And Now For Something Completely Different

Yep, I've been slacking.  I will fully admit that I haven't painted a feather since April of 2012.  I've done some dreamcatchers and I've learned some traditional beading.  I've learned brick stitch and how to do rosettes from a fantastic Mohawk woman.  I've taught myself peyote, square, spiral and how to do free-form flowers.  The pouches I've been doing have everything stitched together so delicately you can't see the sinew on either side.  I'm still learning though, so no photos of leather work till I decide whether I'm going to keep it up or not.

Anole

 I have to say, that even with that I haven't been very busy lately.  I've been out enjoying life.  I've started helping out the museum I work at with a new Facebook Fan Page and a Page On G+.  That means taking loads of photos, doing some editing, and lots of research!  It's taken me in a different focal direction that I think I needed to appreciate my own work a bit more.

Cicada

Though I can tell it's time to get back into getting dirty again.  My hands have been itching to go.  I have a few pieces that I need to get finished up and a few more that I need to get working on.

On a good note, I may not have been painting, but I've been able to catch some wildlife that has been coming around me lately.  So I've shared a few of the photos so you can see what I see.

Pandora Sphinx

There are little green anoles everywhere, and I do mean everywhere.  On windows, on the porch, in the museum, in the bathroom, on the car...everywhere.  I can't complain as they eat a ton of mosquitoes every chance they get.  They are kinda cute too.

There are cicada's flying into my porch just about every night.

Tersa Sphinx

Most amazing story, I had a Pandora Sphinx moth attach itself to my shoulder for about two days.  He sat there as I worked, did laundry, cooked and cleaned.  It was a very odd experience, but I know it had a deep significance. 

The Pandora Sphinx, sitting with me

Shortly after my Pandora friend passed away, a Tersa Sphinx moth came to stay with me for a while after returning home from work.  They are both Sphinx Moths, also considered hummingbird moths.  Fantastic creatures!

A visiting Tersa Sphinx

And lastly we have had American Green Tree Frogs just as many places as the Anoles!  Every window in the evening has had a frog.  My porch has at least two at any given time.  Though the photo I have was a tiny little one that I almost passed right by.  It was so tiny it could have fit on my thumb nail!    Don't be fooled by the size though, we can hear these little guys calling out from several yards away as if they're in your ear! 

American Green Tree Frog, look how tiny!

While I haven't been painting much as of late, I certainly have had a lot of animal visitors.  There have also been snakes, egrets, hawks, owls, and praying mantis' that I've not gotten a good shot at.  Maybe they're going "Here...here's some good inspiration...GET BACK TO WORK! =)

3 Feather Wolf

Way back in December, I had a request for a fan painted with wolves.  Two cubs if I could.  She wanted it by April for her man as a gift.  Now to be honest, I am ridiculous when it comes to commission pieces and I make myself nervous to the point I'm scared to work on it.  So that being said, I waited till mid March to start it.  Apparently...I work better under pressure

It turned out really great!  It was a bit of a challenge to work across three feathers.  I don't have the photo of the ends because the shafts still need cleaned up and wrapped, but hopefully everything in this go round will eventually make it much easier to do another fan in the future!

Hatching Baby Dragons

 There's a new line of creation that have been started!  Little baby dragons!

They're not my normal medium of work.  I'm more of a 2-D kinda gal all and all.  But my other half started playing with polymer clay and I wanted to give it a shot.

It's a lot different than the regular clay I am used to.  It doesn't harden on you, or dry out and crack.  But that can also be one of the biggest pains in the rear!  There's been a couple times I've had one just about done, sitting on a shelf, and someone (or some cat) bumps it.

And let me tell you...picking fur out of polymer clay.  Does anyone else remember that if you had pets and playdoh as a kid...of it fell on the floor it was pretty much done for?  Unless you like furry creations that is.

But while he makes little gnomes, and really strange figures, I decided to take a cute and adorable route and try my hand at little dragons.  The ones on the very top image are my first two.  I started out with the large one.  She took a few hours to finish, mostly because I kept knocking little details off.

About that time, Branden, my partner in crime, decided he was going to make dragons that fit inside bottle caps.  Not to be outdone, I made a tiny little baby; which you also see in the first photo.  The little one was surprisingly more difficult, as it's hard to hold teeny tiny dots for details.

After the first one, they kind of exploded.  I would sit and watch an episode of something on Netflix and make a dragon.  This can be a bit interesting when someone asks "How long did it take you to make one" and your response is "Somewhere around an episode of Bones".

But really, once I got a few down, I started to try out a few different styles.  Some have multiple colors in the wings, one has swirled fins instead of wings and paws, one is even fallen over.

I haven't found a particular style that I want to stick with just yet, or if I just want to continue to make unique ones.  Either way, I hope that you find them as enjoyable as I do.  For purchasing options, follow the link to my Etsy shop.  Feel free to request a different color or something unique.  Challenges are always fun!