Drawing Challenge : GARLAND and a break in advent explanation


Tis the season my friends...
to adorn and drape all surfaces with boughs of garland
made from branches collected in my woods
entwined with lights and pinecones
the garlands surround us with the holiday spirit - as we sit down to sip cocoa and create handmade ornaments with friends


Garland, sweet garland...i'd have you up all year round if I could!

See Tiny Woolf for more garland goodness!



PS ADVENT UPDATE
my tech stuff is dying...scanner won't scan, camera won't take pics, computer sounds like an airplane trying
to take off....ADVENT 9- present will come when i am rested up. I suppose my computer is telling me to rest...i just had my gallbladder taken out and am recovering. as much as i wanted to upload my garland sketches and keep up with my advent...it is out of my hands. off to nap, again!
i'd love to hear from all of you!
xo milady

Christmas Craftsaganza already?!




IT's here again, Christmas. WHAT? seriously, i don't know where the time has gone - it's speeding up, or i am blacking out or perhaps some universal mystery is playing tricks on me.  I love to make things and have lots and lots of ideas....i think i can pull off each and every one of them in extremely unrealistic time frames.
I go for it....and whatever gets made is what makes it to fair.
lots of exciting things are happening in my life - so busy , as you've all gathered, that i don't even post anymore! i've been off the farm more than ever - not here, at my desk, in the kitchen, wandering the countryside. i miss that but times a flyin' so i've got to strike while the iron is hot! Art shows in other towns, products created at other's studios...oh, and then those kids! ;) sports, sports, sports, homework, field trips, volunteering, meetings...yikes!
anyhoo, I miss communicating with you gals, across the ethers, my fine feathered kindred spirits.
come back, come back! xoxo


NATURE - Drawing Challenge




                                             


Nature - what is it? is it out or is it within?
Natural State - what is organic and god-given, what is animal, what is human?
My last exhibit, Sleeping with Nature, was all about these rhetorical ponderings.
The awe I feel in the natural world around me, the beauty and perfection of simple growing things.
The natural rythmn of life for all of us on this wonderous planet.

Thank you Nadine for personally reeling me back into to our fabulous circle of creatives!
Feels good to be back!

XO milady

Drawing Challenge: Aquarius


Norwegian Creation Myth





pondering mythology



Unce upon a dream...

i sense winged beauties spiralling




from an
unknown source (pic)
literally

Aquarius, blue, water and wisdom
I think of my mother
our Mother
and the infinite mystery
sparkling

Its homework for a book project
a bit of a secret for now
but you will be seeing it more and more!
xo milady

Drawing Challenge: Blanket


Handmade quilts by my grandmother's grandpeople.




restoration hardware - but you get the idea :)




 Blanket.
Makes me think of moms and babies,
Of grandmas and hand stitched gatherings
Of ladies around a big table,
Chatting and assembling
The scraps and memories of fabric worked to the bone.

We have alot of faux fuzzy lamby blankets around the house.
We buy them at the store.
But they are warm and cozy and make you look like a giant teddy bear
in soft browns and creams.

Good thing too because it is still freezing here. A fresh blanket of snow the last few days.Christmas like.
We live under piles of blankets to read a book, watch a movie, and I wrap one around my neck like a shawl like some old woman from a nursey rhyme as I walk from one end of the house to the other.

I didn't draw but let my great grand ladies speak for me with their beautiful stitches and floral remnants.
I am lucky to have what's left of them.

For more blankets visit the adorable quilt covered Greta for more!

xo milady



Monogram : Drawing Challenge









Ink, i.d., initials
What's in a name?
I've been pondering a name change.
But I love my "smr" logo.
Lots of artists just use their name, so i just plucked out one of them.
Morgan.
So many of you have come to know me as "milady" - and that would never change.
But i need a cohesive i.d. Something that umbrellas all I do.
what do you think?
of
Morgan, ink.
?
besides, M's are the funnest to pen with ink.
I look forward to your thoughts on this matter!!!!!


Patrice A. is our hostess this week.See her Monogram flourish before your eyes!

xo milady

Drawing Challenge: Butterfly

 Butterflies Flutterby

1. Once upon a time there lived a giant Butterly who was made of Golden Sun and Blue Sky.
2.There lived also a man who was happy most of the time which made him colorful.
3.The Giant Butterfly had 3 little children and their followed their mother everywhere.
4. One day, they flew by the man who was only feeling his blue color.  Their magic was so powerful their wings sucked all the color out of him.
5. The mother saw all the colors rising otwards her and was happy.
6. The man , however, was not.
 

7.The man became so mad that his color was stolen that dark clouds began to gather and droop all around him.
8. After a long while he gave up and fell down in hopelessness.
9. /10. At that moment when the man was most hopeless, his cry for help burst through the clouds.
11. The Giant Butterfly and her children's colors made the black cloud go away while following her flight back to the man below.


 And they all lived colorfully ever after!
 
Flying, winged, hope and magic...I never tire of these images! Today, Morgan and I made a cartoon while being lazy in bed. It's Sunday afterall! Perhaps Monday by now at Nadine's across the world from me. Be sure to visit her amazing shop while you flying over the land of Tiny Woolf!
 Oh well, I always say...better late than never!

xo milady
                            

Tea Time A drawing Challenge

me
 I desire a large cup of tea....

unknown source

lovely earl grey tea  
 
with its fragrant bits of Bergamot and Lavender and a little splash of cream...mmmmmm

I should like to sip it here while i wait for company....

tash tudor
such as dear Tasha Tudor
And a flamboyant mad man in plaids and tweed



and whoever else wanted to come....
                           and share a cuppa
share their thoughts
on what inspires them.

 I am already there! With all these dear inspirations seated at Ariane's Table...please come!

Amber Alexander

Development : Drawing Challenge

Development - fitting title for my peek out of the clouds.
the holiday rush is on

as i prepare for another show early November


though still in season with greens and orange all around

my ink finds its way to December's images

whilst the half-life wannabees stack and wait in the studio


and our baby Ollie develops into a massive beast before our eyes!
 Visit tour hostess, the Queen Ariane for more on these developing stories!

THEATER: Drawing Challenge








This is what i came up with .  An intuitive browse through my files...trying to tell a story about THEATER>
Starring as ME , mother, creator, artist, caretaker in the SET of my life; rural, ranch, home, land, remote.
Home is my stage, Improv is my life.
I wish i had time to doodle and create but life is speeding up as summer races towards an end.
Did i tell you? I am preparing for an art show in 2 weeks! A small town sort of arts/crafts event that draws a crowd to our little nook in the west.
Visit my fellow beloved performers and enjoy the show!
renilde
ariane
nadine
kristen ?
ritva welcome!
rachel

any others? Don't be shy! the theme is open ended! I have so much more to tell you, about my life as a young dancer growing up in the Seattle Opera House and falling asleep under velvet cushions to the lullabies of Wagner.

xo milady

Tomorrow is THEATER

Hello my patient peeps! Tomorrow's theme is THEATER (which i mistakenly did here)
I will be posting in the morning which could very well be your evening! So, check back!
I suspect i will mix a little CITY in the THEATER since I missed last week's challenge.
Life is full of visitors, events, teaching children, telling ghost stories, late night gatherings, swimming in the river and rodeos!

My little girl Rosie on her dad's horse as Queen Attendant.
Busy but good.
See you tomorrow  ( drop me a note if you want to join us in the THEATER!)
xo milady

Monster: Drawing Challenge

monster - hmmm let's see what i have in my files. Ahhhh...the Glubus (my son so emphatically recognized as such) the only monster i could find as i am late and out of time!

and then whats this? coming in from a favorite site - monsters from the 1600's!
 Thank you Julia for this weeks theme, more beasts gather there.
look here for more monstrorum historia via the inpsiring eye candy shop :bibliOdyssey

and 1 morgan monster for good measure.

see you saturday in the clouds!

xo milady

Balance : Drawing Challenge

balance. the quest. walking the line between the divine and mortal, sun and moon, light and darkness.
precarious. exciting. so rewarding when perfecting the middle, feeling the intoxicating powers of opposites at once.
this one of my all time favorite images. "tightrope" available in my shop for a limited time as a 12x12 archival
paper print. (or larger !)


hula hoop
unicycle

i have been doing alot lately, my dad calls me the "master juggler". i've got so many pots on the stove,
so many interests, so little time.
 balancing while juggling.
keep calm and carry on! 

The Queen of Eisenbach, Ariane, is our hostess this week!

xo milady

Everyday Life : A Drawing Challenge

everyday i drive past the old bones

that make me think of the dream i saw

in grandma's books

of a big family tilling the soil

and soil of their clan

with loving hands

that do it all

one day at a time

while i still wonder what i will be when i grow up

as i continue to juggle whilst i skip

art
life
family
home
farm
love

xo milady



Dear ,deep,  thoughtful Elisabeth is our hostess this week.
Thank you Elisabeth. Everyday i am inspired by  my new friends in the world
through this challenge.
xo