Oh boy, I'm on Etsy!

Due to popular demand (of my husband demanding I get rid of some of this clutter) I'm selling some of my handmade things on Etsy, an internet store. I need to do something with all this stuff I'm making, and my relatives must be getting sick of all the handouts. (Hey, wanna come over for a barbecue? Hey, while you're here, can I show you some stuff I've made? Hey, any chance you'd like some of these? Great - take as many as you want!) The stash is thereby minimized and I get to make more, giving me the only legitimate reason to continue the hobby.

But how many handmade cards can my sisters-in-law need? And my mother long ago started politely declining my offers ("I just don't need any more cards, dear, I have plenty, really") -- it must be Depression-era thinking, you know, as I'm not familiar with the concept of having "plenty" of anything.

So in steps Etsy.com to the rescue, to perpetuate my hobby, my #1 entertainment, my joie de vivre. Etsy isn't an auction site like eBay, and everything has to be handmade. You just open a store (i.e., give them a credit card number) and pick a user name) post an item and hope someone buys it (or sees it, actually - the hard part is that you're one anchovy in an ocean full of anchovies, trout, and whales).

So check out Etsy if you're so inclined. My store name is "PlanetJanet" (cute, huh?), and the URL is PlanetJanet.etsy.com, or click on one of the blue links I just gave you, but remember the name because it's not user-friendly in that way. And if you're a relative or friend or just want to be, come by the house, sort through the stash, and avoid shipping fees!

Mystery Woman - in pastel...

Lonnie, in pastel on paper, 11x14"

I painted this image without knowing the person -- she just came out of my head, so to speak. I wonder if someone out there looks like her. I decided to call her Lonnie because that's the name that popped into my head when I wondered what to name it. Wouldn't it be stange if there was a woman out there who looked like this named Lonnie?

Rascal

Rascal, drypoint, 4 x 4.5"

Printmaking class ended last week with a print exchange among 24 students. I tried to make a Klimt-like collograph consisting of a lovely lady with a dress of flowers and geometric patterns, and a geometric-patterned background. So cool! But it wouldn't print because -- and this is embarrassing -- I used my acrylic matte gesso instead of acrylic matte medium. I brushed on layer upon layer of chalky gesso instead of the clear, slick medium, and the ink stuck to every particle of gesso, giving me a ridiculously dusty, sloppy print with no detail at all. So...I sadly and pathetically opted out of the print exchange.

But I am stubborn. I had 3 hours before class time and nothing to exchange. I know I can rip out a drypoint in an hour or two, so starting at 8 am I etched this doggie into a plexi plate and started printing it in an hour. As I printed them, I laid them outside to dry. By 11 am I had the required 24 prints and ran off to class. The true miracle was that this Santa Clarita Valley air actually dried the prints during those 3 hours! It really was a miracle.

My friends in class said I work best under pressure. I don't know about "best," but I do dawdle like a child if I have plenty of time to get a thing done. Remember the original Frankenstein movie, and the ill-fated little girl by the well that's playing with a flower and singing? That's me when I'm should be working.

By the way, Rascal was our family dog from about 1965 to 1979.