Candace in Wonderland (or Candace does California)...

Did I mention that I had a visitor last month? No? Well then...let me tell you a bit about Candace. You see, Candace is on a tour this year. She started in Alaska and will be travelling all over the world for an entire year. The tour is being hosted by Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads. Kimberly was kind enough to schedule Candace to spend some time with me, here in Southern California.

Candace arrived in my mailbox on a warm, blue sky day ~



I asked Candace where she might like to go and what she might like to see. But of course....Candace wanted to see some local sights first ~



Then....off to Hollywood ~



If you haven't noticed, Candace is a wild and crazy red-head. So, naturally, she wanted to have her picture taken next to the star of another crazy red-head ~



Then...we were off to High Voltage Tattoo



Candace wanted to get a tattoo just like mine, but I was afraid Kimberly might not like that idea ~



Next, we toured Kat Von D's Wonderland Gallery~



Candace got to see alot of fantastical art. A whole show dedicated to the art of Kevin Llewellyn. Candace was a wee bit frightened by the art, but oh so curious as well ~



After touring Hollywood, Candace very much wanted to go to Disneyland ~



What fun we had.

Before we knew it, it was time for Candace to go onward. The night before she left, we hosted a "Pizza Party" in her honor ~



"Hey...get your fingers out of the picture...this party is for me" ~



All in all, we had a fabulous time...touring, sight-seeing, eating.

Bye-bye Candace. We'll miss you ~

The Eyes of June Revisited and a Long Overdue Shop Update.

I do hope you have time for a little story, as I am in the mood to tell one...

But first, let me refer you here to this post from September about a beautiful girl named June...



~~~June was born in Norfolk Virginia on November 12, 1913 and passed away in California on November 28, 1989. She was the first born in a family of 5 children. From the very beginning, June was stunningly beautiful. Her eyes were sultry and sexy and she had a natural way with the camera...


Her mother, Louella, was very aware of her daughter's unusual beauty. So, when June was a teen-ager, the family packed their belongings and headed to California. To Hollywood of course...



While Louella focused on June's Hollywood career, she decided to introduce two of her son's, Tommy and Sonny, to Hollywood as well. As time passed, June realized that Hollywood simply wasn't for her. I believe she was offended by "the casting couch". June left the acting business for marriage and had 2 sons of her own.

However, June's brothers went on to have fabulous careers in Hollywood as "child actors" in the 1930s and 1940s. They were in countless Westerns, and a few episodes of "The Three Stooges" and an "Our Gang" episode as well. At one point in time, one of June's brothers was considered the highest paid child actor in Hollywood.~~~

Now, when I originally acquired these gorgeous photos of June, I had no idea who she was, only that I was drawn to her. I knew that I needed to use her images in my art. However, after "googling" her, I found that she has a newphew who is actively collecting information about his father's career in early Hollywood. Through this research, I have been able to send scans of these beautiful photos back to June's family. June's sons are still alive and had not seen any of these photos before. They truly have no idea how they ever fell out of the hands of family.

I am honored to help the family in their research and to share "The Eyes of June".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As promised, A Shop Update:

I have been a very busy girl lately. Having put my vintage photo shop on a short vacation, I have had nice blocks of time to focus on art. What you see here is the beginning of a long relationship I will have with June, in my studio:

June with Baby Sister vintage photo...



June with Baby Sister ACEO collage/watercolor...



June Playing Violin vintage photo...



June Playing Violin ACEO collage/watercolor...



June On a Windy Day vintage photo...



June On a Windy Day ACEO collage/watercolor...



And ~

I have two works in progress...





One is an ACEO depicting June with her mother Louella...



and the other is a 5" x 7" of June with her violin.

I am hoping to have these finished in time for my shop update.

I will be listing these new prints in my Etsy shop, Gerushia's New World, on Sunday, December 13 at 5:00 pm Pacific Standard time.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about June and her family. Thanks, as well, for having a look at my new pieces. It has been a long time since I've had the heart to "create" and I am enjoying every minute of it.

Kim
Gerushia's New World