New Blog - Silence is Golden & New Art
http://www.brigidashwood.com/blog/

New blog - #steampunk music find http://www.brigidashwood.com/blog/

Digital Scrapbooking stuff up (finally) at http://www.fantasyscraps.com/

New blog entry about what I've been up to and a new creation - something a bit different but loads of fun. http://ping.fm/fodiS

Just in time for Spring! http://ping.fm/0qmUB

Recent events having left me very drained I must begrudgingly admit I need a break. I need to recharge my batteries a bit. See you all in a little while.

Fashionable Literati

Wow. I'm really pleased to share with you that two of my images have been chosen by Modofly for their new journals. My pieces "The Creative Engine" and "Firefly (Inscendium Insectum)" are now really awesome full color cloth covered journals. Thought the good folks here might be interested in checking them out.


http://ping.fm/wZBwo

http://ping.fm/eZdYF

And while your there look around at the rest of the artists. A really stellar batch of talent - and many other artists with steampunk themes.

Cheers!
Brigid Ashwood
www.brigidashwood.com

Thanks all for well wishes - Ed is being held overnight - he's okay - just minor issues after shoulder surgery. I'll update tomorrow.

The Fairy Mafia is alive and kicking. *evil grin*
http://ping.fm/7rgn0

Use your non-dominant hand to draw organic things such as leaves, tree branches and flowers. It loosens you up and provides opportunity for "happy accidents".

This is a project I am really pleased to finally be able to share with you. I've been working on it for about a year with Charity Holly - owner of Mystic Memories one of my favorite licensing companies. No it wasn't rocket science but we really wanted to get it right. So the locket is large but not too large. It's got a nice solid feel without being too heavy. The image under the cabochon is literally a mini fine art print - very high quality. The ribbon chain is perfect - it's 18" adjustable to choker length if you prefer. And the fragrances are divine. Inside each locket is solid perfume with gorgeous fragrances that were inspired by the art. I hope you like them!
http://ping.fm/IGZZK

I have two new drawings to share today! Go to the Mineral Deposits Gallery to see "Repose" and "Reflection". These pieces were drawn in graphite on hand stained paper. I use a special formula of organics to stain my paper - regular watercolor would interfere too much with the tooth of the paper so I developed my own nasty bath of a variety of things with which to stain my papers. It works well ;) The white heightening is just white Prismacolor pencil. http://ping.fm/SpMjS

I have to thank Bibi for driving my my facebook page and shouting out some Patti Smith at me. Inspired me to share this. I'm a HUGE fan. Got to see her LIVE up close and personal at the old 9:30 club in D.C. - when? Back in da day. That's all you need to know bout my old ass. :) She was AMAZING - and I maintain... the sexiest woman I think I've ever seen. She's not what springs to most people's mind when they ask themselves "what is sexy?" But dammit the woman is raw, hot and spicy, moist and chewy when she preforms live. Makes me wanna eat homemade chocolate chip cookies then make out.

Here's my favorite bit of poetry from her. You might guess that as an artist - I find the last half doubly inspiring. If cuss words bother you don't listen to it - also you're dumb.

http://ping.fm/D8dZx

Transcript Below

Babelogue

I haven't fucked much with the past, but I've fucked plenty with the future.
Over the skin of silk are scars from the splinters of stations and walls I've caressed.
A stage is like each bolt of wood, like a log of Helen, is my pleasure.
I would measure the success of a night by the way by the way by the amount of piss and seed I could exude over the columns that nestled the P.A.
Some nights I'd surprise everybody by skipping off with a skirt of green net sewed over with flat metallic circles which dazzled and flashed.
The lights were violet and white. I had an ornamental veil, but I couldn't bear to use it.
When my hair was cropped, I craved covering, but now my hair itself is a veil, and the scalp inside is a scalp of a crazy and sleepy Comanche lies beneath this netting of the skin.
I wake up. I am lying peacefully I am lying peacefully and my knees are open to the sun.
I desire him, and he is absolutely ready to seize me. In heart I am a Moslem; in heart I am an American;
In heart I am Moslem, in heart I'm an American artist, and I have no guilt.
I seek pleasure. I seek the nerves under your skin.
The narrow archway; the layers; the scroll of ancient letters.
We worship the flaw, the belly, the belly, the mole on the belly of an exquisite whore.
He spared the child and spoiled the rod. I have not sold myself to God."

WOW - just wow - it never ceases to amaze me how some people seem to think that the rules of integrity and copyright "just don't apply" when it comes to art. Case in point. I'm doing laundry - and I have Millionaire Matchmaker (Bravo) on the TV while I fold socks. This episode has some train wreck of a guy on it named David Golshan. He's a mess true - and among the many talents he "thinks" he has is painting. Flash forward to his date with the naive Katy. He shows her a painting he painted that is "very special to him" - he gives it to her. She's just so touched, she feels she has some new insight into this man and his inner workings. The painting - so sweet - so poignant has really spoken to her heart. As well it should. It's Norman Rockwell's "Adventurers Between Adventures". Yes that's right Douche Bag copied it - exactly - well not exactly - it's not as good. That's feckin' plagiarism folks! (Had he been inspired by the painting and then put his own spin on it and then acknowledged the origin of it's inspiration that would've been okay. Many artists myself include pay homage in small ways to their favorite artists. This is a far cry from a stroke for stroke copy) No mention of this fraud, no acknowledgment whatsoever. What kind of art monkeys are working at Bravo that the production staff didn't recognize this ripoff? WTF SRSLY It's ROCKWELL PEOPLE. Ya know arguably the MOST recognized and beloved American artist of modern era. This makes me sick and I seriously hope it's not just completely overlooked. Grumble

PSP Tube users will be happy to know that my tubes will be available again very soon. The tubes will be available through FantasyScraps.com a great site that has tubes from some fantastic artists such as L.A. Williams, Ruth Thompson, Jane Starr Weils, Ash Evans, Mary Layton, Bill Plank and myself of course. Mine aren't up yet LOL but they will be soon. In the meantime check if you are a PSP Tube user spread the word: http://ping.fm/4XfOr

email was broken for a bit - if you sent me email and it bounced send it again or try brigid ashwood @ gmail dot com (remove spaces) Thanks!

Ya know I've just flipping had it. (See my previous blog post to find out which straw sent the Camel to the chiropractor.) There is such a thing as INTEGRITY folks. Look when it comes to being creative yeah there is nothing new under the sun - truly the only hope you have of being "original" is doing something that "seems" new or "appears to be done in a new way". If we as artists didn't have this one small hope to cling to we would never create. The best thing you have going for you in a sea of sameness is your own damn voice. YOUR voice will make it new. Nothing wrong whatsoever with being influenced and inspired. Not even possible to avoid it - sad truth - it happens - you get influenced by trends and the collective unconscious and other people's work whether you want to be or not. There is no avoiding it - but again it is your hand - your mind - your experiences - YOUR voice - YOUR vision that makes it your own. What I cannot - cannot - abide is a LAZY artist - whether you sing, write, paint or craft you better be working your ass off and putting something of your blood sweat and tears into that shit or frankly you suck and I don't have time for you. To copy another artists work - is the antithesis of ART! The utter opposite of creativity. In fact its seriously shameful. Be inspired all you want - explore similar themes - even be inspired by a pose or a hairstyle or striped stockings (if you must... but c'mon really? come up with your own trademark for chrissakes) be inspired by a trend or a movement but don't trace somebody else's work change a few colors and expect to be RESPECTED. That's lazy, and wrong, and just effing gives me hives. *Reaching for the Calamine* K. I'm done.

So um yeaaaah. Anyone with a copy of Watercolor Fairies care to tell me which artist in that book this supposed Etsy artist is ripping off? http://ping.fm/dlzZq
mmmhmmmm - admittedly AirDance wasn't by best work - but it's MINE.