The Sword

Sadly The Sword has no definition at the moment.  I will update with that as soon as I have it.

The Dragon

The Dragon

The Dragon is a beast of unimaginable depth and power.  The Dragon, if you are able to connect with the beast, lends strength, knowledge, and courage to face what may come.  They are teachers, guardians, and guides.  They will not tell you straight up what you want to know, they will lead you to discover what you need to know before leading you to what you want to know. 

Ruler of all the elements these creatures hold power over fire, earth, air and water.  They know and connect to the world around them because they are as old as the elements. They use their instincts to restore themselves and in turn restore you through the use of the elements.  If you’re in a creative funk their guidance may help push you toward the path you should be going to get yourself out of it.

In essence, The Dragon will guide you, guard you, and inspire you.  Keep them close and they may be able to show you things you’ve never noticed before.

 When the card is reversed you have lost the guidance that had been with you, you have shunned the one that would protect you.  You’ve withdrawn yourself from the connection and in a slump.  The world around you is less vibrant and things are hidden from you that if you had your guide you would have noticed.


If you would like this card as a print I do have some at my store EJCrouse.  Please, check it out!

Card Example 6

Info here to what exactly this card is and what I need from you guys.  The Curls Creatures set of my art was a very cathartic when I was making them.  They not only come in black but I can make them in any color anyone wants.  They are very simple and elegant.

If the greeting cards do well I would really like to be able to set up a small studio at some point where I can screen print several prints of these.

Card Example #4

Info here to what exactly this card is and what I need from you guys.  This is the fourth example I finished and test printed.  It is quite lovely printed!  I just need you guys to help either spread the word or donate!  You can see more prints like this and better prints to come!

Card Example three

Info here to what exactly this card is and what I need from you guys.  This is the third example I finished and test printed.  It is quite lovely printed!  I just need you guys to help either spread the word or donate!  You can see more prints like this and better prints to come!

Another one for the Unitarian Universalist Church.  I just felt like they didn't have a lot of art for them and decided to try my hand.  I may not be part of their church but I do like their beliefs and what they stand for.  For those of you out there who are part of the UU please, tell me what you think and throw out ideas to me.  I love suggestions!

Card Example #2!

Info here to what exactly this card is and what I need from you guys.  This is the second example I finished and test printed.  It is quite lovely printed!  I just need you guys to help either spread the word or donate!  You can see more prints like this and better prints to come!

This one is for the Unitarian Universalist Church.  I just felt like they didn't have a lot of art for them and decided to try my hand.  I may not be part of their church but I do like their beliefs and what they stand for.  For those of you out there who are part of the UU please, tell me what you think and throw out ideas to me.  I love suggestions!

Card Example 1

Info here to what exactly this card is and what I need from you guys.  This is the first example I finished and test printed.  It's amazing!  I just need you guys to help either spread the word or donate!  You can see more prints like this and better prints to come!

GoFundme! Pass it on!

One day my brilliant partner and muse came up with the suggestion of actually creating blank greeting cards with some of my artwork.  Thought about it and thought about it and took it to heart and figured, why the hell not!

So, with a few designs, a few estimations and a bit of testing.  I think I finally have things down to the basics to try this out!  They are going to be wide and varied sources, probably mostly nature and fantasy, with a bit of fan art if the moment is right.  There will also be some UU cards as well seeing as there seems to be a large lacking of cards for the church out there.  And while I may not be part of the church, I would like to give something to them in the form of some art and cards that aren't out there for them.

The cards will start out as blank cards, the only text, if any will be on the outside of the card and part of the art work. Further down the like I'd like to incorporate text into the inside but that's going to be a little while coming.

The estimated 250 dollars is the cost covering 400 cards to start out, ink for my poor, poor printer which is running excruciatingly low, shipping and product packaging.  If I raise more then it also goes to a printer that will be strictly for printing cards only.  If I get even more then I can branch out into cards with pre-colored edging!  Which to me is very exciting!

The cards are the typical 5" x 6 7-8" and come with envelopes. Fluorescent White or Ivory.  I can work with the announcement sized cards as well which are 3 1/2" x 4 7/8".  The paper is a very nice, rigid, 80lb paper that has a wonderful feel to it.  I've run several test prints and the colors are amazing.

So, please look into it and if you don't donate at least pass the link on!  It would be a great help!

gofundme! Please!

Air Mother

Wind Mother

The Wind Mother is one that doesn’t seem to quit talking.  She is the hub of communication and always aware of everything and everyone around her.  She seems to know everything that’s going on whether she’s seen it herself or knows of it somehow that people aren’t quite sure of.

She’s the essence of purity of the spirit.  Of wisdom.  Of intuition. When talking to the Wind Mother all your cares seem to flow away.  She seems to know exactly what to say to easy your worries and fears.  She knows if you hold onto the negative that it can bring you much unhappiness and weigh your soul down.  So speaking to her is like a breath of fresh air and allows you to understand what you’ve been missing.  The bigger picture and not just the details that often hide what’s there.

Though she is a care free type Mother you have to be wary of the Wind Mother.  She can be as light and carefree one second and then as violent as a tornado the next and then in the next second as sweet as can be again.  So be careful what you say or even do.  They know and will tell you exactly how they feel about it.

In essence, be wary of the Wind Mother.  While she’s intuitive she can be flighty.  While she’s good at communicating she can easily stick her foot in it and mess a few things up but easily fix them.  But she is one of the only Mother’s to be very flexible.

Water Mother

Water Mother

The Water Mother is the essence of purity and fertility.  She works well with the Mother of Earth because they often share the common traits of wisdom, life, transformation.   But one has to watch the Water Mother for she is the embodiment of emotion, empathy, intuitiveness, and the seat of the nurturing of the elements.  Her imagination has no comparison seeing as, even though she’s a nurturing element, piss her off and she can be just as negatively moody and cold. 

The Water Mother is able to find the balance in her home life and work, between nurturing her family and her friends she’s able to be fulfilled in her knowledge that she’s able to help so many.    Her still waters comfort those around her and with that also connect us with a deeper connection. 

The Water Mother can be one though that has many tempers.  Warm and inviting when sick, allowing you to breathe easier.  Nurturing and quenching when you need that relief that only water can provide.  Chilling and slightly terrifying when angered, so much so they could destroy something or someone with words or actions alone.

Stay well on this Mother’s good side, for if you do, cookies, cuddles, and comfort is a bound.  Anger her and you will regret it with every fiber of your being.

Fire Mother

Fire Mother

The Mother of Fire is the essence of passion.  They can either be passionately loving, extroverted, brave, or passionately pissed off, uncontrollable, and furious.  You have to tread carefully around someone of the fire element.  Choose your words carefully because this epitome of a warrior will either stand beside you or take you down.

This element is quick to change moods, as wild and untamed as the flames that spring forth during the dry season in a wild fire or the flames of a forest fire.  Though you can tame the flames enough to reside in a hearth in the home, you must always be respectful.  The fire is quick to burn and quick to spread, to destroy.

But just as quick as it is to destroy the flames of Mother Fire can inspire and cleanse.  She knows when change is needed but you need to keep her in check or she’ll overdo it.  Follow her guidance carefully and she may help you when you are at your lowest to inspire you with a much needed boost of inspiration.

But underestimating this mother is not wise for even while passionate to inspire, anger her and she’ll destroy you just as fast.

Earth Mother

Earth Mother

The Mother of Earth is the essence of stability.  The foundation of life, wisdom and knowledge, she is the keeper of the circle of life and death.  Nurturing she raises the seedlings and the young till they reach adult hood and when their lives are at an end she releases that which she raised back to the beginning to nurture the new generation.

If you know someone of the earth element they’ll be a nurturer.  They are steady and reliable and will try to give all they have in nurturing the future.

Though like the element they are made of they are quiet in that aspect they’re always watching and learning and will speak up when disturbed.  And though they may seem calm, cool and collected on the outside, when angered they can erupt like a volcano.  So where they are the foundation of calm, they are a broiling powerhouse of emotion below the surface.

Never underestimate an Earth Mother.  They will prove you wrong every step of the way because they are so in tune with their surroundings.

______________________________________________

The first care of my Oracle deck that I'm trying to work finishing.  So far I've been working slowly through the meanings of the cards.  I'm halfway through I believe.  So expect more of these from my tumblr of the same name as this blog.  And please, feel free to leave comments!  I'd love to read them!

So, Jam day!

This year was a first for me.  I've canned foods before.  Tomatoes, beans, berries, and meats but I've honestly never, never ever, made jam before.  Which is very sad.  That changed a couple weeks ago.

My girlfriend and I had stopped at a farm on the way back from a fiber festival to pick up some Honey Crisp apples.  We had a couple of bruised ones but Honey Crisp apples actually hold very well and these were ginormous! The size of softballs!  And soooo very juicy and crisp.  Well, with so many we decided to try a jam that my girlfriend had found.  This Jam right here!  It smells amazing and tastes amazingly sweet. It should for how mush sugar is in it!

Well... we tried it and jarred some and it was delicious!

So my plans for today are going to be to peel the apples my future mother-in-law brought us and make another batch of jam with those and with the left overs some apple butter!  I'll post an update with pictures later for you guys and maybe see about posting some of the process but I'm not so sure since I only have one set of hands!

If anyone's tried this recipe I'd love to hear your experience!  Feel free to comment!

Well here goes nothing....

So, I finally got off my butt and decided to throw something into a shirt design contest.  It's not a guarantee I'll even get into the contest to the voting section, but we'll see what happens.  I'm hoping I'll get at least a couple votes....  Who doesn't remember Daria and Sick, Sad World?  That's the shirt design that I chose thanks to my lovely girlfriend who suggested it.  I like it a lot.  But we'll see.

They also have a contest for The Lion King which I plan on putting one in for that one if I can.  I mean, come on, why not?  I grew up with The Lion King being my most favorite movie for the longest time.  I don't know what I'm going to do yet though.  I want something freaking epic.

I hope my tablet lasts that long.  I think it's slowly going kaput.  Poor little bastard.  It did so well for a while.  The pen is going though and I think it'd be worth more just to get a whole new set up rather than deal with just getting a new pen seeing as my specific tablet is kinda the old model.  Again, poor little bastard....

Anyway, if my design gets up I'll post a link here and on facebook so people will vote for it!  Please please please go for it!  I'd really appreciate it!

Later guys!

Well, just a regular post! Sorry folks!

So, after gaining a job, hating that job, finally getting another job to make more money to actually pay bills and then losing that first job, then the other because it's seasonal.... I finally have a job I'm moderately ok with for now.  I like it though I've never been fond of working till 7 and that's my schedule next week.  Not excited but it's a job that pays above minimum wage.  And it's direct deposited into my account. So that's even better!

I really need to get my ass in gear because my partner suggested months ago to look into creating greeting cards.  There's a small market for them but I think I could do well if I just got off my ass and actually did something.  Some people are selling their cards for more than 15 bucks a pop for five or six cards!  I mean.... come on!  That's not including s and h.  I could do it.  I even have a kinda cute design group name.  I need to draw that too.  Yeesh.  Bad me.  Very bad me.

In other news, my partner and I are looking into homes.  We're getting fairly tired of the people upstairs and we just want a place of our own.  We found one that looks adorable and would be large enough for the two of us.  We don't need a lot and it would honestly be a little cheaper than what we'd be paying now.  I mean, why not?  I know they say your home is where your heart is, but sometimes you need a place to plant yourself, that you feel comfortable enough in to know you can always come back to.  We're looking for that, and for some odd reason, I really really think we should look at the place that caught our attention.  We'll see though.  My partner has a want to be out before December.  Again, we'll see.

Hmmmm..... Anything else?  I don't think so at this moment.  I'm going to go back to reading some more so I can post some more reviews.  Maybe if/when I get some card designs done I'll post them later.

Hellboy : House of the Living Dead

I admit, I have not read many comics, graphic novels or whatever they're called any more. But I am a fan of Hellboy. When I saw this, I just had to try and read it to see if I'd be into the graphic novel scene. I read, I loved and I'm willing to read more!

Hellboy goes missing in the 1950's only to be found in Mexico hanging out in bars after a friend luchador is killed by vampires. He's asked by a man to help save a girl and ends up ensnared in a plot by what can only be called a Mexican Dr. Frankenstien and forced to fight. In the end the man that tricked Hellboy reveals his dark secret, and innocent dies, and vampires rear their ugly heads.

I will definitely be reading more Hellboy stories in the future. I didn't want to stop when I started. Even though it was a small comic, I'd still reread it and suggest it to others. 




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Yes, I'm a Hellboy fiend.  Loved the movies, loved this comic.  I will be hunting for more now.

Fair, Projects, and a Little This and That

So.... haven't written in a while because let's face it, I'm lazy.  That's mostly it.  Soooo I decided I'd write about last night a bit.

Mon County had their county fair last night and Traci and I decided to check it out for a bit.  Let's face it, sometimes we just need to get out of the apartment for a while.  We went out to eat, picked a few things up, and then just headed over.  Five dollars for each of us to get into the door, which wasn't so bad really.  Back from our home county it was twice that and that didn't include concerts or anything.  Went to see some small fair stuff then walked around for a bit.  Saw some fair animals, the goats and miniature horses were adorable, got kissed on the hand by a pig or two (the animals is case anyone's train of thought was going else where) and Traci almost got pecked at by a chicken.  Or rooster..... Not quite sure..... Took a little break to sit and have a snow cone (it was in a cup so really a snow cup but who cares!).  Joked around that if Traci played Bingo they'd probably kick her out of the little tent because she'd win all the time.

Fair fooooood.....  I love the smell of most fair foods.  I adore funnel cakes.  It was decided by both Traci and I that we'd get our own because we don't like sharing foods we haven't had in ages.  While waiting in line we met up and talked to one of the girls Traci works with and her boyfriend and it was quite nice really.  It delayed the nommings of the funnel cakes though because since we touched animals we didn't want to eat the funnel cakes without washing our hands.  We said our goodbyes, grabbed a giant thing of cotton candy and headed home.  Nommed half the funnel cake when we got home and funnel cake cravings were set.  At least for now.

Though I'm not sure if I want to try that again.  I had some of the weirdest dreams last night and this morning which caused me to wake up around 7 something and not be able to go back to sleep.  Poo.  After waking up before 7 everyone morning for a while my body thinks only an extra hour is awesome.  Oh well.....  And of course, worst breakfast food ever.  The rest of the funnel cake that I didn't eat last night.  I'm such a horrible person!  I regret nothing!

Interesting news though.  Traci brought a cat down the stairs yesterday when she got home from work.  I've seen her around and so had Traci and the kitty is rail thin.  Soooo we fed her.  Wolfed it down and began purring at us.  We couldn't help it and bought a small thing of cat food after dinner last night and some flea stuff so we could treat her.  She was here when we got home from the fair and she crunched on some food before trying to get back into the apartment.  Silly thing doesn't know yet that if she runs in again she'll get a full on bath before she's allowed to stay long in here.  No joke.

I worked on a project this week just for myself and to see if I can come up with any other project ideas for my advanced class.  I though of trying to work more with color and so far, this project was fun.  I finished it yesterday and loved how the colors interacted.  Bright, bold and fun.  It's mostly a bunch of curvy and curled lines but it's simple and that's what I wanted.  I'll try to have a picture up soon.

The whole thing was slightly delayed though when I went up Monday and found someone had not only used my screen but tried to cover up the fact that they punched a small hole though it by putting emulsion back onto the screen.   I was not amused.  I think I fixed it and it should hold out for a couple months if I'm easy with it.  It had it's first trial run yesterday and the patch worked perfectly.  But if I find out who ever did that to my screen they will pay me for the damages.  My screen, my stuff, no touchie!  RAWR!

The weather seems to be clouding over now.  Don't know for how long.  Storms are in the forecast and I can kind of feel it in the air.  But we'll see how far that'll go.  And a breakfast other than horribly bad for me fair food would be nice.  Maybe Tudor Biscuit World.... Best biscuits ever!  Drooling over it now.  Can't help it!  But we'll see.  It all depends on what Traci wants.

Pictures of things I've been working on to come up at some point in time.

I swear I have stuff!

So, I'm still alive and home for the weekend.  A fabulous three day weekend that is my Birthday.  Joy of joys right?  I'm another year older and yet I don't feel any wiser. lol

I've been working a bit on some art, but not a lot.  I don't seem to feel like working but I know I should push myself to at least do a little here and there.  Whether it be writing or drawing.  Or even reading over a few things to fix mistakes.  Doing something is still doing something.

I did accomplish making a comic the other day and I really kind of want to get it up at some point.  All of them because A lot of people love them.  And I can't help but love Random Bunny.  He's amusing because he can say what I'm thinking and no one really cares.  He's a cartoon!  lol

I've begun to think about maybe posting snippets of an old fiction story that I'd started years ago here.  The only reason I'd do that is maybe it might help me get into finishing it.  I've been no where near it for years and personally I would like to share with a few people to see what comes of it.  And maybe I'd draw a scene or two from the story.  I've gotten better with drawing since then and would like to test it out.  We'll see though.  Nothing is ever really final with me.

Now, back to my book!

A little more art, a little less self esteem....

So, in the past two days I have been working more on some pieces of art.  A critter I sketched out a few days ago while at work that I find completely adorable and posted here earlier.  It is not a lovely burgundy color.

Not so happy with the background I believe but it's mostly likely going to change sometimes in the future.  I'm hoping that I can get as detailed with the rest of the critter like I have around the eye.

I've also been working on my cards as well.  But right now I seem to have hit a slight art slump because I've been so tired.

The past couple of nights I haven't been sleeping well.  Last night I'm sure I saw several points of the clock and I know I was tired at work.  I feel asleep on the couch last night but still couldn't sleep deeply enough in bed.

Yesterday was my interview for a summer job.  I feel like I've completely bombed the blasted thing and maybe the only thing I got right was sending information in for the background check.  And low and behold, it's another kitchen job.  I need to start pushing applications for jobs for the next year seeing as this is coming up on my final year of college.  I'd love to get a position in a job that, I don't know, studied for!  I really need to get into printmaking or just finish my card series and get those published.  That or make it big somehow with art.

This is the time I wish I could animate or something.