Who's this?

Two more tiny dolls to share. These were another playful distraction. This first one is 2 1/4 inches tall. Any ideas on who could this be?


Is the face friendly? How about the outfit? Any clues there?


You were right, it's the Big Bad Wolf, dressed as Grandmother...and he's leering at Red.


But don't fret. Red is no slouch. She's on to him.


That tail isn't fooling anyone. Ditto for the big ears.


And Red has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so not to worry, she's going to be just fine.

Creative Sparks

One of my crafty pursuits is painting tiny wood dolls. I find I paint a few and then step away for months on end. Coming back to paint these wee dolls is somehow a different activity for me, tapping into a more childlike frame of mind. It's a way to recharge, refocus and rekindle the muse.


I don't often do holiday themed art, not for personal reasons at all, I just find my mind & creativity doesn't go there. When I pulled out my tiny wood blanks and began to prep and paint, the end result was a mini nativity. As a collector of nativity sets large small, from ceramic to crochet, it seems it is about time.

I took photos on my curio shelf with lighting to give the effect of nighttime, and even printed it out as a card to see how it looked.


This small activity sparked my creativity in a seemingly unrelated direction with my bird art, which I'll blog more about in the coming weeks as it comes together. Happy November!

Winner

Post about a giveaway and Wow! What a wonderful response! Thank you to everyone for your kind words.

I know, I should just get right to it...All the eligible entries were placed in the hat and the winner is:

readingsully2 {applause}


Yeah, what fun. Just email me at peaceof3.14@gmail.com to claim your set of cards. They can fly your way in this week's post.

Thanks everyone for entering and playing along. I'm going to definitely do this again.

Peace & Happy Sunday,
Jo

Inspired?

Yes, I am. Birds & words have always inspired me & incorporating text into my art is second nature. I love that it is earth friendly to reuse & repurpose the ripped, torn, yellowed or discarded book bound for the landfill.


I think as an artist who loves nature, I have to respect the beauty of my environment by doing what I can to take less from it & try my best to tread lightly. I know I'm not alone in this, and I'm so inspired by others who make conscious choices to live greener.


So many in the blogging community speak honestly and openly about things that matter to them, whether creative or personal, on topics as varied as green living to acts of kindness to personal transformation. You all inspire me & I value your heartfelt and/or irreverent musings.


As for my wee corner of the blogosphere, I truly appreciate each and every visit & comment. Your encouragement & kind words are a positive inspiring presence and I'm grateful for each one of you.


So, in a small effort to say thanks, I'm having a giveaway of a set of six bird art notecards featuring one card of each pictured in this post. Sound cool?


If you're in & you’d like to enter the giveaway:

1 - Just follow my blog and leave a comment here.

2- For 2 additional entries, give me a shout out on your blog with a link back to my giveaway. Feel free to attach one of my card photos too.

That's it!

Chance to enter Giveaway ends Saturday, October 31st at midnight!
After which one winner will be randomly drawn from all eligible entries.
Winner, announced on this blog, will receive via regular snail mail a notecard set of six cards from peaceofpi studio!

Thanks! This should be fun :)

Second Spring

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
- Albert Camus (1913 - 1960)


A small corner of my garden is holding out. I snapped this photo this morning. All summer long my hardy snapdragon bloomed outside the door of my studio and now it's embracing the chill of Autumn and the rain that comes with it.


Another of today's finds. I thought my marigolds were done but one more lone sweetie managed to find the strength to bloom a final time.


While leaves fall on my garden pathway I feel kinship with this in-between time - informed by the past, looking to the future & striving to be in the present.

Curio

This little curio cabinet is the latest item to be added to my studio space. I blogged over the summer about my studio reno & redux. It was weeks of work - tiring and exhilarating at the same time. Along with clearing space and adding larger pieces, I added a few accent storage pieces, and my color of choice was weathered rusty red -


This build it yourself mini chest in raw pine from Ikea required dozens and dozens of nails and hammering and puzzling before I got to the final stage of applying the paint treatment. It's been a beautiful & functional addition.

About the same time I found this cabinet for pennies secondhand. One of the vertical dividers was missing but I liked how it opened up one side. I attached it to a weight bearing supporting post that's in the centre of my workspace. I auditioned a few items for display:


I slotted in some of my mini canvases, egg cups and several of my painted wooden dolls. The shelf is a great size but it felt very blah with the dodgy white background and raw wood. After living with it for weeks and weeks, I finally decided it was time for a makeover.


I added my rusty red paint and distressed it all over with sandpaper. For the background I used a combination of sheet music & text I stained in warm sepia tones along with several different decorative papers.


I reattached it to the post and then it was time to play! I moved pieces around, finding the right spot for each item. When I look at the items, I remember making each one; the process, my thoughts at the time, the challenges and bumps in the road - it's almost like a visual diary of my creative journeys.

Red & White & Round

I'm dreaming of red & white, so I put together a collection of favorties in this treasury on etsy.

Take a look here to have a closer look. It will be up until Thursday.

My choices are inspired by one of my all time favorite movies - True film as art - 1956's Le Ballon Rouge (The Red Balloon). It's the story of a boy and a balloon that become friends - the balloon following the boy wherever he goes.

Visually this piece of art on film is stunning - the people, the buildings, the streets all in shades of somber grey, serve to highlight the oversized red balloon. The special effects were flawless - they did amazing things with the balloon in a time before computers or CGI were part of film making.

Lending to the film's overall charm is that there is very little dialogue to compete with the plot, visual beauty and lovely score. There is some award worthy camera work that is truly a feast for the eye, with long shots of narrow streets and textured close-ups of stone buildings and pot-holed pavement. Shot in Paris in 1956, the film provides a startling snapshot in time - there is some clear evidence of the hits the region had suffered in WWII and the struggle for recovery in the years after.

Here's to you and your red balloon, may it never deflate :)