Shrinking Waratahs

Well tomorrow is the first day of shrinking ME... 15 kilos byAnzac Day... but here is  the first of my shrinking sculptures! So many people tell me to make huge, massive sculptures, that it is the natural progression. I don't know about that, in fact I've wanted to go SMALLER as I want my work to be more accessible.
I've had a LOT of people ask me for smaller Goddesses and Gods and the very first of those is being made right now.  Aphrodite and Pele and today I began Poseidon. These will be approx 25cm tall.
My birds where very popular last year and the first commission in a smaller size, a Raven is almost complete.
THIS is the first smaller work, it's a commission....

 "Waratah Mornings"
Cheralyn Darcey 2011
58 x 29 x 18cm
sculpture & assemblage of found objects
brass candlestick c1950s, faux leaves,  branch Garigal Forest, found drink cans Garigal Forest, strawberry key chain, button, toy dinosaur, table confetti, toy pirate head, paint, wire
 

Mystery of the Stag & the Cross SOLVED!

Happy Mid Summer... Summer Soltice & MANY Happy Creative Blessings to you all! ♥

I FOUND IT!!!!
Earlier this week I had a dream featuring me (the Adventure Hero) searching for a pair of antlers with a cross between them. Now I kept finding them in this very action packed dream but they where not THE ones! I've never seen or noticed this symbol before and posted my sketch on good old Facebook with someone, including me deciding it was some Pagan/Christian Christmas mashup thing. BUT WAIT... I went on searching.... Oh I was awake this time AND I FOUND IT!!!

It's the Jägermeister logo!!!!!

It isn't EXACTLY the Jägermeister logo but finding a resemblance lead me futher along the trail.|
On the way I found it EXACTLY in a 1910 brooch on ebay, (yeah I brought it, old jewellery is like shoes to this gal!!!). 2010?????... that predates the founding of Jägermeister so now the trail was HOT!

The symbol used by the company lead me to finding out about TWO Saints who can be attributed to this. They have similar stories.  I like St Hubertus a little more because although he is also a patron Saint of Hunters he is  the Patron Saint of metalworkers! *yeah*
The artworks connected with this saint and depicting the symbol mostly show the cross with a crucified Jesus.

The Vision of Saint Eustace, by Pisanelllo

Saint Eustace lived in the Second Century. Before he converted to Christianity, Saint Eustace was a Roman General named Placidus and was out hunting one day when he saw the above vision which prompted him to immediately convert.
After this, things went belly up... he lost his money, his wife left him (well no, she was actually kidnapped)and his children where taken by wolves... (I have a very wicked sense of humor so I'm gaffa taping my mouth and smacking my hands, BUt I do want to know, WELL DID HE STILL KILL THAT STAG???? Perhaps it had something to do with it? shhhh) back to the story.... oh and no I can't find out that information, but hey he is the Patron Saint of Hunters so I'll leave it at that.
So you would think that after all this something might of turned around for him... well no!
He did get his family back but only to be captured by the Emperor and then for refusing to make a Pagan sacrifice they where all roasted alive inside an iron Ox.
Did he kill that stag? Sorry I have to know!!!!! looking.....
So the other Saint?
Saint Hubertus 658 ~ 727
WOW this is a study in court politics just reading about his early days. So the edited version:  he was of noble birth, spent his time as a favourite in the courts and married nicely.  They had a son, shortly after his wife died and so he left court and spent his time living in the forests ... hunting.... when one day while chasing a huge stag... it turned around and between it's antlers was a  crucified jesus. Throwing himself on the ground before it... a voice told him to start leading a holy life (he actually had a bit of a converstation which went like this):
"Hubert, unless thou turnest to the Lord, and leadest an holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into hell". Hubert dismounted, prostrated himself and said, "Lord, what wouldst Thou have me do?" He received the answer, "Go and seek Lambert, and he will instruct you."


A sculpture at Chateau d'Amboise ~ France.

Saint Hubertus had a great life... (I don't think he killed the deer, JUST SAYING! I mean here he was laying there listening to THE VOICE after all, bit hard from that position don't you think??).
Anyway after giving away everything and studying hard, he became a very popular Priest and then much loved Bishop.  Oh yes and he is the Patron Saint of those who work with metals (yeah!) and Optometrists, which is rather handy because I don't know about you, but my biggest fear when creating with metal is taking out an eye!
 I'm busy waiting for my Saint HUBERTUS brooch to arrive via Ebay to create a Talisman.. :)
And now I'm very tempted to try Jägermeister while I wait.
BACK TO CLASS!!!! www.cheralyn.typepad.com/creativewitchery

 

Creative Witchery Online Workshop: Runes and Personal Spirit Stones booking now

have a confession to make straight up front.... I came to Runes a lot later along my path. Oh I saw them, I had them, I tried them but I was so in love and besotted with tarot that anything else was pppifff piffed. I was swayed once I came upon a set  that was hand crafted! It was a created from many different woods that this man had collected in his travels.  They where actually very square but the symbols where hand carved into them and they had such a wonderful warmth about them, physically and energetically.
You wanted to put them in your pocket.... FOREVER!        And so began my Rune journey.


In this course you will learn how to create a set of Runes start to finish out LOADS of options! Round branches and sticks, found old building timbers, rocks, crystals, clays and more.
Lots of different mark making techniques including wood burning, inscribing, carving and painting and more.
You will also learn how to read  with Runes, how to use them in Spell Casting and as prompts for meditation and journaling.
Extra projects will include bags to keep your Runes in (my current students will know this will be beyond the ordinary!), A Rune Talisman Pendant and a few more surprises.
Along with traditional Runes there will be a class on creating your own personal symbols and creating a sets incorporating animals, plants, in fact anything you can dream up.
Classes include...
*a private password protected workshop and student gallery
* notes and step by step instructions
*Interaction via a forum and email
*Photos
*Videos
*A Facebook Page
The Workshop is available online for three months and you can visit as often as you like,
start ANY time and download everything. I do put limits on the amount of students starting at any one time to ensure maximum access to my assistance. 
Begins 9th January 2012
First booking 12 students only ~ Booking NOW 8 spaces left 
You can pay instantly via paypal below or contact me to arrange direct bank deposit
Gift Certificates can be purchased and either posted or emailed to any desired address.

CREATIVE WITCHERY ONLINE WORKSHOP
The Creation of Runes and Personal Spirit Stones
            $55

December ♥

So busy launching my online workshops (who decided that December was a good time?????)  :O
So busy that I've not been very good at keeping this blog up to date at all... truth is I'm trying to work out how to streamline things a little as I have things all over the web at present.  I feel the New Year will have to ring in a few changes. Good time for it... nothing like starting a year off all tidy, refreshed and ... well NEW!
This month I'm off to Stacey Demarco's New Years Resolution Workshop. Wonderful idea, I usually work alone but for some reason something sparked in me when I read about it. Well it is the year of change isn't it!? 
Last month I visited Mind Body Spirit in Sydney, great time catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, meeting Facebook friends 'in real life' and bumping into Facebook friends and not realizing it until weeks later!!
I picked up Stacey Demarco's 2012 Luna Diary (my fav diary! which I've now given away and need to rebuy!! ), Scott Alexander King's new book (loving it) , a gorgeous hair adornment from Gemma at Cryshell, new artwork from Ravynne Phelan (my friend Pete is now her biggest fan I think!) and though I didn't buy them at the show, I was inspired to later buy a pair of Spellcasting gloves from Lucy Cavendish after seeing her Banishing ones! Sexy and gorgeous.

Sculpture by the Sea happened last month in Sydney (yes I know ONE DAY I'll enter!!).  
AWESOME wonderful days spent out there, one in particular with a gushy newly in love girlfriend. We spent more time talking about boys than looking at art, but what a wonderful place to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Energy of late!!!!! Whoooaaaaa I'll leave that to all the astro scholars out there to provide the nuts and bolts but WOW... you would have to be living under those rocks at Sculpture by the Sea not to feel it at present. I had a big shake up health wise with it all... but it was more the things I've neglected (health checks) Everything is totally ok...  old fashioned stress... me? nooooooooooo :O
I'm a bottler. I said I was a witch, not a zenned out guru! lol lol lol
Now the cosmic shake up and that wonderful retrograde are just about done doing their thing... bring on 2012!!!!  Hope you are all faring well.... cosmic hugz and ♥ Start making things, you know art is such a healer, teacher and compass... and yes you can do it!~

Tarot
Lucy Cavendish presented her Magic Workshop at Tarot Guild last month. She's always so wonderful at these things... she starts talking and it's like a magical book  flies right out of her.  She really brought the history and magic of tarot alive that night. If she presents it near you GO! No matter what your level of tarot is.
I'm busy with readings... December/January sees so many of my yearly regulars line up to sort things out for the New Year... I can say it;s going to be exciting for us all. I'm more than a little sparky as it's my year as well! The Year of the Dragon!

Tarot Card Review
Does a month go by you may ask... no it doesn't!
OK this month I purchased The Psychic Tarot  by John Holland illustrated by John Matson

This is a tarot story, which I'm sure many of you have experienced. This was my, pick-up-put-down-pick-up-put-down-read-reviews-ponder-pick-up-put-down-deck for about 3 years.
And then you buy it and you think "Oh My Goddess why didn't I buy it earlier!" and why did you listen to the negative reviews!! I really love this deck. It;s not traditional at all, in fact Mr Holland has very much created his own system and it's easy and  worth getting to know even though these cards work BRILLIANTLY by pure intuition.
It's a 65 card deck... see here we start the difference....there are 21 Major Arcana, and the Minors consist of 4 suites Physical, Emotions, Mental and Spirit with 9 cards in each (interesting!) there are also 7 chakra cards. No court cards! (DO NOT CHEER!!!)  :)  I actually love the courts.
The artwork is sublime, divine and well just gorgeous! Rich and deep, you feel like you could walk in and have a converstaion with everyone. The backs have a wonderful, calming though intriguing mandala like pattern which is perfect. (Decks miss this time and again in design.)
This deck is a funny one when recommending where it sits with tarot enthusiasts... on one hand it's brilliant for beginners as the cards themselves are very easy to interpret through the artwork and they do include a word of association. Deeper levels of tarot readers  I think would find it, as I have, a refreshing and stimulating approach to divination decks.  The cards work well as an accompaniment to traditional tarot and to oracle decks in my readings.
This deck would not be recommended as a first deck for those interested in learning traditional Tarot and certainly not for those about to attend classes because of it's non traditional system.
A wonderful second beginners deck and a new deck for old hands.

Art and Classes
This month, as I mentioned,  has seen the launch of my online workshops. The first is well underway as you are reading this! I came to the decion to present this way after sitting in the magic workshop one day wishing I could bring all my students to me, into the magic workshop... *DING*  :)
It's working very well, the bumps are ironing out and we are having WAY WAY TOO much fun!!
This one is a 5 week course on Talisman creation and features lots of written information, photos,  videos a forum and full support. We have already begun BUT you can still join us. I'm happy to take on a few more students this week. You can start whenever you like and everything is available to you for three months.  LINK TO BOOK
If you would like to purchase this class as a Gift please email me on [email protected] and I can arrange a gift certificate that you can print or email.
January sees the start of the much requested Runes Workshop ( 6 weeks of rune creation, magical bags, reading, history, spellcasting) ... booking very soon. Prebooking ~ $55 is available just email.



AVAILABLE TALISMANS
Well my Etsy store is a little bare after all the Litha and Christmas shopping but this is where you can place a deposit on a bespoke talisman and get the ball well and truly rolling.
I do have the very first of my Spellcatchers available too...

ETSY STORE LINK

Creative Witchery Treasure Hunting

Yeap I KNOW it's Monday!!!!
I'm early.
Power out at home and am trying to upload my Creative Witchery Workshop lessons for this week from her house.  So THIS IS A TEST... But hey I thought I'd show you something fun.....
 

Interesting Finds Tuesday

An idea jogger for all my Found Treasure Creative Witches!

That's an old ruler and so it's in inches....

Today's Found Treasures for Talismans....
bottle cap, plastic confetti, iron on patch, souvenir spoon, button

 

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