Remember, remember...

Today is the 5th of November, and for those in the UK (and for our household here in the States) it is Guy Fawkes Day, or "Bonfire Night". It is also the anniversary of my Mother's death. As you can imagine, that means this day is a mix of happy and sad. Happy memories of spending Bonfire Nights with family in the UK, and sad memories of losing my Mother.

However, this is also an opportunity to remember the happy times while my Mother was still alive. The silly things, the infuriating things, and such memories that come with a lifetime of someone in your life who raised you, taught you, whom you depended upon, and who depended upon you. I've recently been reading a book called "The Meme Machine", and it occurred to me that I have acquired a few "Mom Memes". Mainly phrases that she used that have now become a part of our vocabulary, because of their amusing nature (sometimes intended, sometimes unintended). There are many, but here are a few of our favourites:

"Helleuwwww" - this is a bit of an exaggeration. Mom, being a southerner, had a bit of a southern drawl, and in particular, this seemed to have really come out in the form of a drawn out 'Hello' when answering the phone. My husband first mentioned it, as it was particularly noticeable to him, having come from England and having a 'different' dialect himself.

"Whadjaget?" - This phrase accompanied the arrival of mail for me...especially if it was a package. Graham once suggested sending me a "naughty" gift in the mail - I begged him not to, or to at least send it by way of a friend so I wouldn't have to do the show and tell. This phrase has haunted me since childhood - any time I was the recipient of a gift, whether Mom knew what it was or not, I was confronted with "whadjaget?" On Christmas mornings, as I was crawling under the tree to see what Father Christmas had left, I was serenaded with "whadjaget?" When it was time to look in the stocking (which, no matter how many times I told Santa that I didn't like walnuts ALWAYS contained a handful of unshelled walnuts), its being handed to me was accompanied by "whadjaget?"

"Floor it!" and "Goooooooo!" - Whenever Mom was a passenger in the car, and the light changed, one of those two phrases inevitably passed her lips. Less frequently, but no less passionately, "blow 'em off the road" was uttered if we found ourselves driving behind someone moving slower than Mom thought they should be.

Those are our favourites, and we say them to each other often when the situation permits, in fond remembrance of my Mother. So, although she's in my thoughts especially today, she always comes to mind when an occasion arises to use one of her 'Nancyisms'.

Tonight, we shall pour a glass of wine and say a toast to her in remembrance. We haven't any fireworks for celebrating Bonfire Night, but maybe we'll pop off a few of our favourite "Nancyisms" and allow them to spark the memories.

Steampunk Goodness!

Great Steampunky things are to be had this week. I shall tell you of some of them.

Firstly, Daniel Proulx, maker of outstanding jewellery, has created a video to tell the story of his work. It's lovely, and spooky, much like his jewellery (which can be purchased on Etsy)



Nextly, friend Brigid has updated her progress on the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Diptych - do swing by and have a look!

Lastly - if you are a fan of Steampunk, why haven't you ordered your I <3 Steampunk shirt yet?! Whatever are you waiting for?

Pardon? Oh, me? What am I up to? Well, I'm currently working on a Samhain/Hallowe'en painting (preview below), and have ideas for another (which I hope to find time to actually create before next month). Yes, the full colour Mistress of the Key is coming soon, and since you asked so nicely, yes, I will be offering the sepia-toned version as prints, too. There is an inked version available to license for tattoos at Enchanted Tattoo, and if you have it inked on you - I wanna see! :)

3vznq6isgr

Outer Alliance Pride Day

As a member of the Outer Alliance, I advocate for queer speculative fiction and those who create, publish and support it, whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity. I make sure this is reflected in my actions and my work.


This is an artwork in progress in support of The Outer Alliance on its inaugural Pride Day, and in support of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, and Transgender rights in general:

I haz a tattoo

Yesterday was the Solstice and since my friend Wendy was appearing at the Greensboro Solstice Celebration I toddled along and got myself a tattoo. A henna one, that is. Wendy made me a lovely fae creature to wear for a couple of weeks and glittered it up for me:


When I scraped the paste off, it was a very light pumpkin orange, almost too light to make out, but henna darkens over time. Here is how it looked this morning:


I have been working on the Mistress of the Key some more - how about another progress shot? The blobs at the top are my palette for her hair colour:


I have since begun working on the flowers in her hair, so will hopefully finish her this week. Yes, I know a web site update is due - I'm on it! :P

Tiling and Art!

Just a quickie (oo-er!)

I got a screenshot of 'Mistress of the Key', currently in painting progress in Painter X:



And we've been working at tiling the en suite:



Yes, that is a bog roll in the upper left corner - we've been using it to wipe up mortar spillage. Hubby says I should have a new toilet by Labour Day! W00t, innit! :P

Finished drawing and other rambles

In case you hadn't noticed, Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer are dating. I first went 'hmmmmmmmmm' when I noticed them sharing a glass of wine during last autumn's Party on the Internet at Neil's place, but was in no doubt after seeing this photo by Kyle Freaking Cassidy last week on Neil's blog:



I mean, really. LOOK at that face - it's all right there! One of my favourite authors dating one of my favourite singer/songwriters. Good things will (and some have already) come of this.

I finished the pencil art I was working on. This is "Mistress of the Key", unless someone suggests a better name for her:

I am currently playing around painting her in Painter, so there will be this original graphite version as well as a colour version. Another sketch is in progress and will probably be rendered in watercolour:

No name for her yet, although I have some ideas.

I currently have no toilet. In my en suite, that is. Luckily, our house has 2 1/2 baths, so I'm not completely without recourse to toilet facilities. We discovered, a few days before going on holiday (photos of that event will be forthcoming), that we had a leak. About 6" of drywall above the floor had to be removed and replaced, and the linoleum was pretty shot as well. So, my husband removed the bog, tore up the lino, sanded the floor, and we are about to re-do that bathroom. I kinda wanted real tile anyway, so now's our chance.

I had to catch up all my season-ender shows online since we were in the UK when they aired, and watching very little telly. Of Lost, I have this to say: Dude! WTF?!!!!1111oneoneoneone!!!eleventyaarkvark

Back and working

Back from the UK and had a lovely time visiting with family. We took lots of photos, and I shall post some next week sometime - I've still got to download and sort them.

In the meanwhilst, I posted a sketch of the new work in progress in my last entry, and I've been working more on it this week, so I'm posting an update of the work:

First, this is further progress after a chat session with some stellar artist acquaintances where the ladies shared some critique and ideas for making it a better piece.


Here is the piece in it's current state. I think all that's left is to finish the border, and do some touch-ups if needed.


Prints will be available, and there may be a coloured version as well at some point.

Went to see the new Star Trek film on Friday and quite liked it. VERY action-packed, though - almost too much so. Hubby and I have decided that we may need to see it a second time. :P

Happy Memorial Day - don't forget to take some time out to think of those in the armed forces who gave their lives in battle, and send out some positive vibes to those who are still in harm's way.