Athena Dreams Design

And Just What, May I Ask, is a Pecannoot*?

Jess Gonacha - amazing painter, illustrator, and pattern designer extraordinaire - has started another endeavor that is full to the brim with Abundance and Collaboration and Wings for the Spirit and Dreams in the Daylight .:. Pecannoot.

I know I have spent a fair amount of moments thinking about where the world is right now: economically, politically, socially, environmentally... and all those other ally's, and though I have cut out all the doom and gloom news from my daily fare, and consciously tried to remain positive, tempered with some realism, there are days where the weight of everything that is happening in the world, and in some cases to people I love, get the better of me.

So the goal for me has been

How do I stay positive in a world over-run with negative?

How do I stay buoyant when all the pictures advertise drought?

and these questions lead me back to this shortlist:

• Create for the sake of creating 
• Support my fellow artists
• Reach out and make connections with people
• Write down all my fears on a piece of paper, and then burn it (repeat as necessary)
• Seek out at least one positive, every day
• and then, Create because it feeds my soul.

When I read Jess' announcement about her new blog, I clapped my hands and said Yes (my positive for the day)! Her new site is all about ABUNDANCE and ART, I mean could it really get much better than that? She is looking for artists to contribute work to be shown on the site, so stop by and have a look and submit some artwork. Artists supporting artists - Jess models that ideal with beautiful grace and abundant enthusiasm.

When I read her announcement, I e-mailed her immediately, and sent an image that I had created this past fall, and I am totally thrilled that she posted it on the site today.  It's kind of like being in second grade, and after art period, your teacher puts your drawing up on the bulletin board, and you feel so happy and shy, all at the same time. Remember those moments? Submit some work and recreate a second grade moment . . . I am so looking forward to seeing what you all submit.

  

  

The Merits of Buying a Lottery Ticket and/or Dreaming Bigger

The other day I heard myself say "I never win anything", when talking to a friend on the phone about the merits of buying a lottery ticket, and what our chances would be for winning. I think the topic began with politics, moved onto the economy, and you can see where the topic of lottery tickets might have come in. 

She said: "oh, I think of you as being very lucky, I bet you would win something." To which I replied: "no, I never win anything."  But I woke up this morning with a thought: that's not so true.

In August, my name was picked out of Maurice Chevalier's hat (who could kid about that) and I won the print of my choice from TangoBaby's extensive and totally moving and wonderful photographs. I chose Early Sunday Morning, and tho not showing up well in this photo, you can go see this print and more of here work over here. OH, and she has a book out too!

And then in September, after reading a really great post on Leonie's site about ways to get past the frustrations and fears that can come up around creative dreams, I signed up for her newsletter, and put myself in a pool to win a print of my choice.

And won.

So, perhaps the lesson here is: 

Dream Bigger, yes! 

But also dream 

deeper

wider

fuller

higher

taller 

and generally,

just dream 

more regularly

because I most certainly

might win.

The Art and the Handmade .:. Sacred Sunday

Today, the last of the presents that will be winging their way to various and sundry places far from here are being wrapped and cushioned and contained and packed in the car to make the last trip of the season to the p.o. or the ups store.

Many of the things that I got this year, have already flown away - I had this idea that I would document all the handmade splendour of the season, but as is often the case, the reality is much different than the dream of the reality. But, in any case, a few things to share and a list of places to view and admire, and even ooo and aahh.

What nephew and niece can do without personalized super hero[ine] capes... I just wish someone had been making these when I was a kid: the diaper pin holding the towel around my neck seemed to pop open at all the most inopportune moments, crushing all my super powers. [Capes from Superfly Kidz]

And just a few of the most wonderful and beautiful pieces of art and photography purchased from around Etsy this year:

Wing Study 17 print from Christine Mason Miller aka Swirly Girl

Tempest in a Teacup by Madelyn Mulvaney from Courage My Love

Grow from Kelly Rae Roberts

On this sunday, just wanted to pay a small homage to the artists and craftpeople who continue to create their wonderful work, who are out their selling and sharing their art and bringing a lot of joy to me (as the purchaser) and I am sure to all the giftees on my holiday list.

Now back to the packaging and labelling and writing and containing: and a very happy sunday to all.

------

Some things not photographed:
beautiful bijoux
wise words from Neitzche
seasonal snowflakes
blooms for spring
great geekery
gig-ware (for the musician in your life)

Pink .:. Brown

Pink and brown has quite the following. The two colours are almost as ubiquitous as the slightly less famous turquoise and brown. Pink and Brown are a warm on warm combination. It's a chocolate and cherry blossoms combination. It's a brown leather boot and salmon coloured skirt combination. It's a camelia still blooming in March combination... It's an earthy and frothy partnership. That old favourite, things that don't at first look like they would go together, and then you lay them side by side and feel warm and smiling inside . . .

Some beautiful stationery
Rock out with a very loud punk Band
fabrics and patterns by the fair Amy
Art and more art that makes me feel Happy

Wallow in the beauties of the Pink .:. Brown

Out of the Blue

Don't you love that phrase? It is one of those "sayings" that always has captured my imagination. Out of the Blue, like someone popped down from the sky to say hello, or emerged from the water fully formed.

Well, today this lovely turn of a phrase, is all about 5 amazing artists who have their work for sale on Etsy.

Rien n'a de sens sans toi (or Without You I am Nothing) from Lush Bella is a dreamy and evocative image. She says about her work: So one day...not very long ago, I began pulling a bunch of trinkets together and arranging them on our too tiny coffee table, and then left them there for days because I didn't want to put them away, but a little problem I have is running out of space and then piling and piling, to the point where I can't find anything, and then all I do is spend time looking for this or that, so I decided to photograph them, so that I wouldn't forget what they looked like together." Her work is immediate, emotive and full of memory and vision. I go back again and again to look at her collections, and find things in all of them that bring me back to my own memories. This piece moves through a range of blues, winding around from lighter to darker, leaning towards yellow and then back to a pure blue: magical.

Joan at Simple Modern creates art pendants, among other things, that I could gaze at forever. The piece above, Blue Garden II feels like a modern take on the Pennsylvania Dutch style of painting. Her motifs are beautifully rendered in that bright clean cerulean, and accented with the deep navy, creating a beautiful contrast, all in blue and white.

Linda at Yellow Monday creates beautifully modern, quirky images. I love her Ballerina I, so Gorey-esque, and still with her own style, and her own energy. I love the balance this piece holds, with the clear light blue top, above the more green-y blue skirt and background. Also, her print Caravan I might need to be purchased and added to my own art collection. Please visit her shop to see more than just the "blue" pieces.

Shelley at Albertine Press runs a custom design and letterpress shop, and has note cards to inspire the emerging-letter-writer in all of us. Above are her World Notes in Blue. I was so taken with these because of the pattern and colour tones, such a feast for the eyes, all the different blue tones and hues are so mesmerising and each of the patterns has a different cultural feel, and all the cards reiterate that meditational blue, too lovely.

And we end the Etsy journey into Blue with the powerful photography of Alicia Bock. She says of her own work: "My photography is the search of light and shadows, pretty things in pink, the feeling of the ocean, and a blue moon. I strive to create photographs that evoke memories of our favorite days." This piece Incomplete reminds me of being a kid near the end of the summer: all the days of freedom and wide open time winding to an end, and laying on the grass watching the birds and wishing I could fly away with them. That clear, deep blue sky, fading into a light billow of clouds, so precious.

As ever, thanks to all the artists who allowed me to use their work to look at Blue in so many different ways.

Some Etsy Greens

Green is the intermediary between yellow and blue. Green is one of the secondary colours, it is produced by mixing two primaries - blue and yellow. Mixing blue and yellow to make your green can be a precarious balancing act, and most mixes lean toward one or the other of the primaries. . . and the character of your green will change dramatically if it contains more yellow or more blue.

Do your tastes run to the spring grown lime/yellow greens, or more toward the watery teal or turquoise/blue greens?

Blue Seedlings IV by Erica Vess of Bees Knees Studio is a beautiful illustration of using a yellow/green hue. She has paired it with a soft blue, that leans just ever so slightly toward a teal (and contains a touch of yellow). Erica has some beautiful modern work in her Etsy shop, and there is lots more green to be seen.

Sea Sisters by Emily Balivet at Mythological Goddess Art is a gorgeous blend of limes and olives and golds. The greens in this piece all speak more of yellow than blue, and create a moody, mysterious piece. Emily's work is reminiscent of the Pre-Raphaelites with a modern twist - her use of pattern and texture is truly lovely.

Curly Vines 3x5 Notepad Holder from Stephanie at Beetlelady Books has some wonderful journals and other paper product designs. I loved this piece in particular for the way she used her colours. The paper cover with the lime and brown and the red berries, with the red echoed in the solid spine colour, and then topped with the elastic closure with a green/blue bead on it. The green/blue bead somehow speaks to all the colours in the piece, and sets up a little colour surprise.

Let Yourself Bloom by David of David V. Moore on Etsy is a glorious grouping of greens (now that's an alliteration....). Olive, lime grass, forest, dare I say chartreuse? all of these beautiful hues make an appearance in a piece that feels more about the hues than the subject, and yet, the whole thing works so beautifully. Make a visit to his etsy shop or his blog and see the variety of his work.

Landslide from Auburn Crimson Studio is a study in green/blue, mint and silver. The aventurine stones go from a deep carribean green/blue to a soft and feather like silvery-green. She's combined the stones with a tangle of silver chains that makes the whole piece feel like something made especially for a mermaid. Beautiful and dreamy greens.

Watching the World Outside from Annie at Curbside Treasure is a green study. The contemplative side of green is highlighted with some accents of a bright new spring green. I love the movement of this piece, the way the variant greens move your eye around the piece.

There are so many faces of green: fruitfulness, contentment, hope, tranquility, life, and faith. Green is the colour representative of the plant world: the mysteries of our green plant friends, the relationship between light and water that creates all the green growing around us. Verdant, flowing, bejewelled: I find green one of the most magical colours.

Thanks again to all the Etsy artists who allowed me to use their work to talk a little more about green.

Be Inspired and Love [your] Life

[i]love life is the blog of designer.:.artist.:.photographer Kal Barteski.

She has this book she published, called, Love Life, which I recently bought as a present for me myself and i.

It's a beautiful journey in paintings, pictures and words through her life, through all of our lives, through the world, through thoughts and through the commonality of all of us human beings. If you are looking for the perfect gift for yourself, or for someone you love, seriously check this book out. . .

it is a Joyous thing, to celebrate living!

Featuring Some Yellow

One of the things I had wanted to do with each one of the colours, was to show work of artists I am loving, who are selling their work on Etsy. Yellow is the first colour I was organised enough with to get that part of things going... so without further adieu .:. art featuring Yellow:

Irene Suchocki creates the most amazing worlds in her photographs. This one is called "Yellow is a Primary Color". I could look at her work forever, oh to live in a house on the edge of a yellow field where the clouds ribbon themselves just for you...

Studio Lyon contains some wonderful mixed media pieces, and this "Yellow Warbler" is one of a series of bird prints from Christina's original mixed media work. Is he singing to welcome spring, or to say good bye to summer...

yumiyumi created some amazing illustrations and sells prints out of her Etsy shop. She has created some wonderful figures, and also check out her birds and botanicals. The girl here is called "Make a Wish", I just love her whole essence.

Today's last image is from Amy L Burns. Her "Sun Rays" are so warming and brilliant and touching. She captures the essence of light and warmth so wonderfully in this image.

2 Great Journals from SCAD

Design by Susan Beresford

2 beautiful journals from the designers at SCAD. These are actually created by Working Class Studios, an offshoot of Savannah College of Art and Design.

Design by Cadyn Mosch

They are doing some amazing things, and not just with stationery either... there are home decor items, and dinnerware. What a great place to go to school!. I purchased these journals through Barnes and Noble on-line, where they are actually out of stock, but they are expecting more, and check this one out.

Illustrator .:. Zela Lobb

I received an e-mail from this great Illustrator from Montreal. Really cool, really innovative with imagery, and really fun with her lines and the energy of the work.

Have a look at the rest of her portfolio at Zela Zela.