My friend sent me this link yesterday. I'm generally not a big photography fan but these photos are so well done and imaginative. I think that they really embrace what childhood play should be. It's wonderfully low tech and dreamy.
Click here to see the beautiful work of Jan Von Holleben
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Ho hum
We weren't as successful at the Craft Fair as I had hoped. We still sold a few things and that is better than a kick in the head. I was really surprised how freaked out some people were about my Spirit Dolls. Sometimes I forget that people have different tastes and see things differently. I certainly find beauty in places that others might not. I really should know better. My family members are often weirded out by some of the things I think are nifty. Ha! My granny is always saying how much talent I have and what a shame it is that I don't make "nice" things. Although she also thought that my paintings were copies of someones elses originals and was shocked to learn that they come from my own apparently twisted little mind.
Anywho, I've opened up an etsy shop since I'm building up quite the collection of crafted goods. It seems like it may be a nice fit for the types of things I've been working on lately. Ebay was good fun for a while but the fees are a killer and the sellers, unfortunately, are not as supportive of each other as you'd hope. We've never bad mouthed other sellers or their wares. We figure that different people have different ways of doing things and that buyers should decide for themselves. It always makes me giggle a bit when I see people selling magickal herbs and saying "These are not ordinary culinary herbs". Aren't those just as important in magick making? I certainly consider rosemary and basil as two of the most versitile and potent herbs in my witches cupboard. Also the whole "these have been blessed by our high preistess..." gets me too. I don't want other peoples magick getting in the way of my own work. Ah well, as I said, we all have our preferences and I'm sure those things are important to someone.
Anywho, I've opened up an etsy shop since I'm building up quite the collection of crafted goods. It seems like it may be a nice fit for the types of things I've been working on lately. Ebay was good fun for a while but the fees are a killer and the sellers, unfortunately, are not as supportive of each other as you'd hope. We've never bad mouthed other sellers or their wares. We figure that different people have different ways of doing things and that buyers should decide for themselves. It always makes me giggle a bit when I see people selling magickal herbs and saying "These are not ordinary culinary herbs". Aren't those just as important in magick making? I certainly consider rosemary and basil as two of the most versitile and potent herbs in my witches cupboard. Also the whole "these have been blessed by our high preistess..." gets me too. I don't want other peoples magick getting in the way of my own work. Ah well, as I said, we all have our preferences and I'm sure those things are important to someone.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Spirit dolls and Christmas boxes
I'll be selling my wares at the Toronto Waldorf School Candlelight Fair this weekend. I went last year and it was a really interesting experience. Spending most of my youth in inner city and rural community schools, I was awed by the school. The building, the feeling of community and the creative atmosphere... it was a far cry from my experience.
Here are some more spirit dolls that I will be taking with me. It's funny but I usually don't name my work. If I have to pick a title I usually just go with what the item is... "Fairy Godmother #1" or something of that sort. With these little dollies though I've really enjoyed looking at them and discovering their names. Anywho, here are the latest lot.
I've also been making a few shadowboxes to take along. It's been a lot of fun exploring Christmas with these. I've got a couple more in mind so we'll see if insomnia hits tonight so I can get them done to take along too... though I won't hold my breath about that.
Here are some more spirit dolls that I will be taking with me. It's funny but I usually don't name my work. If I have to pick a title I usually just go with what the item is... "Fairy Godmother #1" or something of that sort. With these little dollies though I've really enjoyed looking at them and discovering their names. Anywho, here are the latest lot.
I've also been making a few shadowboxes to take along. It's been a lot of fun exploring Christmas with these. I've got a couple more in mind so we'll see if insomnia hits tonight so I can get them done to take along too... though I won't hold my breath about that.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Tub Tea
I've been crafting my fingers to the bone getting ready for the gift giving season. One of the gifts I will be giving are these loverly Tub Tea's. They look and smell so pretty and were incredibly easy to make. I ordered the heat seal bags on-line and they are fantastic. Love them!
An Ethical Dilema
I've mentioned before that I haven't spoken with my father in quite some time. I can't tell you why because I don't know the answer to that myself. My parents were divorced when I was very young. I would see him every second weekend, and when he moved away, I would be flown out to see him. I adored my father when I was little but when I was about thirteen he stopped calling.
I've made contact with him a couple of times over the years. I told him I was getting married, that he has a grandson, that I'm not looking for anything from him. Each time ends the same way. The contact stops as quickly as it began.
It used to be very upsetting for me but I've come to terms with the fact that he doesn't want to be a part of my life, my family, and that there is nothing that I can do change that. I know that I've done all I can and that's all anyone can do.
Mister K has similar issues with the maternal side of his family. His mother used to bake pies for him every week, we would drive up to his grandmother’s house and he would mow the lawn. They had what I thought was a nice relationship. I'm not exactly sure what changed everything. It may have been that she resented that he reunited with his father (her ex-husband) combined with the stress of tragically losing her mate, sadly, we're not exactly sure.
When we were getting married we sent his mothers side invites. Every member from that side of his family declined to come (which was not unexpected). His mother took the opportunity to write a hurtful note on the RSVP card, which basically said 'have a nice life'. When his grandfather died, Granny K begged his brother to be a pallbearer. He refused. When Granny K fell ill they did not visit. When she passed away, they did nothing. The poor thing never understood why her grandson didn't want to be family.
His mother called yesterday to say that his grandmother, her mother, is in the hospital and not doing well. It's hard to know what to do. After all of the pain that they have already caused for Mister K it's hard to see him struggling with this decision. Should he visit her? Should he confront his mother? Should he just be satisfied with knowing that his grandmother is ill? Should he extend the olive branch again and risk being hurt all over again?
It's easy to say, "Of course you should make amends! That's your grandmother!" or "How would you feel if she died?" but it takes more than blood to make people 'family'. Family IS incredibly important to us because of our experiences with our parents. That is what makes this a particularly difficult dilemma. I can't imagine letting anything get in the way of my relationship with my son. I'd go to the ends of the earth for him. Even when Mister K and I are at heads we know that we can depend on one another. I might get angry with them, I may not like what they do, but I'll love and care for them always. It's a pretty terrible feeling when you feel you can't depend on the people that are supposed to love you the most. I don't want my little family to be hurt any more than they have been, especilly not by people who have hurt us before.
This is going to be a tough one.
I've made contact with him a couple of times over the years. I told him I was getting married, that he has a grandson, that I'm not looking for anything from him. Each time ends the same way. The contact stops as quickly as it began.
It used to be very upsetting for me but I've come to terms with the fact that he doesn't want to be a part of my life, my family, and that there is nothing that I can do change that. I know that I've done all I can and that's all anyone can do.
Mister K has similar issues with the maternal side of his family. His mother used to bake pies for him every week, we would drive up to his grandmother’s house and he would mow the lawn. They had what I thought was a nice relationship. I'm not exactly sure what changed everything. It may have been that she resented that he reunited with his father (her ex-husband) combined with the stress of tragically losing her mate, sadly, we're not exactly sure.
When we were getting married we sent his mothers side invites. Every member from that side of his family declined to come (which was not unexpected). His mother took the opportunity to write a hurtful note on the RSVP card, which basically said 'have a nice life'. When his grandfather died, Granny K begged his brother to be a pallbearer. He refused. When Granny K fell ill they did not visit. When she passed away, they did nothing. The poor thing never understood why her grandson didn't want to be family.
His mother called yesterday to say that his grandmother, her mother, is in the hospital and not doing well. It's hard to know what to do. After all of the pain that they have already caused for Mister K it's hard to see him struggling with this decision. Should he visit her? Should he confront his mother? Should he just be satisfied with knowing that his grandmother is ill? Should he extend the olive branch again and risk being hurt all over again?
It's easy to say, "Of course you should make amends! That's your grandmother!" or "How would you feel if she died?" but it takes more than blood to make people 'family'. Family IS incredibly important to us because of our experiences with our parents. That is what makes this a particularly difficult dilemma. I can't imagine letting anything get in the way of my relationship with my son. I'd go to the ends of the earth for him. Even when Mister K and I are at heads we know that we can depend on one another. I might get angry with them, I may not like what they do, but I'll love and care for them always. It's a pretty terrible feeling when you feel you can't depend on the people that are supposed to love you the most. I don't want my little family to be hurt any more than they have been, especilly not by people who have hurt us before.
This is going to be a tough one.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Wonky horns and spirit dolls
A few years ago I was asked to bring a God and Goddess figure to a ritual. I grabbed some clay and made quick work of it. I was so happy with my figures that they have been sitting on my altars ever since. Last week I decided that my poor, poor, God and Goddess have had enough. The horns on my Horned God have broken off, and are sadly hanging to the side. Ah well, they were only meant to last a day and have given me years of joy.While working on my new God and Goddess figures I also created some small spirit dolls. These were definitely inspired by some of the beautiful voodoo dollies that I have seen over the years (as well as some the gorgeous art dolls out there). I truly enjoyed making each one of these and really felt as though each one chose how they looked. "What are you making me wear?", "You're not putting that on me!", "This is how I should look!" Sometimes it's best to listen to your work rather than trying to force your ideas. I'm really chuffed with how they've turned out.
Monday, October 29, 2007
What is Halloween?
As I suspected my enthusiasm outweighed that of Little D when it came to making our altar. Ah, well. At least I had his full attention while he sat on the toilet and we managed to discuss a few important tidbits. What did we talk about?
CHANGE
Autumn is a time of change. The leaves turning colour is Mother Nature's way of letting us know that now is a good time to make changes in our lives. Now we can leave behind all the things that we didn't like about last year, and take steps to making next year even better. We talked about things that we liked and did not like and what sort of things would be good for our family.
THE THINNING VIEL
Halloween is a night when we can invite people who have passed to come for a visit. On this night it is much easier for them to visit us than it is the rest of the year. We will let them know that we miss them and are thinking of them by placing some of their favourite things on our altar. We put walnuts on the altar for Great-Grandfather Knickertwist and pink roses for Great-Grandmother. Little D drew a picture and collected some beautiful fall leaves to decorate our altar with too.
There are other things that we can place for other spirits who may want to stop by. It's a long journey for them and they may want to freshen up so we place a bowl of water and a clean towel for them. Some spirits like sweets so we'll place some treats there too. We'll also put out a glass of wine and a glass of water. We want to make sure that we are good hosts for our guests. We will burn incense on our altar as well. Incense smoke helps to send our messages, as it raises it carries our thoughts and wishes. Incense also makes our air sweet and inviting to good spirits, bad spirits don't like the smell so much.
MAKING MAGICK
Little D is particularly fond of my cauldron and making potions. We talked about what types of potions we could make and what sort of magick would be good. After I talked him out of making a "frog turning potion" (quite literally) we have decided to make a potion for good luck. Our 'potion' will actually be an herbal blend and he will begin to learn about herbs as and which ones may bring our house good fortune. Little D has a great deal of interest in herbs and plants, especially those that grow in our garden. He's also been asking questions about four leaf clovers and so I think that we'll be adding a few into the mix.
CANDY & COSTUMES!
Collecting candy and dressing up is his priority at the moment. Sometimes, in my own excitement, I forget that as a four-year-old tunnel vision takes effect and THIS is Halloween. Although I've told him that people first gave out treats so that ghouls wouldn't play tricks on them, and dressing up is to confuse people and spirits, I know that at the moment he's only concerned with if he will get some goodies for his treat bag.
Halloween should be the happiest and most joyous holiday. I'm trying not to get too carried away passing information along to him. What I really want, more than anything, is to foster a positive feeling about the season and create happy memories that will inspire him as he grows.
CHANGE
Autumn is a time of change. The leaves turning colour is Mother Nature's way of letting us know that now is a good time to make changes in our lives. Now we can leave behind all the things that we didn't like about last year, and take steps to making next year even better. We talked about things that we liked and did not like and what sort of things would be good for our family.
THE THINNING VIEL
Halloween is a night when we can invite people who have passed to come for a visit. On this night it is much easier for them to visit us than it is the rest of the year. We will let them know that we miss them and are thinking of them by placing some of their favourite things on our altar. We put walnuts on the altar for Great-Grandfather Knickertwist and pink roses for Great-Grandmother. Little D drew a picture and collected some beautiful fall leaves to decorate our altar with too.
There are other things that we can place for other spirits who may want to stop by. It's a long journey for them and they may want to freshen up so we place a bowl of water and a clean towel for them. Some spirits like sweets so we'll place some treats there too. We'll also put out a glass of wine and a glass of water. We want to make sure that we are good hosts for our guests. We will burn incense on our altar as well. Incense smoke helps to send our messages, as it raises it carries our thoughts and wishes. Incense also makes our air sweet and inviting to good spirits, bad spirits don't like the smell so much.
MAKING MAGICK
Little D is particularly fond of my cauldron and making potions. We talked about what types of potions we could make and what sort of magick would be good. After I talked him out of making a "frog turning potion" (quite literally) we have decided to make a potion for good luck. Our 'potion' will actually be an herbal blend and he will begin to learn about herbs as and which ones may bring our house good fortune. Little D has a great deal of interest in herbs and plants, especially those that grow in our garden. He's also been asking questions about four leaf clovers and so I think that we'll be adding a few into the mix.
CANDY & COSTUMES!
Collecting candy and dressing up is his priority at the moment. Sometimes, in my own excitement, I forget that as a four-year-old tunnel vision takes effect and THIS is Halloween. Although I've told him that people first gave out treats so that ghouls wouldn't play tricks on them, and dressing up is to confuse people and spirits, I know that at the moment he's only concerned with if he will get some goodies for his treat bag.
Halloween should be the happiest and most joyous holiday. I'm trying not to get too carried away passing information along to him. What I really want, more than anything, is to foster a positive feeling about the season and create happy memories that will inspire him as he grows.
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