My coloring book is now available!!

I've been working on an octopus themed coloring book, and I am excited to announce it is now available on Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/When-Octopods-Dream-coloring-everyone/dp/1514271389

So, what I've been up to

I really dropped the ball on this blog. Sorry folks.

Things I've been doing and not telling you about obsessively:

I started writing in August of last year. I'm at the point where I need to start shopping my manuscript out to agents and publishers. Its kind of intimidating to have actually gotten this far, but I wrote a complete book.
Actually Ive written more than one! I have two complete manuscripts, and expect to finish a third one in the next few weeks.

In November I joined and completed the 50 thousand word challenge that is NaNoWriMo.

I've continued to market and sell my jewelry. Sales and my marketing are helping to improve online sales, but I still need to find a day job.

The never ending story that is the on going job hunt since I earned that second masters in distance education. I have started taking on more and more freelance design, and have even expanded my job search to include design again (my first degree. first career). Im only including it because of how much work is actually involved in filling out online job application after job application.

Most recently I've started to create coloring pages. My first two are available on Etsy
https://www.etsy.com/listing/230795465/octopus-mandala-digital-download
and
https://www.etsy.com/listing/230610870/octopus-eight-card-digital-download

I need to get more hands on with the creating, and drawing has been really cathartic that way.

Thanks for checking in!

Chithuly

Chithuly
Originally uploaded by Zoeowyn

And here is the finished bracelet!

Chithuly= I thought it looked like a Chihuly chandelier, my husband thought it was overly Chuthulu.....


This is a completely over populated bracelet with a center piece jeweled octopus made from polymer clay.
Im very proud of myself because I figured out how to solder all the links together.

one center piece octopus,
10 gradation silver to pearl tentacles
4 spirals
4 pearl trumpets
6 stick pearls
4 glass beads with spirals
8 bicone crystals
6 large firepolished glass beads
2 polymer beads
6 pearls with polymer bead caps
10 bead caps
20 shell disks
Im not counting how many jump rings or how many seed beads

Cute octopus

Dumbo Octopus

Isn't he cute

Wednesday Inpiration

More of the things I like!
Check this out, its awesome
http://laughingsquid.com/cardboard-octopus-outfit/
its made from cardboard!

I am so gonna make some serious octopus stuff!

http://www.notcot.com/archives/2011/01/maximo-riera-octopus-chair.php

OMG OMG OMG

OMG OMG OMG
Originally uploaded by Zoeowyn

I was definitely surprised!
I won Silver in the accessories category with my "hair piece."

In so stoked.

Now how do I top this? (get it its a hat how do you top a hat--yeah ok lame)

Cephalohenna

Working up some tentacle henna designs

Tentacles!

capped tentacles
Originally uploaded by Zoeowyn

I was invited to submit a bead for the Fire Mountain Gems' circle of hope necklace. This is a necklace made up of one of a kind art beads. I am thrilled to have been invited to come play.
I figure they liked my submission for the polymer clay and natural beads competition this year. It involved tentacles. So I figured I would send tentacles for the beads.
I am sending a small collection of capped tentacle bead drops, and a large octopus bead.
Having recently seen 2 Chihuly exhibits, I think its safe to say there is a definite influence going on here.

Octobead
Originally uploaded by Zoeowyn

Cepholapod Coronet

My mermaid with the octopus crown made it in to the current (August 2009) issue of Polymer Cafe. It was killing me to not post images of her on the internet, since they say no previously published images, and posting it on flikr is "publishing".
Well here she is, this is another view from the magazine. I was trying to show off as many different textures on her as possible.
The challenge was for texture.
The face and arms are poceline, I did not make them, the rest of her is pretty much polymer clay using different sculpting techniques.

I fell in love with sea horses last year. We did a day trip to the Chattanooga aquarium, they had an exhibit of sea horses and sea dragons.
I was amazed. they are so beautiful!
I spent at least the next month drawing them. Im actually surprised I didnt make hundreds of little polymer ones.
I even found a wire artists who makes some wonderful little ones.


Seahorse by pippijewelry.etsy.com








I also learned from her site, that they a caught live and left under heat lamps to dry out. to be put in all those curio things. That makes me sad. i think I may have some from a craft store. i got them when i thought they were nifty, but i didnt et any after last years adventure. Im glad, because that treatment makes me sad. Anyway these can be quite tiny up to quite large.
I could watch them all day. Their variation in colors was glorious.

I am taking a polymer clay clay with christi Friesen. its on-line (I love on line learning but thats another story). The class is steam punk gryphons. I have been wondering how to incorporate steam punk into polymer for a bit now. Well as soon as the class got started I started seeing how to incorporate steam punk in other things. I made a great dragon fly--at least I like him, and this sea horse. Both figures are large, and not jewelry size. i will need to figure out what to do with them.
The next challenge will be to make a sea horse small enough to wear, and a steam punk octopus!

Heres anpother cute little sea horse by urbanwoodswalker.etsy.com


















and a cute almost steam punk octopus by societysedso.etsy.com

3rd Place!

There were something like 217 votes and 26 entries.
The winner was the adorable manatee, and the cute animal kingdom mirror was second and my Octopus guy took third place! I think thats awesome!
You can read more about it at www.pcagoe.com!

Go Vote!

NO, not election time. Its The PCAGOE Monthly Challenge time!
o look, go vote. You dont have to vote for me, but that would be nice!
I have 2 pics on the PCAGOE webpage now, the Octopus that is in the challenge, and the little scrap cat I made for the gift prize!

Octopus Rock trial blog

octopus
Originally uploaded by Zoeowyn

This is really a test.
Im participating in networking opportunities over at Flickr, and they have this cool feature that lets me post my pictures and blog from flickr to here.
Since I will have pictures over here at Flickr anyway Im thinking this is a good set up.
That and it is another opportunity to show off this cool big bead with an octopus on it