Tiny Orcas

This orca ring box was done for Whitney at Northwest Orca Soaps. (Be sure to check her out. Her soaps, emu oil and skincare can't be beat.) She wanted the orca in it's natural colors but otherwise let me have fun with it.

On top the whale is framed in metallic gold with a background of blue glass marbles. The sides are done as sky on the lid and ocean on the base with the sunset in the left end fading to a night sky on the right. A small pod of whales is visible with the one on the night time side looking up at an evening star made of a tiny rhinestone.

My original plan was for the box to have a solid colored sides with some sort of ocean themed decoupage. The night I started working on it I had a dream about doing the seascape on the side and couldn't wait to paint it.

Football Fairy

This little fairy flies in on a football to join his two brothers with the soccer ball and baseball (see Sports Fairies). I have to say I really love orange. It's such a fun color.

Miniature Portrait

I was talking with a few ladies last night who expressed interest in seeing a miniature portrait I did. This is painted in gouache. The size is 1 5/8" x 2". It was painted from a sketch of my husband 6-8 years ago.

Celestial Gargoyle

This gargoyle was a commission for a long time friend. We share a liking for darker images so this was very fun to do for her. I especially like the combination of the beastie with the more traditionally "pretty" celestial themes.

The gargoyle grasps a glowing moon of metallic gold. The gold also reflects from the gargoyle's stony flesh. Its eye is an amethyst rhinestone reflecting the iolite inspired shade of the box's sides which are a lilac base with a transparent cobalt glaze over top. The gargoyle itself is recessed into a crystal star field of glass.

Inside the top and bottom contain star charts of the constellations Perseus and Aquila. I've been waiting for a chance to use them as a more grown-up variation on the star papers I usually use.

Books give you wings...

I love imagining all the different ways those tiny tooth fairies get around. In fact when I start a new one my son always has to check it out to see how the new fairy is going to travel. This little fellow will be collecting teeth for a book lover. He uses his favorite book as a magic carpet to travel the night sky.

You can fly...

This jewelry box is for a little girl who loves Peter Pan. Just like the lack of fairies for boys Peter is hard to come by in a girly design.

Little Tinkerbell is surrounded by a cloud of pixie dust and when the lights go out she will glow in the dark. The sides of the box are covered in pixie dust as well.

Mermaid's Treasure

My husband says this mermaid reminds him of Cate Blanchett. I think it is the nose, and the fact that he just watched Lord of the Rings.

The green inside glows with iridescent sparkles. The top and bottom are lined with a trompe l'oeil bed of seashells and crystal sand. In the center of the bottom sits one real shell waiting to cradle a precious tooth.

Tiny Sailor

Once I get relocated and settled I want to try and find a boutique interested in carrying my work. To that end I'm trying to make up different designs the come to me. Eventually, I see a child's name added as the name of the fairy's ship.

Winged Serpent

A departure from the tooth fairy, I had storing sample vials of perfume in mind when I designed this one. It could be used for any sort of trinket though.

The ouroborus, or serpent swallowing it's own tail, has been used in many cultures as a symbol of the cyclical nature of the universe. It is more typically depicted as a circle. Because of the shape of the box I was working with mine has twisted itself into a symbol for infinity.

The box is actually a very dark green outside and black inside. The snake is surrounded by a bed of bronze and copper glass marbles. I'd like to revisit this design in red and gold.

Somewhere my high school year book contains a picture of "pega-snake" drawn by a friend of mine.

Swan Princess

The image of a chained & crowned swan usually denotes an enchanted princesses in stories.

There are quite a few little details the pictures cannot show. The swan one has a tiny tooth as a pendant on her chain and a minuscule diamond (rhinestone) on her crown. Her feathers and her fairy rider's wings also have an iridescent paint called liquid jewels. The stars are metallic on a very dimensional paper.

Sports Fairies

These little guys are so fun! My husband was wishing he was still expecting a visit from the tooth fairy.

They are also my first commission. Sixteen years after getting my B.F.A. I'm going to try actually making a career out of my art. Humorously enough doing the sort of thing that the university thought wasn't worthwhile. (Not enough social relevance in fairies.)

A big thank you to my friend Leila for the pictures she took. It was a big help and I learned a few things about howto go about it so I may be able to get decent pictures with my own camera.

Comet Rider

I loved the sketch for this little comet rider. She didn't turn out quite like I imagined her though. I think her hair should have been lighter, almost white and her shoes a different color. Maybe some day I'll do another version of her.

She was donated to a silent auction to raise money for my son's school. I'm not sure who has her but I hope she is loved. Her new owner has a surprise in store. When the lights are off the star and the comet's tail glow in the dark.

Where is all began...

After a futile search for a tooth fairy box for my son (very little around with fairy art for boys) I decided to just make what I had envisioned. Here is that first result. When he saw it he was literally speechless.