Wyrdhaven Studio Notes - June 2009

It's June at Wyrdhaven Studio and the new garden is in, complete with birdbath which is being used by very stealthy (or possibly invisible) birds. The water has gone down and there's fluff floating, but we have yet to see our first bird in the birdbath.

Geek Update
In general news, my computer had a virus, and Norton eventually got it, but it took more than one try. My geek friend Ben went through everything, and found a couple of oddly behaving programs and deleted them, so it shouldn't be back any time soon. So that's why not much got posted this month in the blog.

Art Update
Creatively, my juices all flowed into planting the new flowers, now I'm eager to get some new work done in time for CONvergence. Speaking of which, they are looking at having a more formal "Artist Alley" so I'm not sure of the status of my demonstrations at this point. It was going to be a free-form event before, now they are talking about reserved time slots etc. I'll post any new news in the July edition of Wyrdhaven Studio Notes.

Upcoming Shows
This Friday at Eye of Horus Metaphysical, I plan on attending the Faeries Gone Wild book release party. I'm not involved with the book or the event, I'm a fan just like everyone else at this event. Except for the fact that three of my original paintings are hanging in the gallery there at this time. This event is not for children, the book has very adult themes, so do not bring your child or teenager to this event.

June 5th (Friday) 7-8:30pm

• Location: Eye of Horus Metaphysical, 2717 Lyndale Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55408
• 612-872-1292

Four sensuous stories of pixies, stardust, moonbeams, and fae lust . . .

Lois Greiman, Michele Hauf and Leandra Logan, contributors to “Faeries Gone Wild” will be in the house, schmoozing, signing books and generally exciting the Faeries. These are Faeries for Grown ups .

Featured Fantasy Gifts for June

This Fairy & Fantasy Art gift collection is officially licensed with Ellen Million Graphics, one of the world's most trusted licensors of fantasy art. She's really cool, not only because she lives in Alaska, but because she has been a great resource for emerging artists in the field. Check out the collection:

	A Gift Available as: totes, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, buttons, unisex t-shirts, cap-sleeved ladies shirts - CLEARANCE, babydoll shirts
	A Merry Meeting Available as: mousepads, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, button
	Ebony Available as: mousepads, totes, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, buttons, unisex t-shirts, cap-sleeved ladies shirts - CLEARANCE, babydoll shirts
	Ella Available as: mousepads, totes, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, buttons, unisex t-shirts, cap-sleeved ladies shirts - CLEARANCE, babydoll shirts
	Leaf Walker Available as: mousepads, totes, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, buttons, unisex t-shirts, cap-sleeved ladies shirts - CLEARANCE, babydoll shirt
	Lilith Available as: mousepads, totes, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, buttons, unisex t-shirts, cap-sleeved ladies shirts - CLEARANCE, babydoll shirts
	Lira Available as: mousepads, totes, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, buttons, unisex t-shirts, cap-sleeved ladies shirts - CLEARANCE, babydoll shirts
	Queen's Knight Available as: mousepads, totes, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, buttons, unisex t-shirts, cap-sleeved ladies shirts - CLEARANCE, babydoll shirts
	Tara Available as: mousepads, cards, magnets, bookmarks, stickers, keychains, buttons

That's all that I have for you in this edition of the newsletter. Have a wonderful month and maybe I'll see you this Friday for Faeries Gone Wild!

CafePress is Confused

I came home from watching a very cool movie on Earth Day, Rivers and Tides, to browse through my email and find an email from Cafe Press, where I have my fantasy art for sale on t-shirts, mugs, mousepads etc. It was a very strange email, which frankly didn't make much sense. Poor Cafe Press, they think they are a licensing and manufacturing company. Nope, they are merely a printing vendor for artists.

In one foolish move they changed their business model, and are going to lose buckets of money as a result. They decided that I only need to get 10% of anything they sell in the marketplace of my artwork. Nope, sorry, that's my artwork and I get to decide how much I make off of it. So I'm off to Zazzle to set up shop there instead. See Cafe Press? You are just a vendor and selling venue for me as an artist.

I LEFT traditional licensing behind me, with some very few exceptions, because of the low pay-out. And guess what? I was getting more from CafePress in a month than I did in a year at other places. Now I'll be getting those checks from Zazzle instead.

Are you a CP SK and need a pep talk? Visit the AngelCityArt Blog, cause she's been there, done that. Helloooo Zazzle!!!

The Return of the King...and Elves!

Last Friday night I attended The Lord of the Rings - Return of the King viewing party at a friend's house. Long ago, my sister and I played hostess to the first Lord of the Rings party. It too was held on a November night, but the movie had yet to be released in the theater, so we shared what we had downloaded from the official movie website and went from there. When we finally saw it in the theater, it was an incredibly magical event!

But before the film came out, we had the joy of reading the entire series aloud with wine and cheese at the ready. The wine was from Australia because we couldn't find any from New Zealand, where the movie was being made. I bought a copy of the sound track ahead of time and listened to it while painting Merry Meet, a portrait of an elf and fairy sprite meeting in a green wood.

When I look back on that time I remember so much that was wonderful, I loved where I lived at the time and all the memories we created for our friends. Today I still cherish this painting, though the original found a new home the first time I showed it. There are still a few prints left to complete the limited print run of just 100, and now they are available in a larger size than before. I hope the future brings many more wonderful memories of fantasy gatherings as well.

Go Big or Go Home

Go Big or Go Home. It's the secret to having confidence in what you are doing with any project. It get's you noticed, and it get's the job done. Now it's my motto when it comes to Wyrdhaven Studio. Set your way-back machine to about 1995, and you would find me working as a picture framer in a Wildlife Art store, where I framed large prints of other artist's realistic work for the store. As an artist I would look at the prints, and say to myself "someday I'll have prints like these of my work".

How it worked was that a publishing house would take on an artist, do all the printing & marketing and the artist would get a portion of the sales. That way the artist is free to paint to their hearts content, only going in when they needed to sign prints or something. That was always my dream. Now switch the machine to 2000. This is when I started to have prints made of my work. I had to pay out of pocket for 50 prints at a time to get enough of a discount to make a profit. My small budget meant small prints, not the large ones that I had been dreaming about for six years. I had to do all the marketing and distribution myself, so I showed them at SF&F conventions.

Jump to 2003, the year I was laid off from my job as a web designer and you'll find I bought my own printer, the Epson 2200 in order to do print on demand. I never wanted to be a manufacturer, yet that's what I ended up being. I also created the following image:

Well now it's 2008 and the Epson printing system is going strong in the marketplace, people are learning what a giclee is, and the Wildlife Art store I worked at is virtually out of business and it was a national chain. Due to the dip in the economy which began just over 7 years ago, not 7 months ago like the pundits would have you think, many artists like myself are working day jobs again.

So what does this all have to do with my mantra Go Big or Go Home? I now have big prints being produced by someone other than myself, and though I have to do lots of marketing on my own, the company is marketing all the artists it carries through it's website. Now you can get Blue Moon Faery in a whopping 16" x 24" print, have it framed to your specifications on the website, picking out your own mats and frame or use my suggested combination above. There are smaller sizes of the same image available too, because some people wanted to pretty up smaller spaces.

Not only are the prints bigger, the prices are actually smaller than what I had to charge myself. Though they aren't signed or numbered, I will still honor the limited edition number for each piece. When they sell out, I will retire the image, for Blue Moon Faery that means I have 120 more to sell before it's all said and done. This was my dream, only I didn't know it, because I have more control than those wildlife artists did, and no upfront costs like I've had for the past eight years.

So now I'm dreaming of big paintings again because I know that I can make big prints of them. Go Big or Go Home...yeah that's what Wyrdhaven Studio is all about now.

Falling Leaves

Yesterday it was hot and muggy, but today it's cool and cloudy. Autumn is approaching and my co-workers at the day job are bemoaning the loss of summer. But that's not the case with me at all, this is my favorite season and I'm looking forward to raking leaves in the back yard, warm sweaters, and a big fire in the Fire pit for Halloween. I've updated Wyrdhaven Workshop with one of my favorite fall images, Falling Leaves.Can you feel the wind in your hair? Something magical happens when autumn leaves fall, and this witchy beauty is in the middle of it. The beautiful sorceress of this golden wood graces canvas bags, keepsake boxes, framed tiles, fashionable Tshirts and cozy warm sweatshirts. The throw pillow makes a wonderful fall accessory to take you from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Make Fall a magical season for friends with the notecards, or record your poems in the Falling Leaves Journal.

On Faeries

Since I wrote about my relationship with dragons briefly, I think it's time to discuss the faerie situation. I painted my first oil painting of a faerie way back in 1991, before the internet was connecting everyone to everything. A friend posed for me, and it turned out fairly well. I liked the results so much that I took the original down to WorldCon in Orlando, Florida. It was my first time on a plane, my first time to a national science fiction and fantasy convention, and I was all by myself there and back again. The sale of another painting to a friend paid for my plane ticket down there, but I chose to show as an amateur at the time.

While I was down there I got reaquainted with some of my fellow artists including Erin McKee and David Cherry, and met many more including Fantasy and Science Fiction art Icons Real and Muff Musgrave, Keith Parkinson, and Frank Kelly Freas. All of the artists were kind enough to review my artwork and gave me good advice and encouragement. The one fairy I brought with me I painted over from top to bottom, and was later sold via the internet. One thing about fairies, they change shape often, so it's impossible to capture them completely. Brian Froud understands that. In his book "Brian Froud's World of Faerie" he explores his inspiration and relationship to the faerie realm in all it's forms. I received this book as a yule gift this year, and it was an unexpected and welcome surprise.

As I turn the pages I'm drawn further into this vision of faerie, one that is earthy and true. The spirit of the Earth herself seems to come alive with all her children dancing to the same tune. This is why I was drawn to paint fairies, because they are real and ancient, silly and wise, dangerous and miraculous. I feel sorry for all the people who see them only as sweetness and light, because it is in the shadows that the truth holds the mystery of what they mean to us. Of the artists I met at WorldCon those many years ago, two have passed from this mortal life. They left behind their art for us to wonder at, and that is a very good thing.

On Dragons

I have a unique relationship with dragons. The first piece of art I ever sold was a charcoal sketch of Smaug that I drew from the Rankin & Bass animated film of The Hobbit. When I started showing at SF&F cons, some of my earliest pen & ink pieces were of dragons. I love dragons, I think they're really beautiful and they play a part in mythologies all over the world. A couple of my earliest paintings had dragons in them as well, but they're very time consuming and detailed in the extreme, so I haven't painted very many of them.

The two largest paintings I did of dragons turned out very nicely, and I'm quite pleased with them. When one of my collectors contacted me and asked to buy both originals, I was delighted to know that they would be going to a good home. But what happened next wasn't so delightful - they were lost during shipping. By lost I mean there was a good chance they were stolen. Luckily I shipped them insured, and my collector was reimbursed, but they're out there somewhere with someone who did a dreadful thing to get them. It made me pretty unhappy, and I'll be very careful about how I ship my originals in the future.

Right now I'm reading His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik and I'm almost done with it. Luckily I already have the next book in the series to jump into right away, they were Christmas gifts to me from my sister. I love what this author has done with the dragons and it's a really cool re-telling of history, only this time there's dragons. This is why I'm still a fan after all these years, because there's no end to how tall a tale can be and still capture my imagination. I can see the dragons in my mind and go along with the well-crafted story of it all. This is a delightful historical fantasy series set in the Napoleonic era, and as the author is working on Book 5 right now, I have hours and hours of adventurous reading to look forward to. Just not all at once...well sometimes all at once...oh wait, I only have a chapter left of this one...
must...
finish...
book...

Original Fire Sprite

It's time to do a little spring cleaning, and we need to find a home for this lovely original piece of art. Click here for the ebay auction.


About the Image:

This lovely piece is an ORIGINAL pastel painting by Beth Hansen-Buth. Inspired by the element of fire, this piece is part of "Nature Spirits" collection. It is double matted to fit a 16 x 20 inch frame. It is also available as a signed and numbered limited edition mini-print from wyrdhaven.com.

Queen Jester Miniature

Here she is, the lovely Queen Jester in pencil and pastel. A 5x7 miniature now available on eBay.

Queen Jester

Click here for eBay Listing