Chook in the Snow

Chook in the Snow

6" x 12" • Acrylic on Canvas

etsy listing

We have several laying hens here at the Hill. We love our girls. They're warm and fat and funny.

The girls (as Mr Pixie calls them) live in a hen house in the winter. The house is on sort of stilts so there's a spot beneath that is clear of snow. When the girls need some fresh air they sit under there and complain about the weather "Bawk, baaa, bawk, bawk, bwaaa."

Here's one of our newest gals pecking some scratch seed from the snow. She'd much rather have grapes (they all would) but she'll settle.

A bird in the snow

Another attempt at oils. A bird in the snow on 12" x 6" canvas

I really want to love oils. I feel like I should enjoy them. They're so pretty and vibrant and alive. About twice a year I dig them out of my stash and have another go and within an hour I'm frustrated with the blasted things and swearing that I'll never pick them up again... but I do... and I will.

*sigh*

On a happy note, I'm making banana bread this afternoon. No one can be in the least bit frustrated or grumpy if there's fresh banana bread smelling up their house ;)

P.S. No correct guesses from yesterday's contest yet! I suspect there never will be.

An Unwinable Contest

Over the Christmas holidays my family gathered around the kitchen table for some good old fashioned game board fun. One of the games we played challenges players to act out, sculpt or draw clues. My auntie was horrified that even after she told us what she was drawing we had to ask her to explain her sketch.

I told my dear auntie that indeed her sketch was soooo bad that I'd post it online and offer a prize to the first person to correctly guess what she was drawing.

And so I present the sketch...

This is it. Original size. Unaltered.

Leave your guesses in the comments below, first person to post the correct answer will have something nice popped in the mail.

Good luck... you'll need it :)

P.S. This crazy mess in no way detracts from the awesomeness that is my faboo auntie Kath.

The Night Wedding

I took the wee mixed media piece I finished the other day and combined with loads of other things, mounted it in one half of a checkerboard case and completed the above piece. In my mind it was going to be simple and sparse... but as per usual my things have a mind of their own and this one ran away from me.

I'm calling it "The Night Wedding"

A while ago I purchased a lot of vintage images which included two photos of children, dressed in white, sitting on a rug in the grass. If you look on the right side of the first collage above you'll see another figure in white looking on... a bride! When these little collages turned out rather dark I thought it was actually rather fitting, for a band of pixies and imps would most certainly have a night wedding!

And so here sit my little revelers, making merry in the dark.

Oh, and if you're wondering about that little bit at the top... it's a walnut shell filled with toadstools, a tiny four leaf clover and ladybird to bring luck to the impish bride and groom.

1, 2, 3

New Year did not start on a very good note in the Pixie house. There was all sorts of grumbling and mumbling and it wasn't a nice evening at all. The not-so-niceness dragged on into New Years Day and so I locked myself away and made messes all day long, trying to combat whatever goblins were a-knockin' at the door.

I finished this piece yesterday...

... it measures just 2.75" wide, mixed media on canvas. I've got some plans floating around in my head for this one. I hope they'll come to fruition as soon as tomorrow.

Today, I completed this triptych which is around 7" wide (not including those extra long branchy bits). Those little canvas's measure just 1.25" x 2.3"

And here's a detail of the wee things...

I was actually pretty darned pleased with myself because I made the frame for those little things. I even used a saw to cut the base and didn't even lose a finger!

Romance

I don't think of myself as being a terribly romantic person. I don't often think of wooing and the whisperings of sweet nothings. Once in a blue moon however, I'll dream of a handsome stranger who will say something so lovely that my heart does a little flip... there must be something rather gooey deep down inside of me.

I decided to create a few sets of limited edition handmade ACEO's inspired by these visitations. It seems fitting to use images from from my vintage photo collection as my dream men are always rather more tender and courtly rather than slick and sexy. It's nothing overtly romantic that gets my attention, it's a certain thoughtful tenderness that gets me. And so, here are my quiet men...

Limited Edition of 7 - etsty listing

 Limited Edition of 7 - etsty listing

 Limited Edition of 9 - etsty listing

The Makers Church

I've been keeping this one under wraps for a while because it was a Christmas gift and Pixie's don't like to ruin surprises... especially holiday ones :)

My last house of 2012 was the Makers Church. It's a little place of holy comfort and mess making. It's now at home with the queen of the fairy makers and I really and truly hope she loves it.

The door is made from an old discarded hymnal.

I'm fairly certain all houses should have rooftop picnic areas.

This was going to be a bell tower, but not all fairies are fond of bells... indeed, it frightens some away! And so it became a story room.

There's a knotted rope ladder to get up there... for guests who don't have wings.

A leaf and twig bed with feather cover, moss pillow and fuzzy slippers.

Every fairy queen needs a crown.

A lovely messy workroom.

A spot for painting dragonfly and fairy wings.

Baskets of goodies for creating fairy finery.

I hope your Christmas's were merry and bright and your New Year is filled with dreamy delights :)

xoxo

Much love from the mess maker and her pixies