Good mornings

I'm feeling rather excited. Inspired. Something good is pushing it's way up, working through the soil, and sitting just below the surface. There's a bundle of creative energy dancing inside me. I'm excited to see what it brings.

Being exciting and feeling inspired aren't enough. There's the "doing" too. 

I used to take photographs every morning, searching for one little bit of simple beauty. It was a lovely way to start the day. I'm doing that again, taking notice of those gifts.

Today, a quiet collection of stones that have somehow gathered on the deck.

I'm sure they're gently kissing.

Psyche's Helpers Painted Earrings

While reading about the surrealist artist Yves Tanguy, I came across these earrings he painted for Peggy Guggenheim.

Immediately I wanted a pair of my own painted earrings.

In my last post I mentioned the story of Cupid and Psyche, and wanting to explore that theme further. This seemed as good an opportunity as any.

In the story of Cupid and Psyche, Venus (Cupid's mom), gives Psyche seemingly impossible tasks. Psyche, in despair, keeps thinking that she should kill herself and be done with it, but at every turn she finds help. 

When told to sort a mound of seeds and grains, an army of ants come to Psyche's aid.

Sent to gather black waters from the underworld, Psyche considers jumping off the side of a ship and drowning herself, but Jupiter himself sends his eagle to assist her.

  

The earrings are made with furniture tacks, painted 1/2 Inch Brass Pendants, and elements recycled from old jewelry. 

I really like them and have already worn them twice.

Although I'm not actually a painter, I'm pretty sure I'll be making more painted jewelry. This was a challenging scale to work in, but I really enjoyed it. Same goes for my buddies Cupid and Psyche; I don't think I'm quite done with them yet.

Pins for Every Type of Valentine

The plan was to create an organization project. But I don't feel much like organizing.

I'd rather get romantic-like and look ahead to Valentine's Day.

So I came up with a slew of simply made pins for every Valentine.

I've used a variety of Punchelements from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts for the bases. (Only the round are currently listed on the site.) Not too long ago I scored a 1" round punch at the craft store so making these was super simple.

Paint the base, add sparkle, add image/sentiment, embellish and finish off with a pin back!

I've made them to suit just about every Valentine. There's pink and sparkly for the romantic.

And something glittery and red for the saucy types. There's a "Go Away" pin for those who would rather be left alone.

"I am crazy" for my buddy who says this is the reason she is single.

A number of the pins have images of Cupid and Psyche, a theme I think I might like to further explore some time.

A few of the pins are a little crass... but I like the way glitter and the indelicate work together.

Do you want to make your own? You can download a sheet of the saucy and silly, nice and naughty sentiments below. (Note: You may have to click for the full sized image.)

If you need a little more direction the video tutorial for creating these wee thing-a-ma-bobs can be found HERE.

Supplies:

Punchelements 1 inch Scalloped

Acrylic Paint

Glitter
Glue
Embellishments
Pin Backs

Now, prepare some sparkly Valentine's for the peeps you love!

Bukowski ATC's

I'm not sure exactly when (or how) I discovered Charles Bukowski. He's the sort of famous that plenty of people would say "Never heard of him", while others would be horrified if you didn't recognise his name. He's gruff, vulgar, and honest, a vulnerable asshole.

I love his work. His poem "Bluebird" is one of my very favourite things in the whole world. It's sadness with a tinge of hope. 

Much of his work is like that, a recognition of the beauty in the overlooked.

He's also full of piss and vinegar, passion and determination.

I made this set of ATC's with some of my favourite Bukowski quotes...

... and his wonderfully life-lived face.

These have been sitting in my studio since the summer and I'm glad to have finished them. There's something extra satisfying about finishing a piece that has been sitting around for far too long.

Makes me feel sort Bukowski-ish. To say "See! I told you I wasn't done with you yet! TAKE THAT!"

And just in case you were wondering, the tray is from 7 Gypsies. The cards are made of all the things. Tape, wax, ink, paint, lace.... all shmooshed together!

Here's hoping we all walk well through 2017.

Day 24 - A Merry Little Tin Ornament

And finally, day 24.

Just a wee thing to wish you well and hoping you have a merry little Christmas... or enjoy whole heartedly whatever your celebrating... or just wishing you a very nice day indeed.

Day 23 - A Painting and Self-Doubt

I've got my fingers crossed that my father-in-law won't peek at today's blog post. This little painting is for him. It's of his dog, Granite, that he lost a couple of years ago.

The painting is small. Just 4" square. Painted in acrylics.

I showed Mr Pixie the painting in-progress and he said "That's supposed to be Granite?"

BOOM!!! crippling self doubt.

I showed him a photo of the dog (which I can't find right now... of course) and put the two side by side. They are damned near identical.

He said he was misrembering what the dog looked like. and I know he certainly didn't mean to cause distress... but damn if I'm not a baby of huge proportions with a delicate ego to boot. And STILL, while I know this looks like the dog. I can see it with my eyes... anxiety does stupid things to the artists mind.

Here's hoping Nono Pixie cries when he opens it because I'm fairly certain that's the only thing that will calm my stupid self-doubt.

Ugh.

Day 22 - SPINNERS FOR EVERYONE!

The Yule celebrations were a lot of fun last night. I ate, and drank, and built a fort, and fell asleep BEFORE my bedtime. So today I am well rested but WAYYY behind.

Now, I know I showed off a bottle cap spinner yesterday... but today I have spinners for the whole dang family.

There's something for the kids (or kid at heart).

Something for the person you like to play 'slap and tickle' with.

Not to generalize... but this covers most men I know.

There's a traditional judgy Christmas version too.

And because I love you (and number of people said they wanted to make spinners yesterday) here's a sheet of 1" spinner boards of each of the spinnies pictured for you to make your own. (Be sure to download the full sized image, not the preview for proper size.)

Now back to the holiday prep. I'm beginning to feel like I'll never be done everything in time *sigh*.