Last Chance Holiday Shopping

This will be your last chance to buy gifts from the Cafe Press store because I will be shutting it down after the holiday season. There are all kinds of changes happening at Wyrdhaven Studio in which will involve a complete make-over of the website and all my online merchandise as 2010 draws nigh.

Fantasy Art Gifts
Find your fantasy and mythic images here at the Wyrdhaven Workshop...

Fairy Art Gifts
Faeries abound at the Wyrdhaven Workshop

Wyrdhaven Studio Notes - May 2009

Happy May Day! I'm taking my newsletter and putting it on the blog for everyone to enjoy. I've done it in the past, sort of re-posting the html version that I send out, but it makes more sense to just do it right here in the blog, and send a link to the post to everyone with a few highlights. To begin, the blog has a new masthead and title "the Wyrdhaven Chronicle" to make it sound more like a newspaper from my own little fantasy village of Wyrdhaven. Want to link to the blog? Here, download this banner:



New Store!
So now that we've freshened up the blog a bit, the really big news is that we've launched the Wyrdhaven Zazzle Store! (And the crowd yells Huzzah!!!) In fact, I will be concentrating on that store pretty heavily over the next couple of months. I want to get all of my artwork on some zazzley style stuff. All seven sprites have made the transition and are settling in quite nicely. A Fairy Realm is currently being developed, and did you know that you, yes YOU, get to customize your stuff? Because it's all about you baby! Do me proud and make something cool and magical.

Since the store is BRAND NEW, I could use a little help getting the word out about it. Luckily, there is a solution for that: The Promote This Store Page has several options from sending your friends an email, to posting a flash panel on your own website. How cool is that? Even if you're not in a shopping mood, you can go and leave a comment on your favorite sprite and tell the world how much you love my artwork! It's like getting a hug every time I read something nice. :)

Upcoming Shows
In the previous post I talk a bit about CONvergence. Well, I contacted the Art Show Coordinator, and I will be able to do demos during the Convention! Here's the details on that from my email:

It's a fairly laid-back process. A few years back, one of our artists didn't want to give up the painting time to come to the convention, but his wife dragged him to it, so he set up shop in the art show and painted all weekend. People seemed to enjoy watching the process and it drew people in to watch, so we set aside a few of the tables along the wall with the windows for artists to setup and work. It is also a promotional tool for the artist since they can say "If you like this, my art is hanging right over there...":-)

But as for the process itself, if you just show up and say you want to demo, we can find you a spot. Any time we're open. Sunday you might get the dazed look, but that's just because we're fried on Sunday. Currently we don't schedule it or anything like that so that people keep coming back to see what's happening.

That's the skinny on doing demos at the con, so if you're an artist, bring your sketchbook and take a seat in the Artshow anytime! Click here to Register for the Convention - pre-registration discount expires May 15th.

Wyrdhaven Studio
Don't forget my main website, where there are links to all kinds of fantastic treasures for you to choose from like...

Officially Licensed Stickers, Bags, Magnets, Mousepads & More from Ellen Million Graphics ~ Click Here for Fairy & Fantasy Gifts

Wyrdhaven Gallery
The archival prints in the print gallery are available in a variety of sizes, our hottest selling print this spring is Greenman Awakens. Carved in stone in many churches of Europe. This pagan nature spirit is also sometimes called Jack O the Green. Here he comes to life out of the stone, he has awakened to his power. A butterfly, a symbol of transformation, flies near. Celtic knots on the corners remind us that as life is ever-changing, it is also never ending.

Thanks for stopping by the blog, you can also follow this blog throughout the month by becoming a Follower of Fantasy, just look to the side panel for that or RSS feed options.

Enjoy your May Day!

Finding Annwyn in a Journal

It would seem that the Celtic Land of the dead, Annwn, may very well be located in North Wales. The main story is of the King of Annwn, Gwyn Ap Nudd, and his wild hunt. He rides the night skies in search for souls with his hounds. It was this story which inspired my painting "The Queen of Annwyn" and I chose the longer spelling because that's fitting for a Welsh word. So I decided to take that image, and dress it up a bit and create some cool stuff, because it's what I do now that I have my own fantasy art gift shop. So now you can explore Annwyn on your own with the Journal of Annwyn.

I have kept journals on and off for years, and though now I do a great deal of my writing online, I still keep a hand-written one as well. It's not updated as frequently as it once was, but I have a feeling that may change soon. There's magic in writing, and if you don't believe in magic even just a little bit, then you've come to the wrong place. The idea that the Land of the Dead is associated with a physical location doesn't negate the mythology, in fact it reinforces it. Who knows what rituals the ancient Celts performed as they laid their dead to rest? Did they call upon the King of Annwyn to welcome their loved ones into his hall?

Pirates - a shroom stole my heart

Today's theme is Pirates. I was innocently searching the web for a nice parchment graphic that I could use to spruce up the background of my Shroom #3 tile, and what should I discover but Piece of Eight, a website devoted to 17th century piracy. Pirates are popular right now, what with the movies, a tv show, and the occasional wannabe. I even have a friend who asked me when I'm going to do a pirate painting. I don't know the answer to that question, as my muse has her own ideas about what I should paint that has nothing to do with trends in this realm of mere mortals.

Of course pirates have nothing to do with my cute little shroom really, except that he'll steal your heart away and make you glad he did. Pirates are like that.

Introducing the Reiki Artist Store

I just have to tell you, I am absolutely thrilled about my new Reiki Artist Store! Powered by Cafe Press, I can now offer a wide range of gifts and apparel that has been unavailable to my fans and collectors until now. For the past few years, I've been trying to work with a variety of manufacturers by licensing my work. This has left me and my fans frustrated with their inability to get my work into the hands of the people who love it. So now I'm going direct and getting the word out myself.