Wednesday 2 September 2009

My gast has never been so flabbered !



There are many awards floating around the blogosphere and I have been the proud recipient of many of them.

But, as much as I appreciate each and every award that I have received, none of these awards bought tears to my eyes. Until now.

I have just discovered that I am the very first recipient of the...





Jodi says....

LOVE your New Doll by the way...actually your first doll. I would strong encourage each and everyone to pop over to see it... just GREAT for your first attempt...I am amazed...

As a Matter of fact.... my dear friend Marie Segal from 'Art from my Heart' ...created a special 'Creager Award' for me...and she said it was one that I should bestow on any individual I felt was deeply connected with their work and showed signs of growth and talent... So I would like to for the first time...pass this award onto you Jayne...as I feel your heart is true, your focus is clear and your desires direction is determined. I hope you will accept this award with friendship and with knowledge that I believe in your talents.

Hugs,
Jodi

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What can I say ? Truly I am lost for words.

To me this is so much more than an award. This is pure motivation and gives me the encouragement to forge ahead and be the best sculptor I can be.

I am gobsmacked to say the least. Jodi & Richard I cannot thank you enough.

All throughout this journey into sculpting I have been privileged to have their support.

Every time I hit a roadblock Jodi would be there with encouragement, tips and most importantly, reminding me of the need to keep practicing.

Well it worked....I want to do this and I know I can do this...with practice :-)

To have such talented artists believe in you is just mind blowing.....I never thought I could be more motivated than I was but this has pushed me to a level I never knew existed.


It was many years ago when I came across Jodi & Richards work...long before my venture into blogging. And as much as I love their whimsical, spooky and Harry Potter sculpts, what I really fell in love with was their realistic sculpts.....the Apache Scout, the Shinto Nun, the Monk, Georgia O Keefe, the Grandmothers and Grandfathers and my favorite piece of theirs....the Japanese woodcarver.

I was, and still am, amazed at how a lump of clay could become a real person full of life and character and personality and I knew that I wanted to sculpt more than anything else.

So for years I kept a journal full of ideas. My favorite saying was 'That would make a marvelous sculpt'. Followed, more often than not, by 'oh I wish I could do it'.

Well I guess Mick got a little tired of my whining because one day he told me to quit whining and go buy some clay and give it a go :-)

So I did.

I played with it a little, made a couple of very bad heads and realized that it was as hard as I expected. So I carried on with my flower making but always there was this little voice in the back of my head telling me to stop messing around and give it another go.

Then I started blogging and discovered there were many sculptors who also blogged and my desire flared right up again. But this time I wasn't going to give up when it got hard and, no matter what, I'd sculpt a doll right through to the end.

And I did. Kendo may be rough around the edges but he came from my own hands and I am so proud of him.

I didn't find it easy and there were been many moments of pure frustration when things weren't going the way I planned but, with much support from my all blogging friends, I kept going......I thank each and every one of you for being with me along the way.


I must also offer special thanks to Julie, Debie and Marsha....all splendid doll makers who have offered encouragement and helpful tips....thank you all.


And a big thank you to my friend Patti. Although she lives on the other side of the country and we've never met, I feel like we have known each other all our lives.

Patti is also a sculptor and she has been a huge help to me all along this path.

There has been many a time I've had to reach for the phone to ask her questions. The one time I was so proud Kendo's head was finished and in the oven I called to tell her. She asked me how I'd gotten on with the ears. EARS ???? In my excitement over my finished head I had forgotten them and had to pull him out quickly and add them :-)

She understands what it is like to have the desire to sculpt, we share supplies and she makes me laugh...what more could a friend ask for.


Well that felt like I was writing an Oscar acceptance speech...but honestly, an Oscar wouldn't make me half as happy as this :-)


Jodi & Richard....thank you again, I am truly honored.


13 comments:

  1. Congratulations! What an honor - and well deserved, I might add!

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  2. Well deserved. Your love and determination have come out in the words of each post along the way of making Kendo. I think that the best artists are the ones that recognize the desire and talent in others and openly share and encourage them in their artwork. Jodi and Richard are in that category- I can see why this award brings tears to your eyes. Congrats Jayne- you deserve this award very much :) Hugs to you!!

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  3. Congratulations on your beautiful award!

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  4. You are most Welcome my friend....I know how much you truly enjoy sculpting...it shows in both your work and your words... That is why this Award is Perfect for you...To me, the true artist is one who is the most connected with his or her work...someone who wraps their very being in the work...and at the end of a day where things go well or not so well...they still smile with the joy of the work itself... to me...this is you Jayne...

    Thank You for accepting this Award...I am honored that you did...

    Hugs,
    Jodi and Richard

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  5. Well deserved, he was such a wonderful sculpt!The first of many I hope:O)
    julie
    xxxxxxxxxxxx

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  6. No doubt your gast will remain flabbered for ages now. LOL How many times have we exchanged oohs, ahhs and "How did they DO thats" over Jodi and Richard's work?!
    Congratulations on this recognition from internationally respected artists. (((()))

    It is your enthusiasm and dogged persistence with learning to sculpt that I have to thank for rekindling a creative fire within me.

    Never imagined one very dry book on Native Americans would start us down such a long, fun and sincere road of friendship. :-)

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  7. How very deserved and honorable! Congratulations!

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  8. This is a moving speech! Congratulations, Jayne :). I must say many are moved by your passion and will want to see you succeed. Me included of course.:)

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  9. This is wonderful Jayne, I read jodi's post on their blog last night and was just glowing for you :0) So well deserved.
    Your journey into the world of doll making has been such fun to read about , I have laughed as you have made kendo and felt frustrated for you when it hasnt gone right but most of all felt proud that we are friends. It takes some guts to show your first real doll step by step to all of us in blogland !
    I cant wait to see what you create next and this time next year............wow ! think you will be making some amazing characters :0)
    Had to laugh about the ears, I finished sculpting the Beast from the fairytale last night and couldnt think what wasnt right ..... after ten miniutes puzzling ...yup, no ears LOL so we can all make that mistake !
    love
    julie xxxxxxxx

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  10. Thank you all for the congrats….my head is slowly coming back to a normal size :-)

    I am so lucky to have all of you behind me and pushing me to be the best that I can.

    And I am so pleased that my passion for this has come though the words on the screen and, if it makes you smile at the same time, then all the better.

    I just feel that this is me and this is what I want to do. It has been a long time coming but I do think I’ve finally found my way.

    I have discovered some wonderful friends on here and I appreciate every one of you.

    Thank you all again ((((( )))))

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  11. I agree too Jayne. You did totally involve yourself in the whole learning process and you award is well deserved.
    I bet you are looking forward to your next sculpt, which will be even better though all your patience.
    Nikki x

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  12. Congrats on the award! You totally deserve it! BTW! I loved the blue jacket~ Thought it added a lot of character to him!! :)

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  13. Thanks :-)

    Yes I am looking forward to starting the next one...once real life cuts me a break :-(

    I liked the blue fabric best as well...funny because at the beginning I was thinking green but green didn't work.

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