Alien Army Over the Rainbow

 

Alien Army Slippers

Some new aliens are in town for the holidays.  My kindergartners named them Slippers.  Sounds good to me.  In person they are really great because you can easily slip your finger on each one and move them around.  Hence the name.  Coming soon to my easy shop which is currently in the making.  yay.

Oh Snap. New Alien Army Logo

 

And this is why crowdspring rocks.  Thanks to Norbert Demeter for the amazing design.  Poster coming soon.

Alien Army Incentive For Work of Art Challenge

Anyone who participates in the art challenge listed here will receive 10 unique Alien Army guys compliments of MOI.

 

 

 

Sculpey Tic Tac Toe Boards

I teach a sculpey class after school twice a week.  It’s been a few years now, so coming up with new ideas can get a little rough.  I want to do a checkerboard with the kids but decided 25 kids at once and no assistant making checkerboards equals not so much fun.  So I nixed that idea for a simple Tic Tac Toe board.  Instead of x’s and o’s we just made round discs in two different colors.  The kids really liked them.  It will be fun to watch them play with them after they are baked.  The boards, not the kids.  Ha.  I’ll probably find some small mesh drawstring bags to hold all the pieces or Altoid tins maybe.  Fun project and really simple for all ages.  I have kids 5-12 in my class.

Some of the kids opted to make Alien Army instead.  I really like this one.  After 200 it’s always nice to see a fresh shape.

Alien Army. It’s On.

I came up with Alien Army two summers ago through an art camp I was running called “Out of this World.”  Ironically, it was the project I spent the least time preparing and by far the biggest hit of the summer.  I quickly became obsessed and created over 200 Alien Army figures from Sculpey polymer clay.  You couldn’t come to my house without making one.  I’d line them up on the table over and over and make Ev pick out his favs in each line.  It’s my best collection by far.  Today I was able to purchase the url AlienArmy.com after almost two years of unavailability.  I am convinced it is due to my recent writing in my Artist Way Morning Pages,  If you’ve never done the Artist’s Way, I HIGHLY recommend it.  Morning pages are like magic.  For real.

Right now the url is just pointed to Meri Cherry but I’ve got big plans…oh yeah…it’s on.

Pinterest Rocks, Again

Oh pinterest, how I love thee.  Seriously, this website freakin rocks and if you’re not on it you need to get on it stat.  I’ve been wanting to make an inspiration board/ideal scene type collage for a while.  I whole-heartedly believe in these things.  I made one out of stickers (searching for a photo) before I met Ev and I’m convinced that’s how I met him.  It’s kind of like Weird Science.  Firm believer.  Anyway, instead of spending hours on line trying to find all the photos and images that inspire me I just went to my boards and found my absolute favs.  Cut those suckers out and voila!  Along with some words from mags that I am still adding here and there.  We’re going to hang this in the family room in constant view.  I believe you have to stare at these things and really put the images in your consciousness for them to manifest.  Anyhoo, wish me luck.  There are some serious European adventures on here, plus Alien Army on the cover of Time Magazine inspiration, and photos of our future home.

We Wish You A Great Day.

Alien Army is Alive and Well

And heading to a kindergarten class near you.

DIY Light Box

So, I made a light box to take shots of Alien Army and I’m not sure it’s working out as I planned.  I can’t seem to get the light quite right.  I’m definitely not giving up, but slightly frustrated none the less.  Anyone have any tips?  Does anyone even read this?  Hello?  Are you there G-d?  It’s me, Margaret?

Anyway, it was fun to make and the photos do come out better than without it.  So here’s how to do it.  All you need is a box, white paper or white tissue paper or white fabric.  Use white unless you want the photos tinted with another color.  An exacto knife.  Scotch tape.

Cut out three of the four side panels of the box.  My box happens to be white.

Tape white paper over the panels and a white sheet inside the box that slopes down from top to bottom.

There you have it folks.  Then just place a lamp on either side and the top or any combo of the three or just the top.  I’m still working that part out.  Here are some experimental shots.

The background is coming out grey and maybe I have to fix that in photoshop but I don’t really know how.  Grr… I wish I knew how to lasso the images too, so I can just put them on a total white background.  Maybe it’s time for a photoshop class.