From Little Acorns...

I don't know about you but I love Autumn...although to be honest this year most of the Summer has been very Autumnal!

I haven't had much access to computers this year and it's been a rather strange experience...on the one hand I have missed and craved the way you can peep into other folks' lives and see how you all are and what everyone's been doing...on the other hand, it makes you so free when you can no longer do that :o)
As I'm rather isolated up here in the mountains of wet and windy Wales it's lovely to be able to travel the world with you all and come to have virtual tea right in your homes but because I haven't been able to visit I have had withdrawals, isn't that odd?
One good thing though is that I can actually get on and finish things begun last year which I always left in the 'to-do' pile...so be warned, you'll all be sick of seeing me soon ;o)

My little Elves are now speaking to me and not sulking and I have even done a few Halloweeny things...maybe I should get on and photograph them...(yep,that would be a good idea ;o)) then I could share them with you over an nice cup of tea, and a cake :o)

This painting was supposed to be finished last Autumn but got buried under piles of my other  'oooh shiney' stuff  (my attention span is not great when a new idea pops into my head) but at least I've done it for this year!
(As you know I'm a slow worker, I hate being rushed ;o)
To be fair to myself though, I do fit these things in around home-schooling children, trying to tame the wilderness which surrounds our garden and all of the other boring day-to-day things like cooking-gawd I really don't enjoy cooking, and yet I do it every day...come rain...come rain...feeding teenagers is a never-ending story, how can they be so skinny and yet eat so much!? Please let me in on the secret :o)

Well, enough of that...here she is...this one is for all of you who have that little Acorn waiting to be planted, you know the one...the little idea or dream, just waiting for you to give it some encouragement and a little care ready for it to grow...and we all know what little acorns grow up to be :o)

The ELF need your help!

Boo!
Hello out there in the Land of Blog...
I'm part of the E.L.F. (Elf Liberation Foundation) and I need your help!
This lazy 'Artist' will not finish us...we have been lying around this (very messy!) house and she just keeps ignoring us!
I have tried to look her in the eye to get her attention, I even put on my bestest sweetest smile...nothing!
Please, if you can help, or know of any help groups out there for lazy artists, please send us a message, we can now work the keyboard by using our feet and we enjoy jumping from one key to the next...and we can access her blog behind her back (we aren't as behind the times as she thinks).

To prove our point...

This poor creature has only had her head made, yes it is rather large we know, but surely that should not be a valid reason to leave her without a body!

And just look at the mess she makes us stand in!
We keep trying to tidy it but she always plonks her drawings down and covers us up!
Then she gets black smudgy pieces of stick and scribbles on paper and makes a black mess everywhere, there's no hope for her :o(
When she starts painting her Faery pictures she completely forgets about us...talk about fickle!

We also have a question...do you think we would look better in hats?
She gave some of us big fluffy hair and we aren't sure we approve...(it's so 1980's) and she only made me a hat (which is making some of the members a little envious)...

I have also been 'promised' (her promises are pie crusts) a little waistcoat, but I bet she's forgotten all about that idea...especially when she saw that naked Fae sitting on the flowers...her attention span is worse than a child's.
Oh...she's coming back...remember, she mustn't know about our conversation...keep it under your hat!
She doesn't come on this bloggy thing much so she will never notice...
Farewell people in the Land of the Blog and thank you from all of us...especially the ones we could not show you...they would make your hearts break...
Shhhhh...she's looking over here...tra la la la la...(I am the picture of innocence) ;o)

My Bleeding Heart

Call this summer!
Rain rain go away...(not really true as I hate having to water the poor plants when it's dry!)
We have another small flood in the front room, the rain has gushed down the mountain and banked up against our poor old house and is now trickling in through the stone walls and into the room (which they call The Parlour round these parts, there's posh for you ;o))
We have had this before...we lost our new carpets and underlay when we first moved here so don't put anything down anymore (learned that one the hard way, funny how no one mentioned that before we bought the house)...but, we do have to house the 'puters and stuff in there and when the puddles start we all rush around picking the wires and things off the floor to stop them getting wet (as you can see we have learned not to mix our water and electrics, safety first my dears!)
I'm huddled into a corner now with wires trailing all over things and it does look a little like a spider will be having me for dinner tonight!

Ah well, you gotta love June...if anyone is planning on being a June Bride, you may need to rethink that one...I hear December's quite nice ;o)

Spring passed me by so quickly this year that I didn't get to show my painting :o(
He was done for a Spring Challenge... and for some reason I decided (on some mad whim), to tidy up the house, so I packed him away safely inside a sketchbook (as you do) and then lost him!
I looked through all of them, over and over but nope...then...when I was no longer looking for him as Spring had made way for Summer (Ha! see top of post) and had decided that my Fae had flown the coop...I opened a book and there he was, trying not to look me in the eye (as usual) Typical!

So...here he is (the naughty boy)...he's sitting on my daughter's clump of Bleeding Heart...so of course, that's what the painting is called :o)

Hope the rain is being good to you wherever you are...
I'm off to try to catch Faeries...in the rain...
Cee :o)
 
 
 

Are all Elves bald and grumpy?

Well we at last have some rain!
No gardening today, which is just as well as I have banged my fingers up and can't grip anything, my hand is like a crazy claw...(I kind of like the shape but not the bruising!)
Which also means no sculpting either :o(
I have a hoard/horde of angry bald Elves looking at me to get on and finish them...and still I pretend that I can't see or hear them...now I can just wave my clawed hand at them and not feel so guilty, (that's my excuse for today) :o)
I'll try to take a picture of their mean little faces and you'll understand how bossy they are to me...
Not to mention the old bald witch and wizards...my sculpts are ganging up on me...

Serves me right I suppose...things do get put aside when the weather gets brighter.

This is a sketch I did before the lure of the outdoors, I think she would make a lovely faery...but then she would most likely moan at me because she didn't have her wings finished...you know how whiny the Fae can be!

I've not done much sketching lately, I'm such a lazy artist! 

I feel ashamed...a little...hey, actually not really that much :o)

I have to get as much done outside as I can before the dreaded pollen attacks.

What is it with the world these days...grumpy bald Elves, mean witches, nasty pollen...?

I may have to hide under my table...maybe not, that's where I hide my disaster drawings...they just look at me and tell me how rubbish I am.

I have a feeling that I'm sounding a little pathetic now...oh no...they really are out to get me!

I hope it isn't catching ;o)

Kestrel Sparkplug Sprocket the third :o)

Can you believe it's the end of the month already?!

As promised here's the little oddball which was hidden behind the EHAG poster ;o)

The challenge was to create something from the word 'SCREAMPUNK'...kind of Steampunk meets Spooky...so as usual mine decided to do its own thing and become an Elf!
If I'm honest, I think he's rather odd looking (and from me that's saying something!)...but when my clay and oddments start to go in a direction on their own, I let them...it makes creating something a happy experience and not a chore :o)
This is little Kestrel Sparkplug Sprocket the third, from the back...(I could just bite his bottom). He measures a whopping 3 inches high!!!

Here's a little I wrote about him for Etsy...Kestrel, The Steampunk Inventor Elf

 *This teeny little elf was created for the EHAG member's challenge entitled 'SCREAMPUNK' 

He's my humble offering and as you can see, he is a little oddball ;o)
His full name is Kestrel Sparkplug Sprocket the third, (I know that his name is bigger than he is, but he has been steadily growing into it)
I believe that he was born with only one arm but being born into a family of inventors, his grandfather made him a little replacement from stuff the big Human Beans leave lying around.
He has never known anything else, so does not feel in the least bit disabled...and being an Inventor Elf himself, he has updated his arm over the years as more useful items have been found, he even made his own little hat (you would never believe the amount of good stuff folks throw away!). *

I have no idea why he ended up like this but there you go...

If you would like to see what all of the other EHAG members came up with for the challenge, pop over to the Emporium and take a peek :o)

And now, as it is almost April...I think it's time for someone to play the fool ;o)...put your hands up if you're with me! :o)

Gentleman's Relish and Art

Hi everyone :o)
The sun has been gracing us with his presence for a week now!
North Wales actually had the most sunshine for the UK.
We are normally known for the highest rain fall, so this is really odd for us...
No rain coats or umbrellas!
I feel positively naked!
Which brings me swiftly on to my new mini...see you couldn't even see the join it was so seamless he he he

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95936368/gentlemans-relish?ref=v1_other_2

 I was sorting through some of my collection of nudes, which I have been collecting for decades now and which my Troll refers to as my 'porn stash'! Humph!


It makes no difference how many times I repeat the fact that this is an aid to my arty stuff, he just recons I'm weird...well no shock there eh?

I started to laugh at some of the old Victorian pictures as they were so odd back then, and this made me think of all of the funny 'Gentlemen' who would have purchased these pictures...which made me want to add some to my miniature world...which then led to editing bits out and shrinking...etc...and this was the result :o)

I have no idea who would want them (apart from me) but I thought I would make them any way...just because...
So tell me honestly...I won't be angry...if you had a miniature Gentleman (or lady!)...do you think it would be indecent to let them have their own Gentleman's Relish...or am I truly that weird?
And...do you think me collecting these images in the first place makes me weird? (Remember I am an 'Artist')
Also...is it a 'porn stash'? (please don't give my Troll any ammunition) ;o)
Cee...signing off from another bright and sunny day...it won't last...:o)

Spring is in the air...

Spring time...although looking outside up here in dreary Snowdonia, you would think it was Autumn!
Ah well...that's Mother nature for you!
I've been playing around with something for the EHAG Screampunk challenge...but it's still a secret, (so don't tell anyone, okay?)
This is a little sneak peek...

Can you tell what it is? :o)
It looks kind of cute from this angle but it isn't from the front!
I've not been doing much in the form of 'Arty' stuff for a while as we have to clear the HUGE brambles and bracken out of the fields, which is an horrendous task which creeps up on us, much like the brambles ;o)
It was nice to have an excuse to not stick my wellingtons on and be able to sit at my table trying to remember where I'd put the one tool I really needed and which I couldn't find amongst all of my mess!

So...how are you all then...enjoying the Springy-ness everywhere?
All of the little yellow daffodils are smiling outside, which makes your heart feel all bouncy and renewed...just what we need after a long winter.
I might actually pull my wellies on and tramp through the mud to take a big sniff of Spring...after I've had another cup of (nettle) tea though...it's still a bit chilly after all ;o)

The Bluebell Wood inside my head...

It's still raining...
It's been foggy for day and days...
I think the mountains are hiding from me...so...
I decided to get out my paints and pretend it's really spring :o)

I think I'll call it The Bluebell Tree...what do you think?
Ahhh...now that's better, the buzzy bees are buzzing and the birdies are egg-laying and Spring is in the air!
At least it is in my head ;o)

Should Ancient Artefacts be Trademarked?

Hello my lovely little followers (and welcome to some new ones hiding in the corner, I can see you :o) )
Hope you're all feeling fine and dandy this beautiful rainy morning (as you can see I'm trying to see the glass half full :o)


I thought I would show you this beautiful work of art and see how you feel about Trademarking ancient 'stuff'.

A few years ago I was reading about the Nebra Sky Disk, shown above, and as it is such an attractive artifact I thought I would revisit it (if you google it, you will find loads of info so I won't bore you all with it here ;o)).
I was quite saddened to discover that the disk has now been trademarked (!)(?)
Apparently the state of Saxony-Anhalt has registered the disk as a trademark and have successfully sued people who make copies.


Now I am all for copyright protection, and as an artist I fully agree that work needs protecting but this is a work of art made in the Bronze Age...and unless I'm not quite right with my maths...the owners of the work should have been dead a good few years.


I believe that the problems arose when souvenirs were being made, which may account for the idea of trademarking in the first place, and to a certain extent, I agree that the 'owners' should be allowed to make 'trinkets' themselves without too much competition...but...
If an item like this can be trademarked, then what else is or can be?


The Sky Disk was itself, in use for around 400 years, with people adding and changing things on it, before it was buried.
(There is also controversy about it being a fake as it is so unique.)
The people, who over these 400 years used it, belonged to a time so different from our own, they worshipped nature and used their knowledge of the sky to create works of beauty as an aid in their work.
How sad then, that someone now, could take their work and trademark it...how very un-natural.


I suppose, if this is how trademarks work, (I'm not an expert, so don't quote me), this would mean that... any re-enactors would not be able to make a replica for their...(whatever they do?).
Potters would not be able to make a clay version?
Metal workers could not make one.
Jewellers...nope sorry.
Glass workers...no, sorry.
Wood workers...no.
Cake makers?
Thinking about it...the list is endless...that is so sad.


Shouldn't this sort of treasure belong to all of us?
Shouldn't we all be able to be inspired by it? 
And if someone had the talent to create a copy of an ancient artifact for others to share (even if they ate it), shouldn't they be allowed to do that?
After all, we will know that we aren't buying the original, so it isn't as if we were being conned by a fake...and as there is no other way for us mere mortals to have anything like the original, why can't we have a copy?
Oh well...that's modern living for you...


I wonder if Stonehenge has been trademarked yet...or The Sphinx...or...? ;o)

Who says you have to be 'Skin and Bone and Misery?'

Happy New Year! :o)
I bet you're all so sick of hearing that by now aren't you?
Well...you will all no-doubt hear it on every blog until the novelty wears off he he he

So...did you all have a fab time? Hope so!
I will not say about mine as it will get very boring if everyone on their blogs rattles on about how they ate too much and now feel guilty...blah blah blah...

Last year...(was it that long ago?) I found a fantastic 'plump' model and have been doing lots of sketches of her...it has always been difficult finding a larger model, for obvious reasons, so when you find one believe me, you treasure them!
Just think, if you have a 'perfect' figure and are very aware of it, then you would have no problem at all being an art model (and we would all hate you forever!!!! he he he)
But if society made you believe that you were too fat and so, therefore, must be 'unattractive' then how brave you must be to become an artist's model and let all of the world see your so-called flaws!
So thank you my 'plump' model, thank you for giving me the opportunity to challenge the misconceptions which society has imposed on us, that only thin or perfect can be beautiful!
Thank you for giving me the chance to draw something different from the 'beautiful' (and they are) perfect (they are) models...although I do also thank them for allowing me to draw from their lovely bodies...it means so much more to me, being able to draw your 'not-so-perfect' body...

And I think that's about it...
As you can see...I have started the New Year as I mean to go on!
Run for the hills folks he he he