Elysian Field Originals

I thought I’d share a new little piece I’ve been working on.   It’s a faerie child wrapped in a maple leaf and asleep in an oak leaf cradle.  The faerie is 3″ long and was sculpted using Kato clay with Genesis heat set oils for added color.  I really prefer this clay now for sculpting as it is very strong and if properly conditioned doesn’t moon at all, and the color when cured is beautiful.

I miss sculpting these miniature fantasy pieces and will add her into my Etsy shop along with more wearable art pieces.

I’m also working on a pair of Nature Spirit earrings for my April giveaway coming up soon. I’ve not done earrings with the faerie faces before so these should be a treat. Add to that they are Birch leaves and very sacred leaves to faerie and pagan culture, and with Beltane coming up will be a wonderful addition to someone’s wardrobe. Here’s a sneak peak of them in progress!

It’s a new year with many new things happening here at Elysian Field Originals.  I took a break from figurative sculpture in 2009 and started a line of wearable art pieces I call Nature Spirits, based on flora and fauna.  I am having so much fun with them and they are traveling all over the globe to new homes, but I miss sculpting those crazy quirky characters you all love.  So this year I will be doing a few sculptures along with my jewelry, and wearable art pieces.

I will also be doing a giveaway each month on my blog , posting some tutorials, and I will…drumroll please…blog more frequently.  It is definitely a habit that I have to learn.  Those who know me, know I am never at a lack of anything to say but writing it down is another story.

The FAE magazine article was a wonderful jumpstart for the new year and new friends and contacts.  If you’ve not seen it you can pick it up on their website or in Borders, Barnes & Nobles, Books A Million, Hastings, & Indigo/Chapter bookstores.

For fun I’ve been creating some whimsical character earrings that are super lightweight and are accented with precious and semi precious gemstones for a bit of pizazz… here’s a peek!

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably…
Never regret anything that made you smile. “

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted to my blog!  Things have been busy here on my end, getting ready for the holidays, sculpting new pieces, and creating some neat jewelry.  Instead of a bunch of posts I created a collage to show a few pieces I’ve recently completed.

I’ll be posting more in a day or so when I finish up a commission and my thumb recuperates!  Nothing like slamming it in a car door and having it rendered useless for a few days to really put you behind the eight ball!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with your loved ones and are having fun getting ready for the holidays!

Love ya.

Yes, I know, dear reader, I am a bad blogger, and as many of my artist friends would say, “Valerie stand in the corner!”

Ok…now that my stint in the corner is over, I’ve trudged back over to my laptop in tutu and combat boots to write to you.  (I am very unorthodox fey you see in dress and deed)

For those of you who are newly come to my art…WELCOME!  For my regular readers and friends, I’m glad to see your lovely shining faces once again.

Things have been crazy busy at Elysian Fields, many new techniques to try out and I’ve been working on stretching the boundaries in my work with polymer clay.  I’m also thrilled that the medium is enjoying new kudos and has begun to be taken more seriously as “fine art”. Many amazing artists have pioneered and paved the way to make it easier for the rest of us to focus on creating, and for that I am truly grateful and inspired.

I also want to give a very special Thank You to Karen Kay, editor of FAE Magazine in the UK, for launching my first exclusive feature as an emerging fantasy artist.  She is a truly amazing lady and I’m looking forward to the day I can fly over to give her a hug in person.  Thank you also to the many emails I’ve received from all of you on my art as well, it really is great to hear from people and connect with you all…it is inspiring and always a welcome surprise when I open my mail.

So, now the seasons are changing and we’re heading into Winter, and that means all ten fingers and toes will be very busy creating new and unusual Nature Spirits, as well as a return to some

of my popular miniature sculpts.  If nothing else that will silence, Silas, my house Brownie, who loves to sit amongst them like he is High King of it all and they his court paying homage.  I don’t dare correct him for fear I’ll lose another necklace to his mini rampages.  In the past if I forget to leave him his milk and honey he wreaks havoc around here and scowls most ferociously at me.  I act duly chastened but really love the scolding he gives me, he sounds like a squirrel chattering away.

That’s it for the moment…I’m busy today finishing up on some new pieces to add to my Etsy shop.  For those unfamiliar with Etsy it is a venue for all things hand made and a neat place to show and sell my art.  Stop in, take a peek around and let me know if I can help you with anything, if I’m busy I’m sure Silas would love to help, although I’d keep a close eye on any sparklies you may be wearing…

Valerie & Silas

Winter’s here and tree spirits are slumbering. Here is a quick peek at a dryad as she sleeps in her Maple leaf.

Nature’s beauty! I am really enjoying using gemstones for healing and well being with my leaf spirits lately, and although this could be worn as a pendant, I have transformed this lovely imprint of a Burr Oak, also called Mossycup Oak, as an ornament. Fashion forward fairies or renn folk could do double duty and use this as a focal pendant worthy of a goddess or fairy queen.

Sculpted using a combination of translucent Kato and pearl clay, I’ve added a layer of antiquing to bring out the detail in the veins and to show depth as well.

The hanger is multiple copper spirals accented with genuine Tiger’s eye and a fire polished czech bead. A piece of lovely hand dyed raw silk ribbon finished with quartz leaves adds a lovely finishing touch!

Hello my friends!  The spring/summer has come and gone and I’ve been a very bad blogger, so forgive me dear readers for my extended absence, but now I am back.

I’ve been busy with family, spending time outdoors,  working on new pieces, and experimenting with polymer clay techniques.  Ah, the sweet joy of success…and of failure too when trying new things.

One thing I’ve thoroughly enjoyed is incorporating precious & semi precious gemstones into my work.  I’ve met a wonderful gal, Shelly, who carries the yummiest gemstones and it takes all  my willpower to stay away from buying everything on her site, Sapphire Gardens. Make sure you stop in and take a peek.

I‘ve had a few days off from work and saw something the other day I haven’t been able to get out of my mind. I was driving my truck (I work part time for a landscaper) back to the yard this past Friday and saw some commotion in the road ahead of me. There in the middle of this two lane busy road was a tiny Yorkshire Terrier running back and forth in the road!! Cringing because I figured at any moment that the poor thing would get squashed on this busy road, I was even more surprised at the number of people pulling over to try and save this wee beast. There had to be at least a dozen different people trying to get the “poor little dog”!

In the midst of all this chaos all I could think about were the times I’ve seen a “human” in trouble on the side of the road or in a public place and my dismay at how many people walked on by and pretended not to see. Something to think about?

Lastly, here are a few new pair of earrings and a pendant I’ve listed in my Etsy shop! Enjoy and thanks for stopping in!

Ever have a moment of drought in your creativity? A moment when no matter what you try to create falls flat? I admit to having plenty of those moments lately, and they usually happen when I stop listening to my muse and try to force a creative idea.

On a walk in the woods near my home last week I happened on some beautiful pieces of “live wood” from a fallen pine, and popped them into my backpack along with an assorted sundry of treasure the forest offered up. Giving thanks for the gifts, I practically skipped home with excitement from the vibes I felt from my visit.

Once home, I did a thorough baking to sanitize the pine then laid them out on my coffee table and sketched out a few ideas… dryads sometimes place gifts of their special wood alongside the pathways of individuals who love trees, Nature and Mother Earth, and who are aware enough to perceive this special gift. They clone themselves into these pieces of wood with the intention to help us while at the same time to acquire the means to see the world without being rooted to the ground.

I decided to honor the spirit of the tree by sculpting an interpretation of a dryad “emerging” from the wood. Dryads are neutral and do not respond to he or she, but I felt that this particular spirit was feminine and sculpted her as such. I do not think she will mind, lol. It’s a work in progress and will post pictures as she nears completion.


I am thinking that this will make a lovely wall hanging piece, what do you think?

Sylvan sprite’s will love to add these to their wardrobe this Spring! A recent foray into the forest produced some gorgeous imprints of Silver Maple leaves from which these luminous earrings were created.
Hand sculpted leaves of Kato clay cured, hand buffed, antiqued, and accented with mica powders. The earring wires are fancy copper and the spiral attached to the leaves are accented with rainbow hued Tourmaline gemstones.
These would make a wonderful gift for someone who loves Nature, Fantasy, or, for faeries and dryads looking to add to their Spring accessories!!
Namaste!

Earrings are 1 1/2″ in length and come in a hand crafted gift box.
Rainbow toumaline enhances creativity, transforms negativity, and promotes loving aspirations to be realized.

Can be found in my FuzzB shop! Thanks for looking and supporting my art.