Feeling like a Color Goddess

So things are struggling along but today I felt I had the energy to work a little on some commissions and therefore decided to post a little something just to remember my muse (name to be announced soon) is still alive and kicking even if I'm feeling a little like death-warmed-over.

Go check out Colourlovers.com if you have some free time. Too much fun!


Color by COLOURlovers


Color by COLOURlovers


Color by COLOURlovers

Sadness . . .

I had plans for several posts that have not been realized due to some private matters. Please have patience with me as I navigate some new emotional waters. I hope to be back soon with some progress updates on work and other new and interesting ephemera to share.

Theo Jansen

Theo Jansen is one of my favorite artists of all time. Two years ago, while living in southern Vermont, a friend took me on a day trip to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA). (It's strangely situated in the middle of Nowhere, Massachusetts but it is worth every minute of the long journey.) I saw this stunning creature there.


I have been obsessed ever since. The graceful, skeletal forms, monochromatic palette, simple and melodious engineering - they take my breath away.

Because there is so much out there on Jansen and his work, I'm going to link to a fellow blogger who compiled a pretty concise and comprehensive list of images and videos.

I want a strandbeest for a pet.

Tomorrow, another of my favorite artists . . .

The winner of the personalized embossing is . . .

Renee! (Sorry I took so long posting your winning - husband had to monopolize the computer last night. Please don't hold it against him - he was working on his Graduate paper.) Send me an email here with your mailing address. I'm hoping to create a little Bosch-esque mermaid for you - let's talk about how I can personalize it for you!


The Garden of Earthly Delights - Detail, center panel. Hieronymus Bosch

Congratulations, Renee! And thank you for being a part of the naming process.

Apologies

I'm so sorry some of you are having trouble posting your comments. I don't know how to correct the problem as I have done everything on my end to make it as easy as possible. I will be posting comments for some who have contacted me directly and will enter you in the drawing.

Seven Sacraments, Roger Van der Wayden

Again, my apologies!

Naming the Muse: An Embossing Give-Away!

I would like to invite you to participate in a very important decision: a name for my muse. To honor this sacred event (a little snickering as I type that) I'm going to do my first give-away. The prize will be a 4"x4" embossing which I will create for the winner.

To participate, please make your name suggestion by commenting on this post. A little exposition on meaning or why you think it's the perfect name would be welcome.

*Gentle Facebook Readers, please go directly to the blog to comment if you would like to be entered in the drawing. (Click on the title and you should be taken directly to this post.) Facebook comments will not be entered in the drawing for the prize but the names suggested will certainly be considered for the muse.

The winner of the personalized embossing will be randomly selected from all comments that suggest a new name. So the more new and original recommendations you make, the better your chance of winning. Comments about an already suggested name will not be counted. Comments must be received by 5:00 am EST, Monday, June 15th. The contest winner will be announced later that day. Whoever wins must then contact me about your embossing within 48 hours. If I do not hear from the first winner, another name will be drawn. Instructions for contacting me will be on the post announcing the winner.

As to the name I actually choose for my muse . . . wait on. I see another give-away in my future.

Now, for your consideration - this muse's characteristics:
Willful, deeply loyal and oddly fearless but very slothful, insanely fun to ride, wiry, aloof, illusive, distracted, mercurial, original but not witty, vaguely annoying but deeply endearing

A Bit o' Thanks

. . . to Nothing Elegant for including me in her post Things You Never Knew You Needed Until Now... Tara is one of my favorite style bloggers. If you're into a mesclun of whimsy, fairytale, and retro tossed with a dash of the macabre you'll enjoy Nothing Elegant.


She also sells neat vintage apparel, shoes, and accessories in her Etsy store, A Single Charm Vintage.

Returned and Reconciling . . .

I've actually been back in my sweet Falls Church home for a few days but was so exhausted (from trekking all over Atlanta to see old friends) that I have had to spend these few days recovering. Now I'm ready to start back to creating. My muse and I are not exactly reconciled - I suspect she's just repressing - but no matter, that's her problem. We are speaking and co-habitating again . . . the rest will come. It helped immensely that our last customer was overwhelmingly delighted with her little felt dragon. My muse is a praise-monger - to a fault.

One thing we are agreed on is that calling her "my muse" is getting tiresome. I hope to include my wee list of followers in the naming process shortly so be watching for an upcoming post on this. It will include a special treat.

In other news, inspiring me today:

Laberinto en la Guitarra by Ensamble Continuo



My mother's Ecuadorian folk harp - I am missing my family today. (OK, I think it's actually a Paraguayan folk harp. But she bought it and learned to play on it while we lived in Ecuador so it is erroneously burned in my brain as "Ecuadorian.") She rarely touches it now, being busy with her piano studio.



I am also missing my Andes Mountains today. Specifically Pichincha - though not the most beautiful of Ecuador's stunning volcanoes, it was Pichincha's craggy, gloomy slopes to which I awoke every morning for many years as a child. I remember vividly - down to temperature and smell - trooping through the wind, clouds,and/or intense sunlight that crowned its head.