It's been a while since I've been able to access Myspace (I'm sure I have missed out on so much of what all of you have been up to!) but that's all cleared up now. Finally, I can share what the dragons and I have been up to during the past while. We attended our very first festival -- the Faery Fest in Guelph, Ontario -- and had a great time!

I want to thank Monika of Faebyl Art for making me aware of this delightful festival. Monika illustrates beautiful faeries; please click here to view her artwork or add her as a friend here on Myspace - she's also in my top friends. And she makes the cutest faery, herself!

Here's a few photos from my booth and if you want to see more images of the festival just click here to view a slideshow of some of my favourite moments...









New Faery friends :)
If you're in Southern Ontario next June, come visit us at the Faery Festival!




I hope to catch up with all of you soon and I hope all my fellow Canadians had a great Canada Day on the first!!

Yes, I have finally found some Spring inspiration to get a little dragon-making done (despite the fact that we just had yet another snow storm here - one can dream, right?)
 Meet "Blossom", a shy, but pretty Pixie Dragon who delights in adorning herself with bright, fresh spring flowers. She is the tiniest dragon yet to be found in the grove - not including her tail or pedestal she is under 4" (10cm) high! Her decorative pedestal is actually a usable Trinket Box; please check out the auction link to see more pictures and to find out what tiny treasure is to be found within the box!

So, here’s hoping that the days of Spring and warmer weather are just around the corner...







Click here to view Blossom’s auction!

I’ve been looking forward to sharing some of my new pieces with all of you, but I’m a little behind with my latest dragons. (Life just has a way of getting between an artist and their work sometimes, but hopefully never for too long...)  So, in lieu of new work of my own I wanted to share some amazing work by a couple of very talented, fellow dragon-makers I know!!

You may recall how some of my family members got on the dragon-making bandwagon - well, I thought you might enjoy seeing the final photos of my aunt’s very first dragon! I really enjoy sharing my love of dragons and papier-mache sculpture with others, but when they, in turn, are inspired to start their own creations - that is the best compliment ever! So without further ado please meet ’Stella Bella,’ a delightful dragon with a penchant for playing dress up ;)


















And speaking of passing on the spark of inspiration, one such papier-mache artists who’s work epitomizes the fun, the crazy possibilities - plus the sheer love of this medium - is ’Monster Man’ , Dan Reeder. His original book ’The Simple Screamer’ has inspired many people new or familiar to papier-mache. This book was also instrumental in inspiring some of my early pieces including one of my first dragons. Turns out that Dan now has a new book out, the Dragon Makers Handbook - this is great news for those out there who’ve ever wanted to make their owns dragons! I’m looking forward to getting a copy myself. Below you can see one of Dan’s dragons and a link to his site plus info on purchasing the ’Dragon Makers Handbook.’

(Click the image above to visit Dan’s site!)

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter and is looking forward to the spring weather - I know I certainly am!!

Updated only because I've made a change to my sculpture mid-auction! As you can see in the first pic below I've changed the previous key-like ornamentation to an old-fashioned crank (decorative). Thought that would be a tad more authentic! And I've updated the title that Chandra so cleverly bestowed upon him :)

You may recognize this little guy - only he was nekkid the last time you saw him!

Now he's much more presentable 
And he's up for auction! (link below)










Click HERE to view this current auction on eBay!
There's more pics to be seen there as well :)

Hope everyone brought in the New Year in their favourite way! Mine was spent with quiet, reflective moments and in the company of family :)





And the start of my 2008 has been filled with some pretty intense dragon-making sessions...

It seems some relatives of mine have also caught the paper dragon sculpture bug and decided to make their own dragons! See some pics of our dragon-making fun below.











Check back to see these once they're complete with wings and scales!




So after sculpting and pasting our way into the wee hours of the several mornings...I have a couple dragons in the works, both of which should be availabe on eBay in the very near future.





Yes, this is what lives in the china cabinet...who really needs china anyway?





Jack-in-the-Box Jester Dragon




Check back to see these guys all done up in their winged, fully-scaled finery!

I just had to share these images of Boxing Day morning - we woke up to find everything here decorated with a lovely covering of hoarfrost.  I was so lucky to capture these shots before the warm sun melted it all away.




Here's hoping everyone is enjoying a magical holiday season and has many opportunities to savor those moments of pure delight that are so fleeting.










May 2008 be filled to the brim with merriment, contentment and enchantment!

This tiny dragon delights in cavorting and playing in the falling snow. I found him chasing snowflakes, catching them on his nose and gently floating them down to my snow-covered balcony.



The Lilac Frost Pixie Dragon's hide is created from hand-crafted, laminated paper that is made up of many shades of very pale lilac, lavender & dark mauve. His wild and wispy shock of fur along his spine is created from fancy yarn, as are his eyelashes. The Lilac Frost Pixie Dragon is designed to be displayed suspended from a hidden wire hook on his body (comes with invisible twine.) Additional embellishments include metallic bead eyes, a fine dusting of opalescent glitter and one tiny snowflake that he will not part with!




It's been so wonderfully snowy here that it put me in the mood to make a glittery, wintry dragon! And he's avaible on eBay!
Click here to view my auction :)



(Yes - those are REAL snowflakes that landed on his furry self just briefly while I was photographing him!)

Season's Greetings everyone!!

This is not a new sculpture but it has had a little make-over since its original debut. Below are some shots of my Hippocampus/Seahorse all gussied up for a new auction on eBay! Now embellished with an underwater ocean floor theme on its base including: flat round pebbles, craft quality sand, shells, starfish, one sand dollar, glitter, opalescent beads, synthetic 'sea vegetation' and 'seaweed' created by myself from jewelry wire, laminated paper and Pearl-x metallic pigment.

Click here to visit my eBay Auction!











(Before embellishments were added to the base!)



Also I just wanted reveal that I has some work-in-progress Miniature Masquerade Mask Pins that will be up in my Etsy shop before the week's out!

Click here to visit my Etsy shop.
(Stock will be replenished shortly!)




Happy Holidays Everyone!

Everybody please meet the smallest EVER full-bodied dragon to be discovered in the Grove. This Miniature Pot-bellied Dragon fits quite perfectly in the palm of my hand and measures under 7 inches long (3 inches of that is tail!!) and about 5 inches high.













This tiny dragon was spoken for by a wonderful friend of mine here on Myspace. This little one took flight before the first snow fall and has found herself at her new home in Florida!! As I look outside my window at the collecting snow, I'm thinking: lucky girl!!
(Although, I do love the snow; it puts me in a such a festive mood :)

I'd also like to share about a new endeavour that I am taking part in. Griselda Tello or 'awesomeart' in my top friends, created 'Soulmaking Art Dolls' where some like-minded doll artists and sculptors offer to share their inspirations and motivations behind their creative processes. Gris, who makes wonderful Spirit Art Dolls kindly invited me to join and reveal some secrets into dragon making. We are still a work in progress but please feel free to come visit and see what we are up to!
There is a navigation menu on the site (upper left corner) where you can view members' pages. I'm there under 'Mystical Dragons' where I share a little insight on why I love creating dragons (and other creatures), some behind-the-scenes shots of 'A Dragon in the Making' starring my little green Pot-bellied Dragon - plus a step-by-step wing-making tutorial!
Hope you can stop by, just click on the blue links above :)


And during this busy, hectic time of the year hope that you are all taking the time to enjoy the small things in life!

Hi Everyone...
Just wanted to share some Hallowe'en family festivities and my costume for 2007! With all my Myspace friends attending and talking of FaerieCon (I hope to go some day!) I decided this Hallowe'en would be my opportunity to dress as a Fairy...






This lovely dress was made my aunt Ruby, who is an amazing seamstress! And I made the wings from fabric mache.

It's been quite some time (especially being an apartment dweller for the most part) since I've had the fun of carving pumpkins. So it was really nice to get together with family to make jack'o'lanterns and eat roasted pumpkin seeds!!





Mom, Ruby and Tabitha - it's great to be back home so I can spend more time with all of you, thank-you for all your suggestions and help with my costume :)


Hope everyone has a Happy Hallowe'en!!




(Ruby's Happy Ghost Pumpkin)

First of all ~ Happy Fall everybody!
This is my favourite time of year - other than when the lilacs are bloomin' ;)






There's a new species of dragon from the Grove; a Crested Wyvern...

Lately this little guy has been dallying amongst the climbing Nightshade plants in the yard. I think if any creature could develop a taste for noxious Nightshade berries; it would be a Wyvern!











He's a bold little dragon - up for some traveling - and looking to find new adventures. If you like to see more of the rare Crested Wyvern have a look here at my eBay Auction . (The first of it's kind for Lilac Grove!)






Thanks for looking!
And wish me luck ;)

Every once in a while I just need to share with people how wonderful I think the world of Papier Mâché is!

Here are a few links to some amazing art in this medium...




This is the work of talented mask-maker Tanith Hicks - she makes killer masks with a dramatic flair! Tanith is in my top friends, Symphony of Shadows or you may view some more of her work on Cabinodd.com in the artist section under 'Masks.'






The work of Laetitia Miéral is simply magical; straight out of a fairy tale! Here's a link to her site: Merveilles en Papier.

This is the work of Andrew Vaccari. If you'd like to see more of his helmets and other unique creations check out his website.  And yes, those are papier-mâché coffins on his site!!







I just found this Japanese artist's lovely work today!  These are absolutely charming washi paper sculptures by Kyoko Okubo.







And for something really fun, have a look-see at  Stephen Hansen's  witty and comical sculptures!








Did you know that not only is papier-mache an underestimated medium but it can also be very practical and educational? Here's a link to the National Museum of American History's varied collection of Papier Mâché anatomical models.



Well, that's it for my papier mâché show-and-tell...

Til the next time anyway :)

...That's what my weekend was filled with! Plus, wonderful food, friendly people and beautiful vistas :)

I just got back from having a great time in Quebec City. At the risk of sounding like a travel book, I have to say this city really does have such variety and charm to offer visitors!

We did not stay in the city itself, but in a neighbouring city (across the seaway), Levi, Quebec. This turned out to be not only kinder to the pocket book but very fortuitous since the best route between cities is to take the ferry across the river. This way, my first clear view of the city was by boat on St. Lawrence River - the way it was initially meant to be viewed when it was first built. Quebec City was founded in 1608 and is one of the oldest European settlements in North America.








You can see how well the 18th century architecture has been preserved here in the Lower Town of Old Quebec (lower right) and the Upper Town cityscape is dominated by the Château Frontenac (very beautiful, classy - and expensive, mind you - hotel in the heart of the city.)






A view from the fortified walls that still surround the entire city.





Art of all kinds; original sculpture, prints, paintings, photography and jewelry abound in this city.





Many lovely shops, cafes and pubs to be found too!





One of the highlights (for me) was a visit to the atelier (workshop/gallery) of skillful mask-maker and sculptor, Guy Levesque. He makes beautiful leather masks and has done work for the Cirque du Soleil.










Unfortunately, he was not home this day, but it was still wonderful to see his gallery and workshop area firsthand.





To see more of Guy's work visit his website: www.guylevesque.com






And the biggest highlight for me was the chance to take in the dragon exhibition at the Musée de la civilisation called, Dragons; Between Science and Fiction



























It was a wonderful exhibit filled with bits about dragons and how they've woven their way into the human psyche, different cultures, history, religion, mythology, literature, illustration and art.







I had such a lovely time - if you ever get the chance to visit this amazing Canadian city, do so! And bring good walking shoes, because it's a hilly, winding way through the city with many, many delights and discoveries. (There I go sounding like a travel guide again, but I can't help myself!)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!