Heather Eddy Art

In a perfect life, I would wake up each morning, having slept solidly (with good dreams) after at least eight hours, having only been disturbed by a gentle, loving kiss from my husband as he left for work earlier. I'd feel refreshed! Alive! I'd look forward to what the day held. After dressing myself in clothes that were comfortable and made me look great, I'd do my makeup and hair with a minimum of fuss and I'd glow. Breakfast would be a beautiful affair with simply-made food that looked beautiful in the morning light - artfully arranged and garnished with just the right amount of vibrantly-colored homemade sauce or syrup or compote. My children and I would have conversations that lent themselves to deep philosophical insights by me or comedic misunderstandings by them that would then become viral Internet memes. After breakfast, my kitchen would be easily cleaned with lemons and vinegar. It would be a perfect vignette of domesticity - gentle northern light

Such a simple pattern, but when it's repeated over and over, the little shapes become a mass of something greater. I sure hope it's that way with my simple reminders to myself and my children. Over and over I remind them to be good. Over and over I remind myself that *I* am good. Hopefully those little reminders are building great people.

This is one of my favorite older designs from when I first started folding. I love how the simplicity is so beautiful. Sometimes when things are bleak in my life, I desperately seek for peace in art and words. The quiet things don't talk back...

Hurray! It's here! I'd like to introduce my Butterflies pattern set ! A big thank you to everyone on Facebook who suggested names for the four butterflies included in this pattern set. My literary heart was touched by Michelle's submission of names from the Bronte sisters (and mom), so I present to you Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Maria Butterfly for your folding pleasure! As with most things, I was impatient for these to be finished, but they turned out well and I am happy. You'll find them in my blog shop now and (very soon), in my Etsy shop!(edited - they're HERE ) In addition to pattern directions, I also included a quick tips section on embellishing your finished butterflies. Happy folding!

I woke up to cloudy skies this morning and - best of all - a surprise rain shower! You can see the sprinkles on the concrete and rocks at the top of the picture. It was glorious, especially because I came across a journal entry of mine ONE YEAR AGO EXACTLY lamenting the desire for rain. Spooky... In other news, the butterfly pattern set is nearly finished and I have a special surprise coming for everyone to celebrate its release... stay tuned!

Every Thursday we have Brian's kids for a few hours until we drop them off at their Mom's house at 8pm. The other week we were taking them home and the most beautiful clouds had formed over Bear Mountain. I think they're called pancake clouds, but I'm not totally sure. They stack up in layers and look very pretty and weird in the evening sky. It's hard for me to love Bakersfield (IT'S SO HOT!!!) but I don't know that I would create as colorful of art if I didn't live in a place where it was so dull and brown and devoid of weather most of the time. I have to bring my own color into my life.

 I am one of those people who needs to mix it up when it comes to creative endeavors. I'll paint feverishly for several days and then I'll fold books. After folding books, I'll crochet. Sprinkle a few recipes in there and you get a taste for how I work. Front and back views of my latest little crocheted rock. It's going to go to a friend at work, the recipient of my first ever crocheted rock. It's a sad little sight compared to what I can do now...

A while ago I started a board on Pinterest called Art to Steal From. It should really be called Art From Which to Steal but that's a bit much, so I'm keeping it simple-minded for now. AnyWAY, here was one of the pieces I really liked and decided to make my own of today. It turned out rather well if I do say so myself.   It's wilder than the original I used as inspiration. It reminds me of how my hair works - it doesn't stay put.

Yesterday my son made a fortunate recovery from his stomach flu and was able to go to Hurricane Harbor with his aunt. That left Brian and me child-free and able to go to an art museum for the first time in our married life. It will be nine years for us next Wednesday. Yay! I was fortunate enough to go on a Study Abroad trip to London for six months when I was at BYU - it was nearly fully funded by scholarships for the needy, so it was a tough trip in that I was always struggling to make ends meet. Fortunately, most museums are free or donations-only entry, so I was able to visit anywhere my Tube pass could take me and I went everywhere! Upon my return to the states (it's been 20 years now since I went! Oh my!), I've been to a couple of museums here and there (I lived near NYC for a year and near SF, too, for a year), but nothing for the past ten years. Even when I got married, none of my suggestions for trips ever panned out. I was getting the feeling that art simply wasn&#

And that's how you put the magic in Rhymes With Magic. All the photographs have been taken (yay for an unexpected day at home with a sick kid) and edited. I put the embellishments on several of the butterflies after I photographed them in their plain paper state. The experiments were a mixed bag of success. The glitter turned out great, but the inking projects turned out a bit more iffy. I'll work on them more later. You can't ruin something worse is my motto! Tomorrow is the Fourth of July so I'll either be in Los Angeles visiting The Getty museum or at home working on this again because of the kid still being sick. Either way, it's going to be a great day!

I figure if I use a filter, you won't think my work table is as horrible as it really it.  The butterflies are all folded and they turned out great! The ones I was worried about most ended up being the best. Isn't that just the way of life? Now I need to take pictures, do some magic and draw the patterns. Easy peasy. Oh - I can't wait to get back to painting. I miss color...