November 2017 series!

​Well...six days into my November series and I reckon folks have figured it out- my theme this month is based on...   

​​​Where to start...?  I have a soft spot for toys from my youth.   Man, we have the BEST toys back then! Some of my favs were Barbies, Glamour Girls, My Little Ponies, She-Ra, Pound Puppies, Strawberry Shortcake, Holly Hobby, Jem and the Holograms, Care Bears...the list goes on and on, but Wonder Woman is right up there with some of my fondest childhood memories.

I really had a great childhood. I never wanted for anything. Momma always knew how to make me smile.

BTW, I even revisited one of my first true loves, Barbie, back in June of 2014, check it out!  

http://www.jenniferlovegironda.com/gallery/june-2014-barbie

But back to WW,and a random detour down memory lane...

I remember watching the show on TV and spinning around and around...wondering if this time I really would change into Wonder Woman, just like on TV.

​It never happened, but I always believed that it would.

via GIPHY

When I was figuring out what I wanted to do this month, I looked through some old photos, and man- I found some gems.  Like these;

Like most late 70's- early 80's kids my pajamas of choice were my underoos. Man, I loved those things. I remember having Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and even some of the Star Wars characters.

Despite it all, I really had a great childhood in my early years.  Growing up, I never really realized that we didn't have much money. Mom worked a factory job, sometimes the late shift, to make sure that I always had what I needed, and then some.  We lived in trailers, we lived with friends for a little bit.  We had many nights of Hamburger Helper, and 'breakfast for dinner'.  I didn't know we didn't have money.  I thought we were rich.  She was a single parent for much of my childhood, so for me when I think of my toys I think about that time in my life, when I didn't know what poverty was- even though we were poor.  I didn't know what a broken home was, 'cause I always had momma- she was my own Wonder Woman.

I guess on some level later I did kinda realize we didn't have it all.  I recall the feeling that there were some kinda magic out there, that could transform my mundane surroundings into something whimsical and new- and that women like Wonder Woman knew about that magic.  And I wanted to spin and spin and be powerful and magical just like her.

Now that I am 'grown' I still believe that women possess that magic.  I see it in my momma still, and in my sister- both hard workers and amazing caregivers.  I saw it in my granny- the late, great Flossie,  and Oacie,  and my mother in-law, Lucy..all gone too soon, but some of the baddest ladies I was lucky enough to have known.  I see super powers in my best friend's mom, Jennifer and of course in my memories of Amy, our antics more eventful than pretty much and sitcom or action series.  I see super powers in my sister in law, Maria , as well as my cousins and aunts...and emerging super powers in my little nieces.  I see Wonder Women in my girlfriends near and far, as they maintain their sanity and keep their families together while still staying true to the little girl that THEY wanted to be when they grew up.  

Oh...and before I forget, I am going to give a pre-thank you/shout out to Jason Basden, aka 'Mr. Jason'. 

​Jason is my long-time friend from college and probably the BIGGEST WW fan in exisitence...and I know that I will be bothering him all this month...just like I did when I did my #GalsOfDCComicsJLG series back in September 2015!!

Love you, Mr. Jason!!

I'm not saying Mr. Jason is actually the real Wonder Woman...I am just saying no one has ever seen them both in the same place.

​So yeah...Wonder Woman it is!

For starters, I have made a couple Wonder Woman-inspired pieces...just gonna post those here;

​And now to the current WW series...

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Of course I went on a mini- 'treat yo self' shopping spree (on  a MAJOR budget of course!) to get a lil' WW swag and I also ordered some materials and immediately went on-line to see what I could find out about my childhood she-ro.

What did I find out?  Ummmm...I need ten years to learn what I don't know about this chica.  So in addition to making the daily art this month I will be on a self-led path to enlightenment in all things Wonder Woman.

I have two books that I am LIVING right now...and this site I found on WW costumes is SO AMAZING;

http://www.carolastrickland.com/comics/wwcentral/costume_indices/wwcost1.html

Many times I begin a series with one vision and as I work on the pieces that month that vision changes.  For right now, I am planning on looking at images of WW throughout the ages, applying my own style to some of her iconic looks.  (I'm telling you, that  Carol A. Strickland site is SO thorough!  I am loving looking at all the tiny changes in WW's wardrobe and styling!)

I am planning on working small, 5x7 right now and working with mixed media.  So far the pieces are starting as pencil drawings, but at some point I am thinking of cutting them out and collaging them onto some different backgrounds.  Again, just what I am thinking.

About mid-month I think I will make a change in the series...I have an idea in my head for how I want to do this...we'll see.  Let's just say that by the end of the series I want the Wonder Women images that I create to reflect my own idea that there really are so many WW's out there, inside of women of all shapes, sizes and colors.

So that's it...at least...that is where the idea started, and my plans for the series in this first stage.  If you made it through my rambling, stream of consciousness post- congrats, that is a bit of a super power :)