I
have been away from my blog for several weeks and for that I offer my apologies
to anyone who is a regular reader of Nightsbreath. Please let me assure you
that the other two parts of the story about Mr. Cat and young Henry will be
forthcoming, as will more entries from Prof. Tot. It has been a busy time for
us recently with the second Vandalia-Con having come and go, opening up doors
and opportunities for the third to be even bigger and better than our previous
efforts. I am very excited about that. The second reason I have been away is I
have been working and creating a lot of new things, from jewelry to my Charity
Critter sculptures. The third and most important reason I have been away was
that I took several weeks off with family this summer, visiting with my
daughters and my in laws. It’s been a great summer!
But
now it is time to get back to work both with my art and with my writing.
Today,
I am sharing a little bit of both.
One
of the first Steampunk inspired sculptures I made was a clockwork style
Bluebird. I made it in the middle of winter at a point when I was quite
depressed because in a short span of time four of my friends had departed this
world. I was gripped hard by the losses and could not seem to shake the weight
it brought with the new year. One day I decided that the best way to lift the
weight was to create, and since joy seemed a distant thing I decided to make
my own Bluebird of Happiness, darnit! And so I did.. Many more creations
followed. Birds and ‘Doodlebugs’ became something I was constantly working on.
As soon as one was finished two more were in the planning. I’ll keep going till I run out of
ideas, because they make me smile.
Each one is a little bit of my own heart’s ‘happy thought.’
It
is important to me though that the warmth of that happy thought not be selfishly
shielded and coveted as some personal treasure clutched miserly to self. While
I have kept the occasional creation, the vast majority of these sculptures are
sold, with the proceeds from their sale being donated to Vandalia-Con. ( www.vandalia-con.org ) Vandalia-Con is an annual Steampunk/Science-Fiction Convention which
raises funds to provide uninsured or under insured WV women with breast and
cervical cancer screening, diagnostic and treatment services. It is something I
am very proud to be a part of.
Today
I am revealing two of my newest creations and I have again returned to the
theme of Birds. I am calling them “Crystal Singers” because each possesses a
quartz crystal with suspended hematite at their center. These are the first two of six I have
planned. Each “Crystal Singer” will be unique, with it’s own name and commentary
here by Prof. Aristotle Pratt. The
first photos of these sculptures debuted earlier today in the Steampunk
Photography and Artwork group on Facebook. ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/451330504946363/
) This blog entry includes those photos, (plus several others) along with the
Professor’s notes on each one.
I hope folks
enjoy…
From the
Diary of Professor Aristotle R. Pratt
Today I
learned that Mr. Cat employs a number of clockwork avians aside from those I
had previously catalogued. These
were quite curious specimens, two of which I will relate to you today. I am calling these creations “Crystal
Singers” due to their unique use of Mr. Cat’s crystalline energy source, the
particulars of which elude me to this day.
The first of
these unique avains Mr. Cat seems to use to his advantage without most around
him being aware of its presence. I call it the “Gilded Dove.” As I understand
it, the “Dove” emits a harmonic signal of some kind, which tends to produce a
calming effect on those nearby, promoting peaceful and friendly interaction in
cases where one might be moved to violence because of anger or fright. I was gifted with one whose unusual
energy had been completely spent, leaving it a small static conversation piece
to some eyes, but I find it a wonder.
The second
is Mr. Cat’s messenger, which I have named the “Blue Tipped Quillbeak.” This
little beauty has apparently endured many long years of service given the
condition of its wings, which are now worn and tattered with untold age. This avian is a great
