Showing posts with label deviantART. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deviantART. Show all posts

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Foxfire Daily: Who are you supporting over the Holidays?

For me it's an easy choice... but mostly because of my budget. I'm supporting my family and kids. And I'd like to ask you to do the same. Support your own family and kids first, and then your friends, and then locals you don't know. Or, y'know, my family and kids... *grins and winks*

Don't support the big names. Don't support the corporations.


Do support the little guy. Do support your local (or not-so-local) small businesses and artisan crafters. Your purchases have much more immediate and important impact on these people. Your purchase affects an individual, a husband and wife (or varied permutations thereof), their (possible) kids, et cetera. Your purchase directly impacts how good their kids' Christmas will be. Your purchase will directly affect that business's tax season coming up in a few months, their rent this month, whether they can give their employees Christmas bonuses... you get the idea.

Make a difference. Buy local/small business/artisan craft. For example... yeah, maybe a necklace from me will cost you a bit more than that $5 shiny from Claire's... but your purchase of my handmade necklace might just buy a Christmas tree for my family, or a couple tanks of gas to get Dragon to work and back so he can buy presents for the kids, or it can go towards a couple of tables and displays so we can start doing local craft shows, or... 


To this end, our friend Mr. Marsten has put together a holiday catalog of links to artisan crafters, including us, for your perusal.  So go peruse The Narrator's Study Holiday Catalog for great gift ideas that support individuals and families directly. Or, if you happen to be an artisan crafter who hasn't been in touch with Mr. Marsten, send him the link to your wares so he can add it to his catalog.


Love, Light, and Blessings to you and yours this holiday season!
Merry Christmas, Blessed Yule, Happy Hogmany...
-your Artful White Fox

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Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Business update

Unless and until such time as matters change, Twinflame Studios will no longer be selling through Etsy. We are displeased with some of their recent enacted policies and will be withdrawing our business from their site. This includes buying from or advertising sellers' items on Etsy. If you are an Etsy artist but have personal galleries/websites, we will be happy to advertise your work from your personal galleries instead.

Our account on Etsy will not immediately shut down, but you will be seeing much diminished activity. 

We will keep you updated on where and how you may peruse our creations. Currently this is on our Facebook and our deviantART.  You can also find us on Twitter, although we're not currently very active. Thank you, and please bear with us as we transition to something that is hopefully more palatable for everyone.

regretfully,
-your Artful White Fox.
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Sunday, January 4, 2015

Artist's Sunday, Winter Edition: the Frosty Sea

This Artist's Sunday is dedicated to another of your Artful White Fox's favorite precious stones: pearls!

Pearls are another organic gem; that is, one not formed by mineral crystallization (think quartz crystals), much like amber or jet. Pearls are made by oysters, when a grain of sand or something else irritating gets inside their shell, they secrete a substance called nacre which builds up in layers to protect the oyster's delicate flesh from the irritant. Many oyster farms are dedicated to pearl farming, and often seed the oysters with specially shaped irritants in order to get specially shaped pearls. They're the June birthstone (funny story, this is why my Mom hates pearls... she doesn't like that pearls are her birthstone. I told her I'd trade if I could - mine's blue topaz, which is ok, but I do love pearls). They are also a big favorite for weddings.











This is my time of year, my own personal perfectly uncomfortable and yet fitting juxtaposition... my birthday is on the Winter Solstice. If you know me, then you know I am a scrawny bit of 5'3" with no extra body fat to speak of (too high a metabolism), and before you think, "lucky girl" let me just say that it's a pain the butt... but that's for another post. The point is... I get cold. Very cold. Very easily. Any body heat I create just doesn't stay inside unless I'm wearing plenty of layers, even indoors. So I was born at the height of the time that causes me the most physical discomfort. So I find other ways to enjoy the season... and looking for gemmy inspiration in the middle of the frozen wasteland of winter is just as good as any other.

What gemstones come to mind when you think of winter sparklies?
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Monday, October 6, 2014

Artist's Sunday #8: October, an Introduction

For those of you who haven't been with us, I am the Artful White Fox of this place, Twinflame Studios. I craft a post on Sundays (I would say every Sunday, but I am a chaotic creature and it doesn't always work out the way I'd prefer) paying it forward to other artisan crafters out there whose art speaks for itself. If you want more details, find them here. Yes, I know it's not Sunday. Bear with me, as yesterday was the first Sunday in October, and it has been a very long week for your Artful White Fox and her Dragon. I won't bore you with details; that can be for another post. Instead, I'll get right to the fun parts, the artistic inspirations and creations:

Imagine...

October. Warm, spicy apple cider (and/or mulled wine!). Trees shedding their suits of green in favor of gowns in gold and crimson. A chill settling into the wind, in some places already bringing snow. In more southerly climes, it merely heralds a change in what blooms, and what will grow. Animals make a final push toward hibernation, scrounging for the last bits of calories to pile on. Giant, noisy machines begin to harvest fields ripe and ready. Pumpkins and gourds are ripe on the vine (and in our supermarkets!), ready for harvest, for carving, for pies and muffins and anything else you can imagine flavored with pumpkin spice... like the caramel apple cider and pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks. I know, I know, they're made with terrible ingredients and not always fair trade... but even your Artful White Fox has her guilty pleasures. Don't hate me.



 
















Autumn, the time of year when the warmest colors herald the coldest days. What does your autumn look like, feel like, smell like?
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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Artist's Sunday #7: Nerd Love, Episode 4 - To Boldly Go

Foreword: I am not even going to address missing last Sunday. If you haven't figured out by now that our lives are nuts and I don't always get the opportunity to sit down and focus on this long enough to hash out a decent post, then you haven't been with us for very long. If you have figured it out, then I hope you won't get annoyed and leave us. That being said, welcome to Episode IV.

Wow, I realized after typing that, that it sounds like one side of a couple's spat. Ha. Anyway...


*ahem* That's right, this week is on Star Trek. If you're a Star Wars fan and hate Trekdom, then this is your chance to skip over to the next one. Yes, don't worry, I'm going to do Star Wars too. Trek gets its day first because I am a Trekkie, and because Dragon and I have been playing Star Trek Online in our spare time (it's free to play and gaming is quite possibly our favorite thing to do together, besides... well. *ahem*) so it's been on my mind.

Star Trek has touched the hearts and imaginations of many generations of geeks, turning them into writers, actors, scientists, engineers, technicians... well, you get the idea. There's even a documentary on "How Star Trek Changed the World" that is pretty awesome. Seriously, even if you don't like Star Trek, but you are a tech geek, you should check it out. I didn't even know how much influence my childhood fandom has had on the world we know...


From an artistic/creative perspective, Star Trek triggers the inspirational hope for a better, brighter (and, let's face it, more interesting!) future. The Original Series (and The Next Generation, too. After that it was more about adventures in space...) was all about humans getting over their differences and overcoming obstacles and threats and problems, and discovery and exploration of uncharted frontiers, by working together in a society of mutual respect. There was no currency (one of the evils of our time if you ask us, but that's another post for another day), disease had been dramatically reduced, lives were longer, and technology actually made our lives better instead of turning us into screen zombies. Not quite a Utopia, because there was still a galaxy full of messed up goings-on to deal with, and people are still people, but the idea presented, that one day we as humans will get over ourselves enough to present a united face to the rest of Creation, and tackle whatever comes our way with cooperation... that is what inspires.

And, granted, when diplomacy didn't work, they got to blow sh*t up. Can't get better than that. :D

Now! On to the arts:














Here's raising a glass of Earl Grey, bloodwine, Romulan Ale, or tranya
to generations past, present, and future,
who have been inspired by the voyages of the starship Enterprise.


"These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise, her five year mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."
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Monday, March 3, 2014

Artist's Sunday #5: Nerd Love, Episode 2 - The Last Airbender

Yes, I know, it's not Sunday. My apologies for that. 

Your erstwhile Fox and Dragon had surprise company show up for the weekend, so the opportunity never arose for Fox to sit down and do the weekly Pay It Forward. I may be a day late, but never a dollar short when it comes to my writing.

This week's (belated) Nerd Love Episode is...

Avatar: the Last Airbender


An awesome animated series put on by Nickelodeon some years ago, Avatar: the Last Airbender has spawned numerous fanfiction, art, artisan crafts, cosplays, a movie (don't get me started on that, however), and a sequel series. An "airbender" is a person with a pseudomagical control over the elemental force of Air. In the series, there are also firebenders, waterbenders, and earthbenders. It centered around the character of Aang, who is the "Avatar" - a person who is reincarnated every generation or so, who can learn to bend all the elements instead of just one. It is his or her job to maintain and police the balance of power among the four nations. Aang disappears from the world, and it is a hundred years later when he reappears... into a world torn by war, where his own people, the airbending monks, have been wiped out; the Fire Nation is trying to conquer the rest of the world, and doing a pretty good job of it so far. 

A montage of the major characters:

A very nice rendition of Aang in the "Avatar State":

And now down to the nitty-gritty, the lovely Avatar: the Last Airbender-inspired artisan crafts I've found:



 
Blue Spirit Mask by TheAngryMaskSalesman on Etsy 


Pai Sho is a game similar to Go, played in the Avatar world. It mostly figures in the character of General Iroh, uncle to the Fire Nation prince, Zuko.

The Avatar: the Last Airbender world is home to many hybrid creatures, such as Tiger Seals, Badger Moles, Buffalo Yaks, Catfish Alligators, Elephant Rats, Giant Eel Hounds, Platypus Bears...

...the Pentapus...

...Momo, the Lemur Bat...

...and of course, Aang's loyal companion, the last Sky Bison...
Clay Appa Charm by minnichi on deviantART

Hope you enjoyed Episode 2! 

Live, Love, and Make Art
-your Artful White Fox. 
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Sunday, February 23, 2014

Artist's Sunday #4: Nerd Love, Episode 1 - Big Bad Beholders

I'm kicking off the next month of Artist's Sunday with Episode 1 of a series (as I type this, Dragon is peering over my shoulder humming the Star Wars theme music... argh!) celebrating the artisan crafts inspired by various nerdy pursuits. Depending on what I find, these themes could include cosplaying, larping, Steampunk (and/or its various permutations, such as Dieselpunk), Cyberpunk, pen-and-paper gaming, MMO gaming, heroes and monsters of various fandoms, Star Wars, Star Trek (hmm, an entire Sunday devoted to Wars vs. Trek in art form...) and, heck, whatever else I find. This may have to extend longer than one month to squeeze all the awesomeness in, or I may have to do a couple multi-themed posts, or... well, we'll see.

Stay tuned for Twinflame Studio's artistic month of nerddom.

Episode 1: Beholders
Because no Dungeon is complete without a Beholder.



What the devil is a Beholder, I'm sure some of you will ask. (I salute those of you who do not need to ask, and say namaste. :D)  Beholders are nasty creatures with an evil eye (11 of them, actually...) and a tendency to use those eyes to zap anyone that ventures too close. From the Monster Manual I (3.5): "A beholder is an 8-foot-wide orb dominated by a central eye and a large, toothy maw. Ten smaller eyes on stalks sprout from the top of the orb." They float, and you can't sneak up on one unless it's asleep. Each eye has a different, and devastating, magic power. They are typically kept as watchdogs by villainous adversaries, and no magic-user can think of a beholder without cringing at least a little. Its central eye is constantly emanating an effect that keeps any other magic from functioning, in whatever direction the beholder is looking. 

They are a classic, iconic Big Bad Nasty, the stuff of any adventuring group's nightmares, and the artistic Muse of many an artisan crafter...





Live, Love, and Make Art
-your Artful White Fox
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