Whimsy Wednesday! Shooting the Sights!

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!
I do hope you are enjoying the Fall weather wherever you are!
The first part of this week was full of rain and a bit of a chill so when the sun shone all day today, I grabbed my camera and took advantage of it!
First up! Fall Colours!!! 

Isn't that gold just gorgeous?!!! The warm sunshine filtered through the leaves really adds depth to that rich colour! On the subject of that wonderful sunlight...

Can you feel the sun chasing away the chill for a few hours?
I can!
I love that the bits of green from the still-gr
owing leaves and beautiful sky-blue peek out amongst the warm colours!! What a lovely contrast!

This last photo is from a different portion of the woods.  This scenery always reminds me of Kira's realm in The Dark Crystal, a movie by Jim Hensen.  One can easily imagine Gelflings, faeries and other mystical beings flitting here and there in this neck of the woods!

So!  That's it for this Whimsy Wednesday!
See you on Friday!
Ciao!

Magical Monday! Out of the Fog!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Magical Monday! 

First, a big THANK YOU to everyone who visited with us at the Cambridge Fall Art Festival! It was a beautiful day to be surrounded by artisans of every type, nestled outside an independent Bookstore, Food Co-op and Coffee shop! We had so much fun and, it seems, so did you!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!
 

 It was a foggy start to the morning here in my neck of the woods, which inspired me to snap a few photos! 

Title: Foggy Fields

Fog obscuring the sometimes harsh details of the "real world" has always been a romantic perspective to me. 

Title: As Yet Unknown

 

In cloaking the details, it is a reminder that life and the world are mysterious, magical and full of things we don't yet know...including possibilities!!!

Title:  Telegraph

This last photo, with the old-time apothecary-style lamp might be a view from a Writer's garret (or Doctor's) window 100 years ago....

May your days and week be full of magic, adventure and possibilities!

Also!!!

TOMORROW!

The Faerie Messages for September on BlogTalk Radio!

Tuesday, Sept. 17th at 12Noon! 

Click on the link for details and to listen in! 

Hear the practical and whimsical advice the Faeries have to share with us about the month that welcomes the Fall Equinox!

Ciao!

Magical Monday! Sky Above and Below!

Hello Everyone! 

Welcome to Magical Monday! 

I hope your weekend was fabulous! 

Mine was filled with much joy, laughter, sunlight and nature! 

YAY! 

This post follows the trend of last Monday and is about the magic around home. Let me show you what I mean!

What you see here is a feather found in our yard, swaying gently with the breezes as it was tucked in between grass blades. 
Though we have been blessed with many more visits from flocks of wild turkeys since last Monday's post, this is probably a pigeon feather.  It is quite interesting, in a quiet sort of way.  

The side resting closest to the ground is spotted!  This, rather than the solid grey seen above the quill spine!

Lovely!

This next photo brings me great joy and, I hope, to you as well!

The tree you see here is one of two that flank our driveway and creating a wonderful amount of shade.  They also remind me of Tolkien-esque (or Faerie) guardians as it and a second oak tower over opposite sides of that drivepath.

The perspective captured here speaks of the quintessential view of the Summer Season!  I love the Sun peaking through the darker branches and verdant green leaves!

Wheee!!!

Speaking of joy...

My next BlogTalk Radio Interview is Tuesday, August 19th at 12 Noon (CST, USA)!!!

I'll be chatting with Cheryl Patton of 1Woman's Wisdom about (the often whimsical) Faerie Wisdom specific to the month of August!

It would be wonderful if you could join us!

See you Wednesday!

Ciao!

Magical Monday! Around Home...

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to Magical Monday!
This post represents a bit of a shift in what I'll be showing for Magical Mondays. I still intend to find nifty and beautiful things in and around the world to share with you. I'm shifting gears to include more magical, beautiful events that happen at home and/or on a more personal level.
This post is the start of that!
Let's begin with some visuals, eh?
We have a few farm cats around the place.
I realized that I've photos of the lady cats but none yet of our resident tomcat, Lenny. As I was coming back inside to stow the food from the evening feeding a few days ago, I noticed how stunning the sunlight was as it filtered through his handsome grey fur, creating a nimbus around him.
So I grabbed my camera and captured a few moments of this evening enchantment!
Photo #1 with a bonny column of light shining through...

Isn't that stunning?

Photo #2 Focusing on Lenny...
I hope you can see his striking, glowing green eyes!
Normally he is pretty cautious around most people-things.  Yet for these photos, he lay in the grass and looked the very picture of a majestic, domestic grey lion!
It seemed that he completely understood what was transpiring and was amused and entertained by it all!
Such a courtly, refined fellow!

Other gorgeous bits of magic...
Yesterday, I spied a huge flock of wild turkeys, right outside our window!
The closest fowl came withing 5 feet of our house! They were absolutely graceful, hunting and pecking (literally) at a stately and leisurely pace through our yard!
I'm happy to have them here as they eat all manner of bugs including ticks!
Hooray!
Today as I stepped outside and moved to and fro through our yard on errands I noticed several lovely feathers standing up like flags in and amongst the grass!
What a fabulous reminder of our gracious visitors!

Also on the list of charming events for today are dragonflies!
They've been around for a week or so now and really help with the mosquitoes! WOOHOO!!!
Where the magic comes in is that everywhere I stepped, when I was travelling quickly on errands that I "should" get done, were red dragonflies...right in my path! They hovered a little over knee height directly in my path for a few moments...as if to capture my attention and remind me of the joy in each present moment...and then flew on.
How awesome!

And speaking of joy... let me announce my next BlogTalk Radio Interview!

Tuesday, August 19th at 12 Noon (CST, USA)!!!

I'll be chatting with Cheryl Patton of 1Woman's Wisdom about Faerie Wisdom specific to the month of August!

It would be so much fun if you could join us!

See you Wednesday!

Ciao!

Fini Friday! Beginnings!

Hello Hello! 

Welcome to Fini Friday! 

As the title implies, today is a blog post full of beginnings! 

Let me show you! 

This is the beginning of some sort of jewelry art. I'm not certain what these will grow into. Yet I couldn't pass up a wonderful opportunity to 1. dismantle something and 2. create with such wonderfully vibrant-coloured keys...from a computer keyboard!!! 

Wheeee!!! 

In celebration of the beautiful, soft, big flakes of snow graced our home today, I've another winter photograph to show you! 

Title: Steampunk Story Beginning There is just so much here that begs to be written into a Steampunk story! What is that metal thing? What was it's purpose? Why is it out there in the snow? Was it abandoned? Will someone, or something return for it? All sorts of questions that want answers! I love art that inspires more art, don't you? And so we come to the end of our brief list of beginnings (and this post)! 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

I'll see you on Monday! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Snow, Exploration & Chocolate!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!

I hope your week has been delightful so far!

I've had a week full of long days thus far and was feeling uninspired and rather un-whimsical (that's a word now!!  I've declared it!) today.  The sun was shining and the temperature warm, so I decided to tromp around in the snow today!  As I meandered, I saw all sorts of images I wanted to capture, so I retrieved my camera and gave it my best shot (Ha!)!

Title: Submerged, Discovered

I loved how the melting snow was uncovering and allowing a discovering (or re-discovering) of what lies underneath! Isn't that just a fabulous mix of textures! Don't you just want to know what that whole bit of stuff is? I'm intrigued by the bit of machinery in the background, too! Whee!

Next up!

Title: Skeletons

I loved the contrast of the dark, aged metal against the pure white snow! It was also fun to see the connection between the bare-bones feel of the old hay rake and the de-nuded trees sleeping whilst awaiting Spring!
Let's wrap this up with a newly-grown bracelet creation! Title: CoExist, With Chocolate!
Ingredients: lead-free pewter, Czech glass, Jeweler's bronze, Artistic wire, aluminum, copper.

I had so much fun creating this bracelet! The charms, from left to right are: something that reminds me of a temple bell in some exotic land, the yin-yang (a symbol of balance), a lotus flower with a star above it (lotus flowers are sacred to Buddhists), the Tree of Life (sacred to many forms of Pagan and Old World belief systems), spirals and stars (sacred symbols in all aboriginal legends across the globe), Celtic-style cross (an ancient mix of Christian and Pagan/Nature-based Worship), and a chocolate Kiss! Yup! There is the chocolate! 

 Need I explain the whimsy in this piece? 

A few other tidbits(HA!)...Copper has been a sacred metal in cultures that span the globe. The lock and key clasp includes a heart-shaped key. This symbolizes the key to living harmoniously with all belief systems is through an open heart. And finally, the colours used to suspend the charms match those associated with the seven Chakras of the body. 

Intriguing, eh?! 

So! That's my suggestion for world peace - an open heart and chocolate! YAY!!! 

I think I'll go scout out some chocolate and start with that part now! *grin*

Before we take our leave of each other, I have some late breaking news to share! I've a newly-scheduled BlogTalk Radio Interview this Sunday! 

I'll be chatting with Marie and Beth of Divine Goddess Radio at 6pm(CST,USA) about Faeries and Freedom! I'll answer some of the most common questions I receive about Faeries and impart a specific message for this listening audience. Perhaps that will include you? 

And I'll be back on the BlogTalk Radio air in a few days with Cheryl Patton of 1Woman's Wisdom! 

Tuesday, Feb. 19th 3-3:30pm (CST, USA) A Special February Message From the Faeries! I'm not giving any hints, so hop on over for a listen that day to hear their message!

Both of these will be in the archives for later listening if your schedule does not allow you to listen to me live! 

I'll see you on Friday! 

Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Cats, Colours and Summer!

Hello Everyone!! 

Welcome to Whimsy Wednesday!! 

This post will be a bit of mixed media as I have a few photographs to show you as well as some very whimsical beads I'm looking forward to creating with! 

Let's continue to mix it up and I'll show you the beads in-between the photos! 

 

Title: Looking Upon Summer

I love the lush greens and the serene pose of the kitty!...and especially the little details like the clover flowers in the foreground!

These beads are hand-made by Serena Mira Asta! These were created some years ago by her and she has since moved on to eco-friendly silk scarf art, drawing, writing and so much more! She is also a sweet and jolly person! They are a bit of prototypes as she was combining textures, techniques and styles while creating them. 

I'm looking forward to playing them, yet they will need a special person to adopt them as they are experiments and may be evidence all those little features that such unique creations usually have! 

I wanted to say a bit about the colours of these beads... they remind me of all that is soft and warm and bright... and perhaps snuggly.. reminiscent of a comfy quilt...YAY! 

And the last photo! 

Title: What Catches a Cat's Attention

Again, I love the gorgeous colours and the classic, whimsical pose of the cat! 

So that's it for Whimsy Wednesday! Where will I be next, you ask? 

Why just look to the left for my next show!!   

Fall Art Festival 

Saturday, September 8th Only! 

10am to 4pm City Center Market 

122 North Buchana Street Cambridge, MN (USA

It would be lovely to see you there!

 Ciao!

Whimsy Wednesday! Branching Out!

Hello Hello!

I hope the middle of the week is treating you well!

I've been busy doing cleaning and reorganizing things this week, both in the studio and around the house!  I always like how that feels afterwards, but it can be a bit of a whirlwind while I'm doing it!

I've a few new things to show you today and a bit of news!

Let's start with the news! I received word today from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts letting me know that I was not selected for this year's Art Perchance program. I am disappointed to not have been selected this year as it was such fun last year! I challenged myself with this year's creation, as I was determined to create a fabulous focal myself, and thus have as much of the creation as possible be my own design. I was very pleased with the results, which I shared in the post about Treasure Bottles here!

Ah well!  Rejection and acceptance are part and parcel of jurying and being an artist, so I'll wrap this up with a photo of the creation I submitted and my gratitude to all I met via the MIA's Art PerChance last year and a hearty CONGRATULATIONS! to those who were selected for this honor this year!

Title: Under Wrench and Stone

Ingredients: Hand-crafted Treasure Bottle, Sterling and Bali silver, Swarovski Crystal four-leaf clover, Secret Garden mood bead, Czech glass.

  And continuing on the topic of branching out, I've a portion of a Custom Creation to show! This metal leaf pendant was given to me to make into a necklace for a young man. The pendant was something dear to his Father and would be handed down to the Son. I've yet to find a chain that suits my standards, but I've very pleased with how the resin work came out! Take a look!

I've also been capturing a few more images with my camera and wanted to show you a companion piece of sorts to this image I took a few winters ago...

And yet more news to finish off this post!

My BlogTalk Radio Interview with Cheryl Patton!

Messages From the Faeries #9!
PLEASE NOTE!  Due to severe weather and other events, this has been rescheduled to NEXT Tuesday, July 24th from 3pm to 4pm (CST, USA)!  So! You have another opportunity to tune in and listen up!

And my next event is.....

July 28th and 29th
Saturday 10am to 7pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm

Bean Factory Artist Market

J and S Bean Factory

1518 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN (USA)

It would be grand to see you there!

See you on Friday!

Ciao!

Fini Friday Loot Photos!

Hello!!!
Here you are-checking back in with me on this beautiful Sunday afternoon! Thanks for stopping by!
I have photos of loot to show you!!


The above is a over-view of the goodies! Much of it is fiber.. ribbons and lace and sequins, oh my! However, you can see a few nifty toggle clasps on the right-hand side there as well as some of my new photo-display backgrounds that lay underneath it all!
I love the colours and patterns of those backgrounds and feel they will add interest and beauty to my creation photos.
I'm thinking of playing with a bit of pigmented resin on the clasps as well as creating a multi-layered necklace with the flower-shaped sequin ribbon and the antiqued lace that lay twined together near the middle of the photo.
Here is a close-up of those clasps and of much of the loot.



The white and multi-coloured sequin ribbon in the middle is actually a bit stretchy and that seems to be slated for bracelets or perhaps a choker...
And the black ribbon with grommets definitely evokes some sort of punky/Halloween inspiration!

So there you are! A peek into the inspiration and beginning side of creating for me!
Check back here often to see what they grow into!
Bye for now!