I Think That I Shall Never See...

...a tree with earrings.

It has been sooo windy here if the trees had any leaves, this is how they'd look.

The image above is a close-up of the corner of an art bag I painted for a round robin. I was unexpectedly bumped up into this exchange and so didn't have a lot of time to devote much thought to what I wanted to put on my bag. I love trees and their energy, the stories they tell (and the secrets they don't!), so when I began to paint, a tree is what emerged. No time for nifty stuff like photo emulsion which is what I'd originally wanted to do, but I like this windswept tree with its little beaded leaf accents. It reminds me of a storybook illustration. I'll probably add a few more leafy "earrings" later.

The best part will be seeing what the other seven artists who are in this round robin will add. The hardest part will be waiting for my bag to come back home.....

Wishes, Dreams and Hidden Things

The Tarot Deck Collective is a collaboration by several artists to create a Tarot deck based upon individual interpretation of the original 72 cards of the Tarot. They are being created for exhibition at the Bath Fringe Festival in the UK. (Sounds like a fun festival!)

The cards I chose to illustrate are the Star and the Moon. Click on either image for a larger version to better see the detail.

The Star is the card of wishes, hopes and dreams. The woman in the image is bathed in the golden glow of starshine as she contemplates universes both within and without. Unadorned except for sparkling starlight she is ready to bare her soul's deepest desires to the cosmos... and to trust that they will come to fruition.

Ah, the Moon..... the Moon has both a dark and a light side and is all about our hidden emotions, illusion, intuition, transformation... it illuminates that which might have been buried or kept from our conscious vision. There's nothing quite like the luminous glow of a full moon to bring it all to light. The Moon takes us deep within our inner process whether we like it or not, but the journey is always well worth the effort.

Each of these cards was created using acrylic paints, collage, colored pencils, gel pens and digital imagery. To view more, visit The Tarot Deck Collective blog.

Charmed

This little blogspace will be for sharing bits of art - both sent and received, poetic musings (mine and others), and anything else I deem to be related.

Today I sent off a batch of charms for a charm swap. I was a little daunted by the idea at first, but intrigued enough to sign up. After all, the reason I joined the 14 Secrets group in the first place was to stretch myself creatively. So I made charms. Lots of charms. I enjoyed making them so much I just kept making "a few more". They're puzzle pieces which have been embellished with gold paint and sealed with several coats of clear acrylic. I added a tiny piece of amethyst to each one. I love how they resemble little bits of porcelain. They remind me of my grandmother's tea cups (some of which are shown in the photograph). Click on the image to enlarge it.

I can't wait to see the charms made by the rest of the group..... I know they will be incredibly creative and fun.