New Shop on Artfire

Rowing with the Lady of the Lake

Just opened a new shop on Artfire this month. I'll be selling all my fine folk art there, and keeping the typography shop on Etsy. Come and visit: http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/SpiritArt

Opera and Adding Words to Art

So last month's theme for our art group seemed to touch on the opera again. This time it was added to a book and because of the journal-like format, I decided to add a small poem.
The poem reads:
"Too much
my story
for mere
whisper word.
May the thralls
of every once
abandoned soul & instrument
now be heard."

Madame Butterfly - More Art of the Mask

For March's theme, the subject was "Tragedy", so I chose a tragic opera, "Madame Butterfly" to depict my seen in a diorama. This can be hung on either side. One side shows Madame Butterfly as she meets her demise, on the other side there is a depiction of her with a mask with song coming out of her mouth.
Around the mask the names of some of the scenes are written in gold paint.
I got very attached this one and it was a bit sad to give it away; although, I hope the artist that receives it enjoys it in her home.
One thing I garnered from this project is how much I love doing dioramas.

I definitely see doing more of these in the near future, especially with the combination of box, clay
and paint.

Sleeping Koi in a winter's pond in Idyllwild, CA

My heart goes out to all my friends who are bearing cold, dark winters right now. I know it can weigh the spirit down. I remember when I was young and we'd get socked in for the winter in Ohio and my mother found a way to bring flowers and plants in to brighten the atmosphere. She lit alot of candles, and captured light where she could. It was as if she said, it may be winter outside, but I can bring spring into my home now. My mother fought Old Man Winter like a Spring Commando. Tea and cinnamon toast warmed our bodies, music played loud on the radio and the seasons eventually turned and we found our feet feeling the warm earth once again.

Art of the Mask

I've been afforded the opportunity to join a team of amazingly talented women in the creation of collective art books. These are no ordinary books. Most of the women are mixed media artists, so the treasure boxes that the artwork is stored in are in themselves works of art. There are thirteen of us in all. This years theme is, "The Art of the Mask". Every month a new sub-theme is chosen. Each artist has created their own box and provided the substrate on which to work on. It then goes off to a new artist each month for them to add their own creation. At the end, each artist will have their box returned filled with a piece of art from each artist.

Here is my November contribution for a religious mask. I chose to work with an image of an Iranian woman who wears a mask for religious reasons and to block the sun.

Then here is my December contribution which is meant to be a humorous theme. For some reason I couldn't get the image out of my head of children and capes and cookie jars. Must be the mischievous child left in me.

 

Working with these women is such an inspiration and I feel myself stretching and reaching to go past my artistic limits - also to enjoy my art more. I can't wait each month to see what the others have created. While I only get to see a portion as the monthly box travels, at the end we hope to get together and share all the boxes and art. This is an opportunity I will always cherish.

Giveaway

I'm hosting a giveaway of an 8 x 10 Giclee art print of an original painting done by me, "In the Night Spirit." This giveaway begins on December 21st and ends on January 21st. All you have to do is leave a comment here and follow my blog! For a bonus entry, you can visit my Etsy store, RenaissanceDays, and leave a comment here that you visited and what your favorite work of art is. All entries will be picked at random, so everyone has the same opportunity to win.

Leucadia ArtWalk

So I did it! I survived my first art walk. It was quite an experience, more angst in preparation for the event than necessary – and a lot of fun. I learned a lot, sold a few prints and jewelry, and was invited to be part of an artist's collaborative project in which I'll likely end up making some great friends, as well as received an art commission the day later by someone who picked up my card. So even though I didn't sell much, I felt it went really great.

There are also no stories of wind or of the tent toppling over. No mishaps all day long, except for the electricity going out in our home the entire evening before. Good thing we had already finished our preparations.

We were worried about our set-up looking a bit hoaky as we can't afford display walls yet, but Gary managed to rig a hanging system with chains. Everything fell into place so nicely, we were even offered the chain we were going to spend seventy-five dollars on, by another customer at Home Depot for free! Wow! We've been really lucky lately.

Definitely going to attend other events in the future.