So Give Me Coffee and TV

It's been a while...

The land is all warmed up again.  Seattle is booming with new life, the lush green that makes our city the "Emerald City" has come back in force and the air smells like lilacs, cherry blossoms, freshly turned soil and cool ocean air.  My porch has become a jungle of tomato plants, lemon balm, basil, rosemary, mums, wasabi and dandelions (for the bunny's personal use of course) and I feel ready to get out and start gathering.  This part of spring in Seattle is the most fertile of times, everything is in, great root herbs are ready for harvest in part of the forest and the blueberries are just about ready to pop.  I need to be out in the sun, in the fields, in the woods more than any other time of the year- this is when I bloom, in sunlight and spring.  I've been taking a long hiatus from a lot of my personal ritual work to focus on devoting more time to art and design.  I haven't had much time to sculpt or to blog, but I've been able to enjoy the kind of magic I most feel connected to- the kind that takes place in the communion between man and the world around him.  So as the sun has warmed the land I've taken to gardening, hiking and mundane things.  No crisis of faith, no great separation, just a need to live in this moment while life catches up with me.  

Beneath the surface...

This is also the perfect weather for weddings!  My sister is getting married on May 25th and I've been spending the last six months helping her plan and prepare for this momentous occasion  which is a difficulty for me as I am not a very social person... and planning a bridal shower, attending a bachlorette party and preparing for a most-beloved-sister's wedding has brought me so far out of my comfort zone that I've been in a constant state of inebriation just to cope!  But each party has been wonderful; my sister has many friends, lots of people who love her, she's very popular and well-liked and it's great to be around all the people who love her almost as much as I do.  Even my hermit-like mother has been getting into the social spirit- then again, mom, like Kendra, has a million friends and people who love her.  So much love, so many people who celebrate and like you just the way you are... 

I wouldn't know what to do with all that attention.  I'm told I'm very well-liked, that I'm sweet and a good listener, but I can't help thinking the wedge between me and (seemingly) the rest of humanity is so deep that I would never have the outpouring of love mom and Kenn get... I'm not very close to anyone but Andrew so I can't really wrap my mind around how Kendra has so many friends... all of her friends know her so well...  the only friend who gets to know me on my level is Andrew which is pretty awesome- I don't feel so terribly alone knowing there's a weirdo out there who shares my situation.  We are two very well-liked people who make good listeners and good friends, but few-to-none of those people actually get to know either one of us on a very personal or deep level,  usually me and Andrew are just sounding-boards, audiences for people and their thoughts. I suppose there is a use for people like us, but it sucks anyway.  I could probably count on one hand how many times a friend has ever asked me personal questions or taken a interest in my feelings or thoughts. I sort of exist to listen, not to talk... it makes it difficult to be close to anyone when everyone only wants you to know them, not the other way around.  Then again, Andrew and I are both very guarded emotionally, so I suppose it's a vicious cycle that we're happy to be sharing with at least one person out of the seven-billion other weirdos!  I can't forget that there are people, friends I've had the pleasure of knowing only online, who do very much keep up with me, it's a pity we have to be so far away from one another and I'm sorry I'm such a hard person to stay in contact with, you know me ^_^.

When the wedding comes, it will be emotionally taxing and more stressful than it has been so far- I imagine one of my parents will act a fool, children will be obnoxious and I'll be forced to keep a plastic grin on my face as I attempt small-talk, which is pretty much how things usually go down so nothing new.  I'm going to try and just be there for my sister and be as compliant and helpful as I can, that way I can focus on what really matters and not on my anxieties.  I feel much less anxiety since I began losing so much weight.  I'm down thirty eight lbs, six-inches around my midsection.  I tossed my old size 13 and size 12 jeans and I'm working to quit smoking cigarettes now that I've begun running again and marathon training.  I sleep better, I feel better about myself and I feel happily settled into my vegetarian lifestyle (cutting meat has done wonders for my stomach).  So wish me luck and wish my sister good prayers for her special day.  

With a little wormwood in my wine...

Blessing the resins, salts, herbs and thorns that are going into a repelling jar

A sunny weekend can be hard to find up here in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle is starved for sunshine and soaked to the bone and so the days where a cloud can't be seen is a goddess-send and it seems like the whole of Western Washington comes Downtown to explore the museums the Space Needle, the Science Centers and all the glorious cultural landmarks of Seattle (and yes, we are a culture unto ourselves- liberal to the core, green-thumbed and cannabis-friendly to the point of devotion).  I waded into the masses with a couple of friends in tow and we explored the market where I feasted on local pinot noir on the corner, honey sticks and toffee peanuts by the news-stands, smoked salmon samples right below Post Alley and drank a cup of blue eyes down at the Perennial Tea-house   

Hekate is a permanent part of my wortcunning

My work as a witch usually takes me downtown every month, but especially the sunny days; Pike Place Market has everything a witch could need, bones, stones, flowers, herbs, books, sweets- the essential building blocks of a sorceress!  The local apiary sends their sweet lavender honey, Tenzing deals in books, diviner's tools, hoodoo magic and are known especially as the best old-school apothecary in the state; I visit them frequently, stalking up for the coming moons.  At Tenzing they work like a family, knowledgeable herbalists who know as much about the magical meaning of an herb as they do about the medicinal qualities.  Each of them have wonderful advice, I'm convinced my herbs give away my intentions away every time.  There in the apothecary they trade High-John root for a personal item, they keep a sacred altar to Hanuman where the public drop their karma in his lap, and they always play just the right song at just the right time.

When I got home I got to work jarring and relabeling my new herbs, overwhelmed by smells both delicious and repellent   My hands were sticky stained with amber, the spoons smell of blonde sandalwood, storax, benzoin, dragons blood, pine resin, cherry resin and camphor  the jars are stuffed to the brim with red clover and mugwort, hibiscus and peppermint, catnip and lemon grass, lemon balm and vervain, worm wood and dandelion, and the viciously repugnant Valerian that always stinks up the kitchen.  My aunt gave me a few bottles of local mead this Easter and I promptly set about infusing it with my favorite naughty herbs, ones to induce lust and passion and madness.  I always enjoy a good flirting spell shared in a glass between friends...  

A witch always appreciates a good love philtre

A very good weekend.

Waking Up

I'm finally shaking out of my winter cocoon   I've been wrapped up in commissions for months now and I'm looking forward to a break.  Hyacinth and blue bells have begun to spring up along the roadside, new bright pink blooms have appeared on the camellia trees in West Seattle and the Andromeda's a already heavy with my favorite fragrance.  I didn't wake the land up the way I did other years, this year I walked the land quietly, I buried sweet bread and drops of honey in little hollows, sweetening the spirits of the land in a way.  This late winter has brought a cleaning frenzy with it.  I line the balcony with stones; some rubbed in rosemary, some put out by full moon light, others in the rays of an artificial rainbow created by the colorful philter bottles that dangle and click and chime from above.  The clear quartz are in a green glass bottle, the rose stones in a bowl of salt, all these precious superstitions and folk magics culminating in something very real and very instinctual to me.  The practice, the aesthetic is the art, the art is the ritual, the ritual exists to fulfill a personal longing and it needs not be something greater or lesser than that.          I haven't had the time to make a pilgrimage to the sacred places in the forest where all the right herbs are growing just now, but I intend to tonight.  Some magicians say to never gather by the dark moon, there are superstitions abound around the way certain herbs are to be gathered but for my purposes, I will gather what I need during the dark, a time sacred and safe to me.  The dark moon is a time to travel between worlds, I usually go by way of smoke, by way of herb-steeped ales and yellow trumpets...  Which ever way you go, may spirits find you.

The Idolator and Three Poison Spirits

My three favorite things: snakes, plants and beautiful women...

While I'm so happy to have finally finished these idols after a month and a half of work, I'm always sad and sorry to see them go.  I only ever take commissions of things I like to create, preferably feminine, flowery, lovely gods and spirits, so it's always a little sad to see work I'd  selfishly rather keep go to their true owners.  I've been scraping the acrylic and clay out from under my nails, salvaging my glaze-stained t-shirts and blessing statues left and right, they are ready to leave my collection so that I can make room for two Flidais, two Airmid, two Morrighan, one Vesta and a very special An Cailleach for a very special reader ^_^.  Sacred sculpture has come to mean so much to me, as does the support of everyone who reads this blog and visits my Idolator's page.  Thank you LC for your interest and I look forward to shipping Euphorica your way!

SOLD

Euphorica was sculpted after a deep vision granted by smoke, sleep and spirits.  I wanted her to look like the spirit of Poisons I see in my dreams, the haunting and beautiful woman who draws you near, the mistress you chase through the veil by way of seed, leaf, pipe .  But she isn't real, it's not she that lives with spiritual energy, it's her garden that lives and the culmination of all her herbs thriving between worlds gives way to the spirit that accompanies those who seek to experience the flight of spirit.

Sweet, deceptive foxglove,

dreamy, seductive papaver somniferum,

maddening, wild-loving datura,

wise, perceptive morning glory,

the green man's red cap,

leaves of lovely atropa belladonna,

the familiar asleep,

the sacred magic root,

and the skull of the man who chases this spirit too unwisely.

Poisoner Spirit Somniferum

Somniferum was sculpted by myself, but painted by my partner, digital artist and painter Andrew Jimenez.   He collaborated on this one with me, and did such a spectacular job capturing her poisonous, beautiful nature. It was important that she be colorful- unlike the other two which are spirits and witches of a ghostly form, this one is the spirit, the witch arisen from the poisonous world, she is as alive as the brown earth, as beautiful as the devilish trumpets, and as serene as the opium poppy.  Beside her lies the skull of the poor soul who chases her too unwisely.  Always a warning, no plant-spirit is without danger, so treat them all with respect.  She is $100 + s/h.

The Herbal Sorceress with her rootbaby alraun is the mistress who keeps the Garden of the Gods, where all manner of spirit-lifting plant grows. I imagined her to be the witch as a spirit of drugs herself.  She is soft of color and her plants are vibrant and mind capturing.  As I flew between worlds, aided by my pipe and ceremonial whiskey, I shaped her from clay and places in her center the seed of a yew berry, so that she would have a poisoner's heart.  She is $85 + s/h.

If you're interested in commissions or these pieces specifically, feel free to visit my facebook page, take a look at the Idolator's gallery and contact me at ivyonthepath@yahoo.com .  My commission roster is closed for the next two months but I'm always looking for new and challenging ideas so send me your idea and we'll see what we can do!

Idolatry

I've been slaving away over my statuary.  I'm happy that I've gotten so many commission requests, I can already feel the challenge in the atmosphere.  When I had completed Shirley's Hekate I had felt so pushed to the limit- I worked so hard because this was for a friend, her opinion and feelings about my vision of her idea were paramount so I found myself struggling at first.  I usually fall into a trance of concentration when I get to work lol, I need to because I'm such a scatter brain, but it's also a very spiritual moment, that feeling of creation, the mindless pursuit of aesthetic.  I'm venturing into working on masculine statuary; something I've never been all that comfortable with.  

I'm working on my design for Morgan, a Flidais statue that I hope will be close to what she's looking for so that I can get to work on her real piece if she's still interested.  I have a torch-bearing Hekate underway for my sweetpea Trisha and what appears to be a lump with spikes on it which will eventually become another Bee Priestess statue for my mead drinking, apiary owning friend down in Southern WA.

Also on the schedule for January: 
Three different Pharmakis/Poisoner Spirit/Venefica statues for LC to choose her preference of.  I've been on a total inspiration-trip over the Poison Spirit so one statue turned into three or four in a matter of weeks, each a little different from the others, each badass in her own, sleepy, dreamy way.

he alraun is her baby, a sacred root

sculpting, painting, drinking coffee to stay alive ;)

Staying busy on the idolatry means I write here a little less than I used to, but I'd like to change that and document my art as I go more frequently.  As the sun returns and spring warms the land, I'll be able to venture back outside and share my old, green witchcraft, but for now, I hunker down and let the muse take me wherever She wants to go.  

I'm getting booked up fast and for now I can only take up to five commissions a month so requests will be taken at my own leisure.  Always feel free to shoot me an idea for a statue you'd be interested in seeing in my style and I will let you know whether I am available or skilled enough to do it!  I never charge until you've seen the unbaked, unpainted statue and feel good about it.  Occasionally I do my own ideas and sell the product as is, these tend to cost less. Prices vary with time, size and detail.  Contact me at my facebook page Ivy on the Path or email me at ivyonthepath@yahoo.com 

And thanks to everyone who supported my art as I began this venture, you've all done wonderful things for me and my spirit, expect to see more from me!

Love and Blessings,
Angel

Hag Snow

The brass incense holder my mother gave me (from her teenage years), the wax disk my friend made with me (akin to an almadel in purpose), the black beeswax candle my love gave to me on our anniversary, the brass tray my grandmother gave to me and the copper-rimmed black seer's mirror my sister gave me- gifts from close loved ones used in practice is some of the most powerful tools you can use.

The Hag dances over the land, frost and snow and hail are falling and it's too cold to venture to my forest.  I hang every manner of charm, talisman,amulet and general anathema around the witch-wreath- a haggard old grapevine wreath that become the graveyard of charms and amulets meant to burn in the fires of Imbolc when I purge the home and welcome the blessed Bride; exalted and holy. She guards this wreath in the wintertime-it is a tomb for the shells and vessels that have held spirit and shade alike, and she consecrates the remains, unwind and unmake, bend and brake.  

In my spiritual philosophy, the body is in tune to the land always and the land undergoes a seasonal transformation that is subtle in moments, extreme in the others, and nothing feels more natural to me than allowing my life rhythm to follow the ancestral spirits and souls that embody the spirit of the land in its many varieties that we as a species have come to venerate in our own ways and cultures all around the world.  Some interact with me on the basis of that nature alone, however An Cailleach, whom I refer to simply as The Hag and others are part of my daily devotion and worship- for they are ever present around me, bonded like me and the land I live on. You could say it's just plain love.

So, I light my candles on the windowsill, share mead, muffins and whiskey shots with Hag, familiar, friend and lover.   We smoke and tell stories over the black mirror's gentle reflection, catching glimpses of the past in the darkness.  Winterstide is a perfect time to rest and reflect, to study the inner darkness while the land grows cold.  As I watch little flakes of snow fill my flower pots, I think on the Storm Hag and recite a poem for the spirit-of-winter...

Snow 

by Walter de La Mare

No breath of wind,

No gleam of sun 

Still the white snow

Whirls softly down

Twig and bough

And blade and thorn

All in an icy

Quiet, forlorn.

Whispering, rustling,

Through the air

On still and stone,

Roof,  everywhere,

It heaps its powdery

Crystal flakes,

Of every tree

A mountain makes;

Til pale and faint

At shut of day

Stoops from the West

One wintry ray,

And, feathered in fire

Where ghosts the moon,

A robin shrills

His lonely tune.

With My Hands, I Do Devote to Thee

Hekate daughter of starry-eyed Asteria

My good friend SHirley graced me with a commission for a Hekate idol, an altar statue created to her specifications and wishes  I'm proud to say my work is done and I'm extremely happy with the result. I'm always trying to push myself a little further, trying to iron out the flaws of the last idol so that I may further perfect my art- which is devotional idol making.  Hekate isn't the only commission I get but it's what I've chosen to focus on for a while, building a sense of connection to this being, this idea, this bit of knowledge that has become a major focus of my life and time.  Shirley seems genuinely happy with how she turned out.  

The loyal hound of hell this time is in the vessel body of a pit bull.

All my commission clients get to choose any details they like as well as the color scheme. 

She specifically asked for a pit bull, a key, snakes and a maternal Hekate with her right hand pointing above to the heavens, and her left had pointing below to the underworld.  Hekate is mistress of all the realms, she finds home and host among stars, in silent yew groves, in the bowels of some gutted stone cavern or black merciless pit in the dark soil.
  

I see myself carving out a niche as an idolator, an idol maker, someone who puts power and love into every piece, building upon that sacred red thread that connects devotees to one another.  I hope I can be of some use honoring the art of idolatry and vessel worship- I have a connection here that is guiding me to better and more gracious things, and I prefer to go where I'm called.