Blog Party: HerSpeak Equinox Shindig!

Hello Chickadees! Welcome to the HerSpeak Equinox Shindig! The shift of seasons is so invigorating--new smells, little discoveries, unusual and exciting energy. There is comfort in honoring the rhythm. Fall happens to be my favorite: bright days, long nights, the scent of leaves smoldering and new saturated colors always strike me: stunning...and spooky. Let's get to the party!

First up, a video vignette altar to welcome autumn!


Next, these adorable and delectable mini pumpkin pies! Fall food is my favorite: roasted, slow cooked, baked and broiled. So much love from the oven! I'll be making mine this evening. :)

Part of the fun of fall is sinking into a new pattern and enjoying the natural changes. This soothing Nature Attunement Meditation from Meditation Oasis lets you get down into the dirt and enjoy the qualities of nature when woods and shores are unavailable. It's one of my personal favorites. Listen, you'll like it. :)

Feast your eyes on a breathtaking collection of curious fall inspired photographs via That Unreliable Girl! The whole collection is haunting and beautiful-- The didgeridoo is my favorite!


How are you celebrating the shift, my pretties?

In The Studio: Shrine Series

Hello Sweetpeas! It was a whiplash weekend full of errands, work, baby showers, rehearsals AND a few snippets of sweet sweet studio time. Here are a few of the latest pieces for my craft fair shrine series:



A jewelrybox or cigarette case shrine. Materials include acrylic paint, nail polish, wood, plastic gems, sequins, silver glitter, pink felt, found images and charms.


Next, we have another tiny shrine. This version was much easier to make than the prototype. It may be my new favorite. Materials include acrylic paint, bottle caps, quartz crystal, nail polish, wood, masking tape, candle wax, felt, found images and charms and GLITTER.


And finally, the smallest shrine I've ever made! It's only slightly larger than a postage stamp. :)

What were you up to this weekend, craft warriors?

Video Zen: My Sacred Space

Hello Kittens!* I wanted to share a Moment of Zen with you this weekend as I'm off to my own favorite retreat to re-juice: a cabin in the woods with my good friends and family. It's been a busy week for all of us and I wanted to show you my sacred space--a place where I contemplate and listen closely, to get fierce when I need it and visit Love. Enjoy!



What does your sacred space look like? I'd love to know! Don't have one? Today is a perfect day to begin, my dears. :)

Craft Time: That Voodoo That Yoo Doo

Hello Sugar Plums!* The moon is getting FAT and I've recently felt the push to putz around with my household shrines. The latest edition to my goddess-goodness altar is this Lakshmi Mojo Jar I created.

Muffin and I took the train to Memphis, TN this spring and the entire city is dripping with bottle caps, folk art, glitter and voodoo supply shops. After our visit I was excited to make some of my own good southern-fried-inspired voodoo with a HerSpeak twist!

This particular jar was made with Abundance in mind--There are a lot of beautiful people in my life who could use a little boost! First, I cleaned out an emptied spice container and decorated it with gobs of glitter and trinkets. Next, I filled it with all kinds of good Juju: cloves, gold leaf, little prayers, lemon oil, gems and scented oil. Then I sealed it up with a kiss and a lit birthday candle with the intention that the light find everyone who needs it.

As soon as I finished, I found a $5 bill in my pants pocket--She will provide. ;)


This was a treat to make! What would you wish for with your Mojo Jar?

Happy Yule: Joy to You!

Warm Yule Wishes of Comfort
and Joy to You and Yours.~*

Massacreade Recap + New Work!

Hello cupcakes!*

Ahhhh--feels good to be back in the blogosphere! I've been off making mayhem! And as you know when working on a project of Epic Proportions one must prioritize and something has to "give". This time around those "somethings" were laundry and blogging. The latest project my dear friend and Kelly and I were toiling on ended up being an H-Bomb of Awesome! Our Halloween schmorgasboard of art and music, "Massacreade: The Curious. The Marvelous. The Macabre." was well received--we sold out two performances in one night--and was enjoyed by all the freakish and fabulous in attendance! Here are a few highlights from the evening:

Anna looking exquisite with the Famous Graves
on upright bass and our special guests The Echelon String Quartet.

The final fierce pose from Skellywag Fashions (my mom!) smashing debut runway exhibition, "Glampyre"!
That's Kelly in the powdered wig!
The incredibly lovely Evan Flynn, special guest violinist and model.

My muffin looking dapper behind the drum kit.
He deserves a medal for putting up with me being a banshee
for 2 months--a really really shiny one.

Leah Schultz rocking the viola--ensemble coordinator of
The Echelon String Quartet and all around Renaissance woman.
They're amazing performance changed a lot of minds that night--classical music is METAL!
A full view of me feeling like a princess in this awesome
Rosemary Clooney inspired gown Mom made for me.
It was a treat to perform in this incredible outfit, certainly helped
me channel all the dead jazz singers The Famous Graves covered!
The talented Mrs. Julie Ivens was behind the camera.
John Miller of The Echelon String Quartet destroying the crowd with his cello--
nothing hotter than a man in a bunny mask. :)

Our dear friend and talented artist Rick in
his clever costume doing what he does best--being spooky!

While Mum, Anna and I were recuperating from this extravaganza we decided to indulge in some retail therapy at a funky antique mall where I found this excellent Athena statuette! She's a stunning addition to the collection.
I'm also trucking along in my studio classes making books for my print studio, drawing goddess portraits, making shrines, practicing watercolor technique and as usual, up to my eyebrows in naked people for figure drawing! Here's a little peek of my hard ground etching project. The process involves little copper plates that are coated in a black waxy ground. You remove the black coating with a stylus, just like a scratch board and then dip the whole shebang in an acid bath to etch the exposed lines. I'm illustrating one of my favorite ghost story songs, "Long Black Veil", I think it will be rather lovely when it's finished. :)


I've also been lucky enough to make some new friends in town! The ladies at the Bewitchingbee Magical Supply, a wonderful metaphysical supply and spiritual advising operation here in Milwaukee, are sweet as pagan-pie! I'm working on some new signage for their storefront. Shhh! Don't say anything! It's going to be a Halloween surprise--I can't wait!More Making Stuff photos to come soon--and I mean really soon, not "3-weeks-from-now-soon"! hehe!

Now tell me dearies, what sort of mayhem have you been making?

Until Next Time,
Much Joy and Merry Making!*

Making My Own Yemaya: Before and After

*Hello Kittens! This afternoon was spent doing a little ol' presto change-o in the studio! I scored a couple of these neat vintage nativity figurines for a dollar with the intent of melding them into my studio altar. One of my goals with the creation of this sacred space is to truly embrace the amazing cultural diversity of goddess mythology and presence of the sacred feminine in all ladies. I have been searching for a Yemaya statue for some time and haven't found one I liked or could afford--actually, come to think of it...I've never found one. Ever. So, I decided to give this found figure a goddess make over!

The angels also received a little color love...

*POOF! A little paint, some sea shells, a handfull of pearls, a 39 cent icecream cup and a few false flowers later we have an assemblaged goddess of Moon and Sea! I'm sure other whatsits will find their way into this mini piece, we'll have to wait and see what the tide brings in.

The angels found themselves transformed into Gaurdian Muses, gleefully overseeing all paint slinging and sketching.

And now, my pretties, what have you been tinkering with? How are your sacred spaces looking these days? Until next time--Much Joy and Merry Making!*

Altar Building + Isis Bookwork

Hello Dearies!
School is officially over and the day is my oyster! While I sip my spicy tea and wait for this thunderstorm to start, I'll give you the scoop on what's been stewing in the HerSpeak studio since I've been away...

***A few days ago I felt the itch. You know--the itch to shuffle all your belongings, to make piles and generally mouse about. What ended up happening was this impromptu altar! I had started with a black candle that burns in my studio, which then led to a few stones settling near it...and a photograph...and then knots of string...and then another candle...and a magazine clipping...my tarot cards...and a doOdle and before I knew it, this was the end result:

It's my new favorite place in the apartment.

Aside from improvisational installation pieces, I finished my artist book, "Prayers for Isis". This petite accordian fold book was a project for my Print and Narrative Forms course, which is roughly based on a pocket prayer book or a Book of Hours. The pages consist of intaglio etchings watercolored illustrations and gold leaf on domestic etch paper. The text came from a stream of consciousness ramble I did about a year ago.

The pages read: "When they are with HER, they are queens of ostrich plumes & strings of crocodiles teeth--She Hounds wired and aware. When they are with HER, their skins are diamonds, rosy candied fly wings..."

"When I am with HER, I am stitched up swan parts--sure footed and insane. I speak in tongues of leaves, the recently deceased and lavish faun dreams--of dripping water, willow trees and the thousands of ticklish thistles."

"When I am with HER, me is I, this is WE and She is US--due cause for upper case. WE is grounds for celebration, strange festivities and acclimations in memory of dreams we never had, fires we never sparked and books whose spines we have long forgotten."

Each ovalette of text has a corresponding illustration of a maiden, mother and crone version of the same Virgin Mary/Isis/Tonantzin/Lady of Guadalupe icon.


It was interesting watching my peers handle the book during critique: very delicately, carefully turning pages, gingerly touching the gold leaf and absent mindedly rubbing the soft velvet casing ribbon as they read. Most smiled widely when they found the illustrations and recognized the woman as someone they know from paintings, church windows, or their own mothers. Whether they found Goddess in it or not was not important to me, they found Comfort. And really--aren't they the same? :)

And for tomorrow--more projects to document and post! Oooh it feels good to be back in the blogosphere! I'm going to brew a second cup and flit about to all of your blog homes to see what sort of mischeif you've been making! What have you been up to, my pretties? What sort of tinkering have you been doing in your studios, kitchens, classrooms and journals?

Until next time,

Much Joy and Merry Making, Friends!

Brigit + The Cleaning Cricket

Last night the Moon was like a low laying slice of apricot, cradled by rooftops and winking yellow traffic lights. She was the perfect pallet inspiration to put the finishing touches my commission ! This petite altar piece was such a delight to make! Brigid has always been one of my favorite Goddess personalities. The lady has more facets than a diamond ring! Warrioress, Creatrix of Poetry, Inventor of Writing, Healer and Keeper of the Sacred Flame. She was so swell in fact-- that the church decided to keep her in the club and make her a saint! What a lady!

Brigid Altar Piece Molly Roberts 2008

This piece was designed with Imbolc in mind. Normally, Brigid is depicted wearing her famous green cloak, but to keep true to the Candlemass theme, I used flame inspired colors instead: salmons, scarlets, golds, a hot blue and a few punctuating dollops of white. The white background is meant to reference a snowy hill or field without making the work into a specific landscape. She holds three red candles which signify her multiplicity and reference her triple goddess aspects. The sleepy lamb nestled in her arm relates to the new life that emerges with the soon approaching spring. I love concocting fashion for my goddesses to wear! I get to ask myself, "If I were a deity standing in my closet, what would I put on?" Normally, I complete the work with a mask for the goddess, but for some reason, this time it didn't feel appropriate. I hope her new owner enjoys Her as much as I did in making Her. :)
Working on this piece also inspired me to spruce up my own sacred spaces, do a little dusting, rearrange, update, shuffle, and pair down. It's all a welcome part of the constant cycle of de-cluttering. (Which I feel like I'm winning! Hooray!) I don't know what it is, whether it's the "resolution culture" or perhaps something at a molecular level that when January rolls around my brain says, shouts rather: "Clean It Up! Grab the toothbrush and get on that tile grout!" I'm glad to do it--makes for a clean, cozy, slate and allows me to sit back and enjoy winter.
Now I'm off to complete more etsy work, pack my bags for a quick weekend holiday and dig up something for June's latest challenge! Dark, twisted, fairy tales--how enticing! How on earth could one resist? I am anxious to see what sort of savory weirdness everyone dreams up this week!

Anyone else get nipped by the cleaning cricket?

Many Blissings & Merry Making!~*

Sacred Commissions

It's a blue gray afternoon here near the lake--a perfect day to be tucked away in the studio with a "kick-in-the-pants" cup of coffee catching up on commission work. I've been doodling and googling all afternoon working on gathering notes and getting down initial blocks of color for a special custom altar piece. I always feel incredibly honored when someone asks me to create work for their sacred spaces! Such a treat!
Though most times it is an invigorating experience, sometimes being asked to make an intensely personal piece can be a little overwhelming. For example, this past summer I had a client ask me to create a Day of The Dead inspired memorial piece for her mother and auntie who passed away a few months prior. They died together in a tragic auto accident in the spring and she wanted a work that illustrated their friendship as sisters and impact as mothers.

Woah.

That is Heavy...

"El Dia des Los Muertos" by Molly Roberts 2008

As we discussed the details of the work it was obvious that her hurt was still very fresh. I scratched down notes trying my best to keep up as she recited memories and lists of her mothers favorite things: "violets, butterflies, lilies-of-the-valley..." As much as you try to relax and be creative while working on a piece like that there is a pressure that is present. You want the work to be perfect--it has to be perfect. It's not only a decorative artwork that needs to be aesthetically pleasing and functional within the living space. You know what you are making is part of the family's grieving process. You're not just drawing and gluing--You are an active part, you are helping in the healing. Every bit of foil, every spot of ink counts. Needless to say, it can be intimidating.


Fortunately, this current piece is being created for a more joyous occasion and magickal purpose! And after a fruitful visit to the natural museum yesterday afternoon with my Muffin, my brain is full of scaly wings, star fish spikes and primal cave paintings--a festoon of new patterns and visual rhythms just waiting to spill out onto canvas! Back to work!

What sort of objects or images do you have in your private,meditative or sacred sanctuary space?

*~Many Blissings & Merry Making, Friends!~*

A Breather

My brain is a milkshake: Can't read anymore, can't print anymore, can't find anything in the fridge I'd touch with a ten foot pole. It's time for a Moment. A wink of nothing, just a warm spot of "take -it-down-a-notch" tea. To sweep out my brain and get the muscles in my shoulders to stop sumo wrestling I decided to do a short stream of consciousness jot. Anyone care to join me?

"A breath. A breeze Currently Calm Stillness silence Constance Emptiness, empty nest Tranquil Composed Cleansed Restful, and full of rest Slow in current, shore and sand A sudden rush of Nothing to the Nowhere Deliberate. Gentleness of the Wave, The Curl The Pull Stretch Soothe the skin Exhale Pasture Empty Clear Pour Stream, another cup please Serene Collected Well constructed A Hush Low of pitch Undisturbed Content Ease Aware Rinse, restore, repeat Poised Groove --It's quite a Groove A Good Groove Natural, platelets better settle Gravitational Ground Grounding. Grounded."

An Altar for Us: Art for My Muffin

After a quiet moment in the closet staring at the blank space, I set to work our "US" altar. I shuffled through the candy tin that serves as my photo album and found a blurry snapshot of the two of us from high school--both of our eyes are closed. Then I found the "CONEY ISLAND IS FOR LOVERS" postcard from our trip to New York this past summer and a wrinkly ticket stub from "Edward Scissor Hands: The Ballet" which we attended in St. Paul two springs ago. While I looked at the glossy ticket I smiled as I recalled crying when the music swelled and snow suddenly started falling slowly from the auditorium ceiling. I realize it was only lights and costumes, but I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the moment. I placed a few glistening snail shells on the shelf--shells we found while shifting through wet sand at the cottage. As I arranged the scraps of paper, trinkets, string and travel artifacts I thought about how much we've evolved since we were scared seventeen-year-old kids, how many strange cities had seen us stumbling around in the wee hours of the morning, and fancied where we might be headed. I lit the candles and stepped back to view the work, savoring a small, silent celebration for us.

"The Universe Wants To Play!" + Bee Keeper

I was drying my hands in the library's 2nd floor washroom when I noticed it. Someone had written a message on the wall with permanent maker in bold letters. It said:

THE UNIVERSE WANTS TO PLAY!

It's no burning bush--but I don't suppose signs come any clearer than that. Whoever or whatever is trying to speak--I hear you! I keep tossing ideas on an ever growing pile labeled "Someday" and blow them off for homework or cleaning grout or some other silly chore that HAS to be done. So today I am setting aside some time to play--to dabble around in my studio and glue sequins to whatever I wish! I think I'll make a visit to the swing set near my apartment!I have also decided that I am making a moment for "us". My dearest and I have been so consumed with reflection papers, work schedules, deadlines, and election news that we haven't spent much time together. We live together, but lately we haven't been living together. The conversation has grown flat and we're getting surly because we're simply overloaded. It's easy to take comforts like having morning coffee in our yellow parlor or a good post-class-bitch-fest for granted. I'm going to build an "US" altar and devote some mental space to thinking about and spending time with my Muffin.

But for now, I'm off to play hopscotch with the cosmos!

"Bee Keeper" by Molly Roberts. Acrylic, ink, & found objects on wood.