The Visitation of Eugenie's Muse And a New Shop ~

I've been so busy lately.

So, so busy.

Some good stuff.

Some bad stuff.

The good stuff comes from my studio.  

I finished a piece that has a lot of personal meaning to me.

"The Visitation of Eugenie's Muse"

This piece is chock full of images that were inspired by the Great Depression, the Ozarks and hard times.  Death and hope as well.

It isn't as bright and colorful and curious as my usual art.  

Eugenie is still in my shop.  If you're interested in purchasing her, just click Right Here.

I've also been playing with salted watercolor again ~ 

This is "Lollianna" ~ 

She's a character from one the children's stories that I wrote called: 

"Lollianna and George Roy's Spectacular Balloon Animal Party."

I am hoping to paint George Roy as well.

My watercolors are simply quick studies.  They're not perfect.  They're "prototypes" for the characters in my books.  Doing theses quick paintings helps me to identify the characters physically.

If you're interested in purchasing "Lollianna" you can find her in My Shop.

She's very affordable and she's one of a kind.

I've also been busy building a second online shop.  A place where I can sell some of the vintage photos I have. 

Here's my new shop ~ 

My Black and White Heart

Most of the photos I'm selling are pieces that I can't use in my art or pieces I've already used.  I don't actually cut into the original photo...I just scan them and hand-tint the scans.  However, there are a few photos that are dear to me that I have listed ~ 

Wonder What This Guy Is Thinking ~

The Hingtgen Sisters

this sweet friendship photo

The Hingtgen Sisters has some history.  The three girls were daughters of the photographer Theo Hingtgen.  Their names were Anna, Mary and Bertha.  Mary is the little girl in the middle and she was deaf and couldn't speak.  The photo was taken in 1890 and is in excellent condition.  

So...as you can see, I've been busy in the studio and busy building a new shop.

I hope you are all well and staying warm and safe.  I hear tell there's a lot of snow out there!

Until Next Time:

Kim

And The Winner Is...

I'm am terribly sorry that it's taken me so long to get back to announce the winner of the vintage photo give-away.  This is the 2nd give-away I've hosted that has been overcome with problems.  For some reason, none of my blog friends from Typepad were able to leave comments.  I thought I had the problem fixed, as I went 'round and 'round with blogger about the situation at the last give-away.

Anyway....the number chosen was 5 ~ Amy!

I'll contact Amy through email and let her know that she is the winner of that fabulous vintage photo.

I have lots of news to share with you....all of it good!!  Yay!  But, I'm off for a day of errands and photo snapping.

Until Next Time:
Kim
Gerushia's New World

Time for a give-away...

Hello There:

As most of you know, I have a large collection of vintage photos.  I was having a look through my photos this weekend and came across this lovely, sepia tone folder photo of a handsome young man playing violin.  I would guess it was snapped somewhere around 1910.  I have several original copies of this photo.  So...I thought I would share some of this vintage, violin goodness with my blog friends by hosting a give-away.



The brown photo folder measures approximately 10-1/2" x 8-1/4" when closed. 

Included in the give-away is also a 5" x 7" print of my watercolor/collage piece entitled: "June Plays", from the "Eyes of June" series.  If you'd like to read more about June and her Hollywood story, please click HERE.

"June Plays"

All you have to do is leave a comment.  On Monday, January 31 I will call upon my trusy "randomizer" to pick a winning number from the comments column.  I will contact the winner after the selection has been made.

I am hopeful that this give-away will run smoothly.  The last give-away I hosted was glitchy, as none of my typepad pals were able to leave comments.

Thank you ever so much for playing along. 

Until January 23rd:

Kim

Gerushia's New World



One Last Marketing Post...

Good Morning:

I PROMISE this will be the last "marketing post" for awhile.

You see, I am in the process of cleaning my studio, and I've come across my file of older originals. I have been creating lots of new pieces lately and would like to make room for them in Gerushia's Etsy Shop. I do like to keep my shop tidy and easy to shop from...so, I decided to clean it up a bit and offer the older originals at half their normal price!!

There are 5 original pieces included in the half price sale. I will list each one here so you can see them. The price on each piece has been cut just exactly in half.

Eula's Party ~ Originally ~ Ooopsie Sold


Sister May ~ Originally ~ Ooopsie Sold


Rabbit's Recital ~ Originally $30.00, now $15.00


Airmal For Emmy ~ Ooopsie ~ Sold


Fashionable Fiona ~ Originally $55.00, now $27.50


I am ever hopeful to pass these pieces onward, as I have had them in my file for quite awhile.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email or comment.

Thank you so much:
Kim
Gerushia's New World

Vilula's First Adventure

Vilula Mae Davenport is a hard working and patient woman. Oh...she's kind to everyone and eveyone adores her. Vilula has worked for the Flynn family for over 40 years now. Well....she and her daughter, Pansy, even have a little wooden house of their own right on the Flynn family's property.

Vilula never asks for a thing. She does her work and sings all the while. Now, it's time for Vilula to have some fun. You see, Pansy and Mrs. Flynn have planned an exciting get-away for Vilula...her first ever vacation...her first adventure ~

This original watercolor/collage can be found in Gerushia's Big Cartel Store.

And...Vilula can be found in print form in Gerushia's Etsy Shop.

For those of you who may not know, I collect vintage photos to use in my art. I have a small but fabulous collection of African American snapshots. I have wanted to use "Vilula" and her daughter "Pansy" in an art piece for a long time. So...I decided that now is the time.

Thank you so much for dropping by.

Until Next Time:
Kim
Gerushia's New World

A Gentle Blog and a Few Treasures

Good Morning My Dear Friends:

As some of you know, I decided to take the plunge and open a Facebook account last week. I have been spending some time over there in order to understand it all. It's hectic, flashy and confusing. So...that being said, let me also say ~ I Love My Blog!...I Need My Blog!

There is a gentleness here. A flow and calm that I have not found anywhere else...ever! This particular art-blogging community of like-minded souls is a tiny Heaven on earth ~ nicely wrapped in this electronic box we call the computer.

I know now that I will use Facebook to keep up with family and friends. I've even reconnected with my best friend from Elementary school, and after all these years, we have so very much in common that it's almost spooky. But, as far as my art and my artist friends are concerned, I'll stay right here, thank you very much!

~Now, onto my treasures~

As you well know by now, I adore all things rabbit-y. I love to use their heads in my art. I find them to be challenging because they truly are almost expressionless. Because I use them "anthropomorphically", I must bring personality into the rabbit/human creation. I find that the personality usually comes from a certain tilt of the head. Well....anyway, maybe you get my drift, maybe not. Ultimately, I LOVE rabbits...



The gentleman to the right with the dark hat is my Grandpa Watson. No one in the family knows who the other gentleman is. But have a look at the rabbit! Then...look closely and you'll see that my Grandpa has a bandaged finger. Could he have been bitten by the rabbit? What a curious photo! The thing is, even if my Grandpa wasn't in this picture, I would still love it. So, having it in the family makes it even that much better.

My cousin Danny has the hard copy of this cabinet photo. Until a few days ago, I had no idea that this photo existed. It is a treasure for sure. Danny has kindly sent this image to me and I intend to print it and hang it in my studio.

~This is something that I have wanted to share with you for a very long time...



When I was in first grade, I had a friend named Noha. I don't remember her last name, but I believe she was Arabic. She came into my school several months after the school year started and she spoke very little English. The teacher asked me if I would help her to learn some English words. So, I worked with Noha the best that I could, and she did learn to speak some English. As a thank you for helping her with her English, she gave me this beautiful Scarab ring...



As you can see, I do not clean it, as I don't want to damage it. A bit of the lacquer has already peeled off, so I am very gentle with it and only take it out of it's box when I get a hankering to have a peek. This is one of my treasures.

~The last treasure that I want to share with you today is a very special friend that I've had my entire life...



Can you see that he's so old he's gone blind? He's ever so tattered and he's come unstuffed a bit through the years...



I don't even know who gave this to me or who made it. He is stuffed with very old women's stockings! Isn't he adorable? When I was little, I dreamed that he was my very own real live monkey. My mom made a diaper for him with a hole for his tale. Now, the diaper is gone and he proudly sits in my family room.

Well, as you can plainly tell, I haven't much to blog about today, but I really wanted to be here, to tell you all how much I appreciate you and to find my calm, gentle world once again.

Kim
Gerushia's New World

Free Shipping and a Monday Give-Away

Well Hello There...

Oh goodness, do I have a busy day ahead. Lots to do.

I just wanted to pop in and let you know that Gerushia's New World is offering free shipping through December 6th ~ AND all ACEO prints are buy one get one get one free!

Musty Boxes Ephemera is also offering free shipping on all vintage photos through December 6th.

Also in the works...I'll be hosting a give-away starting Monday. I'll post all the details that morning.

Thanks so much for stopping by:
Kim
Gerushia's New World

Photo Phriday

Well, good morning everyone. A lovely morning it is...a fresh breath of Autumn is all around. My birdbath is filled with frolicking and fighting birds of all types and colors, and my Jack-O-Lantern flag is lightly swaying in the breeze. All in all, I think it is a lovely Friday...a Photo Phriday to be exact.

One of my greatest joys is collecting vintage photos. If I could, I would buy every one of them and keep them all to myself, but alas ~ how selfish that would prove me to be!

I collect all sorts of specific types of photos. I adore photos that depict folks wearing striped stockings, or button boots or big hats. I'm always on the watch-out for anything eerie or unexplainable. My biggest collecting challenge is finding photos that depict people that remind me of fairy tale characters...children's book characters, nursery rhyme characters ~ well, you get the gist of it, yes?

These character finds are far and few between, and I don't have many of them, but I am always on the watch.

Today, I'd like to share with you two of my character finds...

Alice Liddell from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland


This little girl is truly my idea of Alice. Most movies depict Alice to be much older than she was in the books. When I read the books, I picture Alice to be 7 and looking quite like this pretty little one.

Little Red Riding Hood

This is one of my Little Red Riding Hood photos. Once upon a time, I had another photo that depicted Little Red perfectly, but it was sold to help pay for some of my mom's medical expenses. However, the little girl in this photo is still a good character, even without a hood! She does have a cape and I imagine it to be red. Have a close look at the doll's face. The eyes, nose and mouth have been hand drawn.

I hope you've enjoyed viewing two of my treasured character photos.

Until Next Time:
Kim
Gerushia's New World

The Eyes of June

As many of you know, aside from being a kooky mixed media artist with a "taste for surreal, anthropomorphic animal art", I collect vintage photos. I also sell my "overstock" photos in my Etsy shop called Musty Boxes Ephemera.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across my "June" photos. I would love to share some of them here, with you.

June was a beautiful girl, born in the very early 1900s. I have a huge amount of old pictures that depict her from tot-hood all the way up to her young adult years. She had these amazingly sultry, sexy, almost spooky eyes....breathtaking!

Here she is as a toddler on the farm



and playing with her dog....



Here's June posing with her mom and brother in 1917. Have a look at those eyes!



Can you find June in this classroom photo?



Look at the other children dressed in costumes...



Here she is as a teenager...





And finally, this is my favorite photo of June...



I adore the way the wind is blowing her dress and hair.

Until Next Time:
Kim
Gerushia's New World