Cats, owls and tea: A conversation with Sarada

Hello ladies,

I recently had the pleasure of talking with the artist Sarada over a pot of Earl Grey tea. Come enjoy our meanderings about Halloween, owls, cats, ghost stories, Alice in Wonderland and, of course, nail polish!

Shinobi helps get us in the Halloween spirit.

Diana: Much of your art focuses on Halloween themes. Can

you tell us about your fascination with the holiday?

Sarada: Since my birthday is about a week after Halloween

(Nov. 8) it has always been a doubly festive time of year for

me, when the temperatures cool down and everything has

that wonderful haunted feeling.

Forest of Eyes (original painting).

I grew up watching Hammer horror movies on Saturday

afternoons and just loving dark and Halloweeny things --

I always decorate year-round with things I buy at Halloween

time. I'm always using Halloween plates and a Halloween
mug or making dresses from Halloween fabric.

The Owl and the Pussycat went to Tea (print).

I didn't start doing paintings with that theme until about ten

years ago when I thought about my interest in turn of the

century Halloween postcards and chose to paint for my own

amusement -- using images especially of owls and cats,

girls in witch hats, and pumpkin men having tea.

Diana: Your paintings are very imaginative and often

fantastical. Do everyday happenings show up in your work?

Sarada: I usually paint straight from my imagination with

idealized remembrances of what things look like -- but

sometimes things from nature will inspire me. Even if I can't

get a picture of flora or fauna in its natural environment, I'll

carry the image home with me and paint it from memory or

from other photos I can find.

Redhead Companions (original painting).

For example, I saw a pileated woodpecker in a forest

last summer and was so struck by its beauty that I kept the

image with me for awhile and then painted it with a

red-haired woman. Some of my favorite forests pop up in

paintings -- a tree in the middle of a field in a favorite park,

and things like that.

Diana: Haunted settings appear on your canvases. Do you

take inspiration from ghost stories?

Sarada: 19th century ghost stories and 18th century gothic

novels are among my favorite things in the world -- some

of my favorite writers are Ann Radcliffe (The Mysteries of

Udolpho), MR James and EF Benson (ghost story writers).

Images of women in white gowns swooping around decrepit

mansions and ruined castles with candelabras or lanterns

are of course a theme I derive from ghost stories.

Colorful Shadows (original painting).

Movies from the 60s and 70s with the
same sort of imagery are also a tremendous

inspiration, like the TV show Dark Shadows.

The Peril of Crimson Manor (original painting).

I did a few monochrome paintings of ghostly women with

lanterns and torches after reading stacks of Victorian ghost

stories last year. This year I have been painting a series

based on the image of "women in gowns fleeing from

castles" that I love on 1960s gothic book covers.

Diana: Continuing with the theme of storybooks, you create

alternate Wonderlands for Alice. These often seem to

include tea! Could you tell us about your affinity with Alice

in Wonderland?

Sarada: Alice in Wonderland is one of the first things I can

ever remember loving to the point of acting it out all the

time as a child. I'd wander through the garden or house

pretending that I was falling down the rabbit hole -- I'd take

a nibble out of a cookie and a drink of tea and pretend I was

right there in the book.

I had a Alice in Wonderland record I'd listen to all the time

and I read it over and over. It has always been something I

felt very close to, even down to my love of 1960s

psychedelic music, which often refers to the story (like the

song "White Rabbit"). It's just one of those things that never

fails to delight me. And just the image of an Alice-like girl,

wearing striped tights in a world of mushrooms or

chessboards -- even the elements from the stories in other

context, always enchant me.

Alice Dreaming (print).

As an avid tea drinker of course, that element also is

something I love to play around with. There's just

something lovely about a nice round tea pot or a hot cup

of tea, and something magical as well.

Diana: I would say tea is just about as magical as nail

polish!

With paintings like Nail Polish Witch, it's evident that your

love of color isn't limited to the canvas. Please let us know

about some of your favorite nail polishes.

Nail Polish Witch (print).

Sarada: I love all of the unusual colors -- dark, forest

greens (Orly Enchanted Forest comes to mind), dark

blues and purples (Zoya's Yasmeen is a lovely

example), I like a nice copper or gunmetal as well

and I love glitters.

China Glaze released some glitters that drive me wild with

joy, like Dorothy Who?, the Spellbound and Fortune Teller

glitters from last year. I love Nubar's glitters too, their

lime green, teal and dark purple glitters make my head spin.

Nfu Oh is another brand that makes me go crazy -- I love

for my nails to look like opals. Nfu Oh #60 is breathtaking!

I also love orange and bright or lime green in any form. I

love to just look at a big display of nail polish in what I call

"colorbetical" order (I guess most people call that "rainbow"

order). I feel like I have to have every single one!

Diana: I seem to recall your line up of Sally Hansen Hi Def

polishes!

Since readers of painted Lady fingers have a love of fauna,

would you share a little about your animal companions?

Sarada: At my mother's house in New Jersey my animal

companions are currently staying -- my cats Shizuka and

Voudoun are sisters, they are 13 years old -- Shizuka is

white with a funny grey tabby tail and Voudoun is a very

fluffy black with a little white bib.

I also have two turtles, red-eared sliders, named Kermit

and Mason, whom I adopted from a friend several years ago.

My mom has three other cats -- we speculate they
might have some Norwegian Forest in them -- Snickers,

Dimples and Max are the names we seem to call them the

most often, though that changes! And where I am staying

right now is a black cat named Shinobi, plus the occasional

armadillo that wanders by.

Diana: That is quite the menagerie! Readers of painted

Lady fingers are well acquainted with the charming

Kermit and Mason. Let's introduce them to Shizuka and

Voudoun, who seem to be letting us know in their feline

way this interview has reached an end.

Thanks so much for stopping by for tea, Sarada!

Shizuka and Voudoun share a favorite past time.

To see more of Sarada's work, stop by her etsy shop. She

also maintains a gallery of past creations at

xelucha.homestead.com. You can read about her creative

process at artbysarada.blogspot.com. Would you like

the opportunity to win an original painting by Sarada?

Stop by Trick-or-Polish: A Halloween Giveaway! to enter.

The contest closes on October 18th, so don't delay.

Happy painting, ladies!

Bejeweled grapes

Hello ladies,

Today I am wearing Pelican Peak Purple from the Summer Beach Blowout Collection by Diamond Cosmetics. I find the name of this polish completely charming. I imagine a group of pelicans gathered together on rocks overlooking a purple toned sunset. To me, this shade seems more fitting to a Spring collection. This matters little since I absolutely love the color.

I was in the mood for a tone on tone purple look. Using Konad violet pearl special polish, I stamped the grape design from Bundle Monster plate BM05. I added rhinestones in two different shades of purple along with lavender pearls. I painted over the stem with a green Migi Nail art pen.

The perspective of this photo amuses me. There is actually a skyscraper to the left behind these flowers.

Hot pink chalcedony earrings by WildHeather. I wore these earrings today. The pink is so vibrant and lovely.

Pelican Peak Purple was opaque in two coats. I am showing three coats here. I decided to add a refresher coat and the bejeweled grapes to celebrate the sun returning after a few cloudy days. This shade was incredibly easy to apply for a pastel creme.

The polish was sent to me for review. Pelican Peak Purple can be purchased from diamondcosmetics.com. For international purchasing options, please see this post for details. The Migi Nail Art pen was reviewed previously.

Happy painting, ladies!

A conversation with Wild Heather: creativity, jewelry and fauna

Hello ladies,

I recently had the opportunity to converse with Wild Heather, the artist who created the freshwater pearl and sky blue chalcedony earrings for the Spring Beauty, Spring Cleaning Giveaway. She's has a fine creative sense, a true warmth of spirit and a love of animals.

Here is a picture of her companion, Willie.

Diana: Looking through your shop I noticed you work primarily with natural materials. How does Nature inspire your work?

Wild Heather: Nature inspires my work in that I consider myself to be fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the world! Vancouver BC is a world class city surrounded by Nature: our landscape was quite literally shaped by the Coast Mountain range, the Pacific Ocean and the Fraser River! I've been lucky enough to call this area home my whole life, and the beauty I see around me every day inspires all I do!

West Coast Tideline

Diana: What is your favourite piece of jewelry that you've made recently? Please tell us a little about why you loved creating it.

Wild Heather: My favourite piece is usually the one I've most recently created! Right now, I am in love with the combination of brushed sterling silver and labradorite! I love labradorite because of its mutability: it changes and flashes and shows off its colours. As you move, it moves with you. A piece that I have in my shop that really shows this off is my new Echo of Teardrops Earrings.

Diana: Beautiful! Can you tell us a little about what it is like to create a piece of jewelry?

Wild Heather: Since I am a totally random and abstract thinker, my creative methods and processes change with the seasons and the winds! The first part of the process, the inspiration, is different every time. It might start with a song fragment or lyric, the sight of something caught out of the corner of my eye...a fleeting flash of insight into what's going on in the world around me. When I get those flashes, I try to sketch them or write them down somewhere. I keep two lovely journals, both designed by papercraftsbyk on Etsy. I 'word doodle' or sketch, or write to myself about jewellery ideas. Once I have the ideas, the real work begins!

Peridot and Sterling Silver Ring

Once all the ideas are rocketing around inside my head like an overcaffeinated squirrel, the real fun starts. I select the pieces of silver, stone and wire I'll need to complete the project. I have to choose everything from the findings (ear-wires? posts? French style leverbacks?) to the matching stones! Most of the time when I buy stones, I buy a whole strand, or multiple strands if I am REALLY lucky.

Pale lemon yellow chalcedony briolettes

That means I have to meticulously measure each stone using a digital micrometer to match each pair for length, width and thickness, as well as colour. Occasionally, I will splurge and buy a few sets of pre-matched pairs from a very few trusted Etsy sellers. Sometimes it's worth the extra money to ensure the match is as perfect as possible!

Once the choosing is done, the nitty gritty of the work starts! I wrap my stones using fine sterling silver wire; I like to use 26 gauge to wire wrap because I don't need to worry about the wire chipping my stones! I do my wire wrapping under a magnifier light to get the wraps as even and uniform as possible. After I snip each wire, I give it a little pinch with the pliers to tuck in any bits that are sticking out, so that they aren't visible to the naked eye. Finally, it's time to photograph them for my shop!

Hot pink chalcedony and sterling silver earrings

Diana: Your attention to detail really shows in the finished piece. I was so curious as to how you matched the stones in color and size. Both pairs I have from you display such exacting symmetry. This is especially remarkable given the natural components.

Readers of painted Lady fingers are animal lovers. Can you tell us a bit about your pets?

Heather: The grande dame of the group is my 16 year old Border Collie cross, Cocoa. She still loves to be patted and walked. Even children who are afraid of dogs want to pet this gentle girl. She still enjoys moments of great enthusiasm and energy, especially near the water! Here she is in the summer of '09, (at 15 years of age!) gallivanting along the sandbars alongside the Fraser River!

Next on the list is Pagan the cat, or the Screamacat as we call her. Pagan has DEFINITE ideas about when breakfast time is: it's usually between 2 hours and 20 minutes before I am ready to get out of bed! Sometimes we are graced with her presence on the bed for snuggles, but it is strictly on her terms. She is 16 and very bossy.

And then there's Willy. Willy says 'Good morning!' by jumping up on the bed as soon as I get out of it. He curls up in my warm spot while I stumble around, trying to caffeinate myself sufficiently.

Willie came to us as a half-starved six week old puppy, one of a litter of 13. He has been our pampered baby ever since. He is the love of our lives, and supports me in all my crafting endeavours, but he is especially fond of my knitting, because the thick scarves I like to knit are soft and cozy!

Lastly, while this isn't a pet, I am fortunate enough to see these incredible birds in the wild, up close, on an almost daily basis at the right time of year. Isn't he magnificent?

Diana: Oh, lovely! Thank you for sharing. I have one more question for you. This was posed by my philosopher friend. I couldn't resist asking on his behalf.

What is the meaning of earrings?

Heather: That's easy! Earrings are everything, and nothing...

Please stop by Wild Heather Handcrafted on Etsy to view more of the artist's beautiful creations. For a chance to win a pair of freshwater pearl and sky blue chalcedony earrings along with a Spring beauty gift pack, please visit the contest post to enter.

Happy painting, ladies!