Back from Artfest

Artfest was amazing and wonderful and fun, as always! I feel so fortunate that I was able to go again this year, where I shared time with my dear AF friends and made some fantabulous new ones! Special thanks to Marilyn for her gracious hospitality in her beautiful home, and to my roomie Diane - my belly hurts from laughing so hard with you! I had the BEST time ever, and love you both! xoxoxoxo

Hopefully photos will be posted soon - so many to edit, but wait 'til you see the fabulous work that people did this year!!!

: ) lulu

Shrine Project update

Update on the Oaxaca Street Children Grassroots project: Amazing artists have already contributed cigar box shrines to help raise funds for the children of the beautiful city of Oaxaca in Oaxaca, Mexico, and there will be more to come. To any artist who might be interested in contributing, you still have until April 9th to create your shrine. Rebecca of Recuerda Mi Corazón is the creator and organizer of the auction. Please click on the logo to get all the details to participate, or click here to find updates and to find links to all the participating artists!

I have finally finished my little shrine.

In the main scene of my shrine, a boy serenades
the pretty princess in the castle, as she looks on longingly.

On the facing panel, the boy and the princess have come together.
The beautiful lines from Pablo Neruda's Sonnet XVII
capture the feeling:

"I love you without knowing how, or when or where..."

This shrine is about 6" X 9" and includes mixed media, collage, mosaic tiling, a tin nicho with one of my soldered pendants dangling inside, and paper clay sculpture.

I hope you will consider either contributing a shrine for the auction, or bidding like crazy to support this good cause - or both!

Happy Spring to you!
: ) lulu

Dollies for Haiti

A couple of weeks ago I posted about making dolls for an orphanage in Haiti. The lovely Sarah is the amazing inspiration behind this endeavour. You can read more about her Dolly Donations project here.

It has taken me longer than usual to make these child-friendly sized, cuddly dolls, but I am happy with the way they turned out, and I hope they will bring smiles to the faces of the children who will take them into their arms.

First, a boy and girl pair with embroidered faces and curly yarn hair that's been braided.

Then, another little girl, this time with a painted face and tons of braids to tame her wild hair.

I have to admit that I love them, and they feel perfectly wonderful to hold. I might just have to make one more to hold onto here!

To tell the truth

To Janne and everyone else who played along with the "creative writing" blogger award a few posts back - time for the big reveal to this little game Janne got me into! [I will also be interspersing these "facts" with images from my journal, just 'cuz I haven't posted anything from said journal in awhile. All the same image, actually, as you will see - the devolution of a face, for no particular reason other than sort of a weird resonance with the writing.] By the way, Janne, I followed your example of keeping the stories close to the truth!


1. Part of the movie The Karate Kid was filmed at my grandfather's ranch. [TRUE!] We were allowed to come and watch the filming of the scene and I got Ralph Macchio's autograph. [False. I'm not even sure I was still living in California when the movie was filmed.]

2. The big bike chase scene in ET started in my neighborhood park. [TRUE!!!] A bunch of us kids took our bikes and rode over to watch the filming in action. [Not true. I had already gone off to college by then.]

3. Valerie Bertinelli lived in my neighborhood during her One Day at a Time years and we rode the bus together to school. [TRUE!] We were really good friends before she became so famous. [Not true, but she was best buddies with my best friend's friend in junior high.] [P.S. Yes, I grew up in L.A.]

4. Super Bowl champ John Elway, former quarterback of the Denver Broncos, went to my high school. [You've figured out the pattern, right? TRUE! He was a big deal even then!] He invited me to prom but I turned him down because I thought he was too young for me! [He WAS too young - I was a senior and he was just in tenth grade - we didn't even know each other so obviously he did NOT ask me to prom. TOO BAD! ] : (

5. After my parents divorced when I was young, my father moved away and I didn't see him for years. I thought he was living in South America as an artist, but I found out he was actually a drug smuggler shuttling back and forth between Europe and India, and being chased down by Interpol. They finally caught him and incarcerated him in London for awhile before sending him back to the States. [Sadly, this one is all true. But read on, because there's one more whole truth in the bunch.]

6. Family parties on my mom's side of the family were pretty wild. The wine flowed freely during one auntie's birthday celebration, and the grown-ups all got pretty toasty. They got the bright idea to go to Hawaii the next day, and since Grampa was away, Nana said "OK!" It was the best vacation ever! [All true, EXCEPT: We little kids were not invited. My siblings and I were sent off to great-grandma's and I still have never been to Hawaii.]

7. I had a brief romance with the drummer for The Village People. [Surprise, Janne! This one is all true! The musicians in the backup band were not gay, just the front men. (And not even all of them!) The drummer and I met on the bus when they were in L.A. He asked me for directions and ended up walking me home from the bus stop. I got to go watch them perform in Las Vegas, from backstage! Interesting little experience for a total non-groupie.]

So there you have it: the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And that's the truth! razzzzzzz! (Thank you, Edith Anne!)

Miss Phoebe is now on my ETSY

Hi there! Remember me? I'm Miss Phoebe, and I'm all dressed up to go to the opera. Want to come along? Please come see me at lulu's etsy shop: www dot lulumoon dot etsy dot com