Selfie Sparingly

While I love documenting life's moments through photography, I almost can't stand being in front of the camera lens.  Blame it on 12 years of Catholic school with the token "mean girls" or the fact that I was always a very physically awkward child until about age 23 -- I mean the whole gamut: braces, glasses, brakes and sprains of my spindly limbs and the complete inability to style my own hair.  Needless to say I'm not used to being comfortable with the way I look.  Reaching that point has been a slow process of learning to accept myself with it's hiccups along the way.  The only lens I've ever felt comfortable in front of belongs to Daniel Ballesteros of Ballesteros Photography.  Back in the days when I worked with his beautiful and talented wife Kari of Kari Jane Make-up at Sephora, Dan took THESE photos of my horse and I and later on they both came out to the ranch to take John and my Engagement photos and then our Wedding photos.  I've always been curious as to what it would be like to be in front of my own lens and I've always wanted to do a shoot with a tripod, timer and/or mirror.  Well, the other night when I was supposed to be packing to go out of town, I got a wild hair.  In my workout clothes and freshly cut hair (I blame the saucy haircut really), I grabbed my beloved Canon 60D and went at it.  I did not allow myself to be my own worst critic and instead kept snapping until I was tired... and really panicking about not packing.  I only viewed the images at the end rather than critiquing each one as I took it and kind of laughed at the end of the little exercise.  It really was fun and kind of interesting in a way I don't fully get yet.  It was just... playing - with big(ger) kid toys.  I guess, this is how I "Selfie"! #selfiesparingly #selflove

Inspiration and "Customs"

This topic is two sides of the same coin for me and yet I tend to have an odd perspective on a lot of things so see if you get my wavelength here, my apologies for being less than articulate if not.  Where and how is someone inspired to create something? And "Can you make..."?  A few people, ie my mother, have asked me where I come up with the ideas for my cow skulls and a few others have asked if I can create something specific. 

Firstly, the inspo comes from all over.  Often times I think of the name of the skull before I start creating it - something along the lines of "Thalia is a cool name, Now what would she look like if it were a skull".  Or a color pattern or swatch.  Or friends giving me leftover art supplies (weee thanks Friends!). Or an abstract idea. Or materials not commonly seen together such as the skull "Penelope" - I just decided one day that pennies and pearls needed to go together.  So that's where it comes from for me, now for where it DOESN'T come from...Other people's art.  And here we have arrived at the other side of the coin.

I have also been asked a lot if I can make something specific or custom, which is an idea I'm open to... Truthfully I'm not WIDE open to the idea since I started this endeavor as a way to express myself and I have so many ideas for skulls bubbling up inside me (yes I am that weird).  My own personal artistic journey if you will (yes I am aware of the pompous tone of that last statement and I truly don't mean it that way).  I just wanted to push myself to simply "see if I could".  I always wanted to be artsy, even as kid.  I thought up all these great ideas but could never seem to put them into form.  I wasn't very good at pottery in school, I can't cut or draw in a straight line, knitting and crocheting seem like they take an insane amount of dexterity and well I just sucked at calligraphy.  It was a bummer to see such beautiful things around me and not be able to Create myself.  (I grew up in SF and therefore museum visits were a frequent excursion and still are).  It finally got fun when my aunt started teaching me how to take photos when I was 18, but that is another story and I'm very good at digressing...maybe I can really be an artist after all!   Where was I?  oh yeah "Can you create?"  Since that was a question I've been asking myself for awhile I guess it was only natural for other people to begin asking it at some point.  Which was cool at first because it seemed like a good way to press myself further, to try new things and mediums.  It became Not Cool, when I started getting asked to copy - not necessarily create.  Let me make my point very clear:  I will NEVER copy someone's work.  Ever.  Being creative and artsy is a gutsy and brave thing I'm finding out and sometimes, very hard! So someone puts their mind, passion, talent and labor on the line and puts it out there for people to see, appreciate and potentially buy.  Awesome and kudos to them!  So go buy it there if you like it, but do not ask me to try and copy it.  Whether it's a painting or skull, if it's already out there, I'm not going to do what's been done.  I strive to be unique and one-of-a-kind...just like everybody else.

This coin might be three sided now, so let's think of it as a cube for easy reference. Since I refuse to copy, I assumed for some reason that other artists had that philosophy as well.  Well, you know what they say about Assuming right?  Mmm hmm.  Since I started my Facebook page, I get very excited when my phone tells me I have a bunch of activity on my page.  Yes it is usually my sister liking every single picture to show her support, but I still get excited ok?  Even better when I see my page or a post is getting shared!  Heeellllo internet viral goodness.  But then sometimes I read the comments on the Shares and see things like, "oh hey so-and-so, you should totally do this one", or "I can make that p-sha".  And I'm sitting staring at my screen thinking, but HEY, I made that!  I was lamenting my dismay to a fellow craftsman last week and he said, "But that's art, where there is art, there will be copying.  Consider it flattery." Um ok if you say so (?!?(&^(&)^?!?) So while I'm still trying to change my perspective on that notion, I stand by my choice to not copy the work of others.  Ok, this rant is officially over.  I'm going to go paint some skulls now and attempt to call it Art.

"Penelope" - because Pennies and Pearls just work together

Horned vs. Polled

As you may have noticed most of my skulls are polled,  or without horns.  This is because most people run a polled herd for herd health management purposes and horns are seen as less that optimal when you consider sorting cattle or loading them in trucks and trailers.  It also means the cattle can't bruise each other as readily if they are polled.  I realize that most people are going to want the horned ones for decor purposes however.  While I have a few (due to some throw back genetics), I will mostly be able to provide polled skulls.  Since I've been looking around and researching this hobby for the last few months, I've found that the majority of horned skulls out there are actually fake.  Wood horns carved and placed on polled skulls with resin or plaster.  Sometimes actual horn caps are used, but the result is the same - the skull itself did not have horns and they were placed there. 

     I decided early on that I didn't want to do that and came up with the idea of painting the polled ones for use in a garden setting or using flowers and other embellishments for a "cleaner" and more modern decor theme.  I tried to reflect the market demand in my designs and prices.  Horned skulls are going to cost more due to the demand for them.  I see myself pricing those around $350 (if you price compare, I think you will find this is more than fair and actually under what many people charge for these types of skulls - most people start at $350-400 and can even go as high as $600-700 depending on what's on it!!).  As far as my polled skull creations go, they will be priced at $90-150 depending on what is on them.

     I thought you might like to know why you are seeing what you are seeing as far as my creations go.  I may have horned skulls on here from time to time, but they won't be the majority that's for sure.  But you can be certain if I have one, it's real!

Thanks for reading and even more for Liking my page and for all the kind feedback I've received so far - I truly appreciate it.