Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist profile picture

Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist

Artisan Soapmaker, Faery and Fantasy Artist - Carol Ochs

About Me

Thanks for stopping by! I'm Carol Ochs ("Oaks"), I live in San Diego, CA, with a husband I'm cRRRaZy about and 3 great kids (two sons, 1 daughter)! I knew MySpace is a great networking place ...but didn't realize how many inspiring and creative people I'd meet--WOW!

I own a handcrafted soapmaking business, have for 14 years. I work out of a home-based workshop (see tour link below). I guess I'm a throw-back to old times when everything was handmade,... simple, pure, uncomplicated ingredients. Non-industrialized, to be sure...but some things are just better "the old way"! I seem to have an attraction to standing over large pots concocting things...usually big messes! A soapmaking hobby accidentally became a business when friends & family liked the soap-gifts I gave them one Christmas, + the magic of the internet & good-timing just sort of converged and...Abracadabra! Soap business!

I'm also a part-time fantasy artist. I never quite left childhood behind, so lured by the realm of enchantment, I draw & paint faery folk, witches, and other creatures of fancy that scratch & tickle to get out of my head. You're invited to come visit!

(CLICK link banners to go to websites!)

And this website supports many of my fellow fantasy artist friends! Check 'em out!

The Fantasy Art Gathering can also be found here at MySpace at:

My art appears in the book: Vision of Atlantis, an Ellen Million Graphics Publication:

Ellen Million Graphics can be reached at: http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com

Be sure to come check out our collection of nearly 70 handmade soaps!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

You are welcome to visit our virtual workshop/studio tour to see where we make soap and art!

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My Interests

My family, animals, art, other artists, stories, other writers, illustration, watercolor, pen & ink, fantasy, fairy, faery, fairies, elves, druids, sylphs, mermaids, dragons, maidens, goddesses, knights, medieval, gothic, magic, witches, Golden Retrievers, horses, horseback-riding, Cavalia, gothic, mysticism, science fiction, horror, gardening, herbal potions, soapmaking, comic con, aromatherapy, natural perfume making, entrepeneurs, natural remedies, green witchcraft, Lake Tahoe, myth, mythology, voodoo, Celtic folklore, Celtic music, reading, writing, books, book collecting, old bookstores, ancient alchemy, wooden boxes, older people with great stories & experiences to tell, story-telling, sports, soccer, football, exercise, yoga, healthy food, cooking, camping, forest hiking, swimming, ocean, music, concerts, rock and roll, jazz, symphony, picnics, photography, moon-watching, renn faires, renaissance, castles, UK, England, Ireland, Scotland, fairie hunting, art shows, travel, entrepeneurial brainstorming, haunted houses, haunted forests, midnight, Halloween.

I'd like to meet:

Creative-types, writers, artists, craftspersons, entrepeneurs & anyone naturally endowed with a sense of magic and appreciation of the arts! Also, those interested in purchasing, licensing, or hiring-for-illustration, or fellow business persons interested in networking or collaborating!I am VERY happily madly-in-love married and NOT interested in real-time or online dating with anyone else.People I'd find interesting to meet in-general (whom I haven't yet met): Steven Tyler, Gawani Pony Boy, Magali Delgado, Frederic Pignon, Bear Grylls, Stephen King, Alan Lee, Peter Jackson.

Music:

My iPod playlists are pretty non-specific in genre--everything from Aerosmith rock, to Rachmaninoff, to jazz, to fairy music, .....and a LOT of movie soundtracks....all depends on my mood! I also have a strong attraction to oboe music! (?) Go figure...All-time favorite musician is my husband, contemporary jazz guitarist, David Ochs! Working on composing his debut CD, he's squeezing writing in at-present, around a very hectic "rest of his life"...i.e. running a contracting business and being soccer-dad to a very active soccer kid. But that CD WILL appear, and will be worth the wait! Stay-tuned for updates! Check out his MySpace at (click the guitar). "Friend" him to join his music mailing list!

Second son Nick is the guitarist in his death metal band - recently signed to Amputated Vein Records, ...and um, while I haven't completely embraced the madness of that particular genre...yet, I support what you want to do, Honey! Rah! *wink*

Movies:

Can never list them all. All-time favs - Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Tristan & Isolde, and Somewhere In Time. I watch them probably way more often than the average bear, including "the making of".....vastly inspired by ALL the creative forces and pure love that converged ro create every aspect of these movies!The definition, to me, of a "GREAT" movie is one where I would be extremely disappointed at the thought of never being able to see it again.

Television:

CNN--junkie, "24", Survivor, House, Man vs. Wild, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, History Channel, movies.

Books:

Amazon addict. Fiction, non-fiction, mystery, horror, novels, autobiographies, the works.

Heroes:

David, my husband, most ethically and spiritually sound person I know, and *added bonus*...he's divinely, irreverently funny! Married 24 years and the guy still drives me wild, inspires me to be better...to me, that IS "hero". My kids also continually inspire me to see with fresh eyes and open heart. Heroes in my fields of interest include art masters such as John William Waterhouse, art visionaries like Alan Lee, Brian Froud; storytellers J. R. R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson who further fulfilled the original vision....and too many others to list. My everyday-heroes are individuals with genuine decency, humility, and empathy.

My Blog

New Art!

"Sweet Autumn Rain" The inspiration for Sweet Autumn Rain stems from my dislike of hot weather actually...I LOVE the season of autumn and can never wait for it's arrival, signaling the long hot days o...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Mon, 19 May 2008 12:48:00 PST

New Art: "Take Flight, My Friend!"

"Take Flight, My Friend!" The smallest or greatest of us, all need encouragement now and then.  Sometimes the supportive words of a friend can be the magic that gives our wings flight! ...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Wed, 07 May 2008 07:42:00 PST

New....errrr, old (?) fairy art!

Shhh! Didja hear? There's an old fairytale rumor going around that faeries are "forever young" . Pish Tosh! Daisy, Pearl and Fauna here prove otherwise! They are just some of the wisest of the fae rea...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Sun, 10 Feb 2008 09:31:00 PST

Simply Soap, Wild Oaks Art, Enchantasies January Update!

Woke up to frost in San Diego!!! Practically snow(!), kinda, sorta-ish...heh heh! For a gal who hails from upstate NY, any white on the ground is cause for excitement---good eastern memories! We alway...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:12:00 PST

Simply Soap September News & SALE!

SIMPLY SOAP NEWS!It's finally cooling off here bit in San Diego!!!  You have no idea how happy this makes us or how good we feel! I even bought a pumpkin yesterday--the first of many to come I'm ...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:45:00 PST

Simply Soap, Wild Oaks Art & Enchantasies NEWS!

Good Day Subscribees! Hope your summer is going swimmingly and you're staying cool!  Our summer is going FAST!  San Diego stays hot well into October so we have a ways to go till summer star...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Mon, 06 Aug 2007 09:48:00 PST

Summer Newsletter!

Happy Summer!  Wow--hard to believe it's here already!  Well, unofficially here (til 6/21), but Memorial Day always feels like the prelude!  Wanted to give you all a heads up that JUN...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Tue, 29 May 2007 03:27:00 PST

New Art Piece - Devocean


Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Wed, 23 May 2007 11:09:00 PST

Newsletter!

Greetings E-Newsletter Subscribees....a glorious spring to you, and a Happy Mothers Day!SIMPLY SOAP NEWS!We had a power outage last week and our voice mail was deleted on one day.  I know there w...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Sun, 13 May 2007 10:59:00 PST

Simply Soap, Wild Oaks Art & Enchantasies NEWS!

Hello Newsletter/Blog Subscribers....Happy Spring!We have lots of news and new items to share so I'll get right to it -- by company!__________________________________SIMPLY SOAP HANDMADE ARTISAN SOAPS...
Posted by Carol Ochs - Artisan Soapmaker and Fantasy Artist on Mon, 02 Apr 2007 08:44:00 PST