When Pigs Fly

Here's the little guy I stuffed at my class with Katie Innamorato in January.  Next class will be anthropomorphic moles with Diyva.  I'm sad that I'll be missing out on the other classes Katie is teaching at the end of the month, but sadly, and happily, I will be in the woods with some of my closest friends.  

I give you Clarence...

Crash

So, I am back online.  Not too soon after my last post, my beloved, tiny, red, laptop, just died.  There was no saving anything at all on it, it was 100% gone.  I mourned the loss, and figured I could live without a laptop, as there is a desktop in the house that I can use.  No biggie.  I have discovered that I am no longer accustomed to using a normal sized keyboard and it made me grumpy just looking at it.  I also was not going to attempt to type out an entire blog post on my phone.  Just completely unreasonable.  So, I took a hiatus, saved some money and now I am typing on a new laptop, with a weird touch screen and windows 8.   What that all means, I have no idea, I would love to just hand write these entries and pass a book around to share my thoughts with all of you, and chain letters are completely passe.  So here I am.  Pale, rested and ready.

Whats going on?  Hmmm...  Well, I took my very first taxidermy class this year with the lovely Katie Innamorato, at Bazaar in Baltimore.  I'm getting ready to take another next Sunday with Divya, and I am completely stoked!  My back yard maceration bins are full of deer part.  My best friend's ferret is so close to being finished that the excitement of returning her to her momma is completely overwhelming.  I've got a few small projects in the works, one of which being a small shadowbox piece and the other is some rat taxidermy that I've been putting off.

Things are exciting.  I'm looking forward to filling my etsy shop with lovely creations and hopefully hoping on a holiday craft show or two this year.  I am still taking mummification commissions and if you would like to be put on the wait list for an original ornament I am doing preorders for those as well.

Hopefully. I'll have more project photos to share with you soon.  I haven't forsaken you, my adoring public.  I just needed a rest.

And we begin again...

In an effort to better care for myself and the fact that my computer died late last year, I have been making an effort to spend more time off line actually doing things that I enjoy.  Refreshing facebook is such a time suck, and I've completely been absorbed by what you all write from moment to moment that I've been neglecting my craft and things that I love to do.

I hadn't worked on a taxidermy project in some time.  My friend's ferret had been sitting in my freezer for an insane amount of time, so I finally thawed her out and worked on her.  Her mummification process should be done in late January.  I also figured that I had to do something with the string of vertebrae I had laying around the house so I had an idea, broke out the dremmel and made 20 Christmas ornaments with bells, antique glass, beads and the bones.  They were wildly successful, and for that I am grateful.  It's always a thrill when something you love, your art, a craft you've been cultivating and working on is supported by people.  It's such a thrill.  I sold 19 of the 20 ornaments in two weeks time.  Now I have a mess of bones coming to me from friends that hunt for food, and with the animals I have in my freezer I have projects piling on again.  I am super excited, as my only promise to myself this year is to nurture my craft fully.  My first step towards doing that this year is taking an actual taxidermy class late this month.  I am thrilled at the possibilities, as I have been reluctant to dive head first into stuffing the creatures I have only for them to look derpy in the end.

So here's so a prosperous, craft nurturing year.  My art is going to be huge.

Penumbra

My friend Lorien posted this today and it just resonated so very deeply...

At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face against mine.
Breathe into me.
Close the language-door
and open the love window.
The moon won't use the door,
only the window.

-Rumi

Good night, Moon.

Less is more...

I know you all hear me professing my love for Dr. Hauschka, most times on a daily basis.  As a skincare professional, I have worked with several product lines, all of which have their merit.  However, no skincare line has nurtured, nourished and returned my skin to its natural glory than Dr. Hauschka.

First a little background.  The Dr. Hauschka skincare line is a German line developed by Dr. Rudolf Hauschka and Elizabeth Sigmund.  Most of the plants that go into the product are grown on WALA's bio dynamic farm, and are hand harvested and hand processed, with the exception of the roses and Shea Butter, which are grown on fair trade bio dynamic farms in warmer climates.  The idea, is that the product and ritual will return your skin to it's natural function.  No use for exfoliaters, or heavy night creams.

So, how does it work?  In the morning, you cleanse, tone and moisturize.  It's simple, and it works.  The cleansing cream is a gentle, deep cleanser that gently lifts out impurities and gently exfoliates the skin.  This is not a scrub, even though it may feel like one.  The idea is that with wet hands, you press, and roll your hands over your skin, listening for a squishing sound.  After three passes over your skin, you rinse, tone and moisturize, pressing each product into your skin, not rubbing.  Your skin will be rosier, clearer, and more balanced.  After a month, your skin will have gotten back to its natural rhythm.  It will be producing and healing and functioning at its highest level.

The facials are an other worldly experience.  Focus is on quality of touch and lymph stimulation.  They range from an hour to two hours, the Classic Treatment being the two hour treatment that is recommended four times a year with the change of the seasons.

I've struggled with my skin, adult acne, hyper pigmentation, texture issues, rosacea, psoriasis, and I've been through all of the treatments ranging from retin-a to cetephil to peels.  Nothing has healed my skin so easily and without all of the miserable side effects.  

Are you ready to leave your old skincare behind and begin a voyage towards your healthiest skin?

Let my skin speak to you...

Trying to help...

Eight years ago, one of my most beloved friends committed suicide.  It broke my heart.  I was inconsolable.  Still today, I am heart broken over the loss of such an amazing, sensitive, soul.  This September, I am walking to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  I, have personally struggled with and survived years of depression and a two suicide attempts.  Please, dig deep, any amount helps...

Click to Donate here

I hope you've found peace my dear friend...

Arlen Barr

Happy Fourth of July!