Summer, Au Revoir

Two more weeks...

.... two more weeks until we begin the busy and regimented schedule of the school year.

... until the weather begins it's turn toward Fall bringing energy and possibilities.

... until the boys leave me for the day and I can shift my brain from Entertainer and Feeder of Boys to Artist.

... until people begin to think about their homes, warmth, gifts, ergo wool!

... until I can begin turning the gears that create income.
 

I try to cherish every day and have had a beautiful Summer.  But I can't help but dream of Fall. 

Hope to see you there.

Summer Pace: Draft Horse Pair

Since the Critter a Day Contest and school ended June 8th, I have been a little leaf floating down the lazy current of summer.   Heat and kids have blocked my usual creative motivation. 

Until... We put them in camp!  Max is spending two weeks at the overnight camp of my youth, Onas.  And Evan is spending all day at the community college theater camp for two weeks.  Both are very happy.

And, after enjoying 4 weeks of floating with my boys, so am I.  Returning to the mill daily, I am trying to get my head back in the game.  Today I put the finishing touches on this 1/6 scale draft horse pair. 

The Grand Prize

Over 47 days I made 34 critters.  Approximately 45 people played the Name Game.  We had 37 winning entries.  Lori M. had the most daily wins with 6.  Then Amy D. had 4 wins and Valerie S. had 3.  Four people had 2 wins and 16 people had 1.

I won too.  I sold half, 17, of the 34 critters that I made.  I had so much fun organizing the game.  The challenge, and all of your name suggestions were very inspiring to me.  And now, thanks to all your sharing and participation, I have reached a new audience.

Max wanted to do the honors of selecting the name...

If this were a TV contest there would be a long dramatic pause here.

Congratulations Amy D!

Everyone who played, whether they won or not, will receive an email in the next few days containing a coupon code that can be used in my etsy store.  Thank you everyone!

Stripe Challanged

God, Nature, Earth, Life, whatever you want to call it, is a living breathing miracle of art.  It is the one source from which all representational artists pull inspiration.  In a way, we try to recreate a graspable, purchasable (word?) form of what already exists in our world.  Every once in a while I get a a little pinching feeling, like I am a fraud.  "God already made this.  What am I doing?"  The feeling is usually fleeting and a I paint my pretty picture or felt my cute critter and glean the satisfaction that comes with someone loving it, or even better, buying it.

For this reason, I have rarely painted sunsets.  If I do, I am not happy with them.  They are never as magical as the real thing.

Tigers are the animal felting equivalent of a sunset painting.  Dare I?

In the past, I have dismissed any notion that I could needle felt a tiger.  Yesterday morning, despite plans to do otherwise, I could not "NOT" make a tiger.  Out of nowhere came the overwhelming inspiration and it had to be done.

For better or for worse, hit or miss, here is my tiger.....

Day 5: Critter a Day Name Game

Phew!  Not sure I can keep up the pace.  All of your great responses and clever names are keeping me inspired though.  I do have the luxury of "setting my hours" but I also work well under pressure.  I've found, in addition to being more productive, I am taking my time and fussing over the details more than usual.  I want the critters to look their best.

Thank you all for following so far.  I hope you will continue to play and stay tuned.

Today I made a raccoon.... one of my favorite critters to make. 

To play the Name Game Click Here

Day 4: Critter a Day Name Game

Well, I hope this guy inspires you.  He is my best lion yet. 

If you would like suggest a name please follow the link below and enter your suggestion in the comment form there.

TO PLAY click here

Thank you.  Good luck.

Day 3: Critter a Day Name Game

Another sheep!  Let's call him a he.  He's about 5" at the top of his fluff, and about 6" long.  As you can see he is posable for endless expressions.

To play the game for your chance to win a $150 gift certificate go to:

http://www.sarafinafiberart.com

Thank you and good luck.

Day 2: Critter a Day and the Name Game

To play please visit sarafinafiberart.com

Day 1: Critter a Day

And so I begin 47 days with a goal of a Critter a Day. And in the spirit of productivity I'm hosting a contest for my patrons and supporters. At stake is a $150 gift certificate to Sarafina Fiber Art.

How to play:

You will have until 12pm the following day to cast your vote and name the critter. One name per person per day please. Please write your suggestion in the comment box on the home page of http://www.sarafinafiberart.com. (if you comment here at the blog I might not be able to reach you.)

In conjunction with the following Critter's posting, I will announce the winning name for the previous day. (The daily winner is selected by a panel of esteemed judges - not me!) That person's name will be entered once for a drawing and be credited in the etsy listing for the critter.

You can suggest a name every day for more chances to win.

The weekend following June 8th. I will pull one of the 47 names from the hat and that person will win a $150 gift certificate to Sarafina Fiber Art. The winner will be contacted via email.

Please spread the word to your friends. Good luck to you and wish me luck!

Possessed

Most artists would attest that inspiration comes in waves just like the rest of the world follows natural cycles. But no matter what your passion, every once in a while we are imbued with a tidal wave of inspiration; it's this kind of energy that allows us to do something beyond the normal accomplishments of our day to day lives. Do you ever look back at something you've accopmlished and think, "How on earth did I do that? What possessed me?"

I have written about inspiration before and its various sources, but lately I have been in awe of its power. The vision that might creep slowly in or hit me with a bang almost always has to be fulfilled. It may happen right away or it may take years but, whatever the task, it will be.

Since the start of the year I have been focused on creating Sarafina Fiber Art. I have been working on a steady stream of energy flowing like a rapid river toward the sea. I am nearing the delta! Still a vast amount to be done but the pace has slowed and I can take the time to look around, take it all in, and choose my direction.

I hope you will stay tuned. Visit the blog, try a felting kit, play the Critter a Day contest, check out my new website...

http://www.sarafinafiberart.com

....and see where the inspiration goes next.