A Morning Haiku

liquid gold shimmers

dripping from snow shadowed skies

grey squirrel searches

Just a brief little bit this morning.  I messed up my neck yesterday morning (seriously, who the hell throws their neck out getting dressed?!), and can't really do much in the way of turning to the left or sitting upright for any length of time.  I have a lead on a chiropractor who's willing to see me tonight, though, so hopefully we can get this sorted soon.  I have Things To Do, dammit!  I just finally found brown inks!

Why do I have brown ink, you ask? I decided to try a little experiment last week or so involving a cannibalized copy of "The Alhambra" and a Foxentree.  It was determined that the black ink is just a wee bit too new looking, and maybe a bit of sepia ink might look better.  So I went and searched out walnut ink to use, and now I have it, and it hurts to bend over the page.  :(  Sad kittybird.

It'll look nice, though, once I can get working on it.  I mean, the test page doesn't look half bad, so really, it will just look better done in the right colors.  What do you think?

A Life in Snapshots and Still Frames

I posted this elsewhere, months ago, but for whatever reason I was dreaming this image again last night and it's haunted me since. So, I figured I would reshare it here.

"Midnight.  A rest area somewhere along an unknown highway.  In the foreground, a pair of dancing shoes rests on the top of the pile of a trash bin, broken straps illuminated by the sodium-orange lights.  Beyond, slightly blurred and palely lit by the moonlight, a woman in a gauzy party dress; striped knee socks slouched comfortably above the tops of well-worn hiking boots, delicate handkerchief hem fluttering in the breeze as she walks away into the night..."

Where had she been, that she was all dressed up so late at night and in the middle of nowhere?  Was she leaving something behind?  Where was she going to?  What was her story?

These are the things that haunt my brain late at night.  These are the snapshots and images that make up my life.  These are the important questions...  Where are we?  Where are we coming from?  Where are we going?  What is our story?

If you were to have one photograph that told your life story, what would it be?

Mist-Shrouded, The Sun Arises...

There was a delicious snow fog this morning, and I do loves me a good mist...

I Bowed Before the Power Of the Apple Sharlotka, And It Was Good.

Ok, for the last week or so, the apple sharlotka recipe has followed me around the Internet, even creeping it's way into odd, random blogs I came across with completely unrelated circumstances.

Not being one to ignore a hint that strong, I went out and purchased myself a round cake pan, made 1 or 2 minor adaptations for ease of work, and popped one into the oven.

Oh yeah, this one's a keeper.

My variation?

6 apples (2 granny smith, and 4 whatever those were that I had hanging out on the counter)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3 lg. eggs
1 Tsp. vanilla (I'm picky, I use actual vanilla, not some weird extract).

Beat eggs and sugar until nice and creamy, then add vanilla. Beat in. Add flour. Once blended, set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

Peel and slice up apples, then dump into greased, lightly floured cake pan. Pour batter over, and make sure it mixes in (accomplished by squishing it down with a cake spatula). Bake for about 50 minutes (this is how long it took the oven here to do it, anyway, several I saw called for anywhere between 40-60 min.). It's done when tester (knife, toothpick, etc.) comes out clean.

Let sit in pan for about 10 minutes, the flip onto cooling rack.

Things I'd change? I may try the parchment paper idea next time, as it did leave a bit of itself on the bottom. Not a ton, but enough to not be nice and smooth and pretty on top, and with a less than brand new Calphalon I can easily see it suffering worse. I may also add a bit of cinnamon, but I'm of the opinion that all baked goods are improved by cinnamon, so...

Otherwise? Dude. So easy and so tasty. Trying not to eat all of it tonight! Nom!

In Which Our Heroine Sits Down For A Minute & Has A Good Whine.

Yup.

Blarg.  Maybe it's the grey, overcast day.  Maybe it's the incoming plague I'm fighting off.  Maybe it's the broken sleep over the last few weeks.  Maybe it's a combination of things.  I dunno.  What I do know is that I just feel... blah.  No motivation.  No interest.  Plenty of frustration.

Yup. I've hit one of those "Why the fuck am I even bothering?  I should just suck it up and deal with being stuck in a stupid job that makes me money but nothing else, like everyone else.  It's not like anyone would even notice if I just gave up anyway" slumps.

Dear, sweet little fishies, do I hate these kinds of days.

I guess it's par for the course for anyone trying to start a business of any kind, but I think it often hits artists harder. We're not exactly known for having thick skins to start with, so if you've already got depression or anxiety issues (which I do, thanks), days like this are just brutal.  If you've also got self-esteem issues *raises hand*, ugh.  The temptation to just pitch all of my art supplies, sell my camera, and crawl into a little cave forever is sometimes a strong one.

Trying to dig out of it.  I have hot cinnamon tea (in my foxenmug, of course), playing some nice, upbeat music (currently on KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See"), and staring at my watercolor sketchbook with most of a Foxentree (still no foxen yet, though) that needs finishing.  Hopefully it'll work soon!

What about you?  How do you dig yourself out of those mental slump days?

Of Fruits and Fairies and Questions

(Sadly, I could not find the artist to credit properly)

I'm an in a slightly fae mood this morning, so I figured I'd run with it while it lasted.

I am curious...  What is your favorite fruit, and why?

I'll start.  Wild blueberries, because they taste like finding a small, shady island in the middle of a vast lake on a hot Summer's day.  To me, blueberries were always the fairy fruit, since apple trees in New England are a common as crows, and blackberries and raspberries line roadways like fleas.  Finding a blueberry bush, though, requires being beyond the borderline of the roads, and into the woods.  They're on the mountains, and  on the islands, or the far shores, but almost never the near, populated ones.  No, to find the blueberries you must go deeper into the wilder lands, away from people, and so they are nearer to my heart.

How about you?

Adding My Little Voice to the Chorus in Protest of SOPA

This little square is the best I can do, sadly.  One, I'm not big enough where going dark for a day won't hurt me, and two, I'm occasionally technologically impaired:  I'm afraid that if I try to go dark for the day, I will mess something up and accidentally delete everything , and that would be very sad-making indeed.

So instead, I have a black square.  Why? I may be small, and only have a couple of people who know I am even here, or care, but the Internet is hugely important to my little business (it's also hugely important to my day job, being that we exist exclusively online...we have NO physical product... so without the Internet, I have no job at all), and it's my little way of joining the strike in protest of SOPA. Yes, they have said they will not pursue it at the moment, but that does not mean they won't try again, and it certainly doesn't mean that they won't try and slip it in on some other bill. The Internet is too vitally important to allow it to be ripped apart by a bunch of old bastards who don't have the first clue (nor are willing to learn) what the hell it is they are trying to do.

My quiet little voice may be hidden under the booming tones of such Internet giants as Wikipedia and Google, but it is here none the less. I will not be silenced because someone doesn't like the idea of freedom or rights.  I will not go quietly into that night.

FOXENMUGS!

FOXENMUG!!!

EEE!!! I have a mug with my little foxen on it!  EEEeeeEEEeeeEEEeee!!!!!

Alright, I'm done now.  It's all terribly exciting, though.  :D

Tomorrow, there will be another foxenmug in the shop, and even a couple of tote bags.  (There was thought of starting another Foxentree today, but it's been a bit chilly in here and the mere thought of cold paper and icy pens was beyond unappealing to me, so that hasn't happened yet, though it might yet still if I can find something to get my hands above what the boy refers to as "of the death" cold.  The foxen has been looking at me mournfully for a couple of days now, and so I should really stop neglecting him so.)

Hmm... I bet more cocoa might help.  Especially more cocoa in my foxenmug!  ;)

Shiny New Toys

Yesterday, in a fit of...well...something... on my lunch break, I set up a storefront on Zazzle.  If nothing else, I can put some of my stuff up as cards, and it's a decent enough venue for the Foxenwood for now.  My only sadness is that it seems to take bleeding forever to post (which makes for the saddening when you forget to click a button and don't realize until after you hit "post" and now have to wait a small eternity for it to go live so you can correct it).

So, yes... I CAN HAZ CARDS FOR SALE!!!  *glee*  And stuff.  ;)  (There are really 5 things so far, the 3 three photos and the two Foxenwood paintings, but the Foxenwood hadn't cleared last I checked... *sigh*)

Go see the pretties?  Or at least where some of the pretties will now live sometimes.  Or something...  

Just go look.  I'm gonna go get coffee and kick my brain back into gear. 

Snippet: Bridgework

There is a very pretty bridge over the river across the street from my office (sadly, there is a large building between me and said river, but hey, at least it's nearby!)...

Moody St. Bridge, Charles River, Waltham, MA

Singing the Bones...

The other day the idea to start writing up my business plan in the form of a coyote wandered into my brain and got stuck.  Due to outside circumstances, I wasn't able to get poster board when I'd originally thought to, but that's ok... after waiting a day or two, a trip to Michael's was had, whereupon it was discovered that they were having a massive sale.  So, for 40% less than the normal cost, I wandered off home with an 18x24 inch sketchbook and a multi-pack on 01 Micron linework pens.

Needless to say, this got tacked up on the wall, a suitably posed coyote image was found, and a quick outline sketched.

Today, the lines became lines no more, but words... The words, in fact, being my "values" section of my business plan, flowing in an endless stream.  The words running up the left side of the sheet are the same as the ones at the top of this blog ("following the river..."), as they are very much connected to my "Mission Statement", though there is more translation and clarification in order for them, as they are not quite the whole picture.

What is that picture?  Well, you see, it's sort of like this...  My aim in my business is to wander the world in search of the small, beautiful details, the odd things, the random curiosities and share them.

What are my values, those things that I will not compromise, but make up the core of what my business is and who I am?

Freedom.  Creativity.  Beauty.

Slowly, the bones begin to show the form of what will be...

Whilst Out For A Walk...

My day job occasionally involves having to walk up the street and deposit checks in the bank.  Sometimes, I'm even smart and remember that I should bring my camera with me, as there are often things that I see that I keep saying to myself "I really need to remember to bring my camera one of these days".

Well, the other day, I finally did.  One of the restaurants has these HUGE plant urns on either side of the door.  They both intrigue me and creep me out just a little.  So, of course this means that I have to share...  :D

Pluck The Feathers, Peel Back To The Bones

One of the interesting (and hardest) things I'm finding about trying to create a business plan, is that a lot of it is very much like hunting down the beast that is my dream, catching it, and peeling back it's skin until I find the bones of what it is, so that I figure out how to reassemble it and let it free again.

(I know, bizarre image, but it really is kind of fitting.  I have to figure out what I want my business to look like, what my goals, values, etc are so that I can then determine how to get from where I am to where I want to be and start going through the steps to get there.)

My anatomy knowledge is proving interesting in this case, as I'm being THAT level of anatomy geek where I periodically find myself labeling things like "goals" as "integument", "values" as "bones" and "resources" as "sinew", "fascia", etc...

I have a strange urge to find a large sheet of paper, draw the outline of a coyote, and write my plan as it's teeth, fur, and bones.

Actually, that's not a bad idea, now that I think about it.  I wonder if the discount store around the corner from work has poster board...

A Winter Night's Haiku

bitter cold the winds
ice-white stars glitter above
warm, cat sleeps purring

There's A Fungus Among Us...

I know, poor jokes...  but more pictures mean I'm forgiven, right?  :D

Liminal

Liminal (Nashua River)

Rise. Root. Reclaim.

Rise & Root, Rima Staines

One of my favorite artists, a delightfully fae woman named Rima Staines, had a fantastic post today.  As I am not quite capable of articulating my thoughts on it as yet, I strongly recommend reading it for yourself.  She has very well summed up a lot of how I view the world and why I feel so strongly compelled to be self-employed and no longer be in the hideous monochromatic, neutral, sterile, DEAD world of Corporatelandia, with it's cube farms, white walls, carpets somewhere between blue and grey, dull and lifeless "landscape" prints so as not to upset anyone's sensibilities.....

Anyway, yeah... go check out her post.  And her art, 'cause it is GORGEOUS.  :)

Me, I'm gonna go take some pictures of the liminal spaces...