - but only of one of my pieces. It was the Pope. Then I started getting questions "from potential buyers."

One question "Is this mouse REAL? If so I shall pray for .."
Another "R U crazy to reduce the Pope to this?"

My first though was immediately reply with some snappy response. Some of my thoughts: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to ask a question about my art. I'm really encouraged when people write to me - it inspires me to create more. Oh, and thank you for your prayers, they are greatly appreciated. We no longer use the term "crazy" because it has bad connotations, the term is mental illness and yes I have been battling with it for some time. Making this art is the only thing that keeps me sane.

Of course, I didn't end up responding. I don't need to fuel the fire. So I rant here instead.

It's obvious to me that some religious group found the listing and said "HEY EVERYBODY THIS IS REALLY OFFENSIVE YOU MUST LOOK AT IT NOW!!!!" Why, why do people feel the need to go out of their way to look at something they already know is going to offend them? There should be room for everyone. I don’t go out of my way to show people things they don’t want to see, but some people really want to dig and find things to point out that they don’t like.

What’s my point? That’s a good question. I don’t really know. I want to make my art and know that not everyone will like it. They don’t have to look. I do worry about people imposing their moral values on me, instead of letting me choose my own values.

Tirade end.

Self Promotion

I've got a bunch of things up on eBay - search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZ...ngelQQhtZ-1

This as close as I ever get to blatant self promotion... Even if you don't need any mouseadermy, you can always forward the link to your friends. I get alot entertainment from people's reaction.

This year I did some neat little fairies and angels.

Don't look at me!

This morning I had an e-mail waiting for me from a “reporter” who wants to interview me for his magazine The Globe. Being an artist that works with dead animals you might think I crave attention, but I really don’t.

I really kind of like being as quiet as a mouse and making my little creatures because it’s something I like to do.

I had a good idea about what sort of a publication the Globe is, and 30 seconds of internet research certainly confirmed it. Even though it’s national and is readily available at supermarket check out stands from Ketchikan to Key West, I have no interest being the whacky story sandwiched between gossip about Brad and Angelina or Michael Jackson’s pet monkey. People tell me that any publicity is good publicity, and I suppose that’s true – it’s just not me.

On the other hand I also recently received a request from a publisher who is putting together a book called “Cool Hunting” that wants to include my work as part of a listing of unusual products and things. I am considering submitting some of my work for that, it sounds less obnoxious. Who’da thought I’d be concerned with obnoxiousness.