If Sun thou can'st not be, then be the humble planet...

[merimask]

OMG what a beautiful day!  First of all, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my daughter Charlotte who is 16 today!   16 years ago, right about now (high noon) I gave birth to my one & only girl.  ^_^  Wow...time does fly!  Pictures coming of the birthday celebration (where you get to see her new cute Asian boyfriend; he looks just like anime!  She's cycling through significant others at an alarming rate lately...good for her I say).

Ahem.  Yes!  And!  I LOVE my newest masks!  FireFoxes!

Isn't that the cutest fox mask ever?  I mean, I just can't be modest about it...I love this mask!  Available on Etsy of course.

Because it's a fantasy fox, I used metallic paints too...gold accents on the red fox:


Metallic blue and silver on the blue-gray version:

This one is the original commission.

It started as a special request for a "blue fox" on Etsy and you know...I was feeling SO uninspired.  She said she wanted a fox mask along the same lines as my big StormWolf mask; a fantasy fox.  I came up with the pattern by basically combining the plain fox with the big spiky wolf mask, & the pattern sat for days.  I stared at it, but couldn't "see" the finished mask.  Finally I just bit the bullet & got to work on it over the weekend, & as soon as I started, the design just flowed out of me onto the leather like water; it was so easy.

As an artist I find the BEST way to get yourself "unstopped" creatively is to just get to work anyway.  Sometimes you'll "hit" on a design, whether by instinct or chance, & it'll pull you out of that funk faster than anything.  Maybe that's a good life-lesson; it might not be easy, but just DO it anyway.  Dieting, working out, writing, creating art, building a business...just DO it.  Like the Nike commercial says. 
 
My Dad loved to quote freely from "The Voice Of The Silence"  Finally now I understand what he meant.  He would tell us...
"If Sun thou can'st not be, then be the humble planet. Aye, if thou art debarred from flaming like the noon-day Sun upon the snow-capped mount of purity eternal, then choose, O Neophyte, a humbler course. "
 
And this was his favorite.  He used to say it ALL the time.
"...if thou would'st Nirvana reach, or cast the prize away, let not the fruit of action and inaction be thy motive, thou of dauntless heart."

Dad has been gone for, wow...almost exactly eight years now.  Yet I'm still learning from him.
...

 
I'm on my second cup of coffee!  Time to head out for a bike ride with Kiba.  It's cold as heck but the sun is shining so cheerfully that I simply have to bundle up and go.    ^_^ 
 

Comments

[tashiro.livejournal.com]

Oh my gods, those are beautiful. I'm wishing I had money! Gah!

[tashiro.livejournal.com]

And happy birthday to your daughter. :)

[alexkrycek42.livejournal.com]

Oooo my favourite of the foxes BY FAR!!! Amazingly beautiful in design and coloring!

Happy birthday Char! Looking forward to pictures. Hope she does something fun for herself today. :)

[amandaalon.livejournal.com]

Time flies! I remember coming to Memorial to see you the day after you had Char. I had never seen a c-section baby so soon after delivery and marveled at how round and perfect her head was. I thought she was the most beautiful baby ever--until I had my own of course! (I'm sure you'll allow me my preference!)

I remember someone telling my dad not to worry if I liked alot of boys--that it wasn't time to worry until I fixed on just one!

The masks are wonderful--you keep topping yourself!

[fantasyforever.livejournal.com]

I really liked the blue one I saw on DA, but I actually think I like the brown fox better! He's just gorgeous!! :D

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

Wow! I love the foxes--especially the red-brown with the gold, though really both area amazing. Wow wow wow. Incredible.

Happy Birthday, Char!!!

I am glad to see you happy and inspired again (I knew it would happen, but it's still great to see!) and enjoying our LOVELY weather. Yeah, it's a bit chilly, but I'm just loving the sun, and the red wing blackbirds (don't believe the Robins; they lie. But when you see a Red Wing Blackbird, you know spring is here) and the crocuses.

[sapphirerage.livejournal.com]

Those masks are beautiful! I love both of them but I'm favoring the blue/grey one a little more for some reason...

[tallymark.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, I love the fantasy foxes! Especially the blue/gray one. They are wild!

And that's really good artistic advice. :) I've finally come to realize with things like writing that waiting till I'm in the mystical "creative zone" generally means that nothing ever gets done...but if I suck it up and just write sometimes it will trigger the zone.

The moral of the story is I should stop being lazy. ^_^;

[ren-tigger.livejournal.com]

Yah, I have that perfection problem too when it comes to my wood stuff, so it is good my S.O. has started to clamp down and make me finish stuff, and go figure, it sales. :)

Meanwhile, you are so ramping the temptations to add a mask to the wall. The only problems are budget just got shot due to some pricey house repairs, and... you have WAY too many good items to choose from. I suspect I will have made a decision before the year is out.

The foxes look great!!

[drriftwood.livejournal.com]

Oh- Wish Char from me!!!..will be back with more comments..

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Meri, guess what? The leaves arrived! They came today at the same time as that 'Fortuna' necklace that is supposed to be laden with good luck. Maybe the necklace found the package and drew it along? :)

Cool, I haven't had ginkgo leaves before! I can't make anything with them immediately (probably) because I am in the early stages of a huuuuge project for Skip Beat...I am on a very small scanslation team doing the entire SB Fanbook...and it's taking every bit of energy I have right now. As soon as I can though I'll make something and take a pic and put it in my journal. :)