"We're All Mad Here."

"Entirely Bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are."

I ask you, how can you not love a story based on THAT premise??

Yes, I saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland this week, and thought it was amazing. Which is really saying something for someone who normally loathes people messing with the classics. Have you ever seen "The Scarlet Letter"? Truly painful, but I'm getting off track here...Back to Alice.

To be honest, I could have done without the booming, epic battle scene at the end (de rigueur in movies these days) but there was plenty of magic to make up for the spectacle. Johnny Depp was brilliant as the Mad Hatter, and I loved the on again-off again Glasgow accent. Helena Bonham Carter was perfect as the Red Queen, and Alan Rickman's voice as the Caterpillar, well....I could listen to that voice all day. I mean seriously, I wouldn't care if he just recited the phone book.

At any rate, it's no surprise I came away inspired to paint an Alice piece. Not fashioned after the movie characters, but my own vision. Not sure why, but I've always pictured the Cheshire Cat as being a ginger tabby.

Fortunately, I had one of those handy to serve as the perfect model, hehe. This big boy looks very much like our Arthur. The tea tray is listed on eBay now, with the auction ending Monday evening at 9PM eastern.

Lots of other pieces are in the works as well, including a few commissions, and I'm happy to say I have a newly cleaned workspace to accomplish all this....

Would you like to see it?

You can click on the photo for a larger view. That's Merlin under the table, and just a wee bit of Arthur over by the window. :)


The actual "studio" is upstairs, filled to bursting with wood pieces, shipping supplies, show displays, etc., but I prefer to work downstairs in this space because of the big window, and overhead skylight (not shown here). Nothing compares to natural light for both productivity and sanity, hehe.

It's more functional than decorative, although I DO have a few of my "favorite things" scattered about; the large papier mache cat (painted by a Mexican artist, and named Tequila) was a gift from my late father many years ago.

And giving credit where credit is due, a big thank you to Courtney for putting my space in order last weekend. Being completely organizationally impaired myself, I marvel at her magical powers.

So yes, we're all mad here. Entirely Bonkers. But we wouldn't have it any other way.

How about you? A little mad perhaps? Just a little?

Or entirely bonkers?

All the best people are, you know. ;)

Until next time,
♥ Carolee