The Dormouse ©Angi and Silas

Since the last time I updates you folks on Wonderland, a few new friends have joined the party. I must admit, every time I look at these guys I'm tempted to scoop them all in a circle and join hands, dancing, or drink mad tea, or paint some roses red.

We're just days away from completing what will become the Go Ask Alice 2011 wall calendar. And rumor has it there could be...fingers and paws crossed...another juicy project in the making! 

Go 'head and hold your breath. Well, not for long, just long enough to repeat after me, sending a wish toward Wonderland:

twinkle twinkle
little bat
come see what
we're playing at!

down and down and
down we slide
where dreams and worlds
and thoughts collide

sleeping meecies
rabbits late
grinning cats
a-twisting fate

painted roses
stolen tarts
screaming queens
with red hot hearts

twinkle twinkle
have a look!
duirwaigh's got a
wonder-book!

Ok, now you can breathe again. With all those wishes, the book's as good as done, now! But keep twinkling. It's good for the wonder-soul.

So here's the rest of the crew, so far:

The Tweedles:

Humpty Dumpty:

The Talking Flower:

The Dormouse:

So the folks at Where Women Create (magazine) will be here in a few days to photograph my studio. I thought I had a pretty cool studio--until they called. (OK, I do have a really cool studio, but it stays in a state of creative disarray most of the time and will not make for fabulous photography. So time for a gussy-up!). I'm looking around and realizing it's finally time to get those rugs Silas has been urging me toward for three years. Then there's the pictures I've never hung, the marionettes I've never strung up (sitting slumped in the corner and none-too-happy about it) and I need a complete re-organization of closets, creative tables and crawl spaces. Plus, I've had to deal with all the screaming boxes. Well, the boxes aren't screaming exactly, but the sculptures, paintings and artwork inside them is. "Let us out! Let us out!" Apparently I'm not the only one ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille.

I am the middle of it all and feeling rather zealous about the whole thing. Oh, it's fun, to be sure, but it's a LOT of work and much of it detail-driven. Have we been friends long enough that you already know how anti-detail I am? I'm what they call a "Big Picture" girl, not to be confused with big-ass or big-mouth girl, two terms that certainly do not apply to me. Not me. No way.

But this big-assed, big-mouthed, big-picture girl is getting into the nitty gritty of house decor and digging every nazi moment of it. Plants need pruning, cabinets need sorting, moths need balling and even the mites need dusting. I'm sneezing and sweeping my way into a twelve page spread even Martha Stewart won't be able to resist.

Wanna sneak peek? Here's a few snapshots. And um, yeah, these are what I'd like to call "work in progress" shots. See the tool box? And the clutter? Such is my life. But hey! It's colorful! (Bear in mind today is a wonky rainy day in Taos. An anomoly, really, so the photos are a bit blurry with funky lighting- sorry!)

To continue our Wonderland hoopla, may we introduce "In the Garden of Talking Flowers," the newest piece for our Go Ask Alice project. This piece has a special place in my heart, for I adore flowers. Seemed really important that we nail this piece, for how can any flower-adorist keep her self respect if she can't do justice to the blooming world?

She took a little longer to create than the others. I wanted a Pre-Raphaelite face, and the first one I collaged onto the page just didn't work. So I found another and suddenly, the piece began to sing!

That's what we demand of all our art. Neither Silas nor I like to unleash a work of art into the world unless and until it sings. Maybe it's a leftover circus thing, yanno, "it ain't over til the fat lady sings?"

I'm thinking we're going to have to make canvases of this one. I can see her hanging in many-a-bedroom, powder room or art studio. She has lots to say, and, given her propensity for blossoming, I'm sure she has lots of creativity-seeds to share!

Enjoy!

So far September is shaping up to be a lovely month for Duirwaigh Studios. We're in a second magazine this month! Advanced Photoshop conducts and interview with Silas on the art of life and design, and the magazine also has a feature on our new website digs!

We're giving a special shout-out to Julie, who heads up the creative team of this spectacular magazine. Stay tuned...rumor has it we'll be in an upcoming issue with...(drum roll please!) a tutorial for all your digital artists. Issue #60 is now on stands and just brimming with Duirwaigh goodness. Pick it up before they're all gone! (It happens. This magazine is an import from England, so get it while you can).

And just in case you didn't see it, issue #57 featured Duirwaigh buddy Aimee "Foxfires" Stewart. She gives a full fledged tutorial on how to get your Steampunk groove on. Not to be missed!

It occurs to me that much of our new art is posted to facebook, and many of our fans have not yet migrated over there. So maybe you haven't seen all our goodies, as of yet? Specifically, our Wonderland goodies, for our new book project entitled  Go Ask Alice.

I can't say more about the book until we actually solidify a publisher and get their stamp of approval, but for now I can say it's DELISH and you're going to want to throw your panties on our Wonderland rock stage. Yeah, it's that yummy.

But I can, indeed, share with you the art we've created so far. The first six characters to appear on the pages of Go Ask Alice...are...(drum roll please!)

Alice

White Rabbit

Mad Hatter

The White Queen

The Red Queen

 The Cheshire Cat

 SHARE THE INSPIRATION AND WIN A 2010 LIVING OUT LOUD CALENDAR!

We're giving away twenty five brightly woven Living Out Loud calendars this fall, and you could end up with one (or more!) of them. But before you read on, ask yourself one question: Are you fierce? Because only the fiercest of creatures can hang with polka-dotted flamingos in striped stockings, dancing elephants and peacock-feathered women. Only fierce creatures flaunt their fabulous selves, empowered with possibility, fierce with reality!

Are you one of us? Then by all means, read on!

How it works:

Post a link to the Message From The Muse (MessagefromtheMuse.com) on your facebook page and/or your own blog/website. When complete, post a comment to this blog post, showing your link(s). (This is how we will get your name to put into our Hatter's hat!)

All names will go into our Mad Hatter hat - modeled here by Silas.

Contest runs September 6 to October 31. Winners announced November 1.

We are giving away 25 calendars, so your chances of winning are wonderfully good!

Calendars ship November 10th*

You can enter as many times as you'd like, as long as your link to MFTM is posted on different sites. (not multiple times on the same site). If your name is pulled more than once, you will win more calendars!

Not on Facebook? Not a problem! Post a link to Message from the Muse on your blog or website and leave a comment under this post showing where you have linked.

More Chances to win! Write an article/review of Message from the Muse of 200 words or more and you'll be entered twice for every article you post on a different website! When you write an article, just post that article to this post and we'll put your name in the hat twice for every article!

Please note: The impetus behind the contest is INSPIRATION! We wish to share the juicy living and luscious writing found on MFTM and grow our community!

*Calendars are free, winners pay postage of 5.00 within continental USA. International winners pay USPS flat rate air shipping.