Monday, October 29, 2012

Stardust

There is something to be said
for lying
diagonal across a bed,
encircled by arms
and fixed by eyes,
that inch by inch,
lock this memory deep into their head.

Pure beauty contained in a moment,
in a sigh,
in the brown eyes watching you.
Divine inspiration found
in the way fingers knit together,
by the warmth of breath
on a pale shoulder.

If I close my eyes again,
this may be gone.

I,
like so many angels,
have fallen from grace
and I fall faster than
stars through an atmosphere,
burning like sunshine,
burning like a cigarette ash
until I find the ground again.

There is something to be said
for stardust
falling from the sky.
Embers tumbling
with no understanding,
nor recollection
of how they became
or why.

Here I am,
wondering how those stars feel
when they slip
into the hands of gravity.
Do they feel this way...
when reaching across an empty bed
and brushing fingers
over the satin of a pillowcase...
waiting for that space
to be filled again.

If I open my eyes again,
this might still be real.

Brown eyes
and a hand resting lightly
upon my arm
as sleep settles on me
stir at the memory.

This day is closing down,
and I am a smiling mote
of stardust...

waiting to land.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Butterfly Pumpkins: In the spirit(s)

Swallowtail pumpkin

I made these for work- as they decay, butterflies will feed upon the fermenting juices of the pumpkins making these not just decorations, but also an alternate food source.

They are also a source of humor. The butterflies drinking the fermented pumpkin juice get quite drunk until they can no longer fly. They stagger about but keep going back for more. It looks suspiciously like Ybor City at 3am on a Saturday. Yes, yes. I know. I'm likely a terrible person for finding this funny but trust me, it is hilarious to watch. I will try to get some video to post later.

Generic butterfly pumpkin
To carve these pumpkins I used a commercial kit tool not unlike a vegetable peeler and some wood carving tools. The surface is peeled away to various depths but the pumpkin is not cut open and hollowed out which slows down the rotting process. I imagine that some leather working tools could also be rather useful and may try something more intricate for next year.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Fear is the mind killer

Dune Scroll
I have illuminated a sand worm. In typing that sentence I may also have written a totally original and never before written or read combination of words in the English language.

The design is based upon cover art from an old paperback volume of the novel Dune by Frank Herbert. The text is the ‘Litany Against Fear’ from the novel.

This piece will be the first in a series of fine art for geeks. I plan to cover several worlds of science fiction and fantasy as well as some notable quotes which may be of interest to the science and history minded.

4x6 Watercolor gouache, ground mineral pigment, shell gold and ink on Bristol.

Prints are available in my Etsy store, Currant Thoughts.

Next on deck: Illuminating a weeping angel and a tromp l’oeil illumination inspired by the Nasrid plaster carvings and Kufic script of the Alhambra in Grenada.

Monday, October 01, 2012

Nine Tiles: Pink Petals


Set of Nine (9) Hand-Painted Floral Ceramic Tiles in Reds and Pinks

This is what happens when I let someone else pick my next project- I produce something I never would have done otherwise. My dear sister named my color pallet and subject, thus, pink and flowery.

These nine hand-painted tiles are currently available on my Etsy store- Currant Thoughts.