Delilah S. Dawson's Blog, page 42

behold the sekrit smellies

Things are in the works. Marvelous things. SEKRIT THINGS.
I will tell you this:
1. Brooke at Villainess Soaps is a lovely person and a super talented perfumer.
2. I now smell like Criminy Stain and have nearly sniffed myself delirious.
3. There may be a way for you to enjoy these in the future.
4. Smelling my characters is ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS that has ever happened to me.
Extrapolate from that what you will.
SQUEE.
I <3 you x1000, Brooke!
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the rockin' rainbow

So my Kindergarten-age spawn won the "Most Colorful" award in her school art show.
I can't really take any credit, aside from letting her use my "grown-up" watercolors. Just as they say the cobbler's children wear no shoes, so does this former art teacher's daughter receive very little art instruction. I've seen too many children her age forced into artistic conformity. It's so very heartbreaking when a seven-year old says, "My dad says I can't draw cats good. I'm a horrible artist!"*
So I only help my kids with art when they ask for it.
But shall I reveal what I believe to be the secret of successful art projects?
Use adult-quality materials.
If you give your kid the super-crappy 99cent Wal-Mart brand watercolor set and some computer printer paper, they're going to be disappointed and frustrated with their creation. It is simply impossible to create satisfying artwork using sub-par materials. When I taught kids' art classes, my supply fee was often a little higher than other teachers' fees, maybe $20 to their $12. And that was because I went to the art supply store and bought actual supplies instead of the cheap junk from school supply stores. Not the most expensive stuff, of course. But good enough that the children and their parents were always pleasantly surprised by the end result.**
That painting up there-- which was required by the school!-- was made using my own personal watercolor palette, one of my squirrel-hair brushes, and a double-wrapped canvas. I just reminded her to wash her brush and dry it off on a paper towel in between colors and left the room. There was no discussion of what she was going to paint or how. That's simply what she did of her own free will.
And, honestly, I don't think my direction could have improved it a single bit.
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* It was a joy, teaching that girl how to draw a cat and watching her gain confidence. She was a ginger with a fantastic smile. She gave me a drawing of a rhinoceros that I still keep in my studio and repeated my class for a year.
** Note that this doesn't necessarily apply to crafts. I think it's fantastic, giving your kids egg cartons and greeting cards and old buttons and just letting them go to town. I'm talking strictly about fine art-- watercolors, acrylics, colored pencils, pastels, oil pastels.
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in which I keelhaul reality

What do we do when we don't know what to do?
We put on a costume and pretend to be a steampunk pirate!



It's so much easier than coping.
YARR.



The shirt, Vixen corset, and green stagecoach skirt are from Damsel in this Dress. I was so pleased with everything I purchased from her that I've already ordered another corset-- a black and cream damask underbust to wear with my Steampunk Librarian costume.
The plum skirt is from Park Avenue Thrift store-- $4. The boots are Nine West and not period-quality, as they have zippers and pointy little heels. The hat uses a felt wide-brim hat from Target, purchased on sale for $9 and decorated by me.
One day, I'll do a post on its transformation. Today, I'm just showing off.


Notes on steampunk outfits:
1. They are very layer intensive.2. There are lots of long, dangly laces that have to be tucked in.3. They are rather heavy.4. They sincerely depend on cool accessories, of which I don't yet have enough.5. They are addictive.6. Corsets really should return to everyday fashion.
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wordles

A list of things that are not words but should be:
weasely, rabbity, badgery, snuck, knelted, squonk, squee, argle bargle, fetchy, adorkable, snarkalicious, cakesy, slurpy, slugtastic, chonk, podingo, moar, LOLLERBALL.
Seriously. They're so extremely self-explanatory.
Also, the word steampunk is a word, so stop it with the red squiggles.
That's all. I'm angry at Justified and going to bed now.
Tomorrow: MOAR EDIT CAVE.
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five minutes of my life

biscuit: Why does the Grinch hate Christmas?
me: I don't know. Maybe Santa ran over his dog once?
biscuit: Or maybe his heart is too small?
me: Yes, I suppose it could be a congenital defect.
biscuit: I think Darth Vader had one of those.
t.rex: Or maybe his bottom is too flat.
me: Maybe his bottom is WHAT?
t.rex: His bottom. It... it kinda flat. And too big. And hairy. It make him sad.
me: But why would that make him hate Christmas?
t.rex: Maybe it itches more at Christmas?
me: *totally straightfaced* Yes, maybe the Grinch hates Christmas because his big, flat, hairy bottom itches too much on December 25th.
t.rex: Or maybe his house fell down?
me: What does that have to do with Christmas?
t.rex: I don't know. Maybe his mom died. Or Spiderman came to put him in jail? Spiderman put the Vulture in jail. Vultures are green. We saw some vultures by the bookstore one time. You wouldn't let me pet them.
me: What... are we talking about?
t.rex: The Grinch. The Grinch, mom. His TV fell down and he knocked the glass down all over the place and--
biscuit: SUPER GIRL TO THE RESCUE! *rides by on her scooter in a nightgown, sunglasses, Mardi Gras beads, and giraffe slippers*
t.rex: *chases her, waving a sword and a gun* SUPER PUSS IN BOOTS G.I. JOE IS THERE! REAL AMERICAN HERO! MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!
biscuit: Okay, now it's time for the Noisy Horse Tap-Dancer Parade.
me: Wow. Just... wow.
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my magic buns

Last year, I swooned over those razors with the built-in shaving cream.
Because that's totally brilliant, right?

This year, I'm swooning over Spin Pins. If you wear your hair in buns as frequently as I do, they're a lifesaver.
And I made a video to show you how.
Warning: It's very badly done.



You can get 2 for $6 at Target or a package of 3 knock-offs at Hobby Lobby for $1.99.
Totally worth it!
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where art thou?

See that? That's my Writer Hat.
It has a feather quill pen and an ink pot. For all my steampunk writing adventures. In hot air balloons, I hope.
I have this other hat, you see. I bought it at Target, and the plan is to turn it into a pirate's hat through the use of ribbon and string and feathers and pointy things that I have no business using. That's why I found myself in Hobby Lobby today.
And that's where I had one of those tiny epiphanies.
I've been haunting art supply stores all my life. I know which brand of acrylic is better for painting canvas vs. paper and which India ink smells the worst and the only kind of tempera that doesn't crack on windows. I love to run my fingers over paintbrushes-- the expensive ones that I've never been willing to pay for. I love posing the wooden mannequins, looking at rows and rows of pristine pastels, and giving myself tattoos with the rainbow of Sharpies.
In short, I'm an artist.
Except that I'm not anymore.
I saw canvas on sale today and thought, "That's a pretty good price!"
And then I realized that I no longer want to paint. That I don't even think I'm a very good painter. That although I can draw better than most people and have years of training and experience, for the most part, I've left visual art behind to pursue my writing career. I'm a much better writer than I ever was as a painter, and when I find a postcard from one of my shows lying on the floor of the garage under a bed of leaves, I feel a little sheepish. For so long, I thought that I would become a great artist. But it never happened.
Instead, I became a writer.
I now feel about painting the same way I feel about guys I used to date. They were nice. They were great at the time and have much to offer the right person. But for me, it was never meant to be. Each time, I thought OH MY GOSH, THIS IS SO PERFECT. ALL MY DREAMS WILL COME TRUE! And only once did that actually occur, which is why I'll be celebrating my tenth wedding anniversary next May.
Art has become an ex-boyfriend.
I walk into an art supply store or a gallery, and I feel old, wise, smirky, nostalgic. "I've been here," I think. "I used to do this, too. I have been around this block. Good times." And I leave empty-handed and heavy-hearted, knowing that even if I travel that road again, everything will be different. Knowing that, deep down, it was just a stepping stone.
I like to imagine myself at sixty, taking a watercolor class. And the instructor will be someone much younger who will explain the color wheel and transparency and masking, and I'll just smile gently and think, "I know, honey. I know."
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SOPA SUCKS

I'm joining most of the internet in protesting yet another bill that was devised by clueless old men and giant megacorporations to strip of us our rights. Want to know more about how to fight SOPA and keep your favorite social media sites legal? Go here.

would you like to be wicked?

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Goodreads Book Giveaway



























Wicked as They Come









by Delilah S. Dawson

Giveaway ends February 05, 2012.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win







Now you can, and over a month early. Whoever wins this ARC can be demandy, too, if they're one of my blog readers. I'll sign it, write secrets in it, whatever.

And if you're on Goodreads, you can add WICKED AS THEY COME while you're over there. Who doesn't love two-headed vampires and blood-sucking bunnies?

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seriously, seriously WICKED

See that bracelet?
It was a surprise gift hand-made for me by my dear and talented friend Stephanie over at Pinafores & Pinwheels. Here's her post about it, including how she made it. If you like sewing and crafting, check out her beautifully handmade clothes for kids, not to mention the purses and jewelry she makes as gifts, which can be seen on her blog. She's so amazing!
Needless to say, the only reason I've taken it off today was to gaze in wonder at it. It's got some of my favorite quotes *and* my book title on there, along with beautiful little cogs. And it fits. And it's so pretty and smooth. And just SQUEE.
See?
(photo from http://pinaforesandpinwheels.blogspot.com/2011/12/cuff-cuteness.html)
It makes me so happy I just about can't see straight.
And it's going to look great with my steampunk outfits.
And with the beautiful octopus necklaces my friends Heidi and Alice gave me and the pretty bead cuffs from Carrie. Seriously, y'all. I have the best friends.
Thanks so much, Stephanie! I love it, and I'm going to wear it until it just about falls off.
Totally made my day!
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