Rule404 In reply to LauraNeocleous [2016-12-03 21:46:24 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for keeping a lookout for me!  That circle layout, though, is a Kingdom Hearts thing.  Kairi is a character from the game, and all of the Disney Princesses in it had these stained glass images with the circle.  Kairi ended up being a princess, too, if memory recalls, but she had no stained glass.  So I tried to make her one.  The etsy pic (pretty shadowbox, love it!) is all original.  You should get it if you liked it.    If I had the budget (kiddos are breaking the bank ), I might try going for it.  lol

And thank you for the complement!  Your art is amazing!  3-D studio is my favorite.  Just love how tactile it is.  2-D is a lot more easily hidden from my children.    I'm doing embroidery now (bold move on my part), and am carving a little on a tree outside.  So I'm getting my 3-D in a little!

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LauraNeocleous In reply to Rule404 [2016-12-04 00:36:18 +0000 UTC]

Oh I'm so glad to hear it's all legit! The character I knew was from KH but I wasn't sure if the stained glass was you or not. The shadow box is lovely and now I'm genuinely thinking about it haha!

You're very welcome! And thank you ever so much, that means a Hell of a lot coming from you!
Oh I hope to see lots of your embroidery work, it's always nice to do something textile based (learning knitting and sewing in general on the side now), I hope you haven't stopped with drawing all together, I always get nostalgic seeing your drawing work, it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I remember spending hours looking through your website and browsing everything over and over again, in awe of your lines and detailing.

O= tree carving sounds legit, I hope we get to see the final piece when it's all done! Down my road some random artist turned about 7 tree stumps into tiki totem poles overnight, it was amazing, but I was so young I never took photos of them. I bet your tree will look stunning!

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Rule404 In reply to LauraNeocleous [2016-12-06 01:41:28 +0000 UTC]

I still draw, but I'm in a weird place with my creativity for the past few years.  I am not into the things I used to draw really.  I used to make things all on Bristol, all ready for framing when done.  Now I still draw similar subjects: Disney princesses for the kiddos, fairies, and such.  I only have them in a sketch book, though.  I would not hang them up, and I wouldn't expect others to hang them in their houses.

It's like I turned 30, and just got OLD.  lol  I am unsatisfied with most of my work because I feel it's childish.  I've been wanting to do some mixed media things, but with all these dang D.N.A. Experiments roaming about my house or hanging off my bobbies, it's hard to start projects so I got my sketch books.  Close them up, hide them so they aren't turned into a four year old's coloring book.

One thing I really really want to do is some type of lady drawing where her face and maybe hair is painted on linen, her clothes are stitched, and there is beading and ribbon embroidery on it.  Or hell, stitch her skin, too.  Embroider her hair.  Just something as mature as some Lavender and Lace images at least!

And at the same time, I have a Zelda project tucked away for nostalgia.  lol  Ugh.  Just in creative limbo!  Easily fixed by eight strait hours sleep, a perfectly clean house, and all the kiddos in school I'm sure.   


My mother sews really well, and I wish I learned.  There are so many things I'd like to wear but am too poor to buy.  lol  Nice clothes are pricey!  Knitting has always been like magic to me.  I don't understand how it works.  My husband showed me.  Yeah, HE knows!  lol  Still a mystery.  I must get that from my mom.  She told me she tried to learn.  Had crochet hooks and knitting needles thrown at her head.

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LauraNeocleous In reply to Rule404 [2016-12-08 21:05:44 +0000 UTC]

That honestly makes me really sad, the part where you don't draw some things anymore because you think they are childish. But I also completely understand that if you don't have the passion for certain subjects anymore, you can't exactly force it back. There isn't that passion behind it anymore. I'm glad you still at least have a sketch book going, that way if you do something you really wanna take further, you have the idea down and you can always visit it again in the future with the boards!

The project you want to do with the lady sounds fantastic, I really hope you manage it some day, however long it takes, I'd love to see how you go about something like that.
Haha, the creative limbo, you'd think enough rest would be the key to it, but we all know that would be too easy! I hope you still put up work on here anyway, no matter how infrequent it may be.

Ahh sewing, I started upcycling my old tops as I can't afford to keep buying new printed stuff. I'm gonna get some basic plain t-shirts and cut a pocket shape out of my old ones on the part of the image I like best, sew graphic image onto shit and BAM, new top that sites would probably charge more than I can afford to buy!
Knitting is one of them things where you watch people do it and you're like... what? But once you have someone sit with you and go through it sloooowly, it starts making a lot of sense and then eventually you just start to get it. I'm in very early stages but I just knitted my first baby hat with the online help of my friend! I'm lucky that she never gave up with pestering me to learn to knit, and now that I willingly want to learn, she's always happy to help me, even online.
I would LOVE if my boyfriend wanted to learn to knit, haha, you got a good one there!

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Rule404 In reply to LauraNeocleous [2016-12-12 02:23:40 +0000 UTC]

I read this thing recently from a friend.  It went something like:  People keep telling me how young they are inside, keep telling me about their child within.  My inside is a little old lady.  lol

That is me!  My inside is a little old lady.  A southern one.  I don't have a smart phone, I don't text, and I just want to spend my days cleaning my house and doing something I like in the evening.  I remember the Bible saying when you are grown, you put away your childish things, but that isn't what happened to me.  The things I loved dumped me!  Just suddenly they weren't important.  Around that time my oldest child was being diagnosed with Autism.  My inner child got a big, fat reality check.

I also think some of the dislike that I suddenly have is also related to how I used to draw.  Epilogue, for example, pretty much stated that you have not created "art" unless it matched x, y, and z.  Had to be finished, had to have a background, had to be at a certain level, needed to stylistically be a certain way.  I started drawing in a way I never liked to draw in the first place.  I hate backgrounds.  Why does it need to be finished?  The sketch is the best part! 

Eh, it'll sort itself out one day.  This won't last forever.  No more babies so this baby will grow, and I can focus on me again.  Then I can kick most of my brood out save one, and be selfish and focus on me!  lol

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LauraNeocleous In reply to Rule404 [2016-12-13 17:40:51 +0000 UTC]

Haha, I hear ya on the little old lady part! I love having a good tidy up and things that I shouldn't enjoy until I'm much older.

Yeah I was always told that the art you create needs to have some kind of meaning to it. I never understood that. Why can't it just be what it is? Why do I have to have this whole story behind it? I mean don't get me wrong, it's certainly nice when it does, but I would never dislike something because it didn't have that. Or like you say about backgrounds etc. A nice polished piece is great and beautiful, but so is the journey that we see in a sketch. Pieces with no background are also just as wonderful! Man, maybe this is how I lost a lot of my inspiration too. So many rules for something that is meant to be an expression of freedom.

Well I will always be following your account on here, so make sure you don't abandon me here and I will keep a look out for any future works! (unless you have your eye on being more active somewhere else?)

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Rule404 In reply to LauraNeocleous [2016-12-16 13:50:20 +0000 UTC]

I totally agree about art!  I don't particularly care for mine to have meaning.  I just want to look at it and think "pretty."  lol  Out of everything posted here, I think the only one with meaning would be the bluebells in a teacup picture I drew.  My aunt's favorite flower was bluebells, and teacups are special to her because my grandmother had tea with her every day.  She didn't have tea with my father or other aunts.  Just her.  So that was special for her.  But normally, I just like the aesthetic of things.

Last I checked many famous paintings from hundreds of years ago are not overflowing with meaning.  It's a painting of someone's daughters, or a painting of a girl sitting with an angel flying around her, or a painting of Jesus.  They're beautiful, but I can't recall many that are trying to influence humanity about something.  Mona Lisa is supposed to have meaning.  complicated background for a complicated woman...or man.  lol  And then I hear that there are hidden things in some paintings, but that's more Where's Waldo than talking about the times.  I'm sure someone would like to prove me wrong on this.

I will still update this place, but I also have a ton on facebook.  Facebook, Pinterest, and here will probably be it.  Three places is plenty.

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Rule404 In reply to AdeleLorienne [2016-02-08 04:11:40 +0000 UTC]

lol  Holy crap, I forgot it was tomorrow!  Thanks! 

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AdeleLorienne In reply to Rule404 [2016-02-08 04:55:28 +0000 UTC]

lol 

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Rule404 In reply to Enaxn [2015-08-20 04:31:28 +0000 UTC]

You have pretty art! 

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Rule404 In reply to RavenDiablo [2015-05-03 01:59:44 +0000 UTC]

My mother could make that, and it honestly looks like $300 of work + materials.  Yeah, they are making a killing on that coat!  If they are actually able to sell one.    I really want that coat!

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RavenDiablo In reply to Rule404 [2015-05-03 02:22:42 +0000 UTC]

Really? That is impressive.  Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if it cost them $400 to have it made and they are just doubling the price.   I am sure they sell something like that to some rich doctor or lawyer that really wants to impress his significant other.  But even at $400 that would be a difficult spring for me, but at that price I would probably go for it if it meant it would be something my wife would have for the next 10 years, then it is money well spent.

I don't blame you, it is a beautiful coat.

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Rule404 In reply to RavenDiablo [2015-05-03 13:35:33 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, materials for it would probably run you $100.  That's fabric, thread, fur, lining, trim, and maybe a facing.  $100 is actually a little generous for funding.  The extra $300 would be the hours put into it, and thinking about my mom's hourly rate she charges, I should have said $200-250 for work.

Right now I'm trying to think of practicalities about it.  I've never spent that much on any piece of clothing, and if I did spend say $400, I would want to wear it as my winter coat all the time, for the rest of my life, or until it was destroyed.

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RavenDiablo In reply to Rule404 [2015-05-04 00:10:44 +0000 UTC]

That sounds cool.  Sure beats $895.

I would saying with good materials having it for a good 10 years would make the $400 initial cost worthwhile.   I certainly could picture my wife wearing something like that.  She would look awesome.  As for yourself...well, did you swing the idea by hubby?  If he likes to see you in something like that then I would say go for it.

I have breaking news though this week.   It looks like I managed to get the whole family interested in attending a Renaissance fair.   So it certainly looks like I will be putting together some costumes much earlier than I thought for this year.   I am looking into a couple of renfests that fall late summer, early fall.   The good news is that whatever I come up with a costume for the renfest, I will also use it for Halloween this year.

While I am still checking out some of the Renaissance Fairs in my area, one is quickly becoming a favorite and more than likely it is this Renfest I will be going to:

www.renfair.com/NY/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqstuT…

It is a very big one that is held every year upstate NY.  It is a large fair with close to 100 vendors and a capacity for up to 12,000 people on a busy day.

So I am thinking of coming up with some period correct costumes for my family.   I am not sure if I am going to go strictly period dress (Nobleman / Noblewoman) or go fantasy.   I probably will go the latter and perhaps will make my wife and I an elven couple.   We will see what I will end up doing, as nothing is etched in stone as of yet.

So I am off to doing some more research!

Hmmm, I should copy this and put it in my journal on my main page.

Have a good night!

Rave.

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Rule404 In reply to RavenDiablo [2015-05-06 18:43:33 +0000 UTC]

Sorry for the late reply.  Getting over a stomach bug here.  Symptoms started the day before yesterday, ended yesterday, but I'm still so tired!    I'm even skipping my workout today.

My mom said she could make that coat.  I am thinking about asking her to in a year or so after more weight comes off.  Wouldn't want it now and then it be too big on me.    This is pretty, too.  s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/o…

I'd like to go again to a festival.  This last time I was with my dad, and it was slow going.  He has a mass in his lungs, it's benign, but he's not getting things taken care of till summer since he's a teacher.  So at the fair we had to walk slowly and rest often so he could breathe.  I nursed my baby at the midwife's house.  lol  We went so slowly and stopped so often that we didn't get to the food on time.  Nothing good left.  Next time I'd like my family to go, and all of us dress up.  I really want to buy a bottle of honeyed mead.

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RavenDiablo In reply to Rule404 [2015-05-07 00:16:35 +0000 UTC]

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well.  Hope you feel better.

Well, if you do eventually get that coat made for you, I certainly would like to see it!   Yes that coat you linked to is also very pretty...very fluffy and cuddly, but I like the first one better.

Oh, I got you started on wanting to go to another renfest?

Well at least it is benign.   I usually have to take breaks too when I walk too fast or for too long.  That is why I have to do some walking this summer...probably at night.  I just have to get used to walking for a long time again, otherwise I will be in trouble when it comes time to go to the fair.  

Well, from what I am coming to understand, the period clothing can run a pretty penny.  Some of it is very expensive.   So I would go with something basic for the first time out.

Goodnight!

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Rule404 In reply to RavenDiablo [2015-05-09 01:38:11 +0000 UTC]

Everyone got the bug.    The baby and I came down with it hours apart.  Many trips to the bathroom followed by five days and counting of dizziness and fatigue for me.  The baby had one vomit spell and three days of 103 degree fevers.  During her second day of illness, the middle child had it, and today my eldest is sent home with a 101 fever.  My husband had to stay home yesterday, and he is still feeling under the weather today.  All thanks to one person at my school that couldn't miss work for one day. 

I'll show you the coat when it's made.  It will eventually happen, and I will be a total freak and wear it shopping to Super 1.  I've always loved going to Ren Fest.  It's just nice to walk around with my honey and watch the shows.

My dad was actually born with this mass.  It's called Cystic Hygroma, and it's a calcified mass that stretches from your jaw to your chest.  My dad was used in videos to teach med students how to correctly remove the mass.  And what not to do.  The severed some facial nerves accidentally, and he hasn't been able to close his left eye on his own since he was 1.  They also left a tiny piece in his chest, and it has grown since 1952.  They are far better at removing these benign tumors now.  But tiny bits sometimes break off in his blood stream.  He had a pulmonary embolism a few years back, had to get stints.  Now pieces of it are in his arteries around his heart so he needs some stints there.  He just can't get his blood oxygenated with all of it.  He hasn't done it yet because he didn't want to miss teaching.  Summer starts on the 21st.

If you do 45 minutes of cardio 3 times a week, you'll be in shape in no time at all!  You may not be a fitness model, but your heart will feel it, and you won't get out of breath.

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RavenDiablo In reply to Rule404 [2015-05-10 02:28:04 +0000 UTC]

Wow, sorry to hear that, but yeah all it takes is one sick person.  I can't tell you how many times I got sick from my job.  As clean as CEC is and with all the wiping down and sanitizers,  sometimes you still get sick.

So you talked to your mom and she is going to make that coat for you?   Yeah, if you do have it made up, I certainly would like to see it.

Well, as I said, I never been to one so I figured going out and dressing up a little bit, I think it would make for a nice outing.  I am getting some ideas of what I am going to put together for my wife and I.   I am still on the fence about going historical or going fantasy.  I like the idea of making up my wife and I as a pair of elves.

Oh, I see, that is interesting.  So they are going to go back in and remove the rest of that mass?  It looks it it is causing problems with his circulatory system.

45mins?  Naw, I would collapse first.  Even when I had a treadmill I would do no more than 30mins.   But yeah, I have to do some walking around otherwise I am going tire very quickly when it comes to renfest day.

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Rule404 In reply to RavenDiablo [2015-05-13 14:10:58 +0000 UTC]

If you are working somewhere that young children flock to, you are definitely going to get sick no matter how much you clean!  lol

Dressing up like an elf sounds like fun.    I used to do that on a regular basis because my dad had some Vulcan ears I could play with.    You should post pics, too.  Are your kids going as little elflings?

My dad won't be able to have the mass removed.  After 63 years, it's got a nice supply of blood vessels going.  Stints in his arteries will help greatly, but he will be keeping that tumor forever. 

I got really out of shape once, and I would get out of breath walking around the mall.  Never again.  Unless I'm really old and feeble, then I have an excuse.

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RavenDiablo In reply to Rule404 [2015-05-13 23:28:05 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, and CEC is known to be cleaner than most places.  BUT I still get sick.   I was twice in the hospital with 'strange' infections and I only assume it came from that place.   I really have to get out of there before the place kills me.

No, if I do the elf costumes, just the wife and I.   The kids would be constantly pulling and tugging on the ears.  Plus  I don't think they can handle wearing them for a long time.

Oh, so they can't remove it then.

Yeah, I am kind of like that now.   If I keep a slow and steady pace, I am fine, but my wife 'runs' even though she says she is walking.   She just walks too darn fast and it gets on my nerves.   Many times I avoid going to places with a lot of walking because I feel I am 'forced' to go at her pace.   I know I have to get used to walking again, otherwise I will not make it through the renfest!

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Rule404 In reply to RavenDiablo [2015-05-14 15:00:00 +0000 UTC]

I'm a speed walker, too.  As is my husband.  We've both worked retail too long to walk slowly again.  The only time I go slow now is when I let my 19 month old walk holding my hand, but half the time I get so impatient that I carry her.

Places children frequent, be they pizza joints or schools, are riddled with death.  My eldest is the only one in school--well, I teach, but just for 1 class/day--so she constantly gets stomach bugs, strange fevers, colds, impetigo, the flu...  This last week when we were all sick, I had a stomach bug caught from school.  Bathroom trips lasted one day, fatigue lasted 5 or 6.  My baby had it with 102.9 fever.  Then my eldest came home one day with a 103+ fever but no stomach bug which jumped to my toddler who ended up with...wait for it...a 107 degree fever.  Kids = death.

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RavenDiablo In reply to Rule404 [2015-05-15 01:18:28 +0000 UTC]

I used to be fast at walking and could keep up with my wife...even when I started to put on weight.  But once I hit the 300lb mark, then I started to slow down.  Yeah, when the kids were young and couldn't walk fast then everyone had to keep up with them.   But now that my kids are taller, they can keep up with Mom.

LOL!  Kids = Death.   Yeah, I hear that.  If the colds don't get you, then they aggravate you to death.

107 fever?  Wow, time for ice bath.    There certainly would be the sound of steam release on contact with the water.   Did you take her to the hospital?

Well, hope y'all feeling better now.

G'nite.

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Rule404 In reply to RavenDiablo [2015-05-15 13:57:13 +0000 UTC]

No, no ice bath and no hospital.  Not my first 107 fever.    She got a tepid bath, acetaminophen, and ibprophen.  The first time I took my child in with a 107 fever, we waited in the ER for 2 hours, the decided to draw blood out of the back of her hand (OUCH), and then sent us home with "Tylenol and Motrin, Tylenol and Motrin..."  The second time we brought her to the ER with a 107 fever, we didn't even make it to the rooms.  The nurse told us, "There's some flu going around.  You can wait here 2 hours to be told Tylenol and Motrin, or you can bring her home and do Tylenol and Motrin."  So we left. 

My dad actually holds the record for highest temperature in Texas history, 115 degrees.  He was playing ball when a stray hit him in the jaw where they removed part of the cycstic hygroma, and it did something to give him that fever.  He said he was in the hospital in a bed of ice, and another kid there came up and asked for his comics because Dad obviously wouldn't need them anymore.

Anyway, I am feeling better.    So are the girls.  I'm glad they are because we have a new neighbor, and I had been wanting to invite her to dinner.  Moved in for a week now.  I feel like a bad neighbor because I haven't brought her muffins or anything.

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RavenDiablo In reply to Rule404 [2015-05-15 23:11:54 +0000 UTC]

Ahhhh, I see.   Well, I guess in that case then you know what to do having done it before.

115, Wow!  That is almost unheard of...talk about frying! 

New neighbors huh?   Yeah we got new neighbors on Halloween day.   We didn't do anything for them either, so don't feel bad.

I want to get out of here like nobody's business because I just can't stand living in attached houses.  I would like us to have our own house again.

But glad everyone is doing better,.

Have a good night!

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