My submission~

Well, here it is :) This is my submission to the Mad Men Casting Call ;) I thought I'd go for funny....What's a car seat? ;)

If you're so inclined, you can vote for me HERE. There are lots of fun submissions. You can vote for your favs once a day. Hopefully I'll be one of them! :D

Playing Dress Up

So I entered the photo contest for the Mad Men Casting Call.....come help me decide which to submit!

Peace in the Desert

I wanted to share with you my first desert-inspired painting :) this is "Peace in the Desert"

I had fun making her. This is a really rich little painting, given all the more tiny detail by the aged effects of crackle that I added to it. Gotta love that crackle! I made the sky a sort of dreamy blue/green and little touches of a desert landscape behind her.

What I really wanted to convey with this little painting (Measures 4x12") is a sense of peace and awe that you get in the desert. The sky a towering dome, the landscape so bare and minimal yet so very striking and alluring. The desert is a magical place! Perhaps you feel the same?

Here's a photo of the little painting from an angle so that you can see how deep the sides are. I love chunky canvas! It easily stands on its end or can be hung, the choice is yours. I also decided to photograph her with my little cactus I brought home from Phoenix-- my bearded cactus! I named him Moses. I heart him :)

Coming back from the desert has also made me curious to start my own little cactus garden. Any of my desert friends have any tips? Its so hot and dry here these days, I'm thinking a cactus garden might be the way to go ;) at least on my back patio.

But anyhow....the desert is obviously still in my heart and on my mind. I'm sure I'll get a few paintings out of this inspiration! Its curious to think how much my art is influenced by 'place.' and how it might change depending on where I am and where I call home. Interesting....

To find out more about this painting, come see her in my shop!~

Stay cool out there my friends!~

H

Guinevere

Of course this isn't desert inspired at all ;) but its the first thing I've finished since I've been home. This is "Guinevere" and I'm very happy with her. I started her before I left for the Pre-Raphaelites-inspired art show I've been asked to take part in this fall.

Guinevere is a very interesting character. Very beautiful, though melancholy and torn between two loves. I hope that I captured some of her pretty pensive nature in this piece.

I've got lots of projects prepped but haven't started. I think I am suffering from an overwhelming influx of inspiration. Does that ever happen to you? Where your mind is buzzing so hard and fast that you can't seem to focus it? That's me at the moment....I'm torn between things that I have a deadline for and things that I want to play around with. The dutiful type A part of my personality tells me to finish up the things with deadlines first so I can have them finished to focus my attention on new things. But the other part of me (the part that wants to pour over magazines and old craft books and read novels on the back porch while the dishes stack up in the sink) wants to just jump in and play with what inspires me of the moment so I can take full advantage of the inspiration.

Who knows what will end up getting done first ;) your guess is as good as mine.....

~H

~

After traipsing so many hundreds of miles its strange to be sitting here again in my little studio on the prairie, back among my own things with the overwhelming urge to create.

Statue outside Verdigris Loft in Sedona, AZ.

Arizona was amazing. Magical and bright and mysterious and beautiful. Beautiful and majestic scenes were found at every turn. I mean, you could look in any direction and find something worth swooning over. It was exhausting ;)

A great swath of rain pouring down over the Arizona desert

I saw so many things. Went on so many great adventures. Peered down the grand canyon to its dizzying depths, explored dry desert landscapes and the ruins of an abandoned native village. So many new sights and sounds and colors and beautiful pieces of art that I tried to soak up so I could bring it home with me.

Making the drive ourselves (was it 18 hours? Who knows...) really made it all the more amazing. We got to see and experience New Mexico and Arizona in ways we never had on previous trips. We stopped at road-side attractions, ate at local restaurants, drove down highways that seemed endless and remote.

The Teepees in the painted desert, seen while touring the Petrified Forest

As we drove home through the corn fields and windmills of the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma I daydreamed about new things to create. New ideas for paintings and for dolls. I'm already sketching out a new painting inspired by the desert. Can't wait to get started. On a lot of things.

Happy summer to you!!~

H

Post Cards from Arizona

Hello! And greetings from Arizona! I am writing to you this evening from our fancy schmancy room at the base of Camelback Mountain. A little bit tanner....a little more artistically inspired.

Oh, what a trip we've been on! We left saturday at 5:30 am and arrived in Williams, Arizona that evening. Williams is just outside of Flagstaff and we were astonished to find ourselves in a pine forest...where it was cool and crisp and beautiful. Arizona is an amazing place...

Here's a photo from the road. We stopped off at the continental divide (in New Mexico? I dont remember...) at this location rain water falls either west toward the Pacific or east towards the Atlantic. I had a very Lewis and Clark moment here ;)

We stayed at a lovely hotel (go Quality Inn!) in Williams and they had this beautiful Indian village set up in a clearing....the mountains in the distance....there were so many pine trees that perfumed the air that Audrey asked if it was Christmas ;)
The next day we headed up to the Grand Canyon. Just...wow. Its amazing that a place like that exists. And that it is so pristine and gorgeous. Peering down the side of this staggering canyon was dizzying. I held onto my girl very tightly ;)
From there we drove south towards Sedona.....just a little over an hour from the cool piney forests were these shocking and amazing desert landscapes. I think I've spent most of our drive through this state with my jaw dropped to the car floor. I had no idea, Arizona. But you've charmed me ;)
I took a few random shots in Sedona. What a lovely town. But a very hot place after feeling all cool and crisp in Flagstaff just a few hours before. One of the little shops had baskets full of shells out on the sidewalk...
And I have found that I have a love for south western churches and chapels. They are all so lovely out here. Love a good bell tower....
And at the end of the day....my little gal on some very pretty steps in Sedona. Love that tile. I didnt realize it, but I really do adore desert style. The colors and patterns are so amazing. I even bought myself a little cactus to remember it all by. A bearded cactus of course ;)
Hope all is well with you in your corner of the world. Sending you some sun and warmth from the desert :) I'm so glad I brought my sketch book......so much to remember!~

~H

Starry Eyed ;)

So i probably haven't been so excited to see someone I was enamored with come to town since the New Kids on the Block came through in the first grade ;) But when I heard author Audrey Niffenegger was coming to Tulsa to speak and do a book signing, guess which eager puppy was all too happy to go? ;)

My friend Beth snapped this pic with her new fancy shmancy iPhone. Lol, this is me trying to un-crazily tell Ms. Niffenegger that she's the coolest ;) Which is true. She's the author of one of my top 5 all-time amazing books ever "The Time Traveler's Wife." Which is one of the most original, gritty, epic love stories I've ever read. Skip the movie, read the book. You can't help but be blown away.

I also love that she is very much a visual artist as well as a writer, two loves that are very much a part of me as well. Its great to see someone succeeding in both areas and not feeling like they have to be 'either/or.' Really inspiring :)

It's always nice to meet someone you admire and see that they're as off-beat and cool as you imagined they'd be. Makes you proud to at least be off beat yourself, don't know so much about cool ;) I was sorta grinning like a fool.....

Tuesday~

Well, it's the day to announce the winner of "Courting Morrow Little"! I really wish there was a copy for everyone! But don't fret....you can find this book in bookstores across the nation. Or of course order it online! it's so worth the read!

But as for our giveaway, the giveaway gnomes have spoken and the winner is.... VALERIE!~!

With that finished and my commissioned mostly done, I'm sitting here in my little studio room before the girl wakes up looking over this little painting. She's first of a series I'm doing for a show I am very excited about!~ The show will open in Indianapolis, IN. on September 10 and will be displayed at Big Hat Books and Art. Called "Pre-Rahaelites: Through Our Eyes" the show will feature various artists' interpretations of the the pre-raphaelite genre, one of my most favorite genres of art!

Full of beautiful maidens, folkloric, historic and epic scenes, Pre-Raphaelites loved romance, loved beauty and loved telling a story with their brushes. Hmmm....sound familiar? My first painting is one of Guinevere of King Arthur fame. I think she's looking pretty so far :)

Of course I've got a few days to work on her before....

This was the view outside our hotel window last summer when we were in Phoenix. I'm ready to return to those mountains, this time with my little one. Can't wait to show her everything. Anyone have any suggestions for 'must see' kid friendly adventures in the Phoenix area? We're planning to stop in Sedona on the way, which I am so excited about. Bring on the mystic mountains!

Thanks for coming here to visit me today! I appreciate it! ~H

A thundery day of dollies and bunnies~

It's a thundery and sleepy morning this A.M. Sleep was rough last night....first the neighbor's dog barking....then our dog barking at it....which woke up the girl....the a crashing thunderstorm came rolling through...girl cried again, now tucked in our bed....and when the storm was done....of course coyotes started howling in the creek bed. I am thoroughly exhausted by nature!~

But while my eyes are atleast partially open, I thought I'd share with you some dollies. I love them in a big grouping like up above. They all look like sisters, but each girl is unique and her own person. I know I will probably make a ton of these for my fall shows....they are just so much fun! I hope people like them.....I've got so many ideas....
These two girls are Molly Mae and Ella Jane. They're going to live in Texas to live with some little girls. I know they will be much loved!

Oh, the rain is pouring down and tapping the window...its so dark outside. maybe I shouldn't even make the bed ;)

At least I got all the critters fed....and the bunnies covered up. They hate getting their feet wet. And they certainly let me know they aren't happy. In the ever on-going saga of my Pride and Prejudice bunnies, things took an interesting turn this weekend.

I found Miss Lizzie darting into the sleeping room of her hutch with bits of hay and shreds of newspaper with that wild look in her eye that reminded me of those times when I decided to rearrange furniture at 10 o'clock at night ;) I opened up the little room and found her making a nest, even lined with her own fur!

Of course you know what this means.....babies, and soon. I was excited but dismayed too since we're leaving for a week in a few days! And I so desperately want to play baby bunny nursemaid when they come! However, i watched her, looked her over and felt her little belly.....and she doesnt seem pregnant. Or not pregnant enough to show.

All weekend I peeked at her, even separating the bunnies (Mr. Darcy some how sneaked back up into her part of the hutch, gallant young fellow....til I put a rock over the door!) but nothing. No babies. And by Sunday she seemed to abandon the nest all-together.

So I'm thinking perhaps she had a false pregnancy, or maybe she is pregnant but just barely so....and she's just a bit Type A and wanted to get things done while it was on her mind. I can understand that ;)

And so...that's it for now! Enjoy the dollies and remember, this is the last day to win the book Courting Morrow Little! Enter to win at the post below :)

~H

Giveaway! Courting Morrow Little~

It's amazing the people you meet on a bookshelf. Like, take for instance, when I picked up this book at my local library and fell in love with colonial/revolutionary Kentucky and the writing of author Laura Frantz.

After a note to tell her how much I enjoyed the book and mutual visiting on each other's blogs, I am happy to call Laura a friend.

And after much anticipation, I was so thrilled to see my friend's second book debut last month and was (anxiously and utterly impatiently) awaiting its arrival on my doorstep.

And I am, book snob that I may be, very pleased to say that I loved Courting Morrow Little every bit as much as The Frontiersman's Daughter--- if not just a smidge more. Laura's writing has really blossomed in this second book, the plot tight, adventuresome, real in its emotions and history, not afraid to face the ugliness and not-so-glamorous aspects of the 18th century, while still describing a lush and beautiful story.

The story is set in rural Kentucky in the late 1700s, where Morrow Little and her family have settled to make a life on the frontier. One terrible afternoon Morrow's world is forever altered when her sister and mother and killed in an Indian attack and her brother kidnapped. The story then follows Morrow as a young woman, newly returned to the home where she has so many conflicting memories after a few years away visiting an aunt. Soon many young men around the settlement are vying for her attentions, and her faith and forgiveness are tested through a fragile friendship with a Shawnee chief and his son. Her father now dying from an illness, Morrow has to decide what sort of future she wants for herself and where her heart is leading her. This book is nothing if not sweeping, full of emotion and internal (as well as external) struggle as Morrow struggles to find who she really is while the nation around her struggles for its own independence.

So, wanna read it too? :D

Well, you're in luck because Laura has ever so graciously decided to contribute a new copy of "Courting Morrow Little" for this giveaway for one lucky winner :)

I've also sweet-talked Laura into answering some questions about her writing, Morrow, and how her love of history led her to the career that was always in her heart. Here's a bit from Laura:

Both of your novels are set in 18th-century Kentucky. What is it about that time and place that inspires you to create your stories?

Since my family followed Daniel Boone into Kentucky during the late 1700’s, I’ve always found

the frontier history there fascinating. I grew up swimming in the rivers and playing on the very

land those first settlers ventured to all those years ago. My family still lives there. Guess it’s

in my blood. I’ve always said I was born two hundred years too late. Though I love modern

amenities, I’ll take a corset and bonnet and wagon any day!

What was your initial inspiration for creating “Courting Morrow Little”?

Indian captivity stories have always intrigued me. When my family came into Kentucky after the Revolutionary War, there was scarcely a family untouched by tragedy. Boone himself lost two sons in the Indian conflict and was a captive himself, as was his daughter, Jemima. I’ve always

wondered what it was like having your family torn asunder by an Indian attack. So I placed

my character, Morrow, in that very trying situation and tried to redeem it for her in 362 pages.

The Shawnee figure predominantly in both your writing, with Shawnee love interests in both stories. What is it that draws you to that particular tribe? Do you have Native Americans in your family?

Since the Shawnee were the principal tribe that inhabited and hunted Kentucky years ago, I

wanted to include them in some way. They have such a rich culture and history. I didn’t intend

for them to take over my stories, but they did in a big way. This is, however, true to history as

the Shawnee were the ones fighting the Kentuckians for that territory. My great-grandfather was

Cherokee though my grandmother, his daughter, never really acknowledged this until later in

her life. It remained something of a family secret though photographs of him show him to be

completely native in appearance.

What is it you hope readers will get from your stories?

I hope my stories provide a blessed escape from the rush and routine of modern life. Reading

a historical novel really slows you down and transports you into another time and place ~ or

should.

Why do you personally write, and how did you decide to take the first step into becoming a published author?

I write for the sheer joy of writing ~ nothing else makes me happier, except family. Like Steven

King said, I’m never really comfortable unless I’m writing. Publishing was a scary step for me.

It’s a business and has little to do with the joy of writing, but I realized after creating stories

since age 7, that I’d been given a gift and should use it to bless others. Writing was becoming a

selfish pursuit and I knew I had to share it with readers or stop spending so much time doing it.

What character in your books do you most relate to? Who is most unrelatable?

I most relate to Lael in The Frontiersman’s Daughter. She is the essence of who I wanted to be

when I was growing up in Kentucky ~ Daniel Boone’s daughter. In Courting Morrow Little, I

love the character of Red Shirt. He was so capable and adaptable and had those enduring, almost

mythic qualities that frontiersmen had to have to survive. I found Lael’s mother very hard to

relate to as she hated the wilderness and all that it represented. And I disliked Jemima, the friend

who betrayed Morrow, as she was so prejudiced and unfaithful throughout the story.

If you could pick your own life and location in the 18th-century, where would we find you?

What sort of life would you be living?

Oh wonderful question! I would definitely choose Colonial Williamsburg on the eve of the

American Revolution. I’d love to work in Margaret Hunter’s dress shop or be one of her patrons,

dancing with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and George Wyeth during a ball at the

Governor’s Palace. Since life was so hard for women back then, I’d rather have a plantation on

the James River or a townhouse in Williamsburg proper, just tending children and sewing and

playing the pianoforte all day, but devoted to some social causes undercover. Sounds like a novel

in the making.

**************************************************

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post and make sure that I have some means of contacting you via email should you win :) Some food for comment thought.....what time and place would you like to live in if you had the choice?

*Contest Good through Monday July 11

Good luck!~

Heather

This That & The Other

Hello there, I am still here! Still working away at the little studio table and running around doing some random things. I've got a couple of commissions I'm working on, both doll and painting works, and I've got a set amount of time to get things done and mailed off on their merry way. Here's a sneak peek at a couple of little gals I just crackled:

I love their little crackled and old timey faces! I think I am going crackle-crazy ;) And for those that asked--- yes--- my sale is still on....I will leave it up through today and then the items will go back to regular pricing :)

In other news, some random things have been taking up my days and nights :) such as....

1) My current obsession with the television show "Mad Men." I would have never guessed that a show about New York City ad execs and the women in their lives set in the early 1960s would be so riveting, but consider me riveted!
Sexism and chauvinism aside, I loooove the clothes, the decorum, the fashion and the blissful self-involvement of the era. I could never live in this time or place due to the overwhelming amount of cigarette smoke alone (and did people really just drink all day at the office, every day???) but the opulence of it is very entertaining :)

2) Reading! I just finished reading an amazing book that I will soon be telling you about and giving away a copy of. I can't wait to share it with you! I can't get enough of historical fiction. I just picked up this book today, and I'm really looking forward to curling up with it:
I've heard great things about Siri Mitchell and this book in particular, so it should be a fun read! Hopefully I wont plow through it too much because I'm going to need lots of reading for....

3) Arizona. This is what is newly in my thoughts, although I'm not sure how it creeped up on me so fast! In 9 days we pack up our covered wagon-- er, truck--- and point ourselves west to Arizona! I'm a little nervous and excited about this, our first looooong road trip with a 3 year old. The last few times I've been on this yearly Phoenix trip we flew, but this time we wanted our own vehicle and a little ambiance. We want to see America! I want to travel through those mountains and deserts and landscapes I've only peered at through a plane window. And I really hope I survive it ;)

The exciting part is that after we get there, we'll be spending a week at a gorgeous resort that hosts a conference for my husband's work. It's pure magic and the Arizona desert has a little soft spot in my heart and so I look forward to returning to cactus, palm trees, blazing and brilliant skies and, um, two Anthropolgies!!! ;)

Of course this means too that for that week my communication online will be sporadic and I wont be able to ship any purchased items until I've returned. But I know I'll come back inspired and ready to paint! Who knows what will catch my fancy out in the desert :)

Well.....that's it for now. Just wanted to let you know what I was up to :) hope all is well with you this July!~

~H

Liberty Sale!~

Hope you all have a great holiday weekend! To celebrate, I've decided to have a little sale at my shop! All prints marked down, plus some original paintings marked down as well. Come see what's in the store, it's safer than fire crackers ;)!~

~SALE~

A Folky Founding Father

Oh my, it is July 1 today! I meant to have this painting finished sooner, but then I went dilly-dallying with the art dolls ;) ah well! I am really happy with how this came out. Look, a man without a beard! From me! Unheard of! And I wonder, can you tell who it is?.....

Why, it's General Washington of course! The super-star of the Revolutionary War! He's one of my favorite old-timey guys. Didn't have much to say, but was a man of action. And he actually turned down the offer to be king of the U.S. Talk about a guy with his head on straight. I'm sure many lesser men would have said "so where's my crown?" ;)
For those of you with a soft spot for history (we're not geeks, we're well-read!) especially the 18th century and early America, I know that the upcoming Independence Day holiday is a special one. I'd like to say thanks to all the veterans out there-- both long gone and now serving, including my little baby cousin the marine ;)

So much unimaginable bravery went into the making of our nation. It's good to take a moment and really take it all in. And I hope that my General George can be just a tiny reminder of all that--- the good stuff.

So are you like most of colonial Americans that had a mad crush on George? Well then, come see him in my shop! Hurry, before he starts chopping down cherry trees and the art dolls get nervous.... ;)