Category Archives: Life as an Artist

Reflections and Harvest Blessings

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Wow, Mabon fast approacheth. This is my favorite time of year. It’s probably because of the school year but September always feels more like new year to me. It is a time of new beginnings, new friends, new pencils. I find myself reflecting. What is my harvest this year. What do I want to release? How have things changed from this time last year? Where am I going? *ow* My nose? Who put that wall there??! Why is it so dark??! MOMMY!

Okay, not really but sort of you know?

Last year at this time, in fact THIS WEEK, I was driving to the river to fill my pockets full of rocks. I had had enough. I simply couldn’t bear the pain of life one more moment. If you recall, I got lost on the way and the rest, well, you can read about it here. This year things have shifted. Thank God/dess. Thank you Mary.

When I started up my business, Harvest Blessings, one of the things I said a lot was “Harvest? Is a VERB.”  Pause while they catch up…

Last year I thought I had nothing left. Yes, I had family. I had my blog. I had my dear and darling Miss Mitty. I still had my car (and still do miracle of miracles). But my heart was shredded, broken, trounced upon, bleeding, and bereft of hope. I hadn’t had work in 18 months, had lost my home, had lost love and friends, my ex-husband had suicided, and well, can you spell RAW? I knew you could.

This year I still am looking for work. Oh my god. How long is this going to go on? BUT. I have love, I have hope, I have a spiritual path that is feeding me again if not in the ways I thought it might, I have the family and the mitty and you. What I really have is a new pair of glasses. I’m seeing things differently than I did last year. My worth is no longer about being able to support myself financially or defined by “what do you do?”

I am loving autumn so far and looking forward to winter and the return of the light. It is a time of reflection and inventory, taking stock.

So what IS my harvest this year? Continue reading →

Sunday Progress

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We are almost done with the last yard sale. This is our third. We have a mostly empty garage and hopefully some of that furniture will be gone soon. I’ve been working on my projects as I help customers. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, my apartment is a mess but that’s okay, not for long. I’ve started doing the work to make the kitchen queen useable. The top hasn’t been so bad but the area with the drawers is full of mold, 3-d mold. Facemasks, gloves, sun, and chemicals…  Fun but I think it will work out.

Mr. Furnace and I are doing well.  He says he’s finished decompressing and is now reinflating. I miss him in person, we haven’t seen each other since I picked up from the airport, but it’s funny, I’m okay. I feel connected and the energy is very good.

I picked up this darling little chest of drawers from my neighbor who was also selling things. I will pay them the money when I get a job, it’s all good, they know where to find me. Since I had sorted my Halloween stuff for the yard sale, I have started doing a little decorating early.

I’ve been working on The Rigid Container when I can. Started coloring in the sides that have been burned already and working on the lid design. All but one panel are finished and I really like it. It goes well with the themes on the side don’t you or think?  Still figuring out the plants/environs for the snake and perhaps a little more on the stag panel. It will tell me during the transfer to wood period.

Poll ~ No Fire Sale

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Someone recently asked if I had a shop and I said that I used to.  Well, I’ve decided to try once again.  I must sell many precious items, I really need to raise some money, and will be opening my Etsy shop again this weekend.  I have many completed items of clothing and tarot pouches and pagan decoration thingies as well as some items which are close to completion that I set aside and will now complete.

Some items will be hard to part with so I will be agonizing over a few things as well.

Please speak up and let me know if this is something that folks might be SERIOUSLY interested in. Times are tough on the economic front and my prices are what I consider highish.  I need to know if I’m being realistic.  For instance, I’m considering selling the turquoise faery jacket for $300 but that might be ridiculous… I want this stuff to SELL.

I’ll be selling the  following as well as many other items:

Cunning Plans

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Boy, I thought I had a clever plan. Graphite paper. Not so clever. First and foremost it doesn’t erase like graphite pencil does so when I put the rabbit on upside down, I had one heck of a sanding job. The paper moves, the lines are thick and wobbly.  So one line is way out of the lines.  Stain should cover that up…

The reason I did the designs so thoroughly on paper was so that I could transfer them complete but alas, I had to re-draw most of them.

Ah, the life of the artist, folks see your finished project but they never see the angst, the mistakes, the botched prototypes, the ripped stitches, and all the sanding. And hey! Now you do!

Wood is trickier than fabric. Once it’s burned, that’s it. There is no going back and ripping out stitches. So must learn patience of stroke and lighter hand.

Fern needs to be transferred to plaque placeholder on the right.  The little crow in the tree was placed there that day on the beach. I was sitting in the sand and there was this downed tree on the hillside and this crow just kept cawing at me.  I finally turned my head and connected and I swear, the minute I said, yes you can go on the box, it flew away.

Water is ready to go, you can see how the turtle is just not quite right.   The nightshade is pencil drawn, the turtle is graphic transfer paper.

Salamander is getting a pomegranate in the right hand placeholder and I can’t for the life of me decide the background for salamander.  I want flames but they are problematic, still percolating. I can at least get started on the bits I do have and see if the smell of burning wood brings any bright ideas.