Abandoned Art::Marci Tag

We got all gussied up and went into town tonight!  We went to Olives restaurant and it was everything I had imagined it would be.  Usually if we are going into Boston I try to take a piece of art to abandon and tonight was no exception.  I made a tag with Stampotique's Marci on it.  The background was done with yellow and blue pastels rubbed on top of words stamped with clear embossing ink.  The chalk picked up the impression of the letters.  Very subtle.  The crown is a cute one by Hero Arts.  A little bow on the top with a safety pin and a lock and it was ready to be abandoned.

I left it in the ladies room.  I hope she found a good home!

For your aMUSEment only

So many people talk about their artistic "muse" lately.  Maybe they always have talked about it but then I am relatively new to any kind of art.  I have only been doing my "art" for the past 6 years or so.  The only kind of art I did before that was looking at it in a museum (there is that "muse" word again) or doing little art projects with Holly for our a"muse"ment.  I can see already that I'm running this one into the ground way too fast.  I digress. 
Stampington posted a challenge in their last magazine of a doll type figure completely unadorned, a lady in waiting, waiting for a stamp, some distressing and whatever else we can all think up to do to it.  She reminded me of the Goddess stamp they released last year, only larger.  I immediately thought of the "muses" that so many talk about.  A little research showed me that there were 9 Muses, all daughters of Zeus, each sister goddess in Greek mythology acting as the inspiration for a different type of art, poetry, song or science.  The ones most of us have seen grace theaters in the form of the comedy mask and the tragedy mask.  "An artistic guiding genius" seems to describe it best.  A source of inspiration.  Isn't that what the Internet and all the on-line classes are all about?  Anyway, I made my first MUSE today using that plain doll figure.  I thought I would start with the writer's muse.  I believe her name is Calliope, her symbol is a book.  This is my starting figure from Stampington's template:

This plain jane is just screaming for little ink and bling.  I traced and cut the figure out of 100 year old French book paper.  I decided she really needed a mermaid tail, a crown and a veil of Mica.  This is how she looks now.

The entire piece measures 7 1/4" x 7 1/4".  No book symbol, just book paper.  Looking at her makes me want to write something!  I think I'll do a whole series, probably not nine.  Not unless my muse inspires me.