More studio photos

In fact, here are some other photos of my work table. I love seeing all the materials together so when I have a nice arrangement on the table, I pull out the camera and take a few pictures. These photos are actually of my holiday ornaments in process I make hundreds of ornaments that I sell in stores and privately as well as on my Etsy store here is the link
http://www.etsy.com/shop/addictedtomermaids
I also have a bead and supply store and here is the link http://www.etsy.com/shop/mermaidsbeads
so right now I'm frantically trying to get caught up on my work because we had a death in the family and I got a little behind.
It feels great to get back to work, I love it sooo much.

Working in my studio

Here is a shot of the inside of my kiln with a whole bunch of tiny little items. This is how I make the buttons, beads and other accessories that I use in my work. I always love the way things look all together on the shelf.

Dreams and Visions Drip Dry

This is another diorama from my Dreams and Visions show at the Brookline Arts Center. It was constructed in the same way as the Provence diorama. The inside construction was a little different though. I angled the floor and the walls a bit to really make these look like a room. The tint mermaid is a doll and her tiny bathing suit is a piece of fabric about 1/4 inch big. I loved making these because I love a black and white checker board and as always the metallic oil sticks look so great on the fabric. The doors swing closed for moving and storage. Starfish on the front of the cabana is a ceramic button that I made. The diorama itself measures about 7 inches tall and 7 inches wide. There is a string at the back for hanging.

Dreams and Visions Sweet Dream

This diorama was constructed basically the same way as the Provence one. The figures are actually dolls that I made and painted. All the accessories on the dolls like the crown were made by me too. To see more dolls that I made please visit my Etsy store where I have them for sale as well as many other beautiful things addictedtomermaids.etsy.com. I think this type of diorama would make a great wedding gift. The doors do close for storage or moving. The starfish at the top is one of my very favorite things that I've made because the size and shape of it. It is sewn then painted and the points are so slim they measure only about 3/16 wide and about1 inch long. The diorama itself measures about 9 inches tall and 7 inches wide. It has a string at the back for hanging.

Dreams and Visions

Here is a photo of one of my dioramas that I made for a show that I had at the Brookline Arts Center in the Boston area. This is one of my very favorites although all of them are really my favorites for different reasons. This is about a dream that I have of owning a beautiful cottage somewhere in Provence. I am planning on buying it soon.

I made the box itself by sandwiching fusible interfacing between 2 pieces of fabric. This makes it stiff but flexible enough to sew. Then I sewed the curtains by sandwiching cotton batting between 2 pieces of fabric turning it inside out, then top stitching. I made the hills in the background the same way. I painted curtains , mountains and the inside of the box with these luscious oil paint sticks, the metallic ones and let those dry for a couple of days. In the meantime I made the rest of the details. I do a lot of felting so the lavender was perfect for that I needle felted the lavender and the sunflowers and was really happy with the result. The tree tops are felted too and then beaded a little for texture .The cottage was made the same way as the curtains. The clothesline is tiny pieces of cloth that I cut out and painted and the clothesline itself is floral wire. Then I glued the whole thing together. I love that part because all the elements look so great together and it is so interesting for me to see if the final product is what I want it to be. In this case it was exactly as I wanted it. This diorama measures about 12 inches tall and 9 inches wide. There is a string at the back for hanging.