Semper Fi

Something a little different than my usual. This was commissioned as a gift for a retired marine.

The black lacquer finish is so shiny that you see some odd reflections from the light fixture in my office. There is a dark red shadow around the outside of the crest that barely registers unless you see it in person.

The paper inside is a patchwork of marine slogans. My husband, who is also ex-military, loved it so hopefully the recipient will too.

Gilded Autumn

This little American beauty is based on Charles Dana Gibson's illustrations. Her auburn hair has metallic copper highlights swirled into her Gibson style pompadour. Her wings are bases on the Queen butterfly and are glazed in the same metallic copper. A tiny rhinestone glitters from the band around her neck.

Her companion is based on a cat belonging to the recipient but I have to admit that his facial expression reminds me more of my furry little helper, Angus, who is a brown tabby instead of a golden Bengal. In the foreground of their resting place are cut paper leaves that echoes the autumnal paper inside.

The box's sides are sponged with layers of copper and several metallic golds then wrapped with real black lace accented with more rhinestones.





In other news - This is the first batch of pictures from my new camera. I can already see some improvement in detail and I'm sure as I figure out the ins and outs of how it works I'll be able to offer better images of my work for your viewing.

The Sailing Moon

This indigo haired mermaid has come up to the surface to get a better view of what appears to be the silvery crescent moon in her world, only to find a shimmering fairy sailboat with metallic silver sides and a mast made of a giant black narwhale horn.

Much of this box is pearlized when you see it in person. The sandy sides are layered with pearl and both the tiny boat and the mermaid's flesh and scales are accented in pearl. Her hair and the inside of the box are a deep indigo created with layers of midnight blue and royal purple. In her hair it is swirled with a metallic black.

My inspirations for this were my favorite fairy tale, The Little Mermaid (the old sad version), a print of John William Waterhouse's Miranda that hangs in my bedroom and the eventual recipient's love of sailing. She was originally intended to be a redhead like Miranda but at the last second she changed my mind.

Keep your eyes peeled for a very different companion piece to this one:)

Fairy Faces

As a little update I went through and added detail pictures of the faces of most of the fairies. A few were not crisp enough to see but most turned out better than I expected. It was a fun walk down memory lane for me to see some of those tiny faces in detail. I also got to get a real appreciation for how much more sophisticated the more recent faces are.

Be sure to look back and get a fresh view of some of your favorites!

Also of note - Mermaid's Treasure, Tiny Sailor and Winged Serpent were pieces I was inspired to do that do not have owners. If you are interested in purchasing one of them please send me an e-mail.

Damsel Fairy

This little lady is going to house a long treasured collection of baby teeth for giving back to a grown daughter. I think that is such a special idea. At some point I need to make a second tooth fairy box for my son to hold the teeth after his fairy takes them away.

The day I did her sketch I saw a bunch of electric blue damselflies darting around my garden. They were my inspiration for this windblown little fairy with her transparent wings.

Here face turned out particularly lovely IMO. I'm not sure why I haven't tried to include a detail of the faces before but here she is up close.

Harvest Fairy

This fairy was a gift from mother to daughter. It started with the idea that its future owner liked retro colors. My original plan was to mix the harvest golds, oranges and avocado greens with a neoclassical design with the fairy in the center encircled by butterflies.

I'm sure in part because I was watching HBO's ROME at the time I was working on her she started to take on the form or a tiny Roman harvest goddess with her headdress of grain and draped gown embellished with drops of gold. Some stronger reds found there way into her color palette as well.

Her wings are patterned after the Field Crescent butterfly.





Fairy Day Question - What is the name of your favorite fairy queen (from stories, legends, google...wherever)? Tell me her name and something about her.

White Octopus

This little box was made for a gift exchange I did with a group of friends in August. The box has a small glass fronted shadow box on top that contains a shell from Sanibel Island and crystal glass sand.

The octopus is one my favorite creatures. I did this one in white so he would really stand out from the tropical summer colors. One of my favorite images from a book called Archipelago is of a white octopus. Whenever I look at that picture I'm put in mind of a fairy creature of the sea.

It doesn't come through in the picture but the octopus' skin has an overlay of pearlescent glimmers.