Giveaway (ring not dog)

Blog giveaway
Originally uploaded by buddha seed

Somehow i've been caught in this strange twilight of 'grrr' all week, much like the snarl of my Jack Russell when anyone dangles a hand anywhere near her.

Dan called this morning just as I was getting up, and him heading to bed (in the states) and I could hear coyotes howling their strange and eerie song in the background. Whether domisticated or wild - dogs aye make me smile.

So i thought i'd offer a giveaway. A ring that is, not small dog or Dan - the postage for either would be way too expensive. A giveaway of an 'organza bubble ring' so just share whatever it is that will always make you smile when your feeling 'grrrrrrrrr'.

A ring for every occasion

Got my ‘handfasting/enagaement/wedding’ ring in the post yesterday – I absolutely love it! The design is inspired by the seed pod of the tree peony, which dries black and opens to show it’s seeds.

It's made by Sophie of Duck Duck Goose Stuff – check her out on Etsy http://www.duckduckgoosestuff.etsy.com where you’ll find moon rocks, earthed lightning, moon pools, alien inspired wonders and fantastically she’s a lichen gal – making silver lichen inspired pieces!

I’m loving rings, I like working on such a small scale – and hate to admit there’s something about a quick fix of satisfaction going on.... Here's some i've been working on, I've got a couple on sale on Etsy. Thanks Lesley for the hand modelling!

A Time Out of Time (Mid Week Muse)

It is that time of the month, a time that somehow exists out of time. My dreams so much more powerful and I’ve found on waking I’m still in their grip of their emotions.

My brother waved to me a few nights ago – before careering off in a 4x4 with that mischievous laugh of his, which I took as his saying, don’t worry I’m ok here (in that place beyond time). The next morning I cautiously looked to the park to see if it was churned up with tyre marks!

A few mornings ago I awoke still wrapped in the painful sorrow of my grandmother’s death (who died over 15 years ago). Her message seemed to lie in the several curious shaped boxes she left me. I remember so clearly running my fingers over their luscious olive green velvet. Shaped exactly to fit the tools that they held, old and well loved, their exact shape and detail has faded but a feeling lingers that somehow those tools are mine, that I’ve to pick them up, hold then in my hands, learn with them and call them mine.

I’ve come to appreciate this time each month as a time where ugly truths rear their head for the picking, like garden flowers with snake heads. With senses keen and claws sharpened I don’t suffer fools but become one stripping layers from the ones I love. At this time my heart blooms to encompass the entire world before the current changes I fall, plunging into cavernous caves of bottomless heartache. But still I wouldn’t forgo this time ~ when spirits whisper and the world reveals itself in its multi layered iridescent, back and rainbow coloured layers.

For all those who lived before me I give thanks. To have the strength to smile and wave at my brother and follow the trail of wisdom of my grandmother.

I remember her presence with me on a wilderness solo in Knoydart when she sat beside me reminding me that I am a modern ancestor. It is my chance in the long line to breathe and to have me feet firmly placed on the soil of this planet. To dream my dreams and strive for that role which moulds me and in turn may offer a little space for others to explore. And for all this, I am eternally grateful.



Messages with the dead ~ Ancestor pot

Mid week muse (random inspirations)

Mid week is generally a wednesday i guess but having been off work for almost 3 weeks now i don't really know when mid week is.
I think my random inspirations this week aren't all that random and could be woven together with a mythological thread.



Myth is the language of the soul, it allows fantastical beasts and a charade of characters the means to manifest. While their stories might not be strictly true they hold truth within them. The magical key to unlocking them is belief, as when a story resonates it talks directly to something deep inside of us. Without that deep resonance and interpreation the learning the myth offers cannot be unlocked, a process which the great Joseph Campbell explains creates a harmony in the universe. Why? Because we are literally learning from that great source that lies beyond the human world.

These stories however are not something ancient to be held preciously and handled with white gloves as they are alive and constantly morphing. The story of our own everyday lives creates our personal myth. One way to explore myths and their truths is by using our hands ~ wither squelching in clay, or working with wool or wood or using our unique eye to paint or take photos. Using local materials or stories of place can help us understand what truths lie within them. Yet it doesn't matter if the myth is Russian, Sami or Aboriginal as it's the connection that matters.


Personally Baba Yaga never fails to terrify me - what learning beckons there? I can't quite face putting up a pic of her!

Morchella esculenta Mushroom photographed by Funginerd
Shamen - Felted peice from khazekstan
Baba Yaga's Chicken legged House created by Melissa Sue
Three faces of the Goddess

All about the nose

Yesterday for the first time in about a year I was able to smell! It was expected after an operation that left me reeling from the anaesthetic rather than the op itself. But sinus are now clear, polyps gone and awaiting the combination of both smell and taste!

I had ran up 4 flights of stairs and yucked that someone had had a sneaky cigarette - then suddenly realised i SMELLED something! Then was overjoyed to realise small dog STANK desperately needed a bath! It was just fantastic that the bin in the kitchen was just GROSS!
I curiously went round the flat smelling each room - it was like breaking in to someone else's house. Strangest of all was smelling my hair and my jacket - I had no idea what I smelled like. Very strange to be unfamiliar with yourself.

With the operation and all i've been neglecting this blog some. And so in celebration of my new found sense of smell (I can't taste either but somehow smell is so much more exciting), here are my favourite things to smell:


Dan (and coffee!)


Wet wool when felting


Woodsmoke - preferably from wood burning stove



Pine