knee deep in fairies!

Holy moley, it's been a busy week...new french doors for the studio,  (I promise to fill you in soon on the remodel) fairies buzzing around everywhere, and somehow I've misplaced my brain. Help!

Anyway, here are some new fairies that were dropped on my doorstep in the past several days. It seems they've been misbehaving a bit, so they're being temporarily incarcerated. They'll be appearing in the Camp Cactus etsy shop until they've finished doing their time.

Here's Pinky, a Garden Fairy captured by a little girl in her grandma's garden...Evidently, Pinky was unmercifully tickling a bumblebee and didn't notice the child sneaking up on her.

Next up is Doug Fir, a Forest Fairy who was captured in the woods in Oregon. He was getting a little carried away throwing fir cones at hikers. Doug's official job is to defend the stately old trees from invasive species, but sometimes he gets a little confused...


And finally, we have Viola. She's a Flower Fairy captured in a perennial bed as she was sternly lecturing the hummingbirds on garden etiquette. An irate gardener thought she was harassing the birds and confined her to this lantern, where she lectures everyone who will listen!


Stop by the etsy shop and adopt one of these fairy delinquents, won't you please?

introducing...

Here's a preview of who's going to be fluttering their wings on the fairy red carpet. They've been waiting patiently for their turn in the Camp Cactus photo studio. 


This Is Ginko, a Garden Fairy from Japan. You can meet her and read her bio here in the Camp Cactus Esty shop, where photos will also be available on Friday for her fans.


Here's Calendula, a Flower Fairy from Australia. She'll also be appearing in the shop with Ginko and the others. Stop by and say G'day!

Stay tuned tomorrow for some troublesome Fairies who are currently incarcerated...

newly arrived fairies

More and more fairies are showing up for the Fairy Festival on Mt. Hood...and some of them have gotten quite rowdy! I've had to set up an impromptu photo studio in the dining room today, as they're all in a tizzy about having photos to autograph for their adoring fans. I'll be posting those tomorrow.

Here are some shots of Imelda and Morgana's closets while you're waiting. They'll also be in my etsy shop later today.

Imelda's Fairy Closet


Morgana's Fairy Closet

Catch you later!

fairy closets

Here's Buttercup's closet...



you can check it out in person this weekend at Artists for Children of the World. See you there!

more fairy fashion!

Here's a gown created for Morgana, a Forest fairy. The skirt is composed of pheasant feathers, with a bodice of American Beech leaves and a waistline encircled with red raffia and 

peris japonica blossoms.

Just in case you think the boy fairies aren't interested in fashion...here's a suit designed specially for Padraic, an Irish Hill fairy who loves to show off his fancy footwork at 

those moonlight River Dances.

And last, but not least, here are Imelda's favorite shoes: (much larger than actual size)

See you at the Fairy Gathering!

fairy couture

Quite a few fairies have dropped in to the studio lately, and a few of them asked if I'd design them some new outfits. It seems there's a Spring Fairy Festival up on Mt. Hood very soon, near the tiny town of Rhododendron, and needless to say, the local fairies are quite excited to show off the neighborhood to fairies from around the planet.

I don't know what I was thinking when I said yes. I have a show coming up in two weeks, and I need to keep working on my inventory.  Plus my studio is all torn up at the moment, so I'm working in the basement. (More on that soon) 

Anyway, I'm beginning to suspect a fairy spell has come over me, because all I can think about lately is fairy couture!


Little piles of leaves and fairy ephemera have been appearing on my doorstep, and every time I go for a walk with the pups I come back with my pockets full of stuff.

Here's is the first piece I designed. It's a little sundress for Imelda, a garden fairy.  The skirt and bodice are of preserved sessile oak leaves, with a scalloped, asymmetrical hemline and crossed straps of miscanthus sinesis (a grass).  The waist is accentuated with a bamboo belt embellished with a rosehip and hop petal clasp. (Wait till you see her shoes!)

The next piece is a sweet and saucy little number with a swingy, swirly oak leaf skirt trimmed at the waist with a ruffle of blue hydrangea petals. The translucent birch bark bustier is embellished in just the right places with hydrangea petals. It will be worn by Willow, a forest fairy, who loves to dance in the woods.

Check back tomorrow to see what I came up with for Buttercup, the Meadow Fairy!

new work

I'm participating in a group show coming up this weekend,
titled "Say it with HEART!"
here are some little shrines I've been working on:

holiday sale highlights

Whew! What a weekend at Camp Cactus! The place was packed to the rafters opening night on Friday. The wine flowed freely, the munchies were consumed, and sales were terrific.

Holiday spirits were high (or maybe it was all the wine)

Everyone seemed to want to support local artists and keep their money in the community.


Thankfully, the rains held off most of the weekend, and though it was really cold, we had a fire going outside as well as inside, and everyone stayed toasty.


All in all it was a great sale, and on behalf of all the artists, I'd like to thank everyone who turned out for it this weekend


and I'm looking forward to writing a big fat check to Oregon Food Bank this week.

Thanks again, and Happy, happy holidays to all!

so much art!

This weekend we'll have original watercolors and prints by artist Bart DeGraaf...

...and gorgeous work by Hadley Hutton:

Come on by and meet the artists at the preview tonight!

dan ennis ceramics

Dan just brought these by today.

I love the playful colors and cool designs.

They look even better against a fence or greenery in the backyard...

It was too dark to shoot them outside, but I think they sure look great in my kitchen, too!