JOURNEY

(This is a photo of an artist print that I purchased in a funky shop in a little town in Colorado (remember little bird?) on my cross country journey to begin a new a scary chapter of my life. She hangs in the foyer...her eyes bidding goodbye or welcoming me home daily.)

I "happened" upon this poem tonight and I felt that something inside that feels rattled to the bone in a "knowing" way when you read words written by someone else that could have been yours once upon a time. That's the beauty of stories, artwork, music, or poetry. Sometimes it reaches inside your soul and reminds you of something very personal.

Perhaps it will be the same for you as you read these words written by poet, Mary Oliver

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice-
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do-
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Mary Oliver

AWAY SHE GOES

My little bird has come and gone so quickly I can scarcely believe she was here at all. Four days is not enough, especially when she gave so many of those hours helping at the cafe. Unselfishly, filling in to do whatever needed to be done for as long as she was needed. We did have all of Thursday, a few hours on Friday and Saturday, and several more Sunday afternoon; but it was just not enough. Early Sunday morning was the balloon lift off at the park where the cafe sits...and this is my favorite moment she captured....little duck with the best "seat" in town, enjoying the brilliant color on a glorious morning as the sun comes up. I love that I have these photos, that HER eye captured them first. Proof that she really was here.......my little bird. x

MAKING MOTHIES FROM SILK FUSION

The Mission: Make Mothies. "From WHAT?"...I pondered the different fabrics I had on hand. Some really funky, some just beautiful, but nothing jazzed me. Then I remembered the bags of silk fiber that I had purchased with the intention of trying the fusion process to create some unique 'fabric' to work with for my faeries. That was when I was actually sculpting faes.

The process took a bit of time. You lay out in one direction various silk fibers and then on top of that in the opposite direction you lay out another layer. This is placed in between nylon netting like a sandwich. The next step is to brush on hot water mixed with dish detergent and really saturate the fibers. After blotting the excess water off you then brush it with a textile medium for fabric painting which is like a thinned glue in a way. This now needs to hang up and dry anywhere from 4-8 hours depending on the climate. Once dry, you peel the netting off and you have some funky fabric that you can now use in your artwork or sew it up into whatever suits your fancy. For a fabulous tutorial, go to joggles.com and click on tutorials, then click on silk fusion. I tried to write the correct html code here to link it, but failed miserably. I did two different color combos. One was more blue and purple, and the other mossy green with hints of gold and pink. With these I made my mothies. Two for the swap and one for my daughter. I drew out a basic shape, cut, sewed, stuffed, embellished with beads and thread; stamped a face onto light muslin and applied to the body; added crowns; cut wings from the fusion fabric and added a cord for hanging. Viola!

pssst......Patti G...........YOUR NAME HAS BEEN DRAWN

Well Ms. Patty G...........this week's 'Gift Away' is yours!! I will package her up and send this little Encouragement Fae on to continue her mission in life. Enjoy her and thank you, everyone, for visiting, and especially those of you who leave your name.

HAPPY SATURDAY AND HAVE
A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!!!

SEARCHING

For miss *r

A Soul Journal would be perfect. Pour yourself into it.
This Angel seems to understand the familiar journey.

NOTES FROM THE "NEST"

This beautifully hand sculpted fae has graced my blog early on, but as I was thinking about a passage I was going to share with you tonight I felt this precious mother and child was an appropriate accompaniment. Many years ago I had countless conversations with my best friend who never married and did not have children. She actually knew as a young girl that she was not really made for mothering and we always agreed that it was fortunate that she knew that of herself and did not have to discover it after the fact. However, she had a saying whenever children or adults behaved in an unseemly manner; "Raised by wolves" she would declare and give me the one eyebrow raised (that I cannot do to save my life!) My answer would be "Actually, wolves would have done a better job!" and we would laugh. After a few years of this one of us would simply look at the other and just say "Wolves?" and the other would just give a nod. So this is what I was wanting to share with you tonight. One of the most interesting books I've ever read and continue to pick up (the worn cover proves my constant handling of it) is Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I'm sure many of you have not only read it, but have referenced it yourselves. One of my most favorite passages I will share.

Healthy wolves and healthy women share certain psychic characteristics; keen sensing, playful spirit, and a heightened capacity for devotion. Wolves and women are relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mates, and their pack. They are experienced in adapting to constantly changing circumstances; they are fiercely stalwart and very brave.

If you have never had the pleasure of this book, I highly recommend it. If nothing else, you will come away with a profound sense of sisterhood and perhaps a deeper sense of how amazingly similar wolves really are to us.

VERY SPECIAL 'GIFT AWAY'

This precious Magpie Fae is an 'Encouragement Faerie' The inspiration came as I was pondering the upcoming visit of my daughter and how excited I feel about the very precious days we will have together and also thinking about how really fortunate I am as a mother of three very unique, incredibly loving, and very independent children. I have encouraged them on their many adventures and the day-to-day of life; but as young adults, they have also encouraged ME and have been the shoulder or ear that I needed many times. I cannot-WILL not imagine life without them.

So here is a very special fae, indeed. Her name is Linaea (Lin. A' .ya) and she gently encourages all the young faeries that they can not only fly, but can accomplish anything that they believe they can.

"Of course you can fly my sweet, your dreams have wings."

I will need to take a creative break this week as I prepare for and enjoy the short visit with my daughter; so my next 'gift away' will be two weeks from today.

DO come and visit, however, as I will no doubt have stories and pictures to share.

OH, HAPPY DAY!!!!!!

Good morning my bloggie buddies!! And if it's Saturday.....then that must mean a name has been pulled for this week's winner......yes, that's EXACTLY what it means. .................................Tulla and Miss Z have been pestering me since I first opened my eyes....geeessshhh, can't a gal get a cup of coffee!!!!

Without any more delay, and having a serious caffeine fit, the name drawn this morning.................................................


ANGELA

CONGRATULATIONS MS. ANGELA!!!! Miss Tulla is zipping all around the house with the slip of paper in her hand singing a little song about going to Angela's house and I cannot make out the words as she is quite a fast little fae for all her years. Her excitement is very contagious and I'm starting to sing my own little song now as I head TO MY COFFEE POT AND POUR A CUP OF LOVELY JAVA. MS Angela, if you would leave me your e-mail addy here I will be in touch and get the process going so that MS. Tulla can head out to you.

I'll be back later bloggie friends to list the next 'Gift Away' and fill you in on the week past and the exciting news of the upcoming week and a visitor I am going to have for a few days. :) :)

FAIRY DUSTER

This rascaly shrub has the custes of nick names "Fairy Duster" (botanical name is Calliandra) and that can conjur up some images of wee faes flitting about with one of these blossoms in hand as they attend to some type of faerie cleaning. (truthfully, I would hope in the faerie world we would NOT have to do any type of housework!!) I can even see this little blossom being a fine skirt for a faerie ball. Here in the desert Southwest, these blooming shrubs are really an announcement that the spring flower show is about to arrive. The scraggly, scrubby, 2'-4' bush thankfully lacks spines which seem to be on just about every growing thing out here! It's not a pretty bush by any means in and of itself. The 'fruit' is a flattened, brown pod covered with soft hairs that splits open and stays on the plant for a long time afterward. You have to really love the burst of color to put up with the rather ugliness of it for most of the year. It almost appears to be dead......except for the dramatic explosion of pink or red stamens. "Puff" like and very appropiately named I think. One of the most wonderful things about the plant is that hummingbirds LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to visit them. The vibrant color engages them and we happily watch as the tiny hummers flitter and flutter around. It's quite a delightful show.

So as I left work yesterday afternoon I passed by this bush and had to capture the vision and share with you. And to those of you who are still knee-deep in snow, well, I'm sorry (unless you are loving every inch of it) as we are about to begin the most gorgeous time here with incredible color bursting from the most unlikely places. Perhaps it's nature's ploy to dazzle us before we begin to fry. That will be here sooner than I care to think.

FROM ME TO YOU

MAGIC IS EVERYWHERE, REALLY.

They are everywhere...hearts. I've seen the most magnificent heart shaped clouds, way more heart shaped potato chips than I should ever admit to, beautiful heart shaped puddles that made me smile before I cleaned them up (heart shaped cactus :) :) :).... You name it, I've seemed to have found it in a heart shape.

A few years ago when I spent every day at the cafe, it seemed I found heart rocks on a regular basis. This is what is left of the collection. You see, I displayed them on a rack in the bathroom to bring a smile to those that paid attention...and many did. In fact, some of my collection disappeared as evidently a few people felt they could just take them. And really, when you think of it, that is pretty much what I had done when I picked them up off the ground, right? So it was hard to be upset when my collection disappeared a little at a time. My most favorite of all was a deep gray, very smooth stone about two inches across. Perhaps I should have kept that one safely at home as that was the first one to leave, but I have hoped that where ever it is they love it as much as I did.

What you see above is what I have left and I share them with you today and encourage you to be on the look out for them, because once you open your eyes and really look and EXPECT them the more often they appear. It's all pretty amazing.

What the heart believes, the eyes see. Someone pretty amazing said that to me once and I have all too often forgotten it.

Happy Valentine's Day my dear bloggies........on every coast, in many states, and many lands. Let me know when you next find a <3

NOTES FROM THE "NEST"

I thought I'd share with you a little house that's been in the making for a while. It began with a little wooden house from Michaels. It's about 4 inches. The walls of the house are painted with three different shades of green with a bit of pink/purple dabbed here and there. The roof shingles are a combination of green base with more pink and purple shades to give it as much depth and interest as possible. I've collaged on a little faerie, music paper and a cardinal. Today I added some greenery and flowers along with the paper hummingbird. This is far from done, but as with most projects, it's an ongoing process that I have to look at every day and just let it happen. To photograph it I placed it on one of my favorite twig faerie chairs that I think I got at Michaels years ago. I've had it so long I have forgotten the details...but I have loved it since I first laid eyes on it.

So after cleaning today like a crazy woman, I fiddled a bit with this wee house and just wanted to share it with you. It just makes me smile. Now I will say goodbye to the weekend, blessed hours at home, and prepare for the work week. That which allows me to have this nest, and the little creature comforts that can be taken for granted (electricity, water, gas in the car..... :) :) )

I WAS NOT GONE THAT LONG AND LOOK WHAT TRANSPIRED!!

I stepped away for just a few hours and evidently ZuZu M. and Tulla were playing dress up!! Being the magpie that she is, Miss ZM had several bits of buttons and bows available and decided to add a little bling-bling to the weary traveler. I must say, I like the added embellishment to her crown and slippers.

I can only imagine what they will be up to later... Magpie Clan that they are. The next few days will be quite interesting with the two of them.

THIS WEEK'S 'GIFT AWAY'

Meet the second in my new series of mAgPiE FaErIeS

This is Tulla (Too' la), a Messenger Fae sent by Katra to bring news of her arrival and happiness in her new home.

Tulla is one of the more ancient mAgPiE FaErIeS and has been the 'bringer of notes' from sister faes back and forth for so many decades that even SHE has forgotten when and how it all began. All she knows for certain is that every day, several times a day, her name is carried by the wind and off she must scurry to bring notes of comfort, love, encouragement and sometimes, even gossip.

So here she is today, with a note for ZuZu Magalicious from Katra who arrived just yesterday to the Enchanted Cottage. Her happiness and excitement over her new life (which began with the most delightful of parties) spills out with such magpie chatter on this note that your hands feel tingly just holding it. ZuZu Magalicious (who appears so nonchalant) was truly relieved to receive the news from Katra; and we three agreed that yesterday was an exceedingly good day.

The note from Katra is being held behind Tulla's back and ZuZu has informed me that she will send it off with Tulla to this week's winner. The words of Katra are forever in ZuZu's heart, and she is happy to share this sweet little note with YOU, the next weekly winner-caretaker of the second mAgPiE FaErIe.

Bonne chance!!

LOOKING FOR DOGFAERIEX5!!!!!!

YOUUUUUHOOOOOOOOOO!!! dOGFAERIE........YOUR NAME HAS BEEN PULLED!!! Send your addy on to me and tomorrow morning the Zetti heart will be on it's way.

I will post the newest Gift Away on Saturday bloggie friends. I have something fun up my sleeve....o.k. NOT my sleeve, but you know what I mean.

Hugs <3 Rella

THREE MORE HOURS AND A NAME WILL BE DRAWN

FOR THE ZETTI HEART..........4:45 P.M. (6:45 EST)...JOIN THE FUN AND I'LL BE BACK LATER.

HUGS <3 Rella

KEEPING WITH THE VALENTINE THEME

This little ACT I did back in 2003. My how time speeds by!!! Attaching wings (my favorite thing to do-make faeries out of anyone and everything)to these two imagages they just really touched my heart. "Soul Mates" came to mind instantly and that is what they became. The background is a wild paper I had floating around my stash and it always surprised me when I spotted this paper as it wasn't typically the design I would hoard. But you just never know, do you? Well, I hung on to this ATC which in and of itself is very rare, but one day I copied it and decided to make a greeting card with this on the front. It was going to be one of the cards offered at the cafe. (We offer hand made cards and artwork at our cafe-kind of cool) I handed the card over to my partner to bring down to the cafe one Sunday, only to find it on his bureau many days later. Assuming he had forgotten to bring it down to the cafe I reminded him when he got home that night. With the sweetest of smiles he replied, "I would like that one for myself, it's special"..............and with that I knew why I could not part with that little ATC to begin with. It's just special.

I share it here visually now as we approach Valentine's Day. One of my little pieces that I have never had the heart to part with. <3 Hugs ~ Rella

Remember to sign up for the weekly 'Gift Away' below. The name will be drawn tomorrow night and will be announced, and mailed off Friday morning. Make sure you leave your e-mail addy if I don't already have it. On Saturday I wll be placing the next gitfie on my post.

NATURE'S VALENTINE GIFTS TO ME

Mother Nature is truly amazing!! First of all I have this cactus, (or actually I believe it's considered a succulent) that absolutely refuses to bloom at Christmas. I do the usual practially bring it to near death without water and away from sunlight in the fall, then begin the process of water and natural light, etc. It continues to bloom in February. That's all there is to it...it has a mind of it's own I guess.

The last photo is the huge cactus out in the yard that suffered terribly when we had several nights of frost and over 50 of those "paddles" fell and crashed to the ground. As I looked out to the glorious day yesterday I thought my eyes were deciving me!!! Was that a heart??
Out I go with camera in hand...HOLY MOLY... it IS a heart!! How sweet are these two Valentine gifts??

HAVE YOU NOTICED?

 

I am sure I am not the first to notice or 

'connect the dots',

but there seems to be an interesting swing 

in behavior going on the past couple of month. 

Blogging is growing by leaps and bounds and 

as with any change of such magnitude, 

something else goes by the wayside. 

In this case, one avenue of artistic outlet, 

our online art groups, are becoming noticably quiet. 

Personally, I stepped back from my groups 

because I knew that my little life was becoming a bit overwhelming 

and there was little room left for obligating 

myself to creating large amounts of artwork to trade. 

Plus, I was not at a creative highpoint back 

a few months ago and have not returned to that point 

even as I write. 

About that time, I jumped into the blog arena and shared what little I was able to do creatively on my own blog.......

and at the same time began to cruise the super highway of blog to blog exploring. 

Through the sharing of an ever increasing number of artistic blogs, one could quite literally BLOG THE DAY AWAY!!!!. 

I have met some amazing people and really discovered 

incredible talent out there in Blogland. 

Every day I find something new, someone new. 

So I guess what I'm saying is that the little time 

I have or allow myself on the computer given 

the full-time job and the loss of creative energy 

due to some life circumstances, I am using in Blogland.

And here, on MY blog, I give away to my wonderful visitors,

the only art I CAN create right now. 

So, I am still giving away my little pieces, 

but it's on my terms, and on a very teeny, tiny, scale.

What do YOU, my bloggie friends think?

Have YOU noticed?

  What is YOUR opinion?

NEWEST 'GIFT AWAY'

 
 O.K....through much trial and tribulation,
here is the latest of my 'Gift Aways'. 
The laptop I usually use (IBM) is on the fritz...
Windows will not open, therefore NOTHING will. 

So I have to depend on my mac that does not have picasa 
and uploading and sizing of photos is a bit harder. 
This picture is not the best I fear, 
but I wanted to get it here as best I could. 
This is a 4" balsa wood heart with a hanging loop 
of black and white 1/8 ribbon trim. 

It is also edged around the entire heart with the same trim. The image is a Zetti (one of my favs) image stamped on tissue and slightly colored. 
The text is also a stamped bit of paper. 
The heart itself first had gesso applied, 
a few different paints and inks to give it depth 
which you cannot see very well here. 
The back is a lighter color of paints and I will be signing and writing a little note to the winner.

I have not spritzed on the glitter glam yet 
as that impairs the photo quality, 
but it will be applied shortly as I think that will be the little "bling" necessary. 
All and all it's a little Valentine morsel from me to you. 
This week I will draw the name on Thursday 
so that it can be mailed off Friday.

I want to make sure it's gets to it's new home before Valentine's Day.

Bonne Chance!!

HERE WE GO.................PULLING A NAME.....

Today's winner is....... zUzu!!!!! woooowhoooooo. Miss K is packaged up and ready to fly to your enchanted cottage.

For those of you who have not visited zUzU you can go

HERE

and meet one of the most enchanting writers I've come across in a long time. Her blog is beautiful with so much "eye candy" you cannot wait to go back and get MORE. Each of her postings draws you into a delightful place of wonder along with the most beautiful pictures. Visiting Zuzu is like taking a deep breath and letting all your cares go to the wayside. Do yourself a favor and take a journey and be prepared to smile.

FULL SNOW MOON

At 12:45 a.m. ET (or 10:45 p.m. here in Arizona), we will be under the second full moon of 2007. Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.

The Cherokee called it the Bony Moon, while Dakotah Sioux called it Moon of the Raccoon, or Moon When Trees Pop. Colonial Americans called this moon Trapper's Moon; but in China their view was a tad different = Budding Moon.

In my mind's eye, a picture comes quickly as I read each title. That makes me smile (the exception is Full Hunger Moon and even though I try to whiz past THAT title, my warp speed thought process has already conjured up pictures of starving children with haunting eyes.) Note to self: remember to work on my effort to 'quiet my mind'.

I share with you, my interpretation of Full Snow Moon. Tinted in Picasa, this is my favorite of all time images to use in my artwork.

My wish for you tonight is that wherever you are or whatever timezone you happen to be in, that you have the ability to see the glorious and gorgeous full moon.