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Aeternum vale* I was immensely pleased when Tommy posted a link to his brand new tattoo on my Facebook wall! He gave me permission to post it here, and here it is! 
I love it when folks send me their tattoos of my artwork, I am nothing short of flattered by the mere idea that someone would want my images on their skin, permanently. It is almost like a walking art gallery of my work! I found this video very interesting, because people have a certain ideas about what donating ones body to science means, and I am certain that it never crossed their minds that Nanna or uncle Bill's body would be strapped into a car and used as a crash test dummy. My Dad died last October, and had he known that this was available, I am 100% certain he would have signed up! He was a huge stock car race fan, and the idea of him "going out in a blaze of glory" greatly appealed to my Dad. In my eyes, he did go out in a blaze of glory by donating his body to science. I would highly recommend that those who have loved ones who are in need of funeral arrangements, donating ones body to science is so much better for everyone involved rather than spending tons of unnecessary money on a funeral. Even a cheap funeral nowadays is expensive! I suggest (and I have no ties to this company whatsoever) contacting MedCure and have them help with a perfect memorial for either yourself or your loved one. From Medcure's website: "Each donation is highly valued and treated with the utmost humanity, compassion and respect. Most people are eligible for donation regardless of their age, disease, or state of health. The generous gift of body after death is a compassionate alternative to a traditional funeral. MedCure covers all costs associated with donation including: transportation, cremation, two certified copies of the death certificate, return of cremated remains to family in a heart-shaped urn within four to six weeks or a memorial scattering at sea." If there is anything I can do to encourage people to not only help further science by donating their organs and bodies, but to also save their money. When we moved to Astoria in 1999, there was this small young black female cat who would come around and visit when I was on the back deck. She was friendly, but also quite feral and would not let me touch her. After a while, I noticed she could not get through the slats of the deck and realized she was pregnant, and eventually she had 4 adorable kittens. We were able to trap her and her kittens (after they had been weaned) and we took her in to the vet (of which she was none too happy about this) for her shots and to get her spayed. We found homes for 3 of the kittens, the fourth one we kept for ourselves. In exchange for taking one of her kittens, we made sure that Mama Kitty was taken care of. We tried to bring her inside, she wanted absolutely none of that. She was fierce, independent and had an attitude, which I did certainly not tempt for fear of being swiped at with her freshly sharpened claws. 
About a month ago, I knew she was winding down, and for a semi-feral outdoor only cat, she made it to the very ripe old age of 12 years-old, which is almost unheard of for an outdoor cat. We debated on taking her to the vet, but I knew she would not have wanted that, and on her last night here, I helped her eat her last meal by holding the plate for her and when I went to brush the crumbs from her blanket, she hissed and took a swipe at me. Even as feeble as she was, she was still quite fearsome. I went to check on her about 20 minutes later, and she was gone. I just couldn't fathom where she went, she was so weak and was limping horribly. It was as if she had simply vanished. That was a quite few days ago. The husband has been out searching for her every day, with no luck. She always had secret hidey holes in the blackberry bushes and under the neighbors houses, and we have come to realize that she is not coming home. And even though she was an extremely pissy outdoor cat with a serious attitude, I loved her and worried about her and made sure to take care of her. I made her a kitty condo, complete with warm, clean blankets for the winter and in the summer, lots of water and her favorite foods. I still go to the back door and open it, expecting her to be there scratching at her post, waiting for me to feed her, giving me the stink eye. After 11 years of having Mama Kitty living behind us, it just seems so incredibly empty now. Since finishing the pencils for 13 posters, I have been working this years batch of Mourning Dolls. 
I have the heads on all the dolls, and am now stuffing and getting all the arms and legs ready for sewing on the bodies of all the dolls. The reason you see the hands and legs wrapped in bubble wrap is to safeguard against possible chipping or breaking any of the porcelain fingers or toe tips. I should have all the limbs sewn on by the end of this week. I was supposed to have these completed by the end of August, but it looks like it won't happen until around the end of September. The deadlines are my own, if I didn't have a deadline in place, I would never get anything done! I noticed the fog was out so the husband and I went out for a little drive around our lovely town, and across the scary bridge and back. 
Local News culled from the Police Log on the Daily Astorian Poisonous snake? Wednesday, a caller reported that a snake was coiled on the west side of 11th Street near Commercial/Marine Drive. The snake was black with orange spots and orange on the side of its head with a green line down the center of its back. It was about 18 inches long and 1 inch thick. The caller was concerned that the snake was poisonous. The snake was not there when an Astoria police officer arrived. A juvenile had taken the snake to the railroad tracks. Artistic Outlet Report of one female and two males drawing on the wall at Deals TOO on Commercial Street. And this little Piggie Report of pig loose on the highway. Person on the scene has contacted the owner and is making arrangements to pick the pig up. Happy Camper Person reporting that there is camper parked next to a picnic table near the East Mooring parking lot with lots of open containers. Next to the table, there is a guy who is passed out on the ground. Under the Boardwalk Reports of subjects under the sidewalk yelling. Officers checked under the sidewalk and advised to clear out a transient camp. O Happy Day Reports of a male subject in his early 20s wearing a white t-shirt and singing at the top of his lungs. Subject located and advised of complaint. Stoned Goard Intoxicated driver with short hair and in his early 30s driving a silver volkswagon station wagon, pulled in wrong direction and almost hit person reporting. Intoxicated driver then jumped out of his car and screamed at person reporting, "I AM STONED OUT OF MY GOARD!" Person reporting would like to sign complaint. Poster/Print Progress Whahoo! Last poster penciled, number thirteen!!! This one is called Alchemy. 
I start inking this coming week-end, this is going to be fun! I will be working on 3 posters at a time, that way when I finish those three, I can get those to the printer and start on the next three. Foetal Skeleton in Victorian Wooden Curio Box I just put up a a new framed curio, this one utilizes a foetal skeleton tucked inside a Victorian wooden box. The reason why some of my curios are priced so high, it is simply because I become very attached to them and don't want to let them go. This beautiful wooden framed curio exhibit is 11 inches wide by 20 inches tall by 5 inches deep. A prenatal anatomical articulated model foetal skeleton (30th week of pregnancy) is standing against a vintage velvet red background, surrounded by a lovely spray of vintage paper roses. The foetal skull is resting its head on a large Victorian ribbon bow with trails of golden ribbon. This piece is housed in a Victorian wooden case and is ready to display in your own personal dime museum or sideshow. I will be putting up another framed curio sometime next week, and will post about it here. 
Foetal Skeleton in Victorian Wooden Curio Box You can either click the photo of the image or click HERE which will take you immediately to the Framed Curio Exhibit page. *Farewell forever. (For Mama Kitty) 
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