La Práctica del Oficio y el Arte Alrededor de un Fuego: Everyday Sacred Hearth and Home Witchcraft & The Sagewordsmith Soul and the Art of Storytelling

Mesa de Trabajo

Mi rincón de dibujo e ilustración ..?  #WorkSpace&ArtStudio

Dibujo e Ilustración

El dibujo es algo que cualquiera puede hacer, un dibujo lo tomas de lo que te rodea, calcas tu mundo como lo ves o como crees verlo, no tienes que pensar mucho para hacerlo , pero una ilustracion es algo mas complejo que eso, ilustrar requiere que te detengas a analizar, no es solo tomar un libro o una frase y "pintar", es tener conocimiento amplio del tema, que no es solo pintar a caperucita roja en el bosque, sino saber el por que esa historia, de donde surge, si caperucita es realmente tan inocente como la pintan, el porque de los "alfileres y las agujas" de la historia original, como seria una caperucita en esta epoca, como lo fue en la epoca de la historia, costumbres , vestuarios, etc...detras de una buena ilustracion generalmente hay una critica o un estudio detallado, que no se percibe a la vista de cualquier persona.....ahi yace la diferencia.....

DIBUJO: || 2. Proporción que debe tener en sus partes y medidas la figura del objeto que se dibuja o pinta. || 3. Delineación, figura o imagen ejecutada en claro y oscuro, que toma nombre del material con que se hace. Dibujo de carbón, de lápiz. || ...


ILUSTRACIÓN:Se denomina ilustración al dibujo o imagen que adorna o documenta el texto de un libro.

Ilustración (v.Latin, lat. illustrare), (de ilustrar) sust. Estampa, grabado o dibujo que adorna ó documenta un libro. Componente gráfico que complementa o realza un texto.

Las ilustraciones son imágenes asociadas con palabras. Esto significa que podemos producir imágenes que llevan un mensaje.

1. Acción y efecto de ilustrar. || 2. Estampa, grabado o dibujo que adorna o documenta un libro. || ...

Según estas definiciones, entendemos que un dibujo puede ser también una ilustración, pero una ilustración no tiene porqué ser un dibujo.

Me refiero a que la ilustración:

I) - ACOMPAÑA

II) – ILUMINA

La cadena ilustrativa es el proceso que se realiza hasta llegar a la ilustración final.
Cada elemento que compone la cadena va añadiendo cambios significativos que afectarán al resultado que el público verá. La ilustración propiamente dicha.

La ilustración persigue la transmisión de un mensaje, tiene un propósito comunicativo. Como la huella de la historia oral (storytelling) o del texto escrito (storywriting) que es, es elsignificado del significante a que acompaña y que ilumina, y juntos dan forma a un signo lingüístico que emite un mensaje, que logra establecer Comunicación.

Cuaderno de dibujo - Articomic



http://articomic.com/21900-cuadernos-de-dibujo?p=2

Lápices de grafito, carboncillo, sanguina, sepia, blanco y cretas

http://mitiendadearte.com/lapices-graphic-derwent.html (lápices grafito blando *sueltos Derwent)
http://mitiendadearte.com/set-de-retrato-verge-gallery-canson-3-lapices-de-carbon.html (1 sanguina - 1 sepia - 1 lápiz negro o carboncillo - 1 difumino)
http://mitiendadearte.com/lapiz-carboncillo-cretacolor-mina-de-3-8mm.html (lápices carboncillo blando - medio - duro)
equivalen al set lápices cretacolor artist studio:
http://mitiendadearte.com/set-lapices-cretacolor-artist-studio.html

http://mitiendadearte.com/caja-metal-graphic-soft-12-derwent.html (ésta es la caja de lápices de grafito blandos que ahora sé que es la que me tendría que haber comprado: ver los que faltan en la caja de 12 que compré para adquirirlos sueltos*. Me sobran TRES LÁPICES, y ME FALTAN TRES.

Este estuche de lápices blandos (9B - H) es más adecuado para retratos y esbozos expresivos; los lápices de dureza media (6B - 4H) son adecuados para motivos y dibujos en general y los lápices duros (B- 9H) son ideales para ilustraciones detalladas.
http://mitiendadearte.com/caja-metalica-24-piezas-graphic-derwent.html
http://mitiendadearte.com/caja-metal-graphic-designer-12-derwent.html (ésta sería la caja de lápices de grafito para dibujo más lineal y de detalle, la de minas más duras  vs. soft blando)


http://mitiendadearte.com/cartera-de-dibujo-derwent-15-piezas-bock-sketching-wallet.html
5 lápices de grafito Derwent  - Ideales para boceots preliminares (H - B - 2H - 2B - 6B)
2 lápices de bocetos Derwent solubles - Mina blanda y ancha ideal para bocetos de trazos fuertes. Basta con añadir agua para aportar sutileza al dibujo (4B - 8B).
Lápiz Onys - más osucro que un 9B.
Lápiz Charcoal de color - Carboncillo con un toque de color-
Lápiz Charcoal - Carboncillo tradicional en un lápiz práctico y fácil de usar.
Afilapuntas metálico
Goma de borrar de plástico para eliminar las zonas de grafito
Bloc pra dibujo A5 - 21x15 cm.

* lápices Conté à Paris Sanguina - Sepia - Blanco
http://www.artemiranda.es/fichaproducto.asp?idproducto=1132
http://mitiendadearte.com/marcas/conte/conte-lapices-compustos-tierras-y-blancos.html (3 sanguinas, 1 sepia, 1 blanco)
http://articomic.com/material-de-dibujo/blister-6-lapices-conte-a-paris-sanguina.html el equivalente a la foto de 6 lápices esbozo Conté À Paris del blog No soy una cebolla: 3 SANGUINAS + 1 SEPIA + 1 BLANCO + 1 LÁPIZ NEGRO CARBONCILLO "Conté À PARIS", PERO MÁS BARATOS!!!!!!)

http://articomic.com/material-de-dibujo/blister-6-lapices-conte-a-paris-esbozo.html
http://articomic.com/material-de-dibujo/caja-metalica-conte-a-paris-estudio-12-lapices-esbozo-y-dibujo-surtidos.html (Fusain Charcoal, Pierre Noire. No soy una cebolla)

http://www.barna-art.com/conte-lapiz-de-dibujo-mina-blanca-sepia-o-sanguina
http://www.barna-art.com/koh-i-noor-lapiz-para-artistas-gioconda
http://mitiendadearte.com/6-lapices-de-esbozo-sanguina-conte.html


Blanco - toques de luz y ofrece contraste máximo con el negro
Sepia - tono verdoso, para paisajes
Sanguinas - retratos


La técnica de "los tres lápices" consiste en dibujar con un lápiz blanco, otro negro o carboncillo y una sanguina. Los tonos negros producen efectos de gran intensidad, y los blancos ayudan a iluminar las zonas que el artista considera oportuno.

http://nosoyunacebolla.blogspot.com.es/2014/01/las-sanguinas-o-cretas.html
http://www.lanubeartistica.es/dibujo_artistico_1/Unidad2/DA1_U2_T1_Contenidos_v01/12_la_sanguina.html
http://www.lartistica.es/es/51-material-de-dibujo



Lápices grafito blandos 7B - 8B - 9B DERWENT
Sanguinas, Sepia, Blanco, Lápiz carboncillo Conté À Paris

Difumino

To-buy List:
  • Completar los lápices grafito blandos (7B, 8B, 9B)
  • Caja 12 lápices esbozo y dibujo (grafito, carboncillo, fusain charcoal, pierre noir, sanguina, sepia y blanco)
  • 1 difumino

Hooves

It is so far — so long ago
she left off thinking of glass slippers
accepted her four hooves.

Nemetona, the Lady of the Sacred Grove

Nemetona is the Forest Witch, the Cottage Witch, the Kitchen Witch, the Hearth Witch, the Cauldron Witch .. The Witch of the Sacred Grove. A Hedge Witch .. A Witch! Wild Wise Woman. Wicce. A Shaman.

Elen's Ways lead to Nemetona. Follow the deer trods and meet Nemetona, the Lady of Sanctuary (Protection), of Sacred Spaces (Magic Circle) and the Sacred Grove. Deers are her children, they are Her. As I see it: the most elusive, wilder Antlered Goddess, the Lady of the Wildwood, Elen of the Ways, a Woodland Goddess, is really the Velvet-Antlered Doe, a messenger, the hooved magical creature of the forest, the sacred grove, standing by Hedge Witch Nemetona, a Deer-Rider, a Sorceress, along with the horned animal, the cattle, a bovid, a goat-like figure (witchcraft, fertility, spring), an antelope... a gazelle, the horned bovids being a symbol of the indoors domestic realm, of the hearth and home witchery, and the whole (and balanced) iconography similar to that for Irish goddess Flidais.


The description for the following painting reminded me of goddess Nemetona, being goddess Nerthus or Erda/Erth a Norse Goddess of Earth, Spring, Cycles, Fertility, whose symbols are fire, chariot and soil.


Nerthus or Erda is the Germanic/Norse Goddess of the Earth. In my vision for this painting, the widely popular veiled Nerthus was not quite what I wanted to do to capture the essence of this powerful and very meaning Goddess. many legends and folk stories exist throughout the Germanic Lowlands where the Goddess herself travels across the land in a cart or the folk tradition of a cart being held on a secret island where a holy man attends the Goddess. When she is present all iron must be locked away according legend and folk stories. In this painting we find a ghostly Nerthus settled into a Northern German sacred bog/grove attending to work with spirits and the very universal energy of nature and wilderness. The water represents the thin film between life and death and ancient association with swamps or bogs being portals the the otherworld.

The Antlered Path - El Camino Astado


Antiguos como la historia de la humanidad son la Pacha Mama y el Fuego de Tabiti .. Tierra y Fuego. Terracotta. Y así, sus diosas. Antes de que la sociedad escindiera la linea matrilínea, antes de que nos olvidáramos sin haber llegado a conocernos en su completud, previo a desadquirir aptitudes en la medida que aprendíamos actitudes, y a que la cultura trajera consigo la obligación de posicionarse, elegir .. Dentro o fuera, una cosa u otra, roles .. moldes. Estructuras (nunca se me han dado bien las líneas rectas .. ¿Por qué ..?). Aquellas primeras diosas, primigenias y esteparias, encarnaban esa dualidad, polaridad, axis, paradoja. No había ying y yang, femenino y masculino, había seres humanos completos. En este caso, Mujeres. Sheer Womanliness. Wholeness. Tabiti, diosa del fuego de la lumbre y del hogar, señora de las bestias y de la naturaleza salvaje. Flidais, cuya sexualidad (wilderness) and lust (desire to learn and to know things .. burn, witch!) eran legendarias, estaba mitológicamente conectada por igual con animales domésticos y salvajes, concretamente Deer (cérvidos, antlers, wildwood, outdoors, earth) and Cattle (bóvidos y cápridos, horns, domesticity, hearth and home realm, indoors, fire) were her Sacred Animals. Cuando dejamos de ser redondos y absolutos, infinitos, cuando el linaje del Pueblo de los Auténticos descendió bajo las Colinas Huecas, se adentró en el Bosque Mágico, empezaron a poblar los cuentos, mitos y leyendas toda una suerte de diosas sesgadas (biased) en sus Arquetipos: Frigg y Freya, Hestia y Artemis, Elen of the Ways and her twin sister Nemetona, Lady of the Sacred Grove .. Cada una representaba una mitad de aquella Antigua Mujeridad (Womanliness) Salvaje y Sabia.

https://downtheforestpath.wordpress.com/tag/elen/
http://downtheforestpath.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/413/
http://www.orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/flidais/index.html
http://feminismandreligion.com/2013/09/21/flidais-celtic-earth-goddess-lady-of-the-forest-and-much-more/


Dicen que las diosas para Aries son diosas amables de la primavera, la luna y el alba, doncellas que personifican la vuelta de la luz y la vida sobre la tierra, los nuevos comienzos, el renacer, la inocencia .. Éste sería el aspecto Lunar de estas diosas. Su individualidad. Su personalidad, sin embargo, es Solar, y está marcada por el Fuego, por la Cardinalidad que éste representa .. Pioneras, libres, salvajes, valientes, luchadoras .. Esta polaridad, axis, dualidad se vive como una "tensión", un "forcejeo" similar al del momento del nacimiento (childbirth), y equivale al caos (chaos) creativo, muy potente desde un punto de vista Alquímico. Y si estamos ante una Mujer Aries nacida en Ostara (Påskkärringar)*, un momento astral muy especial del año (tanto, que en los antiguos calendarios lunares la noche de Ostara era una festividad lunar que daba paso al primer día del Nuevo Año al día siguiente .. esa Luna Llena era la primera Luna Llena de la Primavera, la Luna Llena que sigue al Equinoccio de Primavera, que es una festividad solar, y que celebra la llegada de la Primavera con el triunfo del dios Sol sobre el frío y la oscuridad), cuando la oposición del Sol en Aries y la Luna en Libra es tan fuerte que los magos y brujas se afanan en tejer, cocinar y forjar sus Trabajos a la luz de la Luna durante esa noche mágica .. es muy posible que estemos ante una Bruja. Los ojos de una [Mujer de Ojos Grandes de Estrella] [Venida del Monte] ven y miran más hacia dentro que alrededor, y su Corazón rastrea incansable las huellas y raíces de la psique más profunda, desempolva los huesos de la Mujer Salvaje y Sabia, desoye las historias y escucha los cuentos, los dichos, los refranes, los mitos, las leyendas .. todo lo que lleva intrínseco, impregnado, preñado, el germen de lo Antiguo, la semilla del Legado Ancestral, el pneuma que serpentea por el camino torcido, el menos frecuentado, el Camino Astado, el que recorren, han recorrido y recorrerán al hilo de los tiempos las Brujas de la Casa de Aruru .. Valientes y osadas para caminar por el filo, por los extremos, para andar a saltos entre las estrellas, para llegar hasta donde a nadie le interesa ya estar, para forzar las cosas para que revelen su blanco o su negro, para vivir con el alma al aire y las palmas vueltas hacia el cielo sin esperar nada más a cambio que vivir una vida con sentido. Y dicen que la Luna y el Sol anidan entre las astas del Animal Sagrado que acompaña a algunas de ellas, una Criatura Mágica del Bosque ..

Aries are pathfinders, and walking the sacred path of a labyrinth, wielding the Double Ax, seems a fit metaphor for the pioneers of the zodiac.  Aries goddesses include gentle goddesses of spring who embody new beginnings, the light of dawn, cyclical renewal of the Earth, and the rebirth of life.  In contrast, Aries goddesses are also pioneers who blaze new trails, courageous leaders and fierce warriors who have the will to do battle.  The quality of vision, enabling Aries to move forward in the direction of the new path, is vital.  Aries goddesses are independent, possessing a keen sense of adventure, and they understand that courage is acting in spite of fear.

http://naturalshaman.blogspot.com.es/2012_10_01_archive.html

*(NA) Btw, consider this: Reindeer Goddess is a Siberian reindeer spirit and guardian of all newborns, especially those born in spring. 
Male reindeers drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, whereas female reindeers, who are amongst the very few female deers wearing antlers, only excepted by the velvet-antlered doe, which is a quirk of nature outcoming fantasy to become true, retain their antlers through the winter until their calves are born in the spring.
So .. ho-ho! Santa's Reindeer, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, couldn't have been a male, but a female reindeer, Rigoberta!
Y si en lugar de Santa, iconografiamos a nuestra Bruja de Ostara, una Brujita de Cocina, una bruja de fogón, una bruja de cabaña, una Påskkärringar, una especie de sacerdotisa de la primavera que bendecía la tierra con sus alegres y coloridos rituales, con su tetera y su caldero de cobre, ésa que dejaba sus zapatillas y su escoba en el hueco de la chimenea tras el fuego, y salía surcando un cielo de estrellas a lomos (Deer-Rider Hedge Witch) de su cierva rumbo a Blakulla, la remota Montaña Azul donde se reunían las brujas esa noche ............................. Sí, imagina. ¡Eso voy a dibujar! 
#theantleredgoddess #thereindeergoddess #thedeergoddess #theantlereddoe #thevelvetantlereddoe

THE EGG MOON & THE DEER WOMAN

Encontré este artículo, y me pareció precioso .. Copio algunos extractos ..

#deertotem #woodlandgoddess #theantlereddoe #theantleredgoddess #elenoftheways
#goddess #spring #moon #dawn #antlers #horns #deergoddess

Tonight was the full moon. The 9th of April. The Pink Moon. The Egg Moon. Even the word April sounds like rain; it spittles from the mouth with the open promise, the gathering of air for the “A” and the plosive “pr” ending with the tongue lap of “l” at the back of the teeth. Water held back, pressed behind the dam. But that rain, as the rhyme goes, the April showers hold the promise of May flowers. Next full moon – The Milk Moon. The Flower Moon.

Two nights ago i dreamed i stood in a huge backyard, a large farmhouse behind me. It wasn’t quite an open field as it was fenced off. The grasses were tall in places and something straw-colored was moving through the area towards me. But all i could see were its dark eyes and furry antlers. It seemed to be part moose or reindeer and masculine – it was so large, but as it drew closer, it became softer, graceful, almost feminine despite the large antlers on its head to indicate male. It was more a Mule deer, a buck.

We both approached each other cautiously and as the deer stood still before me, it morphed into a woman. It occurred to me that i should invite her for dinner; a big party was being thrown by extended family, though it was no family i knew of and no occasion i could name. When i introduced my new friend to the men in the family, they leered a bit, patted at her long legs and lap asking why she was so quiet. I explained that she was foreign and didn’t speak the language, so the deer-woman just smiled softly at them and looked strangely at me. i grew anxious as we visited because i felt that at any moment, her glamour would break and she would morph back into the powerful, antlered creature that would bound through the room, kick over furniture and dishes and smash through the back door to escape. The thought plagued me so heavily i pleaded with my eyes to the deer-woman and indicated with my head that we should go back outside. She nodded and followed me.

This lead me to seek out the mythology of the deer, the stag, ways to interpret the dream. It begins even in Neolithic Cave art where the depiction of people for hunting or shamanistic practice, dress in deer hide and wear antlers. In Classical times, the ‘Stag God’ was paramount to the Scythians and other peoples across the Eurasian steppes. To the Hungarians (my ethnic background) there is a great horned doe, which shone in multicolour lights and its antlers glittered from light.

There is the Spring renewal, the chase after the stag is a hunt for the return of the sun, searching for its light and heat which during Winter is taken away by the stag. The girls of the legend are the does, the daughters of light (Leukepius in Greek), who return the light and fertility of the sun. For that reason they have names which indicate “light, white, burning” Dula=Gyula,Gyul…, Sar=gold, light, stag. Bular or Bugur=stag in Turkic.

Ancient Norse mythology tells how 4 stags run in the branches of the ash and browse the foliage of the world-tree Yggdrasil, eating away the buds (hours), blossoms (days) and branches (seasons). Their names are: Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, Durathor and are thought to represent the four winds.
The deer image itself representing innocence and a return to the wilderness.

In Celtic mythology, the deer is a magical creature, able to move between the worlds and many tales have humans transformed into deer. The antlers of the stag are compared to tree-branches (the world-tree Yggdrasil) and since they are shed and re-grown every year represent fertility, rejuvenation and rebirth.

- Source: http://littleredelf.com/2009/04/10/the-egg-moon-the-deer-woman/

(Gerda and Reindeer)

Genie Bottle

An old soia bottle just needed a pinch of bippity boppity boo to reveal all her beauty as a genie bottle! #makemagichappen

DEER TOTEM

(Dreaming the Ways of Elen, by artist Wendy Andrews)

A Look at the Symbolic Meaning of the Deer

When we encounter the deer in the wild, our breath catches - we are transfixed by their graceful features and delicate movements. The tender beauty of these beasts has not gone unnoticed by our ancestors.

The deer is linked to the arts, specifically poetry and music in ancient Celtic animal lore due to its graceful form. The Celts also believed that deer were associated with the fairie realm, and would lead troops of fairies - hundreds of them trailing behind them as the stag cut a path through the forest.

Both Celts and Native Americans observed the deer to be savvy when it came to finding the best herbs. These earth-bound peoples would follow the deer to prime herb patches - many of which proved to be highly beneficial in their medicinal purposes. #herbalwisdom #greenmagick #plantsandherbcraft

A quick-list of animal symbolism of the deer may offer a great deal of insight as you are working with the spirit of the deer in your life.

Summary of Symbolic Meanings for the Deer

Love
Grace
Peace
Beauty
Fertility
Humility
Swiftness
Regrowth
Creativity
Spirituality
Abundance
Benevolence
Watchfulness

(Fawn Bambi, by Samanta Vega)


How does this translate into our own life experience?

Just as the deer has an uncanny sense of where to find the green freshness earth provides, we can ask the deer within ourselves to seek out our inner treasures. #treasurewitch In meditation or day dream, go on a spiritual hike with the deer. See yourself walking in the woods with the deer leading you into amazing depths within your soul. Each step you and the deer take will lead you deeper into your spiritual knowing, and to limitless treasure within. She will reward you by leading you to the most powerful spiritual medicine you can fathom.

Meaning of the Deer is Associated With:

The Dawn
The Moon
The Easterly directions

(Here Sanguine is East, Influence, Air, Dawn, Wood, Trailblazer, Childhood, Artisan)

Those wishing to invoke the symbolic meaning of the deer may have most success and profound experiences while incorporating these associations. For example, we can honor the deer during a full moon to enhance or draw out some of the deer's qualities (listed above) within ourselves. Likewise, honoring the deer with our attention pointed in an eastern direction at dawn will elicit responsive energy too. Nothing fancy (the deer really has no use for pomp and circumsance - her pleasure comes from quiet simplicities) just a solemn nod of your head and a simple "thank you" for deer's presence will do.

(Aurora Fawn, ArtbyLadyViktoria)

This Piece, which is a 12"X12" High Quality Print of an original canvas painting entitled: "Aurora Fawn", is all about the role of the priestess in illuminating the way into Magick. The deer is her ally and also helps to reveal the gateways into Faerie. Having been born at Dawn, the name Aurora is quite special to me, as well as Dawn being a faerie in-between time as well.

Deer is the sacred animal for the Lunar Goddess of Spring and Dawn Artemis the Brave, an archaic mistress of the wild life and animals, Greek Goddess of Light and Protector of the Vulnerable, Woodland Queen of the Witches.

(Artemis and Fawn)

- Sources:

The otter artisan

Otter

Sanguine/Influence - Influencing of others, SP – Artisan.
Strengths– Outgoing, adventuresome, responsive, curious, warm, friendly, talkative, independent, enthusiastic, compassionate, courageous, loyal, honest, refined.
Weaknesses– Undisciplined, unproductive, exaggerates, daydreamer, egocentric, unstable.
Purpose, Objective, Direction (rune Tiwaz): To gain Knowledge, Wisdom.
Spiritual Path: To Celebrate the True Meaning of Things Through Understanding that Everything is Connected, Interrelated and is Worthwhile to the Oneness.

Birth totem otter is an individual who has incarnated into this particular lifetime to immerse him/herself in the fountain of knowledge. As such, these souls will be in continual search of information, ideas and concepts that will provide a refreshing fountain from whence she will thirstily drink. However, as the fountain of knowledge is an eternal and never ending source, in their enthusiasm to glean as much knowledge as quickly as possible, there may exist a tendency within these individuals to skim the surface, rather than explore the deeper waters that would result in truer understanding.

By looking at the general inquisitiveness of the playful sea otter, we witness a creature that is capable of delving deep into the ocean waters to retrieve oysters encapsulated in shells. The otter will then rise to the surface of the water, float on his/her back and crack open the shell to retrieve the tasty morsel that awaits inside. Much like their birth totem, otter individuals have a deep-seated curiosity that leaves them hungry for all of the "oysters" of information that exist in a universal sea of knowledge. Yet the challenge for them is to not become so weighted down by the variety that is available to them that they are constantly picking up, then dropping each idea in favor for a new and more tantalizing one. Once birth totem otter individual can learn that true knowledge comes from applying experience to ideas, then he/she will then crack the shell of understanding to delight in the wisdom found within, thus fulfilling the soul’s higher purpose.

Native American Full Moon Names and Their Meanings

The Full Moon Names used in the Farmer's Almanac come from the Algonquin tribes who lived in regions from New England to Lake Superior. They are the names the Colonial Americans adapted most. Note that each full Moon name was applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred more frequently* p.e The Pink Moon or Spring Moon, which is the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox, can either occur in late March or early April, being in April [aprilis "to open", Aprus "Aphrodite"] when it occurs most of the times.

*April - Full Pink Moon. This full Moon heralds the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers. It is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.

Otter meaning is closely connected to lunar symbolism. Water, the moon and otters have a long, symbolic history together. Indeed, the Algonquin named one of their full moons the Otter Moon. Otters are most active in the spring and summer. Typically, the Otter Moon would be the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox.
Water (and otters) are symbolic of creativity, fluidity and transitions. The otter's affinity to water is also symbolic of healing. Consider: Water is a purifying, cleansing element. It makes sense water-loving creatures such as the otter will share those purifying qualities too. Water Element is Alchemically related to Emotions & Psychic Abilities. April is named after goddess Aphrodite, who is related to planet Venus and Water.

Spring and Dawn

As an Animal of Spring and Dawn, Otter carries the concept of fertility, but not necessary in the sense of offspring, but of being prolific in ideas, opinions, inventions, craftworks, etc.
Spring and Dawn bring also the concepts of rebirth, awakening and new beginnings, which can lead us back to the creative process, to the symbolic cave or primal womb where the piece of writing, artcraft, thoughts, whatever the artisan has on hands is gestating with the needed, required timing.
The time of Spring and Dawn also holds hands with the Maiden Archetype ~ Careless, Vulnerable and Independent. Age: Childhood ~ Joy, Purity of Spirit, Innocence.

Otter and Alder Moon

Otter has a sanguine temperament (Fire), and masters two territories (Water and Earth), which means she is a liminal animal who knows and guards the entrance to the Fairy Realm or Elphame, and can guide us there #hedgewitchcraft. Alder, from the Celtic Tree Oracle, is also a liminal tree, living between Earth and Water. It was believed to be a gate to the Otherworld, and a bad omen to cut it off. The Alder's orange-red sap is associated to blood and war (Fire). The wood is resistant to fire (was used to light the fires in Spring. The burnt wood makes a high-grade charcoal which was considered sacred and used to create Celtic metalwork), and it has an oily wood that is also resistant to water. When this wood is cut, it bleeds its characteristic red color, which made the Celts believe that the Alder contained a sacred fire within. Also the new buds are characteristically purple in color, which links this tree to royalty, Kings and Queens, especially the Elf and Faery King and Queen (Habondia).

Bear and Fox are the two animals the Celts linked to the Alder month. I took a test yesterday about Totem Animals, and I got the Bear... Otter and Bear share a long shamanic tradition together. They may look alike. The thing is that Otter has been quite clearing my way for the last months, helping me to plough through my own expectations. Ok, truth that Fox is never out of the corner of my eye. And Bear is my significant otter hihi <3

Tiendas de arte

Acabo de hacer mi primer pedido en Mi Tienda de Arte (León):

* Caja metálica de 36 lápices de colores Derwent Academy
* Caja metálica de 12 lápices de grafito (6B - 4H) Derwent
* Goma maleable Milan 1220
* Afilador doble Derwent

Me falta el cuaderno de papel de dibujo de 125g/m2 con 50 hojas Clairefontaine, pero lo voy a comprar a parte en Amazon.

http://totenart.com/caja-metal-lapices-color-artists-derwent-36-uds
http://www.artemiranda.es/fichaproducto.asp?idproducto=1732
http://www.barna-art.com/cajas-derwent
http://mitiendadearte.com/caja-metalica-12-piezas-graphic-designer-derwent.html

http://bellasartestienda.com/1-home
http://www.manualidadestrasgu.com/
http://www.articlar.com/tienda/category.php?id_category=1024&p=2 (UPV Facultat de Belles Arts)

Lápices de colores

Bueno, después de pensar varios días sobre mi tipo de trazo... y darme cuenta de que era el trazo sólido, firme y seguro que ofrece el lápiz, y que en realidad no soy mucho de pinceles... cosa que también descartaba técnicas al agua como acuarelas, témperas, acrílicas, óleos... me estuve otros tantos analizando el tipo de lápices que más se adecuaba al que creo que es mi estilo dentro de las técnicas secas. Tampoco ahora me llamaron la atención los lápices acualerables. Los lápices de pastel, que me atraían por el difuminado que permiten, tienen el inconveniente de precisar luego de un cristal para que no se desprenda el polvo de los colores del trabajo.
Los primeros lápices de colores que me atrajeron realmente ya hace meses son los Prismacolor Colored Pencils, a raíz de los consejos de la artista Jane Starr Weils, mujer generosa con su arte donde las haya :) Son unos lápices de mina blanda (soft mine), waxy (wax-based), "Prismacolor have a soft feel of wax and very wide range of colours", lo que los convierte en la delicia de los artistas, ya que se pueden mezclar (soft, smudgy and blendable), superponer (you can apply several layers of color, and get going into a multi-layered creation). Jane Starr Weils los usa tras aplicar una base de acuarela (watercolor foundation). La versión equivalente en una casa también inglesa que a mí, particularmente, me ha entrado por el ojo y ha calado en mi corazón serían las Cajas Metálicas de dibujo sepias y naturales para fauna y flora DERWENT DRAWING en 12 y 24 piezas. 
(Entendéis ahora porqué me gustan tanto... y quién fue que me guió)



También los lápices de colores para dibujo DERWENT STUDIO son perfectos para ilustradores y detallistas. For finer, more detailed work. Vienen en surtidos combinados con DERWENT COLOURSOFT, Metallic Pencils, the Blender and the Burnisher, que pueden ser un buen regalo para que aquellos que se inician en el mundo del dibujo y la ilustración, sin demasiada idea todavía sobre cuáles serán sus preferencias, por dónde irá su estilo... o bien en Cajas Metálicas STUDIO DERWENT de 12, 24, 36 y 72 piezas. Yo, viendo la paleta de colores de 24 y de 36, he decidido que, como mínimo, caja de 36, que 24 son pocos colores.





Otra opción que he valorado, precisamente porque, igual que los Prismacolors, son waxy colored pencils for layering and combine colours, son los ARTISTS DERWENT, hasta el punto de que más adelante, si prosperan mis aspiraciones artísticas, es muy posible que me haga con la caja de 36 :) En totenart está ahora mismo con un 20% de descuento sobre el precio oficial, que son 73,35€, y sale a 58,69€. Pero no será la última ni la única oferta que haya.


Aprovecho para repasar las mejores tiendas de arte que he encontrado hasta hoy y durante estos días de Estudio:
http://www.artemiranda.es/fichaproducto.asp?idproducto=1732
http://www.barna-art.com/cajas-derwent
http://mitiendadearte.com/caja-metalica-12-piezas-graphic-designer-derwent.html

*

COLORED PENCILS:
http://www.prismacolor.com/products/colored-pencils (Jane Starr Weils)
Artists Pencils (Derwent equivalent colored pencils to Prismacolors!!!!!)
http://www.pencils.co.uk/en/gb/4428/artists
http://totenart.com/caja-metal-lapices-color-artists-derwent-36-uds
http://www.dickblick.com/products/derwent-artists-pencils/

With Derwent Artists coloured pencils you'll be spoilt for choice! There are 120 colours in the range and their waxy texture makes them ideal for layering and blending so you can create as many of your own colours as you wish!

The smooth, perfectly round barrel of this popular artist's pencil encourages easy movement and expressive drawing.

The pencil's composition is soft but not crumbly, with a slightly waxy texture for easy blending and shading. The 4 mm diameter color strip allows naturally broad strokes and strong lines.

By simply adding more pressure on the paper, color strength can be varied from faint and delicate to bold and intense.

Papel de dibujo

Cuando devolví los cuadernos Van Gogh que regalaban con las cajas de lápices de colores y de grafito BRUYNZEEL-SAKURA, ya sabía que el gramaje tampoco era en absoluto lo más adecuado para las técnicas secas que pretendo utilizar. Y tras varias horas, que fueron días, de Estudio sobre el tema, que cada vez parecía volverse más un enigma por falta de información consistente entre las distintas fuentes consultadas, dos fueron mis estudios concluyentes:

http://casapiera.com/esp/1/index.htm
http://www.arkopaper.es/wp-content/uploads/catalogo_canson/bellasartes.pdf  (un regalo en forma de pdf)

Véase en la p.37 como se anota en el apartado Dibujo Basick que los 130g/m2 son idóneos para dibujo a lápiz y ceras, mientras que los
150g/m2 son idóneos para dibujo a lápiz, cerás, tinta, etc.
es decir, verdaderamente son más apropiados los 130g/m2 para técnicas secas.


(NOTA) Rectifico. Si el gramaje que creí ayer más adecuado para las técnicas secas de lápices de grafito y color era el de 130g - 140g/m2, hoy estoy convencida que el papel de dibujo que necesito para los lápices de grafito Derwent y para los lápices de colores (mina blanda) Derwent STUDIO, Derwent DRAWING, Derwent ARTISTS y Derwent ACADEMY es de 125g/m2, 130g/m2 a lo sumo.*.

El bloc que me voy a comprar!!!!!!!!!!! Papel dibujo Amazon: Canson, Guarro, Arche, Fabriano, Derwent, Clairefontaine, son marcas reconocidas.
http://www.amazon.es/Clairefontaine-dibujo-espirales-hojas-blanco/dp/B000KT7FN6/ref=sr_1_9?s=office&ie=UTF8&qid=1415958897&sr=1-9 ^^

http://www.clairefontaine.com/ES/products-page/dibujo-bellas-artes-n1/


Canson 130g/m2 A4 20 hojas también podría ser una opción
http://www.amazon.es/Guarro-casas-hojas-formato-microperforado/dp/B00JMD0O7U/ref=sr_1_20?s=office&ie=UTF8&qid=1415959344&sr=1-20

*

http://articomic.com/21900-cuadernos-de-dibujo?p=2
http://mitiendadearte.com/bloc-xl-canson-90g-m-con-espiral-al-lado-corto-29-7x42-cm.html

* Bloc 90g/m² para esbozos y técnicas secas XL Canson de 29,7x42 cm.

Fox Tea

1 tsp Dandelion
1/2 tsp Peppermint
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/2 Licorice Root
1 Pinch Ginger

Spirit Stones - 
Carnelian a fire energy that strengthens creativity, wit, warmth of the spirit, and promoting inspiration.

Amber. Amber is a 3rd Chakra Stone Color: Red, orange, yellow, browns, blue. Amber brings a light hearted freedom, good luck and happiness. Amber contains strongs vibrations that balance emotions and clear off fears and doubts. Due to its strong connection to nature and the earth, Amber promotes grounding our higher energies. This ancient petrified resine is used for past life work. Amber is an aura cleanser, purifier and detoxifier in any room or space, which makes it a hood stone for studying. This stone helps the Throat Chakra (known for treating goiter), and opens the Solar Plexus Chakra for mental clarity, mood balance, calm and confidence with its deep orange and yellow color, which aligns mental and emotional bodies. Amber was known by the Grreks as "sun gold".

Fire Crackle Agate, the spirit of hearth and home, a profound connection to the earth. Fire gives us the power of energy, igniting action, animation and movement. Historically, Fire Agate, known as the spiritual flame, was used in alchemy because it was believed to contain the essence of fire. Fire Agate provides support, power and courage in difficult times, offers protection, calms the fears and emotions and reflects the threats toward their source. It can be used for amplifying psychic talents. It has been used by shamans for stimulating clairvoyance and in order to evoke images and memories of other lives. It instills spiritual fortitude. Has a deep calming energy that brings security and safety with strong grounding powers

Fox Totem- mental awareness, intuition, ability to overcome obstacles, confidence and dream work. Liminal Animal, moving in between times and fringes, fox is a fantastic guide to the Faery Realm. Analytical intelligence, power of deduction and the ability to see through deception. Cheerful, enthusiast, a joy to see, childlike innocence, gladsome manner, tricky, witty, the wise fool, fox does not not conform to the idea that you must be serious in order to be a great problem solver.

Connect to fox energy and drink this warm tea on a cool autumn day.

crystalherbalism

https://www.tumblr.com/search/fox+totem


Así a mano que se me ocurra ahora mismo para preparar mi Fox Tea: Canela, jenjibre, limón, regaliz y miel. Me he dado cuenta hace un tiempo de que las mejores recetas con hierbas y plantas o bien con alimentos siempre son de al menos 5 ingredientes. Y 5 puntas tiene el pentáculo o Estrella de las Brujas, 5 pétalos tienen casi todas las Flores.. Las primeras brujas, aquellas mujeres salvajes y sabias, fueron antiguas yerbateras. Una Flor de 5 Puntas es el símbolo de mi brujería jiji.. Cherry Blossom. Sakura. Fox Spirit Flower. Tsuki Moon. Cherry Moon. Pink Moon. Spring Moon. Paskkarringar. You know the story of my birthday... También me he dado cuenta de que, si te quedas el tiempo suficiente en un mismo sitio, las cosas empiezan a aparecer ante ti, a revelarse, cobran vida... Hace unos meses, en verano, ya empecé a beber el influjo de la Medicina de steadiness, grounding, earthing, la de querer volver, regresar a los mismos sitios, y darles una nueva oportunidad cada vez... cultivar los sitios, sembrar detalles, no ser el mismo animal impaciente y ansioso de siembre, escarbando aquí y allá, sin prosperar nunca en la creación y recreación de un lugar propio. Sin duda, dibujar y colorear, además de traer mucha alegría y color a mi vida, me da la oportunidad de detenerme a mirar el mundo, no con otros ojos, pues soy una Mujer de Ojos Grandes, pero sí de otra manera. Trazar los contornos con la mirada, replicar los colores y matices que ahora me resaltan a la vista, fijarme en las cosas pequeñas, concretas, los detalles... centrarme, concentrarme, entretenerme, mantenerme en silencio, me va a ayudar mucho a fijar esa ansiedad, ese miedo terrible que siempre le he tenido a aburrirme, a no saber qué hacer en un momento dado... Ese momento dado puede ser en el que piense en nuevas cosas que hacer. Think about stuff. Eso es muy artístico jaja! Y pintoresco. Sencillo. Y bonito. La clase de vida que quiero tener.


Por cierto, ahora que veo al fondo nuestra cafetera de prensa francesa o de émbolo... ¡Nuestra Chambord está de camino con FedEx! Tiene prevista su llegada antes del próximo miércoles :D Thinking of FedEx, the wings appearing in the movie Cast Away (Náufrago), and the Fox Tea, it just came into my mind a painting by artist Jackie Morris

(Parcel winging its way out from The House of Golden Dreams. Contains mice and teapot.)