Cover Art, New Earrings and Other Things

"Ice Field" 2010 Ink and Marker on Illustration Board

9x9"

Can also been seen at my deviantart.

Ice Field is actually an inked piece I've been working on over the course of the winter when I had the time or the inspiration to add more onto it. At some point it managed to get some kind of spot on it and I put it aside for awhile, thinking I'd get back to it when I figured out how to cover up a stain on the cliff wall. I think it flows rather nicely now though. :)

Originally, I was going to color it in as well, but it looks just fine with the colors its got. I tried to highlight a few things subtly, but the orange might stand out a little too much. It's 9x9" square on a nice thick sheet of Strathmore illustration board. Pen, ink, marker. A little left over pencil on some of the cracks, but I think it looks nice that way.

Next time I do a big piece I'll have to remember to take progression shots, so I can maybe do a coloring/inking tutorial.

My beautiful gyroscope earrings from Kitty Violet's Closet arrived today. They're awesomely fun and got a lot of compliments from the people who saw them. Go check out her shop if you haven't already. The owner is friendly and has absolutely beautiful things in stock with very few sales. She really deserves more. :)

Today was a wonderful spring day in the Valley, too! Bright and sunny and just warm enough that you didn't need a jacket. Mom and I went out to look for some galoshes to wear up at Warm Lake while we're gone on Monday and Tuesday, because it may not snow in the Valley anymore but it most certainly has up in the mountains. Because of the beautiful weather I've spent more time planning out the kitchen garden and we got a raspberry bush and a Chardonnay

grape vine (for eating!). What I'd really, really like to find would be a gooseberry bush. My grandmother always had one in her yard in Indiana and she'd make gooseberry pie. I've got her recipe, but it only tastes good with fresh gooseberries.

Other then the berries we'll be planting an herb garden and drying the excess at the end of the season to use for the rest of the year. I'm also planting a bunch of vegetables that can be used for stir-fry so I don't have to run to the store quite so often to pay for overpriced bok choy and napa cabbage. :\

This is probably something no one but me will care about, but oh well. I need to get this out.

There was a long rant here. I started writing this post earlier, but have turned up some new info on my issues with this game account suspension. Apparently it was still linked to the person who had upgraded it for me. All of her accounts also got upgraded, and because of the link to her accounts the game mods are treating it as her account and won't say a word to me. She hasn't heard anything useful either, except for the stock "This account has been suspended by this mod, please contact the mothersite in order to learn why" message. Hopefully more will be explained tomorrow. I know I haven't done anything against the rules, but I can't vouch for her.

Now, I understand why they won't always talk to someone whose account is linked to someone else (after they bought it with fake cash on the site, or had it upgraded) but when both parties involved are saying that an account shouldn't be linked to others and that it really does belong to the person they won't talk to- it's counterproductive. If this is because of something I accidentally did, then I would like to be able to work it out. But the mod in charge of this issue won't even let me get a word in edgewise so to speak. If it's *not* because of something I did, I'd like my account back. End of story. Just because I didn't pay physical cash doesn't mean that I didn't put time and effort into earning the upgrade. And apparently it can't be "unlinked" once it's been suspended. Because it's linked to the person who's been suspended. And the mods won't talk to me about it.

Kind of keeps going around in circles like that. Been doing this round about all day long. One mod says to send in a support ticket and then it gets answered with "Can't tell you, it's not your account". Even when I've explained the whole thing to both mods involved. I'd leave the game, but I've invested a good chunk of money in it and I still have time left on several other upgraded accounts. :\

Free shipping and spring is here

"Volcano Horse" now available as a print in my Etsy shop.

In order to celebrate having found a wonderful local print shop who can print my art professionally on high grade papers for a good fee (I knew about them because I had volunteered to work for some projects they printed historic photos for) I have decided to offer free shipping on anything in my shop! Mention my blog, Twitter or facebook fan page in the notes to seller.

The image at the top of this post is exactly the same one that I used on Etsy, for it's listing ( [here] ) but Etsy apparently hates dark, high detail files for some reason and made it pixilated no matter what I tried to save it as. It's actually quite finely detailed, which the photos on the shop listing failed to capture. :(

New things are in the works! I also have two other digital pieces I hope to be offering soon- another Volcano horse in "flaxen gold cream" color as an 8 x 10" (the Dark Brown is available in 8x8" if desired!) and also a small landscape/scene although that second one might take me a bit to get completely finished. There's also a line of "Bird Scrabble" tiles. They will be sold in word packets or singles. There is a OOAK tiny drawing on each of them depicting a different kind of bird. They will already have eyepins in them and will be ready for use as pendants or charms.

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Now that it is officially spring by the calendar it's time to start planning the kitchen garden! I like to use as many fresh and organic ingredients in my cooking as possible, so every year I figure out what kinds of spices, veggies and fruit are used the most in the kitchen and try to plan accordingly. This year starts out with planting some bok choy and catnip and getting the garden ready for some berry bushes and grape vines.

As it starts warming up, I'll start plating some basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, dill, fennel, onions, garlic and leafy greens. Waiting for the farmers market to buy any tomato plants though. There's a woman there who sells a lot of her own hybrid varieties, and we found one that everyone in the family likes last year. Nice and meaty for slicing or eating whole, but also good for chopping into sauces or salsas.

Hopefully by the time I leave for college next year there will be so many different recipes under my belt that there won't be too much trouble actually making decent meals for myself (and possible roommates...). The only thing that would be even better would be if the hens were still laying eggs as often as they were when they were younger. We get maybe three or four a week from three hens pushing four years old now.

The animal menagerie at our house is loving the spring weather as well. Penny the bloodhound mix was a winter puppy, and this is her first spring, so she's absolutely thrilled that the weather actually stays warmer then freezing. She gallops around the yard with her ears flying every which way a lot.

All three of the cats have taken to sitting in any available window space to watch the birds outside as they nest. They're all indoor cats, but that doesn't really matter to them. They still think they own everything in sight. Old Fedora is a may kitten, and this year she is fifteen so at least some of my paychecks (whenever I manage to find someone who'll hire me. :\ ) will be spent making the house a bit more accessible to her. She's getting a nice fluffy pillow in May where she likes to sit most often.

As far as I can tell the fish are indifferent to all of it.