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.

Fear is the mind killer

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.

Nine Tiles: Pink Petals

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.

Nine Tiles: Butterfly Blues

Nine ceramic tiles painted with portion of butterfly wings in three shades of blue. Sold a few weeks ago before making it to the Etsy store.

Nine Tiles: Nature and Birds

This is the first of a series of painted ceramic tiles that I recently produced. It sold this week on my Etsy store, Currant Thoughts . The kiwi was my favorite mini-painting and may inspire a whole new nine tiles set of odd bits of nature.

Juliana’s Laurel Scroll

Laurel scroll for Mistress Juliana Foxcroft
Adapted from several pages of the Macclesfield Psalter with a bunch of specific elements to represent things special to Juliana. For instance, irises are her favorite flower, a butterfly represents my household, the stag represents her husband, the house of cards is a no to an SCA household of which Juliana is a member, a bee for Maeva, a thistle for Finneadan and the list goes on.

• Calligraphy and drawing by Mistress Finneadan
• Gilding by Baroness Maol
• Illumination by Mistress Gwenllyn

Sadly, Finneadan and I had to do this twice as the original piece was lost in the mail and diverted to some sort of mail limbo for a few weeks.
Not sure what the hours count would be on the whole piece, but for my part: Gilding prep, sizing, gold application and burnishing took around 4.5 hours.

Navah’s White Scarf

Recently I visited Mistress Navah’s home to work on a silk painting project. While there I noticed a scroll on a high shelf that looked pretty cool. I asked Navah who had done the scroll and she looked at me pretty strangely and replied  “Um, you did.”

Huh. How about that? I looked a little closer and noticed the calligraphy. Yep, that’s mine.

How can I not remember a painting that I did? Calligraphy that I wrote?

Let’s be honest here: I have done a lot of these. I never thought to count how many illuminations and pages of calligraphy that I have done over the years but it probably numbers well over 1000 pieces in the last 12 or so years.

After staring at the page for a bit, it started to look familiar but I had to look up the source anew as I could not remember a single detail about it.
The page was inspired by “Anonymous Fechtbuch Manuscript I.33” a 13th century manual about sword and buckler fighting.  I don’t remember why I chose the particular images that I did from the book. Likely they were featured in an illumination survey book that I owned. It looks like ink and watercolor gouache on bristol board. I have no idea how many hours were spent on the page.

Being surprised by your own artwork is an odd experience. Still searching Trimaris for other pages that I may have forgotten.

Rock the Garden

Hand painted herb markers for the garden.
This is part of a group of projects I started and completed on a super crafty weekend a few weeks ago.
These will be heading to the Currant Thoughts Etsy store. Pictures of the rest of the projects from that weekend are coming soon.

Jebe’s Knighting Scroll

Created by:

• Drawn by: HL Gwenhwfyr ber Cain
• Illumination by: Baroness Maol Mide ingen Medra
• Illumination detailing by: HL Finnguala inghean Alister
• Calligraphy by: Mistress Finneadan ingen Ruadhain

Inspired by:
Izbornik Sviatoslava – 1073
Created for Sviatoslav Iaroslavich (1027 – December 27, 1076) Grand Prince of Kiev
About this piece:
A lot of the detailing had to inferred, pieced together or just created as the original page is damaged and we had a difficult time finding good images of any pages from this book.
I do have to say that this piece truly shows how much we love Jebe, as we all pretty much loathe Rus illumination from this period.

Summer Challenge #1: Mira, Folio 61

Summer 2012 Challenge #1

Source: Folio 61, Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta

Subject: Satyr butterfly, false Jerusalem cherry and common milkwort.

Time: 5.5 hours

Materials: watercolor gouache and mineral pigments on pergamenata

Size: 5 x 7 page

Pearish the Thought!

Pearish the Thought, a Sunday morning spritzer.

2 parts sweet white wine (of dubious quality)
1 part pear nectar
2 parts seltzer water
2 dashes orange liqueur
Garnish with a sprig of mint and a sprig of lemongrass

This made a fine morning pairing with lemon blueberry pancakes and a somewhat obscene amount of bacon. I was looking for something light and refreshing and was hoping to try a bottle of wine that I purchased for $2.97. Unsurprisingly, I was dubious of the quality of this bottle of wine and thought it might lend itself to being mixed with a lot of other ingredients.

This made for a fine way to spend a Sunday morning with friends.

New painted crafts

Hand painted flower pendants

Hand painted ceramic tiles

Hand painted ceramic bud vases

These crafts are already or soon will be available at Currant Thoughts. If you would like to commission a particular item, just contact me at melessee@gmail.com