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Sunday, December 15, 2013

The Inner Light

It's collage season when I get to play with colors and textures to my heart's content.  It's also my favorite time of year.  November and December, the darkest months, bring the season of inner light.  No matter what your spiritual beliefs, you can feel this.  The Christmas season is a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness.  When the outer world is dark and cold, when the ground is frozen and bare, we have no choice but to turn inward to find life.  And what we have cultivated in our inner gardens is the sustenance we have to carry us through the winter.  At this time, peace on earth, good will towards men seems much more possible.  People's hearts grow softer, lighter, more open.  I wish for everyone to find their bright inner light this season, and spread it around so there are many bright spots in the dark days.  All too soon spring will come and we'll be drawn out into the sprouting, blossoming, awakening earth, putting aside our inner gardens for the outer ones.  I hope everyone finds light and life and joy within while the earth sleeps.


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Inspiration for the day


This is Edmund Dulac at his finest.  I'd give anything to sit beside him for even a day and watch how he does what he does.  Or did, rather.  He's been gone many long years, but his artwork lives on.  Sometimes I think, oh, what is the use of me painting and drawing when there are so many so much better.  But what if Edmund had thought that?  Even if I could inspire one person to pick up a pencil or brush, it would in some way keep the vision alive that flows from one artist to the next, each one adding his or her own essence.  I like to think of art this way, as a living river that flows between the generations of artists, picking up treasures as it makes its way to some far off ocean.  There is an archetypal fairy tale that calls to all of us.  Why else would these tales and visions be so deeply rooted in our lives.  So I keep drawing and painting away, trying to find the source.  I don't think I'll find it in this lifetime, but it's the journey that's important!

Friday, June 7, 2013

The Sea of Imagination

Sometimes when I sit down to blog I have no idea what's going to come out of my head.  Other times I have something specific to share.  Today is one of those no idea days, so I'll start by posting a couple of pictures I've done recently.  I'm collaborating with another Etsy shop owner on making a set of oracle cards.  I do the artwork, she comes up with the words.  So far I have done "Puzzled":
And "Vanity":

Next up is "Mixed Signals".  It's fun doing small works that go fairly quickly, and having a theme gives me a solid base to work from.  This is good, because for me, everything I see and do brings ideas to mind for artwork or stories, and it's easy to get lost in the Sea of Imagination.  This morning I was hanging clothes on the line, and suddenly I became a character in a story.  Where was I hanging clothes?  What was I feeling at the moment?  Images grew in my head.  I am a young woman with long blond hair wearing a white blouse.  I am in a back yard, a courtyard, maybe, lingering over my task, hanging up towels, socks, t shirts, enjoying the breeze on my face, the clean smell of damp laundry, the blue sky, the white clouds.  There is a man living next door in a tall brown house with many windows, and I hope he will see me.  Aha!  The plot thickens.  Who is the man?  I can't see his face, but there is some kind of conflict going on.  A lovers' quarrel, no doubt.  But before I can decide, my task is done, so I leave the scene and the man and continue with my day.  Ah, there is a cloud that looks like a dragon floating by.  Maybe the man is a dragon rider.... 

Friday, May 3, 2013

Gatherings for the Treasure Chest

This is the season when our senses expand and take in all the outward impressions Nature gives us.  Colors, sounds, smells, textures all lure us away from our inner life and into the wide expanse of the natural world.  Birds call, spring peepers pipe, the smell of freshly mowed grass mingles with dew, flower perfumes and the loamy odor of damp earth.  Thunderstorms flare, leaving in their wake scrubbed-clean air and plenty of worms for the chickens to find.  This is the season for gathering ideas, impressions, feelings and inspirations for later in the year when, for the artist, they can be turned into works of art.  There are wonderful mysteries and beautiful scenes evolving in every inch of the yard, the woods, the fields and the sky.

Persian tapestries?


Tiny jewels the fairies love.


And oh, those wonderful emerald carpets inviting one to dance on them.  What treasures will be happened upon tomorrow?  What paintings and collages will they inspire?  To be continued.....!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

The Art Drawer

Today, a soggy, wet, cool, cloudy day, I cleaned out my Art Drawer.  This was a huge undertaking, for many reasons.  The Art Drawer is a very large box on wheels beneath the bed, and holds an astounding amount of stuff.    Not only papers, sketches, pencils and markers, sponges and the like, but memories of the different stages in my life.  (Yes, this drawer has not been properly gone through for years).  There was the shadow puppet era, when I performed elaborate puppet shows with handmade puppets, music, a screen with a black curtain and lights.  The stories were written by me, and each puppet had moveable joints, making them come to life behind the screen.

And every puppet was alive to me, holding so much of myself within it.  I loved doing the shows, and probably could have made a career out of it.  But it was an incredible amount of work, and I was moved in other directions by other forces, so the puppets got put into the Art Drawer, where they have been lying asleep for many years while more and more things got stacked on top of them.  Today I dug clear to the bottom of the drawer and got out the puppets,  I knew this day was coming. They are now in a bag on the back porch, where they'll sit for awhile, until I get around to recycling them.  How can I say goodbye to all that?  And yet I already have.  There were more layers to go through, hundreds of sketches, each with a story to tell.  Why is it so heart-wrenching to look back on the past?  Would I want to go back?  No!  But there is a sadness about things that captivated you for a time and then faded, like an unfinished song.


So I'd best look forward to the future and wait to see what it brings.  There is always a herald out there if we take the time to listen, and always something new to broaden our horizons.

Hoping for sun!


Sunday, April 21, 2013

The Road to Fairyland



Do you seek the road to Fairyland?
I'll tell; it's easy quite.
Wait till a yellow moon gets up o'er purple seas by night,
And gilds a shining pathway that is sparkling diamond bright.
Then, if no evil power be nigh to thwart you out of spite,
And if you know the very words to cast a spell of might,
You get upon a thistledown and if the breeze is right,
You sail away to Fairyland
Along this track of light.
    -- Ernest Thompson Seton

No time to draw these busy spring days, only time to dream now and then between chores, of hidden worlds just between the gusts of spring wind.  I can almost feel myself sailing there sometimes.  But with my hands in the earth the fairies draw quite near to my world, helping rouse all the green growing things from their winter slumber.  It's succulent potting time, and if ever there were a leprechaunish plant, succulents are it!





Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Fairy Doodles

Fairies, black, grey, green, and white,
You moonshine revellers, and shades of night,
You orphan heirs of fixed destiny,
Attend your office and your quality.
William Shakespeare
The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Spring still has not fully arrived at On The Wind.  Outside chores must wait, as today it's sleeting with a biting wind. I scrounged around and found some fairy watercolor studies to post.  The wondrous thing about fairyland is it can be anything we imagine it to be.  Each person's imagination is a rich and boundless sea of ideas waiting to be made manifest, and I know no greater joy than bringing a character or a scene to life on paper.  Once the pencil begins to make marks on the paper, magic happens.  The results may not be what I anticipated; sometimes great surprises happen, which only adds to the excitement.  But always the lure of fairyland beckons me.  Maybe it's a sickness!  But I don't care, it brings me, and I hope others, comfort, joy and a sense that life is always surprising, always changing, always mysterious.

Here is a quote by author James Hollis that I love:

- “I have no vested interest in our becoming saner, or mentally balanced, or even useful to society. If you, the reader find a neurosis that works for you, and gifts others as a bonus, then ride it for all its worth. We are not here to fit in, be well balanced, or provide exempla for others. We are here to be eccentric, different, perhaps strange, perhaps merely to add our small piece, our little clunky, chunky selves, to the great mosaic of being.”

Till soon,
Heidi


   


Sunday, March 24, 2013

Fairy Wishes on a Blustery Day

Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame.
~William Butler Yeats, "The Land of Heart's Desire," 1894





Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Grape Thief

While going through some old artwork today I came across "The Grape Thief", a very old collage I did years ago featuring many of my paste papers.  I was disappointed with it for various reasons.  The colors got away from me for one thing and the cottage doesn't look right.  But still, it has charm, and I couldn't bring myself to pitch it.  Maybe I will mat it up and offer it in my Etsy shop at a bargain price.  Some little girl might like to hang it in her room.  I do like the depth it has - how the stepping stones lead off into a wonderland of pink and green mountains.  And the dragon is quite handsome.

It's a day to stay inside and dream of far-away places while drinking licorice-mint tea.  Soon spring weather will return and I'll be busy as a bee outside, but today I'm happy to stay in, except for a brisk walk to keep my blood moving and a few trips to the chicken coop.

Easter is coming!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Springing into Spring

This is the reason I haven't had much time to blog this week - 78 baby chicks.  At On The Wind Farm we raise hens for eggs to sell at the farmers' market.  And of course I do everything the hard way.  No GMO feed for these babys.  I mix all my own feed with grains, seeds, sprouts, hard boiled eggs, dried nettles and other greens as they make their appearance in the garden, chopped earthworms, yum yum, and some scraps of venison frozen for just this purpose.  Chicks need lots of good nutrition and protein to develop properly.  So my days are taken up with mixing and measuring and chopping and grinding and digging and changing waterers, and just hanging out watching the show.  Chicks are so curious, and just like people, they all have their own personalities.  Some are very bold, some are shy, some are cuddly, some are stand-offish.  Some seem very smart (for a chicken, that is), and some haven't a clue.

So my artwork has taken a back seat for a time, though I still manage to do a bit on "The Forgotten Garden" each day, and will post my progress soon.  No color yet, just penciling in some shading.  Meanwhile, lots of fun things are always going on at the Fantasy Artists of Etsy blog, so blog hop your way over there and view the lovely items on display! http://faeteam.blogspot.com/

Till soon,
Heidi

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Fairy Tales

I have been reading a little book called "The Poetry and Meaning of Fairy Tales" which is actually two lectures given by the philosopher and seer, Rudolph Steiner, in 1908 and 1913, and I want to share a little of this here.

"Because fairy tales belong to our innermost feeling and emotional life and to everything connected with it, they are of all forms of literature the most appropriate for children's hearts and minds.  It is evident that they are able to combine the richest spiritual wisdom with the simplest manner of expression.  One has the feeling that in the magnificent world of art there is no greater art than this one, which traces the path from the unknown, unknowable depths of the soul to the charming and often playful fairy tale pictures.

When what is most difficult to understand can be put in the most clearly perceptible form, the result will be great art, intrinsic art, art that belongs as a fundamental level to the human being.  Human nature in the child is linked to the life of the whole world in such a primary way that children must have fairy tales as soul-nourishment.  The expression of spiritual force can move much more freely when it comes towards a child.  It should not be entangled in abstract, theoretical ideas if the child's soul is not to become dry and disturded, instead of remaining linked to the deep roots of human life.

Therefore there is nothing of greater blessing for a child than to nourish it with everythig that brings the roots of human life together with those of cosmic life.  A child is still having to work creatively, forming itself, bringing about the growth of its body, unfolding its inner tendencies; it needs the wonderful soul-nourishment it finds in fairy tale pictures, for in them the child's roots are united with the life of the world.  Even we adults, given to reason and intelligence, can never be torn away from these roots of existence; we are most connected with them just when we have to be fully involved with the life of the time.  Therefore at various parts of our life, if we have a healthy, openhearted mind, we will happily turn back to fairy tales.  Certainly there is not a single age or stage of human life that can take us away from what flows out of a fairy tale, for otherwise we would be giving up the deepest and most important part of our nature; we would be giving up what is incomprehensible for the intellect: a sensing within ourselves, a sense for what is pictured in a simple fairy tale and in the simple, artless, primordial fairy tale mood.

The fairy tale is like a good angel, given us at birth to go with us from our home to our earthly path through life, to be our trusted comrade throughout the journey and to give us angelic companionship, so that our life itself can become a truly heart- and soul-enlivened fairy tale!"

Happy Valentine's Day!  And may you all be touched by fairy dust.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Forgotten Garden III


It's almost time to trace this and transfer to watercolor paper.  This is a laborious process, but necessary.  Once it's on the final paper I'll ink over all the lines with watered down sepia ink so I don't lose them, then begin painting.  I can't wait!  My watercolor paper has been stretched and is ready.  Now to make final decisions about color. 

Monday, February 4, 2013

Work in Progress II


I have been adding more detail as you can see.  I have decided to call it "The Forgotten Garden".  Overgrown and neglected, it still has a wild beauty and is full of elementals, strange creatures and, of course, fairies.  It looks very rough and sketchy at this point, and flat because there is no shading.  But once I get it traced onto watercolor paper the fun will begin.  It's scary and exciting starting a new piece.  How will it turn out?  Always there are stages where it looks awful when the painting starts, because tones have to be built up in layers of washes to get the depth and highlights needed.  But lots of work to do before that stage.  Color choice is very important, and I'm trying to decide on a palette.  Pink and green, perhaps, with some blue and grey.  I like the mullein stalks and can't wait to see them in color.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Work in Progress - And Happy Candlemas!

First things first.  I must include this secret code: MTYQKBTKV6HW so the Technorati wizards will know I am a real person.  Hopefully now I'm a somebody!

And now on to the art world.  A new fairy is emerging from the mist.  Thought I would show a rough sketch, then keep updating as I work out the details.  She will be in a garden surrounded by foliage and flowers.  I'm thinking foxgloves, though they will be a challenge!  Or maybe spikes of mullein.  Something spikey and some twining things, maybe ivy.  I've been wanting to try a green man, so as you can see, he is appearing on the garden pedastal.  And I will of course add in some mosses hear and there.  Hopefully my moss skills will advance another degree.

Happy Candlemas Day, which most folks call Groundhog Day.  Candlemas celebrates the return of the light after the long darkest days of winter.  Spring is coming.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

A Study of Moss

Moss is a quintessential ingredient of fairy tale pictures.  I love the soft textures, the brilliant emerald shades, the pale blue-grey-green of lichens, the tiny red caps some of them produce.  But drawing and painting moss is far more difficult than it would seem.  I am still struggling to master moss.




If anyone has techniques for drawing and painting moss, please share!  I'd love to post a wide variety of  artists' styles.  I have tried different looks, but so far am not especially pleased with any of them.
There is the very vague, watery style:


And the slightly more defined look with ink outlines:




And the draped look over rocks:



But getting good close-up drawings or paintings of moss and lichens is something I really must work on.  My fairies deserve no less than inviting mossy carpets to drape themselves upon, or adorn themselves with, or to have sprouting from their fairy cottages.  So I will work on it and post my results in the future.  Meanwhile I am snapping photos wherever I can.  And, of course, practicing.  The grass fleas of Minglemist have been quite helpful!




Back to the drawing board....





Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Mermaid Place


Here is the result of all the manic paper manipulations.  I love the textured look and the bright colors.  Think I will do some small similar ones while the whole sea world of papers is strewn over the table.  Please comment, I need feedback!  And thanks for looking.

Heidi from under the sea, blub blub, off to search for the mermaid.  Oh and by the way, this is now available in my Etsy shop!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Paper Pulping


While the cold continues, I am inside doing more paper manipulations.  It is a sickness.  Currently I am obsessed with pulping up tissue paper and water, then straining it with a flat seive thing I have, then dumping it onto a flat surface, pressing the water out with a towel, poking holes in it with an orange stick, letting it dry overnight, glueing sand or fibers onto it, then painting it.  A lot of work, but it keeps me out of trouble, and the results are pleasing to my sight.  Here is a piece I have just glued sand to:



And here are two painted pieces, one with sand and one with gampi fibers glued on.




If all goes well, I'll have a finished collage to post in a day or two. 


Friday, January 11, 2013

Making Paste Papers

I am collecting ingredients for a mermaid themed collage, and needed some paste papers in blues and greens, so here's how I made them.

My working surface is a sheet of the white siding used in milk barns and greenhouses.  Any smooth surface that's easy to clean will do; plexiglass, formica or enamel tabletop.

I used white, acid free cardstock.  Colors are nice too, just be sure the paper is heavy enough not to shred when wet and worked on.  You will also need various tools to manipulate the paste:



Here is my paste recipe.  There are many others, but this one is cheap, easy to make, and has a nice smooth consistency.

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 3/4 cups water

Mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan until smooth.  Add 1 cup water and cook over medium high heat, stirring continuously, until it thickens like custard.  Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 cup water.  It will be runny at this point.  Let cool thoroughly without disturbing it.  It will take a couple of hours to rethicken.  Once cooled, strain the paste through a seive, then divide it into small containers - cottage cheese cartons work well.  Stir acrylic paint into the paste until it's as dark as you want it.  2 - 3 teaspoons is usually about right.  You can also leave the paste uncolored and drop colors of paint on top of the paste after it's spread on the paper, as I've shown in this demo.


Brush or sponge the paint so it mingles and covers the paste.  Sponged papers are particularly nice for landscapes and fantasy collages.


For a slightly different look, add paint and paste to another sheet and press the two together, then pull apart.  This creates wonderful lacy designs that look like trees or shrubbery.



You can also brush the paint on smoothly, then draw combs or tools through it to leave marks.  It's particularly interesting to paint a sheet of paper first, maybe with metallic or pearlescent paint, then, when dry, add a dark colored paste over the top.  When you comb through it, the underpainting will shine through, making very colorful, complex patterns.  On the following sheets I've experimented with some shell shapes.



And here is a sponged paper with silver over blue.  Very mermaid-looking, don't you think? 



Lay your wet paste papers over a rack or carefully on newspapers to dry, but if you use newspapers, check a few times to make sure the paste paper isn't sticking to the paper beneath it.  When dry you can either iron the back side or press under something heavy to help keep the paper flat.

The next step is starting on the collage.  Results will follow!


Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Plethora of Papers

 I have been going through my decorated papers today because I have ideas for new ones and simply don't have ROOM for any more!  So I've decided to offer some for sale at my Etsy shop.  Many of them are hard to part with.  Each has a story, and quite a few have been featured in collages I've made.  But it's time to let some of them go, and maybe they'll inspire someone else to create something beautiful.  I hope so!
,
There will be three lots of 25 papers each, varying in size.  The smallest are about 3 1/2 by 5 inches, the largest is 8 by 8 inches.  Most are paste papers, some are crinkled metallics and there are many lovely spattered and sponged pieces, all painted on good quality, acid free paper.  There are even some bubble prints.  I hope to have them in my shop in the next day or two, so if there are any paper lovers out there who love to collage, or make cards, or decorate journals or scrapbooks, these are for you!

 

Coming soon:  I will share paste paper recipes and techniques when I begin a new batch.

Have a nice weekend!  Heidi

Thursday, January 3, 2013

New Year Activities


Today I did seed inventory, so that means ordering seeds is next on the list.  And all I want to do is draw dragons!  But gardening is our business at On The Wind Farm, and you can't grow much without seeds, so I'll be pouring over the catalogs for the next few days.  But I'll squeeze in some dragon drawing time too.  I'm working on a new one which will appear on my "Tales of Minglemist" blog shortly.  There are dragon scales to fill in, and a giant crusty mushroom to finish, and endless blades of grass springing from a mossy carpet.  Meanwhile, I had my first Etsy sale - hurray!  And I have met some wonderful fantasy artists on two Facebook groups: Fantasy Art and Fantasy Art Promotions.  So the January days are passing, and will be gone all too soon.  Winter is creative time - my favorite!