ORGANZA COLLAGE BOX

ORGANZA COLLAGE BOX

Organza Collage Box

Terri Kahrs of Pringle Hill Studio was gracious enough to share an image of one of her captivating women. I fell in love with this one and experimented using a lot of different techniques.

Close-up of part of the collage

First I found an interesting picture in a magazine of a woman with her hand outstretched. I used Never Dull, available from WalMart, and rubbed it over the surface so that I could erase all but part of the hand. I also did the same thing to a face I found in another add. I took photos from the Cliffs of Moher and Ross Castle, places I had just visited in Ireland, and created a digital image of them using organza and attached them to an old wine box I had in my studio, using gel medium.

Next, I took Terri’s picture and ran a digital print of the beautiful lady on organza cloth. Once again, I overlayed the organza cloth onto the box with gel medium. I wanted her to have a ghostly look and the organza was perfect for that effect.

I added one of my stories from my book, She Who Whispers, titled Morning Song. I then used tissue paper that I soaked in gel medium that I thinned with water and placed it onto the box in various places. I drizzled gesso around the collage and painted the box with more gesso. I attached gold and silver mosaic pieces around the edge and added an old watch part.

Another close-up

Before tiles are added

I will use the box to house some of my acrylic paints. I’m really pleased with the image of this enchantress. I just had cards made from a close-up of the collage. There’s many other ways I plan to use her. Again. Thanks so very much to Terri!

Cards I had made of the collage

Side view of the finished box

SHRINES AND DAUGHTERS OF ANTIQUITY

SHRINES AND DAUGHTERS OF ANTIQUITY SCULPTURE

Healing Woman Stoneware Clay Sculpture

City type graveyard in Mexico

A few years ago when I visited Mexico, I was amazed at the large, almost city like, graveyards that I found there. Graveyards have always intrigued me so it was no surprise that I would fall in love with the ones I saw while on the grand tour of Great Britain and Ireland. The Celtic crosses that were in most graveyards reminded me of the legends of King Arthur and Merlin and all other stories related to Celtic lore. Below is a picture of the graveyard at Widecombe-in-the-Moor, the setting for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”

Graveyard at Widecombe-in-the-Moor

I was thrilled when I was able to view a most unusual shrine while in Ireland. St. Brigid’s Holy Well in the County Clare was absolutely captivating. While the outside was lovely and inviting, a trip through the cave like entrance revealed a sight I will never forget. All types of relics were placed on the walls. There were a lot of sculpted faces with cloth and beads attached and I couldn’t help but to notice how much they reminded me of my own work. I’ve posted pictures below of some of my sculptures so that you can see the resemblance. Little did I know when I created my “daughter of Antiquity series” that there would be a connection such as this.

Brigid's Holy Well

The offerings inside the cave were left by Pilgrims. It is very damp inside and the "rags", which are called “clooties” become ancient looking in a short period of time. They represent an illness to be cured. St. Bridgid was a daughter of a Druid priest. She is associated with water, poetry and healing.

Here is a link to more very clear views inside the cave. Clodagh's photos

Below are the hanging sculptures found inside the cave area at St. Brigid's Holy Well.

Now, here are some of my own "Daughters of Antiquity"

"Nampeyo"

"Within the Within" sculpture

"Healing Woman" sculpture

I just posted Healing woman on Etsy where you can see more views of her. Here is the story I have given to her. I named her this before I knew of the legend of St. Bridgid at the Holy Well and how she was associated with healing. Coincidence? If so, there are a lot of coincidences in my life. I hope you have time to read one of my favorite posts which relates to another “coincidence” in my life. please click on Cigar Boxes.

Healing Woman

Dredged from antiquity..daughter of fire emerges with the healing power of the ages..Voices lost in time whisper to her of healing on many levels.
Energy rises from her very soul as she remembers the responsibility bestowed upon her.
She is the Studda Bubba, the witch, the magician and the shaman..the very essence of the healer.
She calls upon the great mother to share with her the wisdom of her yield.
Knowing she is merely the vehicle of a force far greater than she, and with great integrity, the healing woman delivers her cures as the power moves through her hands of light.

~Cheryl Dolby~

Recently, I found a beautiful blog relating to Celtic myth. I am amazed at the wealth of information I find when I go to Avalon Revisited Hope you enjoy it.

GLASS-STAINED AND CRASHED

GLASS-STAINED AND CRASHED

"Truthseeker"- Crash Glass

While in Oxford England, my granddaughter, Marcy, and I had the privilege of touring Christ Church at Oxford University. The Dining Hall, we learned, has two literary film associations. I was surprised at it’s connections with Alice in Wonderland but not at all about Harry Potter. The White Rabbit was based on Alice’s father, the Dean. The left hand wall, shows portraits of Alice and creatures from the book. There is a large portrait of the college’s founder, King Henry the VIII, who executed two of his wives. Hence the Red Queen’s shouts of “Off with her head!”

Stairs leading to the famous Dining Hall where Harry Potter was filmed

The Dining Hall

Scenes from the first two Harry Potter films were shot at Christ Church. We walked down the dining hall expecting Harry himself to appear at any minute. We gazed at the amazing ceiling which was of ‘hammerbeam’ construction.

Custodians with bowler hats welcomed us and answered our questions

The Chapel

Outside of the dining hall, we entered the Lucy Chapel where there is a Stained Glass window dated 1320. It is a rare pre-Reformation image showing the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. We also saw the chapel where the world famous choir sings daily and has done so since the college’s foundation.

Although we took many pictures, I found this video that really does Christ Church more justice. You can hear the beautiful choir and see the dining hall toward the end.

Stained and mosaiced glass has always intrigued me. I also delve into into “crash glass” from time to time. I used to own a stained glass studio in which I built huge church windows and constructed windows for restaurants and homes. Here is the posting of my shop where you can view the crash glass technique I use. Was my waist really ever that small?

Although I enjoy creating the large pieces, I am confining myself to the smaller, more workable ones.

Crashed Glass piece titled "Truthseeker"

Smaller crashed glass piece titled "Cosmic Light"

You can view Truthseeker and Cosmic Light at my Etsy shop where you will see other views and dimensions and be able to read their stories.

Here is another picture from my trip to the UK for you to use in your artwork if you choose. The church is near Oxford. I love the way the cross and church seem to mesh together on this one. I can picture a ghostly figure hovering above or near the cross. The texture that you see on this picture, when you enlarge it, is not a result of any kind of editing. It is actually the rain drops that were on the window of the bus, where I took the picture.

Celtic Cross at graveyard

CARIBBEAN MON!

CARIBBEAN MON!

Lily the manniquin

As a brief diversion from my many postings of the trip I took last month to the UK, I decided to post the dinner party our Little Supper Club had just before I left in June. For those of you who may have just tuned in, I belong to a themed based supper club in which we alternate gatherings at members homes. June was my turn and since I have a swimming pool, we decided to do Caribbean.

My garden was in order, my pool was in order and Woodloft was in order. I knew members would take care of providing the feast.

Woodloft pool

Another view of the pool

Front deck garden

"Great room" at Woodloft

Leis awaiting guests. I realize this is more of a South Pacific tradition but we went with it anyway

Stratton (Wayne) St. Clair unselfishly started our Little Supper Club as a gathering of friends he already knew and –get this-he gave an invitation to some “friends” on his Facebook Page, asking them to attend the first gathering, which was about a year and a half ago. We now have about sixteen regulars.

I feel extremely lucky and privileged to have a friend who is a chef. Wayne will tell you he is not a real chef because he is self-taught, but believe me, if you could taste his cooking you’d know he IS a chef! I also consider myself very lucky in that Wayne has agreed to be the resident chef here at Woodloft (my home) next summer when I give my sculpture classes. My students are in for a real treat.

Wayne at the grill

One thing really special about the Supper Club is that Wayne has actually been teaching all of us how to cook. Now, I must clarify, we all knew how to cook but Wayne is teaching us to take cooking and dining to another level. What a generous man! Just the other night he had a few of us over for a multi-course dinner which brought back my memory of true European dining. If you have never tried James Beard’s 40 Clove Garlic Chicken you might want to give it a whirl. Wayne served this, with his usual changes to the recipe. I’ll probably post the recipe in the future. It’s a lovely dish that brings into play slow dining.

Now, back to our Caribbean party. There were so many delicious dishes presented and to be honest, since I was away for a month, I now can’t remember all the names of these specialties.

Stephanie prepares a variety of Caribbean concoctions

Elizabeth

Coconut Flan

Rum Punch

Caribbean Shrimp

Plantains with a Chocolate Sauce

One dish that stands out in my mind above the rest though, was the Rum Raisin Pudding that Trish made. Trish decided to make this dish because her oven was not working and the recipe calls for the stove top method. Being my usual skeptic self, I was leary of how this would turn out.

What a surprise. It was fabulous.

Trish's Rum Raisin Pudding

Below is the recipe and a few more party pictures. Hope you enjoyed the Caribbean atmosphere because we will probably be traveling back to Scotland, where it was veeeerrrry cold, on my next posting.

Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

2 Small boxes raisins
6T. Virgin Island Rum
1 C. Milk
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Heavy cream
3 T. Cornstarch
1 Egg
1 t. Vanilla
1 C. Overcooked rice

Soak raisins in rum about ½ hour before cooking. In large pan, combine milk, sugar, cream and set aside.
Dissolve cornstarch with 1/4th of milk mixture. In another bowl, beat egg, add vanilla and cornstarch mixture and beat well. Set aside.
Heat original mixture, add cornstarch and egg mixture and whisk. Continue cooking, stir constantly till mixture thickens. Remove from heat and enjoy!

Dean with ice cold margarita

Jason works in the Tiki bar

Mark gathers fresh mint for the drinks

So much fun!

Grover, the party animal

A special thanks to Stephanie Oliver for taking most of the pictures shown.

THE ROSE OF TRALEE

THE ROSE OF TRALEE

Rose of Tralee stoneware clay sculpture

While in Ireland, I was amazed at how many times I heard the song, “The Rose of Tralee.” Even though I remember hearing it often growing up in an ethnic community of Italians, Greeks, Romanians and Irish, it took on new meaning to me as I traveled through the small town of Tralee and heard the story of the song.

Rose of Tralee sculpture viewed from the back

Here is a summary of the story:

There was a girl named Mary O’conner who grew up very poor. She became the housemaid to a rich family and fell in love with one of the sons, William. They loved each other and he asked her to marry him repeatedly but she knew he would grow to resent her because his entire family would not approve of the marriage since they were in a different class.

He wrote a song for her but she still refused to marry him.

The pale moon was rising above the green mountains,
The sun was declining beneath the blue sea,
When I strayed with my love by the pure crystal fountain,
That stands in the beautiful Vale of Tralee.

She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me.
Oh no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.

One night, William was with Mary when a friend burst through the door and told William that he was accused of murdering another man at a rally. There was a large reward for his capture. William vowed to come back to Mary and then he fled to India where he lived for six years. Finally, he made it back to Tralee. He was getting ready to find Mary when he looked out of the window and saw a funeral procession going by. It was a very large procession and almost everyone in the town was there. When he asked someone who it was, they told him it was Mary O’Conner. They said she was loved by the entire town because she was such a pure, good person. She never refused anyone of anything. William’s heart was broken. He was completely crushed and mourned her for the rest of his life. William moved to New York and many years later, he finally married and had children but he always held Mary in his heart. When his wife died, he moved back to Tralee and was buried next to Mary in the graveyard in Clogherbrien.

Close-up of preserved flower technique used on cloak

I decided to name my sculpture after Mary. I must tell you about her cloak. I got the inspiration for this from Lynn at Her Creative Spirit. Lynn experimented with waxed paper and preserved flowers after reading about it in one of the craft magazines. She posted the method she used and later showed some of the creations she made. I asked her if it was ok if I borrowed the idea for a cloak I had in mind for a sculpture and she told me to go for it since it wasn’t her idea in the first place. I’m always amazed how we as artists can take a technique we learn and change it into our own visions. Lynn is such an inventive artist. I love the bookmarks that she made with her flowers.

View from the left side

If you are interested in more information about my Rose of Tralee sculpture, you can view her on Etsy, where I have placed her for sale. I take all the major credit cards, paypal or a check.

Marcy, my granddaughter, made this UTube video of the night we went to the pub to hear Sadie and Paddy. Paddy is an Irish tenor and what a voice. I fell in love with the story of “The Rose of Tralee” and now when I hear Paddy sing it, tears come to my eyes. Maybe you would have to have been there, in Ireland, in Tralee to really appreciate it though.

Hope you don’t end up with the song running through your brain the way I have the last several weeks.

Here is a picture from my journey. Perhaps you can use this in your own artwork. It is of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. The wind is fierce and the sea crashes in on the rugged boulders. Nature at it’s finest.

Cliffs of Moher

Marcy at the Cliffs of Moher