I have some news that I am excited to share with you, and I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to get a piece of art at a steep discount, while helping someone in need.  

Recently I learned of a woman named Robin Sullins who lost her legs and fingers to a rare bacterial infection due to a dog bite that happened on Christmas day.  Her sister Angi is the founder of Duirwaigh Studios, which is running "Robin's Relief Fantasy Art Auction" to help Robin (who is self-employed and has no medical insurance) to get new legs and hands.  (Duirwaigh Studios also has a presence on deviantART here: [link]  Angi's writings have inspired me in the past, and I wanted to give something back and help her sister Robin, who has a growing mountain of medical bills as well as a huge struggle ahead of her.  Her story and her indomitable spirit touched me, and I had to respond.

I have donated one of my favorite creations to the auction: a purple/black leather Scaled Dragon mask with ram-style horns (on deviantART here: [link].  I hope that one or more of you will fall in love with it, and place a bid!  It normally sells for $140, but the starting bid for this auction is only $75.  

The auction listing for this mask may be found here:  [link]

There are many other beautiful items in the auction as well; I hope you will take a look at them all.  Art pieces have been donated by some famous fantasy artists, such as Wendy Froud, Terri Windling, A. Andrew Gonzalez, Jasmine Beckett-Griffith, Amy Brown, David Delamare, Kinuko Craft, Michael Parkes, Alan Lee, John Howe, and many others.  The full list can be found here, and more items will be added each day through the end of the month:
[link]

Thank you for looking, and I hope you will consider bidding to support Robin (and get some really cool art)!

If you've been considering giving someone a handmade mask, pirate eye patch, or sculpture as a Christmas gift, you only have a few days left to order from my shop (if you're in the U.S.)!  I just added a handful of new eye patches, including a hand-carved Jolly Roger (skull and crossbones) which I'm pretty proud of.    

See my eye patches on deviantART here:  [link]

All available masks, eye patches, and sculptures are in my shop here:  [link]

If you've been thinking about getting one of my handmade leather masks or fantasy sculptures, now is a great time to do it!  I've started my Black Friday deal early; I'm offering free worldwide shipping on all the items in my shop, now through Cyber Monday.  For some items and buyer locations (especially outside North America, but also on the East Coast), this is a substantial savings!

I have 5 polymer clay sculptures left (probably the last ones for a while), lots of handmade leather masquerade masks of various kinds, and a couple of pirate eye patches (including one with a tiny blue eye inlaid in the leather).  These would make wonderful unique gifts for your loved ones (or yourself!), and you'd be supporting an indie artist at the same time.    

All my currently available work may be found here:  [link]

(Items will ship the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, as I will be spending the holiday weekend with family.)

Current works-in-progress include:
4 eye patches with different designs: a Jolly Roger, a spiral, a Celtic knot (triquetra), and a tiny inlaid orange eye.
3 Scaled Ram's-Horned Dragon masks in red, green, and blue (similar to this: [link]

If you are interested in one of these in-progress items, send me a note and I will honor the free shipping deal for you beyond Cyber Monday, as soon as the item is finished.  

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday (or just a great weekend, if you're not in the U.S.)!

Hi everyone!  I've recently added a few new masks to my gallery, and they're for sale!  I just designed a bat (which is sort of a face-hugger) and a rabbit (the first one I make shall be the Black Rabbit of Inlé, from Watership Down).  I'm working on those, so look for them in the next few weeks.  Meanwhile, you can see all the finished masks I have available in my Artfire shop: [link]

Halloween is only a couple months away...  Treat yourself to a unique, high-quality, handmade leather mask!  

This weekend I'll be taking most of my leather masks to the BayCon 2012 art show, and I'll be attending the con too!  If you're there and you see me, please say hello!  (BayCon info: [link]

Part of the time, I will be wearing a wolf half-mask, similar to this one (but in brown/sepia tones): [link]

I've gotten a couple of fun commissions lately, making leather masks for a masquerade wedding!  I made this lovely scaled ram's horned dragon mask for the groom: [link]
When they received the mask, they loved it so much that the father of the bride wants a mask from me too!  I am in the process of making a wolf half-mask for him.  (Of course I will post it in my gallery when it's finished!)

I feel so honored that my artwork will be part of someone's wedding day.  

So, I just got a note from someone thanking me for my Dragon Snail "stock," and linking me to the photomanipulation in which she used it, where she also linked to my dA page to give me credit.  All of this is appropriate, when using a stock photo... except that none of the photos on this account are stock photos.  No, not one.  They are photos of my sculptures and masks.  Nowhere does it say that these are stock photos.  All my work is emblazoned with my copyright notice and website address, partly so that people will not use my images for stock.  

I will give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that it was an honest mistake, and that my photo got mixed in with other photos she used that ARE stock photos.  (I'm still asking her to remove it though.)

However, some people seem to think that any photo they find on the internet is fair game, to use however they want.  This is not the case.  Even if the photo is NOT emblazoned with a copyright notice, this is not the case.  Even if I didn't have an official registered copyright on that work (which I do), this is not the case.  As soon as a work of art is put into tangible form (including digital), it is automatically copyrighted to the person who made it -- which means it is illegal for anyone else to take it and use it to make other stuff without the copyright holder's permission.  

Don't believe me, kiddies?  Check it out for yourselves: [link]

Now... to soften the unpleasant uppercut of truth, I DO have a separate website that is dedicated to photos I've put in the Creative Commons.  (None of my sculptures or masks are on it.)  Be aware that a Creative Commons designation doesn't necessarily mean the work is free to use however you want without attribution.  You can see my stipulations (and my Creative Commons photos) here: [link] fun with those!  

I have been making leather masks for a while now, and I'm just starting to add them to my gallery here on deviantART.  The masks that are currently available can be found in my Artfire shop: [link]

I'm working on more designs and colors, which will be added ASAP!

I have a table at the BayCon art show this year, Friday May 27 through Monday the 30th.  (Well, half a table.)  I'll be showing 5 sculptures and 5 brand-spankin' new leather masks (which I haven't had time to upload here yet, but they're on my main website: [link].

If you're going to BayCon, come find me and say hello (and comment here so I know to look for ya)!  I'm planning to be a black-and-white unicorn on Saturday.  

I finished this little guy a while ago, but just got around to uploading pics here on dA.  Behold the Bat-Eared Sap Dragon!  [link] ... and a closeup: [link] is the second in my Fairy Dragon series.  (The Bloodbellied Glimmerwing is the first: [link]

This sculpture was a fun challenge for me, as I was conducting a couple of experiments.  The first was about the ears.  I wanted the ears to be translucent and vein-y, kind of like a cat's ears.  I ended up using red mulberry paper, which has lots of delicious fibers in it.  If you'd like to know how I did it, I blogged about it over on my Artfire shop. Part 1: [link] 2: [link]

The second experiment was about the tasseled tail.  I talked a little bit about that in Part 2 of the aforementioned blog.  I'm quite pleased with the results of both experiments!

The Bat-Eared Sap Dragon is available for sale in my Artfire shop!  [link]


Recently I have been playing with leather maskmaking.  I've designed three masks so far, and I will upload pictures soonish!  

Hey all! I've been away from deviantART for a few months, so I got waaay behind. I don't know why; I love coming here and ogling the pretty art, so I'm going to make an effort to come here more regularly. Anyway, I found out that I got a Daily Deviation on December 28 for Bloodbellied Glimmerwing! WOOT! I'm stoked about that. Needless to say, I'm way behind on replying to comments, but I'm working through them gradually. Know that I appreciate every comment and every fave-click! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  

Currently I am working on a bat-dragon sculpture. I'm doing a couple of experiments with this one, including translucent ears and real deer hide accents. I have to paint and photograph it and then I'll upload it. I want to finish this soon, because....

I just received delivery of half a cow. Actually, it's a side of tooling leather, with which I will be learning how to make leather masks. I've been burning to do maskmaking for a while, but I was struggling with what medium to use. I'd seen leather masks before and loved them, but it was always intimidating to me because I had no idea how it was done. I have to thank for her awesome tutorial, which I'm going to try first. She and other leather maskmakers have been a huge inspiration to me in trying this medium. I can't wait to dream up my own designs! But first, I must finish the bat-dragon, or I never will.  

P.S. I'll still be sculpting dragons and other critters too... when I'm taking a break from maskmaking. I'll have to see where the Muse takes me with that.

I am running a Christmas sale in my ArtFire and Etsy shops between now and January 15th (2011) -- 15% off everything!  (That's up to about $74 savings for some pieces.)  I don't do this very often, so if you've been wanting one of my sculptures, now's a good time!  ^_^  I will probably close the shops for vacation sometime around December 17, so don't wait too long. (They will reopen after Christmas to allow people to spend their Christmas cash!)

My ArtFire shop (no account necessary to purchase): [link]

My Etsy shop (account required): [link]

I have two new Dragon Snails that are ready for new homes!  (EDIT: Both are sold!)

Fiore (meaning "flower" in Italian) is a beautiful soft metallic rosy color, and her horns twist like flower petals opening to the sun.
See Fiore here on deviantART.
See more pictures of Fiore on my web site.

Senshi (meaning "warrior" in Japanese) bears an impressive crest and dorsal armor, as well as long curved horns. He chose a streamlined shell to allow maximum fighting speed.
See Senshi here on deviantART.  Full body or detail view.
See more pictures of Senshi on my web site.

I also do Dragon Snail commissions. If you are interested, see the FAQ on my website for details.

I know it's been a while since I updated, but I'm not dead!  (Yay!)  I just uploaded pics of a mallard duck sculpture.  Something a little different for me, in that (a) it isn't fantasy and (b) it's my first time attempting to sculpt feathers.  I think my curse of meticulousness went into overdrive.  I was squinting at reference photos, trying to count duck wing feathers.  Ugh.  But I like him; I think he's cute and happy.  Just don't ask me to sculpt any more birds for a good long while.  

A couple more Dragon Snails™ are on the way soon (and will be available for sale).  I just need to varnish and photograph them.  After that... Who knows?  I'm poking my Muse with a stick, trying to get her to think of something fabulous.

About a week ago I entered a contest by to name one of her adorable illustrated critters.  [link] just found out that I won!  I'll be getting a free, original painting of the Puff-Tailed Whiffersnap. Yay!  

If you've never seen Krisztianna's illustrations, you simply must go check them out.  Her coloring book sketches make me want to bust out the crayons like the kid I still am inside.    And her full-color illustrations hark back to my days of reading Serendipity books.  (I confess... I *still* read them....)

Thank you, Krisztianna!  I look forward to receiving the painting!  

Well I haven't uploaded any art in a while, but I haven't dropped off the planet either!    I've been working on some commissions (which I will upload when they are totally done and received and hopefully adored by their new owners).

So I figured it might be a good time to mention that, yes, I do commissions sometimes.  I'm booked for the next while, but I'll probably open the queue again after Spring of 2010.  Serious inquiries are welcome anytime (as long as you don't need it done before next spring).  

I'll post the info from the FAQ on my website.  This is subject to change; please check that FAQ for the latest info.


"Do you take commissions?"

Do you have an idea for an original piece, and you like my style? I am sometimes available to do commissions, if my schedule and current workload permit. (I do not generally do portraiture or illustration; I specialize in small sculptures.) Please note that I will not exactly duplicate a one-of-a-kind piece. However, I may be able to create something similar to a piece you see in my gallery. If you have an idea for a piece you'd like an estimate on, please contact me.

To best communicate a commission idea, please consider the following when explaining your idea:

What would you like?

How would you describe the physical traits and personality (or animal-ity) of the character?
What size do you have in mind?
Are you thinking of a specific pose?
Will you want it painted in full color?

What level of artistic liberty are you comfortable with?

Are you expecting, for example, a howling wolf... or a howling wolf with midnight-blue fur tipped with silver, a ragged scar across his right eye, and missing the tip of his left ear?

The less exact you are about a piece, the more fun it will be for me to design it, and more of my artistic style with come through -- but the less it may end up looking like what you had in mind.

Do you have a timeline in mind?

Is this piece a gift which requires a specific date of delivery?
If there is a deadline, it needs to be clear as crystal from the beginning.

"What do you charge for commissions?"

Of course that depends greatly on what is involved, but I can give you a ballpark idea. Commission prices for one-of-a-kind pieces related to my current series are as follows (subject to change):

    * Dragon Snails™: $80 and up
    * Scions of Legend™ (Unicorns): $325 and up
    * Fairy Dragons: $375 and up
    * Hlarim™ (Furry Fae): $425 and up

The "and up" factor depends on specifications such as pose, colors, size, time restrictions, etc. Prices for commissioned pieces unrelated to my sculpture series will vary. Please email me for details.

Before starting a commission piece, I generally require a nonrefundable deposit of half the total. The other half is due upon completion and before delivery. (I will send photos of the finished piece.)


(end FAQ)

This isn't in my official FAQ, but... the more fun your idea seems to me, and the more it excites my Muse, the more likely I am to agree to a commission!  I don't say yes to everything.  

I'm curious... How do you all deal with commissions?  What do you like best/least about them?  What helps you decide whether or not to take them?  What are some of the problems or joys you've had doing commissions?

I've created a new Dragon Snail™, #16 in the series, called First Sight.  He's blind... but if you're not, then you can see him here!   He's available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Also, I picked up my sculptures from the exhibit, and the Mean Old Goat is also available for sale in my Etsy shop!  Candy is Dandy will follow later.  I have to do a bit of dust removal on him; I learned the hard way that acrylic paint is pretty much a dust magnet and doesn't like to let go.  Six months of sitting uncovered on a pedestal will give you dust-related nightmares.  Lesson learned.  I should've been over there once a week with a can of compressed air, I guess.  

I am participating in the Yart Sale on Etsy sponsored by Team ESST.  Free shipping on everything in my shop, June 10 through June 14!

You can save up to about 40 bucks, depending on what you buy and where you live.  Yep, free shipping for international buyers too!  

Check out my shop here:  [link]

Tax relief party at my place!  20% off all my sculptures, today only (April 15th).

[link]

If you're reading this after the 15th, you're not too late to join the fun!  I'm extending the tax relief with 10% off through the end of April.

You know you've always wanted a Dragon Snail™.... (or a unicorn, or a sea lion, or...)  Today's a great day to get one!

I was happily surprised to find myself featured on the Daily Deviants page for Tuesday, March 10th!  [link]

Thanks to PunknEra (now known as ATrue) for suggesting me, and to Ashleigh-Michelle for featuring me!