fabriano paper and feathers

A week ago my sister took me to Vegas.

Well, it was pretty amazing and gave me a great deal to think about.

One day she drove me around and took me to some of the places I wanted to see, one of them was an art store I have ordered from online but not seen in person, Blick art supply.
Holy crap. I could have bought everything in the place.
I did find these great cards made of a beautiful Italian Fabriano Medioevalis watercolor paper with matching envelopes of course. I could not stop petting them. Weird I know but they are 100 little sheets of potential. So here is what I have been doing with them.

Hand painted little feathers. The cards are about 3 1/4 x 5 1/4 and a heavy creamy watercolor paper. They are just single cards, not folded and come with an envelope. I will be posting them on my etsy shop tomorrow. They will be in sets of five in a clear envelope.

These have been fun to do, almost an obsession, it seems I can't stop messing with this paper.

Vegas was interesting to say the least. My sister is pretty amazing too. What an energizer bunny! that girl does not stop.
She gave me a lot to think about. Vegas gave me a lot to think about.
I need to make some changes. Life is passing me by and I'm letting it go.
Sigh.

This balancing act, of trying to create "stuff" and trying to have a life outside my studio is not working too well. There does not seem to be much balancing. hmmm.

How do other people do this? You would think I'd have figured this out by this point in my life.

I can just see it now, the day I die a light will go on and I'll have a lucid moment where it is all clear and then I'll keel over. Great just great.

Actually a lucid moment would be wonderful at any point, at least I could say I'd had one.


The other day Alex called from work and said he'd found a little Goldfinch that wasn't doing too well and would I come and get it.
The poor little thing was pretty lethargic and so very, very skinny.
I gave it a drink of sugar water and put it in a cat carrier. Several times it drank and there for awhile it seemed to perk up. Later that night it did pass away.
As I looked at its still, tiny body, once again I was amazed at the beauty of these creatures. It's legs were hardly bigger than a sewing needle and each tiny toe tipped by a tiny nail. Wings folded to its thin body had once carressed the sky, now still, each feather was perfection. Beautiful and tragic. I wonder if it was sick or simply ancient. It sure was thin. I kept thinking of the scripture stating God is aware of every sparrow that falls.

Though I have never really gone out of my way to have birds they sure seem to find there way here, chickens, ducks, crow, starling, magpie, finchs, robins, cockatoo...so many of them.
No wonder birds and feathers always show up in my artwork.