Mythic Worlds 2015

On Wednesday of last week Greg and I hopped on a plane into Seattle, Washington where we were picked up by Julie Baroh of Krab Jab Studios. While driving from the airport to the hotel I noticed that on the floor of the back seat next to me was a portion of one of Virigine Ropars dolls. I hadn't realized that I was going to have the opportunity to see her. The doll above is titled H21.

Virginie, like Greg and I, was one of the fifteen invited artist guests to the Mythic Worlds Convention that was due to take place over the weekend. Virginie and her friends David, Yoann and Claire had arrived extra early from Brittany to teach some classes and explore Seattle a bit.

Meanwhile Greg had an Artist as Brand workshop sponsored by Tara Chang Larson at the Krab Jab studio that took place on Thursday and Friday. Krab Jab is located in the Old Rainer Brewery Building which is now filled with live work lofts and several other types of businesses including an artisan chocolate shop called Frans.

Mythic Worlds, previously called Fairy Con West, felt like a mini version of Comic Con with a very woodland myth vibe. The cosplay was pretty spectacular with many artisan vendors who supplied the crowd with all the items that woodland creatures need for the evening masquerade balls. This fellow above seemed like he was the perfect mascot for my ivy perfume Hedera helix.

Unlike Comic Con, Mythic Worlds is very rooted in music with a Shadow masquerade ball on Friday night, a Light masquerade ball on Saturday night and a concert on Sunday night. During the day the music playing in the exhibit hall was Loreena McKinnett and similarly inspired sounds.

As guests of the event Greg and I each had a booth as well as presentations and a workshop. The class I led on Saturday titled Discovering Scent: Aromatic Energies and the Four Elements. I had a surreal moment at the start of my presentation when I looked out at my audience who was comprised of ladies dressed as fairies. Auspiciously there was a fairy for each element!

Our two booths were side by side and pretty simple, I had brought my two pop up banners with my little domes sit up on the table. We brought the Chiaroscuro banner that is normally in the workshop in Agoura, which serves as a nice backdrop for photos. Julie lent me a some horns to display my lockets which worked perfect in the context of the show.

Greg with one of his favorite models Jessica Lough (Figure 1: Noir).

On Saturday, as I was assembling all the essential oil samples for my presentation, George R.R. Martin (author of Game of Thrones) arrived with his wife Parris. They were headed up to the Cascade Rooms to hear a presentation titled "Why Are Strong Women in Fantasy Still A Surprise?" with Holly Black, Laurell K Hamilton, Charles deLint and Deborah Schneider.

We packed up our booth just as the show ended and zipped to the airport just across the street, but first we had to get a photo with our beautiful and talented friends from Brittany.

Favorite perfumes at the event seemed to be a toss up between Sierra Solid Gold and Q (the tree fragrances) and perhaps Chiaroscuro.

Although I was not able to take photos with my Canon because my battery died I did occasionally breakdown and use the I-phone, hope you enjoyed this little window into a Mythic World.

Two Left Hands Winner!

Thank you so very much to Liz and all the participants who journeyed over this way for the Two Left Hands feature.

Are you ready? Drrrrrrrrum roll please...the winner of the sweet Little Forest Mossie is...the Jack of Clubs from the Red deck. That card was assigned to DG, it was the blog follow that won her the Mossie. DG's favorite items from Two Left Hands are Hansel and Gretal and the witch, pictured above and below.

Enjoy DG!!! A very happy All Hallows to each of you.

Artist Feature and Giveaway: Two Left Hands

As we move into the holiday season it seemed fitting to feature an artist who lovingly creates sweet little beings joyously celebrating life. I came across our featured Etsy artist Liz of Two Left Hands auspiciously through, of all things, The Big Bad Wolf (pictured below).


I clearly recall seeing him on the front page of Etsy and immediately marking him as a favorite. I adored the sweet essence of this fellow, he seemed so happy and carefree. To me, he was very reminiscent of the handwork I would see at my daughter's Waldorf School.

Liz lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband and two dogs Muffie and Poker. Let's get to know Liz a bit shall we? She is quite busy this time of year, so her answers are quite concise and to the point. I am super grateful she consented to being here with us. Please give her your complete and devoted attention.


1.) What is the one thing you find most inspiring to feed your creative spirit?

People

2.) What is your favorite scent from the natural world?

Freshly, cut grass

3.) If you were Queen of a village what would you wish for your kingdom?

Health, peace and happiness

4.) How did you find yourself doing your particular craft and what made you name your shop Two Left Hands?

I have been making dolls since my girls were babies, and always made them one for Christmas. My Mossies are what I love to make the most, and my head is always swarming with new ideas. They are derived from Salley Mavor's "Wee felt Folk" book.

My shop name is pretty simple, I am clumsy by nature and I trip on things that aren't even in my way. I am a true lefthander, my right hand is pretty useless! The name TwoLeftHands, seemed pretty appropriate!

5) I see that Etsy has become a family affair for you. Can you share the benefits of having so many in your family all on Etsy together?

My daughter, Natalie (humbleBea.etsy.com) joined Etsy first and it has been so much fun having Etsy in common with her. We call each other if we list something new, if one of us is lucky enough to be on the front page, and if the treasuries are coming! We are both treasury addicts! I love seeing my grandson Noah (darksiderules.etsy.com) selling his little pocket books and ACEO"s, and my Mom (ohruthie.etsy.com) is having a ball making hats and blankets. She is 80 years old and Natalie and I tend her shop. She keeps a little book and writes down her sales and where we have shipped them to! My son-in-law Gary (humbleboy.etsy.com) has been very supportive and enthusiastic about Etsy since we joined and just opened a fabric shop. We do have to control what we talk about when we are around non-etsians, because they just don't understand us!

What an amazing group of talent in one family! Thank you so much Liz for taking some time out of your work so that we could get to know you and your family a bit.

NOW...the Giveaway!

When I asked Liz id she would be willing to be featured and do a giveaway she answered, "I don't usually do give aways, but I would be willing to part with this little guy." Wow, lucky the individual who wins this Little Forest Mossie!" Here is the description from the item listing:

This little Mossie is wearing a hand-embroidered tunic made of olive wool felt. The embroidery is done in tan and peach thread with little pearl buttons. His pants are orange wool felt with green and tan embroidery.
His face is hand painted and his hair is orange wool roving topped with an acorn cap. He is attached to a disk that I painted green and topped in moss. He is about 4 1/2" tall.
My "Mossies" are derived from a Salley Mavor pattern.

Here's how to enter:

Please note this Giveaway is for those in the US and Canada only.

1. Begin by leaving a comment on this post mentioning your favorite item at Liz's shop on Etsy, Two Left Hands. You will receive one entry by leaving a comment, you must include your first name -and- etsy username or email address with each entry or it will not be included.

For additional entries you can do the following and post in the comments to let me know:

(2 extra) Twitter this Giveaway and supply your twitter name. You may do this every day, each tweet counts as another entry if you submit them individually.
(3 extra) Purchase an item of $25 or more from Two Left Hands during this Giveaway. Please let me know what you purchased and when.
(1 extra) Follow my blog (if you already follow, just let me know)

If you do any of these you must let me know for your additional entries to be included. You got the let me know part right?



More fine print, learned along the way
1. If we cannot contact you we will give your prize away to someone else.
2. The featured seller will do their very best to mail the winners package in a timely manner, please contact them directly if you have any questions.
3. Each entry is assigned a card from several decks here at the house, I then shuffle all the cards and have someone handy (like my daughter or husband) choose a card for the winner and a runner up.
4. If you have won the Artist Feature and Giveaway in the past you may enter again.
5. Please don't make up any new guidelines, what is outlined above is what we follow.

The giveaway ends Sunday, October 18th at 1opm PST with the winner announced on Tuesday, October 20th. Please help us get the word out. Anyone who posts comments after 10pm on October 18th will not be entered in the draw.

Good Luck, I look forward to see who wins this Little Forest Mossie, who in my opinion probably likes his botanical perfume rich with Oakmoss.