Cody Goodin - The artistic and spiritual journey of Cody Goodin

I wanted to take this moment to wish all of you who have been followers and supporters of me and my art a happy and healthy holiday season.  Nay your new year be prosperous and bright.  This image is a Christmas card I designed for our 2003 yearly card.  I am in one of those moods of looking back fondly of times past.  This was done with colored pencil on parchment. I apologize for the lack of posts, but I have been really busy with my online class.  Haven't had much time to make art the last few weeks.  But, I hope to have some things to share next week.  Until then, my love to you all out there and keep on inspiring those around you. Cheers, Cody

Happy Tuesday out there to all my artist friends and beyond.  I wanted to post a quickie picture of the second piece for the upcoming Chocolat show at the Prairie Gallery here in Cincinnati.  He is the Cocoa Goblin.  As you can see he is accompanied by some little marshmallow critters.  He's polymer clay over a paper mache armature with glass marble eyes.  He is sitting in a cup my partners mom gave me since she thinks I collect cow stuff still.  She is a wonderful mom.  So, anyway hope you find him amusing.  Now I can focus on getting a few last minute pieces for Winterfair and the Essex Studios open house both coming up rapidly.  These are the last three shows of the year.  Then I can concentrate on my online class so my students have lots to do and learn.  Cheers to you all and Happy Turkey day to those in the USA.

Hello out there in blog landia.  Hope you have had a great week so far.  If not, it will get better.  Anyway, I wanted to finally share with you all another set of works.  These were created for one of my favorite charities.   Artworks Cincinnati  is celebrating their 15 year anniversary this year and five years hosting the Secret Artworks.  The premise is invite artists to create works of art that are 5x7 inches.  They can only be signed on the back.  So, when they are displayed no one knows whose work it is until it is purchased.  They have a big to do where patrons come and buy the pieces at $75 each.  A bargain for sure.  The money goes to giving teenagers and local artists a job in the summer creating public art.  The artists act as teachers and mentors to the kids.  It is a great thing here in Cincinnati.  I have participated since it's beginnings five years ago.  So, I created four pol...

Hello to all my artist friends and followers out there.  I wanted to share a sneak peek of a piece I finished for a group show.  The show is called Chocolat and as it's title suggests has the theme of chocolate.  The show opens at the Prairie Gallery located in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati on December 3rd.  So, the first of two pieces is entitled "The Chocolate Thief" he is a polymer clay over wire armature full body sculpt.  The thief is perched atop his pedestal with the remnants of his spoils all around him.  He admires the last of his spoils in anticipation of how good it will taste.  The piece is about 14" tall all together.  I am working on the second piece now and hope to have him ready by this weekend. Also, I wanted to remind you all of the class I am teaching online.  It is called Artspell the Alchemy of M.E. and you can read about it here   The class sign up closes on December 3rd....

Happy Monday everyone.  I hope you all are doing well out there.  Well, I managed to finish my self portrait challenge doll and earlier than I thought this time.  I still have time to get some ornaments made.  In the meantime, here's my mini me.  The story is, this is myself twenty years into the future.  I have become an eccentric old wizard.  But, I am not the robe wearing type, so I am dressing myself in something a bit more modern.  A little rough around the edges and I have let my hair and beard grow out a bit.  When you're old and magical you can get away with it.  He's a polymer clay head, hands and feet.  His coat is a pieced together one made out of leather scraps from a leather coat I once wore.  His hat is also made from the same leather as are his boot cuffs.  Every piece of clothing is either hand sewn or glued. Here is the close view of my head.  The glasses were made by my partn...

Well I finally have time to post a work in progress.  It is the self portrait challenge piece for the local doll guilds annual show.  This years challenge was creating a self portrait.  Now, we could take liberties.  Meaning, we could do a portrait that reflects who we wish to be, see ourselves or a literal portrait.  So, I opted for how I might appear as one of my favorite fantasies, a wise old wizard. I don't know about you, but having to do this challenge was just that.  It was difficult looking at myself and trying to be objective.  Also, it is really odd trying to project myself into the future and also capture the essence of my dream self.  What was really exciting was I got the figure to stand on his own.  I hope that I can maintain this delicate balance. Here is a close up of my head.  I am about half way there.  I still need to cloth me and add what hair I may want.  This is a polymer clay h...

Just a quick post to let you all know about a show i;ll be in here in good ole Cincinnati.  It is the RiverCity Figurative Artist' Guild annual show and sale.  Hope to have a bunch of new work and my self portrait challenge piece there.  Hope you all out there are having a good week so far.  It's getting cold already here.  Oh, and don't forget about my class that starts on December 1st.  You can read about it here and sing up in the left side of the blog.  Hope to post some art later this week.  Thank you for stopping by.

Since I am making an early night of it.  I pulled the name of the winner of my Halloween giveaway.  So the winner of the Dark Angel Baby is Joyce from Pittsburgh.   Please contact me with your snail mail info and I will send off your prize.  Thank you to everyone who played along.  It was truly fun.  Don't forget I am doing my first internet class starting December 1st, you can read about it in the precious post.  Have a great evening everyone.

At long last I am now ready to offer this class to the world.  It is something that is near and dear to my heart.  Ten years in the making.  This class combines many elements from previous classes to create a comprehensive art experience.  So, what is this class about you are thinking.  Artspell is a class designed to do several things.  One, it is a great resource for some interesting and fun art techniques.  It is designed for those who want to learn how I sculpt, create figures, do mixed media, use of acrylic mediums and paints and so on. Secondly, it is a multi step process that helps you to discover who you are as an artist, as a creator.  We explore the three elements of the self and how that shapes the artist in you.  Thirdly, it is a beginning approach to using art as a trans-formative and healing tool for you and others that you love. I use a variety of spiritual, psychological and philosophical views and info...

Well, I finally finished my September/October challenge, "Morbid Curiosity" for the Creepy Orphan SOciety.  I have to say I don't do creepy that often.  The last was my Halloween giveaway piece.  But here is the "Great Horned Boney Bird".  He is a polymer clay sculpt over a wood and wire armature.  That is wrapped with batting and fabric strips to fill out the gody.  I made his talons out of wire and paper.  His tail is another piece of fantail willow.  I just love using those.  The skin of his body is strips of decorative paper applied.  Once that was dry, I applied the black netting over it as a drape or cloak like piece.  Then he was finished with little pieces of a pink and dark gray fake fur.  I like how he finally turned out.  The cool thing about some of the more artsy pieces I have made in the last few months, is that I have been developing some fun techniques.  I plan on using these for future...

Hello, and welcome back to my little art blog.  It's been a week, as in odd and somewhat stressful.  Not all bad, but it keeps you exhausted and anxious.  Anyway, I wanted to share with you this little guy.  He's another in the Dweedle series.  His name is Ozloh, and he gets lost in thought a lot.  Even while walking through his forest he suddenly starts going off into some far away thought.  So, far he has escaped serious injury.  Ozloh is a polymer clay sculpt over a paper mache and wire armature.  He stands about 6 inches high.  His wisp of hair is wool from a local provider. Well, that's it for show and tell.  I am hoping to announce the details of my big class that I have been working on for a very long time.  So, stay tuned this weekend.  Don't forget to enter my Halloween giveaway.  Just scroll down to the next post for details.  Have a great Friday everyone.

1st Annual Halloween Giveaway!!! I am doing one last giveaway for the year.  So, without further ado, here is Dark Angel Baby for my tribute to Halloween.  In order to have a chance at winning him you must fulfill the requirements below. 1.  Be a follower of this blog. 2. Leave a comment on this post and make sure I have contact information. 3. Tell me about your favorite Halloween thing. That's it, the winner will be chosen on Halloween.  You can leave more than one comment if you wish.  Hope you all have a ghoulishly wonderful Halloween season.  Good luck my friends.

OK, two posts in one week is rare for me I know.  But, I thought I'd play catch up while I can.  This is a busy season for me and I have lots of creating to do.  In addition to that, I decided to give my blog a new look for October.  Hope you like it.  It needed a bit of something.  I am not sure this is it.  But, in the spirit of adventure and creativity I thought what the heck.  This little guy is the first in a limited series of characters.  He is a Dweedle.  They are little magical beings that aren't quite convinced that they are magical.  So, whenever they make magic it tends to be accidental and without intention.  This little one is trying to lift something quite heavy and out of reach to make way for his walking.  He hasn't quite got it yet. Here's another view of the guy.  No, he doesn't have a name yet.  When I try to ask him he mumbles something that sounds like Moot.  So,...

Well, another Essex Studios open house come and gone.  It was a little lack luster this time around.  I guess there was more stuff going on in the city.  We had perfect October weather for it though.  I decided to show you some pics I took in the studio.  I didn't get to walk around much.  Yes, I did sell some small items.  Anything is better than none. So, to start off the pictures here is a picture of "The Keeper of Ancient Knowledge" in her finished state hanging on the wall.  She looked so elegant and otherworldly there.  I received many positive comments on all of my work.  Her costume is made from fabric and torn pieces of decorative papers from Thailand saturated with Ultra Matte Medium.  I love this stuff.  She is approximately 24" tall.\ Here is a close of the Keeper.  Her hair is a hand dyed wool from a local sheep and goat farmer. Next we have another recently completed piece entitled "What...

Howdy out there in bloggoland.  I am popping in to share some WIP's with ya'll.  Spending today at home in the studio home base trying to get two last minute pieces finished for the Essex Studios open house this weekend.  I will be hanging these puppies up just minutes before the opening.  But, hey that's how most of work some days anyway right?  The first offering is one I am calling, warning long title sequence here. "Wait till they get a load of me or Even Cowpokes get the Blues".  Told ya it was a long one.  He is a tongue in cheek tribute to cross dressing cowboys of sorts. The next sneak peak is one I am calling "Keeper of the Ancient Knowledge".  Oh, and these pieces are not in their final poses or colors yet.  I have applied layers of decorative papers and fabrics with a ultra heavy matte medium.  They are both polymer clay heads and hands.  Then they were built over a wire and wood armature. ...

Todays art piece is my Punkinhead Scarecrow.  I had been mulling this one over a bit.  I wasn't sure if he was finished or not.  But, I like the simplicity of him this way and have decided he is indeed finished.  His head and hands are polymer clay.  The support is willow, paper birch on a wood plaque.  His tattered garb is made from a handmade paper that was obtained in the damaged goods section at my job.  We get first dibs on any damaged stuff.  I used ultra heavy matte medium to stiffen and attach the paper to the body.  He was a great deal of fun.  Hope you enjoy him.  Have a great week out there all my blog friends.

Todays post is to let you all know about two of the five shows coming up for me here in Cincinnati.  The first one is for the annual show the local guild I belong to hosts each year.  We are the RiverCity Figurative Artists Guild.  It's the second weekend in November at the Kennedy Heights Art Center.  It is always filled with all sorts of art dolls and a few displays too.  This years viewers choice display is the theme of self portraits.  It should be fun. The second show is actually in a few weeks.  It is the October open studio tour of the Essex Studios where I have a studio space.  It is the anniversary show as this was the month they had their first show some ten years ago.  There are over 100 artists and performing arts groups located there in one building.  So, if you are in the area please come out and join us.  It is October 1st and 2nd from 6-11pm. Well, I hope to post a new piece or two by the end of the w...

Squeaking in by the seat of my pants on this post.  I have been trying to do at least one or two a week.  Here is Mondays offering.  It isn't a mystery this week.  Here is the first witch I have made in a good five years.  I like the challenge of creating a character.  The symbol of the witch is such a powerful one spiritually speaking to me. Her name is Miranda and she is a skilled practitioner of the magical arts.  Her specialty is healing the soul.  She does whatever it takes for her seekers of healing to discover what lies at the root of their discomfort or ill health.  In addition to the healing arts she loves gardening and communing with tress.  However she is dressed here in her finest attire for a special whirlwind speaking tour of Europe and the far east. This is a closer view of Miranda.  She is polymer clay head and hands.  Her body is a stump body style made out of black suede cloth.  S...

I finally finished the altered brick for the "Bricks Along the Journey" brick auction.  It is a local charity that raises money for women who are dealing with breast cancer.  It covers care and assistance.  I love this local charity and it has a lot of personal meaning for me.  Anyway, here is this years offering.  I can't say it is my best work.  But, I really wanted to participate this year.  It was hard to come up with an idea this time around.  So, it hit me one day that I could do a tree of life.  Now mind you, this is not a great photo of it.  The brick is done in all sorts of metallic and shimmering finishes which are hard to photograph.  It is hard to see here, but the tree has a little set of steps leading up to a doorway in the trunk.  The faces represent the faces of humanity and how we are all connected to one another.  So, I hope it raises some much needed money for the cause.  The auction is in October....

The winner of my giveaway is.... MarZel!!! Thanks you to everyone who played.  MarZel, contact me so I can arrange to get the prize to you.  Have a great Wednesday everyone.

This is my Monday Mystery offering this week.  These are some of the beginnings of projects that I will be working on this week.  I need to really get some pieces done for an upcoming show my local figurative art guild is participating in.  We as members can show some work there and hopefully sell.  So, as you can see I have a nice collection of heads.  The orange one is my pumpkin head almost complete.  The gray one is a witch in progress, she needs more work on her head too.  The yellow lady is also going to be a magical being, not sure what yet.  As you can see lots of possibilities. Have a great day everyone.

Not exactly sunny, todays offerings are of a piece I was able to finish yesterday.  He is called Sandman.  You may recall in an earlier post the twig figure that had some batting wrapped around his body and a wire for arms?  So, here he is finished.  His head and hands are polymer clay.  I embellished him with some bone beads and a leather sack full of his special sand.  This fella is ready to put you to sleep even if you don't think you can get there.  Just try to stop him.  He measures about 16 inches tall.  His body is a fantail willow twig wrapped with cotton batting and hand dyed fabric.  His cloak is purchased cotton and a hand dyed cheesecloth scarf. Here is his closeup.  He has fresh water pearl eyes.  You will notice that thee are no pupils.  He is a blind sandman.  He uses the power of his psychic third eye to find his victims, I mean patients.  He floats poised to fling the sands of sleep into you...

I thought I'd share a pic of one of the figures I made awhile back.  These guys are called personal Mojos.  They were the precursor to my current wall based stick sculpts.  This guy is the white flower cowboy.  He is supposed to bring a southern flair to your gardening experience.  He is sporting some stylish white go go boots.  I am proposing a class in making these mixed media figures for Artiscape 2011 in Columbus Ohio.  It is a fun mixed media workshop weekend.  Lisa Olmer who runs it does a fabulous job.  There must be something good in the water of Columbus Ohio.  Because two of the best conferences are held there and run by two amazing women.  Anyway, I will keep you all posted if I make it in. Don't forget I am having a giveaway and you still have a few days to enter.  You can get to it here . Today I am working in my studio again, trying like mad to get as much done before the middle of September.  Work will...

Saturday's strange brew feature.  Since I am exploring some darker things in my art of late, I thought I'd introduce you to Cotu.  He is the mascot of my new series I am working on in regards to the Carnival of the Unseen.  He is certainly one of those beings from somewhere else.  You never know what he will do or say.  He is the quintessential bad kid.  But, he has fleeting moments of niceness. Cotu is pure assemblage.  He is made from part of a vinyl toy baby and a glass Christmas ornament.  Plastic wings finish him off in ghoulish style.  A rather simple offering from me.  But, you know sometimes I think less is more.  Have a great Saturday everyone.  Oh, and don't forget about my giveaway.  You can revisit the post here .

 How's your Friday shaping up?  Mine, is going pretty well.  I have this set of rituals I like to observe on Fridays.  After my morning run of errands, I return home for an afternoon of fun.  First thing I do is get a loaf of peasant herb bread going in my bread machine.  I developed the recipe and it is mighty tasty if I say so myself.  Next I spend some time in the home studio working on projects.  Well today I was able to finish the two WIPs you saw last time.  So, I am presenting them here to you today.  After this I am heading to the kitchen again to make a rustic veggie soup and a pineapple exotica cocktail to go with it. Now, about the figures.  If you remember, they were cloth wrapped wire armatures with clay heads and hands.  Here is the female figure all finished.  These two are the first in my series of work called the Carnival of the Unseen.  I will explain more on that in a later post.  ...

It's time for another installment of Mystery Mondays.  Even though you can see these two pretty well.  Not withstanding my poor photography not much of a mystery really.  The mystery is what will these two figures become.  They are an experiment actually in creating pieces that will still hang on the wall, but instead of branches for there bottom third, I gave them legs and feet.  They are destined to be performers in the Carnival of the Unseen.  At least that is the story the have given me.  We shall see if that is true or not.  I used two of the heads that I sculpted last week. Still need to sculpt hands to match the other heads I sculpted.  All in good time I suppose. Also, a reminder of my give away that you can still get in on.  You can find the details here . Have a great and wonderful Monday as well as beautiful week ahead.

You aren't seeing things.  I have posted this piece before.  But, this time is different.  I wanted to celebrate two things in my little life.  First is hitting 140 followers here on this blog.  I am so honored by the loyal friends who come and visit me and my art goings on.  Thank you for that support and encouragement.  Secondly, a good friend and artist I know really inspired me with her own unique spiritual perspectives on giving.  So, MarZel this is to honor your wonderful contribution to my world as well. The above piece is only about 6x8 inches in size.  But, it's spirit is mighty.  At least to me it is.  The intention while creating it was to honor the trees that are constantly sacrificed sometimes without thought or honor for humankind.  In many cases without a thought, just discarded because they are in our way.  The trees are our guardians, give us food, shelter, many things we use i...

It's time once again for mystery Mondays.  Here are a few of the heads I have sculpted this past weekend.  These are experiments for a few new pieces I am hoping to get finished for some of the fall shows I am going to be participating in this year.  The above is a shot of the four I was able to make.  These heads are made from a blend of super sculpey and sculpey III polymer clay.  The green ones have a sea shell embedded on the top back of the scull.  I was looking for a more alien kind of look for them. Jere is a close up of the green heads.  It will be a surprise as to who or what they will be come.  I know, but I am not telling yet.  It'll be a mystery befitting a Monday. This is a bad photo of the cubic head.  In revisiting my past I did a series of three pieces I called block heads.  So, this is in homage to them.  As a matter of fact, I am going to recycle the original three a bit.  It is funny...

Don't you just love those cutesy titles.  Hey I am having a fun day in the home studio.  I've been painting and glazing heads that I sculpted earlier.  Hopefully, I will get some more sculpting in as well.  Anyway, here is the beginnings of a new wall piece I am working on.  I am not quite sure who he'll be yet.  He seems to think he should be dispensing sand to get people to fall asleep.  Boy could I use some of that stuff.  But, the identity usually doesn't show up until I get hands and the body covering on.  So, who knows who will show up.  Oh, yes I know the picture is less than desirable quality.  It just adds to the mystery.  Hopefully the finished piece will be better photographed.  Well, my wonderful friends out there, have a great weekend.  With any luck, I'll be posting some more fun stuff.  Until then, Cio!

Well, it's Monday once again.  That means another mystery piece or pieces.  Here are two heads I sculpted from two of the armatures I showed you all last Monday.  It was good to get back into sculpting again.  Now the fun of seeing what these two become.  I have a few more to sculpt so hopefully something a little further along will show up soon.  Have a great Monday out there.