Mint, Mutts & Mad Heads

Jet is none to pleased. She was having a nice little nap with lion and ellie when I woke her up to take some daft photograph.

So I had a little wander in the garden with Titch to look at the mint and the ever amassing weeds.

As you can see the ivy is threatening to cover my back wall, and the rosemary bush further along looks like something out of the day of the triffids. I must get some weeding done sharpish. Iv'e been so busy with the allotment that the garden tended to be overlooked.

Here be my flower-pot man. Hubs and I sit on the garden seat and try and ping his terracotta pot hat with tiny pebbles. Hubs always wins, my aim is way off. You can't ever accuse us of not being sophisticated or acting our age eh?

Around the pond needs trimming down. My Aztec Pearl has become somewhat unruly. I love it in the early spring when it grows little pearl-like buds, and if your rub the leaves it smells of oranges. There are fish in there somewhere. 'Somewhere' being the operative word.

Now for the 'Mad Heads' part of my post. Here they are, my daughter and grandson.

Jesters, Chaos & Oddities

My work space

(laughs at the idea of calling this miniscule cubby hole "space")

Hubby has now relegated me to the porch area. He was kind enough to provide heating and lighting (snort) .......I refused to move my sewing machine from the living-room though! ...I dunno what his beef is, just because I have my stuff in the living room, the bedroom, the shed and now the garage he moans?

It looks like chaos in here. However, I can asssure you I know where everything is though (in a fashion). Meet my latest creation, Mr Jester. I'm going to attach some wire to the paintbrush he is holding and have him dangling from above. He's made of all cloth material, apart from the metal bells on his cap. Next to him is a gold angel peg doll, and up in the left corner are some gingham love birds.

A green/gold leaves man brooch Im working on

Polymer clay sculptures. Some daft cat, a pig fridge magnet and a gingerbread man.

A flower-pot baby. Sorry, but my photographing skills are virtually non-existant. It's a little fairy thing made out of clay, in a mini terracotta pot with some cloth petals attached to the head. The leaves around the top of the pot were made from clay too.

Teddy Bears Picnic

Just to the left of this photo theres a clay and wire rustic love bird thatI made out of poymer clay. I get bored quickly and have to have a number of things on the go at once. Also I haven't much paitence, and hate waiting for glue/paint/varnish to dry. Believe me, it's safer having some other projects to hand to keep me occupied. Im one of those people that put their fingers on still wet/tacky paint to see if it's dry! (duh)

Doing A Jig!

Yeesiree! I have just phoned up about my application for a lock up market stall and it looks like it has been approved. Im now going to stuff three lemon puff biscuits in my gob to celebrate, and muse over what to design for some signage.

This little chap has agreed to be my muse for the day. He reminds me of one of my brother-in-laws. It wasn't intentional, I promise :)

Symbolism of Bride/Brigit/Brigid

Hmmm I have been asked by a number of people what is the symbolism behind my pictures of the Goddess / Saint. The Goddess of the hearth, forge and fertility (childbirth), and a scholar and poet. She has been associated also with water and wells, water being a life source and having healing properites. She is also said to be the 'Fire' goddess, and a triple aspect Goddess in her forms as maiden, mother and crone. So much to cram in I wondered, how could I account for all those aspects? It was more simple than I first anticipated, thanks to three little insects. Well the Dragonflies are of the air and water.......Air as an element has long been associated with intellect so that linked nicely with her scholary and poetical attributes and they need clean water to breed in so that draws us to her association with water and healing. Dragonflies also undergo three stages of metamorphosis, I made comparisons with this and that of the three aspects of the Goddess as maiden, mother and crone. The butterflies are also symbolic of transformation and rebirth, both spiritually and physically. Some thought the butterfly and the transformations it went through were symbolic of the souls journey. The goddess has also said to have owned an orchard in the 'otherworld' and bees travelled there to collect magical nectar. Bees also are a sign of fertility and herald the coming spring and summer. The Goddesses festival day is Imbolc or Candlemas during Spring and is celebrated around 1st - 2nd Feb. Oh and I fogot, the colour theme, warm and sunny or the colour of fire, and the metal work on her brow and in the one picture (a torc) highlight her metalwork skills!

Little Red Riding Hood Legs It.............

A little cartoon sketch done digitally in Corel Painter, using my trusty Wacom tablet & Pen ......... The Post lady is late today. Keep your fingers crossed I hear news of that market stall today! Anyway, I'm off to make some more sculpters. I love Fimo Clay, it's fab! Im making a tiny green man face at the moment, but it's a fiddly little critter, with all the tiny leaves and such.

Twiddling Thumbs

I'm still waiting for news about a market stall. I have tons of stock waiting for sale, even have a few little sculptors of my own made for re-sale (and a few more in the offing), but still no news. Im sitting here like a demented moron watching out of the window, waiting for the post lady. How hard can it be to make a decision on renting a stall to someone or not? ........ To chill out I did some doodling. Fairys always make me feel lifted. Heres a little fae spirit, done in pastels and then scanned in and worked over some more digitally.

Keeping Faith, Flatulence and Runaway Spiders

Yesterday Hubby, myself and our wee grandson, had a bout of weeding down our allotment. Whilst inspecting the radishes I heard hysterical giggles coming from behind me. I turned around and asked the little man what he was laughing at. He said, " Im laughing at this spider running away Nanny!" Smiling, I said to him it would't hurt him, and to be gentle with it. He said of course he wouldnt hurt it, he said he thought it was, "bootiful". At times that child perks me up no end, he's a diamond. Mind you, I wasn't so chuffed later on when he called me thunder pants. Not quite sure what he meant, or where he learnt that from. Maybe its a new kids cartoon? Or heaven forbid maybe he thinks I wear big granny bloomers? Anyway, I plucked up the courage to ask him what it meant, and apparently he's been called it himself. I stupidily asked him why was that, and he replied because of his pumping of course. No decorum whatsoever that child.

Goddess Bride

The Celtic Goddess Bride (Brigid). Medium: Digital. Completed Imbolc 2009. Copyright Maggie V. Jones

Two versions of this, and I personally prefer the latter. Others may beg to differ.