The Angel Project

This is one of the angels we will be creating in the ongoing online class
which extends from now through December. Our mission is to place as many angels on this earth as possible.

Halloween

I have to admit that I like Halloween less and less all the time. Yes, I am one of those Grinches that turns out all the lights in the front part of the house, retreats to the back and reads a good book.

Even when my children were little....though I hid my dislike of Halloween from them, and even made them (I thought) fabulous costumes.....I detested the shopping bags full of candy. What's to like about hyper kids and dental caries?:-(

These days my mind is on angels, not the angels of the Bible, but angels as symbols for Peace, Love, and Protection.

Whether you prefer Halloween ghouls to angels is a personal matter.....What really counts, I think, is that we do whatever we do in joy.

More About Icons

In his latest newsletter, The Painter's Keys, Robert Genn writes "In earlier times there was a shortage of visual media. The illustration of a religious figure served to give a living presence to a deity or a holy one. To this day, particularly in remote villages, people have deep respect for this art and its creators, both dead and alive. Good harvests, happy occasions, or divine interventions still deserve an icon."

I hope Robert will write about the importance of angel art next!:-)

Icon Dolls

These gorgeous dolls were all created in my Icon Doll class.


















Creedite, Light of Angelic Realm,
by Michelle Vanshell, New York
+



















Sue Kurowski's of Ohio, Nocturne




















Autumn by Dorothy Kansteiner, Missouri




















This Harvest Icon is by Anne Davis, California




















Our Lady of Beauty by Robinsunne, Maine





















Created by Susan Hackbarth, Wisconsin, this doll's name is Remember...in honor
of Vietnam veterans.


















This is Malina y El Cacahuate by Georgina Diaz, Texas

Georgina said it's an image only a mother could love, but I think
she is mistaken about that.























This is Our Lady of Hope for a Cure by Ann Hoke, Oregon

























This is Esther, Star Goddess, by Gena Lumbroso of France

The Angel Project

Much more than a class!

Yes, I will be teaching the making of angels in paper, fabric, and mixed media. This online class will take a leisurely pace,
beginning Nov. 1 and ending Dec. 30. We will be discussing intent, and perhaps also healing stones. The paper angels will be appropriate for gift tags, greeting cards, or tree ornaments. The 3-dimensional angels will make fantastic healing gifts for friends, charity, and yourself.

Who can't use an angel or two? Let's place as many angels as possible on this earth!

This is what you do:

1. Remit $30 via PayPal to MaiLiis@ix.netcom.com

2. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CreativeSparks/ and ask to join. I will approve you immediately on receiving payment.

3. Tell your friends!

Remember, the cost comes out to be 50 cents a day, and you will not only be inspired but be making beautiful and useful gifts.

__._,_.___

Symbols

Butterflies are symbols for transformation. They stand for our awakening from the dominance of the ego to a mature self-awareness.

I have also used them to denote awakening, freedom, and joy.

Day of the Dead

This is a little cigar box shrine to benefit the street kids of Oaxaca. The auction will take place in Prescott, AZ. I sacrificed my prized chewed up map of Oaxaca for this project. Sometimes, nothing but the original will do.

This is what I was doing when the beets in the kitchen created their own art.

Definition of Artist

When do you know that you have truly become an artist? I think those moments come frequently, and all we have to do is pay attention.

I had one of these "Ahah!" moments yesterday when I rushed into the kitchen, alerted by a strange odor and the dinner bell....which, in my case, is an obnoxious screeching smoke alarm. This is what I saw! I didn't think, "oh, what a mess!" Oh, no.....I thought "How beautiful!" and rushed to get my camera. (Can't explain the urgency I felt, because where was the pot going to go?) Who but an artist could appreciate such beautiful color? And, also, how can I reproduce this on paper? I may have to go with metal. Beet juice and fire! Hmm....is the pot cleanable? Is the stove cleanable? How much does it matter?

Green Man

"Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?" Henry Thoreau



This is an ancient pagan symbol, but it can also be found carved on medieval churches as a remnant of more primal beliefs.

He symbolizes the cycle of life.....death and rebirth, and the green sap of life-force.

Celtic Cross

The Celtic Cross combines two powerful symbols, the circle....suggesting infinity or the eternal, and the cross, suggesting the world of physical forms. In ancient times, the symbol may have denoted creativity.



"If you want to understand the Creator, seek to understand created things."
St. Clumbanus (C. 543-615)

Spirals

Like most artists, I am very interested in symbols.
I think even a rudimentary knowledge of symbology, can enrich our artworks, as well as enable us to see the deeper layers of the art of others. What is so fascinating is that many symbols are universal, shared by many cultures across the ages.

The Celts and other ancient peoples are thought to have used spirals as symbols of the sun, source of all life. The spiral is also used to symbolize the progress of the soul.

Icon doll class projects!

This serene mixed media Harvest Icon was created by Anne Davis of California. Note how creatively Anne handled the slightly larger base of the doll.
























This is work is by Gena Lumbroso of France. Exuberant and joyful which is how Gena said she felt while creating these dolls.