An Ode to Collectors - Thank You for Buying Handmade!

As the holidays approach, and the creative season gets busier and busier, it's important for artists to take a breath, and pause long enough to express our gratitude to those of you who enable us to Do What We Do.

So this post is for collectors.

Every time you make a purchase from an individual artist or crafter, you're buying something infused with love and care. You're choosing a one of a kind treasure made from the heart, something mindfully created, something personal and meaningful. You're helping an artist live their dream, and you're helping to support an individual rather than a large corporation.

You're celebrating creativity, and you're supporting an economic model that rewards imagination, initiative, hard work, and self reliance. And you're making a direct connection with an individual, the way purchases and transactions used to be made. You're enabling someone's vision to become a reality, and that's priceless.

So THANK YOU to all the collectors, and art supporters. And THANK YOU to all of you who are buying handmade this holiday season. As an artist, I appreciate it more than words can say. It warms my heart, and I am truly blessed to know each and every one of you.

Much love,
♥ Carolee

Living in Season, but Painting Ahead...

I find there's something very close to sacred when we live "in season", making a mindful effort to remain in sync with Mother Nature, tuning not only our minds, but our bodies to the wheel of the year...

Once upon a time (before the age of the thermostat and the supermarket) our food and our activities reflected the changing seasons. Gardening in the summer, harvesting and preserving in autumn, resting in winter, and planting again in spring.

Summers were spent cooking outdoors, sipping lemonade on the front porch, running through lawn sprinklers, or swimming at the beach, or a nearby lake or creek. Winters were spent sledding, building snowmen, cooking hearty meals, telling stories, reading good books and snuggling in front of the wood stove or fireplace.

I count myself fortunate to live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where the seasons are still very much a part of the culture, and try very hard to embrace each season for the blessings it has to offer. Today, for instance, will find me roasting batch of butternut squash (for soup later in the week) and planting yet another pot of mums in the front yard....

But it will also find me painting (gasp!) a Christmas piece, along with a couple of autumn commissions. ;)

Since people decorate their homes well before the actual arrival of the holiday or season, it means holiday artists must stay a step ahead. Winter pieces in autumn, spring pieces in winter, and so on. I suppose it would be easy to be thrown off-kilter by this, but I try to see it as a preview - a little inspiration and anticipation of what's to come.

To that end, I've just listed the first holiday box of the year on Etsy - Peppermint Polly, a little angel mouse...

A little early perhaps, but I'm hoping others will be anticipating the season right along with me, and she'll find a good home.

In the meantime, I'm off to work on the last of the Halloween commissions, as I wish you a happy and mindful autumn! May you enjoy all her blessings. :)

♥ Carolee

Road Dust and Wanderlust

Just popping in to share that there's finally an update on the road trip blog. :) If you'd like to follow our adventures, please do become a follower, and please do pass it on...

Back very soon with art to share!

♥ Carolee

Park your Broom and Sit for a Spell....

Oh, I just adore Halloween parties, don't you!?

Even Halloween parties for one, which is of course what is happening in the studio this beautiful October morning, as I join the annual Fanciful Twist Halloween Blog Party festivities....

Would you like to join me and make it tea for two?

I would have baked, but we Halloween artsy types are in such a tizzy with our work this time of year, there are times we need to improvise - thus the biscotti. ;)

Sooooooooo good though. Do try a bite...

Chocolate for breakfast. Wicked, hehe. ;)

I must share, the wonderful little teacup and saucer were a gift from a collector - so sweet of her! And the Halloween tea cozie was a find from a local shop. Love my tea cozies, and they really do keep the witch's brew nice and warm.

Not to eat and run, but as soon as this yummy little repast is finished, I'm off to make the party rounds in bloglandia...But before I do, I'll offer up this 8" x 10" print from my Etsy shop for a giveaway...

Some people say it makes them feel dizzy, but in a magical sort of way. ;)

If you'd like a chance to win a copy, just leave your name (and contact info if you don't have a blog where I can reach you!) and I'll throw it in the magic cauldron on All Hallows Eve, when I'll draw a name.

Wishing you a magical day, a Happy Halloween, and a Blessed Samhain!

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

A Halloween Party in the Making....

Stay tuned for some wicked fun blog festivities - not forgotten, just running a couple of hours late due to unforeseen circumstances...But there's a giveaway waiting in the wings...

See you in just a few hours!

♥ Carolee

Winding Down, Anticipation, and the Wheel of the Year

One of the most meaningful things about being a "holiday" artist is the opportunity to focus deeply on each season as it approaches. In creating work for Halloween and Samhain, Christmas and Yule, Easter and Beltane, and so on, a connection is made to the natural cycle of the earth. There's harmony to be found in living and painting for each season, in letting Mother Nature take the lead, and celebrating each festival or holiday as it comes around.

For the last several months, Halloween has been the primary focus, and anticipation has been building. Now that it's almost here (just two weeks!) I'm anticipating a bit of a gear change. The days are already growing shorter, a reminder that soon the harvest season will be over, and winter will be upon us. A few Halloween pieces remain up for grabs as of this writing, and I do hope they find good homes before the season is out. To this end, I've added a little note to the higher priced piece allowing two payments (a little easier to manage in this economy).

The apothecary/spells and potions chest is available on Etsy, and there's also a trio of mending box pinkeeps on the PFATT Marketplace. This is the larger of the three...

Soon Yuletide work will be in full swing (but always with a magical twist). I'm very excited about a new Santa cutout, and am considering combining the best of both seasons by creating a "Harvest Santa". Stay tuned. ;)

Angels have been spinning around in my brain as well, but not the human variety. I'm thinking angel cats, angel mice, angel rabbits, and so on. I do believe our furry friends are angels in disguise, so I suppose it's a natural progression. :)

Commissions are winding down too, as I play catch-up over the next few weeks, and a new project focusing on the wheel of the year will begin in January. VERY excited about this one, and just know it will be a blessing to paint.

How about you? Are you anticipating the change of seasons, or doing anything special to mark the holidays or festivals? I just love hearing about other people's celebrations and observances.

That's about it for today. I have a very full week ahead, with a friend visiting, painting and errands to be done, and a few hospital tests for John (who facebook readers may remember was stuck at a Pittsburgh area hospital for a few days earlier this month).

But I'll be back soon to share the first few pieces of the new season! Until then, I wish you all the blessings of Autumn...

♥ Carolee

♥ Etsy Shop ♥

Hello again! I'm just flying in quickly to tell you I've added a few new items to the Etsy shop - the last two Halloween pieces from the blog sale, and the first two holiday canvases of 2011...

I know, I'm jumping the gun a bit, but I had so much fun with the Halloween mice, I couldn't resist these two in their Christmas finery. ;)

I'll be working madly on commissions this week and next, but hope to squeeze in a few new Etsy pieces as well. In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying this *magical* season!

Back soon (and with a recipe!)
♥ Carolee