A lot of plants die on me during Winter... (The perks of living in the desert. Sigh), so I started replenishing my container garden with succulents and colorful geranium plants, and as I planting and re-potting, my artistic soul started to feel a blooming sensation once again, warmed by the coming spring and the longer days. And I had to oblige, so I finished my gardening work and headed right to the studio.
I had told you that I knew there are changes coming for me this year. I will try new things, new ideas and new subjects. I feel that I need to come back to my roots as an artist, and I will be exploring old themes and passions with the found experience on my career as an artist and maker.
So, I decided to paint plants and flowers this time. I find the shapes and textures of plants fascinating. The perfection you find in the tiniest budding as the grow, with details so small that you need a magnifying glass to see them, ready to spread life. The leaves and their million shapes, each one producing food for the plant while they are beautiful to look at, each one adapted to they own environment.
And of course, the flowers and the seed pods. They are so amazing to me, so perfect, made in mother's nature wisdom to perfectly spread life as the bloom, get pollinated and then release their seeds in perfect little packets, each one designed to utilitarian perfection and beauty.
YOU CAN ADOPT THE COLLECTION HERE.
I was not quite sure of what I wanted to paint, but I was sure of the colors I wanted everything to have, so I designed the color palette by getting my acrylic paints that I had not used in a long time (I had to organize them first... and that's a story for another time! LOL) and I realized how much I missed painting.
I was really enjoying the process, laying the paint on a fresh surface was intimidating after so long, but I was so happy that I did not let that stop me, and I kept painting flowers. But to be honest, the first attempt was... an attempt.
I painted the flowers over a white background to make them stand out, but the effect was not what I was expecting, so I really tried to save them by painting a green background over them.
Not bad, but still not what I was looking for. The flowers look nice, and background is a very nice color, but there was something I was not convinced about, so I decided to give them another try. So, I repainted the background once again.
Better, if I say so myself, but still not quite what I needed. I had flashbacks of "Whiplash" and the "Not Quite My Tempo" scene and I started to feel bummed out, but then I remembered the phrase "You should not stick to your mistake just before you took too long making it" and I sad, to hell with this, and painted all over all of my work, and then I started all over with a new series of square blocks painted with a yummy golden brown color.
And then, I painted a cat with a blue ribbon because... cats. You know. But you can see that the ideas are blooming inside my head. The creative process is strange and I never know when the idea will strike, so I like it to catch me in the act of having a brush and paint on my hands, so I don't miss the opportunity to be inspired.
I had not felt this free in a long time, and I really loved how the flowers spoke to me, how they wanted to be painted, and the textures and colors on the paint started to give them a very unique personality to each one of them.
If you have plants, insects will come along. And I love that. Life brings life and they are welcome in my garden. They have developed a relationship where they need each other to survive, and I'm not going to get in the way of that. And I knew I had to honor the hard work insects do buzzing around, pollinating and being cute, so I started painting some of my favorite insects on these wood blocks.
As we bid farewell to another extraordinary year, I find myself reflecting on the journey we've shared together. Your never ending support and the warmth of your encouraging comments have been the driving force behind my creative endeavors, and for that, I am truly grateful.
This year has been a watercolor landscape splashed with colorful surprises and dark challenges, and life, just like my beloved watercolors, can only be nudged to the artist's bidding only so far, in the end, life and paint have a will of their own and we are in for the ride.
Every day became another brushstroke in this year's painting, each one contributing to the unique texture and grain of the pigments that create my connection with you on the watercolor paper of life.
Your generous art adoptions and uplifting words have not only sustained my passion but have also propelled me forward on a path of self-discovery and reinvention.
As we stand on the cliff that ends this year, I am ready to become a bird and soar the new year's skies, filled with excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead. I am eager to share with you a new chapter of my artist's journey, one that will explore uncharted territories and introduces you to art that is unlike anything you've seen from me before. It is my hope that this upcoming year will be a canvas where creativity knows no bounds, and where my art resonates with your hearts in unexpected ways.
To each and every one of you, I extend my deepest gratitude for being the pillars of strength that sustain my artistic journey. Your support has been a beacon of inspiration, guiding me through the twists and turns of this creative adventure.
As we welcome the dawn of 2024, my wish for you is that it begins with a bright flame of love, peace, and understanding. May this luminous spark accompany you throughout the entire year, lighting up your days with joy, creativity, and the beauty that art has the power to bring into our lives.
Thank you for being a part of my story. Here's to a year filled with artistic exploration, boundless creativity, and a shared journey that continues to inspire us all.
Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with love, peace, and the magic of art!
With heartfelt gratitude,
DANITA
And it was AMAZING! I've been meaning to make this pilgrimage to my favorite city in the whole word, Mexico City, during one of the greatest holidays for mexicans, Dia de Muertos, the day of the dead, when our ancestors come back from the underworld for a day and enjoy meals and drinks on a colorful feast full of delicious food and colorful altars.
Mexico City hides at it's center the great aztec city of Tenochtitlan, the bellybutton of the aztec empire and the origin of my Mexican heritage, and let me tell you, going all the way to the source of Mexican traditions was very much worth the trip.
The city is already a colorful and vibrant affair, but during the end of October and beginning of November there are marigolds, everywhere you look is decorated with the flowers that represent the link between the living and the dead.
And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. Every nook and cranny that can be decorated with flowers is decorated over the top. We take the tradition really seriously and it makes the world of the living beautiful, so our ancestors will be enticed to come back and stay with us for a day.
And when they arrive on November 2nd, they are dressed with colorful attire that remembers the great Aztecs, with colorful feathers, masks and more. We do not fear death, we revere it and embrace it, and even mock it with cartoony skulls and devils we place in our homes to guide the spirits to us on this amazing day.
At night, half a million people gathered in the central plaza, called the Zocalo, where the greatest Aztec temple was located, next to the most important christian cathedral in the country, and the amalgamation of food, color, smells, noises and the clash of cultures, old and new create a celebration like nothing else in the world.
Then, we have an amazing parade where people dressed as catrinas, living victorian skulls walking around in the city trough the main streets, all together with floats, dancers, music, food and a festive air everywhere you go.
The parade is relatively new tradition in the city, but everyone makes their greatest effort to show off the artisan's skills to create the most amazing paper sculptures, some of them are 4 meters high!
The costumes are amazing, everything is full of color and there were so many things to see, it was hard to keep up! Some of the floats and sculptures get very close to the people to greet us, and they were amazing photo opportunities there to capture the amazing ambiance of the parade.
Every single thing on that day screams MEXICO! all over it, and it's really beautiful to see that our traditions are still going strong, everything made me so happy, it was like being an a surreal dream.
My favorite costume was the one from the corn people, they were made with dried corn leaves and fashioned into elaborate clothes and head dresses, and combined with the face paint, I really loved it! And now I have tons of ideas for upcoming works inspired by everything I saw.
Mexico City is full of surprises that assault your senses in the most pleasant way at every corner. Take the open farmer's markets, for example. They have the freshest fruit and the most delicious vegetables ready for eating right on the stand.
Everything on these markets is organic and locally sourced, and priced so that everyone has access to it, their colors and taste are out of this world and it makes me wish I could be there every day.
On these traditional markets you can get pretty much everything you want, from fresh produce and meats to handmade toys and decorations for your home. They follow the ancient ways of the aztec people and their markets, with the right amount of modernity to keep up with the times.
But they haven't lost their way with the coming of the modern times, there are still tons of tradition on them, where haggling with the sellers is expected, you choose by hand your produce and get it wrapped in newspaper to take home. They really haven't changed much in probably 100 years and I love that.
After the parade, celebration and exploration is not over for me. I went to Coyoacan for another traditional and very personal pilgrimage of mine: The Frida and Diego circuit.
I started at the Frida Kahlo park, where two statues of Frida and Diego greet you on your visit to their home town.
The city has been shaped by time, weather and earthquakes, giving many of the buildings and construction a crooked look right off from Alice in Wonderland.
The park is no exception to this rule. What you see here is the way it naturally looks after many decades of rain, weathering and of course, the ground shifting. They look just like this, it reminds me of the raw power of Mother Nature and how She shapes our world to her own whims and desires.
Strolling tough the park, I found very interesting things, like these tiny sugar skulls on a miniature altar someone built on a windowsill, without the house owners even knowing. They are about a centimeter tall and it made me very happy to see them!
Also, I found a witch's parking! These brooms are for real, they are used by the groundkeepers all over the city to sweep and clean the stone floors and to keep everything beautiful and free of trash. They are a perfect way to keep traditions alive, and the city workers are very efficient using them!
Then, I'm off to the center of it all: Frida's Blue house. I love visiting this place, the house and Frida's artifacts are amazing!
Everything is authentic, they are things that were used by Frida to paint her paintings and they have an aura that it's very difficult to ignore. You can feel her presence all over her studio.
It's just like she's still there, lurking in the shadows and waiting for everyone to go so she can paint again in peace.
But what I really love from this place are the gardens. They are way larger than the ouse and full of ferns, cacti and huge threes that make feel peaceful and quiet.
I love to sit down on a bench and get lost on this beautiful place. It fills my spirit with very much needed inner peace. I love the soothing colors, the scents and the way the walls isolate you from the rushed city outside. It's like being transported to another world.
But probably the crown jewel of my visit to Coyoacan is the Anahuacalli museum. A fortress built by Diego Rivera out of volcanic rock to store his personal collection of prehispanic ceramics and stoneworks.
It is a voyage trough the prehispanic cosmogony, starting from the dark and moody first floor that represents the underworld, to a bright airy terrace where you can see the heavens and the sky.
Just when I thought this place could not be more magical, I was surprised with lighted altars, skulls and paper decorations to make the museum even more incredible.
Perforated paper ceiling decorations and marigolds hanging create an otherworldly experience like no other. It's definitively one of the museums I have ever visited.
It was an incredible experience and something really unique. It's one of my must places to visit whenever I go to Mexico City and I am so glad I did during the Day of The Dead celebration.
I am a museum geek and I love visiting every one I have the opportunity to experience. Next on the list was the museum of Templo Mayor, located in the heart of the city, in the place where the great aztec temple was built. It holds very important pieces like Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess.
It is an impressive 3 meter wide stone carving, found during construction of power lines, believe me, words can't describe the sheer size and power of this feminine goddess.
Something I had to see are these derpy looking stone ceremonial knives. Don't be fooled by their googly eyes and funny teeth. They are deadly sharp and were used for human sacrifices to the sun god. It was an incredible honor to be chosen for this, but I think that if I was under them, I could not keep a straight face, I just love them.
To finish my visit, I pad my respects to Mictlantecuhtli, the god of death. He is depicted as a flayed creature with his liver hanging, a center of emotion and feelings. He comes for you when the time comes and I find this amazing 2 meter ceramic piece incredibly eerie and a fitting testament to the skill in clay working from my ancestors. I hope to use him as an influence on my upcoming work one day.
And what is a trip is complete without enjoying food from other places? I made sure I visited every famous bakery in downtown. And I was not disappointed. The bread is SO DELICIOUS!
Everything is fresh made, amazing ingredients and so much to try out that I did not know where to begin. Bread is my creed, so I was very happy! YUM!
I could go on and on about this trip. It was a beautiful experience and I am already looking forward to my next trip. Now, I must go back to the studio heed the calling of my muse. I will keep on telling you more about this fantastic trip on my next post.
Until then, lots of love from me, DANITA.
]]>Thank you for the AMAZING response I've had to my Halloween
collections so far. There's been already two sold out collections! The
paper clay dolls and the acrylic paintings found their forever homes
really quick on their pre-release events. THANK YOU so much for your support!
This has kept me very, very motivated and I worked on ONE LAST
time of the year, and I take every opportunity to create spooky cute creatures.
And there's a lot coming along this Friday. There will be new tree ornaments, dinnerware, mugs, witch flower mugs, and the
remaining watercolor mystical witches already available on my shop.
Keep an eve on your mail boxes for the pre-adoption event, there will be exclusive early access for my newsletter readers.
You're not signed up yet??? What are you waiting for?!
]]>I want to thank you all for your continuing support with your comments, post shares and bids to everything that was up for adoption.
It makes me feel proud and thankful to feel all your love, and it encourages me to create more!
If you haven't see it yet, please feel free to visit the collection gallery here on my website with THIS LINK TO THE QUIRKY SHOW GALLERY, and if you want to learn more about the process, remember to visit the BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR! I promise you won't regret reading about it.
That's all for this original art collection by Idania Salcido. All that remains is to THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Your love and support means the world to me.
I'm off back to my studio, to continue creating! See you very soon!
I will be showing you how to make fine art prints without the use of complex, expensive tools or harmful chemicals, using a process called INTAGLIO with easy to find items, specially if you are already an artist :)
There is no previous skill necessary! There will be more than 40 amazing artists working together all year long, starting in January 2024 and lasting trough the year.
Don't miss this amazing opportunity to learn with me, and another 40+ artists, specially with early bird price and a $20.00 OFF Discount if you sign up today!
FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SIGN UP, USE CODE ART24 DURING CHECKOUT
and get $20.00 OFF your enrollment fees.
What are you waiting for?
See you in class very soon!
Everything begins with and idea. And my head is full of them, some are good, some are not, and then comes one that is so amazing that I must turn it into an art piece. that's when I get started sculpting with my clay, fueled by my love for the creations that will be, and aided by lots of coffee to get my creativity flowing.
And beginnings are delicate times indeed. The slightest doubt can destroy a piece when you work with wet clay, and you must trust in your skills to work. Once I get going, I could work for days at a time without a care in the world. Everything ceases to exist and only me and the clay matter, and I can stay well past midnight if no one drops by the studio to see how I am doing.
They say that art is a cruel and jealous lover, and I totally agree. I am consumed by the forces that compel me to create art and forgetting about the world around me. After these art attacks that make me create non-stop, I am left exhausted but with a beautiful collection of sculpted pieces. And that's when I must be the most careful.
Once the pieces are sculpted, they start to dry and become very fragile, and one must be extra careful when working with the finishing touches or risk destroying days, and sometimes weeks of work. And then, I need to leave them alone for a few extra days to dry evenly in their drying rack before they go trough their first trial by fire.
I carefully move them from the drying racks to the kiln, one by one they start going inside and I must look for the perfect place to place them and use the most of the space. the kiln is closed, the coils start to glow, first cherry red, then warm orange and finally a bright yellow as the temperature rises inside to more than 1200 Celsius (Around 2250 F) for eight hours to convert the humble mixture of clay earth and water into hardened ceramics.
I usually do this at night so I can awaken to a cooling kiln. I could not bare to stand waiting during the day to see how many pieces survived their fiery birth. So many things can go wrong, if my pieces are not dry enough, they can explode and ruin everything. If you chose the wrong clay chemistry, or overheat them by not choosing the right temperature, they will melt and your work will be destroyed.
Thankfully, this time everything went perfectly! the pieces came out of the first firing intact and ready to be decorated and glazed. And off I go with my creativity unleashed once again. They are much more easy to handle now, and the fun part begins.
I have to thing what to colors to use, what glaze combinations will look good on them and it's a challenging process. Did you know that most of the glazes in ceramics look absolutely nothing like their fired state? You need a good deal of imagination to see the finished piece, and visualize it with its final colors instead of the strange combinations you get when you apply the glazes before the second firing.
And into the kiln they go again. Now they have to withstand higher temperatures, for longer times than the first firing for the glazes to mature, grow color crystals, melt and produce the beautiful swirls of color and galaxies of dusty specks you see on my pieces. This time the total time from firing to cooling down takes 24 hours or more, so patience is key.
But the wait and the effort are worth it. When everything goes perfect, and the kiln gods are kind and smile on you, the results are beautiful. It is such a joy to see the finished work shine into the light.
Perfectly toned glazes, with just the right amount of dripping to emulate moss, mushrooms and ferns growing around each of the pieces.
If you are a creative soul, you share that feeling of seeing your ideas blossom into a perfect creation, just as you imagined, now being born into the world, with their unique personality imbued by your love and creative skills.
Each creation from this collection has a miniature fairy tale associated to it that I wrote specially for this show, each one has their adventures on the Danita Woodlands. Some of them rescue each other, other had their wishes of living in the forest fulfilled, and other protect the forest from harm.
I hope you like this collection, and that you get to adopt your favorite. They are very eager to find their forever homes and tell you all about their adventures in the Danita Woodlands.
]]>All inspired by my personal fairy tales that happen within the borders of the Danita Woodland Wilderness. Each piece has a personal collection with my imagination, and my love of for the woodlands, the beautiful creatures living in them, the lush ferns, the soft moss and the mysterious mushrooms that grow there.
They will be released on September 22nd on a Auction Event on Facebook, hosted by the amazing Stephanie Gagos.
About the rules... Long story short, the pieces are offered in an open bidding auction format. If you do not have Facebook, or you'd like to remain anonymous, please DM me on Instagram or email me at danita@danitaart.com and we can place a bid for you once you pass the vetting process. The individual pieces are posted as facebook group posts, and you bid by commenting with your bid amount on the image of your favorite piece. The auctions have a beginning and ending time and the highest bidder at closing time is the winner. If a bidding war is going on at closing time, bidding will be allowed to continue for a bit until someone concedes or no more bids happen. Payment will be right after the auction closes, and no bidding retractions are allowed. Once you bid, you are committing to buying the piece if you are the highest bidder. Read the complete rules here and DM me in Facebook if you have questions.
With no further ado, let me present you my pieces for the Quirky show:
I’m really excited to finally share with you that I’m going to be one of the instructors in the amazing year-long online course called Paint Your Heart and Soul 2024. Woohoo!!!
This course starts January next year, but the Early Bird registration is now open for a DISCOUNTED PRICE of $129 ONLY – limited to the first 500 students ONLY. to sign up: click HERE Don’t wait up, join now! Early Bird spots are selling out real quickly, and the price is a fraction from the real value!
The great team of participating artist instructors and the variety of art techniques and subjects we are going to create! With close to 60 video lessons from more than 40 amazing artists, we hope that by the end of the year you will develop your own style and feel confidence.
On my lesson, I will teach you how to create a beautiful intaglio art print. Together we will practice the ancient art of plate printing without the use of specialized tools.
I love the beautiful unique quality of original art prints you can create with this technique, I had so much fun when I discovered that I went all in and created a series of unique numbered prints.
I had meaning to share this beautiful technique with you, and now with PAINT YOUR HEART OUT 2024, I got the perfect opportunity to share it with you. Join me today!
You don’t have to have any special “talent”, only a passion to create and the courage to step out of your comfort zone into a creative adventure unlike any other! You are not going to do this alone: our friendly instructors and supportive community of likeminded creatives will hold your hand and be there for you. And the best part – you won’t need to break the bank to pursue your passion – it will cost you around $2 per lesson when you purchase the full course, cheaper than a water bottle!
For every collection that I make, I like to draw inspiration from my personal life and experiences, I fell like doing so will bring even more meaning to everything I make.
And for this handmade mug collection, I decided to get inspired by a trip I took to Tucson, AZ last year. We wanted to do a summer vacation to a place we had never visited before, and the Sahuaro National Park looked like a great idea.
The big cacti that live there have always fascinated me, and I was eager to see them in person. We live in the desert, but our cacti are very different and it was an opportunity I did not want to miss. And when we got there, I was not disappointed with the beautiful scenery we found. It's raw nature, impressive and majestic as I love to see it. The heat was very high, but that did not stop us from enjoying the beautiful view of endless rows of sahuaro and other desert plans, framed by a beautiful cloudy sky.
But there was something I found that I could not wrap my head around. They are tall, majestic and a testament to resilience, I love them! But... why are they full of holes? Isn't that kinda bad for them? What makes these holes? Is something living inside, or they are just made for food? Are they sick? A had a million questions.
And then, after observing the trees carefully, and listening very close to the desert sounds (You would not believe how full of life that place is! Amazing!) and some internet research, I found the culprit. It turns out that there is a bird called the gila woodpecker, that loves to dig holes in saguaros to make their nest and care for their young, and in turn, they care for the plant by eating insects and removing dead tissue. And, they are BEAUTIFUL!
Forward time one year, and here I am, looking trough my photos for ideas and inspiration for my next handmade ceramics project, and I came across our summer holiday. It was perfect! It's summer again, I am obsessed with birds now, I love cacti and I really wanted to make something summer related now that summer is in full season here in west Texas.
So, I set to work on my studio and I started hand sculpting beautiful beverage mugs sharped like a saguaro cacti shaped barrel with a tiny gila woodpecker peeking from it.
As they are drying and getting ready to be on the kiln for their first firing, I remembered the great time we had last year, and that made me happy while I worked, and that always makes my work even more beautiful. Putting happy memories on them as I make them will infuse them with love and happiness that you will feel when you drink an ice cold lemonade form them to cool down from the summer heat.
The will be glazed after the first firing and then they will go into their fiery journey once again, to come back as beautiful practical works of art.
I am already enjoying my first prototype and I am eager to see the complete collection once I am done firing the bisque stage, then glazing and decorating the full collection next week.
Let me know what you think of this new upcoming collection on the comments section! I'd love to hear your opinions on the first prototype. Can't wait to see them all once they are done!
]]>Every time I finish a collection, I like to take time to look at them and wonder how I made them, and really, I mean I really wonder how I made them.
How is it possible that I could take simple cotton, paint, wire and glass and created these Pieces. I know it sounds weird, because I made them, but I cannot stop wondering how is it that I made them.
As a viewer, you look at the work of art and enjoy it or criticize, or even mock it because it was not of your liking and don’t think much about it. But believe me, there is much more behind the piece that what meets the eye.
Artists go trough the agony of creation all the time. We have this perfect idea in our minds, concepts that look beautiful as an idea, and we know that the physical limitations of our mediums and our abilities will work against bringing the work into fruition.
I have this conundrum all the time. For every piece that I create, I go thought the torment of imperfect existence, weighed against the horror of no creating.
Because for me, art is creation. And creation means putting a bit of yourself on everything you make. It’s probably the only profession where the things your produce reflect your own being, your ideas and your emotions and you know you will be judged for them.
No one criticizes the character of a software engineer because their code is ugly, as long as it works. You criticize the quality of their output, but never their personality, or their personal life and history, right?
Presenting our work to the work is an act of courage and trust. We send our creations into the world and we hope that they will be well received, loved and appreciated because of all the work, sweat and soul we put into them. It’s scary.
But I keep on doing it, and I keep on sharing the process because I like you to see everything that goes into all I make. It’s those little bits and pieces and glimpses into my inner life that I share with you with every instagram reel and facebook post.
I want to share a little of my intimate work and let you in my life so we can feel closer. If I could, I would welcome you to my studio so we could chat as I work, but alas, this is the best we can do for now.
Do you like to see me share my process? Would you like to see more of it? Maybe even teaching you how to do it? Let me know what do you think about me sharing the process and letting you in my world in your comments, I’d love to hear what you think.
Love,
Danita.
]]>I hope your New Year's eve and New Year are happy and merry. I had a nice, fancy dinner with the yummiest food I had tasted in a some time, and then I welcomed the new year with streamers, paper horns and lots and lots of laughs.
The new year is always a great time for to be thankful for you never ending support, without it I would never be able to live the dream of creating to make our world a little more beautiful, to expand my creativity and to try out new and different art materials and techniques and explore and experience first hand what they can do.
New year is also a time for reflection. Some of my friends jump into action and on the first day of the year are ready to start full on, with things to show and projects to share. But not me. For me it is time for reflection and thought.
Specially this year. In 2022 I felt lost and drifting on a sea of uncertainty, I felt like I had lost myself and my vision and I spent a good deal of the year trying to find myself again, starting to explore my style, my artistic motivation and who I was.
And I still do, I still feel a little lost and uncertain, because I feel that I was trying to be someone I was not in order to please the ones around me and to keep on producing and creating for the sake of creating and surviving without being lost in a universe of artists trying to share our vision to the world.
You will see me retreat on my little den for a bit. I will not be as active as before for a time while I gather my strength and my thoughts to decide where will my new artistic adventure will take me. I will first clear out the old ideas and thoughts, my shop shelves of old art, my drawers of old paint and my ceramic wheel of old clay, before I head out again into the world with a renewed purpose.
I have so many ideas that started forming in my head and that will slowly start to take solid shapes in my studio, new projects and new ways to communicate what I feel and see that will help me to build a deeper connection with you.
So, I have a few favors to ask from you.
Help me clear out my shelves with a HUGE, NEVER SEEN BEFORE SALE where EVERYTHING is 50% OFF for a limited time. I want to start the new year with a clean slate.
Second thing I wish to ask is that you be patient with me, this process will take some time, trials, errors, and in the end something beautiful will emerge from it.
The last thing I dare to ask from you is to be kind. This change and transformation will take a huge amount of bravery and courage, but I am ready to welcome the new year and the possibilities it offers knowing that I have my friend's support by my side.
Here's to a New Year. Let's make the best of it.
Love,
Danita.
]]>Finally, our Christmas tree is up!
Having a creative business that depends on the holidays and seasons sometimes means having to put your personal life on hold and in the background. It's not fun, but for a starving artist eating is a priority and I get so busy that I forget that I should decorate the home too.
Luckily, I have a kid who reminds me that Christmas time is here and he was very vocal about it. So, we had an adventure last week trying to get a Tree on the stores. There were not a lot of choices, but we found one that we liked, and most important, one that fits in my house!
Decorating time came and I started getting the boxes of handmade ornaments I have collected over the years. This year I wanted to go with a forest color scheme and I picked up some dark green and brown spheres, and I am very happy with the result.
If you are like me, being so busy with creating, the shop and life in general, I tend to leave things to the last minute, and hanging my own ornaments on the tree was no exception. I've been so busy making them that I did not hang any until now.
They are waiting to be adopted by you, and it's still the perfect time to get one just in time for Christmas. The Santas and the snowmen are a nice traditional addition to any tree, while the round and porcelain ornaments give a nice vintage look, and the cat approved army will be a nice gift for your furry friends.
Our cats were interested in their ornaments, and now I see them eyeing the tree for a cozy climb... I hope they don't topple it soon!
Well, better head back to creating now. If you are looking for a last minute ornament, take a look at my latest ornaments, I'm sure you'll find something you love.
]]>But in the last few years, weather has been changing more gradually, and I have time to enjoy the beautiful mild mornings and warm but not scorching afternoons and work on my ceramic works. It really helps my mood and creativity that the sun is warm and light, and that it's not really scorching hot outside. I can get to work with my tools and create at my own pace.
But every season comes to an end and this time, we did notice a very slow but constant change on things, and I loved it. I started slowly noticing that the bees on my container garden were frantic to get their last loads of pollen, preparing for what mother nature told them. Winter will be coming, get ready to get cozy.
Our cats started loafing when they are outside, and they don't spend as much time enjoying the outside as before, as they started deciding to look trough the windows instead of playing with their community friends we happily feed and welcome to spend time with us.
But the final sign that winter is approaching happened yesterday afternoon, when we realized our potato plant has died. My husband planted a poor rotting potato we found forgotten on the pantry, more as a joke and to keep out youngest busy at the end of summer, and it was a real surprise that a plant actually sprouted from it, so we tended to it for a couple of months, until we found it wilted after the first freeze.
So, we did the reasonable thing to do and dug out our unexpected harvest. They are now sitting on the kitchen table, waiting for them to be washed and stored for a couple of weeks before we make a small dinner with them. We are grateful for the gift from mother nature and we will plant one next spring to continue with the new, unexpected tradition.
And this process of cycles of life and death, creation and destruction got me thinking about my work, and how I also work in cycles. Sometimes I am interested in painting, sometimes in dolls, and lately, in ceramic works. Without really thinking, I find myself planning a new cycle of creation on every collection I work on.
And probably the longer days and cooling temperatures got me inspired to create something to keep me warm on the coming winter nights, so I decided to work on a new series of animal inspired candle holders using hand pinching techniques to shape them. Candlelight scenes fascinate me, just staring into the fire is mesmerizing for me and I wanted to share that beautiful feeling with you. I imagine myself wrapped on a warm blanket, sipping on hot coffee while reading a book on my favorite chair, illuminated by candles held by a few of these.
They have a rough, naive and natural quality that I love in handmade pieces. They are perfectly imperfect and have a raw energy, I just can't get enough of it and I keep creating until I am exhausted and my creative self says, enough. Let's take them to the kiln.
So, I say a prayer to the kiln gods, asking them to be merciful of my creations and into the kiln they go for their trial by fire. No matter how many times i've done it, it will always be a gamble, hoping they survive the heat and stress that a ceramic burn requires.
After spending several hours at temperatures over 2,000 F, it's a miracle they come out fine, but they do because they are tough on their animalistic nature, full of raw untamed energy, just like the community cats we welcome at home.
And then, comes the process of carefully staging them to look at their best so they can soon go to forever homes.
Foxes, cats and a few feral girls will be available for adoption this Monday Nov. 21st exclusively on my online shop, danitaart.com
I really loved this collection, and I hope you find something you like to take home when they are released to the world to find new homes. A pre-adoption event for early access to the pieces will be available for newsletter subscribers only, so stay tuned for an email. and if you are not part of the newsletter yet, why don't you sign up now?
See you very soon on the pre-adoption event this Monday, Nov 21st!
Love,
Danita.
]]>Halloween and Day Of The Dead connected us with the mystical and the spirit world.
I love both celebrations, they link the tangible with the invisible, the physical world with the spirits and the living with the dead. The contrast and juxtaposition of things touches my soul, and that inspired me to create a new collection of ceramic vases, and for the first time, candle holders and tea light lamps.
I had the idea of creating ceramic pieces that interacted with light for a while, but I had worked on it that much until I saw the candlelit scenes everywhere when I walked around houses in Halloweens and offerings on Day Of The Dead.
Then I knew what to do, so I took my clay and I started sculpting the vintage doll head vases that you love so much. I carved an opening on a few of them to be able to place a burning tea light or a candle inside.
After that, I started poking little holes on them, and creating slits where the light form the burning flame will shine trough. And while I was at that, I also created smaller heads to hold full size candles, and a couple of incense stick burners.
I am fascinated by flames and smoke, I can stare at them for hours and I will get into a kind of trance where I am traveling in between worlds, so I knew I was going to love the results.
After that, they go into the kiln for their first trial by fire, and if they survive the first burning, I glazed and decorate them so they are ready for the second, high temperature burn.
They will stay there for 8 hours as the glazes mature and turn their beautiful final always colors and then they could down for a day.
And then, after all that work, I get to see the final pieces. And like I told you, I loved them! They have very nice glazes and mystical themes like the all seeing eye, the moon and her phases and snakes, the symbol of rebirth in many cultures.
You can see the complete collection on the NEW ARRIVALS section on my shop. I will keep them in my shelf while you adopt them, and I know that once you see them, they will not stay there for long!
]]>A Few days after Halloween, comes Day Of The Dead. On November 2nd, the veil that divides the world of the living and the spirit world becomes thin and our departed walk freely among the living.
We prepare altars with food and drink offerings to entice the spirits of our loved ones to stay and spend the day with us. It is a beautiful tradition, full of colors and ancient beliefs that come from pre-hispanic times.
The Mexican culture has a beautiful relationship with death. We fear it because it’s the end of our life, but at the same time we rever it and celebrate it with flowers, food and drinks. Sometimes it can be seen as macabre and morbid.
But our culture accepts mortality as part of nature, the cycle of life is reflected on everything we do, and on Day of the dead, we choose the most beautiful flowers , the most delicious foods and the finest spirits to be offered as gifts to the dead.
We dress up lIke death and spirits, embracing mortality and the nature of life. Marigolds are a central theme for the celebration, and it becomes a colorful festivity that celebrates every living thing.
This year, we could go back to the streets to celebrate a day of the dead festival, and our cities went all the way with two parades and a huge event of offerings on Day Of The Dead Night, and of course, I went to celebrate.
The parade was a beautiful experience, skull dancers, devils, angels and death walked and laughed with us, we ate traditional bread and really enjoyed a great time.
At night, we visited the altar and thumbs offerings exhibition. It was full of candlelights, flowers, candy skulls and delicious food. Hummingbirds are the messengers between the dead and the living, and there was a beautiful paper bird welcoming us at the entrance.
Dogs guide the newly departed to the spirit world, and I found this super cute and paper mache friend guarding a flower garden, waiting for his owner’s spirit to return after visiting their loved ones.
Another part of the tradition is creating mandala like patterns on the floor using sand and sawdust. A lot of work is put into them, and they are erased after the day is over. I Find it a beautiful tribute to the impermanence of life. One day here, and the next, poof, it’s gone.
Altars and offerings are an expression of the Mexican culture, we make them not only to our famity and loved ones, but also to the heroes of the people. Masked fighters like “El Santo” are always a favorite, and now you know where Nacho Libre came from.
It was an amazing experience, and I really enjoyed it a lot, specially after being unable to visit public events because of the pandemic. At the end, there was a collective offering where you are encouraged to write the names of your departed on a colorful piece of paper and pin it on a wall.
We left our message to our dearly departed before heading back home, it was a warm feeling knowing that they walked at our side, ate and drank with us and were happy that our lives continue, even when we miss them like the first day.
]]>Halloween is a BIG event at home. Everyone is eager to celebrate as the days get sorter and cooler and the Halloween decorations start to appear everywhere and it's time to break out our decorations and the kids start planning what their costumes will be, and then, the day comes.
My son wanted to go as Harry Potter, he's a super big fan of the books and it was the perfect opportunity to dress up like him, we took some of the wire I use for my doll skeletons from the studio and I made his glasses.
Loki, our resident god of mischief agreed to pose with him in exchange for a big kitty treat tribute.
My daughter is a big Pokémon fan, so she decided to go as Mimikyu. I really don't know much about Pokémon, they are all "Pikachu something" so I told her she was gong as "Fake Pikachu" and I got a good telling off and a good laugh.
She likes to pick up obscure obscure characters from her favorite books and videogames that not everyone recognizes, but when eventually someone does, it makes her day. This year was no exception, when a four year old yelled "Mimikyu!" and pointed out at her, her face lit up.
He's still a kid, so he ran around in yards, rolled in the grass and pretty much had a blast at every house that was kind enough to give out candy. He's a goofy clown, and did not miss an opportunity to have good good hearted fun. He's really pondering if he should trust the ringmaster... or not.
We've been coming here for a long time and this picture is very bitter sweet. I've been asking her to pose on the same bench with the different decorations for the last 16 years and I know that it won't be very long before she will start going with her friends instead of us, so I will savor every Halloween moment I can get.
And just like that, it got late, porch lights started to turn off and candy started run out, and it was time to go home with a HUGE Halloween loot, and I got my share of Mom Tax, of course!
I did not wear a costume this year, but I got this amazing T-Shirt that goes perfect with one of my favorite sweaters and now it can be Halloween all year long. It's so Kitsch and I LOVE IT!
Now it's time to start getting ready for Day of The Dead tomorrow. IT's a HUGE thing in Mexico and we're having two parades, one on each side of the border. I Hope it is a great as Halloween!
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