Cody Goodin - The artistic and spiritual journey of Cody Goodin

I am still preparing for my trip to Columbus Ohio in a few short days.  If you do not know yet, I am teaching two classes there this year.  In addition to the teaching we can show and sell there too.  So, my goblins, those that haven't been adopted yet, demanded to go.  Of course I told them they had to behave themselves.  You know how that is, promises, promises.  So, I said yes and here is another of the wearable goblins.  He is a poly clay sculpt inside a perfume or pill amulet.  It has some interesting glass cabs in a pewter or antique silver base.  I gave him some stylin shoes to go with to add some interest.  There is a curious little bob in the middle, I will leave that to your own imagination. If you are a goblin follower and will be attending AFIC, look me up on Thursday evening after the opening banquet.  I will have a table set up, with goblins and other goodies.  I hope to post a pic of two pieces I am taking for the professional exhibit before I leave.  Have a great we...

Sally saw seagoblins by the seashore.  Say that seven times fast.  Just kidding, here are a few of my latest little seagoblins to share with you.  I am making a few goblins to take to AFIC with me.  So, here are a threesome of the little ones.  The story is they find these seashells to live in.  This first one here above is a little shell pendant with a little goblin living inside.  He is a one of a kind polymer clay sculpt in a shell. This is another of the pendant series same deal polymer clay sculpt in a shell.  All of these guys are one of a kind sculpts.  I am hoping to really get these in my Etsy shop once I return from AFIC.  It all depends on what may come home with me.   This guy is actually a sculpture that is built into a bigger shell.  It looks like a snail of sorts.  Polymer clay sculpt built into a beautiful shell.  Oh, and I used dyed fresh water pearls for the eyes.  That gives them a special edge I think.  Not to mention a cool and beautiful look in the eye department....

I am trying to keep to my posting at least twice a week.  So, I am going to be showing some WIP's I am working on now.  This is another piece I am working on for AFIC .  This is going to be a goblin boy riding a sled.  I created the head originally back in 2002 at a retreat my local doll club does each June.  Who would of thought this would someday become a goblin.  I am excited about the piece so far.  I have the armatures for the hands shown here in the first picture. Here is a close up of the head as it is now.  It has been reworked a bit from the original.  I am sculpting him in paper clay this time instead of polymer clay.  The clays have such different feels and working properties, that it is good to switch them up once in a while.  It has inspired a few more ideas to come I hope.  I keep forgetting how light weight paper clay is when it is dry.  It is easy to paint and is extremely strong with an armature.  I have tons of Styrofoam eggs I can use as armatures for a few th...

I decided to show a work in progress.  I am teaching a mixed media class at AFIC (Artistic Figures In Cloth) at the end of April.  SO, I am busy getting ready, making some new pieces to add to the ones I already have for the professional exhibit.  Here is my stone caster goblin.  He will have a cloak and will be painted and textured to resemble stone.  I used the technique I am teaching in the class to illustrate the versatility of the process.  In addition it will also demonstrate some finishing techniques that I will be teaching in my acrylic mediums half day classes.  It is a fun process even if it is lengthy.  He should be done by the end of the week as I only have a few hours at a time to work on him each day.  That's in addition to the other pieces I hope to finish.  Enjoy the beginning of your week.

Well, I am seeing phantoms again.  Here I have uploaded two of my recent works created on fabric using colored pencils and Pitt artist pens.  In case you are wondering, I did find the pattern in the fabric and used that as the foundation for the faces.  The Pitt pens are used to do the black areas and I use a brown one to add darker areas too.  This first piece I call Hair Fire. This one is inspired by two faces that I saw.  I call it dual personality as it represents our common self and the idea of a higher or more spiritual side.  The fabric was some hand dyed I received in a swap a number of years back.  I wish I could remember whose fabric this is as it is really beautiful.   On a related note, this process is giving me more of a push to do some drawing again.  I find this type of work a little bit of cheating since I already have the beginning of it provided for me.  I just go in and fill in the blanks and add the details.  But, seeing my doodles again made me realize how much ...

These are some doodles I made at work a few years back.  Before the big corporation took over.  It was a nice time when we could play with the art supplies.  Anyway, these have been sitting on my desk and they inspire me too.  In a different way than the earlier post.  This piece was created on a scrap of mat board using colored pencils and Pitt artist pens.  Just a fun little experiment . This little Bullie Bunny was drawn on Canson Mi tientes paper with colored pencils.  It inspired my Wabbit piece that I posted a few weeks back.  Of, which has since found a new home.  I would still like to explore the rabbit image a bit more.   Anyhoo , just to give you a small sampling of some of the play I enjoy.

This post is all about inspiration.  What inspires we as artists to do the things we do or create?  It is as varied as the artists themselves.  But, I thought it would be fun to give you a  glimpse into what makes me excited or inspired to create.   The above picture is of a flowering ornamental pear tree.  It is in my neighbors' yard.  I have been looking at it for over a week now.  There is something about they way the white flowers look against that deep cerulean blue sky that just makes my heart sing.  I love trees as you all may know anyway.  But, this color and contrast of textures really gets my inspiration fired up. Now, you have seen a few post regarding my faces.  I like to find shapes in mottled fabrics or patterns that remind me of a face.  Here is a pile I got together from the small stash of fabric I still have.  I tend to look for this type of fabric now days.  I am hoping to produce a more serious series of these drawings and frame them.  I had played around w...