Welcome in Fall!

Etsy Buy Handmade krummenacker

To celebrate, I'm offering 25% off everything in the Clothing and Costumery and Hairsticks sections of my Etsy store. http://krummenacker.etsy.com -- I'd like to help people who are designing their own Halloween costumes to dress them up. Just hit the "contact" button on the store site and it will let you send me a message. Tell me what you want and I will edit it for the discount and reserve it for you to purchase.

Apple of Discord, and other ACEOs

These are ACEOs-- Art Card Editions and Originals, and in my case, all originals. They are art pieces done in the same dimensions as a trading card (like baseball cards), 2.5 x 3.5 inches. This makes them a great way for people without big houses and big budgets to have their own art collection, and I'm all about making art available for everyone.
This is the most recent group I've painted, but ACEOs have their own section in my shop and I just painted 5 more pieces tonight that I haven't had time to photograph.

Today's poem is extemporaneous, referencing the same legend in the red painting above.

Eris's apple: To the fairest.
Sweet temptation of the ego,
Shining brightly, like an insect
Full of toxics, sharp and bitter.
Brightly golden, worse than pyrite,
Costing more labor and bloodshed
Than Gold Rushes coming later.
Paris judges, but no winner
In the end, except Fair Discord.

New exhibition by FAE

Visions of Atlantis-- a watery theme for the hottest month.





Beneath the water, coral towers
Entwined with kelp around their bowers
Sparkle under sea-snow showers
Brightly decked wi' anenome flowers.

Magically successful.

With the difficulties I've had with the Art Nouveau Medusa, my artistic confidence was getting a bit shaken. So I was pleased to have this be a roaring success with this Wiccan business card holder.

For those of you not familiar with these symbols, the pentacle represents 5 elements: spirit, air, fire, water, and earth, with spirit being the top point. Although some Christians in modern times are suspicious of the pentacle, in medieval times it was also thought to represent Five Virtues and was referred to as being embroidered on the equipage of great Christian knights in epic poems. In the Tarot, the Pentacles are the suit of Air, Intellect, and Wealth: not bad symbols for a business card holder.
The Triple Moon symbol represents the Goddess as maiden, mother and crone. The waning and waxing of the moon has always been seen as a metaphor for the cycle of life, and the Fates found in many myths are likely a version of the triple goddess. I consider the Triple Moon an excellent reminder in today's youth culture that there are other times of life which are just as important. Those with life experience become more confident and more powerful.

Still trying...

to make a Medusa my customer actually likes. I can't wish for her to be less choosy, because a tattoo is basically forever. I do wish, however, she had a slightly better art vocabulary, to make communications with her easier.

I've got a few other little custom pieces to work on now, a necklace and bracelet set for a friend, and a Wiccan business card holder I got an order for through Etsy's Alchemy. Plus, I'm working on and off as a Kelly temp.

Money
makes the world go round,
Yet it seems
we're slowing down.

I wish prosperity to all my readers. Times are hard for many people, but I believe we can all get through this.

Custom design in progress

The idea is an Art Nouveau style medusa (with non-snake hair), who must be beautiful in a way more ethereal than sexual. I think this works but I want approval from the customer before I start to ink her.

A Midsummer Night's Dream Exhibition

The Fantasy Artists of Etsy have put together a new exhibition; the banner doesn't seem to work here, so I'll find a link...


Hmm, I added the link, but it's not displaying for me, so here's the copy/paste version.
http://fantasyartofetsy.webng.com/exhibition.html

The longest day still ticks away;
The hands of time are never stayed.
But dreams go on, and so does song
So let us never be dismayed.

Bracelets I have made

I've gotten on a site that makes slideshows easy to make, and I'm hoping it will work as well on a blog as on a journal. No poem tonight. My arm was injured recently and I think I've typed too much as it is.


bracelets

Near Neary Lagoon

Here's a photo from our "backyard". A wood duck has claimed a space on the water. You can't see the fish in this picture, but not far below the surface, there are koi/carp that are longer than he is.

Koi wait patiently;
Warmed in a California
Lagoon by Spring sun.

A New Start

Allan and I have moved to Santa Cruz. It is so beautiful here, I know I will be inspired to do much more art and poetry. For now, I'm recovering from an arm injury and don't have internet access at home yet... so I will post more once these problems are taken care of. But I have much to share.