what is on my desk!

Like any other work that I do, I have lots of materials that I use when I am creating. When I first started to paint with watercolors , I used the very inexpensive watercolors. There were few reasons for that: One was for the fact that I was not sure what was the difference from paint cakes and paint in tubes, and the other was -price.
I guess I did learn that we get what we pay for it . I will make a confession and tell you that only *very * recently that I finally spent the time, in learning about the difference, and the money... should I say ..LOTS(!) and bought a hand full of paints.
I bought some very fine artists color - Winsor & Newton series 3 and 4 and some Grumbacher as well.
Wow! what a difference. I am having so much fun with these new paints. i also bought some iridescent watercolor paint and they are beautiful for details too.
I then decided that I need to make a color chart. I have made couple but as much as they are helpful to me, I realise that I truly should make more for reference. the concept is one that I knew from glazing pottery as I find very helpful and I still don't understand why I didn't do this before.

Next are my watercolor pencils. LOVE them! Of course I use brushes too. I have lots of them, as a matter of fact, my birthday is next month and my children knows that this is my number one item in their list of present for me!:-)

I use plastic pallets. I don't care for porcelain. It works well for me and is washable.




BUT my favorite one is my handmade pallet from a acrylic board that I stop my husband from throwing in the garbage. I use this as a portable table specially when I want to paint outside by the pond or sitting any where under a tree or by the pastures. I have a place for my water cup in which was a special Christmas gift from a dear friend that is 86 years old.*grin*


On the bottom left of the picture above you cab see a circle and it was made to fit her cup. ( forgot the place in when took the picture, dahhh)


I love this Because is unique and attach the paper so tight avoiding the curliness when its wet. also all the paint is near and so the water--- perfect!*grin*





Next to my work is normally my models.... oh am I blessed?!!!* big smiles*


My children are focus in my life and art. when I draw I use LOTS of old pictures of when they were toddlers , as I love the details of the natural gestures specially fingers and toes but faces... faces are very important too.

I like to draw a little older children too . My sweet Becca is often called to pose for me. As you see I took 3 pictures of her and choose one. I want to make a faerie under a mushroom in a raining day.





I doddle my first idea and I like it. I use a very fine mechanical pencil and draw straight into the watercolor paper. If one day I buy a good light box, I will then work on my sketches but for now as I don't have one, I work so light on the watercolor paper that when I erase my mistakes I don't ruin the paper. If I try to copy eye to eye from my sketch I always end up loosing something like an expression.. and I hate that. I will then start my project already not liking it sigh so a while ago i decide to only sketch the idea , like the one above and then work on my lines and final drawing direct on the WC paper.ugh! I hope I made sense with my broken English!






I spent a good time thinking and thinking while I was feeding the chickens. I then walked thought the pastures back home ( my barns where the chickens lives is in the other side of the pastures) I got back to my picture and prayed . I prayed as I was walking too. I always ask God to work thought my hands and to show me what to do and to help me improve.





I then felt ready and start drawing. to my completely surprise , my little faerie became more like a princess. I start out with a crown but later I removed because the children told me that she look like Thumbelina. The large frog was drawn appears in my mind . I made him into a "prince to be".

I the background also start to come to me... this is when I get excited. I have a vision!




I see that my pictures are not good. I was not checking the light source when I took them and some were taking at mid night anyways.

I called Becca to see and she made a "face"- she hates frogs... in all animals , she is scare of them!

I then promised her that I would make him very lovely and not freighting at all!*grin*

ps. clicking on each picture , will enlarge it and you can view it better!

I will post my finished piece next time!*grin*

The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas

By Patricia Cabrera

It was Christmas Eve, the most lovely day of the year.

In a farm house , up a stubby hill and around the bend of a glassy lake, there lived a little girl named Isabella and her family. They were simple folk, and Christmas was the time of the year that brought forth great expectations from the children. Much effort was involved in making this the time of year that could be remembered and cherished in years to come.

On Christmas Eves past ,Isabella would try to stay awake in order to glimpse a sight St. Nicholas, but never was she able to…

Isabella had once been told by her schoolmates that St. Nicholas was not real. This news distressed young Isabella greatly.

This Christmas Eve was better and more special than any other Christmastide past, young Isabella told her family. In order to be able to stay awake through the wee hours of early morning, Isabella declared that she would take a very long nap.

Her older brother Andrew was listening intently to Isabella. He remembered the years when Isabella cried because she would awaken in the morning and, though she saw her presents , was sad because she had once again missed St. Nicholas’ visit.

Isabella pulled her litter sister Juliana aside and eagerly shared the news with her: “ Tonight I will stay up, Ju, you wait and see. I will not fall asleep until I see St. Nicholas!” And with a grin on her face , Isabella hopped to the kitchen to help her momma wash the supper plates.

Isabella hopped to the family sitting room and kissed her momma and papa’s hands good night, asking for their blessings. “ Blessing ,Pa? asked Isabella sweetly. “God bless you my darling” , said her papa. Then Andrew helped her to move the small sofa near the fireplace where she plan to sit and wait.

Isabella’s Christmas tree was a beautiful and everyone enjoyed , but it was the tradition of the family’s for each member to set their slippers at the end of their beds near the foot boards. St. Nicholas would then know which shoes belonged to whom and there he would leave their presents.

Isabella set her pair of newly washed slippers and looked at the fire brewing in the hearth and thought to herself, “I am not tired…. I am not tired at all.”

The little girl kept repeating the same words over and over and soon fell into a deep, sweet slumber.

It was still dark when Isabella jumped up feeling a cold sensation on her stomach. She looked to see if there were any presents where she had placed her slippers, and with dismay noticed two wrapped gifts. One large and one small.

All of the sudden, Isabella heard a loud noise from the kitchen and she yelped in surprise

Andrew came running from the kitchen in a hurried pace and asked Isabella, “You did see him, didn’t you?” Isabella wished she could say yes but she murmured with a sad face, “No, perhaps he is not real after all.”Her big brother grinned and replied, “Oh, don’t be silly ,Isabella. Of course he is real. Do you remember few minutes ago when you heard the loud noise? That was St. Nicholas leaving… I saw him.” Isabella’s face lit up. Juliana, who had walked in just a few minutes before with her eyes half shut, held up her teddy bear blanket in an offering , so that Isabella could dry her tears. “Did you REALLY see him?” asked Juliana anxiously to Andrew. He quickly hurried, “Yes, and he told me to tell you that next year he will try to meet you”.

Normally, these three children would run and open their presents as soon as morning came, but it was still early , and the only source of light was a little glow in the fireplace. All three children snuggled on the sofa and happily waited for the morning sun. This is a merry Christmas, indeed, dreamt Isabella, and in the near distance, a faint tinkling of bells could be heard above the wind.

May you have a blessed Christmas!! *grin*

Fairytale Pottery

Okay, It is finally here!!! I will confess to you that I have been *dreaming* to get these done but like anything else for the first time....LOTS of errors until I was able to get it right!

I never thought that apply a decal to a surface would be so hard. My first pieces were no good because I had air bubbles trapped even though I could not see them. It was frustrating to see perfect teapots with the decal missing here and there.

Good news is that these are some of my best results. The first picture shows my favorite set. It is a "Tea for One" ... grin... just the perfect special piece for a quite tea time.

As you can see , they are listed at my etsy store.

I have few other pieces ready and when I have a chance I will list them there.
Thank you for your visit and of course, your comment *ALWAYS* makes me smile!

ps. You can click on picture to view enlarged.

Fairytale Pottery

Ohhh... I am so excited about this!!!! last year I started trying out to transfer image to pottery in way that it would be permanently and maintain the dishwasher/microwave/oven safe.

I did several try outs and if you look at me early posts you will see that I was not very happy with my first results .

The whole process require testing because glazes and surfaces varies a lot ( amount of silica etc...) but I finally figure out and i absolutely LOVE the results!!!

I made several pieces and also listed some on my new little etsy store. Visit me there , if you like to buy some.
I will be making , as time allows me ,more pieces and will list some more there.
I love the font .... it is like a child's writing.*grin*

My wordings are :

* one saxy mouse *
* a musician mouse in the house *
* simple pleasures *
* made from scratch *

A book .... a dream on hold....

Once upon a time, in a far-off patch of woods, near the small village of Oakton, there lived a very kind goat. Every autumn he won first place at the Red Oak Festival with his honey-and-acorn pies.Before each Festival, he would make his important journey to visit the friendly honeybees on the other side of the village to gather honey and acorns for his pies. Long ago, the honeybees had promised Mr. Goat that he could keep all of their extra honey, but only if every year he would plant some clover for them. So, Mr. Goat kept his word and every spring he planted clover. For this, the bees were very grateful.

One morning, as he was on his way to the creek with two empty gourds on his shoulders, he bumped into Mrs. Squirrel and her little mouse helpers." Good morning, Mr. Goat," she said, "I know you usually come to pick up the acorns at my burrow, but I have a tea party to attend, so I decided to bring them to you, with the aid of my little friends.""That was most thoughtful of you, Mrs. Squirrel. I shall therefore not detain you any longer." Mr. Goat then went on his way.

As he continued through the woods, Mr. Goat encountered Mrs. Opossum and her two children, out taking a little walk. She was busy holding her baby in her arms while her other child followed behind her, skipping a rope ."How glad I am to see you, Mr. Goat," exclaimed Mrs. Opossum. "I will be bringing some newly threshed wheat for your pies to your home tomorrow.""Oh, thank you Mrs. Opossum; but please, there's no need to rush, the Festival is still a whole week away," he answered considerately."Well, nevertheless, I will try to come by tomorrow."Then Mrs. Opossum waved and off she went down the forest lane.

Mr. Goat had just reached the bank of the creek when he heard two familiar voices croaking a duet in the water. He turned around to see his friends, the tree frogs, practicing their song for the upcoming Festival."My, what a lovely melody," Mr. Goat remarked. "Are you the only tree frogs participating this year, or will your entire clan perform? You did such a nice job last year!" The oldest of the frogs blushed slightly."It will be just my sister and I, this time." Smiling, Mr. Goat answered, "Well, keep up the good work," then turned and crossed the creek.

*************

Here are few pages of my book......

For almost five years now I have been working in and out on illustrating my first book using wool as my main palette colors. You have no idea how many forms of illustrations I have done for my story and how I change for one to another.... I have about 4 different mediums done by far and some I had other artist helping me but at the end I decided to do the entire book using the wool ( needle felted flat ) to depict my story.

Almost 2 years ago , I start working with mold making and thinking about making porcelain dolls. I had to divide my time and thoughts plus the marionette theatre was at full speed.

Crazy, Crazy but fun , fun. life is good ,no? *grin*

Well, I finished the book and got all my prices to have it printed in large quantity. I started then visiting local schools and see how they would respond if I would come to do author visitation and to my delighted surprise , most of schools were eager to have me and also the theatre.

One thing that I learned was that I would had to devote a LOT of time going here and there , school to school and all of the sudden it hit me. I realized that I am not ready to be way from my home, farm and children ( oh yes, my husband too,grin) in order to present/sell the book. I do want to do this ,but not *now*.

I am engaged -big time- with patitadolls and that it self plus the Marionette Theatre
is all I can handle right now . The book will have to wait few more years... meanwhile , I will continue read to my children .

One Saxy Mouse!

Among my favorite things to do, it is to turn pots. I learned to turn pots about 5 years ago. I usually turn during the Autumn season . There is something about that time that makes me feel happy. I can go to my shop at any cool evening , light up a small fire on my wood stove, place a tea pot with water and wait for my favorite tea, while I get things ready for the turning. I like to listen to Christmas music too... I think is because there is a strong scent that comes from my apple trees and it reminds me of my own farm back in Brasil and because is during this time that I make my gifts to family and friends.
Most of my children enjoy to do pottery too but I think my youngest is the one that never leaves me side.*grin*
I have not done any crockery for about a year and a half . I am always very busy with the marionettes and now with my porcelain BJD that it did not allow me to get the time aside to do the pots; however this is the first year in 4 years that I was able to finish school with the children in June. Time seems to be in my favor now. My days are so wonderful and much relaxing. I so enjoy to be with my children , tending for the garden, weeding my flower beds, baking whole wheat bread for my family, making cheese from Hershey's milk and so much more.
Kate and I go for long walks and during that time we talk about the marionettes, future plays , her music and we laugh and enjoy the amazing nature that our Lord has so graciously blessed us with it.*grin*
It is during late afternoon and after milking that I get to work on my art . It is never work , it is always an exciting thing to do and I feel so blessed to be able to create as much as I do.
Just recently I start drawing. Fairytale is what is in my heart. I think my eyes are my best tool. As I get older , I think my work improves because there is no urgency feeling like i used to feel when I was younger. I am enjoying each and every moment...*smiles*
I started drawing this little mouse one day and the idea of have him on a thread spool was an immediately thought , but it was my new dear friend Anita, that suggested me ( without have seen the mouse) that I would give him a crown. Anita has a lovely blog called castles crowns cottages and I hope you will visit her as well.


I loved the idea !I went mad hunting for a picture of a crown. well, I stopped for a moment to think and found the *perfect* crown as a model - Anita's blog picture !*smiles*

I loved , loved him so much that I decided to give him more attention....

I am not sure which one I like better ...perhaps the sepia....

I was already working on few new crockery doing several tests to permanently fire an image to the pot. That means , firing an extra firing so the image wouldn't ever fade and still be dishwasher, oven safe.

I did a full kiln of pots and experiment with different glazes , some new ones and others familiars ones. The stoneware I used was little more darker than I expected but the results are definitely great; however I will use a white stoneware next time so the image can show up better.

I am looking forward to make more cups, plates bowls and have my *One saxy mouse* in it! *grin*

Another thing that I did was the sentences. It was fired the same way as the image.

Here you can see some other things that I did. This picture was taken on my kitchen table and the light is not a true light so the colors are not favoring the real thing.

I hope you enjoyed visiting me today . Would you care for some tea?*grin*

Folk Story Tail

About three years ago , I made a mouse and some babies and gave as a gift. Recently I was request as commission work to make them once again.

They were made from 100% farm sheep's wool but the *rug* and and the book is felted alpaca.

Their tails has wire so one can easily pose it.

Here they are .... Hope you like Cheryl!smiles, Patricia~

Illustrating.....

I thought it was about time for me to share with you a little about the books that I have been working on. This particular illustration is a WIP and here you can see the progress as it comes. This process is done with 2 ideas in mind. One is a flat illustration , in which is done with clean dyed wool and the other is the sculpted characters. This is a new approach to illustrating Children's book and I sure hope that other fiber artists will follow me with the desire to grown in this area. My first book ,One sweet lesson, will be realised on mid-summer. This book was a long process for me mostly because I was *lost* many times without knowing what to do. I am confident that both story and illustrations will warm your heart as it has on mine.