First Friday - New Work - March 1st, 2019

Alright! Two Fridays in a row! I think I may just be getting back to my usual posting again. :)

A quick hello to you all, still so busy and behind schedule here so thank you, thank you for all the looks and comments and I will be back next week with some inspirations and oddities.

For now, as always First Friday, new work from the last few months! These are all pieces that will offer you a peek into my truly "new" work, new details, new sculptures, more difficult constructions etc. It's taken so long to get there but. think they elevate the work and the magic just that little bit extra!


Wishing you all a magical weekend ahead!

Nicolas
xo

This French Fairy Farmhouse and Tower is a good example of the larger scenes I am working towards.
The base is 4.5" (11.25cm) wide by 3.5" (8.75cm) deep and allows for far more inspiration to take hold!

this Victorian Unicorn Scene is one of my favorites, The white Unicorn and the Victorian era couple strolling
 the grounds with the lovely stone folly behind them really was so much fun to dream up! 

Alway a fan of Medieval European villages, this is a "tween" scale of a curving Medieval street scene. Less detail in regards to windows but the texture on the buildings is very fine and all hand-painted.

And a closer view to see the stone detail on the buildings. 

A large winged Khepera statue with a 30mm orange mother of pearl disc for the solar disc.
One of my favorite Shadow of theSphinx creations of late. 

Not sure what inspired this little Sekhmet other than the desire to get away from the standard poses
 and try something both fierce and cute at the same time!

A seated Ma'at statue with the feather of Truth above her head. 

First Friday - New Work, New Year - January 4th

Hello everyone!

Well, it's a new month and a new year to boot. I'm not one for resolutions but verrrrry big on plans.

Last year I shared my list of projects I wanted make progress on and I managed to do just that over the last twelve months. Not much progress on some but, in other areas, my novel, short stories, etc, I came a LONG way.

This year only have one goal thus far but I give myself the entire first week or so to come up with the list. I am planning to start an account on a social media sight and I think I've set my sights on Tumblr. Of course, I'm not doing it to promote or push my work out there any further. It's done quite well growing organically on it's own and I see no reason to think 2019 would be any different.

What I want to do is start a series of posts where I can, while removed from the work I create, talk about creativity and the way I got "here". And, I feel that by keeping it disconnected from my shops I can say some things I would not normally put out there, here on my blog for example. That includes tales from childhood, the decisions I made that led to positive or negative experiences and the way I came through it all to reach this point where I make a living from that creative work and world.

Its as if to give MORE of myself I have to offer less of myself other ways.

I am not sure when It will launch but since I am terrible at planning such things, I expect one day I will just get it in my head to make it happen and, it will come to be! :)

I'll be sure to keep you al posted when that happens. I won't be leaving the blogosphere at all, just adding another outlet for my desire to inspire that is purely the written word.

So there's that.

In other news, the novel, as I said, is coming along. I will get back to dedicating one Friday a month to that novel and showing more of the work that comprises it and how I've gone from having no idea how to write a full length novel to having a tiny bit of an idea. But I understand now that that first "tiny bit" is the hardest part. :) I have now been writing almost every single morning for 2 hrs minimum for over a year and a half and it's been wonderful. I don't feel write if I start the day any other way and those hours, from 5 to 7 am are so serene and perfect for the creative mind before any of the rest of the worlds energies can enter.

So, I am happy to be back and I look forward to visiting all of your blogs soon!

For now, just a few pieces from the last few months that I really loved creating!

May you find the magic and wonder of the world around you in everything that you see!

XO
nicolas

Wood Witch/Strega
First, a progress pic of one of the many projects I moved forward last year. I have wanted to create deck of "Fortune Cards" for ages. I once thought I t might be tarot but I love the older, Eastern European fortune cards. The wood witch is the first card image I finished using all photoshop and digital coloring/filters. 

A large statue of a winged Wadjet, the Egyptian Cobra Goddess. One of the most involved pieces I have ever attempted and it turned out better than I had imagined at the start! Best of all. . . it made it to its destination in one piece! :) 

This was one of the many custom orders I created during the holiday rush.
This hanging ornament is an N scale rendering of a Faroe Island Church.
Made with polymer clay and scale clapboard. 

The Fairy House of Brinny Longfellow was one of the first I created with these new larger bases to
allow for the inclusion of a bit more lush landscaping. 

In Shadow of the Sphinx, I've been expanding my original designs. This rendering of Seshat's headdress has been popular. Allowing for a nice sized altar icon without the cost of a full statue. 

And what December review would be complete without at least one Household elf figurine?
Schnee is on a snow covered landscaped base and has snow on his elbows, hat and shoulders! 

New Work - First Friday - October 5th

Hey all!

Another month. . . I am hoping to get back to regular weekly posts but this month I cannot promise any more than this new work post AND two more of my ghost story series! It's my birthday month and we are headed into the holiday rush already! I cannot believe it!!

I'll also reposting several baking posts in the next few months to show off some of the traditional baking we do for the season. :) Some of it is family inspired and some is old world traditional treats for. the many celebrated days of the season. So keep an eye out for those too! :)

I hope you are enjoying the first few weeks of Autumn. It's my season so I am loving it!

Here are some new creations from the past month. Thank you for dropping by!

 XO
nicolas

Let's start with the season! In honor f All Hallow's Eve I have been making a few graveyard themed scenes!
This one features a ghostly turn of the century lad there in the back. 

And larger tombstones for those who like a little graveyard decor! 

A new Adobe Fairy House

This is the second face of Hathor that I have made and I love them!

Thoth as a baboon. He is also known as Djehuty and represented as an Ibis. 

Bes is a multi-faceted protector and I thought a bell, shaped as the face of Bes, might be a great dispelling tool for an altar/ 

A Wenut / Hare statue

A "Wee Skosh" Fairy House

And a Fairy Tower on a Stump!

New Work - First Friday - September 7th

Hey everyone!

I've made no effort to hide how Autumn is my favorite season coming after summer, which is my least favorite. This summer was actually quite fine though. Only one day over 80 degrees through the whole season here (that's unusual)!

Even so,  as I have also mentioned before, too many sunny days in a row sends me down the reverse SADS path and I am there now. But here we are, the first week of September, schools back in, tourists have faded away, picked the last of the blackberries and today on our walk we found leaves covering the forest floor. All good signs but, best of all, it seems we may have three or four rainy days ahead this week!

With that in mind, I have so many new pieces and custom orders coming to completion THIS month so next first Friday there will be a lot to show. This time, just a small selection but new work and a few upgrades none the less!

Enjoy and thank you for dropping by!

Nicolas
XO

I've improved my patina finishes to give them one more layer of depth that also holds without losing it's luster.
It's a slight change but on something small like this Jizo, it really seems to pop! 

Wenut,  full stylized hare statue.

It's time for All Hallow's Eve! New tombstones and more to come next month. . . stay tuned! 

My houses evolve with the novel and the descriptions of each village as I refine them. 

I've wanted to make something like this for years. Not a house, just a forest guardian. :) 

I hadn't;t made an HO scale hermitage like this in awhile and I have to say, it seems SO large to me now! :) Still, I will be making more of this size building for the holidays. Adobe houses, stone towers and more. 

Love making these little pyramids. This one features both an ankh. . .

. . . and an Eye of Horus on the other side. 

New Work - First Friday Post - August 3rd

Hello Everyone!

We had our first rain here in a few weeks and it feels like fall already! Foggy, gray and moody. A fine walk in the forest this morning revealed many yellow leaves and berries on the ground. It's been a lovely summer but I am ready for fall and winter again! :)

Alright, on to the new work from the last month. . . I want to get back on an every Friday pace AND get back to commenting more regularly on my favorite blogs so I am going to keep the first Friday posts minimal on words. I have lots to share with coming month, new inspirations and oddities, a few book recommendations and a few video links.

Plus, 4th Fridays will be back with a look into my process as I continue to push through the first draft of my fantasy novel.


For now, enjoy the newest and most recent from my shops:

Nicolas XO

Let's get right to it with this fantasy inspired piece. A monk's hermitage set atop a stone spire with a circular staircase cut into the stone and winding it's way up the sides. . . and a tiny N scale Monk figure! 

Rarely get a request for the Goddess Nephthys as a Kite. This may be my favorite that I have made. 

A more detailed and complex Mushroom House Scene

I love the regal simplicity of the Sekhmet face. She truly is the Lady of Light. 

Too Soon? Not for the shop! I've been slowly stocking up on making mini tombstones for the Halloween season! 

This new blue "faience" patina is a mess to work with but yields such amazing results!
My fingers are blue for two days afterwards! (Note to self - gloves!) 

Had some of these enamel pots around from a few years back and just found them again.
So the mini-village makes comeback! 

A request for a set of votive altar candle holders led to the creation of this unique, one of a kind set! 

Tiny terra-cotta pots, tiny houses BIG magic! 

And I know, I know. I have shown many Taweret statues in my blog. . . I cannot help it! There is no other figure I make where I am so giddy while I create it each and every time!  A chubby hippo can really make a "kid" smile. 

New Work - First Friday Post - June 6th

Hey everyone!

July has arrived and while much of the country is under the heatwave we've been inundated here with weeks of summer days in the 60's, foggy mornings and breezy afternoons.

I let things slip again the last few weeks as far as blogland goes. It wasn't my intention but there have been so many things going on, mostly good, and I had to cut back somewhere.

But i have aa LOT to share this month and look forward to the usual weekly Friday posts to get caught up!

For now,  just a showing of some of the new work around the studio this past month.

Hoping you've all been well and I look forward to catching up on your blogs this weekend!

Thank you for coming by, as always,

XO Nicolas

The newest of my Adobe Fairy Houses - HO scale

An original design based on ancient Hathor iconology

A new selection of tiny towers with holiday shoppers in mind. . . .I love the patina copper roof on this one.

And I love the texture and aging of the surface brick of this one.

Continuing to expand my Ancient Egyptian bust icons, this is Sutekh or Seth/Set

Looking back at 9 YEARS of selling on Easy. . . this was inspired by one of the first villages I made and sold there. 

An original Auset amulet design with an 8mm Carnelian cabochon

And this Auset throne piece with added ankh and a 12mm carnelian cabochon.

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