I had the immense honor of being invited to illustrate the conbook cover for Eurofurrence 2018. This image proved to be a deeply personal journey for me and my personal gift to not only EF but to the furry fandom for all the support, encouragement and love you all have given me over the years. The fandom has changed a great deal since I first dipped my feet in in 2005 but one thing, at least for me, has never changed. The furry fandom continues to support and encourage artists in a way few outlets for the creative can or do. I continue to be humbled by the amount of enthusiasm you all share with me whenever I share something I have created from the deepest wells of my heart. It is a precious gift and I strive to not take you all for granted. (Basically my way of saying I won’t tolerate people dissing the fandom anymore)

The last year has been one of deep personal growth and exploration; both on an emotional level and as a creative. Eurofurrence gave me free reign over the final illustration, leaving me the chance to explore myself through my art. I am sure all artists eventually face a similar dilemma, in which they feel they have lost touch with the passion of creating. I have faced this over the course of the last decade; trying to juggle adult life and relationships, personal artwork with a professional career. I began to rely on my mechanical skill; muscle memory and technical knowledge and at some point began to lose touch with that ineffable inner voice.

For me the place where I was most free to be and to create was in my childhood. There was no urgency to the next thing; all there was and all that was important was the now. Yesterday was best left to it’s own devices and tomorrow was too far away to be bothered about. All there was was the invitation of a blank spread of paper and a tool that would guide my hand towards the call of inward adventure.

In essence, that is what this piece was to me. Featured in the piece are our(My husband Bagheera’s and mine) personal oc’s Kaylee and Samwise (my take on Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings). I had no expectations for this piece and let it unfold like a personal fairytale.

Thank you all for continuing to share the journey with me and to be, each, a voice of encouragement that reminds me to dream away from myself.

*– NSFW for Tasteful Nudity –*

Men can be beautiful. Men can be flirty. Men can be sexy. But most importantly, it is ok to want and be all of those things.

Feel beautiful. Be Beautiful. It is your right.

Gift art for my husband who is beautiful to me inside and out.

as a personal aside, I think it’s a shame that men’s clothing today is so generic that I often refer to it as “a series of regrettably like tubes.” There was a time historically when men wore boots and it was socially acceptable, or elaborate fitted attire and it did not rob them of their masculine identity. I’d love to see men more free to explore fashion. In this way we live in a time where women have more options to explore their outward image through fashion in a way that is deemed socially acceptable (IE I, as a woman, can wear men’s clothing or fashions inspired by men’s clothing and it is more “normal” than a man doing the same with fashion perceived as “women’s”.)

.: The Light After :.

A hummingbird found by a friend.  Thank you to Maquenda / @artofmaquenda for inspiring me to honor and preserve this small life in photos.

Artists are free to use these for reference. If you make something based on/inspired by these, I’d love to see but it’s not required!

artofmaquenda:

PART 1

Procession

We
A slow procession weave
in strands of opalescent light
our welcome.
We waited for you
one long sigh
And wandered far and slow
to find you.
Now that you’ve come
lay beside
so we may hold you
wrap you
in our sleeping web
so to dream
of moss and rotting leaf
consumed
until made whole.

~Anastasia Korochansckaja

Photography by my wonderful friend @spiramirabilis Thank you for making me feel so comfortable being vulnerable around you. :>

artofmaquenda:

PART 2

Procession

We
A slow procession weave
in strands of opalescent light
our welcome
We waited for you
one long sigh
And wandered far and slow
to find you.
Now that you’ve come
lay beside
so we may hold you
wrap you
in our sleeping web
so to dream
of moss and rotting leaf
consumed
until made whole.

-Anastasia Korochansckaja

Photography by my wonderful friend @spiramirabilis Thank you for making me feel so comfortable being vulnerable around you. :>

artofmaquenda:

PART 2

The Road to Awe

“I see the stars in your eyes” said he.
“Reflections merely.” Said the crow.
“Memories and premonitions” the voice, a soft rebuke.
“How can you know such things as the sky will not tell?” crow asked,
“I have taken the road to awe, as one day you shall too” a crackle in the voice, the sound of shifting sands.

~Anastasia Korochansckaja

Part 2 of a collaboration with my dear friend Anastasia/Balaa/ @spiramirabilis​ and I.

artofmaquenda:

PART 1

The Road to Awe

“I see the stars in your eyes” said he.
“Reflections merely.” Said the crow.
“Memories and premonitions” the voice, a soft rebuke.
“How can you know such things as the sky will not tell?” crow asked,
“I have taken the road to awe, as one day you shall too” a crackle in the voice, the sound of shifting sands.

~Anastasia Korochansckaja

Part 1 of a collaboration with my dear friend Anastasia/Balaa/ @spiramirabilis and I.

Interesting fact about Shetland sheepdog noses: they are telescopic. 

Our doghter Kaylee.

.: Pliocene Memories :.

Reveries.

A collection of tiny treasures from Marina Beach Park. A collab between myself and Maquenda.

“The road was straight, long and uneventful and with the morning energy waning from our group, each person fell to their own private thoughts.

I wondered if the stars would be as magnificent over the Kalahari, whether I might glimpse a brown hyena, and that I couldn’t wait to peel my socks off and have them laundered.

It was appropriate then that when we least expected it, when our exuberance for this magical place was somewhat dulled by exhaustion, that it should remind us that wonder stalks around the corner.

Lelobu, our new vehicle, slowed with a lurch and B-man whispered, “Leopard”.

And there he was, trotting on the roadside ahead, not 40 feet away.  My heart clenched in disbelief as he swerved and dove into the swaddle of ochre painted brush. Our vehicle pulled up beside him and I became acutely aware of the awkward prattling din of our vehicle’s engine.

A fierce effulgent gaze that rivaled the brilliance of the sun commanded us to the fall of awe.

And then he was gone.”  –Excerpt from “Dry Season Only”

Dedicated to my husband, Lorien, and to Hawa, The Leopard Sun.

There are so many more words I could use in this description to talk about this piece, what it means to me and how it came to be but I feel I’d just be regurgitating passages of the book.

If you are interested, there are still some limited number of books available through the artists that I was blessed enough to share this journey with.  This is an extremely limited run and unlikely that it will be published again due to prohibitive costs.  But if you would like to have one of your own and share in our story and support it’s creators, you may purchase a copy from myself or one of the other incredible artists that went.

You can buy one of my copies from: My Store

Or Laura Garabedian’s shop at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LauraGarabedian

Or Foxfeather’s shop at:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/294961275/dry-season-only-book-a-creative-sojourn?ref=shop_home_active_9

Mt. Rainier wildlife spotted on our hike.The marmots were a highlight as I’d never seen them in the wild before! We are also pretty certain the deep grunting we heard when we took a dead end trail was most likely a very nearby bear. What an incredible day out!

Gorgeous day spent hiking on Mount Rainier. The clouds rolled in just as we made our descent from Mt. Fremont Lookout.

Took a walk at the beach near our house and had the pleasure of sighting a bald eagle up close.

A tangle of inspirations, and I as lost among them as in a sea of stars.  The first was heavily inspired by the incredible work of Paul Jouve. Please do yourself a favor and explore the staggering multifaceted visions of this man.  The latter are a series inspired by my time in the Makgadikgadi Salt pans and Savuti.  Life and death formed an intimate bond, each end and new beginning interminable.

~~~~

And again, if you missed out on the book and want to have all these sketches and a bajillion other wonderful pieces of art AND photos AND stories from myself and the 10 other awesome people that went, we do still have books for sale! It’s a very small run and it’s doubtful they will ever be printed again so grab one while we still have them.  Here’s a list of all the people that went and are selling them online, grab from me or one of the others listed. No matter who you get it from, you directly support someone awesome with your purchase!

You can buy one of my copies from:http://spiramirabilis.storenvy.com/collections/1255428-books

Or Laura Garabedian’s shop at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LauraGarabedian

Or Foxfeather’s shop at:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/294961275/dry-season-only-book-a-creative-sojourn?ref=shop_home_active_9

And thanks, as always, for looking guys! YOU are what makes art possible!