Tuesday

Steampunk TinkerARTdoLL

tin·ker noun /ˈtiNGkər/ 
tinkers, plural


1.(esp. in former times) A person who travels from place to place mending metal utensils as a way of making a living

2.A person who makes minor mechanical repairs, esp. on a variety of appliances and apparatuses, usually for a living

3.A Gypsy or other person living in an itinerant community

4.An act of attempting to repair something









TinKeR.......By Amy Maisel.......Altered Bendidoll with Mixed Media Objects..Beads, fabric, fibers, jewelry, odds and ends, etc.

I was just hanging out in the studio one Sunday afternoon with my daughter and she wanted to make a steampunk doll with my felt. Well, I wanted to do something similar. As I went through my scrap fabric I found a zipper I salvaged from an old bookbag. I thought about the zipper being a mouth....then I realized I had a ready made bendi doll I got at Michaels and I envisioned what you see now...A steampunk Tinkerdoll. I was influenced by Tim Burtons movie "9". I love anything vintage, tattered and well loved...and well, this looks all three. Tinker is my favorite doll I have ever made!! She has a lot of love and a lot of little stories in her.

Four Elephants

Animal Power Meanings: Elephant = Commitment.
Elephants can teach us the power of gentleness, commitment, and communication in relationships. They are deeply committed to all creatures with whom they have relationships, are powerful when protecting others and gentle in nurturing them. The matriarch of a herd practices leadership in a way that is both gentle and inclusive. Elephants' ability to communicate telepathically can teach us how to truly listen to others.
















FOur Elephants........By Amy Maisel.................Acrylic on Wood

I love elephants, I have collected a few elephant statues over the years, got an elephant tattoo, drew many elephant pictures and now I did this piece. I actually started it over a year ago....I drew it out and painted the background around the elephants. I put it away for awhile though because I just didn't know what to do with it. I guess it wasn't calling me until a month ago. I saw it sitting in the corner and it just wanted some color. I love painting in bright colors and then taking it down with stain, or brown paint. It gives it a folk art quality to it.
The space above my kitchen cabinets was the perfect place for this piece. There are four people in my family....My husband, two children and I. We are all strong, nurturing, protective and intuitive....especially with each other.That is what this piece represents!!!!

God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying other things.
~Pablo Picasso

Saturday

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.”
~Helen Keller






"A little bit of my spirit"......By Amy Maisel.........Mixed Media

I had the opportunity to take a fantastic ArtDoll class in New Mexico this summer. There, I connected to a fantastic woman by the name of JEAN...A.K.A. RAVEN! Well, she has woken me up in terms of how to view myself as an artist (I kind of lost it for awhile). Anyway, she had the chance to see my artwork and commissioned me to do some pieces for her. I was apprehensive at first, then I even tried to give her the artwork, but, she explained to me that I need to look at myself as a serious artist who has something to share.... A little piece of my Spirit! I can do this with my art. I made her a wire Raven...Because she is a mysterious and Sly Raven! I made her a chicken because she loved one I had made for "MYSELF", and I made her a driftwood spiritdoll because she connected to it. So, what I have learned is to start sharing my art and put myself out there. I have been hiding for too long!!! Thank you Jean...Love you SisterFriend!!!