Sneak peek :)

[asnakelovinbabe]

I have been awfully busy lately. Trying my best to stay focused and positive although ive been battling a bit of post partum depression (the important thing is i recognized it) Filling pan after pan with tiny clay herps. It keeps my mind off some tough family issues. It is truly what I am living for! (besides our daughter of course) It's hard work! I thought I'd let you guys in on an exclusive peek at three of the newest pieces before they go into the oven! Remember -all- of this is clay. Colored clay. That is it! No paint involved. I hand mix the colors, I do every little detail all by hand! I make pieces of all ranges of detail and prices. The grayband is an average piece. The pied is decent and a high end piece. The BRB is so incredibly realistic, it is my new best work. It is what I would consider a true collector quality piece! I am very proud of it! In my opinion, it tops the rhinocerous viper.It is accurate even to saddle count. I mean business, and that piece shows it! I will be vending and unveiling this and many more pieces at next weekends hamburg show! If you guys would like more previews before the show, I may be obliged

[Trent]

Very nice!!!
You have real skill!

[Rogue628]

Wow! Truly amazing art! I absolutely LOVE that BRB!

[SSSSnakes]

WOW I'll be at Hamburg too. Maybe now I can afford to get my piebald. You have such talent. Hope to see you there.

[Strutter769]

Babe, those are incredible! Of course the BRB is my favorite. (You don't mind if I call you "Babe" do you?) :-)

[infernalis]

i have a clay Garter snake from her.. Brilliant work.

[jaleely]

I have kept you in mind, that's for sure. Starting a new job, and when I get a chance I can't wait to order some things from you. What i love, besides how beautiful and skillful they are, is the *personality* that is there. I have seen some clay stuff before that was snakes, but you actually make me feel like i'm looking at little snakes! I love it. I really do!

[Swany]

Very impressive artwork ;-)

[CK SandBoas]

That BRB is awesome!!! I would love to have something like that for my collection

[asnakelovinbabe]

Originally Posted by jaleely

I have kept you in mind, that's for sure. Starting a new job, and when I get a chance I can't wait to order some things from you. What i love, besides how beautiful and skillful they are, is the *personality* that is there. I have seen some clay stuff before that was snakes, but you actually make me feel like i'm looking at little snakes! I love it. I really do!

Feeling is something I take very seriously when it comes to my work, that was my whole goal so I am glad that people can see it! Sometimes what really brings a piece to life is his little "expression". That is very hard to pull off when you are working with points of clay that are so small that you made them by scraping the clay and isolating that tiny bit that fits under your fingernail! Its all in the head and paying attention to enough facial detail including the size, Patterns, head shape and most importantly the eye placement! I mimic the real thing as opposed to just putting on a generic snake head. If the eyes are not positioned just right it can make or break a piece. A piece goes from awe inspiring to goofy looking with the difference of about 1mm.

When I made the king cobra, I wanted people to sense its pride and feel empowered. When I make kingsnakes I want people to get that sense of their constant cute (sometimes bitey) playful curiousity. When I make copperheads I want people to sense his calm demeanor, his tiny scowl and his comfort in the reassurance that he is venomous and knows it. in order to pull this off I have to pay a lot of attention not just to the face and head details, but also what position a real snake of that species would naturally lay. You won't see a blood python in a big squiggly loop of curves and you wouldn't see a carpet python posturing like a blood in that classic sickle shape with the nose tilted up. A lot of what I do revolves around my intense passion for real snakes and knowledge of their behavior. I think that someone outside our hobby would have a hard time capturing that special "Essence" no matter how good they are because they look at a picture of a snake and they see, the snake and nothing else. When we see a picture of a snake we are able to think "boy, that snake looks pissed" or " oh look he is curious!" even though those two moods look identical to the untrained eye. (case in point, how many people have had an outsider see your snakes neck in a curved position and assume he's going to strike and then they don't understand how you are SO SURE he's not in strike mode?)

[DeesBalls]

How much for the BRB? they are very very very nice, i like the pied as well!!

[exwizard]

Wow until you said they were actually clay pieces, I thought I was looking at real snakes! The amazing realism involved here is beautiful beyond words. What Im seeing here is a first for me.

[asnakelovinbabe]

The BRB hasnt been priced yet as I don't price until I'm finished and can see the whole work (this one needs a clear coat and I'm wondering if I can pull off some irridescence) but for the quality and work I put into it alone $130-140ish. Prices are always based on detail and mostly the time spent on it. Something like the pied would be $60-$70 range and the GBK will probably go for $35-40. My most affordable pieces are the Cali kings which sell for $15-30 each. I sell a lot of them because they are affordable but also gorgeous, a black and white snake, And I often put them on dichroic glass, even people not into snakes will wear them!

[Swany]

Do you have a website where I could browse some more of your work ? i'm interested in buying ;-)

[asnakelovinbabe]

I couldn't resist! Here's a few more pieces waiting to be finished.





And some of my favorites