From my family to yours, we wish you

[link]


May your holiday season be bright, joyful, and full of wonders!
Gina Marie & Family
& Briar Moon Studio

Star City, In. December 2009

Local artist Gina Marie was invited
to participate in the Indiana State Museum's
92 County Tree Project. The project will be featuring ornaments from artists,
from each county in the state.
Gina Marie is quite excited to have been asked to represent
Pulaski county in this project. The ornament for the 92 County Tree Project
will be Gina Marie's debut museum exhibition piece.

The 92 County Tree Project is a part of the museum's
annual Celebration Crossing Christmas exhibition and program.
A 25 foot tall tree in the State's Museum's Great Hall
will be displaying each ornament.

The Celebration Crossing exhibit will run from Nov. 27, to Dec. 31, 2009
at the museum. The museum is located at:
650 W. Washington St
Indianapolis, IN.
Museum Hours Mon-Sat 9a-5p, Sunday 11a-5p
[link]

[link]
The photo does not do the ornament justice at all,
but does give an idea of what it looks like.

About the Ornament

The ornament is meant to represent the every day ingenuity
and old fashioned "waste not, want not" values of Pulaski county.
The body of the ornament itself is
a mini bottle gourd Gina Marie grew in her home garden.
All other materials used to make the
ornament were on hand items and not purchased.
Even the clay was left over from previous projects.


Three colors, gold, silver, and copper metallic rubs are used on the surface of the gourd.
Next poinsettias, holly leaves, berries and vines made out of paper clay, and painted in metallic colors.
The whole item was then antiqued in brown oxide. Then teeny, tiny, clear, bead glitter, (little round balls)
where coated over the whole thing using decoupage. While the decoupage was still wet the entire
item was rolled in white glitter. Lastly the Swarovski crystals were added,
there are over 50 on the ornament.

The entire ornament is a rich display of old fashioned style and new design
that is just an eye blink's shy of outrageous.
When placed on a tree, under glowing holiday lights,
this ornament literally glows with today's
sparkling splendor and traditional gilded old school charm.

Thanks to a special someone who rocks I now have a Zazzle Store.
Right now there are only a few items, but it will fill over time.
[link]
You will find the new 2010 calendar
Dragons, Fairies, and Unicorns there.


Studio Updates: Studio still closed.
I am working on new art, and also working
on new site design so I can get the web site out
of limbo.

Personal Updates: FIL still at hospital
My mother is having some medical issues
due to the stroke she had a couple years back.
26 y.o. son has flu, grand daughter has a cold
and my Crohns still hasn't hit a remission point yet.


dA stuff,
Still not sure what I am going to do with my dA accounts,
art, stock, print, and misc art. Not really had time
to work through all the pros and cons.

Once again just catching up. FIL still in hospital.
They thought he was close to the summer country, but he has hung
on against all odds.

The studio will no longer be doing any work with polymer clay.
Every time I pick the stuff up I now break out in hives badly.
I have been working on learning to sculpt with medical gloves on
but can't feel the clay the way I need to, so the end results
looks like something a 2 YO would produce.
It has been a total failure much to my utter dismay
and is very disappointing to me.

I have some news of something really cool coming in the future,
but am not going to say any thing else about it. Don't want
to jinx the whole project.

Well that is it now. Hope eveyone is well.

STUDIO CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!
80 YO FIL is at hospital again, kidney failure,
since he is still alert he decided no life support
or such so he will be leaving us soon for the next life.