My work in town...

With a little leg work I am beginning to get my work out and about in town. Last fall I was able to create some adorable magnets for the Sweet Life Patisserie . I have updated their collection several times since then. The magnets have gotten cuter and more refined since then. This is the most recent collection I brought to them:

I also recently was able to get my appliqued onesies into Sweet Potato Pie. Tony and Vincent and I stopped in there yesterday to touch base and check on the onesies. I was thrilled to see one of my creations hanging in their window as I approached the shop! (Must remember to take a picture and insert it here!) The onesie in the window was my adorable angel wing one. This is what it looks like:



Some other popular ones there are the raven,

and the ice cream cone.


I have also done some customed appliqued onesies. I created this dolphin set for a woman searching for a hawaiian themed new baby-boy gift set.


I created this raven for someone looking for a "sweet" raven. The dark raven above of course owes it's existance to this little pink girl! I made a matching burpie to go along with this.

Goddesses and Kittens...

I have been sculpting goddesses in one form or another for nearly twenty years now. I began when I was in grade school and my aunt requested some for her shop. I was thrilled! My first wholesale order! Needless to say, they're back! I am adding them slowly to my Etsy shop but here are the few added already for your enjoyment:




There are perhaps a dozen or so more already made that I will be adding over the next few weeks. I love the female form. I love the plump, voluptuous curves of the feminine figure. They are empowering somehow. Holding these little goddesses (who measure no more than perhaps three inches long) in your hand you can feel a feminine energy and it is wonderful! Even if there really isn't any energy there, the reminding they help us with is powerful enough.

On a different note...

last Thursday our cat Sweet Pea graced our home with a litter of kittens. She was originally an outdoor cat but having had them in a box on the porch we promptly pulled the new family inside. This photo was taken when the kittnes were about an hour and a half old. At four days now their color is showing through better and they are just adorable! I have never cared for new kittens before so being the crazy animal lover that I am this is a fabulous experience for me. There are six little kittens. One orange, one cream, one black with rusty patches and striped legs, one black with striped legs, and two grey kitties, one a little lighter and both with striped legs. Sweet Pea is a doll too. She is surprisingly tame for an outdoor cat and this gives me high hopes that I won't have too much trouble finding her a home when the kittens are old enough. So... in roughly six to eight weeks, if you want a kitten! Hahaha! No, seriously... let me know!

Getting Out There

It has been too long since I've updated my blog. I hope that all of you will forgive me!

I have been keeping myself very busy these past couple of weeks with art on every level. Not too long ago I received an order for two custom jesters. I have been spending my time studying river otters and wolves.

The otter is now sculpted and painted and even has all of his whiskers so I am setting him down to sculpt the wolf.

This is going to be a laughing wolf, which presents some unique challenges since I have not yet sculpted an animal with such expression! I am looking forward to the challenge however. They will both be adorned in berets and jewels and ruffled collars. I brought in the finished otter head along with the rest of my jesters to the Art Of Glass a local glass shop/gallery that features artists monthly for the Last Friday Art Walk to see if they would accept my work. They loved them, especially the otter! Looking through Noni's calendar I couldn't help but to drift towards October. Tony and I are great lovers of Halloween. So my jesters will be opening there on Halloween night. How perfect is that! I already have ideas up my sleeve of black cats and crows and maybe even a vampire or two! If you are in the area stop by in your costume and say hello!

Today I took a stack of my appliquéd baby onesies into a local shop, Sweet Potato Pie, to inquire about consignment options. They loved the onesies and wanted them all. I am anxious to see how well they do, or don’t do, over the coming months.

Neuter Scooter - Retrieval

So... I return to the Veneta Community Center to collect my little Siamese cat at promptly eight o'clock in the evening. I am standing outside amongst so many other cat owners and collectors (the service specializes in fixing feral cats). The head vet comes outside in the fading light to de-brief us on the day's events. "We fixed 77 cats today," she began, "54 of which were female..." She goes on to say that there weren't any problems, all the cats made it through just fine. She describes to us the drunken state they may still be in as the drugs are wearing off. She describes our cats as being "slinky cats" and that we should enjoy it while we can. They may be staring wide-eyed and lolling tongue out at the world, but don't worry, they're just fine. Then she says, "Who had number 6?" Of 77 cats, she calls my number! I panic for a second until I remember that she said there hadn't been any problems, then I timidly raise my hand. She smiles down at me and said, "you said she was such a sweet cat, that little Siamese, but she was the meanest cat we had in there today!" I smiled and blushed a litte, "sorry" I mouthed to the chuckling crowd.

We were let inside finally and instructed on how to collect and leave with our pet. All the cats seemed to be waking up just fine. There were some drunken "meows" and heads were looking around, but Sasha was completely limp in her carrier. I approached the head vet with her and said with a smile, "You must have needed to give her extra." She looked into the carrier and responded, "No, we pushed her surgery until later when one of us had gotten up the courage to handle her!"

So that's it. My sweet little Sasha is a naughty girl inside. Family and friends who knew her in her younger years would agree wholeheartedly. But I've softened over time, as she's matured, she's mellowed out. Apparently clinics and carriers and strangers bring it all back to the surface again!

Neuter Scooter...

Or Sasha that is! My poor, poor little kitty. I've been putting off getting her fixed for nearly six years now. I'd like to say it was because I just didn't have the money. But I'm sure that at one point during those six years, I did. The truth be told, I have been terribly lazy about the whole situation. Where I am living now there are at least two un-altered male cats roaming about the house. She has been held prisoner inside my studio for quite some time now. She seems to be in a perpetual state of heat. It drives me nuts but I'm sure that Jet and Monk (don't let the name fool you!) would love for her to come out and play! So, I made the appointment with Neuter Scooter maybe two months ago. I never though the day would come! She hissed at the women behind the long table when I handed her my form. "She's really a very nice cat." I tried to appeal on Sasha's behalf. The woman glanced up at me with an "uh-huh" kind of look. Then she glanced into the carrier as Sasha proceeded to hiss at her. *sigh* I tried.

As I sat down to blog this morning I received a convo on Etsy from a fellow artist who had blogged about the siamese cat jester stick I created. It's a cute blog about her cat taking over the keyboard.


Speaking of jesters... I finally am working on a dragon that has been sitting on my table for many, many months now. I painted the head last night and am terribly pleased with the direction it's going. I will post pictures in a later blog. (Remember, I'm on dial-up!) I need to put more attention into my "Candice Westberg" shop. I enjoy making the baby products, but my passion really pours out when I can sculpt and paint. Working on the new dragon jester last night brought that up to the surface again. And honestly, I've missed it quite a bit and didn't even realize it. So, I will put the onesies away for a time and spend a little time on me. I've missed me lately.

The Saturday Market is here again!

Oh happy me! It has seemed quite a long winter without the Saturday Market. But alas, this weekend was day one of a new season! Tony and I were excited to get out of the house, whatever the reason! And I'm sure he was happy to yank me out of the studio for a day. Although I hit my first wall of baby-separation when we left our son Vincent with his grandmother Saturday morning. I did not see them coming, but the tears they flowed! Wow. It's in moments like those that I think to myself, "I get it now... I understand what people are talking about." In reference to their children. We are sure that Vincent turned on every mommy button on his way into this world because at the strangest moments I feel something new and uncontrollable! But I love it. Every tear, every smile. I never imaged being a mom would be so amazing! And he's not quite eight months old yet! Of course, one of my favorite things is having the best excuse to be able to quit my "day job" and become a full-time stay-at-home-mom and artist!

Where was I? Oh yes, the Saturday Market! You won't find any of my homemade baby items at the market, perhaps one day. My partner and I are balloon artists! Now this isn't your run of the mill one balloon animal kind of work. We use multiple balloons to create amazing things from mermaids and fairies to spiderman and aliens! (Mental note to take photos next weekend and try to get them up!) In a month or two I hope to introduce caricatures into the equation as well.

Stop by and say hello! I'd love to chat it up with fellow surfers!

I'm off to update Etsy now. Check it out! TickledPinkAndBlue.etsy.com