A Happy (and Healthier!) Easter

Looks like I did it again - 8 days without a blog update, eek!

I have a good excuse though. I was in the hospital. Then the day after I got out, John went in again. Seriously. Stomach ailments for me (still no diagnosis, but I'm on the blandest of diets, and will be going through some more testing), and another episode of heart failure for John.

He's much better now, and we're enjoying a quiet Easter at home. The brunch we'd planned has been moved back a week. At least. I'd really like to be able to order something other than jello or oatmeal before we go. ;)

Meanwhile, I'm painting like mad, trying to catch up on commissions - some long overdue - and also trying to meet a deadline for the upcoming PFATT Marketplace. Well, actually, I already blew the deadline, but was very kindly granted a reprieve. Truthfully, I was all set to skip it this month, and just be "out on vacation"...

Until I saw this...

How could I resist?

"Follow Your Heart", now in progress...

Yummy colors, yes? I think it would make an amazing treasure chest or memory box, and the black frame around the top will be lettered with inspiring phrases. I'll post pics here and on facebook when it's finished. :)

In other news, it's looking as though the epic "Road Dust and Wanderlust" trip will be a two parter, with the larger leg of the trip postponed until I gain a little more mobility - which means not only weight loss, but adjusting to a new, permanent, ankle brace. The first leg of the trip - Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida to the Keys and back again - is still on, and I'm beside myself with anticipation! Details soon on the Road Trip blog (as soon as I find time to post that is, hehe)...

For now, it's back to work. ;)

Wishing you and yours a Happy and Blessed Easter, and a joyous spring! Back again very soon with pics of the completed chest....

♥ Carolee

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

Spring Fever!

Maybe it's the unseasonable warm weather we're having this winter, but spring fever is working it's magic in the studio, inspiring a new Easter/Ostara piece...

This one listed on Etsy last night, and sold just minutes later, but look for another whimsical spring piece (possibly a bowl) coming soon. :)

Until next time,
♥ Carolee

Moon Gazing Hares and a Tiny Surprise!

"A Young Hare" by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)

There times when researching a piece can be almost as fun as the painting process, when one story or tale leads you to another and another and another, until you fall down the proverbial Rabbit Hole - pun intended in this case, as the research this week has been about moon gazing hares, their presence in both eastern and western myth and legend, connection to the Goddess Eostre, and evolution into what we know today as the Easter Bunny. ;)

It's that time of year, when inspiration is found in all things Celtic and magical, and all things symbolizing rebirth and fertility...Then of course, there's the whole "Mad as a March Hare" thing...It's all just too rich and vivid not to paint! Soooooo, long story short, if you're tiring of seeing Hares and Rabbits here, I'll ask you to indulge me just a weeeeeee bit longer - and I promise I'll throw a bit of Halloween into the mix as well. :)

Speaking of which, there's a little black cat piece I call "Surprise!" up for grabs on eBay at the moment...

If you click here and check out the listing, you'll see the little surprise inside the drawer. ;)

That's about it for today, and I have much painting to do, so I'll close here. I promise to share the finished moon gazing hare piece both here and on facebook before listing it.

In the meantime, I wish you all a magical and creative rest-of-the-weekend...

Back very soon!

♥ Carolee

♫ Hippity Hoppity ♫...

♫ Easter's on it's way ♫ ...(Whether I'm prepared or not!)

I'll tell you what, it really snuck up on me this year...Most years I have an entire menu planned by now (or occasionally reservations made, hehe). But this year time got the better of me and the upshot is that we've decided to take advantage of the absolutely perfect springlike weather here, and throw something on the grill. Probably salmon. With lemon dill sauce and steamed asparagus. I may even bake a carrot cake, although that will depend on how productive I am with the painting. Yes, I'm afraid I'll be painting tomorrow - no rest for the wicked, eh? ;)

It's been true insanity lately, as I try to catch up with commissions and still keep offerings on eBay, Etsy, The EHAG Emporium and the PFATT Marketplace. But it feels so good when a favorite project is finished, and I can send it out there into the world. Here's a peek at what I've been working on the last couple of days - a table/bench shown here in progress:

And here all finished:

It was quite literally a dream to paint (as in, it came to me in a dream last week) and I'm hoping a bit of the dream magic stay with it wherever it ends up traveling. As of this writing, there's a "buy it now" option on the eBay auction at a price well below (by about $240) the regular commission price for a piece like this.

The barn owl is still listed on eBay as well, inspired by Molly and McGee of live owl cam fame. If you haven't checked out the owl cam, you really must - it's truly amazing! The picture is in color during the day (California time) and goes to a night vision camera at night. Feeding time is not for the squeamish, but it's truly fascinating to see this wonderful owl family up close. Fair warning though, it can be addictive, hehe. :)

That's about it for now. I'll be back very soon with tales of tea and springtime, and hopefully a few more pieces to share...In the meantime, whether you celebrate Easter or Ostara, I wish you a *joyous* day tomorrow!!


♥ Carolee
PS - Be careful with those jelly beans! I bought what turned into THE most expensive box of jelly bellys EVER this week, when they caused a crown to come loose, resulting in an emergency visit to the dentist - ouch! :-)

Serious Spring Fever

I know, I know....it's only March. And the Farmer's Almanac says we could still see some serious winter weather. So I'm truly trying not to get ahead of myself.

But there are tiny buds on the backyard lilac trees...

And lilies sprouting up along the fence....

And aconite flowering in the herb garden....

Even the koi seem to be waking from their winter stupor...

Now, I'm generally pretty good about living in tune with each season as it comes, appreciating the natural cycle of things and celebrating Mother Nature's magic as it unfolds.

But my goodness, this winter has been one for the record books!

So I find myself especially giddy anticipating the blessings of spring; longer days, warmer temps, flowers in the garden, birds at the feeder, planning and planting the herb garden at the back of the yard...Life, growth, renewal...it's truly a miracle, isn't it?!

Spring has also been making it's way into the work this week (with a little St. Patrick's Day and Halloween thrown in for good measure, hehe)...Here's a sneak peek at four trinket boxes which will be listing on eBay later this evening....

They'll each have a "buy it now" option, so if there's something you can't live without, you can grab it without going through the bidding and waiting process. :)

Oh - and be sure to check back on Tuesday for "Alice in PFATTland", when all the PFATT artists, myself included, will be offering pieces inspired by "Alice in Wonderland". I'm thinking a Cheshire Cat tea chest might be in order for this one, and perhaps a tea tray as well - we'll see what I have time for. I swear, when it comes to time, I'm like a greedy little kid in a candy store, whose eyes are too big for her stomach. I want to do it all, and never fail to underestimate just how LONG some of these projects can take, hehe...Ah well, at least we have an extra hour of daylight now, yes?!

Speaking of which, I need to be off to the studio. There's a commission calling my name, which I'm determined to finish before diving head first down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. :)

Wishing you all the blessings of whatever season you're in the midst of in your part of the world! I'll be back very soon with more goodies....

♥ Carolee

On Becoming "Real"

When our daughter Courtney was about a year old, a dear friend gifted her with a beautiful hardcover copy of the Margery Williams classic "The Velveteen Rabbit". I was just 23 years old myself at the time, and unfamiliar with book, but it brought tears to my eyes the first time I read it, and still does.

For anyone unfamiliar with the book, it's the tale of a stuffed rabbit who wants to be "real". My favorite passage is where one of the other animals in the nursery, the skin horse, explains to the little rabbit how toys become real:

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. 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 your 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."

I must say, this passage means even more at 50 than it did at 23. And I'm sure it's meaning will be deeper still if I'm blessed with another couple of decades. ;)

Real. It's not our outward appearance. It's not what we look like, how shiny and new we appear...It's what we are inside after being truly loved. That's what really counts, isn't it?

Sooooo, yes....maybe it's spring and thoughts of bunnies...maybe it's running across the book on Courtney's old bookshelf last week, but it's been crying "paint me!" for days now, and I finally had to oblige....

There are more pics on the eBay listing. Truly a blessing to paint this one, and a nice reminder of what's important too. ;)

There's yet another children's book, crying to painted, but it will probably be next week sometime....

Have you read this one?

It's the story of a Mother Bunny who becomes the Easter Bunny, and how, according to one review, "cleverness and kindness triumph over size and brawn". I read this one as a small child, and also read it to my daughter when she was little. It was written in 1939, and is surprisingly feminist for the time; girls can do anything, etc etc....Gotta love that. ;)

Bunnies, bunnies everywhere it seems! Never fear though, more wicked whimsy is on it's way - can't stay away from Halloween for too long, hehe....

In the meantime, I'm catching up on emails this week, after spending several days without a computer keyboard (spilled water on the old one - eek!) So if I owe you an email, it's coming!

Right now I'm off to wash out my paintbrushes and turn in for the night. Thank you ever so much for visiting me, and thank you for your comments too - I do so love to read them, even if I don't always have time to respond. (I promise to try harder though!)

Until next time,
~ Carolee

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

It's been raining steadily all day here in Pennsylvania, but as I write this, the sun is finally peeking through the clouds, making every thing outside shimmer and sparkle - one of those "ahhhhhhh!" moments, where you have to stop whatever you're doing and just smile at the beauty of it all.

The most recent nod to springtime is this whimsical trio of tiny trinket boxes, listed just now on Etsy. They're selling individually, but I almost hate to break them up - I can just picture them on a dresser, desk or table all together.... *UPDATE* - SOLD


Tomorrow will be a quiet day for us, and very non-traditional in terms of Easter dinner. Between John's low salt diet and my aversion to eating meat, the Easter feast will be a pasta dish, accompanied by a fresh baked french bread and a glass of red wine. Not sure what to do about dessert. Those cupcakes (see previous post) are GONE - or gone from HERE anyway, hehe (dropped them off at a friend's house, lest like everything else, they show up on my hips!) So.....maybe some fat free tapioca pudding for dessert tomorrow. ;)

Okay, back to work for me now, but I'll leave you with this artsy little clip from my latest favorite CD, Neko Case's "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood"....Been listening to this one a lot as I paint, and need to pick up her latest, "Middle Cyclone" soon!

Wishing everyone who celebrates a Happy and Blessed Easter tomorrow!!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ~ Carolee