woot! may get new retail location soon

Howdy, Im very excited, for soon I may be getting a new retail location, but since I would own it this would be my first. 
*happy happy joy joy*

Also expect a re-launch of the etsy store, creativity and commercialism all in one.

Forgive and be FREE

I created a little lady who really reminds me of the old works which were happy little ladies in colorful tattered skirts and shirts.  She is small enough to fit in your hand comfortably and carries with her a message: Forgive and be set FREE.  Forgiveness is the answer to many of our problems.  I am currently undergoing a personal, inner evaluation and cleanse in order to identify what I can change for the better.  Several negative behaviors have cropped up, common ones include being too critical or judgmental, having self doubt and fear, and holding grudges or resentment.  These negative beliefs and ideas hold you back!  The way to Freedom is through forgiveness.  Forgiveness literally sets you free from the shackles of self-imprisonment.  Holding grudges for people in our past does nothing harmful to them and everything to you, you become cynical, angry, and frustrated.  I have decided to take an active role and ask myself who I have to forgive, at first it seemed like there was one or two people, then I realized I had a lifetime of people to forgive, one at a time, including forgiving myself for things I have done in the past.  When you let go, all the guilt dissipates and the clouds part giving way to clear skies of understanding and love.  This work of art embodies these ideas.  Aesthetically, she is simplified, no huge breasts or nudity for she is humble, something I strive to capture in myself as of late.  The gestures are a slight beckoning and then release.

New banner

The blog once again has a new look, I changed it before to the super colorful one but, although I love color, it was a bit too flashy for my tastes.  The new one also emphasizes the affirmation figures by having one in the banner in a natural surrounding.  I also love how every time I or anyone else visits the blog, they can see words like health, prosperity, abundance, and wealth which are the boldest and largest.  Also I love and approve of myself which I have recently learned makes a world of difference in the well being of your life. Words written on the actual figure in the picture include, belief, money, faith, and strength can you see where this is going yet? Its a positive life shift reflected in the art.  Positive affirmations are constantly on my mind, and thus constantly creating positive life experiences. 

Love is the Healing Power within us

Love and Healing. Love is integral in healing which is why I created this figure with hearts all over herself, for it is the love within our hearts, not the love from others that I am referring to.

This figure took an amazing four days to complete.
Day 1: On my way to NYC to check my mail and deliver a butterfly panel in Long Island City… she was formed during the ride over and simple body shapes were created.
Day 2: I decided the figure would be “understanding” while strolling around the mountain with Luis and discussing everything from relationships to art, I actually made her face as a sort of tutorial to show my friend how to make a face from scratch. This day I also kept working on her in a restaurant.
Day 3: Woke up early and began getting serious with her creation, I had a finite amount of brown clay in her tone so she had to be made a bit thinner than I had planned. The ideas turned from understanding to healing which is on the forefront of my mind these days. Healing takes place when we love ourselves, truly love ourselves, plain and simple. The hair was painstakingly lovingly rolled out piece by piece and curled around a needle before being placed on her head, so that she has curls instead of twists. The hearts were also placed, they came as a bit of a surprise to me as my inspiration told me not to fear Valentines connotations and just go with what makes sense to me. I put the sign in her hand on purpose. The Affirmations will have it spelled out clearly what they are about, no more reading into the postures or colors of a piece, they speak for themselves and its written all over them.
I kept the monochromatic scheme because I knew red/pink hearts would distract, so would an eye which I was going to paint on… the sign in its starkness now is the focal point, it reads, “Love is the Healing Power within us,” and that’s the real value.
Day 4: baked, photographed, and blogged!

SO again, love and healing, hand in hand. Love is a warm inner power that we all have and its easy to use, just open up and let the love flow out all over you or those you love, visualizing this can transform your life for the better, there is nothing wrong with loving yourself healthily.

Why did it take a year and six months for me to follow my heart?

Why did it take a year and six months for me to follow my heart?

I just read the BLOG posted in 2008 about how I was changing my art and my figures into what I wanted them to be which was affirmations.  I want my figures to reflect something innate, something beautiful, something human, but also something positive.  I used to have fear.  Fears of the way they might be received.  Art that is provoking and moves us emotionally is usually art that is either conceptual, or if figurative, depicted violence or pain or suffering or any of the other negative emotions of the world.  I have always been on the positive side and fought with myself to create beings in anguish.  Though I am human and go through hard times as well, I always try and see the good that comes out of them.  The life lessons.  I just read through all my etsy feeback and also the old blog and realized that I have been postponing this for too long.  Last night I checked and saw that I still owned AffirmationFigures.com, this is the name my website and blog will have from now on, why?  Because affirmations are a great way to keep our inner mind dialogue on the positive and keep it there.  Affirmations are paths which lead us to what we want, they set us free.  I have totally let go of the self-doubt, fear, and self-imposed restrictions, I know if I truly love and believe in myself as well as my art, that it can only be met with success!  People do not want to see the fallen, the downtrodden starving artist, they want to cheer you on as you become a success at what you do.  The Butterfly People/Affirmation Figures/Polymer Clay aspects, or whatever physical name you want to bestow upon them are and have always been physical incarnations of my spiritual journey.  They are still, and they evolve because I evolve as a person.  Now is an extremely important time for me to heal, get in touch with the inner self and work on myself as a person.  I have developed  some negative behaviors, and have much forgiving to bestow upon those that have been a part of my life, this done releases me and allows me to fly free. The art will follow, every step of the way.

Marvelous

This figure is Marvelous. 
Marvelous is a standing figure whose face I made by taking a mold of one of my bronze sculptures.
I used a wire spine to keep her standing and a small clay base which was covered by her draping garments. 
She loves and accepts everything about herself and so is a marvel, her life becomes marvelous. 

Health

Now is a time for healing and for maintaining overall health.  Good health is one of the most important things in life.  Eating right is an extremely important aspect, but it is only one facet of the mind, body, spirit health which encompasses overall health.  I have recently discovered that asking for help or affirming it is not enough.  My beliefs are that the power of thought influences life, even dictates it… so how could bad health come if one does not ask for it?  Internal anguish.  Horrible things like fear, anger, resentment, guilt, they must be eradicated for great health to flourish.  So now begins a journey into my wake up call, what it means for me and how I will deal with it, going inside and visiting all the ghosts that I must evacuate from my being, its all about acceptance, forgiveness, empathy, patience, tolerance, and most importantly of all, letting go.

 

The medicine man here was made recently to cement the beginning of my journey. More healers to come!