Ornament from Bee

This sweet little character arrived at my doorstep on Christmas Eve day. He made the perfect addition to the tree. Many thanks to Bee for such a whimsical ornament.

Happy Holidays to all!

Ornament from Jan

Isn't this darling? This is the ornament I received from Jan. Once the holidays are over it's permanent home will be in my art studio.

Ornaments from &drew

I received two beautiful stars from Andrew that have added a touch of nature to my small Christmas tree. The first is made from grapevine and painted metallic gold. The second is an origami star made of birch bark. I love that they are simple forms made of natural materials that bring back happy memories of my garden in Boise, Idaho - the grape-laden arbor that led to my studio that was shaded by a white birch tree. Thank you!!!

Ornament from Glenny

I got this ornament today in the mail from Glenny, and I like it a lot because of its simplicity. Right after I took it out of the package, I hung it on the tree which was already decorated with other birds of different colors. Thanks so much, Glenny!

Reptile

Art and images copyright by Traci Donahue 2008

Fauna?

This dragon is one type of fauna on Og. Og is the mythical planet which exists
only in my mind but shows up frequently in my artwork. When my Red Hat
group chose fanciful names, I ended up as Empress of Og and have enjoyed
"picturing" Og ever since.

Art and images copyright by Judi Stack 2008

Ashka, Ghost Wolf

Ashka, Ghost Wolf
Another wolf to add to our blog. I had the hardest time figuring out what animal to use for my piece for November. I have so many to choose from that live up here. I started with a squirrel and decided that she needed to be used for my Cabinet of Curiosities. Then the elk. Wapiti was not cooperative and will be done in a larger format for another time. Rabbits, chipmunks, deer, coyote...none were speaking to me. But then Ashka stepped forward and I knew my wolf was the one.

Ashka is one of my Spirit Animals. He brings new ideas and creative ways when I need to express my soul. He is my Teacher and even though I don't always listen, he is very patient with me.

This is another transparency that is attached to a painted 8 x 8 canvas. I added dried ferns, from one of my leaf gathering walks, to "hide" Ashka in the brush. Letters were colored with StazOn and glued to the canvas. Be careful, Ghost Wolf is watching you!

Art and images copyright by Z'anne Bakke 2008

Winter

Must be the snow outside, the wind chill of 9 degrees above zero and more snow to come that inspired this piece and it's black and white theme.

These wolves know how to survive this climate, even thrive. Maybe that's what the key means. . . The birch is as good survivor as well, so beautiful and so strong.

Most of the elements in this piece were collected on my daily walks in the Johnson Creek water shed.

Must confess though, the wolf image was collected from a chocolate bar at Good Seasons! But eating chocolate is part of surviving well too!

I nearly called this piece "Ode to a chocolate bar." But I like winter better.

Suzie
www.suziewolfer.com

Art and images copyright 2008 by Suzie Wolfer

Another Squirrel

With snow on the ground, ice, wind and 25°F, I'm keeping warm and getting caught up on lots of projects. Usually, the squirrels chase one another along the fence or up and down the fir trees. They must be trying to stay warm in their little burrows today. I enjoy working with fabric, needle and thread when it is cold outside. It makes me feel cozy and warm. The inspiration for this piece came from Karin Winter's article about quilted pet portraits in Aug/Sept 2008 Quilting Arts. I have not commented recently on all of your posts. I'm really impressed with what everyone is creating. Now what was December's theme?

Art and images copyright 2008 by Paula McNamee

Cat Television

For weeks I have watched this squirrel through my patio window. He watches my cat watch him, fully knowing that he is protected by the window. And every now and then, he runs up and slaps at the cat's face through the window and then runs away. The cat, not nearly as bright as the squirrel, immediately leaps for the squirrel, slams into the window and then looks very puzzled as to why he can't get that squirrel. I tried several times to photograph them, but my digital camera does not shoot fast enough to catch the moment. So I decided to bring them together in Photoshop. Composite of two photos, blended with the watercolor brush and color adjusted. Have a wonderful holiday season!

Art and images copyright 2008 by Jan Harris

The Chipmunk Was Peeking At Me...

This year, there were a lot of chipmunks running around the yard, and I was taking pictures of the daylily garden. One chipmunk happened to come out of a drainpipe on the concrete wall, and I immediately took a picture of it peeking out to find out what was going on. I am surprised to see that I was able to take several pictures of chipmunks as they were usually hyperactive and do not always sit still. Most times, as soon as they saw me or heard me, they would usually run away.


Art and images copyright 2008 by Andrew Borloz.

Fauna:Fawn

By definition Fauna means : animal life ; especially : the animals characteristic of a region, period, or special environment.

Although, I had the choice of incorporating any sort of animal into this piece, I could not stop thinking about how closely the word Fauna sounded to the word Fawn.

After pondering this thought for well over a week, I decided to yield to my whim and select a Fawn as the main subject.

In keeping with my continued exploration of pattern and patterning, the contours of the grass are loosely repeated in the sky, creating a very starry night.


Update 12/11: After posting the completed work, I continued to feel as if it was missing something. Since Tuesday, I have been on the hunt for just the right finishing touch. I discovered that perfect piece today while rummaging through a jar of various buckles.

At the bottom of the jar, there was a mother-of-pearl buckle simply begging to be used. Although oversized for the artwork, it makes the perfect half-moon and a nice balance to the fawn.

So, here is the completed work with a slight revision.

Art and images copyright 2008 by Tracie Lyn Huskamp

Lost Kitty

Here is my finished November challenge. I call it "Lost Kitty" as it shows a kitty lost in a field of lavender. Perhaps it was chasing a butterfly or lady bug and then lost its way........

The kitty is painted with acrylics on fabric then the grass and lavender are attached by felting. The lavender is from Katherine Dunn's lavender farm that Tracie Lyn, Jan and I visited when we attended Art & Soul.


I wanted to do something different but since we seem to keep attracting stray kitties to our house it just seemed appropriate to do a cat.


Art and images copyright 2008 by Marylin Huskamp