Lunaea Weatherstone's Blogue

Pure Beauty

I turned over my ArtPlay: Collage for Your Creative Spirit calendar today to the month of August (already??), and was happy to see one of my favorite pieces again, as it has been quite a while since we put the calendar together. It is "Pure Beauty," by Paula Dion (click on the image to enlarge). Since the calendar isn't available anymore, I thought I'd share the art with those of you who didn't buy it. And here is the text I wrote to accompany it, which expresses very well my state of mind today, too:

There are many reasons why we are moved to make art. To communicate a message or reveal some part of ourselves, to amuse others, to commemorate events and milestones, to come to a deeper understanding of inner feelings. And then there is the simple act of just making beauty. Art for art’s sake, to give pleasure to the eye and give the spirit a gentle place to rest and contemplate loveliness. As you create your art, take time to truly appreciate the beauty of everything you work with. When each individual piece you add to your collage pleases you, you can’t help but be pleased with the whole. And isn’t that a good metaphor for life? See beauty in every small thing, and bit by bit it all adds up to a beautiful and creative world.

Happy birthday, Lisa Hunt!

Lisa Hunt is one of my very favorite tarot artists. I first had the pleasure of getting to know her when she did artwork for the SageWoman Calendars that I worked on for Amber Lotus Publishing. Besides being a talented and inspired artist, Lisa is one of the nicest people I know, and you can really feel how much her art comes from the heart. If you haven't done so already, check out the Fantastical Creatures Tarot, Shapeshifter Tarot, and my favorite of her decks, the Animals Divine Tarot. Well, I say favorite NOW, but I have a feeling that will be supplanted in this fall, when her new deck comes out. I had planned on posting a little blogue blessing for Lisa on her birthday today, and she just put the icing on her own cake by sharing a gorgeous video preview of her forthcoming Fairy Tale Tarot. (Be sure to select the high quality viewing option just below the screen.) There is something about Lisa's swirling, sparkling paintings that lends itself so well to fairy tales -- I can't wait! Have a very happy birthday, Lisa, and know that you've made a lot of other people happy. I know you will continue to do so for many years to come!

2009 calendars from Amber Lotus

I got a big box of goodies from my friends at Amber Lotus Publishing recently, with some gorgeous new calendars and cards from their 2009 catalogue. As some of you probably know, I've been working with them for several years as a writer and as project-editor.  I wanted to share just a few of my faves for the coming year -- there are so many more to explore at the Amber Lotus website. You can click on the links to order or look for them in your favorite bookstore.

Collage: Artplay for Your Creative Spirit is especially near and dear to my heart. I had so much fun choosing the art and connecting with all the wonderful artists. There are examples of all kinds of mixed-media art, along with thought-starters I wrote to help you jumpstart your own creative ventures. This is a charming calendar for yourself or for any artsy person you know.

I've been doing the SageWoman calendar for many years now, and I know it is an old friend to many of you too. The art for 2009 is by Shiloh Sophia McCloud, Hrana Janto, Melissa Harris, and Emily Balivet, glowing images of the Goddess and expressions of womanspirit. I wrote the text for this one too, and there's a little bit of goddesserie on each and every day.

If you want to slip between the worlds and into a land of enchantment (and really, who doesn't?), you'll definitely want A Knock at the Door, a gorgeous faery-full journey, created in collaboration with the magical folks at Duirwaigh Gallery. There are also greeting cards and a book/DVD combo, all so beautiful.

One of the reasons I so appreciate my connection with Amber Lotus is that they are a company that cares for the earth in addition to offering blessings for the spirit -- all their calendars use recycled paper. Right now I'm busily working on the SageWoman calendar for 2010. It can be a bit strange living so far into the future, while keeping my feet firmly grounded in the present moment. Sometimes I have to remind myself what year it is right now! Fortunately, I have no lack of fabulous Amber Lotus calendars to remind me. 

New rosaries!

I'm delighted to offer some new rosary necklaces, including three Greenwoman rosaries with artwork by the wonderful Johanna Uribes! There are also rosaries for quiet solitude, peace and joy, victory (election prayers, anyone?), abundance for artists, autumn blessings, and more. Take a look by clicking here.

Brian Dettmer

I was looking through the new Somerset Studio magazine, thinking, "Ho hum, same old, same old..." when I came upon a feature story about the work of Brian Dettmer. I am dazzled! Talk about altered books -- he meticulously carves out pages one by one to make sculpture that is a window into the book. (Click the images for larger versions.) And all kinds of other very beautiful and fascinating creations, using books and maps and wood and and and... You can check out this gallery website for some more pieces, get the new Somerset, and Google for more info, as he doesn't seem to have a website of his own that I can find. Wowee!

Serendipity Strands

I was admiring a friend's lariat-style necklace recently and was inspired to make some myself, nudged on by certain goddesses and queens who wanted some gems created in their honor. Making these long strands is such fun, in a different way from the more meditative work of making a Goddess rosary, where the pattern repeats and the whole forms a sacred circle. Here the beads wander in and out on their own serendipitous path, hence the name Serendipity Strands (click here to see them). I hope you like them!

The Fish Who Pulled the House

You know how sometimes a piece of art is just YOURS somehow? Even though you didn't make it yourself, it seems to be a fragment of your own personal mythology, depicted in a way you didn't expect or imagine, but there it is. I just found one, thanks to Anne Markel's blog, which directed me to Rima's blog, which directed me to her amazingly magical website and (woo hoo!) her Etsy store, where I found THIS:

It's called "The Fish Who Pulled the House" and I laughed out loud when I saw it. The fish is my Pisces moon, the fish of my shamanic dream last month, my restless dreamy fantasy-oriented self that does indeed pull my house, sometimes literally in the sense of moving from place to place, always in search of the perfect home (like a fish seeking the place of its birth?) and sometimes just in my murky underwater musings. In any case, a little humorous perspective never hurts, so this print is going up in some prominent place in my fish-pulled house, as a reminder that perhaps that fish really DOES know where it's heading, if I can just trust it.

Go check out Rima's art. Maybe your mythology is waiting there for you too.

Food for Your Muse

I’m really enjoying a great new art book: Kaleidoscope, edited by Suzanne Simanaitis (there's a link to the right for the book on Amazon.com). You may know her from ARTitude zine (and if you don’t, you should!). Suz has put together a fabulous collection to spark your creativity. Some of the pieces give step-by-step instructions for specific projects, and others are musings on how you can increase your inspiration and see your artistic life in a new light. The contributors are all active artists, and the book is a colorful visual feast with art that bedecks articles with titles like “Mail Art to the Self,” “Set Your Brain on Fire,” and “Reluctant Journaling.” Aside from making you itch to get out your paintbrushes and scissors, this book is just fun to read. Here’s a little excerpt from Suz’s “My Neighborhood Crusade,” wherein she writes about how her local ice cream truck switched its music from “Turkey in the Straw” to the gut-wrenching theme from “Love Story”:

I’m truly concerned about this because if that song affects me this deeply, it must be wreaking total havoc on the slightly older women who populate my street. In my mind’s eye I see them lounging listlessly in bathrobes, not quite able to shake off the ennui that envelops them each afternoon. I imagine my neighbor ladies bursting into spontaneous tears, one plunging after another like synchronized swimmers, from west to east as the truck trundles slowly past. . . . Meanwhile, out on the sidewalk, their kids and grandkids feel confused, their smiles fading as they slowly lose their appetites. . . . These kids are going to grow up not liking ice cream, not trusting its creamy comfort, because in the back of their minds they’ll hear that sorrowful tune and recall their moms calling them to come inside now, faces stained with streaky mascara.

This little mental movie (with built-in soundtrack!) made me smile smile smile, and the rest of this book did too. Now, where are my paintbrushes?

Autumn Rosary Update Number One!

I've been busily and happily making new Goddess rosary necklaces for the past weeks, whenever I had a spare moment. I love the play of color in the glittering beads and crystals, and the quiet meditative repetition of working with wire as the rosary comes together. I'm not exactly sure when I started making these, more than 10 years ago, but it was clearly an assignment from Brigid, Goddess of metalwork and the forge. The fire-polished Czech glass beads bring that purity of the flame too. I just put about 20 new rosaries up for sale, so please take a look! More will be coming in the next two or three weeks, including lots of witches and other Halloween goodies.

Inspiration Stew

I’ve been a bit whiny lately (as my patient and kind friends will gladly tell you) because I’m pining to make some art and just haven’t found the time. I’ve done a few small collaborations and a bit of art journaling, but it’s not quite enough. I moved to this house a year ago and my art supplies are still in boxes, my little art room is a dusty hodgepodge, and my creative spirit is trying to chew through the leash that’s been binding me much too much to work and duty. I consider this restlessness a Good Sign — it means that inspiration is on the bubble, and all I need to do is make some room for it, literally! So I’m prioritizing getting the art room in working playing order, and I’m adding to the inspiration stew by diving into two fabulous new art books.

First is In This House, by Angela Cartwright and Sarah Fishburn. I’ve played in art projects with Sarah several times and she is one of my very favorite women in the exploding collage and multimedia art community (click her link in my Net of Gems list to the right). This book speaks right to my deepest and most passionate yearnings: the concept of Home, in every sense of the word. Home of the spirit, home as sanctuary, home as symbol of your dream life, home as a stage set for your wildest fantasies. I can’t even begin to pick a favorite from among the house-shaped collages in this collection, though I have to say that Tiffini Elektra X’s Gothic Mansion made me sigh out loud with delight. (That’s a page from Tiffani’s mansion above.)

I’ve been an admirer of Michael deMeng’s Post-Modern Shrines for a long time, and I’m so happy to have his new book, Secrets of Rusty Things. There is something otherworldly about Michael’s art — something that isn’t easily grasped or analyzed — something that whispers wisdom and hints at mysteries to be fathomed (or not). Ancient keys, tattered text, an eye peering out from behind darkened glass — it’s gorgeous, and it’s also very funny. Who wouldn’t love someone who makes Pez-dispensing totems and sacred shrines out of shoes? (Click the image below to see a larger version.)

Check out Secrets and In This House by clicking the links in my little bookshop, to the right. There’s also a link there for the 2008 Collage for Your Creative Spirit calendar, published by Amber Lotus. I’m the editor/project manager for this calendar, and I wrote the text and did the collage for December. I am so in love with the delightful artwork in this calendar and I know you will love it too. I’m in the process now of gathering the art for the 2009 calendar, so if you’re a collage artist and would like to show me your work, please email me. Your creativity spices up my inspiration stew!