Dandelionlady

Illustration: The Peace of Wild Things

2012-01-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

I love Wendell Barry's poetry.

The Winter Moon

2012-01-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

Burnt out ends of smoky days

and so we keep them through our ways

and when we go we seldom know

what gods and mortals say

Rising moon above the gloom

is far above this mortal plain

night enshrouds the darkened clouds

we call you just the same

Chicken TV: Morning Gymnastics!

2012-01-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

My old friend and fellow blogger Dave Crampton commented on my last post that he spotted some chickens over at the Genesee Garden Cohousing running loose. I do worry that my chickens will decide to fly the coop. They've been content to stay in my yard and nibble greenery there thus far.

I though I'd share a little Chicken TV in honor of those naughty chickens who did escape. My kitty Magellan really enjoyed watching their antics through the safety of the screen door.

Grow!: Favorite Seed Catalogs

2012-01-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to explore my word for the year through the months, seeing where my mind and creativity would take me.

I was looking at my mail the other day, and was excited to see another seed catalog in the mail. I get a ton of these every year and I spend the winter months reading them intently comparing costs, and varieties, pondering organic versus non-GMO seed.

When the sun is far away, it's seed catalogs that keep me going.

Pictures of plump tomatoes, perfect melons, crisp cucumbers. It's enough to make a gardener happy.

So for my first installment of Grow! I'd like to share some of my favorite sources for seed. Now's the time to be requesting seed catalogs and deciding what you might like to plant next spring. If you want to grow leeks, in a northern climate you need to have those seeds by February so that you can grow little starts to plant in the spring! Tomatoes started from seed need 6-8 weeks inside so you're starting those little buggers in April, as do peppers. Eggplants need even longer, the poor delicate things.

Gardners, start your engines!

Fedco Seeds

Johnny's Select Seeds

Jung's Seeds and Plants

Oikos Tree Crops

Territorial Seed Company

Are there any good ones I've missed? I'd love to find a seed company that was more local to Michigan, most of my favorites are from the east and west coasts. I'm always looking for new good seed companies.

My Word for the Year: Grow

2012-01-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I chose Ignite as my word. I wanted to fire myself up, get off my butt and get something, anything, done. Then last year I chose Gathering as my word. I wanted to gather my tools, my friend, my resources, but what was I gathering for, if not for something bigger, something better?

And so, finding my word is so easy this year. No struggling with thesauruses or sneaky hiding for this word. It was waiting patiently for me, biding its time for me get going and gather up what I needed.

Grow

I have plans this year. Ideas. Goals. I've come a long way. Amazingly, this blog has gotten more than 20,000 hits! I'm comfortable calling myself an artist and I have plans for how to grow as an entrepreneur. I've planted the seeds, and now I must nurture myself as I continue nurture my family and community.

I want to grow my artistic discipline as well. The sketch above is from a new sketchbook, in which I intend to focus on completed works of art rather than my usual experimentation. I will still use my regular sketchbook to explore new drawing techniques and skills, but I want to use this sketchbook to focus on themes I love and favorite quotes. A treasure book.

I'm finding that my meditation practice is combining with my drawing practice, which pleases me. I have a hard time finding time for everything I love to do and everything I need to do, so combining these seems like a great idea to me! I hope to blog about combining my spirituality and my art more in the coming months.

And before I go, I want to thank all of you who read my ramblings and enjoy my art. It means a lot to me to know you're out there.

And to see more Words for the Year, visit some of these lovely blogs in the blog hop hosted by Geri of My Heart Art.

Thinking about a Word for the Year

2011-12-29T06:18:00.000-08:00

I have some exciting new projects I'm working on for the new year that I can't wait to share with all you out there in Bloglandia, plus I have to get busy on my Word for the Year. I don't remember where I first heard of this concept, but I love it. Bloggers around the Interwebz pick one word to describe and encapsulate their hopes for the coming year. Two years ago I picked Incite, and last year was Gathering.

So start thinking!

What is your word for the year?

If you have a blog and send me a link, I'll post it on my Word for the Year post. Also if anyone knows where the idea comes from I'd love to link to that as well! Good luck for the coming year and may you be blessed with all that you need.

Super, Duper, OMGs, Santa's Elf Busy!

2011-12-28T19:44:00.000-08:00

Which is why I haven't posted any delightful goodies or recipes or how-tos this month. It's not that I haven't had anything to post about, contrarywise, there's been tons of stuff to post about. Sadly I don't have a personal camera elf to follow me around and document what I do, and I didn't have time to craft and document this month. :(

Still, I am slowly coming to the end of the Holiday Crafting Bonanza, I should be completely finished in a couple of weeks.

So Happy Belated Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Hanukah!

May the blessings of your Gods be on you in this holy time.

Creative Every Day Challenge Day 21: sketching

2011-11-21T04:50:00.000-08:00

A quote from one of my favorite poets, Wendell Berry.

Creative Every Day Challenge Day 18: Finishing a Painting

2011-11-18T05:18:00.000-08:00

I had to have this one finished today. I like how it worked out, but it's clear that I have a lot to learn about painting darker skin tones. It's going to be donated to a silent auction to benefit a really wonderful charity, The Nyaka AIDS Orphan Project. A friend of mine is dedicated to raising money and awareness for this organization. Please take a moment to check it out, and if you can, donate. Thanks.

Creative Every Day Challenge Day 16: Continuing a Painting

2011-11-16T08:26:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the month I started this painting. You can see the initial stage here. Since then I blocked in the hands in white, and started the shading. However the shading in the hands was burnt umber, the same as the background started out, so in order to make the hands pop I brought in red oxide and yellow ochre to the background. I'm liking where it's going. The hands still need a lot of work, more shading, and overall darkening. Right now they're a little vampire like.

This is a photo of my workspace, just thought I'd share. Hope you're having a lovely Art Every Day Month!

Creative Every Day Challenge Day 9: To Walk into the Woods

2011-11-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

The world flips by,

Page after page of dreary nothing.
I have choices set before me
The well traveled path
Kept neatly, groomed lawn
Tidy flowers
Somehow though, it is less than it should be, darkness at the edges.
Fading like colored paper in the sun
Rotten and floating away like ash
The heavy sound of footsteps traveled
The multitudes steadily moving toward an unknown destination.

If you listen to the birds,
If you open your eyes,
There is something to be discovered
Uncovered like a violet under the leaves
And a sweet smell drifts up
For those who are still enough to sense it.

And then there is a narrow track before you.
It wasn’t there before,
There is the smell of damp loam and leaves.
A breeze with bracken on its’ lips
Beckons to me with birdcall and dappled light

To change my course, a different choice,
To walk into the woods.

Creative Every Day Challenge: Day 5

2011-11-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

I love so much

I love so many

How could I choose one love?

Like choosing one daughter.

My heart is divided,

Not shattered,

Not broken,

Just laid out on the cutting table,

Held in place by pins and string.

The string hangs off the table,

Dangling to the floor,

Connected to hearts far away.

I cut my heart

Briskly, like I cut my daughters meat

Into tiny, neat pieces.

Each perfect part is attached to a string

Leading to another perfect heart.

Some pieces are fresh and pink,

Some have old wounds, ragged stitches holding the bits together.

All are precious to me.

I keep them in library file drawers,

Safe from the ravages of time.

I can practically hear you all saying, "No! She's writing that poetry stuff again? Why doesn't she do the stuff she's actually good at? Like painting or something?"

Well the partial answer is, it's my blog and ~~I can cry if I want to~~ write poetry if I want to. But also, I find that relating to the creative process through various media, both verbal as well visual can be good for me. It's like cross training for an athlete. So here's a sketch to go with it. I feel all Edward Gorey.

Thrifty Art Thursday: Walnut Ink

2011-11-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to share this with you all for a while, mostly because prime black walnut husk season was a couple of weeks ago. That doesn't mean that some lovely nice brown ink can't be obtained from the leftover ones.

You may know black walnuts as the trees that make those annoying green golf balls that explode under your car tires, but I'm telling you they are the makings of a lovely ink.

First go out and harvest some husks. You don't need a lot to make ink.

Then put them in a pot and add some water to cover. It doesn't need to be perfect, and often if they're dried out, they won't sink at all. Use a pot dedicated to stinky messes (I have a number of them, to the horror of my DH.)

Boil for a while, reducing the water by half. You should have a dark brown liquid that is a little thicker than water. Pour it off into a container. Add a tablespoon or two of Gum Arabic (you can get that at any art supply store in the watercolor section) and a tablespoon or two of honey. The Gum Arabic increases the viscosity and translucence of the ink and the honey acts as a thickener and preservative.

You can see a couple of sketches I did with my new ink:

This one is on an unsized sketch book, and you can see how the ink was soaked up by the paper.

And this one is on a cold press ATC the ink works much better on this sort of paper, but really that's perfectly normal for ink. :)

Cool Craft Projects in Tin and Yarn

2011-11-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of projects that look so cool!

This first site called Tinplate Girl has everything you'd ever need to learn how to turn tin cans into projects. There's videos, freebie patterns, and some really really cool paid patterns that I'm lusting after.

I also want to try this amazing god's eye project. Instead of the usual four sticks, you use 8! The patterns that the artist makes are so cool.

Creative Every Day Challenge: Day 2

2011-11-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

Some catch up painting for projects I need to get done.

First I lay out some grungy elements using bits

of paper and brown paint. I apply everything with

rags, a pallet knife, and my finger.

Decanting Jewelweed infused oil.

(it's the antidote to poison ivy!)

So that's my creativity for today, what are you doing?

Creative Every Day 2011: Day 1

2011-11-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

(bee lino cut I'm working on)

It's Creative Every Day Month over at Leah's blog. I'm excited, I've been participating in her challenges for years now and I alway have a rewarding and fun experience. The challenge is to express creativity in some way every day in November. I love to see how everyone experiences the idea of "creativity" differently.

Here's what I'm going to focus on:

carving and blockprinting

painting

sewing

making ATCs (I have some catch-up work to do!)

eco friendly crafts (I'm planning to make some walnut ink and to try some natural dying)

and if I'm lucky I'll even sneak in some assemblage and shrine making as well!

Wish me luck, because I'm going to need it with that ambitious list.

So with all that out of the way, here's what I'm working on today:

Thrifty Art Thursday: Rock Skulls

2011-10-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

Just in time for the holiday I've got a little project to share with you. I've blogged about drawing on rocks before here, but this time I've got a nice little twist to it. I was inspired by sugar skulls that are made for Dia de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday filled with altars made for the beloved dead, decorated with bright colors and skeletons. I love the idea, but I was feeling a little more earth toned. Something more in tune with my surroundings was what I was going for.

So I got out some rocks.

And I got out some conte crayons and a charcoal pencil.

And I got to drawing.

Here's a video of what I did. It's so much easier to talk about it than to type it all down. You will have to forgive the view of the top of my head, I've still got a rather large amount of learning to do about camera angles....

Hope you enjoy creating some of your own rock art. Thanks for reading!

Thrifty Art Thursday: Making a Fall wreath from Sweater Scraps

2011-10-20T05:12:00.000-07:00

Hi again! I'm so pleased to be doing Thrifty Art Thursday features again. This summer was filled with kids, and gardening and vacations, so I'm not really complaining. But it is fun to share the little projects that I do.

As the cold settles in a little more deeply, I've been pulling out my sweaters and hats and thinking warm cozy thoughts. I came across a bunch of lovely fall colored sweater scraps and was inspired to make this wreath:

This is what I started with:

Then I started out by taking rectangles of sweater scraps and wrapping them around the wreath and stitching them in place. It doesn't matter if the scrap doesn't completely wrap around the wreath, as long as it covers the fronts and sides.

And here's a little video showing how I make the embellishments for the wreath, both the leaves and the roses:

I could totally see doing this for winter with blues and whites and snowflakes, or christmas with red and green and holly leaves. It gives a great warm fuzzy feeling everytime I walk into my house now. Thanks for reading, and I hope it was helpful!

Thrifty Art Thursday: Leaf Art

2011-10-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to share such a simple thing. It's wonderfully available, free, and easy.

It's leaf art.

I've been really inspired by Andy Goldsworthy and his art. It's amazing what you can create with the things around you. I really look forward to working more with this art form, and the best part is that my two girls can get in on the action too. I think it would be great to use as a form of biodegradable graffiti, and I know all the people who walk past my house to the community college have been enjoying our little art projects. Because it's outdoors it forces me to work in public space, which is actually kind of cool.

Mel's guidelines to making leaf art:

1. Look at color and form and let that guide you.

2. Be patient with this. It takes time to arrange, and often the wind will wreak havoc with your work.

3. Along with patience, staying present in the moment and the process is really important.

4. Think in terms of simple shapes and forms. Symbols work well, as do simplified shapes.

5. If you think of each leaf as a pixel in your painting it will help you size it appropriately.

If you make some leaf art send me the image and I'll post it!

New Chicken TV: Borage Bonanza

2011-10-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Here's some more chicken fun for you. I've been enjoying experimenting with their food. In particular they really love borage, which I love too. Borage seeds are high in GLA, or gamma-linolenic acid, which is really handy for some of us who are, shall we say, a little high strung, just before that special time of month...

At any rate, chickens are still amusing whether or not I'm searching the house for chocolate. We've almost finished naming them. The girls named the light colored ones Nut and Goldy. The darkest one is Hard Boiled, and the next darkest is Cuddle Muffin. We still have to name the last one. What do you think is a good chicken name? We've been trying to go with names that are related to egg dishes, just for fun.

Sketching Link Love

2011-10-03T06:24:00.001-07:00

Recently I've come across some great resources for sketching that I wanted to share. The first is a a whole bunch of free downloadable vintage books all about sketching and figure drawing.

Then there's Pikaland: The Illustrated Life, which is so fun, beautiful, and inspirational. Make sure to check out the sidebar with the free PDFs about different topics for artists.

If you want to find a wonderful community of artists, check out Leah over at Creative Every Day. Every monday you can post a link to your blog, flickr account, or web page, linking to your creative endeavor for the week. Leah has themes for the month every month, and lots of great prompts to help you create. That community really helped me gain confidence when I started this blog. Make sure to check out her November challenge, Art Every Day Month. It's a great opportunity to delve into your art in an intense way with a great community of fellow artists.

Here's a couple of my recent sketches:

She Comes.

2011-09-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

The fall wind has come visiting again. Every year I hear her. Two days ago I heard her cry, wuthering around my house. The aching creaking of my house's bones isn't long away. The leaves are falling too, and the equinox has come and gone.

I look forward to the subtle beauties of fall. I can tell the month by the color of the maples. First come the bright orange ones, I'm not sure what kind they are, but September's cornflower blue skies accompany them. Then come the red ones. Those are the silver maples. They come with the fires of the ancestors, with All Hallow's Eve and Dia de los Muertos. The last of the maple are the sugar maples. They hold out until November's steely skies come. Yellow and grey are the last colors of fall before everything descends into shades of bone and stone.

I love the way the water pools and the leaves leave rusty imprints on the sidewalk, and the faint tinge of decay and earth in the air. I love the sweetness of apples and the smell of woodsmoke and knowing that outside of the fire's reach the air is chill and crisp. Fall is my favorite season, bittersweet and beautiful.

Sketching and other things

2011-09-20T05:09:00.000-07:00

So I've been sketching more recently, trying out ideas on paper playing with words. I haven't had the time or space to paint very much. The family is still trying to find our school year rhythm. Girl Scouts is starting next monday and I'm still working on getting that together. Druid work has taken a lot of time too. Sketching is my way of stealing art time right now.

I've been writing poetry again, which is always a dangerous sort of entertainment.

Here's a little bit of what I've been working on, symbology that seems potent and full of portent at the moment.

Still lonely on the path,

Surrounded by love

And loving in return,

I find myself set apart

And I wonder is this what it is to be made sacred?

Pour me out upon the earth

For I am filled

And filled

And overfilled with the abundance of life

I must share it

Or dare to clog the holes in my net

Arteries clogged with gifts not given

Healing not healed

Love not shared

Pain not felt

Life is love and pain and death, rinse recycle repeat.

Yet,

Somehow infinitely new

Each butterfly flutter in my heart,

Each moment of connection

Each sanctified kiss

Gone in a moment. Forever, never to be repeated.

So yeah. That's where I'm at. More later.

Chicken TV: It's Never Enough!

2011-09-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm still thrilled with my chickens and I have one more video to share with you, then I promise I will post some awesome artyness. :)

Chicken TV: The Accommodations

2011-09-04T06:37:00.000-07:00

I have to say, filming our chickens is addictive. Photos are great, but video captures their movements and sounds, which is one of the most appealing things about them!

First let me share with you some photos of their newly built coop. I was amazed as my DH built the whole thing with no plans at all. Just him and and some wood, nails, and a circular saw.

You can see the nesting box here, before the lid and sides were added. The best part of it is that he built it so the girls can reach in and collect the eggs.

This is about half built, with the perches for the ladies to sit on. He made the side wall hinged so that we could easily clean the coop and the whole thing is situated under our cedar tree so that it will be protected from wind and sun.

And now, without further ado, here's some Chicken TV for you:

Chickens!

2011-09-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

We have CHICKENS!

Can you tell I'm excited? We've been thinking about getting chickens for years, but it's finally happening. Our wonderful friend Martha hooked us up with a flock of 5 lovely ladies. We've been getting wonderful eggs from her for years now but we were ready for our own. Last weekend while my DH was building the coop, my youngest kept asking, "Are there chickens yet!?" like they would magically appear somehow once the structure was in place.

But now we do indeed have chickens so I'd like to share a little Chicken TV with you:

Turnip of Doom!

2011-08-29T06:29:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share this pic my DH snapped of me. I was weeding out the garden where the peas and early lettuce was, and I accidentally pulled up this bad boy, the largest turnip I've ever grown. Too bad it wasn't closer to our Ancestors celebration, I'd carve it up to scare the bad spirits away!

In other exciting news, our little urban farm will be expanding to include livestock by the end of the week. I don't have any photos yet, but we are working on getting a coop ready and should have our own little flock of chickens! I'm so excited! Yay for eggs! Yay for manure! Yay for entertaining my kids! While my husband was working on the coop, my youngest came to the door and shouted, "Are the chickens here yet?!"

Woman Sitting

2011-08-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here's another small canvas I've been working on. It's inspired by Picasso's painting Blue Nude:

I used to have a poster of that in my dorm room in college. I like his better, but that's okay. I've been thinking of copying the old masters, just to see what I think of the process. Still nothing much is happening till the kids go back to school. Right now life is revolving around them. We have so little time left until school starts, and there's a lot to fit in!

I keep trying to figure out how to get models to paint. It's amazing how much easier it is to sketch or paint a person realistically when there's someone to look at. I just keep telling myself that I have to take care of one thing at a time, and things will eventually get done. It's a theory anyway...

Confession

2011-07-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

So I've given in again. It's a disturbing trend.

It's an obsession, I'm telling you.

At first I only did it once in a while, just when I really needed it. I've adjusted to it though, become accustomed to the fragmentary nature of the experience. It's like coffee. First you only need a cup of that dark bitter beverage, then two, then before you know what happened, you're drinking half a pot in the morning and another one in the afternoon.

I'm addicted.

It's not coffee or cigarettes. I'm not drinking sudafed.

My personal vice?

I read poetry.

Maybe it's because I have less time. When I was younger I read high fantasy, space opera, anything based on Joseph Campbell's journey of the hero was good.

A poem takes a lot less time to read than a trilogy.

Maybe when I'm eighty I'll read nothing but haikus.

Maybe it just shows the disordered nature of my mind. Modern poems are different than old poems. Like Bach versus the blues.

I could tell you my personal history through the poets I have read. I started young with T. S. Eliot and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In college it was Margaret Atwood, Audre Lorde, and William Blake when I was in the mood. In adulthood I discovered Wendell Barry, Gary Snyder, Diane Wakoski.

I just bought another book of poetry. It was at the used bookstore. With a name like Bonfire how could I really resist?

When I opened it this is what I read:

It's the wind that drives the sky to one side

and herds the stars along, and pulls

the thread out of the needle.

A lifetime frugally spent

but gone all the same, and the chair,

that has become your tame little horse

tethered beneath the wandering sky-

So yes, well, it needed to be mine. I own these poems written by a woman named Connie Wanek. She lives in Minnesota and was born two years after my own mother. It's like I have a tiny glowing ember of her, or at least the echo of one. It's good enough for me.

Art is like that. You give of your self, your inner visions, your dreams, and they go out into the world. You never know who might pick them up and find them beautiful.

Jurate, Completed

2011-07-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Jurate 8"x 8" acrylic and vintage paper on canvas

If you're interested in purchasing her, please contact me at dandelionlady(at)comcast(dot)net

Thanks.

The Harvest Continues

2011-07-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

Every day we're bringing something in out of the yard. The photo above shows yesterday's harvest, herbs and cucumbers. Later we picked some peppers and zuchinni. In the foreground are the blackberry leaves for stomach upset, in the middle is mullein for breathing issues, and the flowers are calendula, which I use for skin and fungal issues.

I find one of the tricks to using herbs successfully is learning how to process them effectively. I took this photo today. The blackberry leaves are dried and in a brown baggie, ready for tea. I dried the calendula and picked off the petals to soak in almond oil for skin salves, and you can see my finished herbal healing salve, made with the oil infused with comfrey and yarrow. You can see the infusing stage here. I picked mugwort this morning, and I'm hoping that by picking it just before it blooms it will be at it's highest potency.

It's a daily process, going out into my yard to see what is ready to harvest. When I first started learning about gardening and herbalism, I found that while I could grow things, a lot of times they would just rot on the vine, or get over ripe. Gigantic cucumbers don't taste good, flowers past their peak don't have their volatile oils. Then even when I harvested them correctly, if they just sit on the counter and wither they're still useless. It's the process that matters here. Moving from one step to the next in a measured round of planting, observing, picking, preserving, and using, coming full circle again each year anew in the spring.

I find art and gardening have a lot in common. You must be able to see correctly and honestly in both cases. Spotting small details that can spoil a painting or a plant use the same techniques. You also have to enjoy the process of the work, patiently building on the stage before, waiting for the correct time to move to the next stage.

As I was typing, my daughters brought me goodies from the yard. It's really wonderful watching them learning and exploring outside. My oldest does all the red clover picking. I haven't picked one red clover flower this year, but I have a bag full of ones that she's picked. My youngest isn't quite there yet, but she brought me some chicory flowers. One of my favorite summer sights is the combination of wild orange daylillies and blue chicory flowers growing in the ditches along farmer's fields. It was lovely to be reminded of that this morning.

Work in Progress

2011-07-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am actually finding some time to work on creative pursuits, just not as much as I'd like. However, I can't complain at all, life has been filled with good things. Friends old and new, huge bonfires, intimate campfires, beach time with my girls, all kinds of wonderful summer fun. I've got my time filled ahead of me as well. Birthday cakes need to be baked, trips scheduled, we're having to choose between events because there's just too many good things to do.

So the sewing, dying, shrine creation, and printmaking have all taken a back seat. I've been focusing on getting some paintings done in the moments I can snatch. The painting continues to obsess me more and more. Also not a bad thing.

Well of the Ancestors - Unfinished 16" x 20"

You can see this ones earlier incarnation here. I'm happy with how it's progressing, I feel like I'm focusing the eye better, controlling the light and darks and bringing in some midtones to connect the two. Continuing with my use of pthalo blue I brought in washes of it and I'm working on developing some misty areas. I love the translucency of it, it makes a wonderful glaze.

Jurate-Unfinished 8"x8"

This is another of my small canvases. I posted originally about them here. She's about ready for some collage work, and I'd like to try and emphasize the depth of the water and the light filtering through once that's done.

Just in case you didn't know, Jurate is the Baltic goddess of the sea. It is told that she loved a mortal man, Kastytis, who was a fisherman. He had been too successful pulling in huge catches of fish, and so she had gone to punish him. Instead she fell madly in love with him. He agrees to go away with her to live at the bottom of the ocean in her amber castle. However this angers Perkunas, the thunder god when he finds out. He shatters her castle with his axe and leaves her chained to the sea floor, alone and homeless. Kind of a bummer, huh?

Painting: Inspiration of the Earth

2011-06-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

I pulled out my papers and started cutting on Saturday to finish my small painting. After affixing them with matte acrylic medium, I adjusted a couple of things on my lady, focusing on her hands and arms, which needed the most work.

I worked more on my mermaid painting, adding shadows and some depth to her body, and defining her face with shadow. Hands continue to be challenging. It's one thing to realistically sketch a large sketch of my hands, and it's a completely different technique to paint hands on a body within a painting that look realistic and natural. I obviously need practice.

Here's the finished product:

Inspiration of the Earth 8"x8" acrylic and mixed media.

She was donated to the Mid-Michigan Pagan Council to be raffled off at their Potluck Picnic. I was happy to see that her basket was very full of tickets, and I got lots of good feedback. Next time I should make sure to have some business cards with me. I've still got a lot to learn about this whole artist thing.

Strawberry Fields Forever

2011-06-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Or at least that's what it felt like yesterday, with a huge blue sky above me and row after row of fragrant strawberries all around me. I forgot my camera for that, but I did remember to take a few photos of the fruits of my labor.

After we picked strawberries we all came back to my house and the my girls and my friends three boys all had a great time while we chatted and prepped strawberries. It was really wonderful and companionable.

I managed to put up 4 pints of strawberry jam, and hopefully I'll do 4 more tomorrow. I also snuck in some sponge cake baking, so this is what we had for dinner that night:

It was so good.

Happy Solstice!

2011-06-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when the sun stops for a moment in her course. It's that pregnant pause at the top of the roller coaster just before you cascade down the other side of that first huge hill.

We've been busy celebrating the season, and visited Lake Huron with friends this weekend. I found a holey stone, which made me smile. In case you don't know, if you look through a stone with a hole in it, you might just see the fey world.

The rain is plentiful, the garden is green and everything is alive and happy. We still enjoy those scorching hot days, unlike later when the heat seems overwhelming and the trees get that yellowed out look. The girls and I are going strawberry picking tomorrow with some friends, and we will feast on fruit with enough left over for jam and frozen strawberries for the winter.

I've been harvesting herbs as well, because now is the time for it. Everything is going to be at it's peak now. Don't wait until August to get them in.

Sage

Mugwort, about to start flowering.

Here's my list:

Comfrey both infused in oil and dried, for wounds

Mugwort for tea

Plantain for stings and bites

Sage, rosemary, and thyme for cooking,

Curly dock for iron deficiency

Clover Blossoms for tea and to ease my hormones

Basil for pesto

Rose for tea and for incense

Bergamot for tea too.

(I like tea)

Yarrow infused oil, also for wounds

Tansy for dying

I may make some Echinacea tincture as well, if I can get my dirty hands on some everclear.

Tansy

Comfrey

Infusing yarrow in olive oil

What are you harvesting?

Small Canvases

2011-06-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

I'm challenging myself to make some paintings in a small size. These canvasses are only 8" x 8". It's weird working with smaller brush sizes to create the abstract parts of the painting, and then working with truly tiny brushes for the details. I think I'm going to do a theme of elemental women. I think the first one is going to be a mermaid.

I'm finding it interesting how quickly I can achieve a nearly finished work. The one above was mostly finished in an afternoon. I'm having a hard time with getting the hands modeled the way I want, but I had to stop so the colors didn't get hopelessly muddied.

I'm not sure what this one is going to be yet. Mostly I was just using up paint and smearing it around. I hate wasting paint when I'm done painting, so I just mess around on blank canvasses with it. Sometimes I get great stuff, and sometimes it just becomes vague texture behind the next layer.

Poetry for the Earth

2011-06-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Back from my hiatus, I have things to share with you. I've been writing poetry and painting, and living life a little, along with the usual round of daily life: cleaning, cooking, helping friends and family heal, gardening in my little yard.

First I'd like to share a little poem I'm working on. It's about the earth, and my relationship to her. How I interact on both the physical and emotional level.

I feel your pull, earth mother

Each and every day I strive against and with it.

Pushing against you, testing my strength and my will.

In the morning I come back to the ground

To the smell of dew and the sun swings back around

As I wake to the sound of the birds.

I touch you

and a deep peace resides in my heart.

While the sun rides high we are partners.

The waves of my work and yours collide, ripple and divide.

When I find the tide of your rhythm, the work is easy,

Effortless.

My feet drum a steady beat against your darkness.

In the evening she comforts me.

After a long day of work and frustration I feel

The pull through the haze

to lay against the green mother.

I look up,

To be renewed by the spinning, rotating, joy of the stars.

We dance together you and I.

Resistance and flow,

Come and go,

I can jump,

But I always come home.

Thrifty Art Thursday: Painting

2011-05-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

I was struggling this week with what I could share with you. I didn't want to just rehash someone else's work, and I've been so busy in the yard I haven't had a lot of time to craft.

So I decided to just let it go and paint. She's not finished yet.

Deer Woman Scents the Hunter Acrylic on canvas

Painting really just fills my soul up. The feel of the brush on the canvas, the explosions of color I can work with. Subtle or dramatic, it's all there. I feel calmer afterward. Centered. You can see the sketch I did on the canvas for her at the end of the post.

So I realized what I had to share with you as I laid down doe colored hair and swirls of green and yellow leaves.

Paint.

Here's some of my favorite tricks to make acrylic painting more awesome, easier, and better:

Don't be afraid of water. Water is your friend. At the same time, if you're doing detail work, make sure not to muddy your colors on the pallet.
Start with thin washes of color watered down with equal parts of matte medium and water. Block in main color areas. No, really you should do this. The stuff you sketched will show through.
If you're switching from one color group to another, go wash your brushes. Yes it takes extra time compared to swishing it around in a little cup of water, but you'll keep your colors where you want them. Oh, and while you're at it, change the water in your little swishy cup.
Pallets are everywhere! I love recycling old spinach containers for pallets. I can use the lid and the bottom to put paint on, and then I just put the lid on and stick it in the fridge until I can paint. It lasts for about a week in the fridge like that.
Cloth rags are AWESOME. By this I mean old cut up shirts, pants, whatever. I have a drawer I keep them in. Seriously, I use them for all kinds of things: to manipulate the paint on the canvas, clean my brushes between strokes, wipe my hands, and clean up drips. Old cloth diapers are the bomb. If you see them at a garage sale, or have a friend who's potty training, snatch those puppies up!
Don't be afraid to paint over something that isn't how you want it. In this painting I blocked in the hair much straighter, and then when I painted it there was wind. You could see the line between the red blocking and the green of the forest and it looked crappy. A little titanium white and a little burnt umber and I fixed the line and repainted the hair.
Removing paint can create great effects. Using a rag or a pallet knife to scrape or rub paint away can create blending, smoothing and lighting effects.
Use a big brush for a big area. I used to make these tiny little strokes for everything. It sucked. Go get some house painting brushes out of your basement and go crazy with it! I've made some great paintings and underpaintings using really really big brushes.
Allow yourself to have fun! Fear really is the mind killer. Don't give into it. Do enjoy it, even if you think it sucked, you practiced, you learned, and you can always paint over it.

First Harvests

2011-05-18T05:27:00.000-07:00

I've been working in my garden since mid February, when we got a warm spell and I turned the compost (stinky!) and cleaned out last years dead plants from the raised beds. I started planting in late February (see, I really am an optimist!) and early March. Peas, lettuces, radishes, spinach, asian greens, collards, and kale.

In April I planted carrots, more lettuce and radishes and leeks, and this month, so far, I've planted more spinach and lettuces, parsley, sconzera (an experiment in heirloom vegetable varities) more peas (I planted them too early and had bad germination. Bad, Bad, Optimist!) and alpine strawberry seeds (everybody keep your fingers crossed on that last one.) I was going to be planting tomato transplants that my friend picked up for me down at the Ann Arbor farmers market, but unfortunately that's not going to be happening:

Rabid Squirrel Attack!!!

Umm, did I mention that I'm not overly fond of that particular species of rodent?

They dig up my seedlings, and destroy my transplants, eat holes in my tomatoes and peppers and generally wreak havoc. So I have to get new transplants. :(

Anyway, I'm excited about the garden, and I cleaned the shed (another nasty job.) My DH bought me a load of mulch for Mother's Day (Love you honey!) and I'm determined to keep up on the weeds this year. We'll see how the reality lines up with my plans...

Homey Happiness and Gluten Free Apricot Sponge Cake

2011-05-02T04:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share the apron I made for my mom for her birthday! I particularly like the teeny tiny pocket on the larger embroidered linen pocket. I love layering pockets, it's so fun looking and practical for storing bits and bobs. Happy Birthday, Mom!

I wanted to share an image of my sauerkraut all bottled up and ready for the fridge. I made myself a lovely sandwich with gluten-free bread, Munster cheese and fresh raw sauerkraut. Yum! I love getting to share the love, delivering quarts to friends and family :)

One last image for this post. The apricot and hazelnut cake I made for my mom's birthday. I love food.

Here's the recipe for my gluten-free apricot sponge cake:

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 tsp salt

1 c. sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 c. gluten free flour mix

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1 small jar of apricot jam

4 Tbs. melted shortening or butter

Preheat the oven to 325. Grease two 8 inch round cake pans. Seperate the eggs and whip the whites with the salt. When they form peaks add half the sugar and whip. Mix the yolks with the other half of the sugar until it's yellow and thick. Mix the dry ingredients together. Then add the water, egg yolk mixture, jam, and melted shortening to the dry ingredients and mix well for a minute or two. Then add part of the whipped whites to the mixture and stir gently with a whisk to keep the fluffiness. Add the rest of the whites and gently fold it in. Pour half of the batter into each pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes.

Let it cool and then frost with your favorite frosting. I mixed another half a jar of apricot jam into some of the frosting and spread that in the middle. Then I scattered hazelnuts over the top and sides.

A couple of awesome things.

2011-04-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

I've been spending maybe a little too much time staring at my computer screen lately, but my loss is your gain, because I have a couple of really neat things I want to share with you.

First is an online magazine from Canada, called Antler. They have five beautiful issues out now. Lots of dreamy eye candy and neat stuff. My favorite issue is #2, Wunderkammer. Lots of sureal images, taxidermy, and weird old stuff. Yay!

Second think I wanted to share is this awesome music video I found on the blog of the Georgia Street Community Garden down in Detroit. They're doing some amazing things down there, and I'd love love love to take the DUST sustainability training.

Thrifty Art Thursday: Vintage Fabric

2011-04-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been on a sewing kick. Aprons to sell, aprons for presents, baby presents, clothes for the girls and for me hopefully, though everyone else goes first. I picked up some wonderful vintage tablecloths at Goodwill recently, and some really nice fabrics.

My favorite ways to find fabric at thrift shops:

Look through the linens section. Sheets and curtains can provide quality cotton prints for shirts, dresses, and aprons. Damask valances make neat vests, and the stiff fabric can make good under structure for fancier dresses.

Look for linen table runners and napkins with embroidery on them. They're great for details and pockets, though I like to stabilize them with fusible interfacing, and sometimes you have to go in and mend a bit here or there. I think it's totally worth it to save these beautiful pieces. Look for the hand done ones, you'll see the knots where they tied off the floss, and there will be some unevenness on the back, unlike machine done embroidery.

Speaking of linen, it's one of my favorite things to pick up from a thrift store. It is a fabric that wears well, so it's often in really good shape still. My favorite thing is to head over to the plus size section of the dresses and snag some long linen summer dresses. You can get a couple of yards of fabric per dress. Easily enough for a girls outfit, or a shirt, plenty for bunch of pillows or a baby blanket.

Silk is another high cost fabric I keep an eye out for. If you find a men's silk shirt in good condition that's enough fabric to make a skirt or a short sleeve top for a women or a girl. Long hippy style silk skirts are a wonder to find, I always pick them up, though sometimes I have a hard time letting them get turned into anything else! Often silk items have a stain on them, otherwise the people wouldn't have given them away. But that doesn't really matter if you're cutting it up anyway.

The last thing I keep my eye out for is white. Especially in linen or silk, because white is the perfect color to dye. It's hard to find, but worth it when you can. Even white cotton can work, because it's been washed so many times it's actually easier to dye with natural dyes than new cotton.

Do you all have any tips for picking up fabric on the cheap, or finding vintage fabric? I love finding real vintage fabrics and working with them so much. Not only is it less expensive, but I know that I'm reusing pieces of history, and saving resources at the same time. It's win win. :)

Thrifty Art Thursday: Green World

2011-04-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

The green world has been calling me again to go outside to smell the earthy spring air. Spring flowers are finally making an appearance in my yard, little honey scented crocus bulbs, scilla, and the first siberian irises are blooming.

I've been starting plants inside as well, a long list of them:

indigo

spinach

kale

collards

lettuce

salad burnet

snapdragons

stock

Goodies to eat, goodies to smell, and goodies to dye with! Since so much of my time is spent on my garden right now, I thought I'd share some of my simple techniques I've discovered over the years to start plants up right.

When you're starting plants from seeds, one of the pitfalls is watering too heavily or with too strong of a stream and damaging fragile seedling or even washing away the tiny seeds you so carefully planted.

My solution is to make a simple watering device out of a recycled yogurt container. It creates a gentle watering like rain to keep tiny plants happy and moist.

First you take a steak knife and punch small holes in the top of the lid. Don't make them too big, or it won't work right.

Next fill your yogurt container with water, snap the lid on and off you go!

Cabbage Carnage

2011-04-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

So today was my spring saurkraut making day. I make it every spring and every fall now, about 25 lbs of it.

And now you're thinking, "What could that woman be doing with that much sauerkraut?"

(check out my new apron, I just made it!)

We do eat a lot of sauerkraut, but we give a lot away too. It'll happen to you too if you start to make it.

A friend, a parent, an in-law, they'll try it, and then they'll get this puppy dog look in their eyes and you'll send them packing with a quart of it. One after another they'll go happily along to garnish their rubens and their brats, and then you'll realize that you only have two quarts of it left to last until October, and then you'll get the sad puppy face and no one will give you any kraut at all.

That's why I make 25 pounds of the stuff. (edit: If you'd like to slaughter some cabbage yourself, here's a link to a previous post where I talk about what I do in more detail.)

Cabbage Carnage!!!

Canvases and Inspiration

2011-03-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of canvases I've started. This is the first stage of what I do. Basically I pick colors, sometimes they pick themselves. Then I just start laying paint down. I'm never sure exactly where it's going to go. Sometimes I have a preconceived notion, like "leafy" or "dark" but it's never very cerebral. It's kind of like letting my id just go crazy. Sometimes it's really peaceful, sometimes it's intense. It seems like the paint and the canvas and my emotions just come together in a very primal way.

So this one is a storm to me. I plan to paint some happy little fishies ignoring the storm down on the bottom.

This last canvas is actually something I tried to paint, as in, I want to paint a bird and a hill. It sucked. It was kind of painful actually. The only thing I liked about it was the snake, so I let him live and the rest of it got annihilated. I'm planning on using painted paper cutouts with this one.

Here's a cool movie about this amazingly neat guy creating junk art in the south. His house is absolutely amazing, and the best part is that he built it all by hand out of junk. It was really inspiring to me.

Painting: Huginn and Muninn

2011-03-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

Just finished. Acrylic on canvas and vintage paper, 16"x20". If you're interested in purchasing it, please contact me.

Thrifty Art Thursday: How to Draw an Ellipse

2011-03-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here's what I've been working on today:

And here's where I used my oval that I created, as a border for a dandelion linocut for my logo. I'm looking forward to finishing carving the block, so that I can pull some prints!

Shrine: almost finished

2011-03-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

It's almost finished now, and I'm really happy with how it's turning out. Using the string and beeswax as a way to hold everything in place felt really good, very organic. I still need to finish the top and create a way to hang it. It's exciting to me how much of this is made of the cast-offs, and junk. I love the way things with age have a patina. Sure I could get new stuff and fake it, but I think there's an energy and a truth that really shines through when you use truly old things.

Spring Equinox Feast

2011-03-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

Here's some random pics from our Ostara feast and egg dying this Saturday. It's been a couple of busy days for me here, with my daughter's first Girl Scout trip, and celebrating the spring equinox. I always like to take pictures of my feasts, if I'm going to put in all that hard work I want evidence. This year we had rabbit fricasee with lemon zest and greek olives, broccoli and hard boiled eggs and rice with olives and shrimp.

For dessert I made gluten free lavender cookies which we topped with strawberries, yummy!

Here's my recipe for gluten free lavender cookies:

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

1 1/2 sugar

1 Tbs. molasses

2 eggs

3 c. Bette Hagman's Featherlight Gluten-free Mix

1. c. garbanzo bean flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 or 2 Tsp. ground lavender flowers

Cream the butter, sugar, and molasses, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix the dry ingredients separately and then add to the wet ingredients. Add the ground lavender flowers to taste, for a stronger flower flavor, add more. Then I pat into flattened rounds and refrigerate for at least a few hours and better for overnight. Roll out with generous amounts of rice flour to keep from sticking and cut into shapes. Cook at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool for just a moment before taking them off the tray to help them keep their shape.

Happy Pi Day!

2011-03-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

It's pi day today, March 14th, or 3.14. I love the number pi. It describes the relationship between the circumference and the diameter of a circle. With the magic number pi, you can calculate that circumference from just measuring across any circle. You can calculate the area of a circle, and you know, if you've tried to guess it, that's a trick to do without pi.

Pi is an irrational number, so I feel like we have some common ground, since I can be a little irrational myself, at least according to my family...

So today I sing the praises of pi!

Hail to 3.14159...!

And in honor of one awesome number, my daughter and I made pie for pi.

Nesting shrine

2011-03-14T04:13:00.000-07:00

My dear husband was so kind this weekend and wandered off with our children a couple of times so I had time to rest and to create. I've been having some problems with headaches this past week, and sometimes there's nothing to be done but take a nap to fix the problems.

Happily when he took them out on Sunday I was feeling much better and I had a chance to get my craft on in an empty house. I got quite a bit done, but sometimes it surprises me how much more there is to do and how the time flies away from me. I'm really excited about this shrine because it's very eco-friendly thus far.

I used the walnut ink I made to color the wood, and beeswax to create the impression of the key. I believe that I'm going to have to give into my adhesive addiction and use liquid nail to attach the rusted bit of car part to the top. I just love how it frames the central space. Once again I forgot to figure out how I'm going to hang it before I started making it pretty. I really have to remember to get my prep work done before I dive into the fun stuff.

Surviving the Cold Season

2011-03-09T08:17:00.000-08:00

My daughter and I have both been sick this week, and I've been hauling out the herbs and making infusions and decoctions. Since I'm working on this stuff anyway, I though I'd share a little of what I do when someone in my family gets sick.

I find that I think about sickness and recovery a little differently than many people do. Mostly people expect to pop a pill or two and move on with little personal investment, or maybe hole up in their beds and watch Gilligan's Island for a few days. I rarely get sick for very long anymore, and I believe it's because I have a list of things I do as soon as I get sick.

Drink more water. My body can't get rid of a virus or bacteria when it's dehydrated, and sickness is inherently dehydrating, since you're almost always leaking from somewhere, or burning up or otherwise doing things that are very wasteful of water
Stop eating all dairy products. Even if you're not allergic or sensitive to dairy, it increases mucus production. That's just what it does. By cutting that out of your diet you're giving your body a chance to catch up and hopefully your sinuses will thank you.
Do eat lots of hot broths, simply cooked vegetables, and if you can manage it, homemade chicken soup. Making your own stock with bones is really really worth it when you're sick. Sure it always tastes better, and it's got lots of calcium if you remember to add a little vinegar when you put the bones on to simmer, but really there's nothing better to nourish a sicko. It's even better if you can add some nettle or burdock to the pot.
Rest. Really. You need it. I know there's a ton to do, but your body is busy doing more important work right now.
Once you've done all that then I would start thinking about herbal and medicinal remedies. There's lots of good books out there, Penelopy Ody, Susan Weed, and James Duke Ph.D are some of my favorite authors. I go back to them again and again. I also use essential oils, particularly, Red Thyme, Pine, and Eucalyptus for colds and flu.

Here's a recipe for a tea I made for myself and the kids:

Runny Nose Tea

1 Tbs. Licorice Root

1 cinnamon stick broken into pieces

2 Tbs. dried Hyssop leaf

2. Tbs. Elder flowers

Put a pot on to boil with a few cups of water and the Licorice root and the cinnamon stick. Let it boil for 5 -10 minutes, then turn off, and add the elder and hyssop, cover with a lid and let sit for another 10 minutes. Add some lemon and honey, and drink throughout the day.

Do any of you have favorite herbals or cold tips? It seems like the cold season is never going to end here, and we could use all the help we could get!

Thrifty Art Thursday: Shibori Dying with Tumeric

2011-03-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

I've been stuck for a bit now. Artistically, things have not been flowing well for the last few weeks. It's been hard to get anything done. I don't know if it's burnout after my Christmas crafting frenzy, or just because it's so dark and cold and bleh. Either way, I am done with this self induced artist coma.

Begone boring!

Farewell facebook staring!

It is time to start arting again.

One of my favorite ways to get the creative juices flowing is mess making. I find it to be highly thereputic. So I decided to try out dying fabric with tumeric and alum. It was awesome. For some added interest I tried my hand at shibori stitching as well. I've been reading about it online, and I though it was a really cool way to balance the freedom and interest of the more usual tie dying patterns with some structure and more control.

Basically, instead of just tying the fabric, (usually with rubber bands) you use thread to stitch and gather the fabric and use that to resist the dye. I decided to use a scrap of linen that I had originally dyed with beets wrapped around copper (This was a bad idea. Red beets + green copper = a little bit of ugly brown)

Once I was ready to dye I dissolved about half a bottle of Alum (I got mine from Krogers) into a pot of water and soaked it in boiling alum for about 30 minutes. Then I dumped the alum water out (I should have saved it for later) and dumped the bottle of tumeric into a pot of water and brought it to a boil. I dumped my shiboried linen into the pot and stirred.

The yellow was glorious. Mexican yellow, Indian yellow, yellow like dandelions.

I took it out and looked in my pot. There was still lots and lots of yellow in there. So I went and got a silk shirt I had been meaning to reconstruct and stuffed it in my pot. The shirt started out a cream color, but it sucked up that yellow too. It's a bit darker yellow, and I'm thinking of sewing it up into a bunch of little ruched rows and overdying it with blue to make a green and yellow leaf shirt.

There was still yellow left in my pot.

So I went and got some muslin squares I had cut out in order to print some of my block prints on and another scrap of linen I had rescued from some very ugly pants. I stuffed them in the dye pot too. In a couple of minutes I lifted them up, expecting to see some happy canary yellow but it seemed like the dye was just rolling off my muslin. I though maybe I had exausted the pot of dye, but it still looked very yellow. So I added the last of the alum directly to the pot and Voila! Instant dye uptake. I rinsed everything until the water ran clear and let it dry.

Continuing to Carve: World Tree

2011-02-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly progressing on my World Tree block. It's the biggest block I've attempted yet, approximately a foot square. I'm really enjoying the detail I'm getting on it. I'm tempted once it's done to carve more blocks to colorize the thing, but the amount of work it would take is intimadating. That's a lot of carving! Here's what I've got so far, with a fun little overlay in photoshop to make it more interesting:

I've become obessed with the Edo period japanese blockprints. They were truly art for the masses. Apparently kids collected prints from their favorite artists like kids today collect baseball cards (or yugio cards, for a more up to date version) I've been reading about their process of printing, where they first created the master block which was the black outline of the whole thing. Then they would print that onto paper and paste the print onto wood blocks. At that point using the prints of the master block, they would carve the areas of color. I don't know how people do it now, but I'm tempted to try a version of that myself.

Having no formal art training can leave me in the lurch sometimes. Things that are obvious to someone trained are not to me, but I'm hoping that I can make up for that with innovation and a willingness to experiment. Sometimes though a little help can make all the difference. My friend Sara is studying Photography, and she's been invaluable to me explaining photoshop. Sometimes the best thing to do is find a friend who can help you!

If any of you are interested in classic wood carved block printing, here are a few of my favorite websites:

BarenForum

Gwen Frostic

The Production of Wood Block Prints

How Prints are Made

One World One Heart Giveaway Winners!

2011-02-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

So the One World One Heart Bloghop has come to an end. I had a great time visiting so many great blogs, and I'd like to announce the winners of my giveaway!

First Kelly Jeanette won my Knitting Spider eco-friendly blockprint!

And Cherry won my sleeping fox eco-friendly blockprint!

Congratulations to you both!

Thrifty Art Thursday: How to make a String Wreath

2011-02-17T04:13:00.001-08:00

We're approaching the ~~mud~~ Spring season, and with all the birds chirping and the grass peeking out from under the snow, I've been in the mood for pretty decorations. I also was given a grab bag of ribbons and string, a lot of it beautiful vintage stuff. So I decided to make something out of it all.

I had these three Chinet plates, the really sturdy paper ones. Since I only had three, I decided to make them wreaths. I cut out the centers, and saved the centers for later and the girls and I painted them up. The girls used watercolor, and I used homemade walnut husk ink.

I let the girls glue on ribbons with white glue while I experimented a little. I decided to make some wheat paste. I've been pondering how to make my own glues for a while. Often the most toxic part of a project is the glue so I'd like to learn a little more about making sticky bits for myself. Wheat glue is the simplest I've found to make so I gave that a shot.

Basically, you take wheat flour and water and mix it up until it's smooth, with the consistency of pancake batter.
Then I gently heated it over the stove while I stirred, mostly constantly. There were a number of times when I had to go help the girls with ribbons and glue and the paste sat there. It seemed to survive the neglect. As you can see, it thickened up nicely.

Then my eldest and i smeared paste all over my wreath, and smashed my ribbons and string bits into the paste. I made a pretty thick layer with the paste, so that the string sank into the wreath. Then I let them all dry for a couple of days, just to make sure everything was really dry.

Here's where I hung the wreath I made, along with a pastel sketch I made long ago, and one of my little shrines. That one is called Forest for the Trees.

For the Love of my Children

2011-02-14T03:41:00.000-08:00

Birthday candles

Lights out,
Candles lit,
Avid anticipation of sugar and carbs to come.

The moment freezes in my own internal lens
Deep in my gut I feel an old familiar sensation
My scar smiles across my abdomen.
Mocking me
Reminding me that I have limits

They cut her from my womb
Three years ago
Wet with blood and fluid
She didn’t cry
From behind a blue curtain
A magic trick

I was in love with her
Three years ago
She blows out her candles
Three years today
Pasnsies, and pink icing
A pulling in my gut
Pain reminding me
Of scars as she smiles.
She opens her presents
Giddy laughter and children
who have become a flock, moving as one.

I watch my gifts as they float,
Feathers of love drifting down.

Thrifty Art Thursday: Ice Bunting

2011-02-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a beautiful idea from Two Chicks and a Hen on how to make an adorable ice bunting. The photo above is the bunting I made, and you can find her instructions here on how to make one yourself. I think it's a lovely idea for some winter color outside when everything is just covered with snow. Two Chicks and a Hen is my new favorite mommy blog. She's got lots of fun kid projects, all with a focus on simplicity and sustainability. Love it!

The girls and I are hiding at home today. Monkey #1 has a sore throat, so she stayed home from school and the nasty below zero windchill is keeping us all inside. On the upside, I've got some adorable reading material. My very first Etsy purchase came! I'm really excited about this little zine, it's an adorable exploration of flower symbology and how they relate to fairy tales, from TangleCrafts over in merry old England! Best of all each flower is illustrated with a blockprint image! Plus she sent a sweet little postcard extra from Kitty Darkness Designs. So cute as well, though once the kids see it I think I'll never see it again.

Yay!

Thrifty Art Thursday: Salt Dough Candle Molds

2011-02-03T08:06:00.000-08:00

This is a really simple and fun project that I did with my kids to make some really special candles for Imbolc. First we made a salt dough snake and started to curl it into a spiral:

We continued to coil and add snakes to make a bowl shape.

Then I threaded a needle with some heavy string, and pulled it through the bottom for the wick. I used a cotton swab to balance the wick so it goes through the center of the candle mold.

The I melted wax in a pan that I have dedicated to wax. It's impossible to clean once it's waxed. Thrift shops are a good source of cheap junk pans. While the wax is melting I sprayed the molds with canola oil spray. Then I poured the wax in the molds. I used ends of beeswax candles for the wax.

And Voila! Beautiful and unique candles that kids can help create.

Patchwork Baby Blanket Goodness

2011-01-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is a baby blanket I made for some dear friends who moved out to Vermont this year. It's the first of the backlog of baby gifts, I've got a bunch more to make yet. But I really like how it came out. It's made of felted wool sweaters, so it will be super warm in those cold Vermont winters. I'm really excited about the next couple of gifts I'm making, I splurged and bought new fabric for them, which is a rare and special occurrence for me.

One Earth One Heart Giveaway!

2011-01-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

As part of the very cool One World One Heart bloghop we're supposed to introduce ourselves.

I'm never very good at introductions. I'm a person who flubs that whole first impression thing. I tend to spill wine all over myself, or trip, or just sound like a incoherent goofball. It takes me a while to get used to new people. I like to take my time, to see what they do. I'm an introvert, and while I can down a drink and chat it up, mostly that's not how I get to know people. I'm big on actions speaking louder than words. I'm an artist, and words don't always come easily. Sometimes they trickle like a clear spring, and sometimes they're just mud.

My mind live in a world of symbols and connections. Logic and intuition mingle and I kind of like it that way, but in a world of symbols, words look more like poetry than small talk. So here's a little introduction for you:

Sometimes I feel tired, or sad.

In my minds eye I see a tree

tall and swaying with a wild wind

I look up and the golden branches flow through the sky

as the sunset paints the world with a gentle brush

I touch the bark (still in my mind)

It is rough and beautiful

and I am happy.

I sit by my tree, and look out onto a lake

the winds of change whip up the waters

and I wonder where we will go

and my children are in my thoughts

and my husband is in my thoughts

and my community is in my thoughts

and my world is in my thoughts

and I am ready to stand up again.

I would like to share a little of my art with people, so I will give away one of my original hand carved block prints to two people as part of the One World One Heart giveaway.

This is my knitting spider. She's all tangled in thread and her UFO is looking like it's going to be frogged, but she keeps at it still. She's printed with soy based ink on vintage paper.

This is my newest lino-cut blockprint, a fox sleeping in the winter chill. She's also printed with soy based ink, mounted on a vintage music sheet, and then on a strathmore artist's paper. I carve each block by hand, and then print each print using a hand crank printing press or by burnishing by hand.

To enter to win just leave a comment. I'll randomly choose the winner on February 17th

I'm thrilled to be participating in the One World One Heart event this year, hosted by Lisa over at A Whimsical Bohemian. Please wander over and check out all the wonderful blogs involved.

Thrifty Art Thursday: Sweatshirt Projects

2011-01-27T04:41:00.000-08:00

I've been on a cleaning and organizing kick recently. My house tends to stay a lot closer to chaos than to order, and sometimes finding a flat surface that's empty is a challenge. Recently I've been craving order and empty flat surfaces, so I've been getting rid of stuff. In my quest I came across a blue sweatshirt I was given. It was like new, but I rarely wear pullover sweatshirts, so I decided a sweatshirt hack was in order.

First out of the sleeves I made myself a pair of legwarmers. It was super easy, I just cut off both sleeves, cut off the cuffs, and then ran a hem straight up the slanted side so that I had two tubes. A little careful 80's style slouching later, I had some awesome leg warmers.

Then I had the body left, so I decided to make some gifts for the family for Imbolc, a celebration of the returning sun, and Brigid, goddess of the hearth fire, healing, and inspiration. Since we're deep in the depths of dark winter here in Michigan I thought that some footwarmers for bed would be in order. I love my hot water bottles, but they're starting to wear out, and I need something for a replacement.

First I cut the sweatshirt into four mostly equal sections. Then I put the squares together and sewed all but a small opening closed with my sewing machine, flipped the squares and stuffed them. I used wheat berries, since I have a ton of them sitting around since the fam went gluten-free. Rice would work fine too, or buckwheat hulls if you've got them. Then I added herbs to the stuffing to make them smell nice and to bring pleasant dreams.

I used:

cloves

powdered cedar

bay leaves

lavender

Other options would be cinnamon chips, and cloves and allspice for a pumpkin pie scent, or pine, cedar, and bay for a more manly scent. My youngest daughter had a blast helping me stuff the pillows with wheat berries and herbs. We did it all on the floor for easy vacumeing cleanup. Then I carefully sewed the opening closed using the ladder stitch.

They were a little plain at this point so I decided to spruce them up by personalizing them with embroidery. I just left the knots on the outside because they were already sewn up, but I like the raw look of it, and it was really easy to embroider on because filling pulls the pillow tight, just like a frame would.

Voila! and then when you want warm tootsies in the cold winter, just pop the little bags into the microwave for a minute or two and slip it into bed while you get your jammies on, for fragrant cozy sleeping.

Where does Creative Inspiration come from?

2011-01-26T15:33:00.000-08:00

The word inspiration is used to describe the process in which a person somehow or another finds ideas to create something. It's a magical word, a mysterious process. Literally inspiration means to in-spire or breath in. I love this TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love. Take 20 minutes out of your life and check out some new/old ideas about creativity. I really resonated with what she said. I felt saner and less like a crazy artist afterward.

Creative Every Day Challenge

2011-01-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

So I really loved the cosmos theme this month, and I've done absolutely nothing with it because I've just gotten sidetracked with other projects. Some of it has been finishing holiday gifts up, some of it has been other inspiration and some of it has been working on other projects. I've been working on this one seriously for about a month now, and I'm happy to say it's finished.

It's a mixed media work, for my word of the year, Gathering. It includes walnut dyed fabric, rice bag burlap, antique lace, embroidery, hand carved bird printmaking, free stitching to create the nest and appliqued eggs. Along the bottom I sewed on a number of my favorite found objects and buttons. I love that stuff, and I collect it compulsively. The tabs at the top are bits from a vintage table cloth that I tea stained.

Above the nest I embroidered the word Gathering in blue. My piece is a sampler of many of the things I can create, combined in a new way for me. It's posted over in my Etsy shop if you're looking. I'm working on raising money for more art supplies and books these days, so check it out! My art needs a good home. It's starting to fill up my house.

Printsy Interview!

2011-01-23T13:11:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited to be interviewed over on Printsy! The blog for the Printmakers of Etsy. There are so many talented people over there, and so much beautiful work. If you have a moment stop over and check them out and read my interview!

New Craft Explorations!

2011-01-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

Fiber artist and permaculturist, Linda Hendrickson makes beautiful things. Her site is dedicated to two rather rare forms of fiber art, Tablet Weaving and Ply-Split Basket Weaving. I'm particularly interested in tablet weaving, which is an ancient textile form used to make sashes, edgings, trims, and straps. It was used in iron age northern europe by those ancient women. I just got her book Table Weaving for Parents and Children, and I'm excited to try it.

I feel like this ties into my word for the year, Gathering. I have a primal feeling about it, as if I was a pioneer on the edge of something wild and strange. Sometimes that's how I see life, we live our lives as experiments, never knowing if what we do will create order or chaos. We are pioneers of the future, whatever that may lead, however we choose to shape that future.

I am drawn to handcrafts that don't need a lot of high tech or energy to make, like block printing and tablet weaving. Things that I could conceivably make from start to finish from materials in my local ecosystem. Beauty and sustainability combined. I continue to gather in information and skills as I wander.

In my exploration of neat tablet weaving stuff around the web I found this great blog called Upcoming by artist Shane Waltener.

Here he's using playing cards to weave the word destiny to literally interweave chance and predetermined fate.

These are webbings made of knitted lace! I'm totally impressed. They look so genuinely like cobwebs, yet they're made by a person. If you've ever tried to make fiberarts look really organic you'll know how hard that is! I've tried crocheting spiderwebs before and gave up and tossed the whole mess into the trash can.

Soon I should have my own tablet weaving examples to share, wish me luck!

Couple Love

2011-01-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

Well, here's my late entry for Creative Every Day. I really meant to go along with the theme of Cosmos, but well, I ended up here instead. I've just got lovey dovey on the brain with my 13 year anniversary coming up, I guess.

Matryoshka Dolls up in my Store!

2011-01-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited that they're finally done! I've been working on them for months now, since before Christmas.

They're printed by hand, or actually by foot! I stood on each block as I printed the white satin in order to get a nice clear print. I started the whole process back in May when I came up with the sketch. I blogged about it here. It kind of amazes me that it's taken 8 months to create them! I think they're just so sweet though. And I have been dying for some Matryoshka goodness. I'd love to make some dishtowels out of her too, but I don't know where to find high quality toweling.

Of course they're printed with soy based ink, and I found the cutest little print on the back. They're perfect for valentines gifts or just to sit on your bed or shelf and look adorable.

I only made 10 of them to sell, since my daughters confiscated two of them, so get them before they're gone!

Yay!

One World One Heart 2011

2011-01-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to participate in the One World One Heart blog hop event this year. I wanted to last year, but I was just too busy. It looks like this is the last year for it and I'm really glad I get to do it at least once!

I'm getting together some great giveaways for it, so check back on the 30th to see all kinds of giveaway goodness!

Thrifty Art Thursday: Making a Child's Apron

2011-01-13T04:48:00.000-08:00

I love making aprons, and my girls expect their fair share of the sewing. So I made up this quick pattern for them. They love to go to the store and pick out a fat quarter to have made up into something for them. I'm showing the more advanced version, with pockets and ruffles, but if you're looking for something really quick and cheap, you can skip all that and it makes up in less than half an hour.

You'll need some fat quarters, really only one fat quarter for the simplest version, and a package of coordinating double fold bias tape. Fold the main color fat quarter in half, hotdog style.

In the upper corner, cut a sort of quarter circle shape out of the apron. The center of that will become the center front. So if you have your child avaliable now is the time to measure them if you want. If you measure across their chest, the distance from the top of the curve to the center fold should be half that measurement.

It all makes more sense once you unfold it. It begins to look like an apron! Now's the time to check it by holding it up to your wiggly model and make sure it's going to go under their armpits and fit well. Recut your hole a little bigger if you need. At this point you make a pocket all the way across by folding up the fabric all the way across the bottom.

See how you fold it up, but still leave some longer than the pocket? Make sure it's at least 4 inches deep or it ends up as a pretty small pocket. Then stitch along the sides to hold that in place. Now you can finish the sides any way you want. I just set my zig zag stitch to the longest stitch length and sew along the edge to create a faux serger edge, then just flip it to the back and topstitch.

You're also going to need to cut some cute ruffles for this, if you do the pocket. If you don't make the pocket you don't really need the length, so the ruffles are optional. If you want them, cut a strip of fabric 4" wide and about 6" longer than the bottom of the apron for the bottom ruffle, and a strip of fabric about 3" wide and about 3" longer than the width of the top of your apron for a top ruffle.

Here's how one looks that I made without a pocket. I made it for Christmas for my daughter a year ago. They hold up pretty well.

For the ruffle, I zig zag all the way around the rectangle, and then fold over and finish all the edges but the top. Then gather the top and stitch it to the bottom of the apron. Don't forget to zig zag the bottom of the apron so it won't fray in the washer!

Next to make the top ruffle, fold the 3 inch strip in half the long way, with right sides showing, and zig zag the edges together. Gather the zig zagged edge so that it fits on the top of the apron, and stitch it, making sure to zig zag the top of the apron first.

I find that it helps to topstitch the ruffles once they're laying properly, just slightly off from the seam. It makes them stay where they belong a little better.

Next, we make the pockets. First, run a line of stitching up the middle of the folded pocket in order to make two large pockets. Otherwise it's too easy for things to flop out. Then I like to add a detailed pocket, smaller in a contrasting fabric. Take a long rectangle of fabric, maybe a leftover from the ruffles, and fold it in half.

Seam along either side, but leave the top open. Flip it, and fold down the fabric into the little bag created, then sew along the top, enclosing the raw edge.

Once your pocket is made, then just topstitch it onto your apron, overlapping one of the main pockets. It will create a neat layered pocket effect that is great for little treasures.

Last, finish the ties, and the edges with the bias tape. Just pin the tape along the arm holes finishing those edges, leaving enough bias tape to create the neck hole and leave long strings of it on either side for the ties.

I stitch the arm holes first, then go back and stitch along the edges of the bias tape to finish the ties and the neck loop.

Don't forget to cut all the threads before you give it to your little one, because you'll never get it back!

Thrifty Art Thursday: Flattening Paper

2011-01-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

A while back I posted about how I had made some fox linocut prints, experimenting with pre-wetting the paper and it worked great!

Except for one problem.

They dried all wrinkled and gnarly, which was no good at all. I've had this wrinkle problem before, when paper got wet, or folded and I've tried ironing it, flattening it with books, and taping it to a board, but pressing it works far better than any of them.

Now I've seen beautiful little paper presses used for pressing paper that's just been made, sometimes bought, sometimes homemade. One friend of mine used a car jack to press her paper. I didn't have any of that around, so I improvised:

I used two plywood scraps I had sitting around, that were about the right size, and four clamps. These are the spring loaded kind, but i imagine that any strong and sturdy clamp would work to apply pressure. I re-wetted the paper with a spray bottle of water and layered it with half sheets of printer paper. Start with the printer paper on the first board, and then then layer the dampened paper you want to flatten, sandwiched between the dry printer paper pieces. Lay the other board on top and carefully clamp around the edges of the boards. Ignore for a few days or a week, depending on how humid your house is. It only took a couple of days in my dry winter house, but I imagine it would take longer in the wet spring or fall.

Unclamp, and Voila! Flattened paper! So now I can finally make my linocuts into postcards and mixed media works and send them off. Yay!

Vintage Pattern Lust!

2011-01-02T15:41:00.001-08:00

I was wandering the interwebz looking for vintage apron patterns, as I sometimes do, when I came across the most amazing line of vintage patterns from Decades of Style. I am in love, love, love! with their high waisted 1940's pant.

I could totally see making this up in a black linen/cotton blend and pairing it with a little knit top, or just skipping the pant part entirely and making a high waisted skirt or dress of the whole thing in some sort of crisp cotton.

I'm equally enamored of their wrapped 1940's sundress pattern. The best part is that it's got that great wrapped front and it's not a halter top! My neck needs a chiropractor on a fairly regular basis, and there's nothing that sends me there faster than a halter top dress. I regularly turn them into standard 2 strap dresses to avoid neck strain. I love that it has that kind of look with a cute strappy crossed back. I would be the coolest gardener in the neighborhood wearing it this summer with a big floppy hat!

Alas, they're $18 a pattern, which I imagine is a fair price for the work they've put into them, but is a little out of my range. Maybe I'll get lucky and some people will buy some prints so I can splurge on some patterns!

My Word for the Year: Gathering

2010-12-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

Gathering is my word for the year. I've gone through a lot of words to get here. Words like

Balance

Harmony

and Reciprocation

all these seemed like worthy, valid choices.

But then I was meditating on the new year and what lies ahead for myself. I thought about everything I wanted to do, and everything I wanted to learn.

I envisioned myself gathering supplies, and knowlege, and people to build on what I've done and to grow both for myself, and for the larger community.

I'm gathering my courage.

I'm gathering my inner fortitude.

I'm gathering my tools.

Our ancient ancestral women were gatherers, finding what they needed as they traveled, digging tubers and roots, picking herbs and seeds, tending children and the men they loved along the way.

Traveling forward in time, I imagine these women of long ago, spinning thread on drop spindles to clothe themselves and their families, gathering wood, and wild berries for the winter.

Then my mind travels forward in time again, to my great-grandmothers, and the stories I've gathered of them, the pictures and the mystery of them. I think of my Mother's Father's Mother, Ada, for whom my youngest is named, and my matrilineal great grandmother, Sarah. These women created families, raised children, and lived their lives in a time of transition from a farming economy to an industrial economy.

I would continue that line of gathering women. Walking my path, finding what I need while I go. Making a beautiful life out of what comes to hand.

Gathering.

What we've been up to

2010-12-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

The girls have been finger painting, while I painted old music pages (can't show you for what, since it's a gift!) I still have so many gifts to make. It seems like every year my gift giving process goes well into January just because there aren't enough hours in the day.

I finally got to printing again, and I found out a wonderful thing. If you wet the mulberry paper beforehand it takes the ink really really well. Downside? Well it dries wrinkly. So my next step was to make a bit of a makeshift paper press, and it seems to be working. If it works I'll share what I did.

And here's my crowning achievement for the month, the girls big Yule gift, a 3 foot by 3 foot playscape I made of recycled sweaters and fabric. It's all hand stitched, with embroidered and yarn hooked details. I particularly love the cave I made. It's stiffened with a big fat copper wire, and I'm hoping it will hold up to the abuse my girls can give out. It was a lot of work to make, but it was so worth it. Watching them squee and dive in to play with it was all the thanks I needed.

Tis the season...

2010-12-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

A poem to ponder for a moment, thoughts in dance form:

Floppy stubborn child

Collapsing onto the dirty floor,

For our audience of cashiers and consumers

Pausing I ponder my options,

Then I strike and lift her up

Out of the metallic canyon

So she too can witness the vast parade of daily humanity.

I am prepared

My mind calm and ready for the expected struggle.

Instead,

There is calmness.

Her warm silky cheek against mine.

We are together

In love

Surrounded by the checkout woman with her black dyed hair and garish Christmas sweater,

The Indian man reminded of his own children before they grew strange and distant.

The mother with her baby, critiquing my actions play by play.

We flow past it

We are good in this moment

We are happy.

It's beginning to look a lot like a trash pit...

2010-12-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

At least it did in my house, with the leftovers from the Christmas kids explosion of bags and bows and those annoying little twist ties that is the bane of pre-coffee parenthood. Still life moves on, and many of us are spending the day surrounded by the debris.

Don't let all that good stuff just go to waste though! You earned all those little twist ties! Don't throw away the best twist ties money can buy, because you can't buy them you know.

The long twist ties are awesome for tying up summer tomato plants, and the little ones are great for crafting, they're far sturdier than the junky ones from the store.

I have a box that I keep tissue paper in for craft projects. It's amazingly useful for all sorts of things, it has a great translucency when glued and is wonderfully light addition to wreaths and decorations. Also tissue paper is super good for paper mache, because you can layer the papers and they show through each other to make new patterns.

The boxboard is great for cutting up for ATC's or making wreath forms.

I admit, I just recycle the wrapping paper and some of the boxboard too. But really I do store some of the nicer boxes for shipping, and I swear, I was almost as excited by the biodegradable packing peanuts I got in the mail as the gift! (I let the kids build with them. Just damp then ends and they stick together.) I hate the waste that goes with this time of year, and I try to find a balance between my family's generous gift giving and my desire to live a simple, sustainable life. So do me a favor and take a couple of minutes today to sort out the wrapping paper from the bows and ribbons, the boxboard from the plastic bits and get your recycling ready to go. :)

So what do you use your gift garbage for?

Last minute gift for those who are crafty

2010-12-23T07:51:00.000-08:00

It's a treasure box. You just raid your personal stash of lovelies to stock up a wonderful craft adventure for a lucky kid. Add a bottle of glue and some cardstock (which holds up to the adornments) and tie it all with a pretty ribbon for a girl or some twine for a boy, and Voila! Almost instant present.

The one above is for a girl, so there's more shiny pretty things. When I make them for boys I tend to raid my tool shed. Weird washers, tiny twigs, metal bits and bobs all are great options.

I've given this one a couple of times now and it's just so easy and the kids LOVE it. I always have a couple of these organizers lying around, I pick them up when they go on sale cheap, because I never know when I'm going to find more wonderful goodies I need to stash away.

Eclipse

2010-12-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the eclipse of the moon on the winter solstice. A darkness within a darkness. The last time this happened was hundreds of years ago. My friend is planning to call me and wake me up if there's anything to see. If the clouds move on. If the sky is clear. Lots of if's. Makes me ponder this energy of the deepest of darknesses, with only the distant twinkling stars for light.

It makes me want to turn on the lights.

Really isn't a lot of what we do (at least in the northern hemisphere) at this time of year about lights or lack of them? Maybe I'm just getting old, but it seems like the cold dark night is no longer a place I want to wander around in.

I remember though, walking through the snow. With the flakes falling down so silently around me. The enveloping darkness like a cloak, like a friend. The only sound the crunching of my booted feet walking amongst the ghostly trees, wondering if I had lost the trail, not really caring if I did.

It seems like it was a long time ago.

Christmas Update

2010-12-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

I know one of the rules of blogging is not to say sorry about not posting, but really, I don't care about the rules and I am sad that it's been so long.

Still there's been good reasons:

I've been so completely busy working that there's been no time for anything
Everything I've been working on has been for christmas presents either for me or custom orders.

Still there's been things I wanted to share and haven't had time to share.

Homemade fruitcake stuffed full of walnuts, pecans, cherries, and candied orange peel, soaked in vanilla infused brandy. Yum.

I've been making cookies too, and I made a wreath of cedar from my yard, old millenary balls and vintage ornaments. My earth mother statue is wrapped up for the winter in a vintage crepe de chine hanky, all ready for the cold weather. The stockings are hung, presents are soon to be wrapped and life is pretty good.

Hope you're all having a wonderful and productive holiday season!

Thrifty Art Thursday

2010-12-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

So I'm totally planning on doing this great tutorial on how to make a kid's apron out of a fat quarter and a package of bias tape. But then I was feeling bad yesterday and today I'm taking my girls out to their Ooma's house to decorate her tree and eat Christmas cookies.

I'll get there. I'm trying to balance a no pressure attitude toward the blog along with continuing to produce useful stuff. Today, no pressure wins.

So here's a couple of things that caught my eye today:

My felted sweater bag tutorial has been going around and this Italian blog linked to it! They show some great ideas for felted stuff. I'm totally inspired by the wreaths. I love the bright colors.

My other favorite thing I discovered today was this awesome alternative Christmas tree:

I found it on this cute little blog about all things vintage Into Vintage. I'm really loving this fun bright christmas idea, breaking out of the red and green into hot pink and blue. It makes me want to redecorate!

Bear Sketch

2010-12-06T08:39:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share some happy little bears on this first week of December.

Thrifty Art Thursday: Felted Sweater Slippers

2010-12-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

Like I promised in my last felted sweater post, I'm going to show you how to make slippers out of the leftover sleeves from your felted sweater bag.

First find the seam of the sleeve and turn it to the center top. Then you cut the sleeves off by measuring them roughly against the foot. Add about an inch or two beyond your foot for the heel and seam. I've found that in general, men's sweater are good for men's socks and women's sweaters for women's socks. I haven't tried making kids socks yet, I'll let you know if I do.

Next slit up the center seam from the cut end until you can stick your foot in and wrap the tips of the sweater around your ankle.

Then to sew the toe shut you just make a half circle seam at the toe end. Make sure the sweater seam is in the middle of your half circle. Trim the excess from the slipper sock toe.

Now you make the heel. First seam up the back. Take the tips where you cut into the top and bring them together. The seam will be running up and down the back of the slipper leaving the top where you cut open to put your foot in. Your slipper will look weird and squarish at this point.

Put your slipper on, wrong side out you'll find there's a little triangle of fabric you can pinch at the base of the heel that will lay flat along the floor, a lot like the triangle of fabric you made with the sweater origami to make the square base of the bag. Sew along that little triangle and cut the triangle off.

Flip your slippers to the right side and Voila! You have warm wooly slipper socks. They're perfect for embellishments, embroidery works great, maybe a blanket stitch along the opening, or some little yo-yo's on the toes. Perfect for a cheap quick christmas presents, and if you can snag that special someone's shoe, you can use that to estimate where to cut your sleeve. Just measure it against the shoe and don't add any extra inches to the end.

Thanks for stopping by Thrifty Art Thursday, and here's a little present for you in this holiday season:

Just enter DANDELIONHOLIDAY2010 in the coupon code at my Etsy store to get 20% off any of my hand carved block prints, upcycled aprons, or original paintings! I will be adding more aprons and new prints next week as well so check back!

3 observations for today:

2010-11-30T12:26:00.000-08:00

1. I enjoy wearing galoshes and vintage aprons at the same time.

2. Lady Grey tea goes wonderfully with anise walnut biscotti bites.

3. Beans taste infinitely better when cooked in a pressure cooker. I have no idea why this is true.

My recipe for gluten-free anise walnut biscotti bites:

3 eggs

1 1/3 c. sugar

2 Tbs. Palm oil shortening (or butter) melted

2 tsp baking powder

1 1-ounce bottle of anise extract (2 Tbs.)

1 1/2 c. rice flour

1 c. tapioca starch

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum (you can get this in health food stores)

1 c toasted and crushed walnuts

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Then add the flours and the xanthan gum. Mix well and let sit in the fridge for at least 10 minutes and up to overnight. Check consistency at this point. If it's stiff like cookie dough that's awesome, but you may need to add more flour. Add 1/2 c. rice flour and mix well, then if that's not enough alternate with 1/2 c. of the tapioca starch until a stiff consistency is reached.

You can toast the walnuts in a hot pan on the stove top, or bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 or 15 minutes. Crush them up so that they're not in super big pieces and mix into the dough. Scoop small balls of dough about 3/4 inch wide onto a cookie sheet and cook in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.

If you want it to be a traditional biscotti shape form the dough into two long loaf shapes on cookie pans and bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. Then let cool and cut into diagonal slices and rebake for another 15 to 20 minutes. In this case it's really important that the walnuts not be in big pieces or they'll catch the knife when you're cutting.

finally I get to linocut

2010-11-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

And I cut myself. Sigh. Still I'm happy with my design, I think it will make a lovely card. I was thinking as a thank you gifty to all you who read my blog, just send me an email with your address and I'll send you a fox postcard when I'm done with it. I figure I better ask now, since it's the last day of Art Every Day Month!

I can't quite believe it's all over, and I didn't post nearly every day, but I did try some new stuff, and discovered so many wonderful blogs and people so I'm very happy I partook of Leah's challenge.

Embroidery during the Holidays

2010-11-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some embroidery recently since it was something I could do while socializing during the holidays. This one is just an odd little project I made up with some scraps. Feeling a little worn down right now, hoping my energy comes back soon because I've still got to finish a bunch of christmas presents and make cookies let alone all the craft fair stuff I'd like to get done.

I'll leave you with a book to check out called Alabama Stitch Book. It was one of those impulse moments at the library where my bag was already full but I shoved it on top and I am glad I did. Reading the first few pages I felt a peace reading about these strong people who had been connected to the growing of cotton in the south for generations. The story of how these people transformed themselves was inspiring. They were cotton growers and pickers when their industry moved to China, but instead of moving and giving up they stood their ground creating beautiful hand

stitched garments from old cotton tee shirts.

I really connected with this story. Here in Michigan we were car people. The car industry is what sustained us. I grew up in the shadow of Motor City. Now I watch as the giant factories come down, parking lots full of weeds instead of the cars of working men and women. I wonder what the future holds for my state and if we can successfully transform ourselves.

The projects are as inspiring as the story. Looking at these projects gives me hope.

Gratitude

2010-11-25T07:07:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for

Impromptu gravy dancing

Out of tune singing comes together for a moment of generational beauty

Crooked smiles in the early morning

My hand beginning to show the signs of age holding young hands soft and delicate

I am grateful for

The dance of a longstanding teamwork

Knowlege of an unfolding relationship

The brief connections through a week of work and striving that give meaning to the day

I am grateful for

A soft and teary heart that drips love

Creativity that cannot be held down and tamed

Dreams and visions of the past and the future

Reaching to walk in balance always

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spirit Song

2010-11-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

I made this using a paper I created with kids tempera paint on construction paper. Remember when the art teacher showed how to make ink blot pictures by folding a paper in half? Well I just pressed one paper on top of the other.

Then using my micron and white gel pen I just started making it a picture. It was like spotting pictures in clouds. Creating this piece was really very soothing, and I liked how it turned out. I want to do more with using randomness and chaos as the basis for a more ordered image. Over on Found Stitched and Dyed Erin Endicott wrote about dripping walnut ink onto her family heirloom clothes and then embroidering images of the hurt she had onto the ink blots. It's well worth a look, her work is powerful and beautiful, and also allows chaos to guide her work.

Here's a work in progress

2010-11-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

It's not done yet, I was hoping to turn the sketch into a painting, but since the easel's been put away so the Christmas tree could go up I'm going to have to wait to paint it until later. For now I'm using my Micron pens again. This one actually has a name, unlike most of my sketches. I'm calling it The Giving Tree's Daughter. My girls love that book but it's always sad at the end.

In other T-Day news, the countdown continues, the gluten free cornbread croutons are made, the apple strawberry pie is in the oven and I'll bake the pumpkin pie tomorrow. The chestnuts are roasted and I watched Star Trek while I peeled them last night. Tonight I'll be brining our free range turkey my honey picked up from the Co-op this afternoon. Busy, busy busy!

Trying out my new illustration pens

2010-11-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

I picked up a couple of illustration pens the other day and I'm really happy with them. So easy and so fun to work with.

In other creative news, I'm starting work on the kids big Yule present. I'm making a playscape of the type described over at Rhythm of the Home. I'm using a bunch of felted sweaters to create the landscape, with a river, and a cave. I'm really liking how I can stuff parts of the landscape to raise them up and create a wonderful topography.

Here's one of my favorites online, from this Flikr feed:

Thrifty Art Thursday: Felted Sweater Bag

2010-11-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

So as Thankgiving edges closer and the Winter Holidays are on the horizion my thoughts turn toward warm fuzzies and gift giving. This project combines the two, using felted wool sweaters.

I love these things! I pick them up at garage sales and thrift stores and a little while ago I snagged a bunch of them in a trade with my friend Lara. It's been felt heaven!

First you cut the sleeves off the sweater. Save them. Next week I'll show you how to make them into slippers.

Next you make the handles, cutting parallel to the sleeve cap and in about an inch and a half or so. This is what you're going to be hanging on to, so make it to fit your hand.

Next cut across the sweater from the end of one handle to the other.

Next sew the bottom together. Turn it inside out first. I sewed it by hand because this sweater was so thick I couldn't run it through my machine. You can do it with a machine if you want.

Flip it back to the right side and this is what you get:

Then it's time for a little bag origami. Flip it back inside out and turn it so that the side seams and handles are next to one another. The bottom will form two pointy triangle areas when flattened.
Then to make the bottom, sew along the middle of the triangle, straight across, where the black line is.

Then, I just tacked the two triangles down to the bottom of the bag. Because the triangles I made met in the middle I also tacked them together. You only need a couple of stitches.

Turn it right side out and Voila! You have a bag! Even with hand sewing and taking photos of everything I did it only took me about an hour. Without distractions and photo shoots, it should only take a a half an hour. Here's a couple of other bags I've made out of old felted sweaters. They make great gifts and are wonderful to customize. I like to add a small inchy tag or a beaded clasp to make them a little more exciting:

Poem for AEDM

2010-11-15T04:26:00.000-08:00

Friendship abides in my lungs
Words exhaled in exchange
Drifting on the wind
Rooted in the fragile clouds
Of memory and dream

Block Print Blunders, and Tasty Food

2010-11-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a project that I've been working on. I just realized that I've made a goofy smiley face in the middle of it, so I'm considering a redesign...

I've been so busy today, working hard. The 20 lbs. of saurkraut was finished fermenting in my unheated front room, so I pulled out my huge crock and filled up every container I could find with lovely golden crunchy kraut. I didn't have anyone to take photos, so there's no photographic evidence, here and here are a couple of posts that show some of my fermenting adventures in the past.

And in case you're hankering to make your own here's my super simple recipe:

5lbs of cabbage, preferably local and fresh, sliced as thin as you can (a mandoline is perfect for this)

3 Tbs. pickling salt, sea salt, or fine kosher salt

Mix them in a container, an earthenware crock if you've got it, or a food grade plastic bucket, or even mason jars. Fill up a sturdy freezer ziploc bags with a brine made of 1 gallon of water to 3 Tbs. salt and stuff on top of the container to weigh down your saurkraut under the brine that will be pulled out of the cabbage and appear magically in your crock or container. put a cloth towel over the whole contraption to keep out dust, and if you're using mason jars, put them in a pan cause they could overflow. Set in a cool place, like a clean basement, or an unheated room and let it sit for a couple of weeks. Check it every couple of days for nasties, like mold and wash off your brine bags, clean off the mold and replace the brine bags. Once the cabbage stops stinkin (cause it does) and looks golden, feels crisp, and tastes divine, stuff it into smaller containers and hope that your friends and neighbors leave you some to eat yourself.

Matryoshka!

2010-11-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited that I finally finished my matryoshka print! I'm looking forward to experimenting with it, and I'm planning on making some cards with it to have in my etsy store this weekend.

Monoprint in a long format

2010-11-13T04:39:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed making this print, both the monoprint and the linocut. I'm thinking of printing two more beetles above the first in different colors. The long format was really interesting to play with, though I don't know what to do with it once it's done.

I Love Rocks!

2010-11-12T05:16:00.000-08:00

So I am in love with this Flikr stream. You must go check it out. Now. So beautiful.

I'm continuing to be inspired by artists around me to create white on dark images. This time it's rocks. I got out my white conte crayon, sharpened it on a random piece of sandpaper in my ArtDeskOfDoom and went to work on my rock collection (Doesn't everyone have one?). Mine turned into little animals (big surprise right?) An alligator, a dragonfly, a hedgehog, a beetle, and an odd little face. I am feeling the need to leave them around town for people to find. I'll let you know if I actually do it.

I adore making these little things. I feel so calm and happy.

Thrifty Art Thursday: Reusing Kids Paintings!

2010-11-11T03:50:00.000-08:00

I was completely inspired by The Book of Kells, when my kids and I watched it last night. It is a beautiful movie, thanks to Grey Catsidhe for the suggestion! So there I was, desperate to make some awesome white on dark art, scouring the house for materials. White gel pen in hand I needed something to draw on!

I love my white gel pen, but I've found that it doesn't always write well on all surfaces. It needs a little tooth to really flow well. What I've found works the best is my kids old finger paintings! It turns out that cheap tempera is an excellent ground for gel pen. It dries to an extremely matte surface which is just what I need.

For those of you who don't have a ton of kid made backgrounds you'll have to make it yourself. I suggest getting yourself some cheap tempera paint, and a bunch of stuff to make marks with, including combs, sponges, leaves, cheap bristle brushes, and especially your hands. Go for abstract rythym and movement, let everything be unplanned. I love the papers that my kids make, I've been saving them for years. They make wonderful backdrops to gel pen, collages, block prints and stamps. Hope you're having a wonderful Art Every Day Month, and thanks for stopping by Thrifty Art Thursday!

Art every Day Month

2010-11-09T19:48:00.001-08:00

It's just a quick sketch I did before going to bed. I think I want to sketch more rabbits. In various postures. We'll see if I still want to do that in the morning.

Variations on a Turtle

2010-11-07T15:58:00.001-08:00

Art every Day Month

2010-11-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

I've been a little busy this first week of Art Every Day Month, so I thought I'd try and catch up a little by doing two journal pages today. I'm really enjoying how much I'm learning from the process of trying to make these pages. Honestly, I've been pretty dissatisfied with how all of them but the last has come out, but I feel like I'm learning so much about my own style, as well as what kinds of art supplies I need! I am absolutely yearning for some good illustration pens, since most of what I'm drawing is in pencil, sharpie, or ball point pen, and all of them have serious limitations. I picked up some little stamp pads for a dollar each, so fun, I really am enjoying using the stamps I carved to make images.