Asking for some help!

You've all heard about the wonders of technology and how it simplifies and helps our lives?....Well, it does when it works the way you want it to.  Recently, my husband and I purchased new iPhones to help us with our home businesses and we were both quite happy with them.  Then, about a week later I realized my entire email list that I had been working on for about 5 years had been replaced with my husbands phone and address list from his new phone.  Many hours later and consultations with numerous computer technicians we were told it was gone.  I can honestly say I felt sort of sick because of the time and effort put into the list that also contained notes regarding every piece I've sold online, who bought it and when, and special requests made by collectors. My husband felt terrible as well, so now I'm asking for some help for us to both feel better.  If you did not receive an email from me tonight and you had been on my previous mailing list would you please let me know.  I'm happy to add you back to the list I'm currently using, which I was able to recover from my sent email files.  The rebuilding begins!  Oh, the wonders of technology. 

Also in the news, PFATT Marketplace opens up tomorrow morning, Saturday, December 10, at 10 a.m Pacific (11 a.m. Mountain, noon Central and 1 p.m. Eastern) with two offerings, Ira and Irvington Iceman, which are in the background in the left of the photo below. (see the last post for full images)  They are sweet little fellows that need new homes.  Check them out at the designated time tomorrow on PFATT Marketplace at:  http://www.pfattmarketplace.com/monkeycats.html

I've also been working on other winter works.  Below is Topsy Turvy, a little snowman with wire arms holding a small wreath...

and a few candy cups for the holiday season such as this sweet little snowman with candy canes shown below.

I'll have more to share next week...I hope to have that little Father Christmas/Santa figure in the background of the top photo done soon, plus a new tree topper.  Christmas is fast approaching! 

Have a great weekend!
Laurie

Ira and Irvington Iceman

Where is the time flying?  Tomorrow is December 1, already, and I have so much work to get done in a matter of days.  I guess taking some time off in October, and the time lost due to a bad back that resulted from scrubbing floors (that should teach me), and now the Christmas tree farm opening last week, has really made time move at lightening speed.  I think I need a time machine...do you think Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper already sold the one they purchased online?  

I did manage to finish "Ira" this past week so here he is shown posing with his brother, "Irvington".  Both have over sized top hats, rosy cheeks, carrot noses, paper mache candy canes, and peppermint buttons, but they couldn't agree on hat-bands, scarves vs. bow ties and vest colors, so they are definitely unique in their character.   



"Ira" insisted that his vest and matching hat-band be green in color to match the holly and mistletoe he is so fond of.  He also feels strongly that Santa is the only jolly fellow that can carry Christmas red in his attire, so he discouraged "Irvington" from choosing red for his vest as well.

"Ira" is also carrying a winter bouquet of pine cones, berries and holly leaves along with two candy canes to share with his sweetheart, "Irma".  (FYI...those little candy canes are more difficult to sculpt and paint than one would like to think so there is another reason they are only carrying two of them.) 

Both of these little fellows are signed, dated and numbered and will be the only two standing snowmen for the season. 

Hope you like them!!
Laurie

Thanksgiving Wishes and a Nearly Completed Snowman

I have the turkey in the refrigerator along with the yams, celery and other ingredients necessary for building the traditional foods for a Thanksgiving dinner.  As I'm sitting here thinking about the preparation yet to come this evening, my mind is rushing with childhood memories of Thanksgiving dinners from the past.  I can remember driving to Aunt Sis's house and the hoards of family members that would be there gathered for the food and festivities.  Of course being the youngest in the family I was at the children's table in the basement, but we always had ways to amuse ourselves with mashed potato mountains, whipped topping mustaches or tales from an older sibling of a finger accidentally dipping into one of the pies or cakes prior to the dinner starting.  We were young and untouched by much of today's worries, and I have to admit I'm thankful I was raised in a simpler time that moved more slowly where one could take the time to enjoy the little things in life...like whipped topping mustaches!  I'm thankful for those memories and I'm thankful we have the opportunity to make new memories with our families tomorrow.   I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.  

I also wanted to share with you the progress made on one of the little winter snowmen.   Irvington Iceman is almost finished, so I put his tree and candy canes in his hands for a quick photo shoot.  He already has lots of details completed on his top hat, scarf and mint-buttoned vest, but I still need to get a few washes of color on him below his vest, plus a few touch ups here and there. 

I see I also need to work on smoothing out the wash around his right eye and the black spot on his forehead, too.  Guess I better get to work on him before Thanksgiving preparation begins tonight!

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Laurie

More Winter Figures

The paper mache is flying and it looks like I'm wearing as much of it as I'm managing to get on the figures I have started. The current work table would put a five year-old's ability to make a mess to shame, and for the life of me I don't know why I'm being such a "mess maker" right now.  I guess we all have our moments so here is hoping it passes soon.   Through all of the mess I was able to finish the second snowman, plus I have two Santa heads finished on cone shaped bodies.
 

The tall Santa is just under 26" tall and is taking forever to dry.  I still need to complete his shoulders and arms, as I need to on the shorter Christmas fellow, but I need the heads and bodies dry enough before beginning those additions.   They should actually look more like Father Christmas figures when they are finished.



I have two tree-topper snowmen started as well so I better get back to work on those two characters so I have something to share next week.  Oh that's right, next week is Thanksgiving and then we open the Christmas tree farm...how did that happen so quickly?!!  Yikes, off to work I go!

Have a great weekend and happy Thanksgiving planning!

Laurie

Back in the Studio

Yikes, has it really been an entire month since I last posted?!!! How did that happen?   I would love to say I was off doing something fun, but I was actually busy deep cleaning the house, which consequently put me flat on my back for 10 days.  Seems as though scrubbing floors on my hands and knees does not agree with my lower back.  Fortunately for me it was only muscular so if I'm careful I shouldn't repeat that little episode. (famous last words)  Any of you suffering with chronic back pain now has my deepest sympathy!

I was able to get back to work on Monday, and now have a few works in various stages of development.  This little fellow, Dapper Snowman, is now fully sculpted and is currently drying on the rack with a tall Santa.  With our interior humidity at only 40% it shouldn't take too long for the paper mache clay to dry.   I'll continue sculpting for the next few days knowing that if the mood to paint hits me I should be able to switch over very soon.  I need to switch it up to keep things interesting.

I'm off to go work on the second snowman, to build more top hats and to get some candy cups sculpted.   It will only be a few weeks before the tree farm opens so I need to get crack-a-lackin'!  Oh dear, I just remembered we are getting some pre-cut trees this year...I sure hope Mr. Monkey-Cats doesn't need help unloading those 75 frazier firs!  Ouch!

I hope you all have a great day! 
Laurie

PFATT Marketplace Update, Oct. 10

BOTH SOLD- Thank you!
Wow, are you sick of me yet?  Seems like I've been putting my work out there for sale more this past week than any other time this year.  Just two more pieces and I promise I'm done for awhile!

PFATT Marketplace will have two works available.  One is a very special orb.  This is only the 6th orb I have created since I began Monkey-Cats Studio.  They are very time consuming and average somewhere between 60 and 65 hours just to paint the figures on the piece.  There are 4 figures that form the major decoration of the orb with a Ms. Moon forming the night sky above them and the bust of a skelly figure completing the bottom of the piece.  The orb is paper mache painted in acrylic paints and sealed in a matte polymer varnish.

This is Winnie Wicked, with her little kitten, Midnight;

Voltaire Vampire with his companion, Ding-Bat;

 Maximilian Moon and Moon-beam;

 and Punkin' head Petey on his way to the Ghoulie Gras.

Ms. Moon forms the sky above the figures

and Slim Pickens skelly oversees the nether regions of the orb.

I'm very happy with this orb and hope you agree!

The second piece being offered is a skelly candy cup complete with candy corn and pumpkins.

PFATT Marketplace opens at 10 a.m. Pacific time (which is 11-Mountain time, noon-Central and 1 p.m. Eastern)  Here is a link to get you directly to my page.

http://www.pfattmarketplace.com/monkeycats.html

I would also like to share with you that I have a 6-page article in PRIMS magazine currently on the newsstands.  I'm thrilled to be included in the pages of this magazine and hope that you get a chance to see the article.  It includes Halloween works...of course!

Thank you to all of you that have supported me through this wonderful Halloween season through your kind words and purchases.  It always helps to have support to keep those creative juices flowing and I hope to bring you new and more creative works in the seasons ahead!

Laurie

A "Witchy" Opportunity

UPDATE...she is sold, thank you!!!!!!   I have one little witch available for Halloween this year and she is nagging at me to get her out there!  Her name is Owlive Batrina Wicked,  and she is known not only her impatience, but for her love of owls and bats.  She has feather hair, a magic wand and a little owl bucket from her front view..... 

and a rather detailed owl on the back of her cape on the reverse. 

Now, here is the catch...the first person to see this post and email me at monkeycatsstudio@yahoo.com 

to request her for purchase wins the piece. Just put her name in the subject line and I will respond back to your email request!

Good luck and I hope you like this opportunity!

In addition to Owlive, I will be hosting a small blog sale on Sunday, October 9, at 3 p.m. central time, plus I will have work on PFATT Marketplace on October 10 at noon, Central time.   For more details send me an email  with "newsletter" in the subject line to be added to my newsletter email list.

Have a great evening!!

Laurie

Ghoultide Gathering 2011

September is passing so quickly and it is almost time for the Ghoutide Gathering weekend. I am getting very excited and so is Mr. Boots Purrington and Professor Purrington.  Boots, and his cousin, the Professor, will both be available in Northville, Michigan this weekend.

Boots is a shoe cobbler by trade, hence his name, and.....

the Professor has the brains in the family with multiple discoveries in the culturing of milk. (notice the white tux)

I do hope you are able to come see these two little Halloween creations at Ghoultide, and if so, please grab me by the elbow and introduce yourself.  It is a magical weekend filled with fun and frivolity and I would love to meet you!!

Have a great week and weekend!
Laurie

Seeing the Light at the End of the Tunnel

My list is growing shorter of what needs to be finished before Ghoultide Gathering and I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  It feels really good to have another body of work created for a show that I feel so privileged to be participating at.  Here are some of the most recently completed paper mache heads that form the handles for the lids of the boxes.

A little pumpkin head box and.....

and a little squash head box.

I still have candy cups waiting for their painted images so I better get back to work.  Hope you are seeing the light as well! 

Have a great week!

Laurie

Enjoying the Fall Weather

The past few days have ushered in cooler temperatures to the Plains, and it has me anxious to do some fall decorating.  Hubby grew pumpkins this year, including some "blue" pumpkins so I'm hoping to have a few of those to place on the porch with the big orange varieties.  I'm trying not to get ahead of myself too much since it is only mid-September, but with night temperatures to be in the 30s tonight, it's hard not to think autumn is here.  Perhaps I need to calm down a bit and just have a cup of hot chocolate!    

The weather has also inspired me to finish up the pieces for Ghoultide Gathering.  Yesterday I finished the last time consuming piece for the show so I thought I would share a few photographs. 

There are four figures that surround the piece and this is one of them, a little witch figure, Willendorf Wicked.  Willy, as her family calls her, is still a child at heart and continues to carry her pumpkin doll.  She is a kindhearted witch, but a word of warning, don't let her her sweet face fool you, she is a prankster.

To Willy's side is Spidey Pumpkin.  He loves those eight-legged arachnids and plays yo-yo and web games with them daily.  His room would scare most mothers, but Spidey wouldn't have it any other way. 

The last photograph is the bottom of the orb.  I painted a little lumina pumpkin character placed against a night sky to finish the piece.  I love pumpkins so it just seemed to be the right thing to complete the work.

There is a night sky and two other characters not shown in this post...I want to have a few surprises for the collectors at Ghoultide to look forward to.

Hope your weather is feeling more like fall too!

Laurie

Hunky-Dory

This Saturday, September 10th, which also just happens to be my birthday, I will have one Halloween work available on PFATT Marketplace at 10 a.m. Pacific time.  His name is Hunky-Dory, because in his world everything is just hunky-dory, and karma seems to smile upon him.

He is only the fourth fully sculpted Halloween figure I have offered this year so if you are unable to attend Ghoultide Gathering, this will be the only other piece offered in September.

He has long sculpted fingers holding his candy bucket and carrying his jack-o'-lantern companion.  Hunky-Dory is just under 16" in height, and is made of paper mache, wood and wire and comes painted in acrylic paints sealed with a matte polymer varnish.

I have been in contact with a school counselor, and 1/2 of the selling price of Hunky-Dory will be given to a local elementary school that I think will benefit from the proceeds of the sale.  The staff at the school has repeatedly proven to go above and beyond for their students so I am thrilled to be able to help in a small way.  We are so blessed to have such devoted teachers and staff in our community.

I also want to mention that my thoughts and prayers are going out to all Americans suffering from the flooding and damage caused by Irene and Lee, and the drought related fires in Texas and California.  It breaks my heart to watch the weather related emergencies unfold on television, and makes me wish I had really deep pockets to assist more people in need. Lets all hope that the tropical depressions currently in the Atlantic do not find our shores.  

Have a wonderful weekend and here is wishing you all the weather that you need wherever you live.

Laurie 

Diversions

I've practically been living in the studio for the last month, and suddenly this past week someone has put some diversions in my life, which is a good thing.  As I was watering the container on the front porch last week I noticed a small lavender bloom on my sweet potato vine.  I plant sweet potato vines annually, and this is the first year I have had blooms.  For whatever reason this little vine is giving me bloom, after bloom, after bloom and each morning it makes me smile and take a moment to go "aawwhhhhh".

Sorry for the water on the porch behind the planter, but I had just watered the planter to thank it for it's lovely gift.

The other recent diversion has been a small kitten appearing in our yard that has such a flight instinct I worry about being able to capture her to get her to a vet.  She seems to like Jake (one of the monkey cats) and he will sit with her at the door while she tries to take a nap.  A neighbor and I have been trying to get her for over a week so I now have an outdoor litter box for her, a pad on a floral table to sleep on and fresh food and water to keep her nearby.  Keep your fingers crossed for me she will eventually accept  my actions as non-threatening. 

Diversions can be good.  Back to work for me!

Laurie

A Primitive Place Magazine

The summer is coming to an end and with that comes the push to get ready for Ghoultide Gathering.  The postcards have been sent (and I'm thrilled to be on the back of this year's card!!)...

the ads are appearing in fall magazines, such as the ad in Art Doll Quarterly (Corvus Crow received some more exposure).....

and Ghoultide Gathering articles are appearing in magazines such as A Primitive Place. 

I was fortunate that a shelf full of my figures appeared in A Primitive Place magazine along with six other Ghoultide Gathering artists.  (Hmmm, that darn crow was in another picture!)  I purchased extra copies of the magazine to give to each collector that buys one of the featured figures on that shelf.  Hope I get to give all of the magazines away!



I have many pieces to finish in the next couple of weeks so I will just be popping in and out briefly with a few peeks of works traveling to the show.

Have a great week...I'm already thinking pumpkins, falling leaves and spiced coffee.

Laurie 

PFATT Marketplace Update

Tomorrow morning (Wednesday), PFATT Marketplace opens for the month of August with new items.  I will be offering Salisbury Squash, dressed for the Ghoulie Gras, which is the grand harvest festival of vegetables on Halloween Eve.  Update: SOLD, thank you!

Salisbury is sculpted carrying his party mask and treat bucket to the festivities hosted by some of his more "seedy" friends (garden humor).  Not to worry though, the mischief is pretty harmless or Salisbury wouldn't be wearing his best suit and bow tie.

This will be my third full-sized Halloween figure offered for the year.  If you are interested, click on this link http://www.pfattmarketplace.com/monkeycats.html at 10 a.m. Pacific time (11 a.m.-Mountain, noon-Central and 1 p.m.-Eastern), view his price and email me with the cost in the subject line, and if you are the first to email me he will be yours!  Hope he finds a new home!

Have a great day!!
Laurie

Patience?

Last Monday I managed to stick an exacto knife into my left hand in the joint where the index finger meets the palm of the hand.  The cut was small in width, but I took it to the bone so the impact has been worse than I had hoped.  I still can't hold a figure to paint it and can't manage to sculpt with the left hand either so I'm trying to be creative with making "holders" or "easels" to support pieces to paint while my hand heals.

Below is the figure, "Maximilian Moon", on the second orb I have painted this year.  I achieved painting him by using a large coffee mug with cling wrap placed loosely over the opening of the mug so it would keep the orb from moving or shifting as I painted.   A friend had suggested I use a pillow, but I couldn't keep the orb stable so I came up with the mug as a holder...darned if it didn't work!  A little patience (not my strong suit by any means!) and creative solutions do appear! 

Patience is being taught to me...I'm listening, I'm listening!!

Have a great week!

Laurie

A. Dora Belle Wicked

I've been working in paper mache clay all week, which means my fingers have been covered in the white sticky material most of the day. I have found that it isn't a very good idea to try to use the computer keyboard while I'm sculpting  (I hate trying to pick hard little bits of clay out from under a key or space bar) so that is the reason for this weeks late posting. 

I had several of you ask to see the witches I completed last week so here is one of them.  This is A. Dora Belle Wicked, or Dora Belle for short.  Dora Belle is one of the Wicked sisters that displayed exemplary flying skills from a very early age and currently holds numerous cross-country speed records for brooms. 

Dora Belle's sisters all tell the story that Dora Belle first displayed her "need for speed" when she jumped on her mother's broom at the age of 10 months and sped off over the house.  Her sisters all recall her returning a short time later with a penguin she had picked up in Antarctica.  In no time Dora Belle was known for her quickness, establishing speed records in her neighborhood and never losing a local broom race.

Dora Belle is shown wearing her special night-flight hat and boots, her "Order of the Bat" pin at her neck and carrying her broom, Speedster. 

Hope you like her. Have a great weekend!
Laurie

Gandolph Gourd

Work continues on building an inventory for Ghoutide Gathering.  I just finished Gandolph Gourd with his super sour Halloween sucker and mini-gourd friend.  If you take a look at Gandolph's teeth you will notice a few are missing.  Poor Gandolph has a terrible sweet tooth and unfortunately was never taught to brush or floss after eating.  (Some have even speculate that one of his missing teeth is actually his original sweet tooth! )

Gandolph got very excited when he was given this Halloween sucker and instantly took a big bite. Much to Gandolph's surprise the sucker wasn't sweet, but was a special super sour version of the familiar confection created by one of his witchy friends. 

I think there is a lesson to be learned by Gandolph...if the sucker has a slightly "sour" face, perhaps it isn't as sweet as you would hope. 

It was fun playing with this character.  Hope you like him!

Laurie

Marcelo Moon

My goodness, someone slow down the clock, please!!  I can't believe it is July 7th, and it is time to update pieces on PFATT Marketplace for their unveiling on July 10.  I have just sent in my update for the month and I will have one offering, Marcelo Moon, seen below.  UPDATE...Marcelo is SOLD.  Thank you!!

Marcelo is a little celestial being that is in love with Halloween...so much so that he descends from the skies to trick or treat for goodies on Halloween night.  He always comes in costume, including his celestial top hat, shorts and boots, plus carrying his favorite treat bucket that has a portrait of himself in his youth on the front.

He is painted in gold and orange hues (except for his green eyes) so his color will fit in nicely with any Halloween collection.  He will come signed, dated and numbered and is a one-of-a-kind original from my studio.

This piece will be released for sale on Sunday, July 10, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, on PFATT Marketplace:  http://www.pfattmarketplace.com/monkeycats.html

Hope you like him!!

Laurie

Pumpkin Boy Update

Sorry I didn't get a post up last week, but I had a camera and computer that decided they were no longer friends.  My computer would not let me upload any images into blogger, and I kept getting error messages that the photos were downloaded from another computer.   I completely reloaded my camera program and finally got it to work this morning.  I have no clue what happened, but it's working now so I have my fingers crossed!!

As promised, here is an update on Billy A. Battykins, a little lumina pumpkin boy shown in the last post.  Billy loves his bats and baby pumpkins.

He has a long pumpkin stem, a cape collar, bat bow tie, bat scepter and little jack-o'-lantern that all help make part of his charming character.

He hopes to find a home this fall so he can share his Halloween spirit!!  Wish him luck!

Laurie

Pumpkin Boy WIPs

I have been working on finishing a group of 11 figures in paper mache this past week.  It always amazes me how long it takes to add their little fingers, boots and "extras" to help them develop a personality.  Below, are two of the pumpkin boy figures that are almost completed in paper mache.  The figure on the left is waiting for his scepter head, but he has failed to tell me yet what it needs to be so currently it is just a stick.  I suspect from the way he is holding that stick it needs to be a cane so he can tap dance the night away.  Doesn't he look like he wants to dance?...and 5-6-7-8, (insert Fred Astaire singing- )

"I'm puttin' on my top hat,

Tyin' up my white tie,

Brushin' off my tails.

I'm dudin' up my shirt front,

Puttin' in the shirt studs,

Polishin' my nails...."

Okay, that just gave me the solution!!  I love it when things work that easily!

Have a great week...I'm off to sculpt the top of Fred's cane!!
Laurie

The Orb Figures are Completed

The orb is done and I'm now painting on a few sculpted figures before mixing some more paper mache clay to sculpt with this week.  I looked at the calendar over the weekend and counted the days left before Ghoultide Gathering, and then counted the number of pieces I have done, and I sort of felt my heart skip a beat....yikes, time to kick it in high gear!  Since it is an evening and day event this year, instead of just a day event, I would like to have a few more pieces done. 

I mentioned in the prior post that I would show the figures on the newest orb so here they are....

  "Spidey Wicked".....

"Monte Moon".....

"Over Bite"....

 "Lenny Lumina"....

and "Skelly Bones" on the bottom.

Hope you like how the orb figures turned out!

Have a great week!

Laurie