"Myrtle the Hooker" needle felting

Meet" Myrtle the Hooker"

My nude Myrtle sold and is now in her new home.

This is my latest needle felting. The reason both of these last two feltings are called Myrtle is because they have a resemblance to a dear friend of many of ours with that name. The first one of Myrtle I did has sold as I mentioned above and this one may be sold. My next needle felting project will be a fisherman in a handmade dory.
The other day the phone rang ,Chuck answered and it was for me ,he asked who was calling and the person on the other end said "well Deb does not know me, I am calling from Ottawa, I took the receiver and was tempted as I would to right off the bat say" well now is this the Prime Minister calling me again?" I decided not to and simply said "Hello" it was a lovely Lady who had received one of my Good Luck Kitchen Witches as a gift for Christmas and she was so pleased with it she wanted to call me and thank me for my work, well I need not have to tell you ,I was thrilled , she said she had been meaning to call me for sometime but that she had been ill, but that she was feeling better and hopefully she will visit this way and she plans to drop by to meet me. You know? Things like this makes everything ,hard work and dedication all worth while. Thank you my Dear for calling all the way from Ottawa thanking me, for I thank you . I have completed a few needle felted dog commissions this past couple of weeks, and am trying to get a few on hand for the season.
Today I have my two young female students coming for their weekly lesson. The boy's tomorrow. Their enthusiasm is wonderful.
Near the end of May Chuck and I will be taking our drums and rhythm instruments to Hills View acres to share in some movement and fun with the residents there. The last time we were there we took the two dogs Lu Lu Belle and Laura and I read my Children's book" Lu Lu Belle The Happy Puppy " to them. One always leaves there feeling so much better and fulfilled to have shared some energy with those who appreciate and need it. Same as with Children and pets ,or challenged individuals ,they never question, they enjoy and absorb all good vibes and deliver all back. I love that.
I have not been working at writing my new book lately but have had many ideas and will be making a few changes ,I am very excited about it, when I start to see the art work in my head as I write I get thrilled and all seems to just flow.
So off I go to ready for the Ladies.

Budding Artist's,

Meet my new friend's budding student young Artist's who are on their way if not already there at being just that. We Adults find ourselves held back with misgivings not believing in ourselves and what we can do, we forget, for here in these photos you find enthusiasm and excitement at getting the job done and having no stress with the thought of just trying. Doing it their way,why is that not why we refer to our work as "one of a kind"? Of course we do, it is our creation and there usually is someone out there who gets what we are trying to say with our art. Why that is what it's all about. I have the past couple of weeks been working with two young Ladies age 5 and 8 as well as these two talented young men, helping them bring out what is in their hearts, to share with family friend's and the World. There is no doubt in my mind that this is just a beginning of many art projects in the future from them all. As I mentioned in my earlier blog installment about worrying about future generation's ,they will do just fine, if we all and I mean all do our part at keeping this World on the right track for those who come after us. For after not having young people in my home in the past few years,listening and learning from them, being around these bright young minds all the time ,I, in these past couple of weeks working closely with these Children see some very informed bright young people coming up in the ranks and because of these bright young minds I see much light ahead for the World. I laughed and said to Chuck, they are smarter then we were back when we were their ages, then again they have to be, so maybe the Internet hasn't destroyed their minds totally. All within reason. Here in these two shots you see the boy's deep in thought ,choosing their paint colors and below their finished paintings ready to be matted and framed . We are all excited about the beginning of our next weeks paintings. The girl's will be doing something all together different next week, I hope to share that with you in the following weeks.And Below, two wonderful!!!paintings and two very proud ,deserving young Men!!
Great job, Guy's!!!

This morning I am inside working waiting on warm temperatures for outside work later plus a bike ride . Friday the 13th it took pretty well all day to have the chilly wind subside enough to enjoy the outside. I love to sit outside on these warm Spring days,when we get them and take a couple of hours in my day to lighten my heart and mind with some drumming and song in general. I stepped outside a couple of times yesterday to hop back in with that wind chill,oh well ,we will be looking for some shade soon enough. Which brings me to something a bit different for me to sell this season down in the park in the sun!!!and that would be sun hats, along with my art,this Spring and Summer I am offering unique UV protective sun hats , different styles and labels. More on these as I get some pictures . I have my selling permit for the Summer and weather permitting you will find myself and others ,and anyone else welcome to join us on the water front and maybe various other places this Summer to sell our wears, all you have to do is ask me for info or simply go to the Region of Queen's bylaw office and ask for a selling permit, fill it out with $10.00...and come on down, have some fun being with like People enjoying the the Summer and meeting People from away and home, have a few laughs and even if we have slim selling days, it is never a loss, no extra charge daily , the permit covers it ,I will advertise the days that we all will be there ,here and on Face Book.
Enjoy your weekend, Happy Spring!!

Caution ,Nudity.."Old Time Bath Time" Needle Felting

Caution!! Nudity!!! Below....
In this my latest needle felted figure below. Sometimes I luck in and find interesting props for many of my creations in needle felting ,as in this wonderful wooden tub. So meet who I call "Nan, Old Time Bath Time"but she needs a name other then that so I welcome someone out there to give this old girl a home in a special powder room. Up date a day or so after I wrote this, she has been given a name of "Myrtle" by a friend of mine who suggested she look like someone we know with this name. By all means you can change her name to anything you prefer, but she looks like Myrtle to me:-)Talk about a conversation piece. when you lift the duck her suds come with it and she is then is exposed. But look at the look on her face, she simply does not care. At the same time I came across this tub I also lucked into finding an old antique looking cradle ,doll size so my next felting will be a Baby for in it with a teddy bear and needle felted rattle etc.Can't wait to start ,maybe this weekend ,weather permitting and what I mean by that is not so fine out because if so I must head outside and look at my gardens if the sun is shining.
The past couple of weeks I have been doing art lessons with four talented ,bright Children and am waiting on approval from their parents before I put any pictures here online. They did a wonderful job sketching and painting and I enjoyed working with such enthusiastic young People. It's interesting I was talking with friend's recently in regards to children today and us back when we were their ages ,my, am I sounding like the adults from back when I was a child, I would hear them saying the same things? Back in our day,yes we could have more freedom, the World was smaller ,today not the case. We were discussing whether or not young people get any exercise like we did considering they are online a lot. But I feel they do stay active ,maybe in sometimes more structured ways and yes we still have those who would rather sit on the couch and eat potato chips and watch TV but I see trampolines in most yards and skate boards . The more the World changes the more it stays the same, in some ways. So I am not necessarily worried all too much about our young people, there are bigger fish to fry as the old saying goes. As far as Art, the Children of today are above and beyond,never afraid to try and smarter I believe with having the World at their finger tips.

Grog finished.and Birdhouse 2.

In the above picture is our Little Guest house and our get away we call The Bird House. It use to be one 3/4 bed ,this past weekend I turned it into 2 single beds, easier then crawling out over the one in the front as it was before. We as well as Summer friend's ,Children and Adults alike enjoy this little cozy spot out back. Not so cozy in Winter but warm weather when there is a fire in the fire pit, this makes a great get away in the back yard. Our Back 40 as we refer to it as here in town. After living for years with a river and 20 plus acres,we needed something fun.

And...meet Grog, I had to stop and get him down off my easel,sometimes paintings can easily be over worked and watercolor not being my most worked with medium I had to force myself to stop. I am happy with it myself and Chuck has juiced me and Grog has yet to see it.

I am still waiting on my wool order and when it comes I have a sweet antique looking miniature wooden cradle I found in a local Shop and I am going to needle felt a Baby for in it..I see it in my mind and it's accessories and am excited to start. Doing volunteer work this afternoon with Children and reading so I won't be starting anything today but tomorrow is another day. This past warm spell found us outside biking and taking in the fine days. Now things are some what back to seasonal temperatures and back to seasonal Tourist Season work for me.

Grog...not a drink..and Pocket Pets..

OK, the weather has been balmy here in good old Nova Scotia lately,yes not a word used a lot in this part of the World,especially in March. Global warming indeed is with us. We all know this but I will have to admit this Winter was strange to say the least and does concern me. But we will survive and keep on truckin and will not complain while we are sitting in the sun soaking up all we need to put into our bodies while we are careful not to over do it with burn, maybe too soon for that.

I have been hard at work outside making hay as they say while the sun is shining, raking and cleaning up the yard and thinking about Summer . Needle felting dogs when I am inside, see the picture above of those who are in stock and looking for good homes, they are 100% wool needle felted with Love and are Child friendly. I will be making Bunnies soon for Easter ,all at $20. each, the Bunnies may be less ,depending on their size. I am trying to keep my prices down as much as I can with the way our economy is. So get a Pocket Pet at a very good price. They are one of a kind and I do requests. Here also is a picture of my friend Grog, his reenactment name. This sketch I did of him has been on my easel for a few days now waiting for some paint. The sun over took me and Grog is still waiting to come to life, maybe today if the wind stays down I may take him outside and paint on the deck and we will see what happens. I must start thinking about my Summer Season with Tourist type product. We no longer do shows and if we do they are only local art shows so anyone who is interested ,please stay tuned to my blog or Face Book page and touch base with me with any questions or suggestions. I have Chuck back to painting now that he is retired and well ,he is a busy man with many books to read but with my nagging ,stayed tuned for his first Master piece. I do know with his help ,I may get a chance to take a breath or two and a bike ride .

I joined up with a group of artistic Actor's and once a week am on stage laughing and having fun with some improv...everyone should try it, no lines to remember, all you have to do is to listen and have a chuckle with what comes out of our mouths.No pressure:-)

Here in Liverpool we are waiting on a new Craft/Art supply shop to open early April,"Canopeum Art" it will be right beside our Frenchy's used clothing store, she will be carrying whatever we need in the line of supplies and will get in what Folk's want and need as time goes on. But I needed wool for my felting right away so I ordered from "Living Felt" and am waiting on my parcel to arrive. Like a kid I get excited when I know I have wool coming and they are the best company ever to deal with. Check them out .

Fun Funk Jewerly

Above are pictures of my "Fun Funk Jewelry" All pieces are made from bits and pieces of found treasures, some very old . Antique jewelry,old watches and found reclaimed odds and sods of this and that. These pieces look great on any special chain or ribbon and are all reasonably priced at $25.00 each.

Reading for Seniors

Here is a picture taken the day I was at Hillsview acres reading my book"Lu lu Belle the Happy Puppy" to the residents there. This had to be one of the most heart warming moments in my life. They were all so sweet .We took the two dogs with us ,both stars in my book, Lu Lu Belle herself and Miss Laura our Diva who we doggy sit on a regular basis. You can just imagine how well these dogs were received there.
It was a wonderful sunny day to do something so rewarding. I am about to begin writing my new story which is running in my head daily, but will wait until after The Full Monty at the Astor Theatre Feb. 10-12 ,17-19 I have been helping with the set, which is very involved indeed. You won't want to miss this play ,the work not only with the very involved set but the work by the Actors ,Directors and Crew it should be a great show!!! Because I have been very busy painting at the Astor, any art here has been on hold. Usually in years past I would be locked up inside a warm house watching it snow outside while I paint away . These days on the South Shore of our Nova Scotia one day is like Spring ,next day cold and back again to Spring. There is so much always to do inside and out,I sometimes wish I could split into two and get more done.
The other day poor Chuck was beside himself ,I had the day off from the Theatre so decided to tackle the upstairs here, our home is tiny compared to our old farm house we left 7 years ago now and I must be creative at making this smaller space work for us. We don't have a spare bedroom and one night I kept Chuck awake with my coughing so I thought and thought and have made a space for a single bed so one or the other can get away and sleep somewheres else to give the other a peaceful nights sleep.
Regarding future product, I have been collecting some very interesting pieces for a couple ideas I have for benches or what I call boot bins. These will be worked on come finer weather and I hope to have a few new things come Spring, never ending ideas . My boat part paintings are all sold and I must get into the shop and prepare some new surfaces for painting. The boat parts are harder to find these days but I still have some very interesting pieces which I have had for sometime and I look forward to seeing them done, for they are very unique pieces that have been waiting to come to life again.