Play Time

I received some Pan pastels for Christmas, and hadn't yet played with them. I wasn't sure how to use them, but decided just to open them up and have some fun.

I started by drawing a scribbly unrealistic face, and then added some colour to it. I soon learned that the colours are pretty intense, and a little goes a long way.

I kept playing, and tried to use less colour ..... it didn't always work, but I did have fun.
I like the fact that you couldn't be too accurate with where the colour went.

At first I played on watercolour paper

but then inspired by Lynne Hoppe's work on old book pages I decided to give that a try.

I enjoyed how these looked, but continued to work at not laying down too much colour.

I think this was my favourite one.

and when I needed a break from drawing scribble faces, I drew a plant.

I enjoyed this creative time.

Although I am still not sure how you are supposed to use Pan Pastels..... but I guess that doesn't really matter.

Struggling with Plaster

I have been looking forward to having time to play and paint on plaster. I have time right now, but the pieces I have been working on have not been so much fun as I had anticipated. Rather they were a struggle.
Here is the final piece. It is quite small, measuring about 6 inches square.

I love how the pieces are on cradle boards (shallow wooden box), as they add dimension to a wall, and don't need framing.

My goal for now is to enjoy what I am working on. Rather then telling myself what to work on, I will listen to what I want to work on. I do have one more plaster piece in process, but I may leave it for now, and spend some time playing on something else... I will see where the creating muse takes me....

Playing with Paint and Plaster

"Though I do not believe a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

Henry David Thoreau

I have been playing - painting on plaster this week, and the above quote has been circling through my head. Winter trees have also been on my mind, so that is perhaps where these bare trees with so many seeds circling came from. Sometimes I find there are so many seeds running through my mind, that I am not sure which ones I should plant and nurture. Some are easy to plant, and do not require much effort to grow, while others take great courage to plant, and may need more nurturing.


Some seeds take a long time to grow, while others ones sprout quickly. I am working at planting some of those seeds that take some time to grow, but in the long run will hopefully be well worth it. Sometimes seeds don't grow, or grow differently then you expected. But that is okay, I will continue to work at planting some seeds.

I enjoyed my play time with plaster, and am working on another piece.... with a few more in mind that I would like to try.

Silent Beauty

Yes it is another little accordian book...
This one shows the drawing of a flower I did some time ago. I love how it looks tied up waiting to be discovered.


It sits nicely on a ledge or a shelf both closed or wide open.



Here is the back side when it is sitting open.

I also like it sitting in a zigzagging manner. So many options.

And here is some close ups of the inside pages...

These accordian books seem to be all I want to work on lately!

(Even though what was really supposed to happen was the cleaning/organizing of the studio!)

This one is available for purchase at my Etsy store

Winter Beauty

Winter where I live is long and usually cold with many hours of darkness. At the same time it is very beautiful. I have taken numerous pictures of the white mountains against the blue sky, but I have been itching to get out on a snowy day when the mountains can't be seen because of the low cloud, and I can explore the subtle colours.

I finally got our with my camera a few days ago. The temperature was warm (-8 celsius, +17 farenheit), and I spent a few hours taking pictures.

There was so much beauty everywhere I looked.

Even a branch with some fall leaves that never left the tree.

A bit of light came through the clouds in some areas.

and I loved the reddish browns of the willow bushes against the blues of the mountainside trees

the naked branches of winter trees always appeals to me

The clouds lifted a bit to show the small rounded mountains

and they were beautiful

no matter the angle that I looked at them.

I am glad I got out to explore the other day, as today I am staying warm indoors, as it is -40 degrees outside (-40 celsius is also -40 farenheit - the meeting point of the two scales)

Bird on a Block

I still am enjoying working in this style.... but instead of working in a mini book...

this was created on a wooden block. I added some pheasant feathers to it that my husband got from a friend. There are no pheasants around my neck of the woods.

It has the words "silent findings" in the top corner.

I love how it looks on the ledge as I climb the stairs to my home studio.

The back view - that I signed and titled.
I debated putting a hanger on the back, but in the end left it this way.

I still feel like there are more of these types of creations in me yet.... so I will continue and following the muse where she leads me.

ETSY UPDATE: I have added the above necklace as well as the bird on a block to my Etsy Shop..... The shop is taking me a long time to get it to a state that I am happy with, hopefully I will get it there soon!

Online Shopping!

I have been working so hard this past week to learn all about opening up an Etsy shop. And today I can announce it is not only open, but actually has a few items in it.

I made 4 luminaries for the shop....

but to keep shipping prices as reasonable as I could, I decided not to ship them with the little tea light.

Besides the luminaries, I put a soft covered book in the shop,

and a couple of face paintings.

If you want to see what it looks like you can find it here.

I will put a button on my side bar to get to the shop..... just not today.

I do have a couple more items I hope to put there in the next few days... I just ran out of time and energy today!

P.S. As I am brand new to this online selling if anyone has any tips I would love to hear them.

For The Love Of Birds

I do love birds... although I do know people that don't. I have enjoyed drawing them, and couldn't resist to use my drawings again in 2 small books.

I also love working small, and this book is pretty tiny.




But will look lovely sitting on a small shelf.




The other one I made is a bit taller, but actually only opens into a V shape (so not really a book)

but also will stand nicely on a small shelf.

I continue to LOVE working on these pieces as well as how they turned out!

P.S. For those of you that have been asking about where I am selling items, I am presently working on setting up an Etsy shop. I will let you know when it is ready.