Dance The Old Ways

 More words that move me, written by Cari Ferraro

Dance the old ways

Trust the knowing

Mend and heal

Energy Flowing

For this, I used wood dyes for the background, pencil crayons for the lettering, a chalk pastel spiral and decorators filler for the 'stones'.... so I guess that qualifies as mixed media!

I originally wrote about this piece over here... remember the posts are in reverse order, so the 3rd post on that page is how it started out & the first one is my reflections at the end! 

Sisters Of The Red Moon

we have met before, you and i

somewhen, somewhere.

in time out of time, the space between,

the space where the veil thins and the mist floats across

moonlit oceans.


in the swirling chaos of now,

tendrils of light flicker in the darkness.

reminders of a lost tribe,

of ancient ways where blood was holy

and wisdom shared.

reaching across the chasm of time.

over expanse of space and the shackles of fate

there is hope that in the dreaming

of this and other things, we shall meet again.

somewhen, somewhere.

By Melanie Leavey

Mmm, I love creating textures... with lettering or with paint & I found these words so inspiring. Layers of blacks & reds with some bronze powder....

This piece is 56 x 76 cm on cotton rag paper, which with all the layers, was quite challenging to write on! I've written more fully about the process & my thoughts on the words here, at Spirit Whispers...  

If you are interested in purchasing, please get in touch....

Accordion Book: Rose

This wrap around concertina/ accordion book was made to go with a 'femme' made by ambermoggie. (they're so gorgeous!). It was a special gift for a special young lady!

I chose Saunders Waterford Not, 190gsm and sloshed (technical term, lol) watercolour all over two strips torn to the same size... basically I flooded the paper with water and brushed colour into it, using several shades to match the hand-dyed colours of the femme (whose name is Rose). Rose represents the maiden aspect of the goddess... the flowering of womanhood... the goddess within... her link to the earth and generations of her female line. To echo this feeling I used flowing sweeps of the brush... curving movements...spirals...

I didn't have any preconceived ideas of what this may turn out to be, maybe a bit of collage, definitely a book, but probably smaller than it turned out... it ended up being about 4 feet long when fully stretched out, but at approx 10 inches tall & with 4" pages, it folded up nicely... substantial without feeling bulky.

I wrote a few of the phrases that amber used to describe Rose before deciding on the final size & where to fold... once I had an idea of how the layout should pan out, I made the folds & attached a second section to make the wrap around cover... then I finished the lettering.

The book looked fine as it was, but I wanted to add some collage elements... for these I used torn off bits of the background... added a bit more colour, some gestural marks & random words. I added them to look like mini-canvasses within the book. Not as 'collagey' as I had maybe thought to begin with, but definitely enough for how it developed! 

And the winner is....

.... Jasmine .... congratulations! 

Here's a bouquet of flowers for everyone who took part... you are a small but select bunch of participants, thank you xx

If you would all like to send me your addresses, I'd like to send a token of my appreciation to you all.

Sale & Give-away closing date

...is Sunday 21st March.
Just scroll down or click here to see previous 'sale' posts... even if you don't want to buy anything why not enter the draw for my "Everything Happens For A Reason" canvas here. All you have to do is leave a comment... We'll be moved by 31st March, so this gives me time to post things off & get sorted out!

Ocean...

Although I haven't worked on any of the 'ocean' ideas that arose from the seaside stamps in my last post, the thought process I described led to the words & an earlier version of the canvas below.

I started with the word 'ocean' & wrote the words that came to mind... vast, unending, waves crashing, rolling gently... were a few of the first things I thought of. It was the contrasting characteristics that appealed to me, that I chose to develop.

Just playing around with the words led to phrases that gradually strung together. I have done a couple of much simpler versions before, but each time my ideas develop. The process of 'getting there' is just as important as the end product for me.

Hear the ocean, wild yet calm...

I hear the ocean at my feet

I feel the pain in your heart

waves crashing, thundering emotion 
vast, unending, rolling gently

swim with the tide...

Let me engulf you, comfort, protect you

The power of the ocean can lift you again

(24 x 36 inches)
£150 plus p&p

You can read a more detailed description about the process & techniques involved in creating this canvas here

Inspiration comes from doing....

I was checking out some of the links on the Crafty Individuals website today... there are some great blogs there if you enjoy rubber stamping. Imagine my delight when I found a couple of cards using my lettering! One at Jo Blogs and another at Paper Paradise. Oh, and then I found this... Eclectic Art... Isabelle has used quite a few of my designs in her art. I couldn't resist looking back over her posts, I was getting quite excited! It's not often that i get to see what other people do with them, and I still get that butterflies in the stomach feeling whenever I see something of 'mine'... even though hardly anyone knows it was me!

I've just submitted some more lettering for Crafty Individuals on a 'seaside' theme.... obviously i can't show you yet, as i don't know what they will choose to use, but I included some background textural lettering as well as some quotations in calligraphy. Here are a couple of teasers....

  

I love just writing and creating textures, black ink on white paper..... a few pages of random words and phrases, blocks of text in different styles and weight. By keeping it simple to start off with, there is no pressure to be clever or creative... it's a good warm up exercise at any time, especially if you have no 'big idea' to be working on. But as I write, words & phrases call out to be played with, certain combinations vie for my attention.... before long, inspired by words of the sea I have more than enough ideas to work on.

I had to restrain myself for a while and stick to relatively simple, clear stamp designs.... but from this I have loads of ideas to work up into larger pieces of work. It proves the point that "inspiration comes from doing" and this applies to any form of art or creativity. If you ever find yourself 'stuck' for an idea, or for what to do for the next stage, take the pressure off yourself by going back to basics... do something simple & play around with it for a while until something suggests itself.... something always does if you are content to 'just do' something... instead of desperately trying to conjure up a fully fledged idea or solution. 

Every Journey Begins with a Single Step

40 cm square (just under 16 inches), with 3.75cm/ 1.5 inches deep sides

 £45 including uk postage (please inquire for overseas) SOLD

The quotations read: 

Every journey begins with a single step

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams

explore, dream, discover

Hearts on Canvas...

These three 'heart' canvasses are £15 including uk postage (please inquire for overseas)

 metallic lilac & silver with raised aluminium leaf

8 x 20 inches/ 20 x 50cm

 white, pink, cerise & pearlescent white

16 x 16 inches/ 41 x41 cm

cerise, white & silvery white

12 x 16inches/ 30.5 x 41 cm

Interested? just email suziscribbles [at] gmail [dot] com

payment by paypal or the donate button in the sidebar once everything is confirmed.

Win a Canvas!

Yes, you can have a chance to be entered in a free draw to win this canvas... 'Everything Happens For a Reason' is 20 x 24 inches and has varying shades from dark purple through to pale violet on a cream background with cream to nearly white splashes.

The reason? I'm going to be moving sometime in the next few weeks when my partner starts a new work contract & we need to lighten our load! We've been back 'home' in Northallerton for more than a year now & I've been able to share the studio of a good friend, Sue at Inspired by Script. Soon we will be hitching up our caravan and will be heading for Gloucestershire. I can't take everything with me, and it seems silly to leave a stack of 'stuff' at Sue's.... so everything is for sale... cheap & fast! Hey, if you still don't like the prices, make me an offer! Everything must go by the end of March at the latest, possibly sooner, so if you see something you want, don't delay [update- new job starts 31st march, so sale/draw closes sunday 21st march to give me time to get stuff sorted & posted]

As part of my studio clear-out I'm giving away this canvas.... all you have to do is leave a comment, for a chance to win it... easy! I'm also asking if you can help me spread the word.... if you mention my 'sale' on your blog or site with a link to here, just comment & tell me you've done it & I'll enter your name in the draw twice. It doesn't matter where you are, I'm quite happy to post overseas. 

If you want to buy anything, just drop me an email with your address to suziscribbles [at] gmail [dot] com. You can pay by paypal or use the 'donate' button in the side bar, once we've confirmed everything. It will be first come, first served, so if more than one person wants the same thing, the time of email will decide.

If you can help spread the word I'd be really grateful & don't forget to comment & enter the draw.

Thanks, suzi x