HAPPY NEW YEAR

Ten....
Nine...
Eight.....
Seven....
Six....
Five....
Four...
Three...
Two....
One....


Happy New Year!!!!!!

Hershey Kiss Post

-Ava ♫

People dressed warmly

It's been very cold out lately.
(But still no snow since October! Fingers  crossed that we'll get some...)

-A♫

Haiku a day

From now until January 15th, I've decided to write one haiku a day, an idea which comes from my friend Nathan at Amherst New Writers Club (http://amherstawc.blogspot.com--totally check it out, it's a great blog ☺).
At the end of that three-week period I'll pick my favorites and share them.
So, yeah! I thought that writing a short poem every day was a nice idea.
Actually, the original idea was to do a haiku every day for a year, but I am hopeless at that kind of long term thing. It's going to be a real challenge to do it steadily for even just three weeks. (I once decided that I was going to become ambidextrous and made the goal of simply writing the alphabet and the numbers with my non-dominant hand every day for a year. I think I did it once, the day I thought of it. It was then completely forgotten.)
I've been having a nice, relaxing winter break and I hope everyone else is too!
Cheers!
-Ava♫

:)

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone!
Hope everyone is having a fun winter break. ☺

-Ava

Happy Holidays

It's winter! Hooray!

These are some pictures from the amazing gingerbread house party that happens every year--

Before...                                                                                                                                                             

In the middle...












And after.

Happy Holidays to everyone and happy new year!

Cheers,

♫♫Ava♫♫

Hello

Hi Everyone,
Sorry that I haven't posted in a while...I was planning to but the computer is having some problems so I can't right now. Once it's working again I'll post some pictures.
Happy Holidays!

Cheers,
Av@

Fishbowl

Flight: A poem

The whispering of wings, waiting to spread

I want to be like the birds and cut a path through the sky and the earth

what has never

Existed

does now.

I want to be the sharp, ringing realization of the trees

when they see me

The scent of pine in a cold breeze.

I want to be the

Circle

Oange mushroom clouds in the sky

I want to be like the birds and

Leap and

slide and

Make my way

up,

all the way up,

to the

Top

Lady Caraway

I think I'll make a whole series of pictures like this.

I was inspired to begin some drawings of people and landscapes in some kind of mysterious, different place by the book Amarant: The Flora and Fauna of Atlantis by a Lady Botanist, by Una Woodruff.

This is a really interesting book with really beautiful illustrations--if you see it somewhere, pick it up! Look at it! It's great.

Cheers,
Ava

Dentists......

Does anybody remember my Evil Dentists drawing I posted in October?

Now, I have another dentist-themed drawing to share! Yaaay.

I really really dislike dentists. They're so terrible! They're scary. They inflict pain! They pull out your teeth!
And yesterday I had to visit them. It was a sad, sad, thing.
But, I did bring in my pocket a little tiny sketchbook. And I did a pencil sketch while I was waiting in the chair!

Yup.

But back to my fear of dentists--apparently there is an official phobia name for that--dentaphobia!! (Suprise!)
There's also a whole website called Dental Fear. With a whole bunch of ridiculous questions. Tee hee. (Actual Q&A sample:


Q. Can the fear itself be treated?
Absolutely. There are psychologists who treat fears such as fear of flying, fear of driving and fear of dentists. Through a process called desensitization you can learn how to relax and overcome your fears.)

Ha ha ha. I'm not that afraid.

Jayashree Story, Part II

This, by the way, is still chapter one. Just the next part of it.

The day carries on. I go out and gather the wild mushrooms called morels, the ones found at the bases of trees, stopping each time I find one to feel its odd, shriveled shape in my fingers. Summer will be here soon.

This is the way the days go, blowing away like the carefree wind that whips through the trees. Days pass like weeks; the weeks are short as days. It all changes so easily.

On Sunday, it’s finally necessary that I go to town. I carefully, strategically, go to different shops then the last time I was here. People don’t recognize me; ask if I’m new here. This is what I want. I give everyone the same answer.

“I’m just a traveler. Only passing through.”

This isn’t true, of course. I've lived, alone, in the woods for more than a year now.

I was cut off from the rest of the world. Nobody but the wolves ever would find their way through the forest to my home. I was always by myself, and I was fine with that.

I was the unknown hermit of Kuning-daun forest, which spreads like a stain through Lesser Taniya. I was independent. I didn’t need anyone, and no one needed me.

Until Jaya came. Now I find myself caring for this young girl, this girl who doesn’t talk, with an unknown past and an uncertain future. And suddenly I’m not the hermit anymore.

Jayashree Story, Part 1

Hello everyone!! I'm finally posting something! (Sorry that hasn't happened for a while.)

This is the beginning of a story I began a while ago, as the backstory to a poem I wrote first. I have made it my goal to finish this story*, and then I can share the poem with you all as the ending. Enjoy.

*Even though I love writing--sososo much--I have some serious problems actually finishing what I start and not just moving on to the next story beginning.

~CHAPTER ONE~

She came in the middle of the night. It was 1:33 in the morning, to be exact, and in the middle of a wild rainstorm that pounded the windows and drenched the world. There she was, on the doorstep. Surrounded by red roses that were the same color as her long tiered skirt. She wore a black jacket that was made for someone twice her size. Her eyes were wild. Like a scared animal’s. A dirty piece of paper was crumpled in her hand.

That was three weeks ago, when Jaya first came to me. And she is still as much of a mystery as she was then.

Her full name is Jayashree Hitendra. She came from a long way away. And all other details are shrouded in immense secrecy.

I believe she’s mute. Or, she just refuses to talk. Either way, she has never uttered a single word in my presence. The few things I know are from notes left for me around the house.

The first: I am Jayashree Hitendra.

The second: I have come far.

And, the last: I’m sorry I can’t tell you any more than that.

But there are things I know, even though that’s all she’s told me. Most of all, I can tell she has suffered. Maybe been abused, I don’t know. Her eyes look scared. Darting. I can tell the red mark above her eyebrow is a birthmark, and the one that spreads from the side of her neck to her cheek. But there are scars there too. Small, but noticeable—once by her nose, one under her ear.

I don’t know why or how Jayashree is here, but here she is, and she needs protection.

*      *     *     *     *

I wake up early, much earlier than usual. The sun is rising, pale in the sky. I can smell the damp soil outside, cold breeze rushing in through the open window. I stand up and stick my head outside. Wolf tracks are imprinted in the mud—it looks as though they’ve been circling the house. About four sets of paw prints. It doesn’t bother me if they feel like walking around here in the night. The forest is their property and they’ve been kind enough to let me share it with them.

I stand there for a while, taking in the rushing wind and the yellow leaves and the trees against the sky. It’s later now. I might as well get up, open all the windows and air everything out. And say good morning to Jayashree. I dress and walk into the kitchen—there she is, sitting at the small table, just staring off into space.

“Good morning, Jaya.”

She turns her head and stares at me quietly, then looks down at the table. There is a small bowl of blackberries there, still with droplets of dew. I pop one into my mouth—perfectly ripe and warmed slightly by the sun. “Did you pick these?”

Quiet nod.

“Thank you.” I pull up a stool and together we finish the bowl.

It makes me happy to get

comments! So pleaseplease comment! ☺

-Ava

Olive Oil watercolor

I did this of a tin of olive oil we have that I thought looked nice.

-A

:D

Did everyone see my lovely FISH? 

(If you haven't, quick! Scroll down past the list of followers. Then feed them!)
Marvelous, aren't they?

Cheers,
Åv@

Crowd

Piglets in the field

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! ☺

This morning, we let both litters of piglets outside....

Now they have such personality as well as being SO CUTE!!

Cheers,


Åv@

More piggies!!!

You would not believe how much bigger the piglets have gotten:

(They're still just as cute, though ☺)

Also, today the other piglets--the newer ones--were able to go outside!

                                          

Awww....

They're the best. ☺

Cheers,

Ava

Hi Everyone

Sorry I haven't posted for so long!!
So, here are two little watercolor pencil people....

Cheers-

Ava

Montreal

Last night I got back from Montreal! I was there for three nights--it was a great trip.

There was a lot of pinball-playing.

(It was awesome!)

Brick Wall

More piglets!

Guess what! Our other pig, Chipmunk, has just had five piglets.
They are so cute! Just as cute as the others!
Will take photos of them and more of the other six. It's crazy how much bigger they are in comparison!

-Ava

Piggy pictures!!

Here are some photos of the piglets......☺

So cute!!

Pinky!

Bandit!

Truffle!

Aren't they soooo cute? I'm in love!

And yay for Bertha, their mom!

-AVA

Piglets!!

Last night one of our two sows gave birth to six little piglets!!!!!
They are so. unimaginably. cute. Like little puppies or something!!!! They have names now too:


YOUNGEST TO OLDEST:
Pinky When he was born he looked like a classic little piglet: perfect and pink. It was late at night though, and the only light was from a heat lamp. Now we can see that he's only half pink, there's also some very light brown on him. He's big and strong and kind of a spaz.


Chipmunk Junior is stripy just like a chipmunk. She looks a lot like a wild boar piglet, if you know what that looks like. (They're adorable until they grow up.) Our other sow who may or may not be pregnant is named Chipmunk too and they look a lot alike. ☺


Bandit has a cute little light brown mask around her eyes and a light brown back, but her face and belly is pink. There is a slight possibility that she's blind because her eyes look kind of white, but we haven't really looked closely yet. Even if she is she's doing great.


Tiny/Oreo is the runt. But she's doing fine and she's soooo sooo cute!!!! She really is a lot smaller than all the others but it doesn't seem like a problem. Her back is brown-grey with a big white stripe in the middle.


Lil' Floyd is named after his daddy, and he looks just like him--splotches of dark brown and white all over.

And lastly....Truffle is a beautiful light brown. Adorable like all of them.

I haven't  been able to get any good photos of them yet but I promise I will!!!

-AVA
"(^@^)"

More watercolor pencil...

I ♥ watercolor pencils

I don't know why I always forget how much fun watercolor pencils are! Now I really know how much I love them.


Me today: They're just like watercolors, only they're so much easier! And you draw with them like they're normal pencils, but then when you go over them with water it's like they're watercolors!!! And then--!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah.
Today I was really experimenting with them for the first time, and it was a lot of fun.

Cheers,
AVA

Shakespearean Insults!

I am posting a list of some Shakespearean insults that I found with a friend of mine (That is what I do with my time.)
They are amazing. (And they are all real. That's what makes them so awesome!)
Remember them and you can start using them!!!

Thou loggerheaded clay-brained wagtail!

Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat!

Thou halfpenny purse of wit, thou pigeon egg of discretion!

You Banbury cheese!

and lastly...

Take you me for a sponge?! 

Yaaaaaaaaay! ☺

If you remember these, I swear they will come in handy! (Sometime.)

-AVA

More snow

So! For the last two days we have lost power completely!
It happened on Saturday night, when the snow was still building up...and then on Sunday morning, we had about eight or nine inches of snow.
It was so beautiful. I went outside as fast as I could with the camera--and took one photo before the batteries ran out. Inside, of course, there was no power to charge it.
So, instead I took a notebook. I went back outside and sat there. For a long time. And this is what I wrote.

I’m sitting outside as I write this. Outside, the cold breeze blowing through the back of my hoodie and the cold metal and snow beneath my legs.

Everything is so beautiful right now. Every feature of the trees or the sky or the snow compliments something else. That’s what makes this whole scene so breathtaking, I think.

It’s all absolutely perfect. The snow has a thousand tiny sparkles, with the rising sun shining over it like this. And the sun shines through the trees, too. Those trees over there—Birch? Poplar?—have ice coating each and every twig and branch. The sun is lighting them up, golden like maple syrup. 
But they lean forward, some completely doubled over. They are exhausted from this weight.

Because, as well as this sudden ice, they’ve still got leaves. It’s only October. And now the snow has thrown everything off. It is a curse. A curse, for the trees.

You’d think it’d be silent out here, with me the only one outside. Just my pencil moving.

[Ow, ow, ow, my thumb is so numb I can barely turn the page…]

That isn’t the case, though. There are the geese. The shocked geese. They’re confused—there isn’t supposed to be snow yet. And so much of it. So much, so soon. They fly back and forth against the sky, honking in a panicked sort of way.

But most of all, there are the trees. They, too, were not ready. So now, every second, I hear the soft noise of small branches breaking. Breaking and falling down to the snow below. There are water drops dripping down too.

Everything looks so different in the snow. The trees across the water don’t look laden down like these ones, just frosted white. As though someone dumped flour down on top of them.

The Russian olive tree near me is small. Too small. The snow pushed it down so much that every single one of its branches are touching the snow. It’s a pre-made snow cave.

This is spectacular. Maybe the most beautiful snowfall I’ve ever seen.

The sun is shining. The horses stand stationary in the field.

I’ll be out here again. Later, but I’ll be more appropriately dressed (Gloves, jacket?) I’ll be sledding down the hill opposite, maybe making a snow sculpture or checking out the pre-made cave.

But now is just for observing.

☼   ☼   ☼   ☼   ☼

Inside is cozy. Although there isn’t a fire in the stove, it’s still warm, which I’m very thankful for after freezing my butt off outside.

The table is littered with stuff—a jar of flowers, a camera, lots of papers and my watercolors. The cat is trying to drink the painty water (I don’t let her.)

The snow stuff is hung up next to the woodstove.

Cozy.

The power didn't come back on until yesterday night. (And speaking of yesterday, Happy Halloween!) A lot of people in the town neighboring us still have no power.

I've been sledding two more times now (it was great) and the snow outside is still deep. It's going to take some time to melt.

I really wish I had some more pictures of the snow on that first morning to post. It was incredible. I do have the one picture though.

Happy Halloween everyone. ☺

--avA

This evening

A watercolor I did this evening: my view from the kitchen table.
I took a break from working on it at one point and went sledding. It's been snowing steadily all day and now we definitely have a good four inches, maybe more in some places. It's crazy--looking outside, you would guess it was mid-December or maybe even January.

The snow outside made it nice and cozy inside, though, which was what inspired me to do this painting. ☺

-Ava

Winter already...?

Well, right now in Massachusetts it's snowing so hard outside that it looks like December. We're supposed to get 4 inches. Everything feels so wintry all the sudden...
And it's not even Halloween.

Pip: The Story of Olive

Hi...!  ｡◕ ‿ ◕｡
This is random, but...
To everyone I recommend the book Pip: The Story of Olive by Kim Kane. I am extremely fond of it, because, (for me) it's the kind of book that I will never, ever be bored of. I can read it an infinite number of times (and I have) and I will still love it (and I do.)

It takes place in Australia and has a nice quirky plot that isn't necessarily believable, but a lot of fun to read. ☺

-aVa

Paper Dolls!!!!!

This is Nadia.

This is Tamora.

Both of them live happily in origami paper land.

I created Nadia and Tamora (named after two authors I like) months ago, along with their clothing, and since then I've been keeping them in a converse shoebox. (Actually, the shoebox isn't really the most convenient place to keep them, but I like the sound of keeping something in a converse shoebox. ^ ^ yeah.)

For each of them I made a set of clothes--eight outfits.

NADIA!

TAMORA!

These were so much fun for me to make. So much fun, because I was basically creating things that I want to wear. (Tamora's purple bunny rabbit shirt? Totally want it!)
     Since I had never made paper dolls before, I made all kinds of mess-ups: the mistake of having hair hang over shoulders and dresses that puff out but still have tabs on the sides, so they don't actually even reach the legs.  Most paper dolls you see have their arms sort of sticking out to the sides, or have arms drawn in with the clothes, so that they go over the actual arms on the doll. (Like this.)

I imagine drawing the arms attached to the clothes makes it much easier, but I think it's a little creepy making them have several sets of arms at once.

 Nadia was fairly easy to make because her arms were tucked behind her back. But I wanted them to look different, so I made Tamora's arms hanging down at her sides.Then realized that that wouldn't work. There would be nowhere for the tabs on the sides to go.

So, I ended up doing this thing where I cut a little slit on the line where her arms are against her sides. It was a pain, because I had to line up the tabs exactly with that spot, but it worked! ☺

And now, I still haven't bent any of the tabs on the outfits. I can't bring myself to do it.
But the clothes really do fit them!

(This looks a little weird because it's hard to get it positioned right on the scanner and I refuse to use the tabs.  It looks better in real life.)

Sooo, in conclusion......

Paper dolls are great fun, especially the clothes. ☺☺☺☺☺☺

~THE END!~

-Ava

New look!

(In case you didn't notice,) I've changed the blog's look! I really like it like this, and I think this is going to be how it stays for a while. Until I feel the need for a change again.

avA
☼☼☼☼

Blogs....

Here are the links to two blogs that I like:

http://amherstawc.blogspot.com and http://brainstormer-anthology.blogspot.com

Check them out.
☺♪☼♫♥►‼¶§▬↨↑▲
-Ava

?

Where did all the viewers from outside the US go? I thought it was really cool having people from all over the world looking at this blog.

-Ava ☺♥♫☼‼

Magnified (again)

This is kind of a revised version of the thing I posted before.