Name Change...

I'm currently in the process of trying to change the name for my Blogger and anything else associated with my Art work.

It's going from The Enchanted Masquerade to "The Midsummer Night's Masquerade".  Nothing else will change, the art will remain the same style and all...just changing names.  At some point I'll set up a new email with the new name, too.

Sorry for any confusion.

Steampunk and Etsy

After some rather serious thinking on the subject....I'm now strongly considering  attempting to make more Steampunk goggles, hats, and other such accessories to sell on my Etsy page.  I see that there currently is a lot of Steampunk stuff already on there, but honestly, I'm not seeing much like what I've made for myself and I'm getting such great feedback on my items on my Facebook, that I figured I'd give it a shot. After mentioning this idea to friends on my Facebook, I've, surprisingly, received a lot of positive support and encouragement to go for it.:)

This isn't something that I can start on immediately.   I'm currently unemployed and need to get a job so I can afford to buy the supplies to get started on some new items to be listed. But once that has been achieved, hopefully soon, I'll anyone interested know about which items I have for sale and where to find them.:)

Steam Ingenious -

I have just joined the Steam Ingenious Blog, here: Steam Ingeniuos Blog

What's next?

Currently I've got a couple different projects mentally ear-marked for the near future.

Due to an up-coming Steampunk costume party, I'll be working on a new and MUCH smaller pair of cellophane fairy wings, goggles, a top hat, and possibly some striped leggings.

Later on, I've got a design for a steampunk/art-nouveau fairy mask I have plans to make soon.

Been itching to try my hand at making some mermaid stuff...  I want to remake some mermaid-fairy wings I made for one of my Ren Faire Fairy girls. And I want to make some mermaid art-nouveau head-pieces.

I've got a commissioned floral head-garland I dearly need to finish. It's all in med-purples. Should be quite pretty.:)

Possibly some demonic-bat wings for some dead-baby dolls for my brother's haunted house for next year's big Halloween party.

And...if I'm able to do it in time...I've been invited to vend at a friend's Burlesque event downtown in mid-October...so, need to make some smaller wings and garlands to sell for the event. And show off my masks and more ornate garlands and wings.:)

Feeling a little busy, but it's all for the best.  I went for quite a period there where I wasn't feeling terribly inspired or even motivated to do anything. And now that I'm feeling both, I don't want to let up on it in case it flutters off again too soon.   Get as much done with it as I can...and hopefully the old addage will prove true:  "The more you use it...." and so on. ;D

Why I Create.

Reading some very interesting art-related topics from an artist here on Deviantart.com, whom I've been watching for several years now, Jessica M. Parker... She brings up a lot of really good points, one of which made me take pause and really consider 'why' I create art....what drives me as an artist.

Like a lot of artists out there who create from their heart and soul, my first thought is not money. My first thought is my vision...I get an idea in my head and then I turn on my mental photoshop program in my mind, and start 'building' it. I literally imagine it in my mind so that I can truly see it. I try out different colors 'till I hit on one I like. I add or delete various shapes and/or design components 'till I hit on that perfect mixture of elements. And as time goes on, that design is subject to change at my whim. I may decide I want a different color, or to go with glitter vs gems, etc. Or peacock instead of pheasant feathers. When that happens, I pull up that mental program again and start redesigning that mask.

But that's the 'how'...not the 'why', which is what I want to talk about for a moment.

My reasons for creating art, sadly, are purely selfish. I get this idea in my head...sometimes it's a brilliant flash of inspiration, sometimes it's the full-out image slowly being drawn out. But it's not enough for me to just design and create this 'thing' in my head where only I can see it and where it's still a very malleable thing and always at the risk of being only half-remembered or utterly forgotten.
...Never fully realized.
I need to actually create it out in the real world. It's literally a drive...an instinctual drive. I am driven to 'create'.I want to create this awesome and beautiful thing that lives only in my mind's eye...I want to make it real so that I can see it for myself in the real world, so that I can hold it, and maybe even wear it...so that I can show it off to other people and see the awe and delight in their faces and eyes as they hold and look and wear it.
I want to prove to myself that I can, indeed, create something beautiful and interesting. Something fun and glamorous. It's a challenge...I get to busy my mind with the challenge of designing something that I've never before seen. That, to my knowledge, no one else has ever before seen, either. It's an exercise for my mind and my hands and eyes.
But mainly, it's the drive. I see it in my mind and so I 'must' then create it and share it with you all.

And also....to be honest, a lot of the masks and garlands and wings that I create are because I have a costume in mind that I want to wear it for. I create a lot of things for myself. I want to look pretty and I want my costume to look amazing -whatever it might be, so I create for myself what I think would help to accomplish that goal.

And further, I'm a poor artist. I'm a poor person. I can't afford to buy other artist's amazing work. So I make my own to fulfill whatever need I may have at that moment.

The first mask I ever made was out of a necessity. I was invited to a Yule Masquerade Ball. I was 17yrs old and didn't have any money to go out and buy a beautiful mask. So I made one for myself and one for a friend. And that's where it all began...

My Muse is in the building!!!

I don't know if it's from all the crafting of Faery stuff for the Ren Faire I just finished up doing or if it's Autumn sweeping it's chilly tides through my part of the world now or what, but recently I feel like I've had a literal deluge of ideas and inspiration buffeting at me from practically every side.

 I recently started making those iridescent film fairy wings...made two for myself now and taught/helped a friend of mine to make a set for an up-coming burlesque show she's doing in Oct. Made a new floral head-garland just on a whim and it turned out beautifully. And a friend has invited me out to his up-coming Steampunk costume party in Oct. so I've been brainstorming over ideas for costume accents for that.
Been taking advantage of my 3rd story apt views of the sunsets in the evenings and been exercising my photography skills there. My burlesque friend recently wanted to do a photoshoot out at the lake of herself dressed as a mermaid in various tails she'd made herself, and she asked me to be her photographer. We had fun and I was able to get some input in on poses and things like that. We got some fantastic pics. out of that 'shoot.:) I'm currently in-between jobs and so have had a lot of down-time at home...but been putting it to good use.:)

 After I made my 2nd pair of cellophane wings I felt frustrated that they weren't turning out smoothly as those of others I'd seen online. Sure, mine still look pretty good, but with the amount of time and effort being put into them, I was feeling rather discouraged with the crinkles in the film and whatnot. I started feeling like, "this is the last pair I'm making, this isn't for me. I just need to go back to my mask and floral garland making...leave the wing making to the professionals." But...at the same time, I don't feel 'quite' ready to fully give up just yet. I started out too big, I think.
-I've discovered over the years that I have this odd propensity to go big on pretty much everything I do. I apparently don't know how to do small or plain or even simple. It's all grandiose for me or not at all. *chuckling*

 I'm planning on going to my friend's Steampunk party as an air-ship-pirate Fairy. Yep, a mouthful and possibly a bit odd, but I'm going with it.:D So...now I get to challenge myself in two different ways. 1. I'll be making steampunk themed wings for the first time and, 2. working small. I'll be around a lot of other people and in a person's house...so I need to make MUCH smaller wings than I am use to making. These need to unobtrusive and easy to move around with, but still noticeable. That's going to be an interesting challenge for me, but I believe I can do it and I already have some ideas in mind for the wings, so aside from some materials tomorrow, I'm pretty much ready to go.:) And I'll be making myself a top-hat from foam, a steampunk'ed musket, and some striped leggings, and steampunking out some welding goggles I've got. The costume is pretty much already decided on. It's put together from a mixture of Ren Faire garb and mundane clothes I already own.:)

 I've kind of put off my mask-making for a little bit right now while I'm delving into wing-making...but mask making is still a big passion of mine and I still have ideas I want to work on. It's just that right now I'm hung-up on wings. The wings are easier and faster to make than the mask in some ways and harder in others. But definitely faster and I'm an impatient person anyway.:D With that all said, I'm wrapping up this post and I'll immediately be posting some pics. of my latest works.:)

Before I leave you though, real quick, a couple pics of my craftroom as it is now....with more of my artwork hanging in there, it's looking more and more put-together and I like that.:)

After a little bit of organizing for my wire:

What I'm currently up to...

I'm the Director of the Faery Cast of my local Renaissance Festival here in Casper, WY: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Middle-Platte-Renaissance-Faire-2013-by-Stage-III-Community-Theatre/110650838955383 So right now I'm working with my Faery cast on makeup, costumes, wings, etc. and I've put together a few boards on Pinterest to show the direction I want to go in with my Faerys as well as, to give them some inspiration: http://pinterest.com/elvensphinx/

Steampunk, perhaps?

Unfortunately, my user acct. on the shared computer I am currently using was hit with a nasty virus recently (it's now been cleansed) and destroyed all the WIP pics. I had saved on my computer of my latest mask projects. :(
-Thankfully, I had already uploaded a couple to my DeviantArt acct.: http://EMasqueradeGallery.deviantart.com -you can check the WIP folder in my Gallery for the latest WIP photos. Soon I'll get around to posting them in here, but for now...a text update:


I am currently working on 3 mask projects. Each is another bird mask.
2 of these will be for sale once they are finished and have been photographed to my liking.
-1 mask will be another Phoenix, the 2nd an "Enchanted Phoenix" -this one has been tumbling around in my gray-matter for a number of years now. It's going to be a bit larger and more ornate than my usual Phoenix masks...more jewels, feather styling, etc. I'm not sure yet whether I'll keep this one or sell it, we'll see.
And lastly...the 3rd mask will be a bird but with a Steampunk theme to it.

The Steampunk bird mask:
-I've picked up bronze colored acrylic paints for the feathers and I might dry-brush parts of it with dark brown or black for an aged look, not sure yet on that, though... I want to give an effect like it's made of metal, so there will be 'seams' where the 'metal' is fitted together with little gold studs as the nail-heads.
I'm trying to do a 'hammered metal' affect in the clay, but with the characteristics of the clay as it dries...I'm not having the greatest of luck with that so far. It seems to have taken somewhat with the beak, though.:)
-I've been trying to figure out which metal-accent color I want for the beak.... I've got liquid metal gold, silver, and copper....I'm hopping back and forth between the copper and the silver on the beak against the bronze of the feathers. I'd do some kind of dry-brush black effect over the beak to 'hopefully' better bring out the hammered metal effect in the clay.

I wish I could say I had some cool metal accents to add to this piece, but as this is my first attempt at the Steampunk style, I'm going to start off rather simple with this design.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!

Professional On-line Portfolio...

I have just created a Professional On-line Portfolio through DeviantArt.com

http://meganajohnson.daportfolio.com/

-While it is not yet completed, please view it and leave me a comment on your opinion of it.

Thanks!:)

Up-coming project...

First, Happy Halloween/Samhain!!!!!!!!!!



*Image credit: http://www.sedonamagick.com/SAMHAIN.html

Yesterday (Friday) my customer received her Peacock mask in the mail and sent me a message thanking me and she sounded SOO excited. That made me quite happy -that my work/art is appreciated and even adored by a complete stranger.:D
I was so happy that she was so excited over it and I can't wait to see any pics. she sends me of herself adorned with her new mask at her Masqueradeball event.
I 'always' enjoy seeing photos of my customers wearing/enjoying their masks.:D


Now...as I've still got my mask-making supplies spread out in the livingroom (I like to work in front of the tv), I'm seriously giving some thought to creating my 2nd ever Fairy mask...the Autumn Fairy. I've got some gorgeous bronze and orange paints, velvet-textured fabric fall leaves, some lovely orangey/brown/red feathers, and I recently picked up some dried flowers called "Desert Rose". I'm going to let my wheels spin a little further on this one and consult notes I made back last year for this mask....see if I want to go with any earlier ideas or come up with some new ones.

Ultimately, I'd love to get some of those dried water lily seed pods, but really small, to use as decoration for my Autumn Fairy mask, but unfortunately...I can't seem to find any small enough.:/

Water Lily seed pods:


For those of you new to my blog and my art-work, here is the Fairy mask I made back in 2007:

*My DA gallery: http://EMasqueradeGallery.deviantart.com

The up-coming Autumn Fairy mask will be similar in shape and size, but I want to try out a new idea for the wings. I like the horns very much on my last Fairy mask, so I'm going to keep to the theme with this one, too.:D

I'm thinking of either going with a moth-wing 'look' or doing an iridescent film 'look' and painting some designs over top. I've thought about trying my hand at paper wings similar to those of Renae Taylor @ www.renaetaylor.com -gorgeous work!
But, I'm not really sure how to go about that or what paper is best to use. I may still give it a try though some time...we'll see.:D

I'm trying to get myself into the habit of posting my mask/art related thoughts, as well as art/craft items I find out about, on a regular basis. Give you some insight into my mind when it comes to art.

Hope you enjoy!:)