Hey, I'm at the Fur Rendezvous on 4th Avenue inside the Sunshine Plaza along with other Alaskan arts and craftsmen check me out if you're in downtown Anchorage Saturday and Sunday for the running of the Reindeer and the other festivities.

Today I got up at 4:15 a.m. gez I was groggy until noon because I took some sleeping tablets to get to bed early. Tomorrow I'll do better and just accept that I am not going to get much sleep and go for it. Now for a nice long shower and then to bed and sleep, sleep, sleep.
Niteall

Happy Mardi Gras and Ashley Meadows as the Queen of Honeybees

Here is one last picture of the costume and just in time for Mardi Gras. Thursday it will be modeled at Evangelos restaurant and the Valley recyclers luncheon and then it will be displayed at the Madd Matters Gallery in Palmer. OoW I'm getting alot of mileage from this costume.
When it has made its rounds I will dismantle this and store it away for some future use.

Judy O Queen Bee (satisfied smiles)

The Wearable Art Show and the Honey Bee Queen in no particular order

THE KAKM ART AUCTION AND ME

I had a great time at the auction got to get my mug on tv and donate to public tv. There is no footage thank God! I was a little nervous but my family saw it and said I did fine, my hair looked good and I sounded professional. The piece that I put in was titled "A Place in the heart" It was auctioned off for $575.00 pretty good considering...
Teresa Ascone said it's so moody and beautiful. So like Paul Harvey used to say "heeeeres . . . . . . the rest of the story."
South Mountain, Franklin County, Idaho
Size: W. 38" X H. 27"
Medium: OIL
Artist: Judy Vars
I loved doing this painting of a place in my heart, this mountain was part of a canyon where the Bear River Massacre took place one of the most shameful battles in American history.
More than 400 Shoshoni occupied a winter camp that offered ideal protection in Battle Creek Canyon. But they suffered a disaster unmatched in western history when Connor's Force struck at daybreak, January 29, 1863. It was a bloody conflict where even women and children fought fiercely, in the end they were defeated by the troops from California. The unruly troop raped women, burned the huts, stole the horses and left the survivors to freeze to death.

Why do I call this small mountain a place in the heart? It is because it was a landmark on the way to my grandmother’s house in Weston, Idaho. The stillness and loneliness of this place I recalled while painting this scene. The railroad tracks, the wind, the fields, the bees, the hay and a hot August day.
Remembering one frozen January years past driving with my mother to Grandmothers house, we drove for miles and miles not seeing a car, a person or any sign of life; it was so still and so cold so very cold. This scene seemingly unchanged is etched in my memory forever a place in my heart.

Please don't tell anyone, the painting was to thick and wet when I was doing it some nats flew on it got stuck and died, they looked like hawks so I left them on. he he he

If I don't go to bed and stop blogging around I am going to be sorry. Tomorrow I am working at the Firefly Gallery all day and then i am going over to KAKA the public TV Station to be interviewed on air!YIKES I feel just like a starlet on Jay Leno or something. Please send me good vibes.

Castles In The Sky

Title: Castles In The Sky
Medium: Oil
Size: 12 x 24
Artist: J Vars
Price: 350.00

There’s a place in my mind
No one knows where it hides
And my fantasy is flying
It’s a castle in the sky

It’s a world of our past
Where the legend still lasts
And the king wears the crown
But the magic spell is law

Take your sword and your shield
There’s a battle on the field
You’re a knight and you’re right
So with dragons now you’ll fight

And my fancy is flying
It’s a castle in the sky
Or there’s nothing out there
These are castles in the air

Fairytales live in me
Fables coming from my memory
Fantasy is not a crime
Find your castle in the sky

You’ve got the key
Of the kingdom of the clouds
Open the door
Leaving back your doubts

You’ve got the power
To live another childhood
So ride the wind
That leads you to the moon 'cause..."

dj satomi lyrics

The Beehive part V

Ok almost finished, it needs more bees, lights behind the honeycomb, and the model. Ashley is very excited, she is wearing a black tube top, long black gloves, her hair will be in an elaborate up-doo. Nicole and Sharon my helpers admitted how much fun they are having helping me construct this thing. So the next time you see this dress will be on the run-way.......

2009 Wearable Art and Runway Fashion Show February 21st @Palmer Train Depotdoors open at 6:00 p.m.tickets: $15.00
We want to make this a well loved tradition. The VAA Wearable Art Committee will bring all the creations together to present the audience with an exquisite evening of art entertainment, using the theme, music, staging and narration to bring it all together! It just keeps getting better and better.

Beehive Dress Part IV

Today I had to tear up a sheet to get enough material for the 5th tier, and go buy 200 safety pins (I am not going to sew these tiers together when pins will work), I also bought yellow dye for the slip and veil.It's hard not to spend money when I get going on a project. Posting the progress on my blog has been motivating me to ger-er-done. The structure is almost constructed, then we can dress it up. It should be a cross between Marie Antonette and a Queen Bee.

We got our passports with the same pictures, why?????

Anyway things are moving along towards the Wearable Art Show, the Ididarod Show at the Wasilla Museum, the interview on KAKM and ultimately the trip to Costa Rica. I've never been so busy with havin fun.

To answer your comments:

Annie, I've got a super attractive model named Ashley about 25-30, she has a models figure, a 27" waist, she is has a fun personality, is creative and excited to model for me. I'm thinking about asking her to wear her hair in a beehive.

Sarla,It indimidates me also to start a project, that was why I was so stressed a few days ago and asking myself if I was crazy. I couldn't do it without help from my daughter Nicole and my supportive husband Peter.

Patti, Thanks for the kudos, and the socess.

Well Niteoll and sleep well

The Beehive Costume part II

My daughter came by and helped me with this dress and she is going to come back tomorrow.
I'm so glad I was able to con her into helping me with this. LOL From the mess shall arise the beehive costume.

This is the front, its beeswax, tissue paper and chicken wire. It needs more layers and shaping so it looks like honey cells. I told myself I would just whip it out, yea right, it's going to take hours. I didnt' get out today although there were things I should have done, people who required and requested my presence, but I have a job and it's art, sometimes it requires that I hole up in my studio in my home and create. I could have a boring job selling cars or stocks.

Your ideas and comments are muchly appreciated.

Good Night

Pardon the picture it's a mess,

these are the ingredients for the Beehive dress, 8 yards of muslin, thread, liquid thread, chicken wire, sewing machine oil, thread, 8' flower garland, silk flowers, 20 yards of yellow nylon mesh,
newspaper, tissue paper, beeswax, big safety pins, and yellow ribbon.

I'm just sitting here checking out other peoples blogs. We creatives are a fascinating bunch aren't we? But sometimes reading blogs is just my way to avoid my own creative mess.
I know it's just that initial apprehension that I feel whenever I start something new. I have 13 days to do this, so no need to get nutty (yet).

The Beehive Dress

After going back and forth in my mind; should I do the Wearable Art Show, or should I not do the wearable art show. I threw common sense to the wind and made a decision, Yes. I will do the Wearable Art Show. http://www.valleyartsalliance.com/index.html Now I'm thinking am I nuts! The Idea was to made an elaborate beehive, encaustic wax honey combs in the front, bees buzzing all around and a flower headdress. My cute model Ashley Meadows will come down the runnway to the song Honey Bee by Deb Wessler http://www.debwessler.com/ an Alaskan songstress.

This costume is becoming a logistical nightmare, let me elaborate. First I tried foam pipe insulation made and hoops then tied them together with twine and white duct tape in a pyramid fashion. It didn't work. Next idea was to cut foam rubber and make the beehive look like a cake. Foam rubber costs 69.00 a square yard. No Way! Currently the idea is to make the beehive out of duct work. Yikes, I feel like quiting before I even get started.
Good points: Dear One is willing to help me, my daughter is willing to help, it will be fun, we will bond, others will share in my craziness, I will get loads of publicity.

But did I mention that KAKM Public Television is going to interview me on camera, I'll be on TV while my piece is being auctioned. If I was looking for attention then I am certainly getting it and lovin it too!
Here is a link to the site click on the right KAKM Art Showcase Auction http://kakm.org/2009/02/ look around for some nice Alaskan artwork mine is "A Place in the Heart" you can bid on the telephone live with the bidders in the studio.

Snowbirds Fly South For the Winter

It's 4 am and I'm not sleeping. How can I? I just booked a trip to Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica we are leaving in exactly 30 days. I'm excited and quite a little nervous about the trip. We are going to visit one of our snowbird friends (snow birds are Alaskans who only live here in the non winter months) in the winter fly south they enjoy the best of both worlds. After doing an internet search of the place we are going I discover it's the gateway to the Corcovado National Forest the most biologically intense place on the planet! Jaguars, scarlet macaws, and interesting bugs, snakes, crocks, monkeys and hungry mosquitos just like Alaska. Yet it is like the polar opposite of Alaska. Peter is going marlin fishing, the average temperature 85 degrees and the temp of the ocean is 85 degrees. We are staying on the beach, in town they have internet access Yay! Since it's been sooo long since we have taken a good vacation. I booked us for 21 days, long enough to maby get a little homesick and want to get back to work.....or become a snowbird....

btw check out my new website and tell me what you think...http://www.cabinfeverinalaska.com

Wordless Wednesday

The rest of the story or my life should be a sitcom.

My friendly Post Mistress called me at around noon and said "we found your passports."
Apparently they were put in the wrong p.o. box. The people were out of town and had someone picking up their mail and throwing it on their table, when they got home they found our passports in the pile and took them to the post office. WoW

So I already filed a lost or stolen passport form and that cannot be reversed and the new passport takes 10 business days. WTF did I learn from all this??? If only I'd waited through the weekend and not reacted so negatively, if only............
At least I like my new passport photo better than the first one.

I'd Like to Go All Postal or a Tale of Homeland Insecurity

Ok, so Monday I finally checked into why we still haven't received out passports since we applied for it on December 11. I call the U.S. Passport Agency and say whats up? and they say the passports were mailed on December 30th and here is the USPO tracking number #0004675982640916784.

I take this number to my local post office and they send me to the substation the substation says: duh, it was delivered here at 6:53 a.m. January 5th and delivered at 7:21 to your box. That is unlikely. It takes longer to drive to my rural p.o. box than that. I go back to the substantion four times trying to get some help, they say the satellite is down, they will send a supervisor out, the supervisor says we don't do that! What the hell, does anyone give a damn? I called the contract carrier, all emotional, a woman I know and like, she has her son deliver the mail, she spoke to him and all I heard in the background was double talk, she came back to the phone and said; "we we don't know what happened to your passports," and suggested I have the post office check in the certified mail or express mail bin. I went back again, the worker at the substation looked in the baskets and did not find them.
I went back to the post office and spoke to the Post Mistress who looked at me and my rant with an appropriate espression of understandingand making placating noises. She said they will look in all the boxes again. This was the 6th trip to the post office and numerous calls to the passport agency. Yesterday I called the Post Mistress back and she says with her understanding monotone voice that spoke she to John and they still can't find them still yatta, yatta, yatta. I'm going to puke. Why is this happening to me?

So Friday January 30th we came back to the post office and filed a DS-89 lost or stolen passport form and reapplied for new passports and opened a new p.o. box downtown.

In the meantime can anyone please tell me,

were the f--k are our passports????