Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Holiday Season...

I'm scrambling this time of year. Making making making! I create new cards, make gifts for family and, of course, our gallery. I love it, but I have to watch for the tip. There were times in my past life when I made myself sick trying to do way too much. I'd look at my gifts and think, "Ugh! That's not enough! I need to do much more!" I'd put more on my credit card (the days when I had credit cards - no longer.) I'd work frantically through the night trying to finish projects. The holiday season would devolve down to six weeks of intense stress. Then an exhausted me would turn on the tree lights Christmas morning (after staying up all night, of course.) The gifts would all be opened and POOF! over. It took me a long time to "get" that most people couldn't have told you what I'd given them by New Years. Though I'm calmer now, the compulsion to DO MORE is still just below the surface. To spend more. To scramble to stay up nights and make EVEN MORE. My SweetGuy brings me back. I bring myself back. My family doesn't want lots of stuff (and never has.) When I'm solid, its all about enjoying the process of making for others. Sweet things. Something to put a smile on a person's face. A big part of that are my Holiday Cards. Here's some of this year's designs.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Hold onto the gold... keep an art journal

My mind is full of art ideas - and I do not take that for granted. I make a habit of spending time each day browsing my favorite blogs (many listed here), Etsy, Flickr, etc. - creative outpourings from around the world, at my fingertips, on the Net. Colors, shapes, use of materials inspire and spark something entirely new in my mind. When I find myself drawn to a particular design over and over again, I ask myself what it is about that piece that I like so much. The answer is a pathway that will lead me to my own unique creations. Another way to keep my creative juices flowing is to get out of the house. Seems simple enough, but I can guilt myself into staying put which eventually leaves me stir-crazy and dull. Crazy mind! I'm so fortunate that I can walk out my door and down the road in quiet and beauty. At first my mind gives me grief about "wasting time" (but then it will give me grief about not exercising - go figure), but if I keep moving my feet I suddenly experience a stream of ideas. Except that they're gone as soon as the next need catches my awareness, leaving me standing in my studio not knowing where to begin. Those "I'll remember this one FOREVER" ideas have slipped away. Enter my Art Journal. One of the most important suggestions I ever read was to keep an art journal. Like my phone message pad, every idea goes in ONE PLACE, IMMEDIATELY. I keep a large notebook and have gotten into the habit of adding inspirations, Scrumble names, cut out pictures as soon as I have them. Such a simple thing that's so profoundly changed how I do art.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

This lovely hat is knit using the same handspun as the bowl.
Treasure Bowl - made with Windwalker's gorgeous BFL Handspun Yarn and crocheted by Mary Jo

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Our Faery Houses Are Back!

We've made Faery Houses in the past and they disappeared in a heartbeat. Then we moved to a place that was less than easy to do that type of art. With this new house, we're back in the game! Here's how we make our Faery Houses... Gather input from any of the Island Fairies and their preferences (of COURSE!) Drift wood, nice and worn, from our beaches. Fairy-type collection (bright shiny objects, shells, tiny pretty stones, moss, lichen, wool for bedding, etc.) Fairies don't care for permanence. They build or create and move on. The rain and sea winds blow it away or it fades back to Nature. But we human type artists wanted our Faery Houses to hold together - so that means nails, glue guns, glue, protective finishes. At the end, the Fairies add fairy dust - dah! Once my materials and tools are laid out, I try to stop thinking too much and JUST HAVE FUN. Be inspired. Go with how the materials and inspiration want to go. I'd promised myself that Faery Houses would go to the gallery on my birthday (Sept. 14th.) And so, two did...

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Greenbank Farm

Greenbank Farm on Whidbey Island is where our gallery is located. Its so beautiful! Acres and acres of preserved land - meadow and woods - with sweeping views at the high points of the Olympic Peninsula to the west and the Cascade Mountain Range to the east. Its amazing in all seasons and yesterday I decided to capture some of its end of summer color.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Mary Jo's Inspiration Plaques

After a few days of work, 40 of these little 5"X7" canvas plaques went off to the gallery. They get snapped up so fast! People love inspiration and COLOR, in our experience.

Here's how I do them:
I buy 5" X 7" canvas board. Good quality so that it doesn't warp.
They're gessoed (one less step), so I begin applying layers of acrylic paint. This can go on for a while until I'm satisfied with the combination of color and texture. (Depends on my mood, too!) I also have to remind myself to WAIT for each layer to dry. (I get way too impatient.) I now realize I can use up a lot of "weaker" color paints (especially whites) as the richer colors take over and I've lost the effect I wanted that color for. If I wait a bit, the blend works much better.
When I'm satisfied and the paint has dried, I pick my sayings, blessings and quotes and hand tear the edges (I like that look.) I pick the art papers I want to use on each one, tear those and begin gluing. I keep trying different methods so the papers don't pucker, etc. Golden Mediums do a great job. And so does ModPodge. Finishing touches - I often use sparkly Golden gold acrylic, in a sharp tip plastic bottle, to add definition and kick. At this point, my section of the studio is a wild mess!
Then comes the many final details: finish the whole thing with a finisher (ModPodge Hard Coat, of late.) On the back I put a blank tag, sign it, add bump-ons and a stick-on plastic hanger. This way people have a blank space to leave a message if its a gift, and with the hanger it can go right on a wall. (Hopefully they'll be popped into a nice frame eventually.)
And, finally, I add identity/price stickers to the clear sleeves, sleeve 'em and send them off. See why it takes days?
PS Clean up time before the next project... :)

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Mary Jo's Inspiration Stones

I've been doing Inspiration Stones for years. They seem to snag the heart of many, including myself. Beautiful, smooth, rounded beach stones - rolled smooth that way from glacial action (Whidbey Island is in essence a glacial dump... :) and the waves and tides of the Salish Sea (or, another name, Puget Sound.) Now we offer my stones in the gallery for a small price.

The secret for writing: Micron Pigma Pens, #1 or #2. I use these pens for so much - my Fantasy Houses, for instance. Archival and permanent ink. I've had one stone outside in the weather for years and it still looks the same (except for a bit of moss.)


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Raven Rocks Studio Greeting Cards



What goes into the Raven Rocks Studio greeting cards we sell in our gallery? Let me tell you!

--We purchase Strathmore Deckle Edge, acid-free, card stock & envelopes. These are beautiful and elegant looking. They’re also 5” X 7” so any cards can be easily popped into a standard frame.

--First step is to print the back of the cards with our info.

--Art work images by Mary Jo Oxrieder & Windwalker Taibi are then printed using a Canon Printer with archival inks (in other words, they last a long long time!) and are printed on Ilford fine art paper.

--The little prints are then cut to size and mounted on the card stock using YES! glue.

--Then they’re titled (handwritten) and signed (Mary Jo on the back, Windwalker on the front); Mary Jo adds a gold heart by her name.

--Next they’re folded, envelope added, sleeved and sent to the gallery. Voila!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Dragon Falls

Somewhere in the wilds of British Columbia, on the edges of the land where the white Spirit Bears live, is beautiful Dragon Falls Provincial Park. Little is said about this spot in literature or the web. People who find it do so “accidentally” and later hold their experiences close to their hearts. If they share their stories, they do so only with special people. In this way the area has maintained its magical qualities. The air, the light, the colors, the smells, the sounds, all have the vividness and mystery of what some say is the Faery Realm. There can be no way to properly express the surprise and leap of the heart, the thrill when one first sees the true gift of the park: the shimmering dragons diving joyfully and with wild abandon through the roaring waters of Dragon Falls.
Watercolor & Ink Original

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Rainy July

As more often than not this year, I woke to rain - cool, drippy, drizzly wetness. The temptation for feeling bum was strong, to put the pillow over my head and go back to the dream. Instead I counted on that hot shower to drain off the angst and allowed thoughts of my studio projects to intervene instead. It helped that I caught a whiff of the coffee my CuteGuy had made for me (as he does each morning.) Seeing his sweet face was a lift. Tagging the Scrumbles so that they could go to the gallery today made me smile. Now I'm allowing myself to play on new designs for this blog, to visit my favorites and to dither. After lunch, a few more Scrumbles to finish. Then I'll put away the fabric, thread and yarns and move on to my next plans.
Wishing you a joyous day wherever you are - and whatever the weather!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Busy year...

Surprising its been so long since I made a post. We found our dream house! Atop an Island hilltop, five fairy-wooded acres. The house sits in a lovely sunny clearing. We've watched twin fawns grow, all kinds of birds, a coyote or two, bunnies galore. The house is gorgeous and comes with an amazing art studio. Plenty big enough for all our supplies with room to move and create. Its been inspiring! Many new creations have made their way to the gallery and on to new homes around the world.
Whatever weather your summer brings (its rain for us, this year), may you be glorying in it!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

New Year Offerings

Thank goodness for my art, especially this time of year. The dark (often rainy) gray days tend to weigh me down and want to pull me under. There's always something mindless I can get myself into - put cards together, sleeving prints if I can't manage "creative." But if I can somehow get going on a creative endeavor, with great relief I'm out of my head.

Then yesterday we notice the Shift... flowering plum, new mushrooms, rhodies ready to burst open, crocuses coming up. The birds have been singing their mating songs all month now. And so it is in the Pacific Northwest, spring comes in in January no matter what the weather people say... :)

Blue Cubette - Go Your Own Way

Blue Cubette - Go Your Own Way

Dark Blue Cubette-He Thought He Could

Dark Blue Cubette-He Thought He Could

He Travels For Work

He Travels For Work
Mary Jo's latest print

The Stunning Vistas of the Volcano Tahoma

The Stunning Vistas of the Volcano Tahoma

Wind Blow Us Home...

Wind Blow Us Home...

Fuzzy BindleBird Collecting Huckleberries

Fuzzy BindleBird Collecting Huckleberries
Sighted behind our tents in the huckleberry bushes.

My Eternal Love ... and Pal

My Eternal Love ... and Pal
Windwalker's Ravens in Love Series

Fairy Gardener's Hat

Fairy Gardener's Hat
Spotted on the Naches Trail, Chinook Pass, in huckleberry bushes.

Old Growth Islands

Old Growth Islands
Caretakers' Isle

Beach Fire Bag

Beach Fire Bag

Rumble Stream Home

Rumble Stream Home

Hazy Lake Days

Hazy Lake Days

First Love Song

First Love Song

Beauty Way Chant

Beauty Way Chant
Mixed Media on Canvas

Sunrise House

Sunrise House

A Garden of My Own

A Garden of My Own
Windwalker's Woven Purse

PrimroseMorning - Scrumble

PrimroseMorning - Scrumble
Nickname: Bounce

Daisies Dreams

Daisies Dreams
Acrylic - SOLD

The Sun's Blessing

The Sun's Blessing
Its already sold!