Mad March and Luna Hares...

So here we are again in mad March and the clocks have now gone forward for British summer time!

Last weekend was glorious sunshine, so I went out for a drive in our new car around the Wiltshire countryside, visiting Avebury and on the way home stopping off for a cold drink at a country pub called the Golden Swan. I thought the name, Golden Swan was kind of magical, like the The Prancing Pony in Lord of the Rings.

Avebury was very busy and this time, we only managed to walk around the ancient stones. Usually, I like to visit the old Manor house and gardens with it's spring flowers in bloom, but since the house has been redecorated it was closed and only open at certain times of the day.

The Fairy Queen and Moon Jewellery!

Spring has truly sprung and I have been busy sorting out fairy postcards and making new moon jewellery.  

Secret projects are going well at the moment and I feel very fortunate to have been asked to paint a collection of illustrations. I would love to share the new work with you, but the creative process needs nurturing and time to grow.

The Little Wren and Fairy Queen image will soon be listed as packs of five postcards in Etsy. 

I illustrated the queen 2 years ago and since finding the feathers in the garden there will be some more illustrations of fairies wearing feathery hats. I'm in the process of building up a collection of drawings for prints. This picture might become a print as well.

Moons, hares and oak leaf pendants are the the new designs in the shop... Silver hares are also available on brooches too!

Luna's Hare Bracelet... 
Last year I was lucky to sell a bracelet to a lady who is a good friend with Evanna Lynch. Most people know Evanna as the magical girl, Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter Movies.

The hare bracelet was for Evanna's birthday and I have made another green bracelet this month that is similar to her's, but with different semi precious stones. It has now been listed in Etsy.

If you follow the Harry Potter stories, you will know that some of the characters in the books have Patronus animals as protective shields. The hare was Luna's Patronus Charm. Here she is conjuring up some hare magic! 

What would be your special animal that protects you?

I think the obvious choices would be a cat or a dog, but I would quite like to have an owl or a raven as a guardian! ;-)

Dear blog friends I hope you all had a lovely Easter! 

This is just a small message to say that I'm having a break for a while from Blogger and Facebook because of work commitments. I hope to see you again soon when things are less hectic... Have a good spring and summer. Best wishes. xxx

Looking Backwards Before Moving Forwards...  

Lately my mind has been distracted and reflecting on 2011. Sometimes I feel it's important to look back, stopping for a moment to see what you have achieved and how you can improve things in the New Year... To me, January seems to be an odd month, when you can think about all of the other months ahead of you and new possibilities you can create in the future. It's interesting how we all have to drive our own lives in a direction that suits us and somehow along the way try to find some kind of inner peace and happiness.

I think when you do something creative that you really enjoy, it can make you feel truly happy and alive, maybe that is when you find the key to positive well-being in life.

Tell me friends, what makes you feel happy and fulfilled in your life, apart from family and friends?

When I look at Zigsa cat stretched out enjoying the sun, I feel he has found the answer to cat well-being. Life is simply uncomplicated... Oh to be a cat!

Because of distractions lately, I have not started my small fairy paintings yet, but I did make some more commissioned jewellery pieces and another heart picture for Valentine's day. A new Owl and the Pussy-Cat picture will be listed in Etsy this week.

Traveling back in time...

Last year I visited a few inspiring places with a lot history and plenty of character. There is nothing like visiting grand old houses to invoke the imagination. 

The Vyne is a 16th-century house in Hampshire that was visited by a few famous people in the past. The Tudor king, Henry VIII stayed for a while, Jane Austen went to a few dances there and Tolkien was inspired by an engraved gold ring that can be seen in a glass cabinet in the Library. It is such small precious item that helped Tolkien to create his amazing book!

The house has a classical facade and does not look very Tudor from the outside, but it has a mixture of styles due to renovation and changes in fashion over the past 350 years. 

 

My favourite room was the long Oak Gallery with it's Elizabethan influences and beautiful stained glass window. The glass design is called 'The Market Seller and her Dog in a Landscape' by William Price the younger, c1750.

Huge paintings of ladies from the Tudor court decorate the oak paneled walls. They look like ghostly figures staring down at the visitors who view the house... I wondered what their lives were like all those years ago during King Henry's and Queen Elizabeth's reign.  

The Vyne has it's very own wood and well kept gardens. I was more interested in seeing the woods than the garden.  

The day I took these photos the sun was low because it was autumn time, so the trees looked especially magical with dappled light and rainbows.

Revisiting Lacock Village...

Also last year I went to Lacock village in Wiltshire and of course I had to stop by to see the pottery again. It was a cloudy day and not like the warm spring afternoon on my last visit.

Unfortunately I do not know who created these lovely ceramic pieces, but I especially liked the owl bowl and cat plate. They really are fun works of art.  

I now see that Lacock pottery is on facebook. The link is HERE if you would like to follow!