New Work - "First" Friday - November 9th

Soooooo. . .  Yes, I did it. I forgot that the 2nd was the first Friday and when I sat down yesterday to post some new work. . . I felt so silly! :) 

So with FIVE Fridays this month I decided to go ahead and start the month today and count it as first Friday! 

Here is a selection of work from the last month! I hope this finds you all well and preparing for the holiday season ahead. 

I am going to try and post pics of my holiday baking as we go too. First up is Sunday the 11th, that's St Martin's Day and in the Polish town of Poznań, the village bakes and sells  hundreds of thousands of the crescent shaped sweet rolls on Novemebr 11th. I'll post more about it with the images later next week. 

For now, hoping your weekend is wonderful!

XO

nicolas

I had not made Burano houses or a Gondola for years and never at this tiny N scale size! I love them!! 

A Fairy House with the door on the second floor

A All Hallow's Eve scene with Dracula on the crypt's balcony

A Carnelian Shen amulet

A tiny, blue Anubis Statue

A custom request for a miniature scene of Hagrid's Hut! I loved making this but it will be OOAK for sure. :) 

New Work - "First" Friday Post - June 8th

Hey everyone!

Soooooo, yeah. First Friday. . . somehow I did not realize that last Friday was June first until halfway through this week when I noticed that this Friday was the 8th.   So while last week should have been first Friday, there are still four Fridays in the month and I've decided to just pretend they are the only four Fridays instead. :)

It's new work time then! This month I am going to focus on just two pieces, both very special creations that I was so honored to be asked to create. . .

These are partly why I missed the date last week I suspect. In and amongst the usual orders and requests, I have been working overtime to try and get some truly new pieces going here the last few months for the summer and holiday seasons ahead. Days bleed one into the next and it's a very lovely creative oblivion. :)

Thank you all for dropping by and may the magic and enchantment of the realms of Faerie and beyond, be found within everything that you see!

XO
nicolas


So, first up, Madame Emi's Fortune Teller's Wagon.

The very best compliment I can receive is when the recipient of a scene like this says, "I want to live there!" That's because I create them with just that idea in mind — what would I want to see in a setting like this that makes ME want to live there as well!

This was built to HO scale, I really loved creating this elaborate scene. From the tiny resin birdbath, the strung globe lantern on the wagon itself, the shelves of special cure-alls and potions, the goats and goose and the tiny crystal ball on the table in front of Madame Emi. . . it's all about making it a magical scene. This was so much fun to bring to life.

Welcome to Madame Emi's. . .

Madame Emi offers all sorts of potions and remedies, expertly crafted, of course, for whatever ails you. 

Madame Emi's crystal ball will reveal all!

If you are in the woods and stumble across Madame Emi's wonderful wagon, don't pass her by. . . 

And second was an N scale farm scene. The base is roughly the same as the Fortune Teller's Wagon above but being a scale half as large, it allowed for even more detail!

This all just fell into place. The truck and house were the focal points. The truck is a model but I did build it and paint it. 

Scenes like this need motion I think. So the figures (.5" in / 1.25cm tall!) and the animals really help.

Little detailed additions like grass between the dirt road's tire lanes, the pine cone tree flocking and the single apple tree. 

Horses in the pasture beyond, the garden being tended/harvested and the little lawn chairs and rail fences add mini-magic. 

Thank you for taking the time to peruse my blog! Drop me a line or comment to let me know how you found me or share your thoughts.

Nicolas

New Work - Happy Groundhog Day! First Friday Post - February 2nd

Happy Imbolc, Candlemas or Groundhog Day, depending on how you celebrate it! May it be magical!


February already???? The time does indeed fly. . .

This month, for my first Friday post, I just wanted to share some of my new work.

I mentioned before that we are taking time out to make truly new pieces, explore new ideas and branch out a bit. It's a bit scary as it has meant NOT focusing on restocking favorites in the shops and allowing sales to dip a bit but I was really starting to feel a tad burned out last year remaking the same things over and over while constantly pushing new ideas further down the "to-do" list.

It's worked like a true charm. Just allowing myself to go in directions I want and not worry so much about what might sell has been SOOOOOO rejuvenating.

I hope you enjoy this first peek into the world of my new work!

Thank you as always for all of your comments and support!

Nicolas

So I have spoken about making figures many times before. This year it may finally happen.
Still nameless, but here are a few views of a Faun Figure. 

Each little curl of his leg hair is added and shaped individually.  He is just over 4" (10cm) tall. 

Mica powder adds the weathering to the cape and hat. The staff features a Swarovski crystal teardrop. 

I have not decided on the price. . . or even if I CAN part with him. And this is why I rarely make figures. lol

Towers? Yes, that's not new. . . but I have been inspired to build them on the most enchanted and precarious of
 landscapes. Like this precipice! The whole piece is over 7" tall. 

Of course, as I go "bigger and better", I am continually drawn to making things smaller and smaller for some reason as well!  That little flower pot is all of 2" wide!

Since childhood, mice have been deeply imbedded in my imagination. Brian Jacques' "Redwall", Mrs. Frisby
 and not all that long ago, David Petersen's "Mouse Guard" to name a few. . .
I started working on this idea for a story, "The Brotherhood of the Muridae", a few years back.
Only recently have a I settled upon the figure shapes, clothing style and the basis of the whole background story. Here we have a cheesemonger and a fez topped mouse monk as the first two! They're awaiting names and their individual stories. :)

With the exception of custom orders, I've stayed away from making large statues for some reason.
Changing that this year as well! 

I've talked about the thrill of seeing my skills grow over the years. I NEVER would've attempted such a large,
 intricate cobra with that looping body and scales before this! 

And using accessories like the crystal scarab in Bast's neckpiece
(I know that it's hard to see!)  is also something I wanted to try more of.

Doing all the new things has rekindled interest in the old as well. Such as my miniature Moai statues! 

Or this particular mushroom fairy house style! Welcome back!

New Work - July 2nd

Welcome everyone!

Summer is on it's downward swing already, days getting shorter as we're headed to my most favorite season of all, Autumn.

This month, instead of just a string of new work, I wanted to share a few images and thoughts with you about something I think is often misrepresented in the art/craft/maker world.

The creative workspace.

In this internet age of "lifestyle blogs" where people do their best to present their life, their travels, their world, their day to day activities as an unending stream of peaceful moments and perfectly placed home bliss. I'd like to offer the artist/maker-in-waiting, a slightly different viewpoint. . .

THIS is what my work table looked like one day last week, as it does most days.

An average workday of projects old and new, many in process and this is a LIGHT day! Includes paints, files, craft wood, brushes, and two drawers filled with miscellaneous magic. 

Every surface I work upon is speckled with paint, or patina or clay!

A separate work area for sculpting-in-progress and tools. That is the potted Medieval Walled Village in it's beginning stages front and center. You can see the final piece below. 

There is never a day where the tables are clean or neatly arranged. Not totally. An organized chaos is as close as I get.

The point I want to make is this. If you want to be maker of things, a painter, a sculptor, a writer, a woodworker. Whatever it is. It's going to be a life and pursuit filled with messes. Some literal and some figurative. Too many people, I believe, let the fact that they don't have the "right space" or enough space, keep them from moving forward.

There is such a desire in life to present the picture perfect side of ourselves but ART, my dears, in any form, is found mostly in and thru the messes. Not in the perfection.

So set your life up to allow for and accommodate the messes. That "studio" you see in the above pictures takes up what would be the living room/dining room of our place. What would be our "spare" bedroom is the packing and shipping room and is wall to wall packing materials, wash tape, glue dots, paper cutters, metal shelves, boxes, tissue papers, bubble wrap and another shipping work table too.

I know people who have tucked their art away for years because the thought of taking a room in their house to dedicate to it is unthinkable. "Where would guests stay?" "Where would we eat or watch tv?" Well, our guests have to sleep on a fold-out couch (which is crammed between the work space AND a FULL SIZED, 4 heddle, weaving loom!)  and we crammed a tiny pub table in between all the work spaces for ourselves to eat our meals at. We don't have dinner parties and we don't have a bedroom for long term guests. Those are the sacrifices we made. And might I remind you, we do this full time.

In a world where people are more and more given to trying to present their lives, their homes, their  every waking hour as an instagram moment. . .  we offer you the unending reality of creative MESS.

A creative Etsy friend of mine calls herself a "maker-of-messes".  And I like that very much.

Here's to the mess-makers!! The "perfect" ones in my book!

nicolas

And here are a few new work photos including the potted Medieval Walled Village! Enjoy!

The timbering is all done by hand, tiny strip by tiny strip!

I don't make these often but oh I DO love them when done!

A traditional Slavic amulet but a little stylized my own way!

A new addition to Shadow of the Sphinx. My own design, not taken from an ancient example. 

Ram headed ancient Egyptian deity Khnum. Another favorite to create.

This was FUN! A custom request for an Edgar Allan Poe mini tombstone with a raven!

New Work - May 1st

Happy May Day!!

It's been a month.

I went from having the the flu at the end of March to Sofie being sick with a nasty cold and then I got that cold as well!

Three-plus weeks of at least one of us feeling under the weather.  When we were finally all better we found ourselves far behind.

And the weather itself. OK, I am a HUGE fan of inclement weather. Rain, snow, wind etc but it has been raining just about very day since I got back from my trip. Yesterday was the first sunny day we had in weeks and it was glorious! I mean, it's May! I definitely get a reverse SADS effect when it is sunny every day for stretches and I wasn't exactly feeling blue in the rain, it's just taking walks, errands etc etc become sooo unbearable after a while and you find yourself waiting for a break in the weather or  just for it to be raining not as hard. :)

I've enjoyed many aspects of the last month despite the illness. Things like reading more and having time to peruse things I never seem to find the time to look into.

Yesterday an article on a Han Dynasty tomb that was recently unearthed while a subway was being constructed in China caught my eye. Inside the tomb, that of a mildde aged woman, they found four 1/6th scale weaving looms complete with all the accompanying tools for weaving in miniature as well. Even cinnabar-dyed thread strung on the loom for weaving. Add to that the number of carved figures, male and female, each with a name engraved upon them and also to scale.

Amazing.

That sent me to Pinterest and down the rabbit hole which led quickly into all sorts of my usual searched for dolls, ancient fabrics, sculpting tips, fantasy art etc etc.

I realized it had been months since I have allowed myself that sort of down time to just seek out inspiring things. New things. Undiscovered things.

Sometimes I try to keep myself from diving into the new because my "to-do" list of ideas is so long, so unending that I will never get to them all as it stands right now. But I've come to accept that that's ok.  The whole list may not get done. I can add things to it as the new ideas reshape and reform the older ones.

Mostly, I need that new inspiration. It keeps the creative fire going inside and I am never more in tune with my own creative self than when I feel like I have multiple, unexplored ideas orbiting my head like moons!  It pushes me to go beyond what I already do. Try new avenues and explore the possibilities.

It's funny too how easy it is to forget that. Like I have to deprive myself to get the full hit again when I rediscover the truth in it. lol

What inspires you? What pattern does inspiration take in your world? Are you an active seeker or does it hit you randomly?

Well, the month is over and I am excited about the one to come. I'll be back with more posts and catching up on comments soon but here is just a small peek at a few of my latest April creations. :)

Here's to hoping you've been inspired of late and that the month ahead will be filled with it for you as well!

Happy Beltane!

nicolas

New Adobe Fairy House

Wepwawet, similar to Anubis but the not as well known member of the Jackal Cult of ancient Egypt. 

I've ventured into more original pieces in the Shadow of the Sphinx shoppe such as this winged Auset Throne Altar Piece.

Tiny Village on a Resin Garden Bench. 

Slight variation on the Jizos in the shoppe with a Swarovski pearl in the flower center. 

Another Mushroom Fairy House. I really never tire of making these. ;) 

Custom Nephthys statue from April's requests. 

Custom Seshat also completed in April for a lovely customer. 

I rarely "paint" statues anymore, preferring the aging patinas instead but this idea intrigued me.
Indigo and Silver patina sponge finish on a Seker statue. 

Request for 8 of our little groundhogs for a birthday cake! How could we refuse? :) 

PS: Next post: Secrets and what  I miss most of the of the days before the internet.

New Work - April 1st

March was simply a lion. Hear it roar!!!

Back from my trip March 6th and I never let myself recover fully. About 10 days ago I caught the first flu that I have had in 7 or 8 years. In fact, in that span of time, I had not even been sick, not a day.

I suppose I was feeling invincible. Not so much anymore.

It's humbling. I used to power thru illnesses and just work my tail off anyway. This one though, Ugh.

In my youth I delved into a lot of alternative beliefs and one of them was the application of seeing an illness as a cleansing of body, mind and spirit. While I may have simply exhausted myself, in the physical and mental areas recently, I have no doubt that cleansing was needed all the way down to that spirit level.

I hope to recover completely and re-immerse myself fully in the imagination and paracosm of this world Sofie and I have built. One thing traveling does is make it perfectly clear how successful we have been at doing so. Our world simply does not "fit" in with many others. As soon as we get outside of it we realize how much of the world seems to be in a constant state of being on edge. Rushing around. Frantic and distracted. We've simplified our lives so much that it seems rather abrasive to go outside of it at all. And, of course, we rarely need to. That's part of the magic of it all for me.

So I will be indulging fully in the world I adore so much every possible moment this month. Hopefully that means lots of new work, lots of writing and perhaps the first few steps forward for those projects surfacing soon for everyone to see.

In the meantime, here are some of the new pieces from the last few weeks that I managed to get done before and after the flu ran me down! :)

Wishing you a Lamb like April in so many ways. . . Enjoy the images that follow and blessings to you all!

xo
nicolas

Altar Mini's are popular too it seems! :) Who doesn't covet miniatures? 

Happy to have figured out the Hexagon roof for this round house!

Multiples always make things even more adorable I think. :) 

I get away from the potted houses now and then until I make one, then I think, Why do I do anything else? :) 

Shadow of the Sphinx has been steadily getting busier for a year now. More custom pieces such as this Thoth.

Or the Tefnut (no it's not Sekhmet!) on the left which I made to match/accompany the Shu on the right as a request. 

Scale is always a little confusing to some. So I decided to separate out the N scale (smaller) houses and give them their own "world" known as "The Smidgekins", an island group in a far off sea. More on that in the coming weeks.

The Tower is a Smidgekins building too. That little villager is just UNDER 1/2" (1.25cm) tall!

And a Catgoyle, always a fun creation to bring forth! Love the fishing line whiskers and the regal pose! :0