I just wanted to drop in real quick and share this link with you.
http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/46/Great_Horned_Owls/
It's one of the many cams you can access thru Cornell University's school of Ornithology (just click on any of the links in their "Bird Cams" menu) to watch live feeds of bird nests as they bring their little ones into the world.
For me, it's more addictive than any human made show I could ever watch.
OK, maybe not Doctor Who. . . or the Man in the High Tower. . . or the Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt. . . but still. :)
So right now thru that site there are little Barred Owlets, (check out their link on the live Barred Owl cam page to the calls of the adult Barred Owls!) California Condors, Hawaiian Albatross and The Great Horned owls all with little ones being raised and fledged to watch right now!
But soon to come, the Barn Owls, Dottie and Dash, always the over achievers of the bird world, have SIX eggs (that's almost a sure recipe for a little heartbreak as it is likely that not all will survive) the Red Tailed Hawks have three eggs again this year (all survived to fledge last year) and the Osprey, Iris and Stanley, are just going to be settling in in the next week or two to begin their season (last year they lost both eggs to a huge hail storm so I am rooting for them this year!).
Keep in mind. . . it's nature and it's uninterrupted and wild. . . so the larger the birds, the larger the prey they capture and return to the nest to tear apart and eat. Not always what you want to watch but, for the most part, fascinating. Like when the Barn owlets get big enough and start swallowing things whole. . . yikes!
I did feel sorry for the beautiful white Egrets who bathe in the reservoir beneathe the Great Horned owl nest. . . you'd think they'd learn! Anyway, fair warning!!
And the feeders. . . the FEEDERS! If you don't have access to watching a busy bird feeder around your home, I suggest the Cornell feeders which are a fine indoor surrogate and can just be left on to listen and watch birds come and go all day!
Hey, some people are crazy cat people and I, well, I am a crazy bird person.
And my own morning routine involves feeding our cat but then making my way downstairs as the dawn arrives to feed the birds. Here, I have around two dozen Sparrows, a few pairs of Mourning Doves, a few finches and a sprinkling of Starlings and right now, as it is nesting season, just a few of my fine fellow crows (Though in winter as many as 30 will show up daily and let it be known they are here for food!) and one resilient seagull who I have had many epic mental battles with to try and fool her so she does not eat all the food. We've come to terms it seems and so I now count her among the regulars.
Anyway, that's all for today my friends. . .
The writing project is still on task and I am 22 days in but more on that soon enough. . . but it just occurred to me how this same 30 day writing exercise could be applied to almost any creative endeavor. When I think back to what stopped me from writing so many times it was always the point A to point B syndrome. How do I get there? And the distance seemed so far. But in manageable 30 minute chunks? which will now add up to 15 hours in one month? Wow! I "found" the time and each little step is totally manageable and . . . ahhhh yes, yes, so much more for another post. . .
Have a lovely week ahead my friends and I will look forward to showing some new work in the coming days too. New statues, my first stand alone DRAGON and getting closer now to May, when I am determined to set aside all but what I truly want to make and to allow my heart to just play. . .
Until the next. . .
nicolas
Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2016
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Bloom - The Renewal of an Idea
Inspired by the creative challenge issued Sunday by the lovely creative
spirits at Pixie Hill, I took the word "Bloom" and decided to see where
it took me.
I am much more of an Autumn soul than a Spring one and I never am at a loss for creative ideas and a to-do list a mile long. . . so then, what would "Bloom" bring up in my own creative world?
Well, for me, it does mean renewal. . . so how about the renewal of an old idea?
Bookmaking. . .
I have dabbled, many times over the years, in the art of bookbinding. Never seriously but always with the knowledge that the ideas I would love to bring to life in that realm would definitely fit my work and my expression of possibility and magic.
I tend to get excited whenever I have down time (rarer all the time these days) about the art of bookbinding and I'll jot down ideas, start on covers, buy book cloth, binding tape, waxed linen thread etc etc. . . so all of the necessary supplies are here. I just never seem to take those ideas to the completed stage and get sidetracked with orders and finishing the work for my shoppe.
Well, the last two days while recovering from eye surgery, I thought "OK, here it is, a bit of time with a chance to try to renew this idea.
The results are as follows:
A blank spell book, perhaps left behind intentionally for a human child to write their dreams and wishes, large or small, within?
It's really a wonderful thing to get outside the usual mode of my creative production and try something new . . . or, at least, renewed! I can't tell you how many years I have been dreaming of making little books. . . though most of my ideas are not for blank paged books but, instead, for almost-filled "sketchbooks" that a fairy might "lose" or leave behind in your garden with sketches like these I completed a while ago:
Yes, I think it's time. . . . Spring. . . . ideas do bloom too. . .. so, thanks, to Nichola, for the gentle nudge of inspiration to allow these to do so!
A very magical and happy Spring to all!
nicolas
I am much more of an Autumn soul than a Spring one and I never am at a loss for creative ideas and a to-do list a mile long. . . so then, what would "Bloom" bring up in my own creative world?
Well, for me, it does mean renewal. . . so how about the renewal of an old idea?
Bookmaking. . .
I have dabbled, many times over the years, in the art of bookbinding. Never seriously but always with the knowledge that the ideas I would love to bring to life in that realm would definitely fit my work and my expression of possibility and magic.
I tend to get excited whenever I have down time (rarer all the time these days) about the art of bookbinding and I'll jot down ideas, start on covers, buy book cloth, binding tape, waxed linen thread etc etc. . . so all of the necessary supplies are here. I just never seem to take those ideas to the completed stage and get sidetracked with orders and finishing the work for my shoppe.
Well, the last two days while recovering from eye surgery, I thought "OK, here it is, a bit of time with a chance to try to renew this idea.
The results are as follows:
A blank spell book, perhaps left behind intentionally for a human child to write their dreams and wishes, large or small, within?
 |
| The completed small, blank Elven Spell Book with ribbon marker 1.75" x 2.5" |
 |
| An incantation in "Elven font" on the facing page. . . this spell allows the person who writes their dreams within the book to have them protected and spell-bound by the magical wee folk. |
 | |
| A map of my imaginary world (still in progress) of The Bewildering Pine where the elven folk of my little paracosm reside. |
 | ||
| The cover is an antique book cover printed on archival linen paper. I want to try staining the inner pages and adding little printed symbols etc here and there for the final versions. |
It's really a wonderful thing to get outside the usual mode of my creative production and try something new . . . or, at least, renewed! I can't tell you how many years I have been dreaming of making little books. . . though most of my ideas are not for blank paged books but, instead, for almost-filled "sketchbooks" that a fairy might "lose" or leave behind in your garden with sketches like these I completed a while ago:
 |
| The font is slightly askew which leaves for me to include "translations" in the packaging! :) |
 |
| Faerie Garden Obelisks |
 |
| Cataloging of Vegetables, Flowers and Insects of course are part of the design. |
Yes, I think it's time. . . . Spring. . . . ideas do bloom too. . .. so, thanks, to Nichola, for the gentle nudge of inspiration to allow these to do so!
A very magical and happy Spring to all!
nicolas
Monday, April 7, 2014
Spring Brings. . .
It is a fact that I am far more an Autumn/Winter soul than anything else and so, usually, Spring is not my favorite season as it seems to always want to usher in Summer. . . my least favorite time of year.
However, along with Spring comes the rebirth of the landscape and a sense of renewal all over. Rebirth is always such a theme in creative work it seems. This year it takes on new meaning for me in my little world.
Last month I hit the wall in some respects creatively. That wall, which is always quite close, is the very inflexible 24 hours in a day rule that someone long ago made up as the rule . . . and boy has it stuck!
24 hours a day.
I've fought it my whole life. Going so far as to try, at 19, to restructure my own definition of the week to consist of six 28 hour days and sleeping only 6 times a week. However, that schedule, as you might imagine, has it's problems. Most rooted into the fact that you are the only person living on such a schedule and, three times a week, you are "mid-day" when the world is sleeping. That was fine for me as a devoted night owl at the time. . . but not so good for others in the house. lol
Anyway, more on that experiment another time. I gave in after a few weeks and have been on the old 24 hour system since.
Last month I found myself overbooked on custom work and turning into a real grumblepuss some nights when I found I had no time left to just make what I most desired which is, after all, why I create in the first place. But it is a balance I know. I just let it get all out of whack after the holidays and I do so have trouble saying no to my wonderful customers who return again and again.
So, I set the goal in mid March. Get through all of the custom pieces on the schedule by the first week in April and then, once there, stop booking my weeks full of custom work and start spacing them out. My main concern was that people would not be willing to wait 6 to 8 weeks or longer for a piece but that turns out to not be true. I am, as of now, into June with requests and still no one balks at the wait.
The best part is that this week I finally have been able to begin again in just making whatever my heart desires. It seems like it has been ens since I could just daydream and play. . . and while it has only, in reality, been a handful of weeks, I am glad to be "home" again. I think it is SO very important to feed that muse inside and to allow it to drift and wander wherever it may. Otherwise even the most wonderful of creative work can seem less shiny and fun. And that is no way to go. :)
That said, I wanted to share a peek at what Spring has conjured in my world.
As you know i have several forms of expression and styles that are dear to my heart. Egyptian antiquity, model railroad miniatures, spiritual statues and visual art to name a few. . . . but fantasy creatures and fairy worlds are the nearest and dearest of all so it is no surprise that I have found myself lost in places and faces like these below.
It has been nearly impossible to keep fairy houses in stock so I set out to create something a little more 'expandable". A world of their own. What I cam up with are these "Fairy Houses of Mossy Lane". The houses will be sold individually of course but I could not resist starting on a "set" to shoot them on. The base with it's cobblestone road is just begun really. I'll be adding flowers, benches, and, if all goes well, even tiny little HO scale fairies with handmade wings. I am tickled with the results so far!
And creatures. . . Spring seems to regularly manifest ideas in this realm too! I listed the first of these guys the other day, inspired by a tiny detail in one of Arthur Rackham's wonderful fairy tale illustrations. Another going in today and, it seems, two more have sprouted (they grow out from under the caps) this morning!
And for me, the story is the thing! So the midnight oil is being burned with a lot of writing and creating the backstory of these creatures and place.
The only issue is now that my to do list of what I want to make is as backed up as my custom list was last month! No rest for the wizards . . . and still just 24 hours in a day!
Enjoy the week dear friends. . .
nicolas
However, along with Spring comes the rebirth of the landscape and a sense of renewal all over. Rebirth is always such a theme in creative work it seems. This year it takes on new meaning for me in my little world.
Last month I hit the wall in some respects creatively. That wall, which is always quite close, is the very inflexible 24 hours in a day rule that someone long ago made up as the rule . . . and boy has it stuck!
24 hours a day.
I've fought it my whole life. Going so far as to try, at 19, to restructure my own definition of the week to consist of six 28 hour days and sleeping only 6 times a week. However, that schedule, as you might imagine, has it's problems. Most rooted into the fact that you are the only person living on such a schedule and, three times a week, you are "mid-day" when the world is sleeping. That was fine for me as a devoted night owl at the time. . . but not so good for others in the house. lol
Anyway, more on that experiment another time. I gave in after a few weeks and have been on the old 24 hour system since.
Last month I found myself overbooked on custom work and turning into a real grumblepuss some nights when I found I had no time left to just make what I most desired which is, after all, why I create in the first place. But it is a balance I know. I just let it get all out of whack after the holidays and I do so have trouble saying no to my wonderful customers who return again and again.
So, I set the goal in mid March. Get through all of the custom pieces on the schedule by the first week in April and then, once there, stop booking my weeks full of custom work and start spacing them out. My main concern was that people would not be willing to wait 6 to 8 weeks or longer for a piece but that turns out to not be true. I am, as of now, into June with requests and still no one balks at the wait.
The best part is that this week I finally have been able to begin again in just making whatever my heart desires. It seems like it has been ens since I could just daydream and play. . . and while it has only, in reality, been a handful of weeks, I am glad to be "home" again. I think it is SO very important to feed that muse inside and to allow it to drift and wander wherever it may. Otherwise even the most wonderful of creative work can seem less shiny and fun. And that is no way to go. :)
That said, I wanted to share a peek at what Spring has conjured in my world.
As you know i have several forms of expression and styles that are dear to my heart. Egyptian antiquity, model railroad miniatures, spiritual statues and visual art to name a few. . . . but fantasy creatures and fairy worlds are the nearest and dearest of all so it is no surprise that I have found myself lost in places and faces like these below.
It has been nearly impossible to keep fairy houses in stock so I set out to create something a little more 'expandable". A world of their own. What I cam up with are these "Fairy Houses of Mossy Lane". The houses will be sold individually of course but I could not resist starting on a "set" to shoot them on. The base with it's cobblestone road is just begun really. I'll be adding flowers, benches, and, if all goes well, even tiny little HO scale fairies with handmade wings. I am tickled with the results so far!
And creatures. . . Spring seems to regularly manifest ideas in this realm too! I listed the first of these guys the other day, inspired by a tiny detail in one of Arthur Rackham's wonderful fairy tale illustrations. Another going in today and, it seems, two more have sprouted (they grow out from under the caps) this morning!
And for me, the story is the thing! So the midnight oil is being burned with a lot of writing and creating the backstory of these creatures and place.
The only issue is now that my to do list of what I want to make is as backed up as my custom list was last month! No rest for the wizards . . . and still just 24 hours in a day!
Enjoy the week dear friends. . .
nicolas
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)