And The Winner Is....

Amy

(who commented on 12/4)

Congrats Amy! You were selected with help from Random.org. I'll contact you today with info on how to collect your mosaic butterfly box.

Special Thanks to Maureen Tillman of MaureenTillman.Etsy.com for providing today's wonderful prize. You can read more about Maureen & her art HERE or see inside her studio HERE.

And many thanks to all of you who left a comment this week! It is your interest that keeps these giveaways going. Tune in later today to enter the drawing for next Thursday. New artist & new prize!

"Here Be Dragons" for Melange quote challenge

When I was a child I loved maps, the older & more exotic the better.


My favorite parts were the edges,


sometimes covered with fantastic drawings of creatures from Beyond.


There you would find the magic words ....

HC SVNT DRACONES : Here Be Dragons


I spent last weekend rereading Moby Dick (1 of my favorites)


and started making a map for the Melange challenge

Then decided I'd rather make an adventurer's box. Travel sized (2.5" sq x 2" H) for a small compass perhaps. Eventually I dumped the compass in favor of some trinkets an explorer might carry.


A tiny bottle of earth from home. Another filled with treasures for his love. A seeing "stone ", actually abalone. A figure he's been whittling. I'm not sure if I should leave the pin or not.....

It still needs some finishing touches. The abalone needs some roughing up. I need to replace the red sculpey with "wax" once I find the mislaid cork. I'm also missing a brass pin on the box front . Once finished, I'll add it to my ArtSnark etsy shop.

Find links to other fun quotable artworks in the Melange Team comment section HERE. While you are visiting, check out their new prompt, FLIGHT. Play along if you like, all mixed media pieces are welcome!

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Just a reminder, tomorrow is a new Thursday Giveaway. This week's prize is a $10 gift card to Michael's Craft stores. Just leave a comment here before noon (EST) tomorrow 8/20 to enter the random drawing. Click HERE for details & link to store locator.

Also, tomorrow afternoon I have a new artist interview & prize, so check back when you get a chance, okay? In the meantime, hope you have a creative day!

Woo Hoo! We Have A Winner!

Random.org has spoken!
Of 90 unique entries, the lucky winner of a Customizable Art Box is Steve!

Hearty Congrats, Steve! I’ll contact you later today with a list of what I need from you. Then I can get started on your one-of-a-kind box.

It may take a few weeks, but I’ll post pics of the finished box for anyone who is curious.

Great turnout for this random drawing! Many thanks to everyone who commented. Please check back later today and sign up for next Thursday's Giveaway . I've got a new sponsor & a fun prize that will get your creative juices flowing!!

New Giveaway - this one is customized for the winner!!

Hello All. How's everything this week? If you are looking for the winners of today's random drawing click HERE.

If you're looking for info on the latest prize, you've come to the right place! Couple of tweaks for this Thursday Giveaway: This time I am giving away one of my creations (I feel like I should do a mad scientist chuckle or something. Oh, what the heck.....mwuhuhuhuha...). And it will be customized. More on that in a minute.

Also, there will be NO random drawing next Thursday July 2. The winner of this prize will be drawn at noon (EST) on Thursday July 9th.

Remember Edgar Allan Poe Box I posted last month?

No? Well click HERE to see detailed photos.

I'd just started a similar box & thought how cool it would be design it for 1 lucky winner. I've only just started sanding & staining but he's what I've got so far:

And this is the lid without a center image:

This is where you come in!

The winner of this box can either choose a print of one of my pieces (you can pick from the images on this blog as well as in my etsy shop) OR send me a picture you have taken. Just make sure the you have the rights to the image you send me. I do not want to infringe on the rights of either the model or the photographer.

Also send me either a favorite quote or poem & I will incorporate parts of it into the box (See the Poe box blog post for an example). Please make sure that the text is not currently copyrighted by someone else. The text can also be of your own creation, in fact that would be very cool!

I will take the image & text you send me, add a few tweaks of my own and voila - your very own one of a kind wooden box. The closed box measures approximately 5.75" x 4.25" x 3.25"

I must stress that this box is for your personal use only. The final piece is under my copyright and is not for resale or redistribution.

Also, I will post images of the final piece on my blog.

If you are good with these stipulations & want to play along, simply leave a comment on this blog before noon (EST) Thursday July 9th. Again, there will be NO random drawing on July 2nd. All who comment over the next 2 weeks will be entered in this random drawing.

Just a note: Please be sure your contact info is correct. You don't have to leave an email, as long as I can track you down easily through blogger. If I do not hear from you within 10 days of your name being drawn, I'll go back through the list and choose an alternate winner.

I'll announce the winner shortly after noon (EST) on July 9th. I'll contact you & see about getting your choice of image & text. Once I have these it may take up to 3 weeks for me to finish the box. (It could be sooner; I just want to give myself some room). When the box is complete, I will ship it to you at my expense. This giveaway is open internationally.

Hmmm.....I think that about covers it. If you think of something I missed, or have any questions just let me know & I'll do my best to clarify.

Melange Art Challenge: Inspiration

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me

I was a child

and

she was a child,

in this kingdom

by the sea;


But we loved with a love that was more than love-


I and my Annabel Lee

The Melange Team's May 20th challenge was "Inspiration". It took me a while to catch up but here I am. I've been thinking for a while about making a series of Authors' Boxes. Here is the 1st, inspired by Edgar Allen Poe (who many believe was inspired by his late wife Virginia). If you want to read the rest of Annabel Lee, click here

I haven't played with wood in a while & had a grand time making this.


Decided to give it a slightly weathered look.


It is also filled with faded secrets in all the nooks and crannies

The notes tucked inside are copies of the writings of Virginia & Poe.

The smaller is a valentine written by Virginia. You can see the original here. The larger is a copy of Poe's Annabel Lee (the rest of the poem is printed on the back). See the original manuscript here.

The current Melange Challenge is Dance. I've several ideas but very little time so I may just post some older pieces soon. To view other interpretations, click Inspiration or Dance . Then click on the links in the comments to enjoy the wonderful variety . If you have the time, play along & enter your own creation!

So many challenges, so little time! I love how the ideas flow from the random prompts, Some pounce immediately, while others slither up behind me. Usually there are two or three but I rarely find the time to finish one - sigh... Some other great prompts this week are Adapt (IllustrationFriday), puppeteer (artonthedarkside) and Altered Ancestors (inspiremethursday). If only there enough time to play with them all.... Take a minute, look around & get inspired!

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Please note: All who leave a comment before noon (EST) Thursday June 4 will be entered into 2 random drawings: 1 is for a $20 gift certificate to my etsy shops & the other is for an ACEO. Click HERE for details

Surviving The Plague

Check out this steamy Etsy Treasury curated by AlliesAdornment ! It is truly a pleasure to have my Apprentice Box included with such fabulous phantasmagoria. Click the pic for a closer look soon, as each treasury is up for only a few days.

3......2......1.....It's Monday's Muse time!

3 New Listings.......2 In The Bush......aaannnd 1 W.I.P

The studio spring cleaning trickles on... And Inspires! I keep finding stuff I forgot I had - cool random things, nifty supplies & finished artwork... Over the next couple of months, I'll be adding some older pieces to Artsnark's Artifacts on etsy (in addition to my current creations). Many are Polaroid transfers that have been framed & are ready to hang.

For the curious: A water bath is used to separate the image from the Polaroid backing. The flexible image can be stretched or altered. It is then adhered to the paper (or other surface). I like to use a nice thick paper so I can embellish with watercolors & pencils. Once it dries, the final piece is then treated with a UV resistant finish.

Here is a pic of Red Bicycle in its shadowbox frame. For more info just click on any picture.Next up is the Apprentice Box. Just messing around. It's been sitting on a shelf since December. Figured what the heck, might as well list it. Lots of cool stuff on the outside: antique pocket watch parts, misc gears and metal bits, original drawing & photo, the words inspire, strength & discipline and a red feather. The inside is lined with a maroon felt-type material

The Saga of Little Red Continues.....

Finally finished & listed the WIP I posted 11 days ago: 2 In The Bush

And this saaaad & lonely canvas has been clogging up my easel for maybe a year now. I'm selfishly posting this crummy picture as incentive to finish it! Hoping that I won't be able to turn my back now that it's "out there". Love to complete it by the end of April, but in the words of the great Lyle Lovette:

It was a fact of life that no one cares to mention. She wasn't good but she had good intentions...

Speaking of good intentions, if you have a few minutes please pop over to Maternal Spark, the inspiration for all Monday's Muse posts. She's been taking care of a sick little one the last few days & I'm sure she could use some blog-love :D