Total Art Soul - for artists

This is a special feature as Tatum was our 100th member since our launch on 1st January. I was a little anxious as to who this member would be and what they would do but I need not have worried. Her work is absolutely delightful, full of happiness and humor. I find her childlike naive style absolutely enchanting.

Tatum is a mum living in Bowling Green, Kentucky with her husband, daughter, dog, and cats. If you're in the area, you might find her at a local art fair. She creates unique art from both new and recycled materials - from canvases to scraps of wood paneling, acrylic paint to old plastic game pieces. Whatever she can find, she tries to find a way to use it.

Here are a few of her pieces.

Walk-ins Welcome

These Little Birds print

Limited Chimp print ACEO

Why did The Ostrich Cross the Road

More of Tatum's works can be found here where they can also be purchased.

I've been inspired by this very creative lady. She really has tried her hand at many different disciplines including porcelain doll making but for me, it's her oil landscapes that captivated me. Some are entirely made up landscapes from photos she's taken here and there on her travels. This is what Joan says about herself:-

"I am a 65 yr old grandma and have been painting for about 30 years, off and on. At one time I was an active member of the Greater Flint Art Guild but dropped out when family obligations made it hard to keep up with the requirements of producing several pcs a year. I am ready to begin painting regularly again. I do landscapes, seascapes, and some pencil or chalk portraits. I also have done several reproduction mold hand made porcelain dolls, along with dressing many of them in period costumes, made from patterns."

Here are some of her landscape paintings I particularly liked and her descriptions.



This painting was done at a hobby shop in Holly, Mi., 30 years ago during the Dickens festival, beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving. The shop owner had asked me to set up and paint in her shop.I was happy to. She had displayed some of my early paintings in her store, and got me my first sale. Because it was the first one, she refused to take a consignment fee. This painting is not for sale, one of my daughters has it.


This is the Lighthouse at Copper Harbor, Mi.

A scenic path.

More of Joan's work can be viewed here

This article is to say a big thank you to Joan for being an active member of the forum. Your art could be featured as a member of the forum so please come and join.

We came across this article published by the Telegraph with images of these incredible snow sculptures that were formed simply by the wind pushing the snow along.

We're so amazed by these as they're entirely naturally formed. The larger ones are about 14 inches high. They were taken just outside Yeovil in a place called Mudford Sock in the UK.

Thought this was a nice one to share with you all as there's so much snow around right now.

We were going a little stir crazy yesterday as we've spent much time working. Joe thought that we should get out and just down to the lake we have near to us. It was around -10C so we put our thermals on, 3 pairs of socks, wellington boots, scarf, hat and gloves.

This would normally be just a 10 minute walk but when we got to one of the fields, it was fenced off so we realised that the cows must have been put there. We decided to walk the long way round, through the adjoining field, through some woods and over a fence to reach the lake. It was a pretty difficult walk because with all the snow, we could no longer see what was underfoot. We ended up in some marshland which was scary as our boots were sinking in quite deep.  Finally, we made it to the edge of the lake.

Joe wanted to test the ice and having lived by a lake all my childhood, I told him not to put his weight on it. Boys will be boys and of course he ignored me, the ice gave way, he slipped and thankfully fell back on to the bank and managed to only get his wellington boot wet! I seriously thought he was going to end up in the bloomin lake! lol Frightened the life out of me.

By this point, my feet were getting really quite cold, despite the 3 pairs of wool socks, so I asked that we started to walk back.  It was quite tough going again and my toes just seemed to be not only very cold but also very stiff which was odd.  We finally made it back to the house but by this time I was near to tears with the pain in my toes. I took my boots and socks off and sat by the fire and soon realised that I had first degree frost bite. Wow, was it painful! Once they warmed up a little, they started to swell up, like little chipolatas and I stopped being able to feel them. It was the strangest sensation, like my toes did not belong to me. It took a good 3 hours before things started to feel normal again.

We managed to take some beautiful pictures which I'm delighted to be able to share with you all and despite the frostbite, I hope you'll agree all the effort was worth it!