CJ's 5th Birthday Top

 Each of our three grandchildren gets a custom made birthday top each year.  Most recent was 5 year old CJ - Caesar James Sams.  He wanted to have a top with a "squiggle".  I showed him how to draw a "squiggle" on the computer in Corel Draw, and then with some grandpa magic I turned it into a top design, added name, date, etc. and we cut them out on the laser.  CJ chose the colors, and we had this year's birthday top!  Grandpa is thinking about Stella's first top now!

Kissing

I am thinking that I (Don - Cheryl still does not do computers) need to get back to posting on this blog more regularly.  I went and looked at our traffic info, and discovered that 20 or more folks check this blog out each day, and end up getting very old posts!  Thus, this post, and hopefully more.... Cheryl is at the Paradise City show in Marlboro, MA this weekend.  You can check out our things there today from 11 to 4?.  The above piece is a special creation made in response to the Paradise City folks challenging exhibitors to create pieces related to faces.  There is always a new challenge at Paradise City shows, and there is always a special display area featuring the various artist's creations.  Move the heart at the upper left back and forth to see our couple kiss --- you have to be there in person to do that.  Maybe I'll get a video posted when she gets home if the piece has not sold?  Check us out on Facebook too.  https://www.facebook.com/don.olney.9

Magic!

Cheryl will be doing the Paradise City Show in Northampton, MA
this holiday weekend - Saturday, Sunday, and Monday!  I think that clicking on the link to the show can gain you a discount on the admission price!

These shows usually feature a challenge to the artists to create a piece for a special exhibit that is part of each show.  This weekend's challenge  was the theme - Magic!  (or Hocus Pocus?)  The piece above was a collaboration between us as usual.  She is about 28" tall, and I think will be priced at around $200?  Check her out!
I'm particularly pleased with this piece - love the top hat!   The plan was to create a moving piece with her popping out of the hat, but the mechanism was too time consuming, so she just has to POP on her own, and I think she does!

Custom piece created recently

We were recently commissioned to create a family piece for a wedding anniversary gift.  Above is the result.  Customer was very pleased. Don created a new figure to be used for the Dad! (third from the right).  I'll post a better picture of the new male figure soon - we need to make more!  With some secret muttering under our breath, we actually enjoy the challenge of creating new designs to order.  This one needed a new male figure - some of our male figures are not all that interesting, but this fellow, while not exactly dancing, still manages to exude some class!

This piece uses a background a bit larger than our usual 20"x30" background.  The figures are our standard 15" tall size.

Recent Award

 Another recent award - 

made by us, 

and presented to our friend Alice Young 

by the 

Greater Rochester Area Branch 

of the 

American Association of University Women 

for 

International Women's Day - 2013!

We love participating in the recognition of people who serve the community in so many creative ways!

Trash Talk - Marlborough Paradise show

 

Each Paradise City Craft show features a "themed" area where exhibitors are challenged to create some work in keeping with various interesting themes.  This spring's Marlborough show - next weekend - features work on the theme - Trash Talk.  Cheryl has been making paper "beads" for a while now, and rather than stringing them as necklaces, or other usual uses for beads, she has been decorating note cards, etc. with them.  She took this year's Trash Talk challenge to heart, and created these three figures - the bodies are designed using left over pieces from our many projects, and instead of painted wood clothing, these feature paper rolled beads.  The larger one (33 inches tall)  is called "Oprah - September 2010", and is decorated entirely in beads made from rolled pages of the September 2010 issue of Oprah magazine

 

The larger figure will be featured in the special section of the show devoted to "Trash Talk". and the other two will be in the booth.  Come early and get all three to adorn your home or office?

 

  Paper bead detail below.

March 22 - 24 - Paradise City - Marlborough, MA - MAP

click here to get a $2 off admission charge coupon

New designs - Business Card Holders

 We have made business card holders for years, using our signature no glue assembly with spring pins to hold the parts  together.  The decorative elements are of course glued in place.

 These new ones incorporate three of our dance figures as part of the back panel.  The figures are the size of our wooden pins - about 3" tall.

 Below is a detail picture of Don's special spring pin that holds  the card holding section together.

Basic card holders are $20, and pins are also $20, 

We'll try out these new combination pieces at $30

Remember that as always, we can customize these pieces for your organization, business, church, dance school, or whatever!

Another new design

New African Dancer figure!

Available as a pin (simpler figure) as 15" tall figures - as shown, and as 29" tall figures.

I'm not sure why, but pressure - like getting ready for the Kennedy Center show - often brings out new designs. This time we got two... this African Dancer, and our revision of Lena ....
Lena 2012

New Design

This is a new 2012 version of our original Lena figure. She originally had a straight dress, but now she has more movement!

Lena used to look like the picture below.

Believe it or not, the above picture was a drawing for a large Lena figure we mounted on a door for a customer's guest room! Below - the piece laid out on the door before we painted her.

Work table filled with small figures!

Collection of a good many small wooden figures for use on our annual job of creating several arts awards to be given by our local Arts & Cultural Council to local arts related folks.

I've lost track of how many years we've been making these awards, but it is gratifying to know our work is used to honor many of our local artists and arts organizations, as well as other businesses that support the arts!

Just like the arts help create a lively community, this collection of colorful wooden folks will help create a recognition of the part the arts play in our daily lives.

I love the quote that has been going around the internet lately ----

Without art, the earth is just "eh"!

Mini African Violet "Oscars"

Now that the NYS African Violet Society Convention is over, I can show you the little 4" tall "oscars" that I made as table favors for the big dinner. Above - the final look. Below, sitting on my bench before the gold paint stage! The theme this year was "Violets at the Oscars"

My personal favorite in the main showroom was "Harmony's Little Stinker" (below) shown by Paul Kroll of East Aurora, NY. I didn't get to meet him, but he is evidently a multifaceted fellow, also being a breeder of Japanese Bantam Chickens, and Dark Brown Leghorn Chickens. In addition to being a member of his local and state African Violet Society, he is also a member of Buffalo and Western New York Poultry Association

I find that my favorite African Violets tend to be ones with interesting leaves.

If you are interested I think the image below is a picture of the type of chicken Paul raises.
I love the way the internet takes us off on tangents!

Oh - by the way - As illustrated by those little oscars, we love to do custom stuff. If you have an event, fund raiser, special gift you need, etc. Contact Us about how we can help!

Post #800! - Another Dreidel Design

My 800th post!

Another dreidel. This one is made from some old leftover parts from my days as The Toycrafter - namely the natural wood stem, and the colorful wooden "cone" bottom/point. The blue and yellow layers are laser cut and etched with the dreidel letters - spins easily and nicely, but not too long!

Video below.

Go to Shopify to purchase this and other dreidel designs. Wholesale inquiries invited for larger quantities.

New Work at Clothesline Festival

Nice little piece Cheryl created. About 16x7 - figures are the size we normally make into pins.

This one has been framed, but pictures of things in frames don't always come out great.

This piece and lots of others will be at Clothesline
this weekend. Stop by to see us! or is that Stop buy?

Booth 447 - upper level parking lot near the Goodman St. entrance.

New Design - Jazz version of mechanical cards

Click to embiggen. Press lever on right end to bring up the volume.

Video below - $25 each
Contact us for other colors, or your own custom item!
our Shopify site or our Etsy shop

Jazz Kinetic Mechanical Card from Don Olney on Vimeo.

Latest design - Mechanical Card / Surprise Box

This is my latest mechanical card - also directly related to the Surprise Box - except that this one just operates with the little lever on the right - not spring activated. Press lever on the end to raise our hopes for victory in 2012!
Available as a business card version, or we can attach a pin back so you can wear your politics on your chest! Business card size. Price = $25

our Shopify site or our Etsy shop

As always, we'd love to design a custom piece for you!

Video of this new piece.

Untitled from Don Olney on Vimeo.

My Lord, What A Morning wall group

These new wall pieces feature our new figures based on a "Praise Dancing" movement. I posted a couple of days ago about the individual figures - 22" tall. http://louisesdaughter.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-lord-what-morning.html

Here is a 22" tall wall panel with three smaller figures and a "sun" greeting the morning. These new figures and wall pieces are being introduced to the public tonight at a trunk show at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. A quite extensive exhibit of our work will be in the lobby of The Kennedy Center before and after the weekend performances of The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The work can also be perused and purchased during intermission at all 4 weekend shows, as well as before and after the performances. After being pretty much totally snowed out last year, we are hoping for a much more successful sale on this our fourth trunk show at The Kennedy Center. Our work is for sale at the gift shop on a year round basis, but during this weekend each year, we mount a special show of all our dance related work. As always, you can order any of our work in any size and in your own choice of colors.

My Lord, What A Morning!

My Lord, What A Morning! - Red Dress --- detail below.

My Lord, What A Morning! - White Dress --- detail below.

Our latest figure - based on a Praise dancing position. Each is 21" tall, and each is one of a kind because hair and other details are made from yarn and other found objects. We are also making a medium sized wall piece with three smaller figures together with a colorful sun! Pictures soon. If you are in the Washington DC area this weekend, come to The Kennedy Center for a performance of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and the chance to buy these or other pieces before, during intermission, or after the performance --- Friday night, Saturday Matinee or Evening, or Sunday Matinee.

If you can't make it to The Kennedy Center, you can order from our Shopify site or our Etsy shop

Budding Artist

A little while ago, Maya noted that the Obama 12 pin that Grandma Cheryl was wearing was not completely painted. The letters on this pin had been left the natural wood color, and Maya very much wanted to paint them! We told her we would bring her some parts that she could paint herself, and make her own Obama 12 pins! We knew better than to forget, and brought a few blank parts the next time we were there for "Grandkids Wednesday"!. Maya had a great time carefully painting the parts! She was a bit impatient with the idea of waiting for the paint to dry, but after lunch she declared them dry, and we glued them together. Above are two of them. Grandpa wears one all the time now!

Inspired, I have gone ahead and set up two places to buy "Obama 12" handmade wooden campaign buttons, and help contribute to the re-election of the best president ever.... oh I know .... you probably don't all agree, but that is one of the great things about this country! We don't all agree, but we usually manage to get along fairly well!

To get your handmade wooden "Obama 12" buttons, go here or here for some of our work.... 75% of the $ goes to the 2012 campaign - the balance offsets our cost of making them. We even have a pin promoting the re-election of Bo as "First Dog"!

Maya's work is not available to the public.

New Creation

New "Balancing Act".
"You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky."
Amelia Earhart
Video below!

Wonderful Discovery!

We discovered that by putting two different hanger pieces on the back of our latest dancer, she has two very different and wonderful poses.  This is the first time we've done this, and it is quite exciting!  Two different dancers for the price of one, or buy two to hang together on your wall in different poses!