Dancing Rabbit Dreams

Sometimes the best ideas and inspiration come when we've fallen deep into the arms of Morpheus.

I'm one of those lucky people with a very active dream life, and I tend to remember most of them. And sometimes they stay in my consciousness even after I've awakened, the lines between fantasy and reality blurring ever so slightly, so that although I'm physically awake, my head is still in the dream....Do you ever do that? Please tell me you do, or I might get worried! ;)

Sooooo, yes. These dreams are often surreal, and often include animals with very human-like qualities. Last week, it was dancing rabbits. I'm sure that means something to someone who interprets dreams, although what I couldn't tell you. To me, it just means I must paint them, hehe. And to that end, I decided to follow last week's platter with a ballerina-bunny treasure box...

She was so fun to paint, dancing on those clouds. And the eggs around the base of the box - Oh my, it was like being a kid again, decorating them all. I just love painting eggs - two and three dimensional. One day I must try my hand at painting pysanky - those intricate Ukranian eggs - sooooo beautiful!

And have you seen these?

So delicate! You can find them here.

Eggs and rabbits abound this time of year, and inspiration also comes from some of my favorite children's books. This piece was inspired by Margery Williams' "The Velveteen Rabbit", with a beautiful quote from the book hand lettered around the edge...

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

So true, and always brings a tear to my eye (but in a good way). ♥

The platter and the box will both be up for grabs on Saturday's PFATT Marketplace (10AM pacific/1PM eastern) ...Oh, and I forgot to mention - I painted an egg on the interior of the treasure box, just so it could be personalized for a special someone. :)

One or two more Easter/Ostara pieces are in the works too, and possibly another St Gertrude - this one a tri-fold table top piece. Then it's on to Halloween and Ghoultide Gathering pieces.

On the home front, I'm off to the podiatrist tomorrow, where I'll find out if another temporary brace is in order, or something more permanent. I'd really like to resolve the painful walking/blown ankle issue before the big road trip (just a few week now!) I'm still pinching myself that this lifelong dream is coming true! If you haven't already, please do drop by the Road Dust and Wanderlust blog, where we'll be posting updates from the road beginning in mid-May.

In the meantime, it's back to the arms of Morpheus for me, and more crazy dreams, hehe...

I'll be back very soon though, with new work, and a little giveaway!

Until then,
♥ Carolee