Diva Dancer, newly listed + a poem

Diva now available at ArtSnark.etsy.com

The Dancer 

The Ebb and Sway

firstly this, then on again that way

the swirling dips, fulminating slips

erupting from your core

the stirring heart beat of life

pouncing from the womb once more.

This dance that we are set within

cleaves to the moment

abandons past hopes

forgotten dreams,

futures slopes

and speeds upon a wild hearted stream

to plunge into a river of sensual light

a frenzy of liberty and delight.

Leap upon that tide

and know in that instant

no point exists, no line,

no straight and narrow

no course of artful design

just a giddy glory

a sweeping surging rush

spiraling within our own fervent story.

Seek the fire

let loose the flames inside

that you may leap upon a cool sky

and raise your soul upon its sanctity, high.

Know the abandonment of care.

Dance upon a pin,

and in that infinite space,

that timeless grace, within,

explode into the air,

with joy, with love

with no fear.

Begin...

for the music is set

and waits for no one.

                        - RMP 2011

Sometimes I actually like facebook. Not often, but this is one of those nights. I found a wonderful surprise on my wall - this lively original poem by Richard of CreativeSoulsPublishing.  

This wonderful piece prompted me to pull the above drawing out of a box and (finally) list it at ArtSnark.etsy.com. This feisty lady has been languishing in my closet since the gallery she was dancing in closed earlier this year. If you think you can keep up, she is looking for a partner.

Thanks, Richard, for the kick in the pants, ehem, inspiration. Keep turning those lovely phrases!

Illustration Friday - Remedy

ink, marker, colored pencil, sheet music

Great IF prompt today - Remedy - it brought all sorts of grand themes to mind. I kept having visions of absinthe fairies & other phantasmagoria all day. But (as usual) time is limited. Playing with the cliche that "All You Need Is Love", I'm sharing this little doodle today.

If you feel inspired by Remedy, post your piece & link up over at IllustrationFriday. Be sure to visit some of the other interpretations while you are there.

But before you go, leave a comment here & you will be entered in the 7/14 random drawing for Myke Amend's Coloring Book For Grown Up Kids. Click here for more info

Enter to win Myke Amend's Coloring Book For Grown Up Kids

Cover of Myke Amend's new coloring book

We are in for some fun today! Time for a new Thursday Giveaway!

Are you familiar with one of my favorite fantasy artists, Myke Amend? I am happy to own this wonderful Steampunk Alice drawing:

Mach Turtle by Myke Amend

I also crazy-love his cast of characters (C'mon, Steampunk Boba -what's not to love?!)

Slave 1881 by Myke Amend

and assorted airships

The Albatross by Myke Amend

His pieces show up here from time to time .... as I find something new to desire. You may have also caught this feature/giveaway post last fall. So what is this talented fellow up to these days?

Myke Amend's Coloring Book pg 4

Somewhere between the magazine covers, steampunk conventions, and the ambitious Infernal Device project, Myke pulled together a fun coloring book featuring 30 of his black & white pieces.

Myke Amend's coloring book pg 9

Do you love Lovecraft? Crave Cthulhu? Go CooCoo for Cocoa Puffs ? Okay, not that last one... but if you like tentacles, spooky chicks and things that go bump in the night then this gem of a book is for you. And....

On 7/14 I am giving a copy away to one lucky winner!

Myke Amend's coloring book pg 13

Want to get in on this action? Leave a comment on my blog before 1 a.m. (EST) on July 14 to enter the random drawing for the Coloring Book for Grownups. (If your contact info isn't in your profile, be sure to leave an email addy too. ) Prize ships free worldwide.

To see more images from this fun book, pop over to the artist's website. You will find a link to the web rez version of this coloring book at the bottom of its sales page - click here to check it out.  Ooh - just remember to leave a comment here before you go, so your name gets tossed into the hat. Ya never know, you could be the lucky winner!

Want to see more fun stuff? Peek into a bit of Myke's world:

http://www.mykeamend.com

http://www.ettadiem.etsy.com

https://www.facebook.com/mykeamend

https://www.facebook.com/steampunkart

http://infernaldevice.net/Artprize/

http://twitter.com/#!/infernal_device

https://www.facebook.com/InfernalDevice

By the way, you can also click on any of the purple image captions for more info.

Random Tuesday Mail Call - ACEOs etc

Shakespeare Writes ACEO from LD Photography.etsy.com

Ooh - lucky me! New ACEOs!!

Paris In The Springtime from GoddessArt on ebay

Frilly chokers (there's a lovely blue one too)

Black lace choker with beads & ribbon from ScarletRabbit.etsy.com

charms...

Assorted charms from GatheringSplendor.etsy.com

And prints!

I'm trying out a new printing company. I'll be adding these to the ArtSnark etsy shop this week. But since I can't leave well enough alone, I am embellishing with inks, markers & watercolors first. 

By the way, click on any of the image captions to visit the folks who sent the other goodies. Some were gifts, some were purchases. It's all good. 

Did you get any fun deliveries recently? Listening to some cool tunes? Make something amazing for dinner? It is Random Tuesday, so rant away. Post your ramblings & then be sure to link up over at Stacey Uncorked and see what other folks are raving about today

Marchande de Fleurs

Marchande de Fleurs - digital collage

She to this earth belonged, where beauty fast
To direst fate is borne:
A rose, she lasted, as the roses last,
Only for one brief morn. 

- Consolation, François de Malherbe 

While this selection is from a poem to a friend whose daughter has died, it kept rattling around in my nut while I played with some travel photos today. (Click image to enlarge.)

I remembered the poem but not the poet. In my search I stumbled upon this lovely bit of music by Rafi Baladi.  

Consolation du Malherbe à son ami M. Du Périer-New richer version | Musicians Available

He was inspired upon rereading Consolation and imagining Malherbe's visit to his friend. Here is Mr. Baldi's eloquent explanation from his Muziboo page:

 "I read it again ten years ago (2000) and imagined him riding his horse to visit his friend on a dark rainy evening to deliver his Consolation to him. I imagined Du Périer open his countryside home and let him in. Each sipped a glass of wine on a chipped wooden table and Malherbre read his poem. Du Périer responded with gratitude commenting on Malherbre’s similar and earlier two tragedies with his own children. (Which is true) The peace of music is represented by two major sets of strings, one delivered by Malherbre and the other intervened, gently, by Du Périer." 

Click here to find out more about this composer and to listen to some of his music.

Illustration Friday - Midsummer Night

Midsummer Night - digital collage

The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve;

Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time. 

- from A Midsummer Night's Dream

Midsummer Night - Another fantastic prompt from IllustrationFriday today. While I felt like drawing, I couldn't find the time. So instead here is a digital doodle - click the image to enlarge

All the stock used in this collage is from DeviantArt.com. You may know that Deviant is one my favorite sites for inspiration. If you aren't a member yet I highly recommend it (basic membership is free). And if you are ... look me up & say hi. I'm here: http://artsnarks-artifacts.deviantart.com/. 

Many thanks to these talented folks for use of their vision & visage:

• Sleeping girl is from Sinned-angel-stock's photo Ethereal Quiet 

• Fairy model is from Chamberstock's Fairy Attempt 3

• Texture is wchild's Snowing Texture. (Want to see some amazing photographs? Run, don't walk to wchild.deviantart.com.  Jari Mäntylä is freakin' brilliant. Lucky for us, he also shares stock images - just click on his "resources" link after you've browsed the gallery pages.)

Have you been inspired by Midsummer Night? Post your piece and then hop over to IllustrationFriday.com to make a link. Be sure to check out the wide variety of work while you are there. Fun times.

Winner of 250 custom printed flyers is.....

Laurie Blau Marshall from LoudLife blog

Congratulations, Laurie! You have won 250 nightclub flyers (printed with your design) from Uprinting.com . I will contact you today with instructions for claiming your prize.

nightclub flyers from Uprinting.com

Many thanks to Uprinting.com for sponsoring another great giveaway.

And thank you to everyone who entered! The next giveaway will be announced on June 30th so be sure to stop by and check out the new prize.

A couple of off-topic announcements today

1) Do you shop on Etsy.com? Have you heard about the new Region Filter? It is the latest change. Most people I have talked with have not heard of it yet. Basically, unless you go in & change your Region Filter you are only browsing items from sellers in your default country. If you want to browse items from around the globe, you have to set your filter to "everywhere". This is easy to do - click here for my step by step instructions.

2) Midsummer Night is the new prompt for  IllustrationFriday.com. If you feel inspired, post your creation & then add a link over at IF. Hopefully I can steal some doodle-time today as this sounds like a fun one.