Du Buh Du Designs

Happy Belated Mother's Day~

Our flowers are finally blooming...well some of them are

Thanks to those who "adopted" dolls from the mini shop update! I still have a few left and they will be the last of the bird masks (for long while anyhow).
After I posted them on Friday I ran on downtown to get tickets to see Senator Obama on Saturday and when I got there the line had already wrapped around several blocks. I waited three hours in line only to find out that the were gone. I thought U2 tickets were hard to get! Some people had arrived at five that morning just to make sure they got tickets.
So Saturday I watched his speech on t.v. and afterwards ran up to the school where the "town meeting' was being held. I listened to the question and answer part of the meeting ,outside the gym along with all of the others who didn't get tickets. Some of us were able to see him (barely) when he left. Maybe he'll be back and I hope that Senator Clinton will comes to speak in Bend. Her husband has been here twice in the past month but personally I'd rather hear the candidates themselves.

Sunday was a low key day, as I had wanted it. My favorite gift was the plate that Dad and Andres made for me. It was suppose to be a secret but when they came home earlier in the week with paint all over them I was able to guess what they were up to. Andres had recently got his haircut and when they pointed out the barber shop I noticed the new pottery place next door and that's how I put two and two together. Cant' fool us Moms! They went with an ocean theme after having seen me work on my mermaids:)

I also got the studio back in order after the collapse of the shelf, or landslide, as I remember it ..lets hope that's the last of any near misses!

Also I have a request to send good thoughts my Mom's way. She reads this so I hope she doesn't mind me mentioning this. Without divulging too many details she got Salmonella poisoning after eating at a restaurant a year and a half ago and spent time in the ICU a few times. At that time I didn't know how serious it was but she has since told us she nearly died. She has had some serious complications from it (constant dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, no energy etc) and despite taking medications they keep re-occurring. My mom had to go into the hospital again yesterday and I ask that you say a little prayer or kind thought if so inclined. She is also dealing with the loss of her mom a few months ago and that hasn't helped the situation. Thanks..I know she'd appreciate it and I know some of you have had similar health issues in your families lately and can relate.

This is for you Grandma Susan!
Andres singing his "version" of one of his favorite songs "Moon River" :)

"..off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after that same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me"

And my second favorite version of it...

Sneak Peek at tomorrow's Shop Update

PLEASE NOTE THIS LAST MINUTE CHANGE: Tomorrow's update will be at 11am instead of Noon Pacific.
I just found out one of our presidential candidates (whom my husband wants to see) is coming to speak in Bend this Saturday (should be interesting) and in order to see them I have to get tickets at noon tomorrow. Hope this doesn't inconvenience anyone~

Click on photos to enlarge them

Hello! Just stopping by to show the eight dolls that will be up in my shop Friday at 11 am (Pacific). This update is a "mini" one as I had so much fun working on the mermaids for the Swashbuckler Soiree that I ran out of time t make more. But next update (maybe a month away) will be much larger with a variety of dolls and I'm hoping to have some mermaids in that one for those who have asked. If the next update is that far away I will post images of the dolls I have finished as I go. I'm just happy to have these finished in time! I was working at my desk when one of the shelves from my wall collapsed while I was painting masks. Paint, broken cups, coffee, books were everywhere and some of the masks and limbs were crushed. So I had to re-do a few. Thank God my dolls were in the other room or there wouldn't be an update. And I'm also glad that I had recently moved the contents of the second shelf down to the first otherwise I would've had a concussion! Ok minor drama, but all is well.

These eight dolls not only have bird masks but I decided to also give them cat masks...each doll having the masks of a predator and an prey.(It's kind of hard making cats without making them look too cutesy or scary). Eventually I'd like to explore this theme on a deeper maybe darker level. One of my artist friends in town, Kaycee, has mentioned possibly doing a show in the fall and so I'm thinking about having some dolls and possibly photos on display. It's been awhile since I've shown work~ I haven't since I left California over 3 years ago. Anyhow I'm getting side tracked! ~ these dolls will be available tomorrow in my shop. Hope to see you there:) Spring has finally arrived here in Oregon...

"Tatum"

"Lauren"

"Meredith"

"Aisling"

"Sandrine"

"Tullia"

"Eppie"

"Linnea"

Group photo

These will be the last of the bird masks ..for awhile anyhow:)

The Soiree Giveaway

Just popping in quickly to say Thank you for stopping by and participating in the Swashbuckler Soiree this weekend (so many nice comments)! The nice thing about these online gatherings is meeting new people and discovering what other artists are up to and any chance I get I will be participating in more of them:)
I'm working away finishing up my dolls for Friday's Mini Update in my Etsy Shop. Sneak peeks will be up by Thursday but I'm hoping to have them up by Weds. evening. And for those who wanted to know if I'd be making more mermaids for future updates, I probably will :) Calliope however will not be for sale~ I'm keeping her for my collection.

So, according to the random number generator, the winner of my Giveaway is.....

Michelle of Gingham world! Congrats!!
I will email you and send off Seraphina this Friday . Oh, and if you missed out on the giveaway don't worry..another one may be around the corner..you never know :)

And something totally unrelated..
Since we're being inundated with political commercials and mailings lately (I don't need either to make my mind up, thank you) I thought I'd post this cartoon and other related "items" as I found them amusing and god knows we need a little humor these days. See you soon!

click to enlarge

above dolls by Sherri Crochet's

Doll by Stop Stabbing Me

Hillary and Obama finger puppets by Abbey Christine

the above by CBT's Closet

Songs of the Sirens, Ghost Ships..and Treasure Under the Moon

Click each image to enlarge

Mermaids Calliope and Seraphina

"..And now pay attention to what I am about to tell you--heaven itself, indeed, will recall it to your recollection. First you will come to the Sirens who enchant all who come near them. If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song. There is a great heap of dead men`s bones lying all around, with the flesh still rotting off them. Therefore pass these Sirens by, and stop your men`s ears with wax that none of them may hear; but if you like you can listen yourself, for you may get the men to bind you as you stand upright on a cross piece half way up the mast, and they must lash the rope`s ends to the mast itself, that you may have the pleasure of listening. If you beg and pray the men to unloose you, then they must bind you faster."

"The ghost-ship drifts
in a mist quiet and barnacled
past the pier or here
the anchor long lifted
death must be equal to its directionlessness
how beautiful it is
powder-like lost warble against the grey horizon gull
with its beak broken
at dawn or dusk floating all that is dormant
with the tip of our finger we touch your bitten planks"

Ghost Ship by Christine Garren

"..I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown."

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"~T.S. Eliot

In the spirit of the Swashbuckler Soiree, I am giving away a piece of Treasure! In order to have a chance of winning this item, you must leave a comment. A simple "ahoy mate!" will do but if you look in the right hand column of this blog (under the Swashbuckler Soiree badge) you will see where I have listed the link to find your "mermaid name"..feel free to leave your new name here (even if you're a merman) :) I will randomly pick a winner on Tuesday at Noon and post their name here shortly after, so you have until then to leave a comment here! (If you have a hard time posting for some reason just email me and I'll include your post..address is at the top left, above my photo).

Oh..and what's the treasure you ask?

Seraphina is approx. 14" from head to tail and is made of polymer clay and acrylic paint. She has armature wire through her head and neck and tin foil inside her torso and fins for support. Her hair is covered in ultra fine black glitter and her upper crown is covered in tiny bits of shell. Her hand held sea horse mask is black with coral painted on the side.

Be sure to visit the other 60 plus participants of the Swashbuckler Soiree over at Donna's Blog!

All photos by Christine Alvarado,2008
Thanks to my husband Mark for helping out with the "photo shoot" (he also built and painted the glow-in-the-dark the pirate ship awhile ago) and thanks to Andres for loaning the ship and the moon to mama!