Babbling

At the bottom of our hill there is a small stream that runs year round. It's a beautiful and enchanting spot. It even sounds lovely...


A perfect babbling brook!

I'm certain if the goblins didn't live down there I'd plonk myself down and dream away. But goblins do live down there, so I'll settle for short visits.

Today I stumbled upon a hole in the snow down by the stream. It was a strange little hole, about 5" across. There were no prints of any sort surrounding it. The snow lay even and undisturbed for a good 12 feet surrounding it. I looked inside and saw that it was the entrance to a deep snow tunnel, but at the end of the tunnel... nothing.

I suspect whatever made the tunnel also made a door of snow to fool silly humans who go looking inside holes in the snow.

Planning Ahead

Winter is just settling in but I'm already thinking ahead to May and June. I'm scheduling some events for the coming year and two things I'm really excited about are "A Walk Through the Woods" and "The Firefly Picnic".

In May we'll be hosting "A Walk Through the Woods", a hike through Proctor Provincial Park.

As we make our way through the woods we'll search for faerie hiding spots and signs of magical activity.

It should be great fun and a fabulous way to stir up a bit of inspiration.

 

Summer Solstice is a night full of magic and the perfect time for spying faeries.

This year we're celebrating by revealing the brand new faerie tour

and making merry on Pixie Hill with a night time picnic!

If you are planning a trip to Pixie Hill THIS is the event to attend.

We're limiting the number of participants for this event to 20.
So if you'd like to partake in the magic please register early.

It's going to be divine.

For more information on these events please visit the Pixie Hill website.

_____________________

NOW, for my far-away friends I'm working on some online creativity workshops.
that will feed your creativity and help you push your work to the next level.
 

AND because I know that money is tight for so many right now,
I'll be offering a couple of free mini-workshops too.

Lack of funds should NEVER hinder your creative spirit.

xoxo

 

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!