Hello my Lovelies!..  I appreciate so much finding out that so many of you read Monday’s blog!  Lots of non-yarny folks, which is cool, and way appreciated…Usual warning, this content may not be child friendly, some horror images, and the videos are not kid-friendly. 

Weirdly enough, nothing really out of the ordinary has happened over the last few days, so I don’t really have a lot to rant about… odd I know.  That’s not to say I don’t have things I could rant about, but, well, nothing is pressing me at the moment… it’s ok, I’ll wait until the shock wears off… Sometimes, the rant throws me off a bit, and I’m feeling pretty focused on creating this week, I’m worried if I go looking for a rant, I”ll lose my juju…

I don’t know about you other artists, but my “creative flow” is totally affected by my mood, the mood of those around me, how tired I am, etc… some days it’s more “fragile” than others.  I”m sure you’ve had days when you just couldn’t pick up your medium (whatever you use to create with), and create as easily, or at all.  I try, unless I’m sick, to create a bit every day, even if my juju is out of whack.  Some days I’m heavy into designing a new creatures, and I hit a block… those are the days I pick up and work on something completely different, I may make a skull for a keychain or something- I use a pattern for a skull from Lion (http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/70464A.html?noImages=0), but I make it with crochet thread, change a few stitches, and put it on a keyring… often if I feel like I can’t create new things, if I try to work on my “current project,” I get frustrated with how stuff looks and try to take it apart, or work a bunch and then, when I’m feeling more positive, I don’t like what I did the day I was off my game… Some days I just pick up and make a zombie, there’s always one of those lurking in my head…

Since my “creative flow” is changeable, I do lots to foster it.  It’s like a “ritual” to get me in the right frame as early as possible. 

I start my morning with an hour-ish of reading.  I like to read when it’s quiet, and I’m an early bird and the husband is a night owl, so the best time for me to read is the morning.  Plus I get the extra added benefit of having whatever I read inspire my day, and my work.  About 90% of what I read is horror… really.  I read super creepy, horribly scary, thrilling stories about monsters, both of the non-human, and of the human kind.  My hope is to spend a few moments each morning so focused on the wonderfully creepy story that my husband’s alarm makes me jump.  I want to read books with things that freak me out or scare me so much, I have to re-read what I just read … yes… THAT creepy-scary.  I read a bit of lighter humored horror, some sci-fi/fantasy too, but it’s always dark, and people always die… Yep, in Kimland, there is death every morning, as it should be…

When I jump on facebook, it’s time to seek out images to dance in my brain… yup, creepy ones.  I know you’ve seen some of them on my page, not always freaky-gory, I try to save you guys from those… Not all my friends on facebook like the level of creepy I do…though some do, and when I post super-creepy stuff that’s when they come to chat… I look for pictures, and movie stills , to inspire my current work.  I really love creepy dolls… I visit a couple of pages specifically to see creepy doll art.  Odd, distressed and distorted, faces lifeless and full of creepiness.  I absolutely love this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irbFBgI0jhM

and also this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6ejPG-i03I

My movie character dolls are heavily influenced by the movies, I usually try to talk to the customer to find out which is their favorite, I want that doll to really look like their favorite.  For my Frankenstein’s monster, and for the Monster-Head bag, I watched all the Frankenstein movies, especially the old black and white one from 1931, that one’s my favorite, and the one that I used for coloring and facial features especially. 

For my Victor Crowley doll, I watch Hatchet I and II.  I love those movies! 

One of my favorite movies, Trick r Treat, gives me the opportunity to make Sam Hain, cute, AND creepy! 

An order for a gift for a friend’s dad gave me the opportunity to watch Trilogy of Terror again a couple times and remember how much I love it!  Yi yi yi yi yi!  HIS chain WON’T be coming off! 

I don’t necessarily just watch that movie while working, sometimes dolls take a bit of time…and I don’t only watch zombie movies while making zombies… I watch horror, sometimes sci-fi/fantasy, preferably one I’ve seen before, so I’m not really so much watching the movie, as it’s just in the background…it helps me tune out distractions, especially if it’s loud.  The right movie helps me into a sort of work-trance where I just work, I don’t have any extra thoughts except the piece, I forget to drink even though I’m thirsty, and forget to eat even though it’s been hours….when I finally take a break I usually have to stretch for a few minutes, my sugar is usually low ( I’m hypoglycemic), and I have to pee like a racehorse…more than you wanted to know?..yea well… no one is holding a gun to your head to read…don’t turn around…

The husband doesn’t like horror flicks.  At all.  There are a handful of movies he likes, but not really likes so much as tolerates.  And he will watch an occasional movie with me, which makes me happy, initially.  Then, I remember why I don’t ask more often.  He will spend the entire movie telling me how he’d never end up in that situation, would have chopped up the slasher at camp because he has skills, and “of course she has to die soon, she just had sex.”  He likes action movies, some super-hero movies, Transformers movies, but he doesn’t like sci-fi/fantasy/horror…we’ve discussed it, and he really lacks the ability to suspend disbelief for some things.  I can walk into a quiet theater and sit down to a movie about a town full of people who’s ancestors made pacts with ancient monsters and have to sacrifice babies to a pit of pregnant mother monsters, and I’m freaked out at their plight.  He doesn’t really want to go see those movies, he doesn’t really like the unknown (monsters).  He says he lacks the imagination gene, which is cool because I really do lack the reality gene… Since he doesn’t like horror, I often put on headphones and a movie on the computer that’s at my workspace…often, the movie is really on just for the sound… I keep the movie pretty low, too, because the husband always wishes to share the outrages of his movie… John McClane is nearly killed in another Die Hard movie, those darn Decepticons won’t leave the Autobots alone, several racers have just crashed, he watches several different types of racing, and I couldn’t care much less about racing,the driving sounds of the cars grate on my nerves when I’m working… oh and he likes a lot of those shows where someone is videotaping another person trying to be cool except the guy being videoed is unskilled and/or unprepared and so hurts himself, they’re most always guys, and folks sit around laughing at and discussing it…yes, he likes the “America’s Dumbest ______”, “America’s Stupidest_____”, “Ridiculousness”, “Wipeout” and all those kinds of shows… Have you heard of Schadenfreude (enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others)…watching someone do an obstacle course designed to put them on their asses in mud in spite of the fact that they’ve just told the host how they’re so skilled they will of course win, they’re practically a ninja…that often ruins a good work mood… I can’ t help it man, that’s some funny shit, AND they volunteer for it to go on tv!  I can’t crochet well when I’m giggling, and sewing is a bad idea, I can only stick myself with a needle so many times a day before I’m done… that is usually about 3 times, especially if I’m using upholstery needles…

So, those are the regular things I do…I’ll do another post sometime to tell you what I’m actually reading, have read, in case any of you want to check out the books.  I’ve got some favorite indie writers I’ll ask if it’s ok to put a link to their books on my blog, I like to support my artistic friends…

For the next few days, I’m working on Cthulhu, finishing a grey and white cat, thinking about starting Zombie Jesus, and then a tarantula and a posable tree will follow! 

Thanks friends, keep it creepy!