Northern Ontario Safari retreat

a week ago we built a fort in our living room, it still stands. i can't seem to bring myself to taking it down, it's such a fabulous place to escape to.

Damian was feeling bored so i suggested making a fort and eating treats while watching a movie. he wasn't opposed to the idea. so we got to work pulling all of our blankets, and some bedsheets, out of the closets, gathering bits & bobs to use as supports. all structural credit goes to Damian, it's incredible!

We did have a mishap or 2 during construction. we had just got the "roof" up when Poe, one of our cats, decided to test the strength. from the top of the t.v. in slow motion came this flying cat, legs stretched out like superman, wind in her whiskers. she landed with a soft thump which brought down our load bearing wall (a 2x4 stuck between the futon and the couch) and sent her running to safer ground. all was well, cat was unharmed and we learned our mighty fort would not withstand sudden acts of nature...we had to make it stronger! twine was looped under the couch binding the 2x4 to my studio lights which acted as supports for the 2 back corners, vice grips held bedding in place, and a combination of the two (when tied to our overhead light fixture) reduced the amount of "sag" in the middle.

this fort was my "armchair" travel to a 1920's style African Safari. i don't think i'll ever be able to afford to go here in real life so, fantasy tent in my living room made out of brooms, blankets, and even a 12" miter saw for wall support will just have to do!

oh to be in it right now, drawing and sipping tea!

pesky bug

i've got this decorating bug gnawing away at me, maybe a form of spring cleaning perhaps? whatever it is it's making me want to create a more blissful getaway in my studio.  i bought some shelves yesterday, which I'm currently painting, and 1 apothecary jar (i hope to get at least 2 more... odd numbers just look so much better than even ones).  the shelves are ready for their second coat and then i'll have to sand them to get the look i'm going for.  good thing Damian has an electric sander, boys are great for stuff like that.

once i get that second coat on i'm coming back to this machine to work on a new look for this blog.  this one is so dull to me, so blah, i put it up in a rush.  but before i go - prints are now available in my shop for the pieces pictured below, 'Whirling Dervish', and 'Towards Light' - help a girl feed her decorating bug  *wink*

Towards Light

newest piece in my shop.  *still working on new design for this blog*

it was a sunny day today, amazing how that perks up the spirit.  tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer with the same sunshine.  plans are to visit a greenhouse, to search amongst the green for a gorgeous piece of lovely to bring home.  i adore nurseries and greenhouses, that smell of dirt and plant life, i can breath so deeply there. 

one day i will have a glass greenhouse of my own. it will be alive with colour and dripping with ivy.  a cozy chair will sit in a corner with a stack of worn out old books beside it, waiting to be read by a new set of eyes, faerie lights will adorn its exterior. imagine the serenity.

whirling dervish

"Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absent-minded.  Someone sober will worry about events going badly.  Let the lover be."

- Rumi

new original art piece in my shop. 

~ The Mevlevi, or "The Whirling Dervishes", believe in performing their dhikr in the form of a "dance" and music ceremony called the sema.

The Sema represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to "Perfect." Turning towards the truth, the follower grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth and arrives at the "Perfect.

The Mevleviye, one of the most well known of the Sufi orders, was founded in 1273 by Rumi's followers after his death. ~

* above taken from Wikipedia *

shiny & new

new look coming soon.  i love my horse banner up there but sometimes things just have to change.  speaking of change... my hair.  over top of this brown (which i'm not opposed to but am feeling the need to be more 3D than 2D lately) should i go full on auburn or just streaks of red? i can't seem to decide.  i think i want to do it this weekend, it's just hair, if i hate it i can always dye it again.  i feel like i need a big change, something to open my eyes, fuel me.  i figure i'll start with something superficial, like hair, and see where that takes me.

about to upload a new piece to my shop!

bliss [blis] - noun: supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment

if i ever need to explain to someone what "happy tears" are i think i'll just show this video. i'll tie a white sheet up between 2 trees with scatters of ribbon and the definition will play itself out right there. under a dusky summer sky on cool green grass.

this is what life should be, at every age (especially old age). if there's any enchantment in you at all i dare you NOT to want to throw on a pair of rubber boots and go puddle jumping. jump once for a secret, jump twice for joy, jump three times forever.

under cover of night

there's nothing more calming and tranquil, to me, than the sound of wind chimes. delicate songs composed by the wind.  even the slightest breeze will play a quiet melody.  i could fall asleep to the tune.  unless of course it's nighttime, that's when my over active imagination turns the beauty on its side.

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the sound of chimes in the distance under a pitch black sky are, for lack of a better word, nightmarish.  under the dark sheet of night that peaceful lullaby is turned into a subtle soundtrack for horror.  i picture being all alone in a forest, searching for shelter, not being able to see anything around me.  in the far off i hear the hollow sound of wind chimes and feel comforted for a second that i may be close to a warm home.  that second of relief is broken by the sound of a snapping twig close behind me.  it could be a rabbit, it could be a deer, but i can't tell for sure.  the moon is covered by swiftly moving clouds, it gives me moments of shy light but that's it.  i turn around to investigate the noise but it's gone, there's nothing to be seen in the small pocket of moonlight.  all that's left now are the chimes.  i start walking faster toward the hopeful sound, my feet crunching the ground beneath me.  i hear steps behind me.  i spin around and catch a shadow darting behind a tree.  i begin running, i'm growing short of breath, the dense clouds reveal the moon at it's brightest, i see a small house in the distance.  there's smoke rising from the chimney and i dream of warm soup and a soft bed.  something grabs me from behind and i fall to the ground, my head hits a rock and everything blends into blurry shades of grey.  there is nothing after.

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pretty dramatic scene since that entire visual came to be when i was simply tossing a can into the recycle box on our porch.  i heard the chimes on our tree and my mind went off.  it has a tendency to do that, it moves fast, so fast i can't keep up with it.  i can't even fight it so instead, i use it to my benefit.  i love having a super creative and over active imagination, it's fun.  it entertains me when i'm alone.  it also scares me when i'm alone (like right now for instance, Damian is out with a friend and i'm left here with my dark imaginings, hahaha).  no matter how much i scare myself i can still convince myself that it's a good thing, it's what creativity is all about.  either that or i'm going mad hatter.  i think i'm still okay with that though.  being able to use madness as an "excuse" to wearing fairy wings over my winter coat is absolutely fine by me.  if that's what madness is, fairy wings and dreamy attitudes, then that's what the world needs more of... absolute madness and carefree spirit.