Arachne3003

Hi.

I’m really sorry for disappearing so suddenly two years ago. I think I was in the middle of at least one conversation. I’m not sure anyone will even remember me, but there’s no excuse for how I just vanished. I should have at least said I was taking some time off from the internet.

I may have  mentioned in the past that I’ve been dealing with mental health issues most of my life. Two years ago things got kind of bad.  I didn’t just stop talking to people  —  I gave up art completely. I seriously didn’t draw a thing for two years. I felt I just wasn’t good enough and decided to focus on more practical things.

The good news is, I found out that most of my mental issues were being compounded by pinched nerves in my neck. They not only caused headaches, but also brain fog and exhaustion. (Things I’ve been told were caused by depression.) Fortunately, I got to a chiropractor before the damage could become permanent and the difference these last four months has been amazing. First I started writing again, then I tentatively started drawing. I still have a lot of learning to do, but I’m able to make connections between things in ways I haven’t done in years. I even started a blog a few weeks ago. (It's at acuriousdragon.com if anyone's curious.)

I also realized I miss this place, and the people I’ve met here.

So, I’m back, with new art, and hopefully I won’t  pull another disappearing act.

I hate trying to come up with names for fantasy characters.  I'm writing a short comic, but I can't come up with names for any of the characters.  Real names wouldn't suit the story at all.  Does any one no any name generating sites?  I know there used to be some, but I can't remember where.  Any other ideas for coming up with names?

I miss Play-doh.  I had so much fun with it as a kid.  I even had some of the play sets.  There was a barber shop/hairdresser set and a dinosaur set.  The dinosaurs were bumpy.  You could put different colours of clay in the bumps to make them spotted.  I never did, though.  I never wanted to mix the colours.  I knew I couldn't get the colours back and I wanted them pristine.  I don't think I even mixed the salt dough my mother would make for me.  That was fun to play with, too, but it always dried out eventually and it was too gritty to work in the play sets properly.  We never baked it for some reason.

I wonder if all that is the reason I like polymer clay so much.   I don't mind mixing the colours, though.  Maybe because I'm making something permanent.

Still, I almost bought some Play-Doh in the store the other day.

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My new dragon's coming along well, btw.  It should be finished soon.  I actually went out with my camera today.  I'm not very good at photography, but it was fun. I uploaded the best pics.

My very first polymer clay dragon is in the oven as I type.  I'm slightly freaked out.  I keep running out to the kitchen to see if the temperature on the toaster oven is holding steady.  Thank God I have an oven thermometer. 275 degrees actually reads as 150 on the oven.  

Even when it's done, I'll have to wait a couple of hours for it to cool down slowly before I dare take the lid off to look at it.  I hope the wings are all right.

I think he look pretty decent for a first try.  I made a lot of mistakes, but I think I learned how to fix most of them.  Can't wait to start on the next one.

I've been gone a long time this time.  What happened was, about year ago, my dog died.  We'd been together more than half my life, so it was a major blow.  I know this may seem strange to some, but my creativity just vanished and I wasn't very interested in talking to people online, either.  I'm feeling much better now and I have a new dog.  A year old spaniel/dachshund mix.  She's pretty wild, but I love her.

I haven't been finishing many drawings lately, but I've started working in polymer clay.  I should have my first dragon finished soon.

I hope everyone's doing well.

Al