O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention,

"Everyone should have a muse. But nobody should have to be one." From "The Lily Maid" by Kris Waldherr

( I was painting this tribute to Lizzie Siddal (Pre-Raphaelite model and artist) when I came across this quote of Kris's. It weighed heavily on my mind, how in becoming "Venus" she was also self destructing. It seems to of been an impossible thing to be the vision and herself. A dear friend saw this on the easel and refers to her as the warrior girl. She sees the paint brush as a spear or arrow which I love. One of the things that draws me to Lizzie's story is her own art and poetry in a time when women were not accepted as artists. Despite her tragic end she remains an inspiration, and muse. I wonder what Lizzie would think of the continued admiration she inspires?

"The Holy Grail" Lizzie Siddal (image lizziesiddal.com)

The Little Things

Yes, sometimes the smallest things bring big smiles :)

Thank to richlayers of toldtales a wonderful fairy tale community on live journal for the heads up on this! I'm not a big Mc Donalds fan so I would of missed the cuteness that is my tiny Wicked Witch.
I'm a silly enough Elphaba fan to of purchased this on Ebay (well I don't do hamburgers!). And yes I'm feeling a strange buying a mass produced doll, but hopefully I'll be forgiven (*cringes*! Well she was 3.00 ;) Here she is next to my painting "Little Elphaba"

Dear Hubby helped me get all the decorations out of the attic this morning. I just don't think I have enough pumpkins!

I will post pictures when I've made a bit more progress :)

Pumpkin Lass

Well Pumpkin lass is colored and painted and is generally feeling quite pleased from all the attention all of you have been lavishing on her. If you haven't had a chance, go to the entry below to name her and enter my Halloween drawing!

Ahhh, Autumn, even here in Florida the air is just a touch cooler. We've been taking more walks and I even pulled weeds this weekend and put out some wonderful purple and orange flowers. I can't wait to get the Halloween decorations out of the attic this weekend!

isn't she wonderful? this delightful little doll is the creation of the talented Helen Grossman
from her profile " I love to work and experiment with different medias like clay, paper, beads, gourds, different paints and surfaces and it is always something new here to learn. Back in Ukraine I learned a decorative folk art style of painting called Petrikivka named after village it was born. I like to incorporate this painting into my dolls, either made of gourds, cloth, etc."
you can see more of Helens work at
ArtByHelenGrossman.etsy.com and helldg.blogspot.com

... I couldn't live without the little winter flower doll :) she is now sitting on my studio desk overseeing things!