As of late I have been going through a lot of changes, I didn't know what direction I wanted to go in regards to creating because I have been creating my whole life and always felt as if something was missing, like I wasn't hitting the mark so to speak, but a few months ago I started hand embroidering, which I love. I felt drawn to it and driven to do it and most recently it has turned into something completely unexpected. I feel as if I am being driven to create folk art made from fabric, (I work with vintage fabric such as table cloths). I have just been bombarded with so many ideas and images of what I should create, its fantastic and I love it and I don't want it to ever stop. An idea will just pop into my head and I have to grab paper and pencil and draw my designs and then I free-hand the designs onto the fabric and it just goes from there. I put a folk art witch piece on Etsy a few days ago and it sold. I was flabbergasted and excited all at the same time. I feel this is a whole new creative venture for me.
Debby Zutant
First Step Designs Stained Glass Studio
Syracuse, NY
Born on Nov 21, this Scorpio artist has fallen victim to some of the more extreme qualities of my astrological signs’ traits, both negative and positive. The path that brought me to discover my new found artistic talent is a direct result of the darker side of some of these traits.
Extreme behavior has ruled my life since I can remember, and when channeled properly, it can be used for great good, or great bad and for many years, I achieved a lot of good. I have several college degrees; I had an executive position, my own home and was engaged to be married. Then the pendulum swung in the other direction and my other extreme took over – namely addiction. This extreme is a tough one to beat and tends to rule all. And it ruled my life at the expense of all others, and I lost everything: the job, the fiancé, the car, and almost my life.
Through a series of events, I was able to stop using drugs, and I managed to clear the fog just a little bit. There I sat, surrounded by the wreckage of what was once a charmed life. Those Scorpio extremes can be ROUGH. I must say that I had never in my life considered myself an artist, nor had I attempted an artistic venture. Not knowing what else to do, I made a decision to purchase some stained glass equipment. Normally costing hundreds of dollars, the equipment was essentially given to me by a stranger for next to nothing. If this stranger only knew how this gift would change my life…….
There I sat, in my freezing cold basement, still reeling from the loss of my previous life. I needed to stay busy and I couldn’t afford supplies or classes, so I just started doing. And what I started doing was amazing - it turned out I had a talent that I never knew existed. Not only did I discover something to keep my mind and hands busy, but my little Scorpio business mind was kicking into action as well - I might actually be able to do something with this! So I quickly turned it from a soul-saving hobby into a business. I got so busy that my brother had to quit his full time job to work with the business and it just continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
Stained Glass Butterfly
Never having considered myself an artist before, every time I make a stained glass piece, I am still amazed at the fact that I produced such a beautiful thing. It comes from a place in my soul and psyche that are yet to be explored – the surface has just been scratched. What I do know, is that art has significantly helped to heal my broken soul. It has filled some of the large holes I have carried around in my soul my whole life and it has brought me peace.
We now support ourselves solely through our art, which is a beautiful way to live. And I have been sober now for over a year. The journey I took into the darkest extremes of my Scorpio sign was the most terrifying experience of my life, but the existential shift in my soul that has resulted from that trip – namely my artwork – makes it worth it. Almost.
Jane
The7thMagpie
Bath, Somerset - the beautiful West Country, where the cider grows
I’m certainly attracted to the unusual and the esoteric, so I guess it could be said I’m typical of my sign in that respect. As a child and teenager I had the privilege to know some strange local characters, whom I later realized could be termed ‘Outsider’ artists. Outsider art is a genre of art that has it’s roots in France at the turn of the century. It grew out of ‘Art Brut’, a term coined by French artist Jean Dubuffet, and it has a long history, too long to go into here. There is an esoteric connection to this genre of art that some may call ‘occult’ but then I’m attracted to art that has a sense of the ‘other’ to it. The occult has had some very bad press over the years, so, what does the word occult actually mean? Well the dictionary definitions that I like best describe it as: “characteristic of the mystical” and “that which is beyond ordinary human understanding” ……perfect!
I believe that certain people have an innate understanding, a kind of in-built ability to recognize works of art that are of this nature, and some have the ability to create works that connect us to the wonder and mystery of our world and of the spiritual. It’s not enough to choose magical or mystical themes and then use them in one's art; that in itself will not create ‘magical’ art. Anyone can do that it, it won’t automatically mean that the work created will have this special quality. Just because a painting may contain the image of a unicorn, a faery or Celtic goddess symbols doesn’t mean that it will be magical or have the deeper connection that I’m speaking of. In fact, that would probably have the opposite effect and render the artwork too contrived and false, no more than a pretty picture. What I’m speaking of is a quality that by its very nature is hard to define, that’s why the Scorpio in me is attracted to and resonates with it!
Winged Guardian
I grew up in a mystical place, an ancient city that has an ancient goddess and an equally ancient temple, built over a natural healing hot spring in Bath, England. The temple and spring in Bath is presided over by the goddess Sul or Sulis and you can still visit the temple today, right in the heart of the city. The temple as it exists today, was built by the Romans over the existing Celtic ruin and it was already ancient and well established as a place of worship, a healing and magical centre when the Romans invaded. In fact the Romans amalgamated their own goddess of wisdom and healing with Sulis and the temple became known, and is known today as the temple of Sulis Minerva. It is visited by thousands of tourists each year, but there are still times in the year when it’s quiet and that’s when I visit and make my own offerings to Sul. She is a goddess of healing, prophecy, culture and also conversely a goddess of war and justice. You can still see some of the ancient artifacts that were dug out from the site in modern times, items the local Romans had cast as offerings into the waters with inscriptions on them asking the goddess for revenge and healing. I grew up within this atmosphere, and as any visitor will tell you Bath Has a certain ‘air’ about it due I expect, to the hot waters that constantly flow below us.
Living in Somerset, I’m also very close to other ancient sites such as Glastonbury, Avebury and Stonehenge, so is it any wonder that the magical interests me?! I have been a practicing meditator since I was a teenager, and since I am now approaching fifty-two that is a very long time ago! I firmly believe that meditation and entering into silence, is an invaluable practice in our modern world with all its stresses and craziness. It’s strange to me that we have almost lost our ability to enjoy silence. I’d even go as far as to say that some people seem afraid of it as though silence is a void that they must fill with the sound of their own voices in endless chatter or music and tv! I also believe that my practice of meditation is where I make much of my creative and spiritual connections, not only in the art I make, of which only a small portion is shown on Etsy, but also in many other areas of my life. Of course I create and enjoy art that is fun and meant to be taken and enjoyed in a more light-hearted manner as well, but as a Scorpio I just can’t help looking for the ‘deeper’ meaning!
Jill Jandreau
I’ve always had a need to create art. As a child I loved to draw and even make jewelry! Now I dabble in pottery and painting, but I really love the physicality of metalsmithing. Being a Scorpio definitely affects my art and creativity. Stubborn? Immovable? Never! I love the challenge of setting a difficult stone.
Being a water sign, I am drawn to the water and have always lived on the coast. My hobbies and travels frequently involve water and serve as the inspiration for much of my jewelry collection. I was recently on a kayak trip in Vancouver Island where I created a "Cascading Necklace" that reminds me of the eddies and currents I’d encountered there. It was an amazing trip that really left its impression in my psyche. Living in Seattle, I like to walk along the beach in the winter. We frequently see otters, moon snails, and whales. I can’t take those home, but a piece of turquoise sea glass did make it into my pocket and was the beginning of one of my favorite ring collections - "The Sea Glass Stackable Rings".
Beach Walk Sea Glass Sterling Silver Ring
Being a sensitive Scorpio, my pieces frequently have symbolic sentiment. I wanted to create something for my mother and came up with " The Embrace". The base represents stability, the circle her support and the stone is her strength and clarity. I don’t always include the symbolism in my item descriptions because I want people to have the freedom to see what they want in my art, plus perhaps the secretive Scorpio in me doesn’t want to share it all the time! My partner Todd frequently reminds me…”Scorpioooo!”
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New Moon in PiscesMarch 15, 2010
12:01 pm PDT
Lynn - Les Bijoux Créa-Lune
Vintage Style Moonstone and Brass Earrings
Amongst the Waves - Mother of Pearl, Silver and Bubble Asymmetrical Necklace
