Franny the Snow Witch

Franny the Snow Witch came to life one day,
when some witches in the village went out for winter play.
Her body they made from snowballs, big and round.
For her nose they used a carrot they had found.
After placing the coal for her mouth and her eyes,
"Something is missing!", the oldest witch sighs.
Removing from her head a hat pointed and worn,
then placing it on Franny's and POOF, she was born!
Quickly they worked to build her familiar,
a cat named Snowball that looked quite peculiar.
Franny the snow witch came to life that day indeed,
to remind us of the magic of winter, the witches all agreed!



Franny is a friendly witch, she loves to sit and watch the birds all day long.

She measures 13" x 7" and both her and her kitty can be easily removed from their base.

You can't see it in the photos,
but she has touches of diamond dust glitter and mica flakes all around her.
She can come live with you for $99. She will travel for free if you live in the US
Please email me if you would like to give her a new home.
jmacneill@hotmail.com

I have a few other Halloween pieces for sale in my Etsy Shop including a wonderful folk art Sleepy Hollow painting that's one of my favorites!

I am working on a new Halloween sculpture this week, a large owl on a pumpkin!
Here's a work in progress photo...

PA State Museum

If you are a frequent visitor to this blog you know that on the weekends I do not like to sit around the house. We have been sharing a car for 10 years now (it's tough) and I sit around the house all week.
In last week's Sunday paper there was a story about the Pennsylvania State Museum's new exhibit on Mammoths and Mastodons including a newly remounted mastodon skeleton that was found in a peat bog in PA. I've always wanted to visit this museum but never really had any reason until now. All I can say is wow, this place really blew me away. Four stories of PA artifacts and treasures from art (past & present) to vehicles (horse and gas powered), Civil War history, geology, Native American history, natural history and more. To top it off it's insanely cheap - only $8 total for our admission. They also had a planetarium show but we didn't have time for it. Here are some photos from our day.

A HUGE statue of William Penn at the entrance.
I loved the mural behind him too.


An unusal sled. The sign said it was used for mail delivery I think.


Stuffed Bison. I liked how this diorama was painted.
The stars lit up in the backgroud.


My favorite painting of the day.
"A Romantic View of Nuclear Power"
by Clifford Lamoree


An impressiove painting of The Battle of Gettysburg.


And a sweet little robin to great us as we left.



Please visit the gift shop's website for some lovely arts and crafts by PA residents.

What's coming up?

Well, for one, the first flowering bulbs are blooming in my yard - snowdrops - yippee!
I know, I can't believe it either. Soon the aconite will be blooming and then the crocus. I was all in a tizzy when I went out to put warm water in the bird bath and saw these little ladies peeping their heads up through the leaves.
Thank you snowdrops, you made my day:)

Next thing that's coming "up" is the EHAG Emporium. You may have noticed my little button advertising this event on my sidebar. This project has become my little baby this month and I am so excited that I suggested it to the group. We have over 20 amazing pieces of original, one of a kind, Halloween art for sale starting January 31st and 9PM EST. If you love all things spooky, witchy, ghostly and whimsical, please drop by. I've added many sneak peeks to the blog as well as a list of artists participating this month. All artwork will be sold on a first come, first served basis. I have a sculpture for sale and it isn't a horse for once!



Lastly, we have the PFATT Penny Tree Auction coming up. I've donated an original Valentine's Day ornament for the tree to be auctioned off in February with the proceeds going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Please check out the PFATT Blog to see pictures and learn more about this special project.


All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney

New!

Just finished up some new pendants for my Etsy shop and thought I would share.
When I get a spare minute I'll be listing them. I really enjoy painting these little guys. Hard on the eyes but really fun. Whenever I wear one, people ask me where I bought it. Guess I need to remember to carry around business cards.

This black horse was inspired by one of those old Baroque dressage horse paintings by artists like Johann Georg de Hamilton. Click here for one of his paintings that I would love to have!

I brought this old box into my studio months ago for books and it's become a favorite place

for my sweet little kitty Zazu to sleep, curled up, under my art table, right by my feet.

Now I can't get rid of this ugly box.

You gotta love her:)

Lastly, thank you to all who commented on my last two posts - it really meant a lot to me. Two things near and dear to my heart, my daughter and horses. Someday soon I feel it's all going to come together!

Dreaming of a horse...

It's been almost 3 years since I've owned a horse and I can't stop thinking about them! I've even been searching Craig's List daily for horses (crazy). I think because of the economy, the prices are very low. So, I won $50 dollars this weekend, 3rd place in a photo contest (more on that later). I think that money is going to start my horse fund. Hopefully, in 2 years, I will have enough! My last two horses were thoroughbreds but this time I'm thinking of going with something smaller, so Zoe can learn, and quieter, so I don't get killed. I think a Haflinger would fit the bill perfectly. I have a friend that had two of them and I went on a trail ride with her once and had a blast. Plus, who can resist that gorgeous golden coat and flaxen mane?

Here are some random horse photos from the past. I'll include two Haflinger photos first.

Would you believe that little kid is me? The other two are my Aunt Mary and her horse Honey. I spent

every summer with that horse. She was the best! Don't we look like a grumpy trio?

Hope

O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?

~Percy Bysshe Shelley

My Zoe

you'll be given love

you'll be taken care of

you'll be given love

you have to trust it

twist your head around

it's all around you

all is full of love

all around you

all is full of love

-Bjork

I usually don't post much about my family. I started this blog for my artwork and it's morphed into a blog about many other things; travels, gardens, cats, etc. However, my daughter, who is my best creation to date, turns 4 today. I never wanted to have children until I turned 30 and like a switch in my brain being flicked, I suddenly needed to have one. I never thought I would be a good mother. I've never been known as a patient person. I didn't think I had any nuturing skills. Oh I have learned so much! We are so fortunate to be blessed with such a sweet, kind and intelligent daughter. She is everything to me. When she is not in the house, I feel as if a piece of me is missing.
I sit here typing this with tears in my eyes and I just wanted to share how much she means to me.
Thank you all for reading.

Cats make good guardians.

Dogs make good face cleaners:)

I never knew a kid could like Longwood Gardens so much.

We share a great love of all living creatures.

Never lose that childlike wonder.

Happy Birthday Zoe, may all your dreams come true!

Trickster

I love ravens and I really enjoy painting them. My latest Painted Pony features a raven on both sides.
Many Native American cultures call the raven the Trickster. The story goes that he created everything but the sun, moon and stars which he stole by tricking the people that possessed them. I painted him on my pony at night. He's just hung the moon and is finishing with the stars. One the one side he has a Swarovski Crystal "star" in his mouth. On the other side he is looking up at a crystal star. The horses eyes are crystals and I've painted a raven feather on the base with another crystal.

Now on EBAY!

I have many tricksters in my yard every day - I call them squirrels! I set out a pumpkin for them to eat and they really seem to enjoy it. Sorry the photos aren't better, I took them from my dining room.

Kitties

I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.

~Edgar Allan Poe

What greater gift than the love of a cat? ~Charles Dickens

Delaware Art Museum

On Sunday we ventured out to the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington for the last day of their exhibit on Maxfield Parrish (sorry couldn't take photos of that - it was amazing though).
The DE Art Museum is such a gem, one of my favorite small museums. It won't overwhelm you like The Metropolitan or the Philadelphia Art Museum. The best part is, it houses an impressive collection of my two favorite styles of art: illustration and Pre-Raphaelite. And... get this... on Sundays, it's free!
Here are some photos from our day...

 "Crying Giant"  - awwww, poor guy.

I could stare at this piece all day. I didn't get the artist's name but it looks like N.C.Wyeth.

A fine example of American illustration. The Peacock Robe by George Watson Barratt. This was Zoe's favorite painting of the day.

A lovely Rossetti painting.

The Spring Witch by George Wilson (1880)

I think this was my favorite in their Pre Raphaelite exhibit.

More modern art upstairs. Here's a wonderful Deborah Butterfield horse sculpture.

 The cabinet my family is looking at in the background was amazing. It's called the Queen's Closet by Richard Cleaver. Made of beads, wood and ceramic, it's the ultimate mixed media piece of art. When knobs are pulled and drawers are opened, they reveal images of king Henry VIII's 6 wives. On the back it shows their fate...

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. ~George Bernard Shaw