Etsy Shop for Carapace

Golden Yellow Apple Gone For Cider Ornament in Glass Clay and Shimmer for Holidays Teachers or Any Shiny Times

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:56:11 -0500

$15.00
The golden apples sometimes overstay their time on the tree. But golden apples don't rot; they just sweeten and ferment, until they turn into a sort of live applejack.

The effects of normal cider are mild, and tend to end, at worst, in a headache and some embarrassing photographs. The effects of magic cider are more unpredictable, and end at worst in epic poetry and the head of strange monsters mounted on the wall. But it is so worth it.

***

I actually had some caramel apples do this once. Apparently, apples packed in sugar will ferment all on their own. It was...remarkable, alarming, and one of the most delicious surprises ever. If only all my produce went bad so richly.

This one's made with mica powder, acrylic dye for contrast and highlighting, and leaves that are not quite apple leaves, because the Golden Apples can't hide their true nature entirely. Amazingly yellow in person, with a soft shading finish that makes it look really organic, if not natural.

But don't eat the ornament. That would be a Bad Idea.

Polymer clay, glass, and mica powder, about 8 inches around.

Golden Apple Glows Rose In The Winter Mornings Glass and Clay Ornament

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:45:10 -0500

$15.00
Golden apples shine with their own light, but they can't outdo the sun. Nor would anyone wish them to try. Early morning sunlight goes so well with the living golden blush of the apples, and flavors their flesh. Apples that glow in soft fall light are the best medicine; apples gilded with bold summer light are juiciest, and can cure fever. And apples grown in the winter are the apples of youth, grown in the cold still time when the old year dies.

Use with caution. Youth is not always all it's remembered to be.

But enjoy the morning, nonetheless.

****

About 8 inches around. Glass, with leaves made by impressing polymer clay with leaves from my rather expansive and still quite verdant yard. And some shiny stuff, because golden apples should be shiny.

Compliments to the Chef Eating Takeout in a Smoked Out Disaster and Bunny Slippers

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:18:59 -0500

$10.00
The turkey combusted, the gravy boiled over, and the greens, despite being cooked at a slow simmer in two gallons of liquid, somehow burned. Every dish in the house was dirty, and the kitchen had become self-fumigating.

Time for takeout, fuzzy pajamas, and the bunny slippers. And the warm glow of knowing, though the meal was to some tastes utterly ruined, the party was a huge success with at least a few.

***
I am actually a very good cook. This is because I have been a very bad cook, and learned my lesson.

But even when my food was barely recognizable, there was usually at least one eager diner, and for this I am grateful. Without the critical audience, no art can develop properly. Two tail wags is good...

Digital Print, 5 by 7 inches

Golden Green Growing Apple Ornament in Glass Clay and Shimmer for Holidays Teachers or Any Shiny Times

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:40:30 -0500

$15.00
Golden apples are immortality, the food of the gods that lets them outlive mortals, the fruit of life that brings mortals back from the brink, the hidden secret of the enchanted garden that no human can see without changing their mortal life forever.

This one, however, is a little bit green. Perhaps then it gives eternal youth? Or life not quite fully ripe? Or maybe just a life with a sharper bite, or knowledge a little on the wry side? Certainly its green tones give the gold a lovely glowing contrast in the warming sun.

****

Frankly, I like apples with a little green still on. Give me some sour with my sweet!

This one's made with glittering mica powder, acrylic dye for contrast and highlighting, and leaves that are not quite apple leaves, because the Golden Apples can't hide their true nature entirely...This one glitters like crazy in the sun, to a degree my poor photographs can't hope to match.

Polymer clay, glass, and mica powder, about 8 inches around.

Not Exactly Morrigan Mad Yellow Eyed Quiscalus Queen of Scavengers Original Watercolor

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:32:22 -0500

$30.00
Yes yes sure, everyone loves ravens and crows. So very clever, they say. Use tools, start fires, almost talk. Can make them talk if you split their tongue with a knife, they say.

Showoff corvids don't get everything their own way.

Haunt a little battlefield carnage and humans think you're all mystic, gods giving you an ear just because you've burned down a few barns. But live in the cities and towns, get fat and glossy off the offerings humans leave just everywhere, and everyone calls you a pest and a problem.

Ingrates! Our endless calls are a summons, a guide to all the animals too stupid to figure out how to make a living off the two-legged foodmakers! We try to help them, and get no thanks at all. Well, all those clever corvids will see, us and the racoons, we'll make out like gods. And not stuck up raven-hiring gods, either. Coyote promised.

***

I grew up near a large colony of grackles. They're loud, they're stinky, they cover everything with... well, evidence of bird. They're not as photogenic as crows, but they are cunning persistent mad creatures, and I learned to love them. Well, not love, but respect. Well, not respect, really, because I laugh at them too much. But a sort of amused acceptance. They are really quite mad, and I have watched them spend the better part of an afternoon molesting a vending machine or attacking a locked car, apparently on the theory that it only has to work once. Fight on, Quiscalus! Preferably somewhere else.

Watercolor and Colored Pencil on watercolor paper, 6 by 9 inches.

Winter Vintage Grape Vines in Frosted Shimmering White Leafy Ornament in Glass and Clay

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:19:28 -0500

$15.00
Winter where I live does not come as a gradual replacement, a natural extension of autumn's cooler weather and shorter days. Winter is a lightning graffiti artist, a short, focused attack of the season, striking in day-long slivers between warm green December days. It makes for a wonderful effects; sunflowers in stubborn gold bloom turn silver, hot peppers are encased in ice, and the long mustang grape vines that cover everything they can reach turn pale and thin as mist, with a few stray berries still mad purple against their new white winter cloaks.

A few hours later, the front blows through, the sun comes out, and the sky is full of bugs and pollen. But it's beautiful while it lasts!

****

Glass, mica powder, and polymer clay shaped with real grape vine leaves. Please note that this listing is only for the ornament, though I could send you a few pine needles if you really want, I guess.

Two Sisters

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:38:39 -0500

$30.00
Little sister is ready for her winter nap, but Big Sister is still peering out from under the edge of their canopy, hoping to see the other leaves put on their fall coats.

This richly colored clay pendant is made by impressing the clay with leaves from my garden. A gold wash brings out the veins and detailed texture. An acrylic glaze draws the light to the copper and gold in the shifting colors. The faces are modified from molds. Because each piece is handmade and because of the nature of leaves, this pendant is one of a kind.

Roughly 4.5" long and 3" wide, this pendant comes with a 30" copper colored silk cord. It fastens around the vines of the leaf, and can be adjusted to fit your own style. Wear it long, or wrap the cord around the vines and tie as a choker.

Ships from US. International buyers welcome; just convo me and I'll be happy to work something out.

Ivy in the Summer

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:38:39 -0500

$30.00
Ivy may be getting a bit too much sun, but that just gives her makes her glow. Besides, she's got a shady and stylish hat! Which is good, because with so much to see and do,a young woman can't be forever bothering with her hair.

This pendant is a blend of strong greens and bright glittering golds. The veins of the leaves are highlighted in gold,to match Ivy's summer polish. This is the second of the Seasonal Ivy series, which uses the same three main leaves for each pendant. The face is molded, then remade by me to make this Ivy her own person. A clear acrylic glaze adds shine and protection to this piece.

4.5 inches long including looping vine, about 3 inches at widest point. Polymer clay with acrylic glaze.
Ships with a 20 inch length of ribbon in your choice of colors--may I suggest something green or shimmering gold?

Witch-Green Skirts in a Midnight Blue Wind Digital Print

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:37:23 -0500

$10.00
Witches are women, of course. Witches who are men are called wizards. And many have wondered why this should be, and blamed on the nature of moon-magic, or patriarchal societies that force women into alternate ways of finding power.

In fact it’s because broomsticks go very very fast, and a massive set of spoilers is needed for drag, and men of the past rarely wore full skirts. The history of witchcraft is full of bold male pioneers who set out to make an impression in the Art, and instead made an impression in the pavement.

Nowhere is it said that the skirts must be green, but that is a nice bonus.

***
I love the look of collage, but I am ungood with glue. So this is the closest I’m ever going to get, made with the help of scanner, computer, and some fantastic viney fabric and obliging tinfoil (hah! Bet you didn’t spot the foil, did you?).

Print on Photo Paper. 10.5 x 7.5(ish) inches.

Storming the Beaches Mermaidish Witch in Foam Blue

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:37:23 -0500

$10.00
It has been said that witches can't swim. This is patently untrue. It is true that witches don't get wet unless they choose to be so. Nothing very complicated about that. It's just a matter of knowing where the water wants to be and not being there. Mind, that gets more complicated in the middle of the ocean. But what's life without a little challenge?

***
This print, as indeed, this whole witchity series, is largely inspired by the wonderful Mermaiden of Mermaiden's Creations. Go look:

http://mermaidencreations.etsy.com

And tell her to make more witch hats, because she makes the coolest witch hats, and needs to keep in practice for when I order one.

Out of Control But Up In The Sky

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:46:52 -0500

$12.00
It takes time and effort and an enormous amount of patience to learn how to fly perfectly. A woman can spend her whole life trying to get it just right, and never get the broom to do more than wiggle.

But when a girl just wants to get off the ground, there's a time to say to heck with perfect, jump up, and see how high she can go before she runs out of sky.

***

Original watercolor on watercolor paper, approximately 4.5 by 5.75 inches. That green swirl in her broom isn't a mistake, it's...magic! Yes! Magic isn't always pretty, you know.

Beading Lizards Digital Print

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:46:52 -0500

$10.00
Flower fairies get all the attention when humans start looking for nature's decorators. But somebody has to paint the deserts, and detail the scorpion. Somebody has to bead the lizards.

Lizards at least are fairly patient if unappreciative customers. And she actually enjoys imposing beauty over their sullen disinterest. But it does irritate her when people overlook the intricate patterns of her reptiles to coo over yet another watercolor sunset. Yes, yes, very nice purple. Look at the lizard!

***
I confess, I have given the beader elf ears solely so that they may be dripping with jewelry.

Printed on photopaper. 5.5 by 8 inches.

Elegant Giraffe Takes Green Tea in the Golden Morning Digital Art Print

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:44:33 -0500

$10.00
The elegant giraffe considers coffee too harsh to begin the day. Coffee is for midday meetings and late study sessions, to be savored with something creamy and energizing.

Mornings need a gentle nudge, a little golden light, and something to put the green back in the leaves. Tea must be there, or the day can't begin.

It's important to find a big enough cup, of course. Knocking the tea all over the floor with big giraffey lips would not be elegant.

***
I like giraffes, at least in theory. I can't say I've ever spoken to a giraffe, because they're on another story every time I go to visit. But I'm sure we'd get along fine if ever we could have a chat.

Digital Art Print, 4 by 5 inches.

Squid Loves You in Many Colors Digital Art Print

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:41:25 -0500

$7.00
Cephalopods are simply the coolest creatures on earth. No story I could make up would be as fantastic as their mere existence. Consider: They have eyes that see light as well as ours, despite living underwater; they can figure out all kinds of human-level tricks; they can fit their entire bulks into bottles and boxes that shouldn't reasonably hold one tentacle--AND they have chromatophores. That means they have color changing skins, and can change colors with speed and variety that would make ILM drool. Some even glow. They can use their colorful skins as a form of communication, as instant camouflage, or just to look really cool.

So why does Many Colored Squid love us, poor colorless rigid bodied creatures that we are? Because a being of so many advantages has love to spare.

Digital Art Print, 8 by 10 inches

The Christmas Tree Squid Will Wreck Your Carpet Made Up Monster Digital Art Print

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:30:17 -0500

$5.00
With snapping crackling dry branch noises, the Christmas Tree Squid flings aside it seasonal camouflage and launches itself towards the holiday revelers that foolishly come to leave their brightly wrapped gifts under its poised tentacles. Starry eyes twinkle with menace as it rends toys asunder in its barky beak. Fear the grasping green needles of dooom!

It is however a little known fact that the Christmas Tree Squid steals presents not for the presents themselves, nor to ruin your holiday, but because its sole food is wrapping paper. Give it a few rolls of good glittery paper, and it will not ruin the day, but rest happily in a living room, humming carols and fluorescing with colors no lightmaker yet dares sell.

***
I love every holiday I can celebrate, and some I can't. But Christmas is just the whole holiday package, with the food and the reveling and the wonderful cultural history and everything. I routinely outChristmas everyone in my family over the age of six. Apparently, I can't stand the thought of even a squid monster being bad on Christmas. Skip the tree, I'll be providing the sap this year. Yeesh.

Digital Art Print, 4 by 5 inches.

Manic Mealtime Monster in Pink Pink and Pink

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:36:52 -0500

$5.00
The Manic Mealtime Monster doesn't want to eat you, particularly. In fact, he'd rather not. You are not part of a complete breakfast, dessert, or midnight snack. You are all unsalted and unseasoned and undone, and he does not wish to wait for proper preparation.

No, the Manic Mealtime Monster wants to eat what you're eating. All of it, right now! Every time you open a can, bag, or takeout container, there's the MMM, way more eager than you'll ever be, forkfang glinting in the glow of the fridge. MMM can be an exasperating fellow, but he will keep you thin! By default. He says your leftovers make his coat shiny. Hmm.

***
In my house, the Mealtime Monster is small, grey, and meows a lot. But I have heard of some that bark, or say "Mooooommm!". Truly, they wear many forms.

This was all prompted by a certain blog contest, which invited people to make monsters for entries. I like making monsters, and had holidays on the brain. Hence.

Digital Art Print, 5 by 4 inches.

Triple Leaf Thing Pendant Decoration Ornament or Trivet

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:32:40 -0500

$10.00
I had an idea in mind when I made this. Then the leaves came out of the firing oven, and the idea went to graveyard of dead artistic inspiration.

So I have no clue what this three-leaf creation is. It's very neat, with its three multicolored grape leaves and twisting vines, but what's it for? A trivet? It makes a nice dish for brushes, or hair ties. An ornament? It would be great hung over a door. Maybe it's best as pendant or brooch, with its rich colors contrasting against a simple blouse or rough cloak.

Anyway, the choice is yours-- and it’s yours cheap, because I consider a lack of purpose to be a creation flaw! Enjoy!

Polymer clay and acrylic glaze. 5 inches long from top of loop to tip of leaf, 5.5 inches wide from side to side. Ships with a ribbon in your choice of color, to hang at the neck, beck, or call of your choice. Handmade by me and the leaves in my yard!

Flowers are Left Handed Multimedia ACEO

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:30:19 -0500

$8.00
There were real flower children in the cities once, soift skinned people who always smelled of garden and kept the crops full even in the desert. The flowers opened with their left hands reaching, ready to be pulled into the new world. There were some places were people were employed to ease their journey into the moving world, and some where it was trusted that the nearest passerby would help before too much time passed. until it was decided, based on a chance wording and a few strange local customs, that left handedness was evil, and to be destroyed. The nobody would take the offered hands that came from the lilylike blossoms, and the children of the flowers went unplucked, and in time they stopped reaching to join the children of the walking sands. They curl in their blossoms and hide, and only the bees here their pollen wind voices. But it's possible they still here the voices of the moving world, and wait, until they feel safe to reach out again.

***
People really did go nutbar about left handedness at one point; ask a certain generation of lefty, and they'll tell horror stories about hands strapped to desks and fingers bruised with rulers to teach them proper behavior. Of course we're all enlightened now, and it's hard to think of anything less essential to social harmony than which hand people use. And we'd never ever judge people on something so silly which after all they can't help, right? Right, then. Nothing to see here.

As far as I know, the flowers aren't waiting to be invited to travel with us, but it never hurts to ask.

ACEO, 2.5 by 3.5 inches, watercolor paper and mixed media

Smiley Swoopy Cat Swirls Away in Blue Purple and Green Watercolor ACEO

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:28:35 -0500

$6.00
Even a smiley cat sometimes wants to be left alone. Time to hide in the shade and curling vines, then, smiling at the world as it passes by unaware.

***
It is amazing how much a grey and orange cat can blend in with green and brown vines. I blame the tail.

ACEO size, 2.5 by 3.5 inches, watercolor on watercolor paper.

Chicken Feet Can't Swim the Mirror Lake Take That Baba Yaga Fairy Tale Watercolor ACEO

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:03:13 -0500

$7.00
Sure, laugh at the girl who only brings a doll and a cosmetics bag to the old house in the woods, the house with the chicken feet and the screaming skull fence and the three silent knights forever hunting each other around the forest's edge.

But when it's time to flee the iron-footed goddess, who's ready to make her escape, and her own terrain? Why, the girl with mirror-lake, of course! She'll even have the thimble that turns into a boat. And you, mister big strong adventurer, will be stuck watching her from your new home on a fencepost.

Don't mock the hairbrush, either.

***
Deciding how to pack in fairytale land must be a trip. "Hmm, should I take this hairbrush? Never know when I might need it to turn into a forest! This thimble? Well, if it rains it can be a hat, and I might need a boat! In it goes! Spare socks? Nah. Oh! A seemingly useless piece of lint! That's sure to come in handy..!"

Anyway. I love the Baba Yaga story. There are a lot of variations, but there's really only the one story that I've heard, that of Vasilisa the Brave, who went and faced her and escaped with...well, with her life. It's a Russian folktale, they're not very upbeat. But that's pretty impressive, when you consider she's the ONLY story of a survivor of the Yaga. When only one person in ever survives a thing, that's a pretty scary thing, says me.

Plus, chicken-footed house. You cannot beat that.

Green and Gold Leaffae

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:02:54 -0500

$18.00
Try to chase a stray leaf; try to get a good look at that butterfly three feet ahead of you. If the leaf can’t be caught, it’s no leaf at all. If the butterfly dances into the wind, you may wonder about that butterfly.

And you’re right to wonder. The winged Leaffae are masters of disguise, turning in a moment to crumpled leaves or bright fluttering moths. With their skill at surfing the wind, human descriptions of them are few and unreliable. But every group has its rebels, and this golden winged fae wants to rest for a bit.

Polymer clay pendant, sealed acrylic glaze. Wire loop for hanging. 1.5 inches long from top of loop to tip of leaf, 3 inches wide from side to side. Ships with a ribbon in your choice of color, to hang at the neck, beck, or call of your choice. Handmade by me and the leaves in my yard!

Sweet Pea

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:02:53 -0500

$10.00
I will not pretend. This necklace was directly inspired by the many fine Etsy jewelers making their version of the peapod. But none of their work was (a) green or (b) mine. Those other necklaces are all realistic and elegant, and won’t at all sing folk songs under their breathe while you’re trying to read the quarterly reports. What fun is that?

This green girl swears she really won’t sing folk songs while you’re trying to read, though. She’s taken to Buddy Holly lately.

Polymer clay and acrylic glaze. 4 inches wide from side to side, I inch tall/high. Ships with a ribbon in your choice of color, to hang at the neck, beck, or call of your choice. Handmade by me!

Black Leafwing Pendant

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:09:31 -0500

$20.00
While the rare Leafwing Dragonfly is not the most aerodynamic creature, it should have great potential as a stealth hunter, with its wings providing exceptional camouflage. Unfortunately, Leafwings of every kind like living among any plants but the ones they resemble. This makes them very easy prey for collectors. Shocking new findings suggest that they in fact they prefer to draw such human attention, as they appear to subsist on admiration.

This dark polymer clay pendant is brushed with bright metallic glazes to bring out its details and sealed with an acrylic glaze. 3 inches long from top of loop to tip of leaf, 3 inches wide from wingtip to wingtip. Ships with a ribbon in your choice of color, to hang at the neck, beck, or call of your choice. Please indicate color in Notes to Seller. Handmade by me and the leaves in my yard!

Two Sisters of the Tree Double ACEO

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:14:14 -0500

$8.00
Over the golden garden wall was an orange tree. And when the beggar had scaled the wall, he picked two of the full oranges, and peeled them.

And from the first orange there stepped a woman with thick black hair, glowing bronze golden as the sun, her eyes snapping.

And from the second orange there stepped a woman as pale golden as the moon at harvest time, her black hair soft as the night sky.

But that hardly made up for not having any oranges to eat.

***
I am a girl who likes her food. I was always left a bit nonplussed by fairy tales where useful things, like eggs and oranges, turned into beautiful marriable women. What am I gonna do with one of those?
But fairy tale women do get some great description!

A joined pair of ACEOs -- these two came from a bit of my watercolor paper that didn't want to let go of the glue. Original illustration done with colored pencil and watercolors on watercolor paper.

Mycota

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:14:01 -0500

$15.00
Mycota seems fragile and unlikely, with soft flesh and subdued colors. But she can live in the shadow of decay, and make beauty out of mud. And no matter how long the rains take, she’ll come back to life with the first cloudburst, coming out to smile at the fast changing sunlit world. And while she comes from a poisonous family, Mycota is a harmless sort. But she wouldn’t mind offering her family expertise if you need some safety tips!

Autumn is rainy season here, and so I’m finally seeing some mushrooms. They spread and move around, but there are a few reliable spots where they return every year. I love petting their soft ribs, and the colors of wild mushrooms should make any artist happy.

Polymer clay pendant sealed with acrylic glaze. Small imbedded wire loop for cord. 3 inches long from top of loop to end of neck 2 inches wide from side to side. Ships with a ribbon in your choice of color, to hang at the neck, beck, or call of your choice. Handmade by me and the leaves in my yard!

An Alligator In Paris With Hat Digital Art Print

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:16:42 -0500

$10.00
The little alligator wanted to be a painter. Everyone said real painters went to Paris. So the little alligator folded up the easel and put on a new flowered hat and went. It was indeed a beautiful city, full of warm colors and wonderful light, and the alligator walked along the street and felt very pleased indeed. This was the way to be an artist!

***
I have never been to Paris. I have no particular feelings about Paris one way or the other. But in a battle of non-sequiturs, a friend threw out "the alligator arrived in Paris" and this image popped into my head, hat and all.

The alligator has a whole story. It's very sweet.

Digital Art Print, 7.5 by 9 inches.

Pale Frog in a Bright World

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:52:18 -0500

$10.00
The frog understood the concept of camouflage. But the other frogs were all nice soft greens that matched just perfectly with the leaves and lily pads and soft green pond moss.
Well, except the ones that had the bright warning colors, and they didn’t worry about being eaten, because there was a reason for bright warning colors, after all.
The little pale frog wasn’t poisonous, and didn’t have bright warning colors. But it didn’t blend anywhere except in sand and gravel, either, and that’s hard on a frog. So it borrowed the boldness of its red-striped choirmates and stood against the greenest leaves. If it was going to stand out, it would stand out as much as a frog could.

****

This little frog pendant would be happy to share the attention it gets. Hanging on a necklace or watching over a book, even hanging from a light pull, would be perfectly fine, so long as it's somewhere out of the water. There's hungry fish there, you know!

Polymer clay and acrylic glaze. 3 inches long from top of loop to tip of leaf, 2 inches wide from side to side. Ships with a ribbon in your choice of color, to hang at the neck, beck, or call of your choice. Handmade by me and the leaves in my yard!

Undercover Smile

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:52:17 -0500

$15.00
She looks out sideways at the native born children of the vine leaves. It’s not that she means ill, but she knows she doesn’t quite belong here. Her feet are free, not tied to a tree, and soon she may decide to go roaming again. But for now, she smiles a bright red smile, and tries to fit in. Just for fun, until autumn passes, she watches the vines and learns.

***
I love the expression on this one! She’s got just a bit of sparkle from a quick glaze of acrylic, and a lot of attitude with a smile that’s all her own.

Polymer clay and acrylic glaze. 2 inches long from top of loop to end of chin, 2.5 inches wide from side to side. Ships with a ribbon in your choice of color, to hang at the neck, beck, or call of your choice. Handmade by me and the leaves in my yard!

Tengu Beaks Hide Sharpened Steel, Tengu Wings Throw Poison Wind Digital Art Print

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:57:58 -0400

$10.00
Tengu live in Japan; only in Japan, for some reason, though they have wings and storm winds to carry them across the sea. Maybe they feel some strange sense of devotion to their native land; maybe they all must move as one, and no stormbird ever could work with another; maybe they just lack the initiative to spread themselves around. Whatever the reason, they stay home, where their long noses and sharp claws are known, and a good thing for the rest of the world, where people might otherwise ignore a strange sulfur taste on the breeze...

***
Tengu, like demons everywhere, have a widely varying portrayal. Sometimes they're bloody-handed assassins or village-eating monsters, sometimes they're wacky tricksters. This interestingly is the same sort of treatment shared by gods throughout mythology, except total softies like Balder. And, come to think of it, stories about humans tend to drift that way too, when they're honest...

Mixed Media, Print on Photo Paper, 8 by 10

Dark Forest Perspehone Snow White Sleeps Away the Apple Digital Art Print

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:59:26 -0400

$10.00
The apple was of course poisoned. It was too early in the season for any proper apple. And no apple of the mountains had such a sweet dark skin, or such pale glow.

But when a girl has lived months in a dark cottage, on dark dry bread and dark cold water, any hint of color becomes an enchantment. Sweetness is worth a little death. And in the mountain winters there is little else to do but sleep...

***
I love the commonalities of fairy tales. Snow White may sing or be silent; she's a child or a young woman; she's a winter goddess or a peasant child; she gets put in a glass coffin, laid on a bier, kissed or shaken or insulted awake. But always, in her story, there's the seven little men, the heart of the stag, the two-colored evil apple. Why do these small poetic touches endure, when much larger plot points get shuffled around?

I think about these things, and then I realize I have overpainted my linework and curse my distraction. Anyway. Digital Art print, 8 by 5 inches.

Rose Red Carries an Axe In The Garden Digital Illustration Print

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:45:00 -0400

$10.00
Someone has to keep the vines down and seats clear. And some people have made it clear that someone who insists on reading in the garden in all weather is really responsible for her own comfort therein. And that's what the axe is for. The garden.

And bears.

***
Hardly anyone seems to know the story of Rose Red and (the other) Snow White anymore. This is a shame, because it's really much more exciting than the usual Snow White tale. It has axes! Bears! Angry hopping little gnomes! And Rose Red herself, who's the Summer Woman to Snow's Winter Queen. Snow White doesn't even make much archetypal sense without her! She gets to use an axe! And yet she is largely forgotten. Remember the Summer Sister!

Ahem. Digital Art Print. 8 by 5 inches.

Witch-Green Skirts in a Midnight Blue Wind ATC ACEO Digital Print

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:16:38 -0400

$5.00
Witches are women, of course. Witches who are men are called wizards. And many have wondered why this should be, and blamed on the nature of moon-magic, or patriarchal societies that force women into alternate ways of finding power.

In fact it’s because broomsticks go very very fast, and a massive set of spoilers is needed for drag, and men of the past rarely wore full skirts. The history of witchcraft is full of bold male pioneers who set out to make an impression in the Art, and instead made an impression in the pavement.

Nowhere is it said that the skirts must be green, but that is a nice bonus.

***
I love the look of collage, but I am ungood with glue. So this is the closest I’m ever going to get, made with the help of scanner, computer, and some fantastic viney fabric and obliging tinfoil (hah! Bet you didn’t spot the foil, did you?).
Now in Convenient ATC/ACEO size-- 2.5 by 3.5 inches!

Tea Leaves and Book Pillars Bury Another Busy Day With the Approval of the Cat Digital Art Print

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:39:39 -0400

$10.00
Books can only be sorted in the presence of tea. Iced or hot, red or green or black or herbal, it matters not. Boiled leaves are essential. The experienced Book Spelunker keeps at least five shelves of various tea on hand for all occasions.

As for the cat, there are two schools of thought. One says that cats come into being in the presence of sufficient book tonnage. The other claims that they are merely drawn, by some form of psychic magnetism, to any flat surface currently commanding human attention. Regardless, they are the near-constant companions of those brave souls who venture into the Literary Canyon, armed only with their tea and perhaps a lamp, sacrificing posture and productivity alike in the search for knowledge and order. Excelsior!

****
I would love to pretend this was inspired by a fairytale, or an ancient myth, or even someone else's experience, but alas. It's all mine, from the disturbing tea fetish to the way the world apart from the book fades away at the edges.

I am not quite as bad as the picture would have you believe,in that I would never ever ever set a teacup down on a book. Perish the thought! Also, I do not own that many teapots or mugs. But I wish I did.

The books, though, are if anything understated. I refuse to apologize.

Anyway. Digital Art Print,8" by 10". Perfect picture for a study, a book-choked living area, or an intervention for a friend who has...problems.

And Bright Enough To Herd Cats Sepia

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:39:39 -0400

$5.00
Some gods of beauty may sit back and rely on their looks to get them through. Some goddesses might spend their time playing with men’s hearts and minds, as though that was somehow hard for a goddess. Or at all.

What sort of beauty is there in such a passive weak creature? Freya would beat those soft-handed beauties blind. A goddess should be out with her pantheon, riding on the storm, claiming her share of the fallen to party! She should have wings and freedom to use them! She should have the charisma to make cats pull a carriage and the family skills to raise daughter as bright and brave as herself. She should have the right and the confidence to use her beauty to get what she wants!

Which last translates to “seducing dwarves to get a shiny necklace”, but who’s gonna complain to a goddess about her morals?

***
Drawn with sepia and sanguine Pitt art markers on tagboard. Tagboard is a remarkably stiff, smooth white paper. Approximately 1.75 inches wide by 10 inches long.

Note: Buy any two of my original Sepia bookmarks for 8 dollars! That's 20 percent off both! Convo me before buying to change the price for you, or I can refund directly to your Paypal account.

Don't know which ones are the Sepia series? Just look for the word in the title!

Fisherbird River Queen Does Her Work in Gray Green Mornings Digital ATC ACEO size Print

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:32:29 -0400

$5.00
They're almost forgotten, the spirits of rivers and lakeshores. They cannot be said to be upset by this, or care in any way. They are not gods, or ancestors, to be bothered with feeling in human ways.
But they are still there, living their lives as always. And a swimmer on a cloudy morning might still catch a glimpse of Kingfisher's Sister, bending soft fishbones into hooks, before a moment's sun takes away the vision.

***
Drawn with pencil, colored on computer. Sweet Mary Janes, I'd never have the nerve to try this sort of coloring job with paint!

ACEO/ATC size print. 2.5 by 3.5 inches.

Kokeshi Girls Super Cute Bits of Color ATC set

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:32:29 -0400

$10.00
This is a series of paintings inspired by Japanese kokeshi dolls. Kokeshi were traditionally wooden dolls, made on hand-turned lathes, often used as souvenirs. Now they're often far more elaborate in decoration, but still take simple shapes. This is the entire series, in ACEO/ATC size-- that is, 2.5 by 3.5 inches.

Properly speaking, these are ATCs-- they're not the originals, but prints-- but they're still just as sweet!
You can follow the links to read the full descriptions of each-- they're long!

Listen To The Sea
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14847582

Birthday Girl
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14861188

Butterfly Distraction
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14968880

Sleeping City Kokeshi
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14940582

and the missing sister,Forest For the Trees- her original gone to a very good home! She grows the mountains that her trees cover, a hard task to be sure. But she enjoys it!

This set is on super-sale for the Etsy Texas Fifth Monday-- more than half off!

Fisherbird River Queen Does Her Work in Gray Green Mornings Digital Print

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:35:38 -0400

$10.00
They're almost forgotten, the spirits of rivers and lakeshores. They cannot be said to be upset by this, or care in any way. They are not gods, or ancestors, to be bothered with feeling in human ways.
But they are still there, living their lives as always. And a swimmer on a cloudy morning might still catch a glimpse of Kingfisher's Sister, bending soft fishbones into hooks, before a moment's sun takes away the vision.

***
Drawn with pencil, colored on computer. Sweet Mary Janes, I'd never have the nerve to try this sort of coloring job with paint!

Print. 10 by 6.5 inches.

I See You All Seeing Eye Hand in Blue and Gold Good Luck Charm ACEO

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:35:38 -0400

$5.00
Blue keeps away demons; this is a well accepted fact.

The eye in the palm is also a well accepted deterrent to evil intentions. There are doubtless many reasons that sound academic and reasonable, but really it's because evil spirits think eye-palms are scary.
****
I could babble for some time about the significance of hands and eyes in art. They're big time symbols, to be sure- just check out the safety signs around a workplace. Humans recognize eyes and hands as human-identifiers, even above such things as bipedalism or, I guess, great big disproportionate skulls. And most artists spend an inordinate amount of time learning to show the nuances of each, because they're tricky and subtleties matter.

But really, I just like drawing hands. Especially with eyes. Boogity!

Heavy Flight

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:35:38 -0400

$6.00
On reflection, the moon is lost in the water. On reflection, limits can be freeing, if only because they eliminate so many confusing options. And some things can never be lost, only restrained for a while.

For everyone who finds their way to fly in spite of their chains.

****
This is probably best suited as a bookmark, but it's not up to me to tell you what to do with your stuff, now is it?

I will tell you it's drawn with Sepia ink on tagboard, a very stiff white paper. Ships flat, with its description.

About 2 inches wide by 9 inches long (well, 8.9997 inches. You see why I approximate), sepia ink on tagboard

Illusions of the Sea

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:01:01 -0400

$15.00
Just for a moment, the sailor thought he saw eyes in the water. The seaweed coiled around a shining face, the seafoam was darker than laughing eyes. Then the waves broke against the shipside, the mask vanished, and he went back to his work and forgot the memory of sea green smiles.

When the storm came from a clear summer sky, he remembered. And when waves turned into strong reaching arms, and pulled him off the deck, he heard silver laughter and went with a smile.

****
Folklore held that it was bad luck to see a mermaid at sea. Since it was generally bad luck to be at sea at all, folklore was not notably wrong. But who knows what mermaids were really doing? Were they summoning storms, or trying to warn helpless sailors?

You decide which face of the sea you’ll show in this lightweight mask. Made of polymer clay. I will attach ribbon in your choice of color when you order-- OR, if you prefer, a ribboned holding stick, so you can carry your mask in style! Just let me know in Notes to Seller, or convo me! Please note, while my masks are solid enough for wear, they ARE clay and can be broken by energetic wee ones, so these are for adult use.

Polymer Clay, 6” by 4.5”. Fits even a fairly large face, and YES, fits over glasses!

Autumn Oak 1

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:12:08 -0400

$30.00
He wasn't a braggart, even if he was at his best in autumn. With his acorn cousins hopping off into the wild and the pines dolling themselves out in cones, he didn't feel the need to draw attention to himself.He couldn't help it if his colors had turned a bit flashy.

Made from two oak leaves pressed into polymer clay, face molded and then shaped by me. Third in the seasonal Oak series, with all leaves pressed from the same initial leaves from my yard.

A lovely blend of reds, golds and copper, brought out with acrylic detailing, glazed to highlight the metallics. He'll come with a knotted cord necklace like my other oakey pendants, (see final picture for example) but the choice of color is up to you. I like brown or red, if you're stuck for choice.

Roughly 4.56 inches wide and 2.5 inches long.

Golden Notes

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:32:17 -0400

$20.00
Is this musician playing the leaves onto the trees, or just celebrating the first light of spring?

A very sweet, warm watercolor, with saturated colors; the scan doesn't do it justice.

8.5" x 11" on watercolor paper

Winter Oak

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:50:41 -0400

$30.00
Everyone else put on their fall coats and left months ago, but he's holding out. He may look a little leaner than his summer brothers, but there's a twinkle in his icy eye. There's a magic that only comes in winter, and he'll be the one to see it. And when he finally takes his retirement, he'll whisper the secret to the acorns buried in the ground, and they can carry it with them through the winters to come, and share it with their own leaves.

****

Made from two oak leaves pressed into polymer clay, face molded and then shaped by me. Last of this seasonal Oak series, with all leaves pressed from the same initial leaves from my yard.

Blue and silver clay, pearl detailing, acrylic glaze to protect it all. He'll come with a knotted cord necklace like my other oakey pendants, (see final picture for example) but the choice of color is up to you. I like white, if you're stuck for choice.

Roughly 4.56 inches wide and 2.5 inches long.

Cephalady of the Sea Court Print in Sand and Coral

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:16:30 -0400

$10.00
Cephalady
The brown-eyed lady was not the most notorious of the Sea King's court. She was not known for any great conquests, romantic or political. She had almost no reputation. Those who spoke with her later remembered her as polite and pleasant, when they remembered her at all. And the dozen kings who had seen her, as they rose and fell through the pressures of the deep, remembered her even less.

Perhaps this is why they fell so quickly.

****
I like shells. I like squid. I like ludicrous impractical court dress as subject material.
Thus. This has happened.

Digital Print, made on with my precious precious tablet and the magic of Photoshop from a very rough original ink sketch. 8 x 5 inches, on matte cardstock. I'll sign it if you like; ooh, you could learn my real name! Or I could leave your print unmolested-just let me know!

It's a Special Underwater Horse Cowgirl Fantasy Art Print

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:16:15 -0400

$10.00
The cowgirl is the Girl With No Name; she's very insistent about that, hoping that her reputation as the girl with the seahorse will earn her an infamy that, say, "Sally Jo" or "Peggy" would not. The horse, however, is named Cornflower, after her favorite blue.

Does this cowgirl riding in the briny deep, or along a sunny windswept plain? Can she breath water, or does the seahorse breathe air? One thing's for sure, she's enjoying herself, wherever she is.

***
Sketched by hand and colored with a tablet.
Strangely, this piece is inspired by an old cartoon theme. The cartoon had nothing to do with seahores-riding cowgirls, but would have been far better if it had.

Sketched by hand and colored with a tablet. Printed on matte gloss photo paper.8.5 inches by 5 inches.

No Ring on This Finger, No Walls on the This Sky Dark Goddesses Lilith Print

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:18:51 -0400

$10.00
You know how it is. You meet a guy, and it's like he's the only man in the world. And he treats you like the first woman he's ever seen. And for a while it's Paradise.

Then you get to know each other.

And you realize all he wants is a reflection of himself, and that he's got some weird ideas of fun, and maybe you weren't exactly made for each other. But by then things have gone too far to have one of those amicable breakups, and well, it all ends badly. He gets the house and the garden, you get the kids he doesn't know about yet, you both scorch the earth on the way out. You move far away, and try to forget you ever met, even though you know he's telling his kids all sorts of rotten things about you, making it sound like you practically had horns. If he's that petty, just more proof you made the right decision. And you don't need to gloat at all when his new little family turns into an episode of a daytime talk show. Though you do anyway.

And if he thinks he can talk bad about your daughters, there's gonna be blood.

***
You think that story's long? You should see the original.

Lilith is, apocryphally, Adam's first wife. They split up over things that 99 percent of men would consider a bonus, and she left, and Eve showed up. Even more apocryphally, she then became the bride of the devil and began turning out demonspawn, or possibly seduced mortal men and began turning out demonspawn, either one of which suggest Adam was seriously playing outside his league with her.

Lilith would appear, historically, to have been a local competing goddess in the days of biblical transcription. Like Baal and Ishtar, she got rewritten into a minor villain role by men whose primary concern was not future cultural awareness. She had wings, and was possibly a very high level goddess, like Hera, meaning Adam was not just playing outside his league, but in an entirely different sport. The social-historical subtext of this is pretty much text from the get-go.

Either way. She had wings, and wings are awesome.

Print of Digital Art, on photopaper, 8" x 10"

Unpink Flamingos Leave Rainbow Shadows Original Watercolor Illustrations

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:47:58 -0400

$5.00
The pink plastic flamingos flew towards the sunset. Orange and red sunset lit their painted backs, and the mist of the Gulf cast rainbows on the perfect even scallops of their wings.
They left the landscape green and manicured and empty; and even those who were glad to see them go found themselves looking afterwards for a hint of pink in the grey skies.

***
This is apparently true; in 2006, according to AP, the last pink flamingo factory in the US shut its doors. I find this hard to believe, because I love the plastic flamingo deep in my trailer livin' heart. And also because I can go to the store and buy 'em, still. Take that, AP! The dollar store defies your "facts" and "logic" and "food expiration dates".

But I really do love the flamingos. Live long, Americana!

Watercolor on Cardstock, 3 x 5 inches

Spider Maiden of the Hiding Places Faecourt Masquerade Original Watercolor Painting

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:17:10 -0400

$25.00
Sleek and pretty,the Spider spirits are welcome at every high Court ball. Mysterious and secretive, they do not need to bother with the masquerade to confuse and dazzle their kin. Quiet and observant, their eyes see all the hidden gestures and tics of movement. Many of the highest and most powerful are very nervous to think of Spiders in attendance. Small and quick, they cannot be locked out. But the worries of the other royals are not without justification.

Sharp and poisonous, the spider spirits are natural assassins.

***
I love spiders. They're useful, fascinating little creatures, who go about their business with no need to ruin a human's day. But because a few variants are theoretically capable of harming humans who foolishly provoke them, people act like they are teeny tiny vampires of the unsparkly old world variety.

Watercolor on watercolor paper. Roughly 6.5 by 9 inches; handcut and so a little irregular on the edge.

Peacock Confusion in Viridian and Violet Faecourt Masquerade Original Watercolor

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:27:43 -0400

$25.00
By rights, of course, she should be a peahen. But the plain colors of the female birds never drew the eyes of the Fae Court, and as had been noted elsewhere, such trifling mortal limits as mating designs never mattered much to them.

But they always followed their own rules, and so the mask and form she wore at midnight would set her character until the next ball. The madness of the bird put in an improper form pleased her own sense of impropriety.

***
I love peacocks- they're the perfect combination of colors. If I could be green, blue and purple I would. But I can't.

But that didn't seem to stop one amazing costume at a recent convention, who outpeacocked the bird himself. The maiden in question was wearing entirely her own design, so I couldn't just copy it without permission; but I couldn't help being inspired, either.

Roughly 6.5 by 9 inches; a little irregular on the cut.

Green Shadow Memories of a Tiger Original Watercolor Illustration

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:27:40 -0400

$3.00
The jungle knows when the tiger is hunting. There are pawprints in soft soil; one at a time, very far apart, to give no clue of the hunter's direction. Leafshadows fall into stripes. And there is a silence, carved out by the tiger's passage, a quiet space in the swarming life of the jungle. A silence in the shape of a tiger.

***
I will not make a "Tyger Tyger" joke here. I refuse. Because I'm painting a fire-tiger later, and that will be just perfect then.

Also, any suggestions that green-striped tigers might be an echo of a misspent youth with horrible cartoons is unfair and probably accurate.

Watercolor on cardstock, 3 by 5 inches

Hippo-gee-raff or Hyppogyrafe No One Knows Original Watercolor

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:42:38 -0400

$4.00
This is not quite THE Hip-po-Gyraf, but they are perhaps cousins. This Gyrafe eats mostly old leaves, which would not seem to be a problemm, until it is sticking its head in your window on a fine fall morning and chewing on your potpourri. Unfortunate.

***
What's that? You have no idea what I'm talking about? Read the Oz books, f'gosh sakes! They're only available everywhere the internet reaches.

Original watercolor, 3 x 5 inches

Kitsune Fox or Fae All Shape Changers Share A Story Original Watercolor Illustration

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:50:56 -0400

$8.00
The Fae Folk are not necessarily pretty. But then they aren't necessarily anything. They consider physical form slightly less binding than a human hairstyle, and change them far more often. This may end badly sometimes, but things must be done to enliven an immortal timespan.

But some shapes have more appeal than others, and natural tricksters the fox will always be one of the favored masks. Right after a certain kind of ape...

***
I love faerie stories-that is, stories about faeries. They're exciting, and the real ones, the old folklore ones, make about as much sense as a fever dream. But there's a certain pattern that emerges if you read enough of them, which is: these things are lunatic. Even the word fairy can't hold a shape! This is why I keep a cat, they keep the pixies from eating the sugar and imitating my socks. Anyway.

Watercolor and ink, 3 x 5 inches.
Done as part of the Index Card Project, about which you can read on my blog, www.caramakes.blogspot.com.

Summer Witch in a Dress as Gold as The Sun and Hat of Sky Blue Digital Collage

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:35:56 -0400

$10.00
There's a lot of symbolism in magic. Like calls to like, and such.
So when, at the dark of winter, a witch climbs to the top of the highest mountain (all right, walks to the tallest gopher mound, one makes due with what one has) to call the warmer days of Summer, it makes sense to wear the mirror of the skies she wants to see. The world may be pale, the sky may be cloudy, but a dress that shines with its own fire and a hat as unyieldingly blue as the summer solstice dome should give winter the right idea.
And if not, a witch hat is a fine warm thing to wear, and there's never a bad reason to wear the fancy dress. A witch knows these things, too.

***
I had so much fun with my last witchity collage, I decided to make more!
There's a wonderful fairy tale where a girl asks for -and gets- a dress "as golden as the sun". Now, I am not sure how she managed it, or if she suffered any ill effects from being exposed to what I presume was fission in cloth form. Presumably not, because Magic was Happening. But while I've never been able to capture that golden quality, with the magic of a certain proprietary graphics program, I think I've got some of that fire at least.

Now, if I could just get the one Silver as The Moon...

Anyway, I'm tired of seeing grim dark sullen witches. The witches I have known have been enthusiastic, cheerful people; and well, it's supposed to be a happy if not Ecstatic practice, you know?

Anyway. Digital collage, print on matte photo paper, 8 x 10 inches.

Reverse Giraffe

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:50:27 -0400

$12.00
It takes a great deal of magic to call Reverse Creatures into being. Those that exist are whispered of in legend and nightmare. The Unshark, walking the land and devouring more crops than a plague of locusts. The Backwards Dogs, roaming solitary and fierce, preying on humans.

And the Reverse Giraffe, which...has pale spots on a dark coat. And eats bare branches, especially low to the ground. Not very fierce, perhaps, but it certainly looks good-- and darned if it doesn't keep the weeds down.

***
I could say this will be the last giraffe picture I do, but that would be lying. It is the last giraffe picture I will do...for a while? That seems plausible. Yes. For a while.

Probably my only Reverse Giraffe though. They're rare!

Sepia ink on parchment toned cardstock, with green ribbon. Handcut paper. 5.4 by 8.5 inches, gives or take a few eyelash-widths.

Playing the Pangolin Print in Green

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:50:27 -0400

$10.00
Pangolins are known for their unusual keratinous scales, their highly adaptive tongues, and their playful, intelligent personalities.

Less known is that they will happily carry passengers for the low payment of a game of nose-catch, but it is nonetheless true. Ask the girl in the hat.

***
I like pangolin, too. They are the only mammal with those scales. And they have giant claws that are just for digging! And they hang upside down! They're fantastic!
Tragically, they don't come big enough for me to ride. Alack.
Drawn by hand, colored with computer tablet.
Print on matte glass photo paper. 5.33 by 9 inches.

Creative Goddesses Golden Goddess of Bright Defiance Original Painting

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:50:26 -0400

$150.00
The skies are full of rumbling clouds and the brain is full of fog. The wise or the weak retreat to bed or the comfort of a book, vowing to make up their work tomorrow. The brave or the foolish who try to fight the weather find paint spattering, yarn tangling, needles twisting in their hands. And lo, a cry of “What’s the use?” goes up from the distraught, and increasingly depressed, would-be crafters.

Then from the heart of the storm comes an answering shout, bright and undaunted! With a roar, the Goddess of Creative Defiance drives the clouds from the sky and the fog from the brain. Standing proud in the sun, she says “Hey! What are you making today?”

And with a cheer, the clear-headed creators get back to their work.

If they know what’s good for them.

***
Acrylic on unmounted Canvas, 9 by 12 inches. A dusting of golden mica powder gives the picture a very slight shimmer which in no way shows up in the pictures at all.

Inspired by the very awesome Coryell of Etsy's Coryell Designs
http://CoryellDesigns.etsy.com
a woman of great good cheer and eternally sunny colors. Her battle cry has gotten many an Etsy crafter back to work. Go check out her very pretty rocks!

***
A word about my Creative Goddesses:

I love mythic pantheons. But you can tell they’re written by guys-- not even men, total Guys. They’re big on the smiting and the warfare and the manly lust and the drinking and the sailing, and aggressively quiet on the subject of crafting and chocolate . Creativity gets foisted off on “muses” or “graces” or some such characters who never actually do anything ever. Ooh, and goddesses of housekeeping. How’s an artist supposed to find a patron deity in that?!?

So since the ancients have failed me, I’m makin’ my own pantheon, inspired by the awesomeness of other crafty types I know. Feel free to adopt them as your own-- they’re very undemanding, except that your supply costs may go up!

Tumbling Troupe

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:26:09 -0400

$10.00
In the summer sun most blossoms take to the shade, tucking under sturdier greenery, hiding under sheltering ivy leaves.

But not the long-legged sunflowers. They revel in long green stemmed arcs through the yard. They live to twirl around those fast-moving people-plants. From the first glimpse of the sun until the frog's late night finale, they put on their broadest smile and show off their colors.
It takes some energy, but it's worth it-the highest blossom gets the best bees!

And maybe gets eaten by cows. But what's life without a little risk?

***
I have written about my garden sunflowers before. I shall do it again. They have way more personality than any plant should be allowed.

This particular painting is in honor of a particular stand of flowers that tangles my feet every time I step outside. Excelsior, sisters!

Watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper, roughly 8.75 by 14 inches

An Old Country

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:24:07 -0400

$5.00
It was the dawn of a new age, with wonders technological abounding. Iceboxes were working better than ever. Wireless made communication across countries a daily event. And photographs took the memory of public record out of the hands of those lunatic artists and in the capacity of nice reliable machines.

It was the perfect time for a young man to make his fortune, selling marvels to the public. And a young merchant on the rise did well to marry a woman of an old established family, who could help him rise to prominence. She had ties to the old country, she said, and indeed once they were married his business always found clients across the sea. And she was pretty, if only for her bright green eyes.

Which stayed bright green, even in the sepia photographs.

She never said WHICH old country...

***

Stories of fairy spouses are not uncommon. Usually they're a Good Thing, and an advantage to a household,until their idiot mortal spouse angers them and drives them to supernatural revenge.

How much this parallels real marriages is left to the experience of the reader.

ACEO, Watercolor and colored pencil

Hummingberry Magic Garden Watercolor ACEO

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:25:12 -0400

$8.00
Spring brings hummingbirds, the size of flying mice but far less visible. Too often the only sign of their presence is a burring sound through the air, as they move along to their next drink.
Spring brings berries, too, even more invisible than the hummingbirds, hidden under thick leaves and prickly vines.

Clever folk have learned to use the unstoppable to find the invisible, breeding the hummingbirds to be smaller, but with all their love of sweet juice intact. This took considerably more effort than just finding some berries in the first place, of course, but that was long ago; and now every spring they only have to follow the sound of birdflight to find the choicest fruit.

They have of course heard that some people just breed the berries larger, which may work, but is never so aesthetically pleasing.

***
My yard has a late-season outbreak of dewberries this year. They're more tart than store-bought berries, and harder to find, and they dye everything livid purple. They are very much worth the thorns.

They are not, sadly, bigger than a hummingbird. And I do not actually have berry-hunting birds, anyway. Alack.

ACEO, watercolor, and very nicely done if I do say so myself.

smiley swoopy sleepy cat in orange and green watercolor ACEO

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:13:56 -0400

$5.00
Curl up in a patch of late spring sunlight under a branch of growing leaves. Ignore the birds flying around, they're just trying to interrupt your nap, and the nap is sacred. But beware-- when you nap in the sun, the sun also naps in you!

***
It's official, the Smiley Swoopy Cat is the shop cat for Carapace. Every shop needs a cat, of course. And I like how the colors on this one sort of glow together, like the one sunbeam my cat always finds to sleep on. On, not in, because even a sunbeam ain't getting away from a dozy catbutt.

ACEO,2.5 by 3.5 inches, watercolor on watercolor paper.

Cheetah Woman Original Sepia Illustration Brown Ribbon Parchment Card

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:13:41 -0400

$8.00
Every culture has stories of shapechangers. Some are vicious berserkers; some are tragic victims of a curse. And then again, some just know how to enjoy a different shape, sliding in and out of their animal skins like a lady slides out of an expensive coat, so elegant and quick a watcher can't be sure-- was that woman just wearing a skin, or was it wearing her? Or was there a woman at all? The answer is lost in a ripple of sunlight and spots.

***
I actually love the way the illustration here turned out. The faces are pretty much the way I wanted them. But then I had to get fancy and add ribbon,and it shredded oddly and the glue got weird, and well... I actually like that too, with the neat cat's claw effect it has, but it is an ooops, so this very nifty piece has to go in the seconds.

Sepia ink on parchment-tone cardstock. Brown ribbon. Mounted with brown paper and cardstock backing. 10.5 by 6.5 inches with ribbon. Picture is 5.9 by 8.9 inches alone.

I Have No Idea ACEO

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:16:24 -0400

$5.00
Of all the ghosts and demons available, the hopping umbrella really didn't seem the worst that could choose to haunt a man.

Still, it was rather a shock when it first made its way out of the corner, leaping on anachronistic footwear.

And it was somewhat upsetting when the first rainstorm revealed it to be a jealous umbrella, willing and able to kick other, inanimate umbrellas to the pavement.

And it was socially awkward to explain to potential clients that yes, this hopping aberration was part of his daily life, like a seeing-eye dog but rather less useful.

And he missed it terribly when it left, returning him to a life of dry suits and normal pets.

***
Yes, this is a real thing. A real made-up thing, anyway. I mean, I didn't invent it. The Umbrella Ghost is a classic Japanese monster. Really.
I love Japanese folklore, but please don't ask me to explain it.

Hand-cut ACEO, watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper.

Aegir's Oldest Daughter

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:16:14 -0400

$8.00
Aegir and Ran rule the northern sea, but they couldn't control their oldest daughter. She tossed her wave-hair and caused storms all of season; she turned her fingers into talons of wind and stole men from ships that had been promised safe passage. She was so bad they were actually relieved when she had her god-child (an actual god, though only maybe her child), hoping it would settle her down. But she was only there for the birthdays, and then off again to deep foreign waters where Mom and Dad didn't nag so much.

***
Aegir, Ran, and their nine daughters are actually from Norse mythology, along with the idea that the nine daughters had...a son. Not per daughter, but all together. Everything else is just my guess.

I love Norse mythology.

Watercolor and pencil, roughly 3 by 14 inches. Would make a lovely bookmark, or possibly a good fan pull, since she loves wind. Just don't get her near water; family quarrels, don't you know.

Balance on the Beam of the World Revamped Remade Recycled Black Paper ACEO in White Black and Blue on Black

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:16:04 -0400

$5.00
Somebody has to carry the sky, but where to stand while you do it? Obviously, you have toi find the support beams of the world, the great heavy pillars of longitude and latitude that make the axis the world spins on. Find the balance point, catch the sky right at the pivot, and hold on....

It's harder than most people think, and no dolt with a lionskin is going to be able to take over for a few minutes.

***
You can't really tell with the scan, but those black specks? Are really silver. This little card sparkles and twinkles in person.

Drawn with white and blue and such on black and printed cardstock.

When I went to art school-- yes,I went to art school, absurd as that may sound--every single class seemed to believe I was buying paper on an industrial level. So I was given many many paper samples, to convince me to have my printing and paperwork done on, as the case may be, Brand Name Carrot Paper Weight 221 (porcelain).

This was I think a poor investment of the paper seller's time, but left me with all kinds of exciting papers. Some of which had words and pictures that were quiet interesting when cut into tiny ACEO slivers...

ACEO size- That is, 3.5 by 2.5 inches. My artwork, most in colored pencil, with a bit of existing image.

Golden Sun Koi in Blue Sky Water Reflections of a Fish Original Watercolor Illustration

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:30:58 -0400

$5.00
The McNay Museum in San Antonio is a piece of artwork all to itself. The architecture is amazing, the landscaping looks like a painting of some fairytale forest.

And also, they have koi ponds. With HUGE koi-fish, who will absolutely come up to reaching hands and be petted. Koi symbolize friendship and harmony and half a dozen other things; but when they are hovering in the water, barely even moving their tail, they are nothing but Koi, and that is enough.

***
Koi are fantastic fish. And yes, they really will hold still to be petted.

Watercolor on Cardstock, 3 x 5 inches

Rapunzel Age 10

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:30:14 -0400

$8.00
The tower wasn't always that tall. It was just always tall enough to keep her off the ground, and give her some room to play besides. When she was a baby it had been just circle of building stones. But of course it had seemed just as tall then, so in her mind it was always tall, always inescapable.

But no matter how tall it got, she liked to sit at the top and look out over the thorns, and think about where the birds went after they passed overhead. And no matter how tall the tower got, the vines grew up and got tangled in her hair, like the earth wanted to hold her in place.

That was why she started wearing her hair in a braid, actually.

***
I never understood why fairy tale heroines got a rep as passive and uninvolved. Gretel was brilliant! Elisa was clever and brave! Gerda fights a goddess and wins!

Rapunzel...had nice hair. And was named for cabbage.

Oh.

But she does have nice hair, and I love painting her. First in what is doubtless a series of girls-and-their-hair pictures.

Roughly 3 x 14 inches (2.9 x 13.9, that is), watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper. Would make a useful bookmark, or fan pull, or wall art. Or put it on the wall and look at it while you wait for your prince to come show you that the ladder is your own personal hair, you nut.

Chewy Chewy Brown Giraffe Original Sepia Illustration and Ribbon

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:30:14 -0400

$15.00
One would think, when one has spent generations growing the longest neck on land, one might be allowed to really enjoy their breakfast without having to worry about an observer coming along and catching one mid-chew, a point at which no creature can be expected to look dignified. And if not that, one might think such unexpected observers would have the decency to refrain from laughing, at least outright.

One would think.

****
I like giraffes. There is no other reason for this current picture, nor does there need to be. Giraffes are their own reason.

Sepia ink on parchment-toned cardstock, mounted on white cardstock with brown contrast ribbon. Picture is roughly 5.5 by 10.5 inches, counting ribbon tails. Actual paper is 5.5 by 9 inches.

Lovebirds on a Branch Sweetheart Necklace in Sage and Lavender

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:26:41 -0400

$25.00
The still-brown nubs of leaves to come mean it's time to start thinking of nests for those feathers-- and where better than here? And who better to share it with than you? A little branch is plenty big enough if birds are friendly.

That's what the birds sing, on their branches in the early spring, making their plans for the year. And if they've been around a branch or two in their time, that makes new beginnings all the sweeter!

***
It's spring-planning time in my woods, and the birds are going crazy! Every morning I'm watching a soap opera in feathers. It's aggressively inspiring- How can a young crafter's thoughts not turn to love?

This necklace is perfect for a sweetheart or good friend, or anyone you wouldn't mind sharing your nest with. Polymer clay with an acrylic glaze. All the colors are from the clay, no paints here! Hangs horizontal from two secured wire loops, 3 inches long by 1 inch tall. Ships with cord in your choice of colors.

Ill Met in Moonlight Revamped Remade Recycled Black Paper ACEO in White Black and Blue on Black

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:33:15 -0400

$5.00
A scream in the night.
No one sees the screamer; no one knows the crime. A woman with wild hair runs across the courtyard, not looking back. A heavy blade hangs unnaturally in her hand. Moonlight catches in the tangles of her dress. She stops in the center of the open yard, head cocked as though listening. But the estate is silent, and she runs on.

The natural sounds of night return. The silence fades. And slowly, from a hidden hall, red seeps forward to stain the marble steps.

***
Drawn with white and blue and such on black and printed cardstock. Largely inspired by the Oresteia, in which Agamemnon totally had it coming.

When I went to art school-- yes,I went to art school, absurd as that may sound--every single class seemed to believe I was buying paper on an industrial level. So I was given many many paper samples, to convince me to have my printing and paperwork done on, as the case may be, Brand Name Carrot Paper Weight 221 (porcelain).

This was I think a poor investment of the paper seller's time, but left me with all kinds of exciting papers. Some of which had words and pictures that were quiet interesting when cut into tiny ACEO slivers...

ACEO size- That is, 3.5 by 2.5 inches. My artwork, most in colored pencil, with a bit of existing image.

Pink Bunny Adorable Troll Original Watercolor Painting

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:33:15 -0400

$15.00
He didn't see why an appreciation for tea parties meant he couldn't be fierce, or why playing with children instead of eating them made him less of a troll. His brothers and sisters were proper trolls, after all. His family ties alone should have earned him respect!

Still, he wasn't the sort to make anyone uncomfortable, if it could be avoided. So he started wearing an oldier moldier fur vest (which was itchy)and stopped wearing shoes (and got callouses) and started accessorising with bits of roadkill. He even bought a couple skulls from that nice shop in town, the one with the candy.

He wasn't going to leave Mr. Wigglesnout home alone, though. That would just be mean.

***
Watercolor, 5 x 5.25 inches, painted at Animefest 2008. It's hard for me to say anything objective here, since I'm sort of in love with this little guy. Give him a good home, please, one with nice tea and maybe some kitties.

Mushroom Muse Bookmark, Necklace, or Ornament A Little Company for Wet Days

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:52:35 -0400

$25.00
Grey rainy days are perfect for books, tea, cats...and mushrooms! And that makes them perfect for a sprouting sprite who doesn't quite like to get wet. The mushrooms make a perfect shelter against the rain, and if a daring mood should strike, there can be splashing with just the wave of a foot.

***
I love the colors on this one! My photograhpy really can't do it just. Soft rainy-day browns and greens, laced with hints of glittering gold. No paints on this one, the colors are all in the clay!

1.25" by 2.25". Polymer clay with acrylic glaze. Hangs from a secure wire loop. Ships with ribbon or cotton cord in your choice of color.

Moonbunnies in Earthlight Revamped Remade Recycled Black Paper ACEO in White Black and Blue on Black

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:50:35 -0400

$5.00
Perusal of the ancient texts shows that there were some ancient cultures who believed the moon housed a rabbit, which could only be really seen when the moon was full. Stories as to the rabbit's ascension differed.

In our more enlightened times, we of course know this is nonsense. The moon is a turnip. Those remaining few who maintain the heresy that it is cheese or some manner of floating rock offer no corresponding explanation for how it then floats on the lack of the sky (and those who say turnips do not float clearly do not boil their stews properly).

Nonetheless, it is a fact that in the dark of the day, rabbits in their lunar cities write poems and songs about the enchanting blue light of Terra.

***
Drawn with white and blue on black and printed cardstock.

When I went to art school-- yes,I went to art school, absurd as that may sound--every single class seemed to believe I was buying paper on an industrial level. So I was given many many paper samples, to convince me to have my printing and paperwork done on, as the case may be, Brand Name Carrot Paper Weight 221 (porcelain).

This was I think a poor investment of the paper seller's time, but left me with all kinds of exciting papers. Some of which had words and pictures that were quiet interesting when cut into tiny ACEO slivers...

ACEO size- That is, 3.5 by 2.5 inches. White paint, white ink, blue ink and a bit more on black paper, with a bit of image.

Hit the Sheets A Sweet Little Naptime Original Illustration in Graphite

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:58:01 -0400

$5.00
Sheets must be changed. This is a fact. Sleep on clean sheets
is so much better than sleep on dirty sheets that the second is not even to be considered.

But, in an absolute pinch, sleep on no sheets can suffice. Though it is nice if one can take off their shoes before Naptime Imps attack.

***
I don't know why it's so compelling to draw Victoriana. Maybe it's just that the clothes were that awesome (they were, seriously. More men in vests!) or possibly because it was pretty much the Golden Age of Illustration, and reading too many classic novels warped my wee little soft brain. Regardless. It may be assumed that this woman is wearing a corset. A soft one. And boots with those spat-things.

Pencil on Cardstock, 3x 5 inches

Swirly Elemental Motifs for Collage Bookmarks or Whatever you May Like

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:23:45 -0400

$5.00
Sometimes, a gal's just gotta paint some swirly bits. And as long as the art's getting its nouveau on, why not make it elemental? So, here, some swirly bits for Air (blue) Water(blue and purple) Fire (flamey red) and Earth (twiney vines of twistiness).

These are interesting swirly bits, and I like 'em. But I have nothing to put on them! Perhaps you do? They'd be lovely little scrapbook or altered art inclusions, I think.

Set includes all four.

***
Watercolor on Cardstock, 3 x 5 inches

Golden Jellyfish Balloon in the Oceanic Ether Original Watercolor Index Card Project

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:39:28 -0400

$5.00
Without bones, without eyes, without anything that looks like a brain to the clever land dwellers, jellyfish patrol the sea against alien invasion and decorate it with ethereal skin-paintings rivaled only by the brilliant cephalopods, floating dangerous and beautiful until the storm throws them to the beach, to be forgotten with the driftwood in enemy territory.

***
I love jellyfish-- at a distance. Up close, they're painful and all. Still, I should paint more Jellies.

Watercolor original on cardstock, 3 x 5 inches.

Inside Trying to Get Out Original Watercolor ACEO Rainbow Headache

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:43:51 -0400

$5.00
Do monsters get monsters in their heads? When they get headaches, does it feel like a sharptoothed beastie gnawing their way out? Or is it instead a bright chipper pink faced beastie larking along, probably singing happy birthday?

I do not know. This does not stop me painting it.

***
So, maybe I have migraines kind of a lot. Yeah.

ACEO size- That is, 3.5 by 2.5 inches. Watercolor on watercolor paper, with a wee bit of colored pencil for emphasis.

Beetle Herder Print

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:29:20 -0400

$10.00
It's hard, being a bugherd. The darn things aren't very bright, of course, and wander into even the most obvious stickypits and sand lion lairs. Then there's fighting off the birds, who of course are the size of birds, and it's best not to even talk about the cats. And of course there's just no getting the snails to giddyap.

But there's nothing like sleeping under the tall grass, the stars completely hidden from view, the wind far, far above your ears, knowing all the bustle of the city is far away. That's the life!

****
10" by 7.5", digital print. All drawn on computer. All hail the mighty graphics software.

Also, all green. I have a certain fondness for the color.

Little Evergreen Oak Leaf 1

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:29:19 -0400

$5.00
What's the Or? You tell me! I've had people wrap my leaves around flowerpots, hang them in frames, even use them as shoebuckles! They're versatile little things!

And these are very little things! You can see how they measure up to an egg in the second picture. These little leaves are gathered, impressed and detailed with the same attention as my big leaffae pieces, but sized to be a little more discreet. But they'll still catch a lot of attention!

Made by introducing some of the leaves in my yard to some of the clay in my house, and talking to the results for a few hours.

Octomaid

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:14:36 -0400

$10.00
The fine courtesans and dancers and knights are the focus of all the painters. Stories are told about the unsettled Sea King, and the great dark romances between the Ladies and there Destriers.
But the real life of the Sea Court is in the maids and food makers and butlers. They run the great coral palace; they know where the bodies are buried, or born. It takes talent and a good memory to keep up with the desires of all the shifting guests, after all. When they must serve in crowds, they send the small smiling eight-legged maids out, who can do eight different jobs at once and then be gone, and blend in all the while. And if any of the supposed servants slip enough to be noticed, they disappear with a smile and whatever version of a curtsy their body best allows.

***
Do you have any idea how awesome octopi are? They have eyes that look like ours, but work even better. They have chromatophores in their skin that let them shift colors like the world's best fireworks show. They can blend in with anything. I can't even get a tan. But I can draw octopi until my own arms wear out! So that's what I'm gonna do.

Anyway. Digital Art Print,6 x 9 inches

Waters Off Fiji Unlikely Merbeast Watercolor Index Card Illustration

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:30:56 -0400

$8.00
Just because it looks like a monkey attached to a fish, that doesn't make it less real. You are no bed of fresh kelp yourself, dried and stuffed.

Mind the teeth, though.

***
For those who don't know, the Fiji Mermaid was a circus attraction popularized by no less an American than P.T.Barnum. It looks...well..
Actually, it looks about like what I'd imagine a mermaid would look like, an extremely unsettling fusion of primate and piscine. If I weren't assured by Science that it is absolutely fake, I might not ever get in the ocean again.

Or the San Antonio River, because apparently they live there, too. Luckily they are fake. Ahem. Anyway.

Watercolor and ink on index card. 3 x 5 inches

H Mildred Wishes For More Drama Unrelated Alphabet Index Card Illustration in Ink Pen Black and White

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:26:35 -0400

$5.00
I'm terribly sorry about not being drowned at sea, but you simply have to accept that we do not have a tragic romance. I'm not even a sailor! I'm an accountant. And you're a librarian! We have a very nice little flat with a garden and a fluffy dog you call Mr. Widdles. So please take off the curtains, Mildred, you look rather quite mad.

***
The Unrelated Alphabet is the sort of thing I come up with when I'm trying to come up with ideas for 100 pictures in 5 days. Which is to say, perhaps not a good idea. But it lets me get my faux-Victoriana on, and that's always fun.

No, the Aerialist has nothing to with the letter K. That's sort of the point. This is the Unrelated Alphabet, and the illustrations refuse to bear on the letter in question at all.

Pen and ink on index card, with title and signing on the back. 3x5 inches.

Little Leaves for You Two Oak Leaves for a Bookmark Pendant Ornament Or

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:04:57 -0400

$7.00
What's the Or? You tell me! I've had people wrap my leaves around flowerpots, hang them in frames, even use them as shoebuckles! They're versatile little things!

And these are very little things! You can see how they measure up to an egg in the second picture. These little leaves are gathered, impressed and detailed with the same attention as my big leaffae pieces, but sized to be a little more discreet. But they'll still catch a lot of attention!

K The Aerialist is Becalmed Unrelated Alphabet Index Card Illustration Pen and Ink

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:59:12 -0400

$5.00
The problem with a clear cloudless sky, you'll find, is that it often comes with lovely unruffled days with only the slighest of breezes, too slight to rustle the grass.

Or move a balloon. Most unfortunate when one has made a wager on reaching the regatta by nightfall, but merely hovering will not do. Alas, if only mankind had powered flight! Then one could claim the very nice hat and see one's peers properly awed in a single auto-mated swoop!

Alas.

***
The Unrelated Alphabet is the sort of thing I come up with when I'm trying to come up with ideas for 100 pictures in 5 days. Which is to say, perhaps not a good idea. But it lets me get my faux-Victoriana on, and that's always fun.

No, the Aerialist has nothing to with the letter K. That's sort of the point. This is the Unrelated Alphabet, and the illustrations refuse to bear on the letter in question at all.

Pen and ink on index card, with title and signing on the back. 3 x 5 inches.

Little Evening Blossom Brooch Pin in Silver and Lilac

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:29:39 -0400

$8.00
When the sun starts going down, and color starts drawing away from the day-sighted creatures, most flowers begin to draw inward too. Their colors are meant to draw bees and birds and butterflies, quick moving sunlight creatures. No sense calling to the starry eyed bats and silent owls, who won't help carry them through the complicated dance of pollens and plant greetings.

But just for a moment, right as the sun is slipping to the other side of the world, a few flowers unfurl their petals and open their drowsy faces to watch the stars come out.

***
For me, this is a wee little piece. Look! It's smaller than a hen's egg! But it's one of my favorites.

Pinback.

The Green Lady Fairy Story Watercolor Index Card Art

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:17:24 -0400

$8.00
Somewhere, people got the mad idea the fae are good. They're not, at least they're not any good that does humans any good.
But they sometimes are lovely.
Then they're really dangerous.

***
The Green Fairy is now mostly associated with absinthe, when you get people talking about green fairies at all. But Green Ladies used to have...other connotations. We Dare Not Go A-Hunting type stuff. The village would never find you if you went into the woods kind of stories.

Or they might find you, with a new cow and a pocket of gold. Which would present its own problems these days, and thus perhaps increases the odds of that being the result. The fae are wacky like that.

Watercolor on an index card. From the Summer 2009 Week o' Madness Index Card Project, the details of which are on my blog, www.caramakes.blogspot.com.

But yeah, index card, 3" x5".

Three Little Leaves Before the Vine Green Grape Leaves for Bookmarks Pendants Or...

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:44:03 -0400

$12.00
What's the Or? You tell me! I've had people wrap my leaves around flowerpots, hang them in frames, even use them as shoebuckles! They're versatile little things!

And these are very little things! You can see how they measure up to a large hen's egg. These little leaves are gathered, impressed and detailed with the same attention as my big leaffae pieces, but sized to be a little more discreet. But they'll still catch a lot of attention!

This set of three grape leaves could be strung together, or given out as favors, or...!

Made by introducing some of the leaves in my yard to some of the clay in my house, and talking to the results for a few hours.

Sleeping Sister of Dionysus Grape Leaf in Summer Green

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:44:03 -0400

$10.00
Children of the grape vine grow quickly, and have a liveliness rare in vines.
But however lovely they look, however mature, they sleep until autumn winds ring their alarm. Then they wake and ripen with alarming speed, and their thick skins let them turn into weak wine without any silly human help, making the woods buzzy for humans and birds and beast alike.
But until then, they pull rich embroidered leaves over their eyes, and sleep.

***
Small but very detailed-- I love young grape leaves! Specifically, these are mustang grape leaves, gathered, like all others, from around my house, before I find a face for them and preserve their details in my clay. These vines go crazy at the least hint of sun and humidity. In the autumn, they explode in small purple fruit more sour than a lemon and sweeter than a cherry. And I am told that they make the most exquisite home made wine.

I am told. I know nothing of it myself. Ahem.

Listen To The Sea Watercolor Kokeshi Girl in Blue Kimono

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:13:50 -0400

$20.00
It's not a good idea to wear your kimono to the seashore. She knew that. Sand gets in the sleeves and then it never really comes out, even when you wash it seven times.

But she loved the sea. That was why she picked the kimono in the first place. She loved the colors, the blue and green, the smell of the salt in the air. And she just couldn't relax without the sound of waves on the shore.

So she was very glad when the fish on her sleeves twisted, and her sleeves grew heavy, and the pink shell came out. A trip to the shore would take planning; but at least now she could think to her favorite music.
***

Done with a near-dry technique that allows me to play with texture while still keeping the soft qualities of watercolor. This is the first in a series of painting inspired by Japanese kokeshi dolls. Kokeshi were traditionally wooden dolls, made on hand-turned lathes, often used as souvenirs. Now they're often far more elaborate in decoration, but still take simple shapes. I can never have as many dolls as I want, so I make these paintings!

10.5 by 6.75 inches. Watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper.

Mighty Hunter Ladybug Wearing Red Camouflage on a Bright Green Grape Leaf

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:13:50 -0400

$15.00
The ladybug is a mighty hunter, stalking the garden greenery in silence.
Unfortunately, the ladybug does not own a mighty mirror, and so is unaware of certain visible truths. The aphids are not about to spill the beans, either.

***
The leaf is an impression of one of my beloved mustang grape leaves. Aren't they awesome?
The ladybug is entirely handmade. So I suppose I'm not allowed to say it's awesome. But ladybugs really are incredible hunters! They'll defend your garden better than any pesticide, and look pretty doing it. Get ladybugs today!

Birthday Girl Watercolor Kokeshi has Pink Pink Pink, and a Cake

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:48:15 -0400

$20.00
All right, it's very pink. It's a little girl on her birthday, it has every right to be pink. And it's quite natural that her hair should be waving in the steamy breeze from the cupcake; look at the size of that thing!

As for why she's eating a cupcake half as big as she is, well.. she was only allowed one cupcake, even if it was her birthday.

No one said how big it could be.

***
Done with a near-dry technique that allows me to play with texture while still keeping the soft qualities of watercolor. This is the first in a series of painting inspired by Japanese kokeshi dolls. Kokeshi were traditionally wooden dolls, made on hand-turned lathes, often used as souvenirs. Now they're often far more elaborate in decoration, but still take simple shapes. I can never have as many dolls as I want, so I make these paintings!

10.5 x 7 inches. Watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper.

Late Summer Sun Golden Sunflower

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:48:15 -0400

$10.00
Summer has come and gone, searing the edges off the green things and leaving the flowers as tanned as the people. The only wildflowers with the nerve to last until the end are the sunflowers. They're overgrown, they're underwatered, and they're everywhere. The leaves are now in the same gold and brown as the flowers. You can't give them a smoking glance without starting a ground fire. But they are gorgeous, like the last taste of summer melons or the last hour in the pool before winter strikes.

This piece has as much attitude as those flowers. A real sunflower leaf is impressed in copper, gold, and colored clay, and given a pearlescent glaze to catch those last rays of summer sun. The sunflower is made by hand. Leaf and flower are 4.5 inches long, 2.5 inches wide. Whole piece is 6 inches from tallest loop to point of leaf, 4 inches wide at loops Designed to be worn as a pendant or hair ornament. Ships with 20 inches of ribbon in your choice of color.

While I like this piece, it isn't quite what I was aiming for, so it's a second. No real flaws, but thwarted artistic expectations mean it goes for lower price.

The City Sleeps Kokeshi Girl Watercolor in Night Blue Grey and Black

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:48:15 -0400

$20.00
She pulls a blanket of night around her to keep cool in the summer heat. The warm lights of the living streets keep the bad shadows away. But the twinking lights dance in her eyes until her eyelids droop. When she finally closes her eyes, no one can say, but everyone feels it-- that quiet moment when the lights are on, the streets not deserted, but the city nonetheless sleeps.

***
10.5 x 7 inches, watercolor on watercolor paper. Done with a near-dry technique that allows me to play with texture while still keeping the soft qualities of watercolor. This is part of a series of paintings inspired by Japanese kokeshi dolls. Kokeshi were traditionally wooden dolls, made on hand-turned lathes, often used as souvenirs. Now they're often far more elaborate in decoration, but still take simple shapes. I can never have as many dolls as I want, so I make these paintings!

Dance With the Deva in the Pale Dark Night Dark Goddesses Kali Digital Art Print

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:49:14 -0400

$10.00
Do you dance?
Do you let the drums do your breathing, and throw your feet to the floor so hard they're numb? Do you move with the music, even if there a hundred different songs in the air? Do you dance until the earth cracks under your feet, the flying ground sparking fires in the air, burning the world down to a new dance floor?

Do you dance? Do you really?

She does.

***
I've always liked Kali. Not just because of her totally awesome accesories, which I have pretty much skipped out on here, but because of her attitude. Kali is a mean badass death-dancing bit of awesome,AND she has a belt or possibly necklace of skulls. Rock on, Black Goddess.

Print of digital art on photopaper. 8 x 10.5

Twisty Red Ivy Imp in Red Reddish Green

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:49:13 -0400

$10.00
A wee twist of an imp, trying to hide her sparking mischief in the quiet green of an ivy leaf. It won't last; already the leaf is starting to get a little fiery, too. Not that the imp cares; getting a whole vine to act up would be major trouble points in the mischief league!

***
Part of my continuing efforts to make something a little smaller than my great big Green Men and Leaffae. Also, this one just wanted to come out. And now she wants to get out. I am sure it's her fault my claybox keeps falling over.

A small hand-shaped sprite and a hand-pressed ivy leaf of mixed polymer clay. The vine loop makes her easy to hang from a ribbon, chain or nail; use her as a doorway good luck charm, and I bet no other mischievous spirits can come in!

Spring Oak 1

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:48:47 -0400

$30.00
This hamadryad smiles like he knows he's going to be the biggest tree in the forest one day. Young and a little green, he's still proud of his bit of beard moss.

Made from two oak leaves pressed into polymer clay, face hand shaped by me. I don't even remember quite how I badged this one together; many molds were involved, and a utility knife, and possibly invocations to black coffee spirits. But you can tell by this fellow's smile he looks just the way he means to!

Green clay, gold detailing, acrylic glaze to protect it all. He'll come with a knotted cord necklace like my other oakey pendants, but the choice of color is up to you. I like gold, if you're stuck for choice.

Roughly 4.56 inches wide and 2.5 inches long.

Butterfly Distraction Kokeshi Girl Chases A Butterfly on a Summer Day Watercolor

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:48:47 -0400

$20.00
It was far too late in the year for butterflies. They were all gone on their long trip to warm winter lands.

When the bright flash of orange danced out of the grass around her feet, she thought at first it was just an early autumn leaf. But leaves don't bounce around so much, or have such bright colors...

She followed it for a day, and it led her to new places, and she had fine adventures of the sort that end in nice dinners and new friends and good times all around. But her clearest memory of the whole thing was always that moment, the hem of her gown wet with dew, bright orange against the white morning sky.

***

10.5 x 7 inches, watercolor on watercolor paper. Done with a near-dry technique that allows me to play with texture while still keeping the soft qualities of watercolor. This is part of a series of paintings inspired by Japanese kokeshi dolls. Kokeshi were traditionally wooden dolls, made on hand-turned lathes, often used as souvenirs. Now they're often far more elaborate in decoration, but still take simple shapes. I can never have as many dolls as I want, so I make these paintings!

Summer Oak 1 Green Man in Gold for your neck house or garden

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:01:55 -0400

$30.00
He tried to look serious. He's got some gold on his leaves now, after all, and an oak of that age should have some dignity. But he's not fooling anyone. His spring green still hasn't faded away. And the other leaves see how he smiles, looking out from under the edges of his leaves to see when the next swimming rain is coming.

Made from two oak leaves pressed into polymer clay, face molded and then shaped by me. Second in the seasonal Oak series, with all leaves pressed from the same initial leaves from my yard.

Green and gold clay, gold detailing, acrylic glaze to protect it all. He'll come with a knotted cord necklace like my other oakey pendants, (see final picture for example) but the choice of color is up to you. I like gold, if you're stuck for choice.

Roughly 4.56 inches wide and 2.5 inches long.

Ivy in the Autumn

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:01:55 -0400

$30.00
In the fullness of her growth, Ivy dares to stand out, flaunting her gold and topaz scarves. She's not dressing for anyone but herself, so she may as well go all out!

I couldn't manage to capture the blends of reds that go into this pendant. I've left the back unpainted, to show off the swirls. This is the third of the Seasonal Ivy series, which uses the same three main leaves for each pendant. The veins of the leaves are highlighted in with metallic acrylics,to show off the detail.The face is pulled from a mold, then remade by me to make this Ivy her own person. A clear acrylic glaze adds shine and protection to this piece.

4.5 inches long including looping vine, about 3 inches at widest point. Polymer clay with acrylic glaze.
Ships with a 20 inch length of ribbon in your choice of colors--may I suggest red or gold?

Big Ivy

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:38:05 -0400

$10.00
An ivy leaf can’t hide much, can it? Not with cows nibbling them, and sun curling their edges, and random lunatic artists robbing them for jewelry.

But some leaves dare to dream. They find a way to outgrow their brothers and sisters, and shelter …well, who can say? A frog, a bird, a passing brownie? Or maybe a long haired beauty, who needs a bit of ornament?

This GIGANTIC leaf demanded the spotlight to itself, though you can see one of its cousins tagged along. Solid enough for regular wear, but surprisingly lightweight. Can be worn as a headpiece, a necklace, or...you make the call!

Polymer clay and acrylic clay, 7” wide from loop to loop, 4” high. Ships with 20 " of ribbon in your choice of color- just leave me a note!

Ivy in the Spring

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:38:05 -0400

$30.00
Young and a little shy, Ivy peeks out of the world from the shelter of two fresh leaves. She's not sure what the year holds, but she's ready to meet it with a smile and her own favorite leafy cameo.

This pendant is a mix of bright greens and soft yellows to echo the fresh colors of new growth. A copper patina brings out the veins of the leaves, adding depth to Ivy's young green colors. This is the first of the Seasonal Ivy series, which uses the same three main leaves for each pendant. The face is molded, then remade by me to make this Ivy her own person. A clear acrylic glaze adds shine and protection to this piece.

4.5 inches long including looping vine, 3 inches at widest point. Polymer clay with acrylic glaze.
Ships with a 20 inch length of ribbon in your choice of colors--may I suggest something in a cool green?