Tag Archives: Lewis Art

September 1, 2021 · 10:46 am

Good Start to the Day

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(The above is NOT what I’m making for my friends, but the picture make me smile. What FUN this child has had, thinking of something and trying to make it come to life.)

Since our heat index here in Arkansas is forecast to be 110+F. this afternoon, , I decided to get my body moving earlier than usual this morning and get out to the shop to continue work on the refurbishment of the dragonfly plus working on my Christmas presents for friends.

I’m working on the eyes of the dragonfly now. I cut a black rubber ball with knobs on it in half and glued them on the dragonfly. Now I am using glitter glue paint to try to make the ‘eyes’ sparkle. I finished the main part of the work on the 6 Christmas presents out there. As soon as they dry, I’ll work on the accents and finishing touches. Upstairs in my art room, I think I’ll finish the 3 other Christmas presents I’m working on up there today. I love it when I figure out what I want to try to do early and have lots of time to work without feeling rushed. I find myself remembering lots of happy times with each of the people I’m making a present for, hoping they’ll enjoy the gift. :0)

Since today is the first day of September, and kids are in school here now, we will change the mailbox decoration, hoping to make the bus riders smile as they pass our driveway. Here is the decoration we’re putting out today –

Godzilla

Have a happy first day of September!

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August 30, 2021 · 11:26 am

Christmas in August/September

Prahaas

This year I’m trying to make something for many of my friends for Christmas. I’m having a good time, going out to our shop each morning to work on some of the presents, plus repainting the dragonfly metal/glass critter that lives on the side of our house. It was down to the bare metal on a lot of the framework for the wings, so it’s taking many coats of paint to refurbish it. I think I have the underside done now, and I’ve started on the side that shows when it is hung up.

In the afternoons, I’m working on more presents up in my art room. I feel good, not feeling rushed, but making steady progress on everything.

The presents are coming along. At least my friends will know I spent a lot of time thinking of them and trying to do something unique for them. :o)

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August 4, 2021 · 12:18 pm

Our “Peacock” is Preening Again

When we got home from errands this morning, I brought the finished “peacock” out to his place in the yard.

This was a pain to re-paint, due to how wide and unwieldy he is. There are lots of angles that hide from you as you paint, and he doesn’t want to ‘sit’ quietly, making it easier to work on him. He also had lost most of his beads, so those had to be replaced.

He used to be high up on the tower above where we put the “Belly Vested Whapadoo,” –

but I thought he could enjoy a new view.

There are some other, smaller pieces we’ll have to take down from the side of the house, and some larger ones, like the robot at the end of the driveway, but we’re due for summer to come roaring back, so I’m going to take a bit of a break.

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July 30, 2021 · 9:17 am

Mama and Baby Snail

Mama & Baby Snail are refurbished and living on our front porch now. I finished repainting these yesterday and brought them out late yesterday afternoon.

Next will be cleaning and repainting our “peacock.”

We have Lunch Bunch this morning, so I don’t know whether I will start the peacock cleaning today or start earlier in the morning tomorrow.

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July 19, 2021 · 10:30 am

“Dog with Bone” is Feeling Frisky

Our “Dog with Bone” yard critter is back up and feeling frisky. With the rains we’ve had, he had been in three pieces in the shop for quite awhile. In fact, when I took our dog Amber out with me, she wasn’t used to seeing him and barked, running over to check him out.

I plan to start cleaning another “shovel bird” today.

One of the reasons I was outside with Amber was to check on our elephant ear plants. They seem to be happy.

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July 13, 2021 · 3:36 pm

Super-Busy, Good Day

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We’ve been super busy since I wrote my first post today about 9am. It’s been a good day – full of errands. We got most things accomplished and made it home for a late lunch. It’s very hot, so it was wonderful to get back into the air conditioning. We had lunch and a nap.

Yesterday I finished the refurbishing of the 4 ’emu’ planters. They are ready to come out, but it’s WAAAY too hot now to do it. We’ve figured out where we want them to live, and maybe it will cool off enough before dark for us to get them out. We get gusty winds here, so we got some U-bolts we can use. I plan to put one over a ‘toe’ of each of the ’emus’ pounding the U-bolt into the ground to make them steadier. I’ll take pics when we get them back together outside.

My husband is having a bit of trouble welding now because of shaking hands. He got upset the other day, thinking he would have to give it up. Since his shaking varies from day to day, I reminded him of that and suggested he just wait until he’s have a ‘good’ day and weld then. Today we got a full cylindrical bottle of argon to replace the empty one we took in. He was able to finish making a brace to make a beautiful, specialized welding table yesterday. :0)

I have finished 10 yard critters so far, and we now have 3 more in the shop for me to clean and refurbish – a ‘peacock,’ a shovel bird, and a dog.

We’ve had SO much fun making these wacky critters!

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July 12, 2021 · 9:15 am

Laugh and Hug

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I’m giving myself a hug and smiling right now. I just had two sales (one yesterday and the second this morning) from my HandmadeHavenbyLinda Etsy website! A really nice start to the day and a spirit-lifter, for sure. :0)

I’ve been having fun in our shop, refurbishing 4 “emu” planters this past week. I need to paint their legs, and then they can go back outside when they are dry.

I’m feeling very motivated on my weight loss and exercising goals. I’ll do two sessions with weights today – one with 5-pound weights, and a second with 3-pound weights, where I follow a short video online. Then I’ll do my regular session of yoga stretching and abdominal exercises later today. I’m trying to drink FOUR bottles of water daily (trying to ignore the fact that my eyeballs are floating as I get more movement in) – running to the bathroom. I’m eating some raw veggies and a bit of dip mid afternoon as a snack. Keepin’ on keepin’ on. (So far. 30.2 pounds down and 26.2 inches off).

I’m finding lots of wonderfully creative people on the net who have created artwork that makes my mouth water. I’m so grateful I live on the same planet and can enjoy their work and share it with you.

Have a wonderful Monday.

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July 6, 2021 · 9:31 am

Sassy “Belly Vested Whapadoo”

This “refurbishment” (Is that a word?) took a lot of time and effort.

While I was cleaning him, his head fell off! My husband welded it back on, but that added to the difficulty of trying to refurbish him, with huge black ‘burns’ around his neck.

I managed to clean that up, as you can see here, and then I put styrofoam stuff in a gap between the two layers of his ‘neck” to discourage wasps from nesting in there. Finally, I added a bandana.

We used to have him wired to a tree. We moved him to this spot, putting his tail feather between the spokes of the tower. This should hold him nicely.

I’m glad to see him with his ‘sass” back.

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July 5, 2021 · 9:51 am

Refurbishing Progress

I’ve been working on the “Belly Vested Whapado” bird for several days now. He’s finally finished and will find his spot in the yard later today. We’ll have to tie him to something wherever he lives, because he needs the extra help, but I’ll take some pics and post them later.

Next up will be a set of 4 “emus’ we built to hold planter pots. There are actually 6 emus in the set. 4 live together to the side of the driveway and and there are 2 more that live on our deck. We haven’t brought the other 2 in yet. Pics to follow on these, as well.

There are some yard critters that I plan to refurbish in place. One is the robot who welcomes people to our home and holds our house numbers sign. He weighs 200+ pounds. I’ll do him in stages, first cutting the greenery away around him, then using a mold remover to get him clean, and then bringing a large can of white paint and a brush to the bottom of the driveway in our truck. I will also use rust preventing spray paint on him, masking areas carefully.

I noticed the ‘Mama and Baby Snail’ that live on one of the brick planters needs to be repainted, and a shovel bird that perches on the edge needs work, too. Right now I am refusing to even THINK about the ‘Flying Pig’ that hangs over the driveway. :0)

I’ll go out to the shop soon and take some pics.

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June 28, 2021 · 3:30 pm

“Cleaning Robot” Feels Better Now

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June 25, 2021 · 9:24 am

The Turkey Lives!

Our turkey was just really dirty with all the paint fading or completely gone. I forgot to take a “before” pic before I started cleaning him up. I put him back in his spot beside the driveway last night.

My husband wants to change where the turkey lives, and I have no problem with that. He’ll probably move it today while I work on another critter.

It’ll be interesting to see where my husband decides he should live.

I’m leaving for Lunch Bunch in about an hour, looking forward to celebrating my friend’s birthday today, and hopefully it won’t be TOO hot to choose another critter, take a pic or two, and get started with the cleaning.

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June 23, 2021 · 9:22 am

“Farmer Robot” Is Refurbed

Before

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June 21, 2021 · 9:34 am

Poor Little Guy

This poor little guy we call the “Farmer Robot.” He stands to one side of our garage door, keeping watch on the yard and our garden. As you can see, he needs quite a bit of refurbishing.

I started work on him yesterday. I scraped the peeling paint, removed the farming gloves and bandana, and generally cleaned him up as much as possible.

I’ll get him some new work gloves, stuffing them with plastic bags to give them some shape. I’ll replace his bandana, and his eyes.

I got a first coat of fresh paint on him yesterday and will continue the work today. I hope I can make him look reasonable again.

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June 20, 2021 · 2:02 pm

Our Box Turtle Has New Life

I finished the box turtle and put him out in the rock garden again. I cleaned him thoroughly, replaced his eyes, freshened the paint, and sprayed him with polyurethane to protect him as much as possible.

I started another critter this morning. We call him the “Farmer Robot.” I’ll show you pics of the sad shape he’s in tomorrow.

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June 20, 2021 · 9:20 am

A Bit of Success

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I finally had a bit of success on losing the lard. I’m almost back to 30 pounds down since my heaviest now – hoping to hit that officially in the next day or so. I’m learning once again how much easier it is to put it ON, rather than taking it OFF.

Yesterday I was moving most of the day. I was in the shop working on the refurb of our Box Turtle Yard art piece. It was hot in there, but I had a fan. I was up and down, pulling and hauling. After resting a bit, I weed whacked, doing two sessions that I had to stop when the weed eater started to smoke! My husband will look at that today to see if it is salvageable. Anyhow, it was a lot of work out in the hot, so I guess that helped finally shed a bit more of the lard.

Today I’m going to put the refurbed box turtle back where he lives in the yard, take pics to show you, start work on another piece, use the leaf blower to clean up the two sidewalks and garage pad, and then cut up lots of veggies for the “kielbasa and veggies” cookout for tonight.

I hope you have a happy Sunday, too.

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June 19, 2021 · 11:54 am

Box Turtle Refurb – Before

Years ago my husband and I start playing in the shop, making yard critters out of scrap metal. We chose the pieces as we decided what we were trying to make. If we couldn’t find it, my husband made it, such as cutting the feet on this box turtle out of scrap metal we had.

All this has become much harder because salvage yards and dumps don’t allow people to wander around anymore. There are liability issues, so it’s very hard to find scrap metal and parts.

We had a wonderful time making these critters and deciding where they would ‘live’ in the yard.

Sun, water, and temperature extremes take their toll on metal yard critters, so every once in a while, we take them to the shop for some much needed attention.

This is a “Box Turtle.” The pictures don’t show all the damage, but his eyes fell off, his ‘nose’ is peeling badly, and he has a lot of rust.

There is a lot of peeling paint on his back, and his feet had to be hosed down to get rid of ‘critters’ who wanted to live there.

More rust on his tail.

I spent 2-1/2 hours in the shop working on him this morning, and he is drying now. I spent quite a while washing him. I then freshened his paint, paying particular attention to all the peeled spots. I made him new eyes and glued them on. I will spray him later today with polyurethane to protect the paint as much as possible. I’ll take a pic or two and then we’ll put him back in his spot in the yard and I’ll start on another critter.

So far, my husband has put 9 critters in the shop for refurb and there are more than that to come. It’s a good thing I enjoy painting!

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June 18, 2021 · 9:11 am

Thoughts on a Friday 6-18-2021

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Today is a pretty day, though the humidity is still high. Thanks to a neighbor’s super-kind compliments about our mailbox decorations, we will change our decoration when we leave to go to Lunch Bunch. This is what we’ll put up –

Pepe LePew and Penelope

We will enjoy catching up with our long time friends as we have every Friday for over 17 years now. It’s impossible to explain how close we feel, having shared highs and lows, laughs and tears all this time. The number of people at lunch changes from time to time, depending on who is being visited, which other friends took time to be with us, but the core remains the same – Kay, Linda, and me, plus my husband who was ‘graciously’ taken in as an honorary member of Lunch Bunch. Kay’s husband also joins us from time to time when he isn’t working. He is in high demand because he can run many huge machines like an artist – a vanishing skill.

When we come home, I’m planning to get out and weed whack the yard. My husband got the recalcitrant riding mower running and got the main part of the yard done. I need to do the parts he can’t get with the mower, of which there are many, followed by leaf blowing to clean things up, and then spraying with KillzAll weed killer to discourage new growth. I don’t know how long I’ll last in the heat, but it’s good knowing I can come in, jump into the shower, dress in clean clothes, and maybe even have a nap this afternoon.

Tomorrow is the official start of “Lewis Refurb 2021” where I wash, scrape and thoroughly clean one of our yard metal critters, then repair or replace parts, repaint, and finally spray with polyurethane for protection so it can go back outside. The sun and rain and temperature ranges are very hard on them. I’ll do the best I can to give them some more years as members of the Lewis family. I’ll start with our “Box Turtle.” –

This is what he used to look like. I’ll take a picture when I get started so you can see what Mother Nature does to our ‘creations.’ The poor thing is NOT a happy camper right now.

The other thing I’m hoping for this weekend is that my husband will be in the mood to cook out. I have some kielbasa and some lovely veggies that would make a delicious meal. I’m hoping we can have a late dinner, sit and talk on the deck, with our rope LED lights on, making things festive, while we enjoy the evening and our animals.

I hope that you’re having a nice day today and that you’re looking forward to an enjoyable weekend.

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June 16, 2021 · 4:43 pm

Made My Day

I had a really nice thing happen when I was down at the bottom of our driveway, getting our mail before heading to town to get a haircut.

I got the mail, and was ready to get back into our truck when a truck was driving by. I waved, and started to my truck. She stopped. I went over, and she asked me if I made the decorations that are on our mailbox. I told her that my husband and I made them together. She asked me if we sold them. I told her, “no,” because we can’t make the same thing twice, and we don’t want to disappoint anyone.

She went on to say that her family detours through the neighborhood so they can see what we have on the mailbox! She was quite effusive in her praise and my spirits went through the roof. I told her that she had really made my day. Then I had to apologize because we’ve gotten lax on changing the decoration with the pandemic. I told her we would do better.

When I got home I talked to my husband. He didn’t seem as thrilled as I was, but just now, hours later, as I type this, he asked,’ Do you think we should change the mailbox decoration?” :0)

We’ll do that as we leave for Lunch Bunch Friday morning.

Her kindness has also motivated me to get started seriously on the refurb of our yard critters.

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April 30, 2021 · 10:01 am

Mailbox Decoration

We haven’t bothered to change our mailbox decoration for several months due to several factors. We had put up my husband’s favorite of the decorations we have made –

Sonic, The Hedgehog, Wyle E. Coyote, and Roadrunner. He likes this one especially because it was the first time we had a real 3-D-ness, with the Roadrunner’s legs.

Yesterday we were getting the mail really late in the afternoon. I asked if my husband minded changing the mailbox decoration. He agreed, so we put up MY favorite, Calvin & Hobbes. This one makes me smile, and I think that with all we are all going through these days, it’s good to get even a virtual hug.

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February 8, 2021 · 9:49 am

Cleaning my Art Room?

Two days ago I went to my art room full of good intentions to clean things up and organize. I’ve been reasonably productive lately, so things are really a mess. :0)

I started with my drafting table because that’s where I do most of my work. As I cleaned it off, I got some ideas for new magnets to make for sale in my booth in Rags & Roses. The cleaning stopped as I started gathering the things I wanted…

Raising Children Network

Today I will go up and see if I can actually finish cleaning off the drafting table, as well as tackling more of the art room…

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February 3, 2021 · 5:14 pm

Clothespin Fridge Magnets

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February 3, 2021 · 1:17 pm

1st Batch of Magnets

I’ll start painting the clothespin magnets as soon as the glue dries. :0)

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January 11, 2021 · 3:30 pm

Hand-Painted Wooden Magnets

Painted Wooden Magnets Using Alcohol Ink
Hand Painted Magnets Using Unicorn Spit

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January 11, 2021 · 9:59 am

Newest Pieces

White Flowers – Acrylic
White Iris – Bleeding Tissue Paper

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Newest Tissue Paper Art

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January 10, 2021 · 12:41 pm
January 5, 2021 · 5:17 pm

Go With All Your Heart

Bleeding Tissue paper and Paint – Linda Lewis

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Tissue Paper and Stencil

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January 5, 2021 · 3:19 pm
November 9, 2020 · 2:11 pm

Mailbox Decoration

Wyle E. Coyote, Sonic the Hedgehog, and the Roadrunner

We usually change the decoration twice each month, putting up something special for each holiday. Since the pandemic began, we’ve just had the Tasmanian Devil up. (below)

Since the schools are open now, the bus comes by at the bottom of our driveway again. We finally decided it was worth the trouble to put something different up.

We probably will only put up things not tied to any particular holiday until things get back to what passes for normal, but it’s nice to change the look of things. The decoration we have up now was the first one with more than one image, plus the first one with 3-D ‘legs’ attached.

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October 29, 2020 · 2:25 pm

“Jewels”

Jewels – Ear-resistable

I’ve been having fun in my art room the past couple of days. I’m having a great time creating “Jewels” from my old jewelry collection parts. I’m hoping that these will be adopted out of my booth in town, finding a home where they have hit the right note with someone. :0)

Jewels – Embrace Your Weirdness
Jewels – Why Blend?

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September 23, 2020 · 1:29 pm

Playing in My Art Room – Bookmarks Finished

I just had a good time finishing up the last 8 bookmarks. I enjoy painting them, gluing them, sealing them, etc., but it’s a whole other joy to choose special do-dads to be attached to them. :0)

I will get them ready to take to the booth Carla and I rent at Rags & Roses Collective in Greenwood. 

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September 17, 2020 · 3:56 pm

Fun With Bookmarks

 

I’m a bit hard on books. Mine tend to have dog-eared corners on some of the pages, maybe a note to myself here and there in a margin, or they might show how much I have read them by staying open at certain spots.

When I read books belonging to someone else, like the library, a friend, or now – while I’m reading my husband’s collection of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber – I use a bookmark so that I can return them in good shape.

I’m using a bookmark I made years ago. I don’t really like it, but it’s the only one I have. THAT’S what got me going on making a bunch of new ones.

 

So far, I’ve finished 8 bookmarks. I’ll take the ones I’ve finished to the booth tomorrow.

 

I enjoy choosing a doo-dad to attach to each one, making it different from the rest. I have a whole collection of odds and ends that I paw through to find one that grabs my attention.

 

I may be the last person on the planet to need a bookmark, since fewer people seem to read for pleasure now, and those who do may be using a tablet, but I have a great time making them. I hope that someone who visits our booth at Rags & Roses finds one of these fun, for themselves, or for kids or grandkids.

I’ll finish up the rest of them soon.

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