Cosmic Surfer Beaded Cuff Bracelet

Cosmic Surfer Bracelet

Thought you'd like an update on the Cosmic Surfer beaded bracelet. It's about halfway done, and yesterday I had a chance to pick up some lovely soft suede for the backing. This Dreamkeeper Creation will go into the Green Drake Gallery when it's finished.

Little Troll Magnet

I got a bit distracted from Cosmic Surfer bracelet this weekend because my clay was calling me. I spent some relaxing time making this crazy wild little Troll Magnet. His face is made of Sculpey clay, baked, and his eyes are tiny green seed beads. I painted his face with several soft washes of acrylic paint, gave it a coat of Dura Varnish, and popped in a tuft of Tibetan lamb's wool for hair. He chose a carved bone bead for his earring and some colorful crow beads for his hair. He's a happy little guy who twinkles at me from the fridge whenever I'm in the kitchen.

Faber Castell COLORS!

Today I'll spend a bit of time sparkling up the house and then I may not be able to resist playing with my new pastels for a while. They are an irresistible present from my husband for our anniversary. I could also say they were a present from my irresistible husband for our anniversary : )

Here are a couple of the photos I'm considering using as a reference - which one should I choose?

A gorgeous rose

A fluffy hibiscus blossom

Calendar country

Eventually I'll do them all, but I'm considering the challenges in each one. With the flowers it's the colors and the layering that will make them sing. I did a series of roses years ago and adore the shapes of the petals - though a rose is a rose, no two are alike, but they're all beautiful. With the landscape the challenge, and joy, will be in the colors that hide in the clouds and sparkle over the land. I love this land.

This is going to be fun. My first foray back into pastels in about 30 years. I've missed them so I'll be happy to be again working with those stunning pigments.

Happy Sunday, happy creating!

Namaste

Jen

Wedding Jewelry for Julie!

LOVE is in the air, and I've been working on some jewelry for my friend Julie, who's getting married in November. 

Bridesmaid's Necklace and earrings, only I changed the earring design later.

The biggest challenge in making this jewelry was matching the color to the gorgeous fabric Julie chose for the bridesmaids' dresses. It's called "Sangria" and I went on a quest to find the perfect color accent beads to complement the fabric.

Works in progress!

I tried a couple of different designs based on an example Julie had provided - trying out different types of sterling silver chain links between the pearls. This time it was wonderful Gordon Lightfoot who accompanied me during my work sessions. Mostly they're play sessions though, because I love working with the beads so much that it just doesn't seem much like work : )

Just waiting for the bridesmaids to put them on!

After about three days (cobbled together from weekend hours and late night hours) I had finished the necklaces and earrings. Notice I switched the earring design so that the heaviest pearls are on top, accented with sterling spacers, tapering to beautiful cream colored pearls on the bottom. This sort of shape will flatter the face when worn. It also echoes the design in the necklaces.

I made six bracelets also, and wish I'd taken a photo but after many hours I was ready to wrap them and prepare them for delivery. I hope the girls feel like princesses for a day while they're wearing them, all dressed up in their gorgeous Sangria dresses to celebrate Julie's very special day.

We're still working on the little flower girl's jewelry - she's six years old, and I'm really looking forward to it. Will add a photo when done. 

Makes my heart sing to be asked to contribute to such a special occasion. I'm sending blessings and prosperity and love to two wonderful people who've found each other (yay!) and decided to make a life together. Mike the dog whisperer, and Julie, wrapped up in the love of their families, beginning to make one of their own, which, of course, includes Carly, the cutest dog I've ever seen - 

I have never seen a dog as cute as this pup!

And Molly, Mike's pup.

Molly and Carly

Best wishes Mike and Julie!!

Mike and Julie

It's going to be a very special day, and a very special life!

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to add to your joy.

Namaste
Jen

Celebrating Pregnancy

Celebrating Pregnancy (Click on the image to enlarge it)  

I saw this woman walking down the sidewalk the other day and she was wearing a long summer dress, patterned with horizontal stripes. She was verrrry pregnant, and it was so interesting how the stripes hugged all the curves of her body - I wondered if she knew. She seemed so content in her flip flops and stripes, and she inspired me to do a little art journal painting to celebrate pregnancy and motherhood.

The details in this painting are inspired by the beautiful glass mosaic bird feeder in my backyard, where the birds come to feed, and kick out seeds that fall down below and become beautiful sunflowers. We love to fill the feeders with those nice fat black sunflower seeds. All kinds of birds love them and come every morning and evening. I like to think of a young mother-to-be walking in a garden enjoying life all around her as it grows inside her.

We also have some lovely purple geraniums, a wild variety, that grow under our bird feeders, and they wanted to be in the picture too. 

This mother is making a vow, as most mothers do, to love her baby, come hell or high water, never shut the door, always be there, forever and a day, no matter what....

Here's to loving mothers everywhere! 

Namaste,
Jen 

ArtFest Weekend!

Let Your Light Shine!

It's ArtFest Weekend in State College, and that always gets me kicking up my heels! The weather is midsummer hot and steamy, there's bluesy music downtown at all hours, and artsy people everywhere, YAY!

We'll go eat some good food and check out the sidewalk chalk paintings, walk around soaking up all the creativity, and have an ice cold beer to top it off. Fun times!

I always get very inspired around ArtFest Weekend, though for the past couple of years I've been doing artwork constantly, so I feel more in flow with this river of creativity now. This little painting started out with abstract background colors, then I looked at the flow of paint to see what type of creature was waiting to be brought out. She's a moxy, foxy little sprite, who's tossed all her inhibitions away in the heat of her celebrative moment. She's celebrating life. Sometimes that calls for fishnet stockings. Make sure to break yours out once in a while....

Namaste,
Jen

New Dreamkeeper Creations jewelry available at Green Drake Gallery!

Gorgeous and affordable handmade one of a kind bead necklaces!

This is entirely too fun. While winter winds swept through the valley I hunkered down on Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes until dawn, listening to episodes of Frasier (hilarious) and Murder She Wrote, and sometimes just plain excellent music (David Arkenstone) playing with beads and making these gorgeous necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.

Finally I have them ready for you and today took them down to The Green Drake Gallery so you can touch them, read about their wonderful gemstone properties, and bring them home for you and your lovies.

It's a lot of work to get them ready! And I LOVE every bit of it!

Earrings! Just so....

My earrings are made from one-of-a-kind handmade glass beads that I buy from artists who love their work and it shows. If you do a You Tube search on handmade lampwork beads you'll get an idea of the lengthy process they go through to create these gorgeous beads. When I get them I examine the colors and accent them with beads that complement their glorious colors. I love the process of choosing their accent beads and putting it all together, aided by my special muse, who sometimes doesn't know the meaning of sleep!

I love to go to the Green Drake Gallery. I've been visiting galleries since I was old enough to walk. They feel like home and smell good (wood, paint, artist vibes, all good) and I'm old enough to have experienced several "cycles of life" including both the ups and the downs. My mission is to give you the very best of what I can create that's both affordable, and beautiful, and the bonus is that you can take a little bit of Green Drake energy with you as you progress in life, to give you strength, beauty, and hope despite odds that may sometimes seem a bit challenging.

Awaiting your arrival and their new caretakers--

When you purchase a Dreamkeeper Creation you're investing in yourself - the energies that help you to align and function on healthy levels. They don't come from me though I put the creations together, they come from Spirit, our creative Source - I never work alone. Choose what you are drawn to - I believe these energies and the beauty that the piece brings enhance your very own capabilities that you may not even be aware of! It's a special kind of magic. I should also say that though I wear a lot of gemstone jewelry, and choose carefully depending on which energies I want to enhance for what I have to accomplish, some days I just wear glass - wanting no extra influences. You can feel which days those are and there are some pieces that are just plain glass to accommodate those times.

So here was our journey today to and from the Gallery - stormy sky bringing wonderful spring rains that I so love - 

Our journey under stormy spring skies

And here is what I have to greet me on my desk when I arrive at home - I'm sure the spring rains helped to bring this beautiful flower about and it truly feeds my soul, as I hope it does yours too! We thrive on creativity in all its forms!

Peony - LOVE them!

I have three peony bushes in my backyard, and I look forward greatly to their blossoming and wonderful fragrance each spring. 

I hope that you'll come out and visit the Green Drake Gallery, even if just to sniff the wood floors, soak up the creative energy, and vibe out on the great music during the frequent events they offer. And if you want to celebrate life with a little sparkle, know that my muse and I, in the guise of Dreamkeeper Creations are there to help you do that!

Namaste

Jen

How Nature Can Answer Our Call

CROW painting - click to enlarge

In this post, I'm sharing one of my very informal art journal entries with you.

A poor wounded squirrel was in my backyard one day a couple of weeks ago when my husband was out of town. I didn't know what to do. I was worried about the squirrel and also my pups, who had to be sequestered in the house all afternoon. I called some neighbors, but no one was available to help. Then I called a number of Animal Control agencies, vets, etc. but they couldn't help either.

A little while later, as I sat in my kitchen looking out the window and wondering what to do, (Help! was the calling of my mind.) Mother Nature came along in the form of Crow, who sent Squirrel on The Long Journey very kindly, and with dignity (Crow didn't eat Squirrel or do any harm other than to put Squirrel out of its physical misery).

Pretty soon I was able to take care of Squirrel's now unneeded body, while its Spirit ran off to the Big Garden in the Sky.

Thank you Crow for your kindness to Squirrel, in ending its suffering. Thank you Mother Nature for your help when I was out of options.

This watercolor painting came about as a result of this experience.

About the words in the painting - I have this little bowl of Angel Cards that I keep in my dining room.

During the time when the Squirrel/Crow situation was happening I pulled a few cards. I'm always amazed and amused at how supportive they are. Before you pull one, you ask a question, or ask the Angels to tell you what is best to know at this time.

They told me not to worry, to keep the faith (FAITH card) and feel peaceful (PEACE card), in contrast to what my mind was telling me, which wanted to panic, thinking OMG, the poor squirrel, what the heck should I do???

And that thought, plus some Internet research (how does one pick up a wounded squirrel, what equipment is needed so it doesn't bite you and will you get rabies if it does...garage check for equipment, which listed heavy gloves and a towel, had the towel but the gloves I didn't have, alternative solutions included putting something over the squirrel to protect it, but all I could find was pots for our plants which the pups could knock over, besides, they'd block out the beautiful dappled sunshine that the wounded squirrel was currently enjoying, and if I did succeed in picking it up then how would I drive in the car with it, how would I contain it - it was too much alive to be safe in the car all the way to the vet or animal control agency...brought thoughts of several options, none of which I could follow through on, such as picking up the wounded squirrel to move it out of the yard or take it to a vet, and other options that were unthinkable, along with letting it suffer for who knows how long....)

The Angel cards told me support was on the way (SUPPORT card). They reminded me that Squirrel is Squirrel, and Crow is Crow, (INTEGRITY card).

In the end, Crow did one of the things that Crow does best, in giving the gift of Heaven to Squirrel. It was a very interesting experience. And I felt thankful that Squirrel was no longer suffering, my pups wouldn't be in danger, and Crow had come to help.

The Past, Present, Future = NOW words are included in this painting because they're an acknowledgement that there is only this moment now, which is what we should focus on instead of the past which no longer exists or the future which is not here yet. This understanding can be found in many ways, and is supported by many teachers, including Eckhart Tolle, who wrote the book The Power of NOW. If I had to choose a favorite book this one would be at the top of my list.

When confronted with death, this thinking is very interesting to me. It suggests a continuance - a sort of "constancy" or "ISness" that cannot be destroyed.

Food for thought - happy pondering.

Namaste,
Jen

Dragon Therapy - Art

So I'm going to take a risk and share a little bit of vulnerability with you. Something happened to me that I think happens to many people today. I got totally overwhelmed. We have so many things we're taking care of, working on, planning, doing, and sometimes these things can make us feel out of control, make us feel that we are not really our true selves.

That's what happened to me and I realized I didn't have the tools to correct the situation, so I turned to a trained professional to collect those tools and begin to apply them. Dragon Therapy, which you'll see here, follows this process of healing. I bet there are things in this process that you can identify with, and I hope my little drawings bring you joy and help you to know that where there's challenge, it can be met superbly with the right tools. Click on the images to enlarge them then use your browser back button to come back to this post.

Yes I'm seeing a psychologist in order to collect some new tools.

I've only ever had counseling once before, when I went through a harrowing divorce about 17 years ago. The counselor saw me for a few sessions and announced that I didn't need her, I was fine, so I went on to raise my beautiful children and move forward in life in a big way. That counseling dealt more with mourning a life that was "cut short" which is quite different from the counseling I'm experiencing now, which is about collecting tools to facilitate empowerment.

Defining the Problem

Like everyone, I aim to please. I aim to not only do well, but to excel - to really make a positive difference in the lives of others. And sometimes I overload myself doing that. Ouch. My sketchbook shows that I've given a "persona" to this feeling of being overwhelmed - it is my Dragon - "the internal demon who kicks me in the butt and burns me to cinders, ostensibly to save me from outside dangers or my very own Self."

What my dragon tells me is that when we're overloaded/overwhelmed, our bodies go into fight or flight mechanism, but with many of the threats we face today, there's nothing to fight and really nothing to run from. They're threats about accomplishing things with limited resources, stretching and overextending ourselves till we're wound tight as a stretched out rubber band.

Learning about my Dragon

In the process of healing and attaining empowerment, I had to figure out who my Dragon is - where does it live? Where does it come from? I discovered it lives in the PAST, and it lives in the FUTURE, but rarely does it actually live in the PRESENT. What that means is that I'm "judging" what's going on NOW based on experiences in my past that were painful, and projecting that potential pain into future events. That's not reality. It can be corrected with the right tools, hallelujah!

Learning to tame my Dragon

In learning to tame my Dragon, I learn what not to do - don't try to silence it, it serves a very good, strong purpose - protection of the Self. Don't try to fight it or kill it, instead, take a step back and look at it, figure out what it needs in order to be a friendly Dragon. My therapist reminds me that Dragons can be tamed, but they will also wake up crabby sometimes, and we have tools for that (yay!).

Peaceful time with friendly Dragon, ahhhhhh

One of the most important tools I've learned about in taming the Dragon is the ability to step back and notice my own thoughts. I can ask myself "am I in emotional mode?" or "am I in logical mode?" and when I'm feeling most anxious and pressed I understand that I'm stuck in "emotional mode." So to scoot over into the balance between logical and emotional mode, which takes me out of panic and puts me nicely into a balanced way of thinking I've learned Tool #1 - "Just the facts, m'am." I'll put up the image I've drawn for this in a bit, but there's another one that comes first. That's the one where I'm discovering the triggers for my Dragon. What sends him into attack mode?

TRIGGERS

So I've examined the triggers that send my Dragon into attack mode - the things that make me feel overwhelmed, the things that trigger fear/fight/flight. The most obvious one is having too much work to do with not enough resources. No matter how much I might want to be able to accomplish this, there are times when I need to look about and find out what my resources are for taking some of the load OFF. And you know what? They are there. They are available. But you have to take the initiative to ask for them, and you have to have other people who listen to you and have the authority to get you the resources that are needed. It's okay to ask, sometimes you have to ask persistently until you are heard.

Tool #1 Think factually

Here's the image I was talking about a minute ago - Tool #1 is to learn to think factually - "The sun is out," "the sky is blue," "I am well," "I got a lot done," "I need to get some more resources on this," etc., instead of emotionally - "oh no, more clouds again," "this workload is gonna kill me," "wow, I feel overwhelmed."

More images are coming soon. One thing I want to say about my Dragon Art Therapy is that I have placed no rules on it. I am recording my thoughts in very fast, uncensored drawings and then putting color to them to help convey my feelings. This is not the thoughtful, planned, presketched type of art that I like to do for decoration, it's sketchbook art that quickly captures thoughts and feelings, giving me a way to track my progress that I can recognize, and the funny thing is, it's poignant, but also totally amusing, and even funny at times, so I'm sharing it. More to come -all comments are most welcome : )

The Future Is Your Inspiration Painting Finished

The Future is Your Inspiration

All finished!

I like how this colorful watercolor has turned out. It's a little message to myself to keep going - you never know what you can do if you don't apply yourself. Little faery is lovin' the baby oak. Eventually she'll move it cause it can't grow to its full potential in the deep shade of its parent; it needs to be out in the sun, but there's lots of space close by. (Click on the images to enlarge them)

Pencil sketch on watercolor paper

You know I love the looseness of the pencil drawings. For this one I moved her arm - did you notice? I like the sweetness of the "Father tree" watching how much his offspring is loved. I like that little Faery gives the sapling her attention like she has all day to do it. I'm sure she has flowers to paint and birds to ride, so many things to do in the faery world, but she's happily "in the present moment." A good reminder for me....

Ink is done 

Here's the ink sketch, just waiting to be blown off the page by lots of color. I probably need to reign myself in on my wild palette, but not yet ; )

I'm happy to have been able to finish the triptych; finishing anything is good, even if it's not perfect. Then we can move on to the next one, taking what we've learned with us, which will be even better!

So now I'm exploring dragons.

Who is my Dragon?

Dragon, for me, represents the demons I fight - the challenges - the obstacles - the fears. And what I've discovered is that I don't want to kill mine, I'd much rather make friends. Tame it, work with it, see what it brings to me. 

Camel Dragon?

So in working with my Dragon, I'm playing with what it looks like. This is the "camel" version. Kind of cute, could be dangerous if not handled properly or mistreated (BIG teeth).

Exploring ears, horns, spikes, textures, and eyelashes ; )

Yes, my Dragon will have eyelashes to beat the band, don't ask me why, I have no idea. I think his ears are somewhat inspired by Benji's, what do you think?

He doesn't know he's Dragon inspiration....

 And here we have the realization that I don't have a clue what a dragon's nose and mouth area looks like. Hm, research needed. Anyone got a dragon I can babysit?

Hm, I've never seen a dragon, how does the understructure look? Obviously I haven't a CLUE....

Tune in soon for updates on how Dragon's coming along. Should be interesting if nothing else ; )

Namaste

Jen

New Painting - The Present is Your Creation

The second in the triptych - click on the images to enlarge them

This painting is all about being in the present moment. When we take them one at a time they feel much better than when we're anxsting over the past or worrying over the future. This little faerie is humming along under the warm sunshine, doing what she loves best - decorating flowers!

The border says - Learn, Grow, Create, Act, Move, Breathe, Sing, and Believe, which are all action phrases that mean a lot to me as I bring my dreams into reality to share them with you.

Sketch for The Present is Your Creation

I start by doing a little research on what I need to know more about, in this case, what do irises look like, and what do butterfly wings look like (though I may break all the rules when I finally start drawing). Then I sketch out a draft of the design in my sketchbook, which I draw again, freehand, on fine watercolor paper - this is hot pressed paper, which gives me a lot of control over the fine details. I like to use a watercolor block so I don't have to stretch the paper; it stays put with the layers of color washes and dries nice and flat.

Detail of The Present is Your Creation

 I often think the pencil sketches are the most beautiful - they're where my hand is finding the lines and some of the expression gets a bit lost after I ink and paint over them, but I strive to keep the soul and spirit of them intact.

Working on the purple

 I allow myself one color a day, because I have a "day job" so I have to budget the time I get to spend painting. If I had my way, I'd most likely paint for days and nights without eating or sleeping, I love it so much ; ) So this image was taken on the day I worked with purple - the iris was so much fun to do.

My happy place

This is my drafting table where I love to work. The sun comes in in the afternoons and feels wonderful. At night I light a candle to set a peaceful mood, and put on my favorite music, very often David Arkenstone - he's a true master of perfect sound to soothe the soul.

I bought some new paintbrushes which you can see sitting in the beautiful horsehair clay jar I bought at the Green Drake Gallery in Millheim, PA. I think wonderful tools deserve wonderful homes. You can see, too, the photos I downloaded from the Internet when I was researching butterfly wings and irises. I don't copy them, but do sort of "put myself into them" to get a sense of the line, form, and color. Once I have a feeling for the "real things" in my pictures, I then do as my muse directs, which often results in thoroughly unpredictable surprises.

Colors!

I'm pretty picky about my palette - try not to use "cheater colors" and I know a good deal about mixing colors. One thing I like to do to make sure the picture has a synchronicity about it when it's finished is make sure there's a little of each color in all the other colors, so they pull together. I'll put a tiny bit of red into a green, or a bit of blue into a yellow - not enough so you can "see" it, just enough so it "registers" and pulls together. I LOVE color.

Me in my happy place

Here's me in my studio, doing what I love best, enjoying the sunbeam, listening to great music, and creating wonderful, whimsical, totally unpredictable art for you.

Thanks for visiting : )

Namaste!

Past, Present, Future Painting

The Guiding Star (click on the images to enlarge them)

The Faerie

My muse has been visiting me again, and this time we've created a wonderful image that is part of a triptych based on the Past, the Present, and the Future. This drawing is a detail of the faerie at the cusp of her past and present, right at the moment when she succeeds in reaching for the stars and finally makes contact.

The Past is Your Teacher (Graphite Drawing)

Here's the entire image before I painted it. I love the delicacy of line in the drawing, the looseness, the flow. As she makes contact with her lucky star, she becomes empowered by the light and energy flowing into her from the star, who's a magical being, much like herself. The moon is there watching over her, as always, a constant in her world. (Yes, my Moon has elfin ears, lol)

The Image with Ink

I did the outlining with Winsor and Newton Nut Brown ink, using a quill pen with a number 512 Hunt quill tip pen. I like the control I can get with this pen, it handles curves well and will give me very thin or somewhat thicker lines depending on pressure. The paper is 140 lb Arches hot pressed watercolor block. Hot pressed means the paper is very very smooth with nearly no texture, which allows me to control the line and to get very fine detail.

The Moon begins to glow behind her.

I like to use Winsor and Newton watercolors because they perform reliably as I apply layers of color glazing to build up depth. I also applied a little masking fluid to select areas before painting in order to reserve areas I could later paint in soft bright colors.

Her Guiding Star comes alive, as her little Guardian Star  cheers, Hurray! 

The little Guardian star has been with her all her life, cheering her on. She has learned to meditate and in the peace of those moments discovers a higher connection. Her Guiding Star (the larger one) transfers energy and light, empowering her to bring her message to the world.

Detail of her Guardian Star, did you know we all have one?

The border shows that as she grew from faerie childhood into her adulthood, her little Guardian star inspired her to hold her dreams close, sleep, laugh, meditate, reach, dance, love, not to give up on her dreams, to share, to learn, and to grow. 

The Final Painting - 33 hours later

Detail of the Finished Faerie

So now that this one's done, I'm on to the second in the triptych - "The Present is Your Creation." I will post about it when it's a bit further along.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to paint paint paint because I've missed it, and I feel so many paintings pushing to get out. They want to be shared with you. In order to do that I'll most likely start another Etsy site, where I can sell the prints, and also a Zazzle site so that you can choose what type of decorated item you'd like to purchase - it could be a coffee mug or a pillow, a notepad, or a water bottle decorated with my image - I'll be figuring out how to set this up later this year. First the painting, then the production. 

It looks like it's going to be a very exciting year!

Best wishes to you as your New Year unfolds as well.

Thanks for checking in--

Namaste