where ya all from?????

[Michelle McLachlan]

Thought it would be fun to know where all of us are from...
we moved to Tn last Oct, came by way of NM, by way of OR (USA).....not my favorite state,, the weather is nealy unbearable!!!
I do mixed media work and my soft bodied art dolls... have been looking for a local place to sell them, how are sales for all of you?
Question..Beth (my daughter,who's the reason we are in Tn, she's attending U of Memphis, as a Religion major with her minor in Art) anyway she has been doing her doll work with polymer, baking is a problem here, cracking after the first bake, any suggestions????
ok.. enough catter... glad to be here.... michelle

[EO Site Admin]

I guess I will be the first to reply :-) I'm from Tampa Bay area Florida, small area known as Largo.
Very hot and humid here, we are looking to move hopefully, North Florida is where we plan on moving soon. I am a polymer clay OOAK Fantasy Doll Artist. I make mermaids, fairies, creatures etc and a lot of my work is based on my written works of The Realm of Mystica. So I guess that makes me a writer too LOL As far as cracking is concerned, there are several reasons that could cause this. She must be sure to let the doll cool all the way down before touching and try not to open the door to the oven until it's completely cool. Dramatic drops in temp can cause cracks. I also find that if you use a good clay mix such as Prosculpt and Cernit, and use a nice under armature (no tinfoil) this helps. You should have her go to our Partner Site, OOAK Doll Art for further information and help! http://www.ooakdollart.com They have a very well established archive of tons of tricks, tips and hints from many wonderful and talented artists around the world. Hope that helps :-)
And it's wonderful to have you here!
-Kendra

[muts]

hello michelle, nice to meet you, my names zoe (38) im originally from kent england, but finally after a lot of moving around i am now living in manchester uk, have been married for 11 yrs (together 12) to willie (51) we have 3 kids lee (16), sarah (13) and niall (2)im into anything arty, and have tried my hand at most, my dad says i had a pencil in my hand before i could talk.hope to see you around


as for the cracking, im not an expert (on sculpting) but i deffo am an expert on cracking unfortunately- tell your daughter that to leave her doll well alone(overnight if neccessary) until it is TOTALLY cold
the sudden drop in temperature is what causes cracks. hope this helps, wishing her best of luck with her next project


hiya kendra , i finally found my way hun, place is coolx

[Michelle McLachlan]

Hello Kendra!! Hello Zoe!!! so nice to meet you both!!! Have been under the weather lately, back problems..but am doing better... some good news... found a consignment shop for my work!! Have been selling my Cherished chests ( small decorated boxes) but not my dolls, oh well,., it is good to have found a place... has anyone sold on ESTY??? will put a few of my dolls up so you all can see them.. comments are welcomed.....
Zoe... I have been doing art stuff since I was small too! mostly with children , teaching..its only been 8 yrs that I have done my own thing...and I do Love it!!! had a serious accident and had to stop teaching.... did college work for most of that time then discovered dolls... wow..so much fun!!!!
thank-you Kendra..I passed along your info...
talk to you soon again.... michelle

[Sonya L]

Hi Michelle,
I'm from the Hudson Valley region of NY. It's beautiful here, and such an inspiring place to be.
John & I have been married 25,1/2 years. We have 2 awesome children, Jen , 24..& Johnny, 22. I've been doing some type of art since I was 4 years old. I majored in art through high school & college. I began teaching art to home schooled children, during the 8 years we home schooled our own children. I love any art that makes me smile and giggle inside. So...fantasy art, & homes for wee ones are a passion of mine. I'm new to The Enchanted OOAK, and I'm thrilled to have found such a wonderful community of like minded people.
Have a great time creating. God Bless you & your family.
~Sonya...><>...

[Kendra Marie Gilbert]

It's so good to get to know everyone :-) I have been deathly ill with the flu for the past week and it's still lingering on but at least I'm keeping my head above water for the most part LOL
My Mother is from NY, she grew up in Troy. She is also an artist, although her physical problems have kept her from creating, she is attempting to pick up her brushes again. I try to encourage her as often as I can because she is truely talented. She makes OOAK Clowns and was offered a contract by Circus World back in the 70's. Hudson, I've been through there before, it's beautiful. I think we went to Mechanicsville? Not sure if I spelled that correctly or not? Hope more folks start posting on this thread, it's really interesting to hear all the neat history!

[Margaret McDougall]

Hi Michelle and everyone!
I live in the Hrbredies off the West Coast of Scotland on a very small tidal island - so you will have to excuse me if I witter on (not many like minded people to talk to - not many of any sort of people to talk to??). I draw and paint and have done so for ever. Both my parents were good at art and my three sisters are artists. I try to paint landscapes and other things but these fairies just keep insisting to be painted. I love anything from the fantasy world - not the nasty things though! I have a tolerant husband and two wonderful children. A clever daughter of 24 and a clever son of 21 who is an artist and is at Uni. doing an art degree - lucky thing! Nice to talk to you all - Sonya and I chat a lot already. Margaret

[EO Site Admin]

Very cool Margaret! Scotland is such an inspiring place, I really hope to go one day. We are relocating to Arkansas near my Mother. She has 10 acres of land that she is leaving my husband and I and our kids. We are planning on creating an "Enchanted Woodland Forest" as the entire property is old trees and landscape anyway, so it's perfect! We are very happy to be able to leave the city, it really is quite depressing at times with all the pollution and chaos. I certainly hope there is a drastic change of human consciousness soon or else we are all going to be in trouble.

Well, off to work again, I have big things going on in the Realm of FaeBae as well as Keepers of the Wood, so I have to pay close attention to the whispers of my Faery Friends, and they are telling me - "Time to go to Work!"

Talk to you later Friends!

[Sonya L]

Hi Margaret,
Thanks for mentioning me in your blog. I actually giggled. I love writing back & forth with you.
Did I tell you that I love your new picture you chose to represent you? It makes me wonder...hmm...is it a self portrait? I have never seen your face, so I picture you like your paintings. LOL!!!
I hope that is OK with you.
Our family had a wonderful Easter celebration. Do you celebrate Easter? If so, was it special?
Write soon, if you can.I'd love to catch up on things.
~Sonya...><>...

[Mystical Artz]

Hi, Im (45yrs) and born in Colorado, was adopted at 8 yrs and moved to Utah. I was raised in Utah till recently in 2004 My husband of 25 yrs this July 3rd, and my wonderful kids, 27 yrs old son, 22 yrs old son, and my baby girl who will be 18 yrs in 11 days:) Moved her to Marble Falls Texas.
My biggest Joys in Life are My family, my animals, I rescue animals mainly cats, and of course My art.
Im a muti artist, I do from painting to poetry, free hand drawing , painting scenes on eggs, 2-d glass etching,
and more, but clay has taken over all my crafts.
This is a wonderful site, and cant wait to be able to get an account on the web site...
"Art is the inner soul of the creator, If you look at the creation you can see into the dreams of its master." By JK.

[Sonya L]

Dear JK,
Thanks for sharing about yourself, your family, & your passions. I think of passions as wild flowers filling a field. It's wonderful to see someone who pays attention to their passion. It's like you are taking care of your small patch of flowers.
I love many forms of art, too. 2-d glass etching sounds interesting. I'd love to see your work.
Have a great day.
~Sonya...><>... Ooaklore

[Luke Smith]

Hello my name is Luke and i am from Peterborough, unfortunately not much sun here lol.  My main work is normally softbodied and cartoon dolls although i do do the odd realism and animal sculptures.  The cracking i find like everyone has said happens if you dont allow the clay to completely cool i certainly know of the temptation to open the oven to inspect her lol.  The other thing that really helps is to have a strong wire armature inside the clay and also support her with cooking cotton wool (going to look for the proper name:)) while baking due to the clay going soft while cooking.

[EO Site Admin]

I will let you borrow some sunshine anytime Luke! LOL I miss Washington State because it's so much cooler and misty.  It rains quite often but I'd really prefer that to the blazing heat.  You know, after I switched to my convection oven that I bought from MOREZMORE... I don't seem to have as much cracking like I used to at all.  Matter of fact, I don't think I've had a sculpt crack on me since I switched from my other oven... I love it, because it's all glass and I can see inside anytime :-)