The Jackalope: Creative collaboration.

Creative Collaboration
Or an idea shared: different artists, different mediums

The plan was hatched after a festival, to create and collaborate all new work for an upcoming show. The players? Jane Star Weils - fantasy and mythic painter and Jenny Davies-Reazor - fantasy and mythic sculptor/jeweler. Two friends, two artists, two redheads. What could go wrong?

I suggested a jackalope. While most commonly associated with folklore of the Wild West, there are horned hares that appear in illuminated manuscripts as far back as Ancient Persia and Medieval Europe. (Further reading on the jackalope here)

Jane sent me this - and it is awesome:

original drawing by Jane Star Weils 

So I headed to the studio and started to sculpt... Originally I planned to do 2 one-of-a-kind tiles... but the Facebook response was so popular that I cast the tile. I can now press jackalope tiles to my heart's content.

Sculpting from my reference photo

SO many glaze possibilities!

Jane and I decided to do this collaboration because we were sharing a space and vending together at the uniquely magical New York Faerie Festival in Ouaquagua, NY. We had special approval from the organizers as sharing usually is discouraged. Our themes of mythic inspiration, gods and goddesses, totem animals and symbolic icons are shared from paint to clay, from colored pencil to polymer. Here we are set up overlooking a babbling brook - I kid you not! 

Our home away from home - Jane on the left and yours truly on the right. 

Our side "yard" and natural installation/altar

 While we did not sell out of jackalope items - it was great fun! I adore Jane's work and was thrilled to have permission to do this - use her images, etc. I think she also enjoyed seeing her creation come to life in beads, and 3d.  I have to state here that I used her image with her express permission - and thats the only way I could have done this. Sure, there are other jackalope images I could have referenced... but that wasn't the point here. It was a motivating, inspiring challenge, shared marketing and the like. (Other artists friends had their jackalopes represented as well - in leather masks... sorry no pictures though...)

Jackalope in situ

The photocopied images transferred to the polymer with a greenish cast that I thought was perfect. I did 2 pieces but tried to kept the colors a bit more neutral to appeal to a wider audience.

Image transfer on polymer with beaded bezel

I would love to hear what you think! What is your favorite mythical animal? Have you ever collaborated with another artist? 

For me - home from FaerieLand- its back to the glaze cave... 

Until next time! 

Freeform Friday: Friends, fairies, and inspiration...

So last weekend was FaerieCon. Where else can you surround yourself with your creative tribe of artists and authors and musicians, frolic with the Fae folk for the weekend, sell, shop, and be merry? 

I have posted about this magical weekend before, and Diana showcased some of the exceptional artist/vendors in her Monday post. Today's post is brought to you by: 

 INSPIRATION

This mythic and magical community draws inspiration from myriad sources. Fairy tales. Folklore. Myths.  Fantasy. Dreams. Fairies, djinn, dryads, ogres, unicorns, nixies, fauns, goblins all roam the halls. We draw on the same sparks of inspiration yet fan the flames into our own unique interpretations. Our Muses speak the same language... Its so pleasant when there is room for a variety of offerings, with a similar theme - and no competition, but camaraderie instead! There is a joy in shared and yet diverse inspiration. It's a supportive community, creatives encouraging each other in artistic endeavors. It's a precious and refreshing thing of late. 

SJ Tucker, Kem OM Crampton and me. 

SJ Tucker is a bard. A singer/songwriter, magic maker. A pixie, a firebird, a pirate girl, a force of nature. We have become friends as our paths crossed many times, over many years. I was thrilled to see and hear her at FaerieCon. And I needed to ask her a question...

The first track on her Mischief cd has me thinking. Titled "Ravens in the library"... I want to do a series of tiles - the ravens and their antics in the library. One of a kind, detailed, and I was hoping to use her lyrics in the borders. ( I have her permission, and can go ahead!)

Did I NEED permission? Not to be inspired by her work, not to take that spark and go sculpt.  But as independent artist/musicians doing one's own marketing? As members of the same community? I WANTED to be able to make the connection and give her the credit for having inspired me. And I can credit her on the back of each tile and perhaps send new fans her way...

I had a strong sneaking suspicion that SJ would take kindly to this idea. Her most recent album "Wonders" is inspired by the work of her friend, the author Catherynne M. Valente.
" Is it the Wonders that you're after?
S. J.'s 2013 release is inspired, from start to finish, by Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland novel, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making! Get ready for a wild ride on the back of a big red Wyverary, or a Wild Velocipede, or a Glashtyn-powered ferry, across such majestic vistas as the Worsted Wood, the Barleybroom River, and the Perverse and Perilous Sea! It is our fondest hope that you will return from these adventures better than when you left." 
( from SJtucker.com)
These amazing women have worked on many collaborations in the past, and I was thrilled to hear them do a reading/singing at FaerieCon. What an opportunity! The words, read by the author, followed by the songs, sang by the songwriter...

And I have a necklace in my head. Fully formed. Designed itself really... a tribute to Key, a character in C. Valente's book.

1. 'Fairyland...' by C. Valente. 2.  "Wonders" by SJ Tucjer. Cover art by Chaz Kemp. 
3. Panel reading with Heath Miller - pix credit C. Orapello

Now - its not about needing ideas, being blocked, or looking for something to do next. It's about being seized and shaken and excited. It's a lightbulb moment, that makes you want to drop it all and dash to the studio. right. now. I have ideas percolating in my head  like an old fashioned coffee pot at all times. Some bubble up faster than others. And its a shared love for the art, the lore, the subject. Its making connections, mutual admiration, magic. 

I am thankful for this tribe, this community and the creativity we nurture in each other. I leave you with a quote by Charles DeLint - in response to my necklace inspired by his story... 

"I like to think of art as a conversation that we're all having with one another. It's especially nice because we can have those conversations across space and time.

That story was originally for an anthology to celebrate Tolkien so I borrowed a shadow of Tom Bombadil, kept Tolkien's essay "Tree & Leaf" firmly in mind... And now you've taken the inky scratches on paper and made a three-dimensional hello out of them. Which is how it's supposed to be. Now perhaps somebody will see "Whispered Tales" and write a song about it..." ( CDL comment on my blog) 

Charles Vess, me, Charles DeLint at Spoutwood. My piece "Whispered Tales" inspired by Charles' story  "The Conjure Man" from Dreams Underfoot. 

Wishing you magic...
Jenny

For further reading: 

Inspired by Music/Frenchy and the Punk 

Inspired by Literature/Charles deLint