The other big news...

Is that my Zazzle store has gone live.  It currently includes things with both the "Creature of Fire" firebird and the Kraken shipwreck illustrations.  Watch soon for t-shirts and the like, as well as other illustrations.

Back from the dead

Ok, so I have a confession to make, and an apology to go with it.    I have been known to suffer from the occasional depressive episode.  Sometimes it's triggered by weather, and sometimes by other things.  I have, over the last few weeks, since I returned form Texas, been having the worst episode in years.  The fog started lifting yesterday, and I realized I'd basically been sleepwalking through the last 3 weeks.  I apologize to what readers I may have for dropping off the face of the earth like that.

One of the few things that keeps me getting out of bed in the morning when I'm that far off the cliff is that my world is full of things that need to get done, but I don't particularly want to do when I'm feeling energetic and creative.  So I cleaned and organized both my studio and my office at home.  I hung shelves that had been sitting around in boxes for months.  I unpacked all the art I shipped back from Texas.  I framed and hung much of the art I'd bought over the years that had just been sitting around wrapped up.  I painted a lot of my furniture, so things aren't quite so mismatched. And yesterday, as the gray fog started to dissipate, I made these:

they're 1.5" pin-back buttons of some of my elemental illustration pieces.  I happen to have a button press laying around, and have been meaning to get around to these for at least a year.  Something about the image editing needed to adapt the art to the format, along with the physical work of pressing the buttons made the fog dissipate a little bit faster, and now I'm mostly ok.  Expect the buttons (and buttons of some of my Different Worlds) to start showing up in the ArtFire shop fairly soon.

Short post

The tail end of a 2-week vacation is not really the best time for me to wax philosophical about location and aesthetics.  I'm kind of tired, and need a few days to recover and organize my thoughts.  Instead I'll leave you with a few pictures and some news.  Please note that my phone is the only camera I had with me on this trip.

First, this is my homeland:

from the scenic overlook on 360 south of the river

If you look closely, you can see the Austin skyline out beyond the hills.  My part of Texas is NOT flat.

Next we have pictures of my display in the Apollocon art show, just after setup.  The lighting didn't acutally suck quite as bad as the pictures look.  It required 4 frames to capture it all, from left to right:

As for the news:  I managed to sell 2 pendants and a hair pin, to complete strangers, even.  So if you were thinking about Pacific Rim, or Gas Giant #2, sorry, you missed them.

The next post will probably contain more pictures of my homeland, and possibly a discussion of art & place.

Until then....

Deep in the Heart...

Posting from Austin, TX.  The vacation has been great.  It's been food, food, food, and margaritas the whole way.  Also "Dark & Stormy #1: the Kraken" has sold, as well as the "copper spirals and pearls" necklace.  Prints of  "Dark & Stormy..." will be available soon, and the piece will still be displayed at ApolloCon.

On a design-related note, someone erected a ginormous USB flash drive in my (Austin's) downtown:

it's the one kind of in the background. they call it "the Austonian"

I thoroughly disapprove.

Next post will be form the end of ApolloCon.

All my exes...

Ok, not all of them, but a significant few.  Nonetheless I'm in Texas until 6/23, visiting family and friends and attending ApolloCon.  The last couple of weeks have been intensely busy, what with trying to finish things for school, and get everything ready for the Con.

"Dark & Stormy #1: The Kraken"  3.5"X2.5" cloisonne tile

I have 30 pieces that I intend to enter, some of which are previously unseen, and which I'll have to get someone to take pictures of before they get sold.  I've been on a compass rose kick of late, so I have 2 brooches on those lines, with more pieces to come.

"Directions #1" 2.25" cloisonne brooch

 I also spent a significant chunk of change on very nice pearls at the SNAG conference, so expect those to be figuring in more of my work coming up.  So, on that note, I will leave you with some pictures of things in process, some of which are done, and some not..

Just a quick explanation on those last two:  I have new tools!  well, materials, anyway.  acrylic painting enamels, and water-based underglaze paints, so I can do more subtle shading and more painterly patterns.  I'm pretty damned pleased with them.

Apologies for missed posts

The last couple of weeks have just been crazy, and the next few will be more so, but not necessarily in a way that will make me miss posts.  I make it up to you with many pictures.

Packaging

This is my packaging: cute little tins with stickers on and purple tissue inside

Blessed Sky

"Blessed Sky" pendant.  If you look closely there's a very subtle pentagram worked into it.

Different Worlds: Blue Marble #7 (Pacific Rim)

Blue Marble #7: Pacific Rim.  It's got Australia!

Firebird pendant

What can I say, I like firebirds.

Different Worlds: Sun #2

A larger, pendant version of the sun from "One Sun, Nine Planets..."

Different Worlds: Gas Giant #2

Another Gas Giant type planet

Creature of Air

The final scan of Creature of Air.

Creature of Earth

The final scan of Creature of Earth.

So, yes, I've got the elemental creatures done.  I'm working on my next few things, one of which is titled "Leviathan."  Hopefully there will be more timely pictures of that one.

There is News!

First, happy Mother's Day to all the biological moms, adoptive moms, house moms, and and other women charged with dealing with the less mature folks (including those less mature folks who are well into their 20s and better).

I got word back that I passed the jury for Foolscap, so I'll definitely be there!

Also, we finally have a Facebook Fan Page!  http://www.facebook.com/pages/NightshadeRose-Studio/212745315405599.  I'll be adding buttons and whatnot to the blog soon.


I finished "Creature of Earth".  I'm not exceptionally pleased, but it didn't self-destruct, so I'll take it.