Time for a Pre Holiday Giveaway!

Hey all:) I am on my way back from vacation in Cape Cod, pictures , sketches, and story will be coming soon. I know I promised another Give Away- so here it is.
A pendant with my Art in it, a beautiful little piece of wearable Art that a skilled Pendant master did for me:) What do you need to do? You need to go to my shop, pick out a pendant design that you like best and say something about it (plus leave the email for me , so I can contact you if you are the winner)
Giveaway will be going on until October 10, 10 am.
Ready , set , go!

IF: Packed

Now , this is a real sketch:) They are packed with details. I find it comforting to add detail after detail, untill the drawing is almost claustrophobic , but my characters feel more comfortable in the winter time when they are prepared. In a warm place, with lots of strawberry jam

Cape Cod, Bord Games and elephant in the appartment above

We are going to Cape Cod tomorrow.

My son will skip Kindergarten shamelessly, I will forget about my "business" part of Art, and my hubby will hopefully leave his laptop behind.

Pine trees, mushrooms, dunes, board games, and evening by the fire place--that's what I am looking forward to. Also I hope while the kids will be running crazy in NATURE, I will be able to sketch.

We have been there 4 years ago, but it seems like an eternity has passed since then.

these photos are of us back then

Also, for those of you who love board games that challenge the mind--we have discovered Pylos. A very meditative and challenging version of Tic Tack Tow in 3D with wooden balls instead of Xs and Os. About a year ago a fiamily friend of ours introduced us to the world of board games, and we are hooked now. Mancala was the favorite so far, but Pylos is on the way to become a leader:)

And last, but not least, I have a sneaking suspicion that we have an elephant in the apartment above. It wakes up at 6 am, every morning, and starts walking just above my bed:( has anyone else had this kind of trouble? How do you deal with an elephant in an apartment? I am not sure

IF: Clique

I've got two cliques going, one for the lovers of Tolkien --who do not mind standing in the night wood and gradually turning into trees..

The other for the less patient ones, who like tea and are slightly crazy, but happy at the same time.

Which one do you fit into?

From my Treasury chest--Ekaterina Belkina

From now on I will try to have a regular feature on various Artists and Photographers that I find outstanding and inspiring, and that have been stored in my mental treasury.

I have found Ekaterina Belkina several years ago, and was mesmerizes by her photographs. She creates a magical realm that is made out of ordinary objects. I do not know how she manages to make this transformation, but I think you will agree with me that it is extraordinary.

Belkina

My best students

The new school year has started, and I resumed my Art lessons. This time we were sculpting with air drying clay, and making a zoo. But everyone made elephants:)

My cat Totoro, with his keen love of books. This is the Art history book he is studying.

Busy working little hands, and Totoro as always being in the middle of everything.

One of the inhabitants of our zoo. I like him, he looks like a newborn, with shaky bending legs

IF: Island

Jonah had lost count of time, and had no idea that the fish was coming close to an island, where she would let him out.

Princess Who Loved Animals

The winner of my last weeks giveaway is micale6955, the Princess Who Loved Animals will start her travels to the new home.

And since this is the print that got many votes I will expand on the story a bit.

Girls love princesses, we all know that. Why? Beats me, I always was a tom boy. But here I am with a 2 year old, who already knows she wants to be a princess when she grows up. A great addition to the son, who is convinced that Knights should be payed more money and then there will be a job like that again.

So here we are, I have a Knight and a Princess. I never painted princesses before, at least not after I was 14 years old and spent all the boring school lessons doodling in my notebook . Actually my classmate who shared the table with me used to have contests, who would draw a better princess. She is an economist in Moscow now, and I probably won since I actually keep drawing them.

My princess is supposed to be loving, compassionate and SMART:) Beautiful? well, may be that would not hurt as well. I wanted her to be outside rather than inside the castle. I wanted her to be closer to nature than most princesses are.

In Russian folklore there is this character Vasilisa the Smartest, the princess who would always find the solutions to the most difficult challenges and this way help out her 'not-so-smart" husband. I wonder why is it, that in Russian folk tales women are always the smart ones, and the main male character Ivan are the opposite. Ivan durak=Ivan the stupid?

IF: "Clutter"

"She wanted simplicity in her life. Minimalism. Space. She could not stand clutter"

I despise clutter, I can not stand it, I try to get rid of it as soon as it starts forming, I have a phobia of clutter, "clutterphobia" would be a good word

DRUMROLL-my Blog opening GIVE AWAY!

Just to celebrate my victory over laziness and the fact that now I am a blogger, I would like to have a give away. You get a print of your choice from my Etsy shop (http://www.vusova.etsy.com), all you need to do is leave a comment with your email address, so I can contact you if you win. The hat drawing will be held in one week, on September 10. So take it from there, and don't forget to pass it on:)