Thursday 5 February 2015

Bastet, cats and a bird

Hi Everybody!

We had another very cold and frosty day here, but I know some places are having even worse weather with huge amounts of snow. Stay safe, you all!

For Art Journal Journey I have my second old Egyptian piece for the 'Birds, beasts and humans challenge'. I made these journal pages a couple of weeks back, and was originally planning to start with them at the beginning of the month, but they hid under a pile of stuff and didn't show themselves on time. The journal page today (A3) is about the goddess Bastet,  She is depicted as a woman with a cat head or as a cat. Cats were revered in ancient Egypt. One of Bastet's duties was to guard the moon by night, so that it could not be stolen by thieving rodents, and she is also associated with women and dance. There are other, earlier interpretations of her role, but I love the idea of her guarding the moon.
I painted the background and pyramid with acrylics, which I sprinkled with fairy dust. When it was dry I added more details and colours with pastels. The moon was cut from gold-metal leafing. The picture of Bastet as a cat-headed woman was drawn onto paper, coloured with felt pens, fussy cut and glued on. The illustration of Bastet as a cat is from Wikipedia, and has also been coloured with felt pens and highlighted with white. The quote was written by hand. I am also linking to Paint Party Friday, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin.







This is a canvas I made a year or 2 back  depicting Bastet:



The day started off well even though it was very frosty; it's always good to see the sun.






I managed to catch the jay on my balcony today.


Thanks to all who asked about my hand. I still have a lot of bruises, but it is healing, and my ribs are hurting, but will also be better in a few days - I hope! I need to b more careful not to fall over things at home!

Have a great day you all, take care,
and thanks a lot for coming by!

42 comments:

  1. Oh I love these gorgeous photos of the sun through the trees! Your work is beautiful too! This is the second time I've seen this quote today! Daughter posted it on her facebook too! So perfect! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. yes please do be careful! Wonderful Egyptian pieces, I learn so much here.

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  3. Wow Val, this is another fantastic piece, love the colours, and how your Bastets are placed - very atmospheric! Lovely photos, too. Hugs, Sarah

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  4. Das sieht toll aus ..und der Spruch tut mir gut heute! Auch Dein Keilrahmen ist super geworden-
    was Du für ausgefallene Vögel zu Gast hast ist sensationell!

    Hab einen guten Tag Val!
    xxx
    Susi

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  5. Ich bewundere deine Kreativität - dir scheinen nie die Ideen auszugehen :-) Hab einen schönen Tag und pass gut auf dich auf!

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  6. Fantastic artwork Valerie. Your colours get mor vibrant each day and they are a joy to look at. The textured sand is an amazing idea.

    Looks like nicer weather for you and the birds just now--we have heavy rain at the moment but I am hopeful for later.

    Have great day and look after those injuries.

    Love Chrissie

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  7. Love your cats today Valerie and I truly believe in that quote. "What's for you won't go by you" as we Scots say. Take good care now - have you ever thought of covering yourself in bubble wrap! Xx

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    Replies
    1. Bubble wrap? Great idea, I could put a bit of colour on it and go out as an art installation!

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  8. Die Arbeit von gestern gefällt mir total, so schöne Farben. Bin ja auch ein großer Liebhaber der ägytischen Motive... besonders auch der Katzen von heute.
    Den Eichelhäher hast du hier toll erwischt!
    LG Ulrike

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  9. Great post Valerie.... love your Egyptian piece!

    Karen x

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  10. What a fabulous page Valerie. I really like your Bastet drawing. And I really like your swirls with writing on them, they're very eye catching. I'm glad to her you're on the mend. ((hugs))

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  11. du führst mich in Versuchung, auch nach ägyptischen Motiven zu suchen, material hätte ich genug dazu... ich find die auch so klasse!! tolle farben, sehr schöne Schrift, auch das bastet-dreieck ist ein tolles werk!

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  12. ... und der Eichelhäher ist super getroffen!!

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  13. Glad you were able to get out a little again--oh I bet those ribs hurt! I'm a big fan of Egyptian art, Tut, etc. as you probably already know, so I really am enjoying seeing your art.Hugs!

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  14. HI Valerie, glad to hear you are on the mend. Hope your ribs feel better soon but at least you are able to get outside and capture great photos on your walks. Love your Egyptian art and the quote is so true.
    Happy Creating and healing thoughts.
    CM

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  15. So glad you are healing. I know exactly what you mean about being carefully of our self. I am beginnning to think I will never heal completely from my fall in July.

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    1. OOPS didn't mean to hit post there... hard to type around a cat sometimes. Love your art today also and that Jay photo is so pretty. Here's to better heath for the both of us!

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    2. Your cat seems to love sitting at the computer with you!

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  16. WOW! LOVE the acrylic. GORGEOUS colors. You're genius, Val. :)
    Hope your hand is better.
    xoxo

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  17. Boah wow val,das ist wider ein ganz tolle seite und du bist so kreativ,auch tolle farben wider,den eicheher hast du gut getroffen,den vogel sehe ich sehr oft bei uns vor dem küchenfenster,aber er ist sooo laut *gg*
    hoffe dir gehts wieder etwas besser..pass schön auf dich auf.
    schönen abend dir noch.

    GLG Jeannette

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    Replies
    1. Ja, manchmal hat er Streit mit den Elstern, und dann machen sie einen Riesenkrach!

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  18. Falling is never good. Glad you are mending. Bruises take forever to go away as we get older. I always take some homeopathic arnica and it seems to work really well. Superb Egyptian piece. xox

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  19. You had me at gold and fairy dust ;) And I LOVE love love the black cat with it's gorgeous, detailed necklace. That totally inspires me to do something similar on the neckline of a girl! LOVE it - this has to be a new fav of yours ;) xoxo

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  20. This comes under the Valerie-best-yet category. Love the cat's neck-piece and that terrific cat-woman.
    A gold pyramid sprinkled with fairy dust must have massive magical powers.
    Add another little Egyptian lesson and what could be better?

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  21. Stunning art piece. Very effective in colours and shapes. Hugs xx

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  22. Beautiful piece, I always learn something new when I visit too. ~Diane

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  23. Fantastic artwork, loved the glimmer that the fairy dust gave to the first one and the awesome cat woman. Take care of yourself and stay safe.
    Yvonne xx

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  24. Wow, was für eine Leuchtkraft - herrlich :) Deine beiden ägyptischen Werke gefallen mir sehr gut.

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  25. Love your creation,these are the most stunning images, gorgeous and the beauties added....thanks for always popping into my blog. my internet has been down so sorry if I missed a few lovely cards....♥ aNNie



    {The Journey is the Start – my personal blog}

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  26. Love the jewel tones in this. Your drawing and painting is fabulous. hugs, Teresa

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  27. Valerie, I love this piece as much as the last- the Egyptian series are absolutely brilliant! xo

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  28. I really like this job, exquisite creativity! Delicious Egyptian inspiration!

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  29. Oh I love this piece, and the photos are stunning.

    Kate

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  30. Your Bastet is spectacular!!!! I love the quote too. Thank you for all the info about her , how interesting. I love the idea she is also associated with dance and the moon, very cool. Your blue jay shot is great, I love the blue wing peeking out! Deb

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  31. Hi Valerie. Fabulous work. I love Egyptian art and all the stories behind the painting. Great job, photos. By the way, your painting of Van Gogh's mother reminded me of when I painted her or at least tried. You did a wonderful job. You're pretty good, you know that? :) Have a wonderful day.

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  32. gorgeous Egyptian inspired painting Valerie, and what a photographer you are too-such beautiful scenic pics and how you get so close to your birds is amazing!

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  33. We had also sun today in Helsinki, wonderful, maybe spring is really coming!

    I love this Egyptian theme, saw a lot of those cat images when I was in Luxor a few years ago. Colors are like in Egypt: bright sky and the amazing sun.

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  34. Once again your Art WOW's me.. Awesome work my friend. I LOVE your photos. that bird shot is amazing.

    Hugs~

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  35. I love your Egyptian kitties. How fun!

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  36. Oh, noch eine Ägypten-Seite. Die ist echt super geworden! Sehr sehr schön! :-)

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  37. Wow this is wonderful Valerie, I love todays piece and also the one you made a couple of years ago. I must admit I do love cats so you were always onto a winner xx

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  38. What have I missed!?! I didn't know you fell - will have to go back and read again. Speaking of falls - I took a nasty spill yesterday. I was bending over and lost my balance. Fell right on my face - it's a wonder I did not break or scratch my glasses. The right side of my face is quite a mess. I am going to have a black eye - my jaw is all brushed as is my cheek. And to add insult to injury, I bit my upper and lower lips. Of course I am sore all over - poor pitiful Sandy!
    I love orange and blue together. Your cat is gorgeous - I love cats too! Isn't that the sweetest bird.
    Going to read your older posts now. Glad to know you are healing.
    Sandy xx

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