I apologize for the poor photo quality … I feel like my right arm has been taken away with no Photoshop. The good news on the computer front is that I have put in an order for a shiny new Dell to be delivered to my door. The bad news is that I now must start pimping my work to pay for it. Anyone want some Christmas treasures??

Seriously, I will be making a bunch of Ghost Ornies similar in scope to this one from two years ago:

Or how about  this Three Elves decoration?

Okay back to the production line!

1. The deadline for the Twisted Christmas deco swap will be extended until 4pm(AST) tomorrow (Tuesday).
2. If we have corresponded beyond this website … I’ve sent you something … we’ve traded or otherwise communicated I’ve lost your information. And I’d like it back. Please! And YES! I mean YOU. My entire email database is caput. So help me feel less stranded and send me your email/snail mail address. Thanks!
3. The new challenge I was going to post will have to wait until I return from FL on November 10.

Speaking of which, I’m leaving for Clearwater on Wednesday to watch son#2 as he competes in the 70.3 World Championships on Saturday November 8. If you’d like to follow along you can, if not, a few "Go fast" thoughts would be most appreciated. Cliff will kickass all on his own but a bit of Good Karma can’t hurt.

From the fertile mind of Dneese of grrrl+dog, I’m going to host a deco swap. Crazy but in all the years of swapping, mailing, collaborating, I’ve never actually done a deco before so this should be fun. While I’d dearly like to think that we could have these home in time for Christmas, I’m not that idealistic. But hey! we could try. So! Here’s the skinny:

1. BOOK SIZE

Size is up to you but should fit inside a standard mailing envelope to keep costs down … we will be an international group so if that bothers you or you can’t swing the postage for the duration, please wait this one out.

2. THEME

Twisted Christmas … this can be subject to interpretation and knowing my readers it will be, so if scary or unusual or odd upset you, again, please sit this one out. Otherwise? Let yourself S-T-R-E-T-C-H. That will be half the fun.

3.  MAILING PROTOCOL

Decos (or so I read) are meant to be quick’n'dirty mailings, so the idea isn’t to hang onto it for weeks/months/years … get it, DECOrate it, send it back out! so we can have a chance of seeing these back home before Hell freezes over. If you can’t get to it right away, either send it along OR at the very least contact the owner to let them know of the delay. Again, I’d love for these to be sent out, around and home by Christmas but let’s face it? It ain’t gonna happen. So TWO WEEKS each as an absolute MAXIMUM. If you can’t handle that schedule? Well, you know the drill … pass on this round!

4. SIGN UP

To join in, send me an email to jen@jenworden.com with  Twisted Christmas in the subject line. Deadline for sign up is Monday night(9pm AST) … I know, I know, not much lead time but I’m heading out of town and I want to get this moving along … and I’ll have the mailing list for everyone by Tuesday, November 4.

I am at the tail end of a week of being sick. The ick was brought home for Thanksgiving (I’m Canadian folks … we do things differently up here! ) by Darling Son #2 and has pretty much oozed itself all over the house. Dear Daughter is now infected. Husband and I daren’t talk too long to one another as we end up laughing at something which starts coughing jags that last for hours. Or at least that’s how it feels. My month off from tri-training is quickly coming to a close (October 31) and I haven’t gotten nearly as much done as I thought I might. Plus the weather has turned resolutely towards November (read: grey dreary and wet) rather than the lovely autumnal days we’ve been enjoying. Thoughts of snow and cold and not-so-far-behind, Christmas are tugging at the edges of my brain. And here I thought I’d be proffering Weekly Challenges once again. Hasn’t happened. Likely won’t. But I want to do something … collaborative … interactive … with my stalwart readers that continue to hang in there in hopes that I manage to get  creative once more. Any ideas?

I rarely write about my life here other than art, but this weekend I did something that I just have to mention. A very large part of my non-art life is based around triathlon and since February have been on the long, long road to training for something that has been in the works since my first dip in the triathlon pool back in 2004. After finishing my first sprint distance, my oldest son and I decided that we would do an Ironman together before my 50th birthday. This past January, I realized that the date was inching ever so close and I’d best get my butt in gear if I was going to make the cut off.

Shuffle forward to this weekend where I put my money where my mouth is and bought our spots in the Louisville Ironman taking place August 30, 2009. To say that I’m stoked would be an understatement. Not to mention, terrified! For those uninitiated in the world of triathlon, an Ironman distance encompasses a 3.8k swim followed by a 180k bike ride followed by a full marathon aka 42.6k run. It is a huge undertaking. And I will be dedicating a bit of space here to document my journey.  It’s going to be quite a ride!

Seth’s The Pulse not only reflects our online mixed media (new media??) community but united The Bonegrrls (grrl, Lynne, myself) self professed lovers of all that is vertabrate. I received a package from grrl yesterday filled with goodies including this AWESOME roo spine. Yowza! My brain is already ticking along on how I will use it! And ladies? Know that your packages are winging their way West. Hope you enjoy their contents as much as I enjoyed putting them together.

The poem reads:

Under the gravestone
Urban did rise
Eagerly anticipating
His evening’s prize.

You can read all about  the Gorey deTales Project  here.

Fast forward 4 months and I was no closer to creating my piece. I did know that I wanted to use the catalyst: What’s a negative behavior or habit you have overcome? - for an assemblage, something I hadn’t done before. And I also knew that it would likely be doll-esque. You can view the end result as well as read more about the specific process on Creative Therapy. In the meantime here’s a sneak peek:

Introspection - Interior Detail

Oh! And did I mention if you participate you might get RAK’d? Go visit and find out how. Thanks again Karen!

Sometimes a Frog Prince is just a frog

Y’know something I never ever have problems with are titles for my work. They generally come to me during the creation, usually quite forcefully, occasionally sotto voce. This one didn’t commit until I was making the back label before it’s sent off to The Flying Pig. And then it just trilled off my pen. It makes me laugh!

I was experimenting with plaster over burlap which I’d applied onto the framework - an old canvas I didn’t like/want anymore and ripped off the material and was NOT going to chuck a perfectly finished frame. I love the textural quality of this combination though I think I’ll try it with some finer weaves to see how that works.  I’m almost out of these great metal ceiling tiles which make dynamite house hats dontcha think? Guess an ebay troll is in my future. Oh the suffering for my art!

And thanks to Patti Edmonds for givin’ me some love. I couldn’t possibly single out seven blogs … there are just so many good ones out there … but a start might be to visit some of the blogs listed over there –> OODLES of eyecandy to keep you occupied for hours and hours and hours. Thanks again Patti!