N-Chiodo

<-- I have made a ton of robots that I will be uploading pic of over the next week or so.


So I've been slowly cleaning out my gallery of my past crappy work so that I can use it to post my polymer clay sculptures. It's really been doing quite well by the way. Oh my gosh, the deleting process is HORRIFYING!! The stuff that I uploaded way back then was soooo bad ! I do have to thank those who commented and favorited it though, thank you for encouraging me! Even if you were lying through your teeth

Hello! First I have to say that I'm very, very, sorry that I have not responded to any comments. I really do appreciate all of the birthday wishes and the time you took to write them. I really do!
I'm still wading through the 8,000+ deviations in my inbox!

Now for the good stuffs

So I've mainly been busy with taking care of the fawns and working at keeping my jewelry stock up at my three locations around town. Lately my Etsy shop has been doing well also, I'm selling lots of squids! In the coming months things will be picking up speed as the approaching Fall and Winter brings holiday shoppers! I will tie myself to my work table!
Painting wise I've dappled in watercolor again and I've been loosely keeping my illustrations on the same theme. I would like to make a little picture/story book by the end of the year, it's just a goal. But one that I'm looking forward to! I made another 'doodle' thingy that I turned into a puzzle, I'll upload it later.

Autumn

Hello! Exciting news! Recently I was asked to join the towns Art District Committee and help bring more of the arts to the town.

Let's rewind just a smidgen real quick. I've been involved with the Main Street Manager for the past 6 or so months. For my senior project (though technically I don't need to do one) I really wanted to do something to promote local shopping during the holiday season, so I contacted the Main St Manager and started interviewing different business' and featuring a different business each week through the town's Main St FaceBook page. Through working on that project I made acquaintances with the business owners. I also used the interviews in a big paper.
I had been talking to one of the business owners last week and she mentioned about bringing more of the arts to the town, maybe an art festival, and that an Art District Committee had been created for that purpose (she was on it). At the last meeting she said that I had been brought up yadayadayada (I was so embarrassed ) and they would love it if I could join them. So I did!

The first meeting I was totally lost! I tried to keep my mind open but when I think "bringing the arts to the town" I think bringing it to the community. I think I was mistaken. The committee confirmed dates on various different things and decided that during the "Lunch in the Square" event we would have wine and cheese tastings at one of the restaurants and two artists showing their work, maybe a guitarist too. I suggested having something non-alcoholic like fine coffees to sample and they liked that idea.
I got the impression that they wanted to bring the fine arts  to the 'refined' people of the town. I know that they want to replicate the "Artists Revitalization and Relocation" that is going on in Oil City (www.artsoilcity.com/) they are even planning a trip to Oil City. Maybe the committee is trying to slowly incorporate the arts into the town and see how it is received?
Now that I have a vague idea of their goal I will have much more of an idea for what to say in the next meeting. I will ask them what their clear goal is.
What I would like to see happen is an artist creating a (temporary) mural during one of the annual festivals or a sort of art contest that involves the community (like a side-walk art contest) also during one of the festivals. Fun stuff like that!

I would love to hear your opinions of incorporating art into town or what would attract you to relocate to a town! Comment or else!  

Hey guys! I've been needing to create a separate DA account so I wouldn't drown you in deer pictures, so I did! It's I haven't figured out how to do multiple uploads with Sta.sh yet so I will try and upload a picture maybe once a day. We'll see! I'll be putting wildlife sketches, taxidermy, and pictures and info on whitetails up on there. I also started a blog about Ament's Antler Co. which houses our taxidermy, antler reproduction, and deer farming. It's www.amentsantlers.blogspot.com if you're interested. Whenever I post on the blog I will send an update through my farm account.

So today is Valentines day! Do you guys have plans with your sweetheart? I have plans with a Studio Ghibli movie and brownies tonight! This morning my mom and I will go shopping at this really cool store that use to be an old school house, it's awesome. We are bringing my mom's friend and 6 month baby I love babies! So yeah, that's what is going on!

Since my mom has been student teaching for the past few weeks no one has bothered to take down the Christmas tree, we have all been too busy or too exhausted to do it! So maybe it will be taken down for Easter, or maybe not.....

Merry Christmas!

 Here are the new happenings!

 Contents:
Taxidermy (and how I stabbed myself in the head.....)

Clay stuff, Etsy sale, and the future of that

Commissions and more practice
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 My dad and I are stretching the taxidermy branch of the Antler Co. this winter and it's taking off really fast! Technically this is my first year doing taxidermy although I grew up helping and watching my dad.
 *Flashback* My dad took a taxidermy course somewhere around 25 yrs ago when they used wire and wool to make the forms that the hide slips over. Apparently the end result looked terrible! Other than that my dad's skills are self taught and has been doing his own taxidermy since. (No one uses wool and wire forms anymore, it's all hard foam forms) *End Flashback*
 He's always enjoyed doing it and so have I. We had considered a taxidermy branch under our whitetail farm and decided to start with it slow and see what happens. Well, six whitetail shoulder mounts, one black bear rug, one huge black bear shoulder mount, one small life size black bear mount, one life size beaver, and a few european mounts later! So much for taking it slow! (They're mostly people we know though)
 One thing I've learned one the business side of taxidermy is that the only advertising you need do is through word of mouth. We went to visit a friend of ours who has been a taxidermist for thirty years and after learning what all I was doing he wanted to keep me! Hahaha! Not in a creepy way, but he needs a secretary to keep every thing in order and as he is getting up in years he wants to not have the pressure of having fifty deer heads (alone!) to do. He wants an apprentice of sorts that he can teach his trade to and pass the business down that way.  Maybe next year or the year after, I would like to stay and work with him for a few weeks to learn his techniques because some things he does are different, some things better than my dads way and I would like to learn that side.
     My dad was coaching me through skinning out a deer head about a week ago, when you start you have to split the hide where it's spine use to be by poking the knife up through the hide and pulling towards you. (Yes that's confusing! All you need to know is that I was cutting towards myself through the hide, fur side up and it required a lot of force.) I had about 2" to go when suddenly the knife cut through the hide and my hand made a nice arc until the knife blade stopped at the beginning of my eyebrow! It was a teeny tiny bitty cut but it scared the bejesus out of me! It could have been a lot worse! After my dad yelled at me, he made a make-shift bandaid out of toilet paper and electrical tape (I looked ridiculous) I finished the job. I can't believe I did that though! My family has an extensive history of crazy accidents, but that's for another time! (or maybe not)

  I made my first sale on The Clay Mob's Etsy shop! It was the coral colored octopus and then I sold the robot love necklace Yay! Grant it those are the only two sales that I've made in the past 5 months that my shop has been open but I'm not complaining! My plan for the next year is to put my jewelry (not a lot) into my hair dresser's shop and my great aunts beauty salon because they both have expressed interest in helping me sell my jewelry and it will get individual attention. Next year I'm going to be working on taxidermy mostly, so I really won't have time to sculpt a lot of jewelry. If putting my jewelry in those two beauty salons works well then I'll probably pull my things from the Mercantile.  My dad has been giving me a tough time about making jewelry, he says that for all the work I have into my jewelry the price is an insult. Which is true, I won't quit making things but I do want to down size a bit. That way I don't have the constant pressure of needing to keep a lot of stock.

  Speaking of art my good friend Peanut (her name is Samantha but her nickname is cute) is a big fan of BBC's Sherlock so she commissioned me to draw a chibi Watson and Sherlock. It's more of a challenge than I thought it would be, Watson has a very characteristically worn and matured face which is hard to duplicate in a chibi which looks boyish. I'm glad that she asked me to draw them because it gives me a chance to push myself. I've noticed lately that my art has gotten sloppy and my style stagnate so these commissions have forced me to stretch myself and neaten up.
 I'm enjoying having a reason to work hard on drawing. Every once in a while a Daily Deviation will catch my eye, that artists style is simple but distinct. Examples:

:thumb323310524:
So I'm done playing around and submitting with art that I'm not satisfied with. A fellow deviant said if you don't like the way something looks "Just f***ing redo it!" so after the Christmas craziness subsides it will be back to heavy drawing practice! Yay?

  Autumn!

~:>    that's a chicken