the grand opening of the grumpy star studio etsy shop!

After many nights abusing my coffee-machine and then having snatches of sleep as Daisy proceeds to jump on my head and chew on my hair, I declare that the Grumpy Star Studio Etsy Shop is open for business! Here's a few snippets until the SEO functions kick in properly:

And, as a thank-you to all of my wonderful friends, patrons, likers and admirers in Darwin and abroad, each and every one of you will pay the same price to call one of the treasures featured on my Etsy Shop your own. That's right, no matter where you are in the world, your shipping bill is 100% FREE!

The phrase 'thank-you' is too often forgotten. Being a sincere artist and a good person are very much one and the same to me and I will spend my whole life striving to be the best of both. Being gracious costs absolutely nothing and makes both the giver and reciver the happier for it. So once again, thank-you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me in every small or big way to make the past year such a wonderful reality. I love you all ♥

And so, without further ado, click on that 'shop' button on your right to let the celebrations begin!

Mel x

daisy and dolls

Hullo possums!

Another week is slipping away and I am hard at it on the productivity machine. Thank-you to everyone for your comments on the painting featured in my last post; for the time being I shall distract you with other things and make you wait just a few days longer to see the finished piece!

After many years of attempting to push my sculptural work onto the backburner, I have finally started making dolls again in earnest. I have spent the past 3 years concentrating solidly on developing my drawing and painting skills, but I can no longer ignore just how much I feel inspired and refreshed by the process of bringing my characters to life in 3D form. It almost opens up a whole new compartment in my brain, this conceptualising of a character that can be observed from all angles, and I am very much at the point now where photography is informing the way I see the characters in my drawn and painted work.

As I so often say, experimentation with new ideas might be a time-suck until you manage to hit on what works- and then you run with it! There is no better cure for artistic stagnation than liberating yourself from the sorts of thoughts that restrict your creativity.

Of course, no artist is an island, and we all need a little help and inspiration now and then. Here is a little snippet of what makes me happy right now:

Now that she is getting back to her gorgeous self after 2 weeks of kitty flu and sleepovers at the vets (on fluids- very scary not seeing her eat for four days!), little Daisy is picking fights with my stuffing, trying to eat my buttons, and taking well-deserved naps in my mountains of fabric. Willow is disgusted with us and still thinks Daisy is something to eat, so for the time being there's quite a few restless nights involved in keeping the little one safe from harm and separated from the grumpy bobtail. Daisy rewards us by sleeping on our faces and jumping on any part of our worn-out, cramped old bodies should we decide to move during the night. I wouldn't part with her for the world ♥

Hope there's something warm and snuggly to give a cuddle to where you are,

Mel x