Shiny new site for Eirewolf Creations!

I know it’s been 2 years since my last blog post… but I’m still here, and I’ve been BUSY!  🙂

I recently finished rebuilding my website from scratch.  It was a long time coming, as the old site had been outdated for years… but I got the push I needed when my main selling venue (Artfire) decided it was a good idea to put ugly distracting third-party advertisements all over my shop pages.  Not cool… but I’m over it, and moving on!  (It also needed to happen because Google started punishing sites in search rankings that were not mobile-friendly, and the old site was not.)

Anyway!  You can check out my shiny new website, including my self-hosted shop, here.  You will find my handmade leather masquerade masks, eye patches, cuff bracelets, belt pouches, and other accessories as I add them to my repertoire.  I decided not to include my sculptures on the new site, because they are no longer my focus (though I will still consider commissions for simple sculptures, especially Dragon Snails).  You can still find my old work, including my belovéd Dragon Snails, in my deviantART gallery.

Here is just one of the things you will find on my new site: a 2-inch unisex adjustable leather cuff bracelet, designed to fit a range of wrist sizes, currently available in three gorgeous colors (with more to come)!  I wear mine all the time.  🙂

I’d love to hear what you think!

Eirewolf Creations at the BayCon 2013 Art Show

I will be showing my handmade leather masquerade masks and pirate eye patches at the BayCon 2013 Art Show, May 24-27 in Santa Clara, California!  If you’re at the convention, I hope you will come check it out, and look for Eirewolf Creations.  Here’s a sneak peek at some new masks:

If you can’t make it to the con, you can always buy my work in my Artfire shop (except, of course, during the convention, when I will have most of my stock pulled from my shop in case it sells at the art show).

I hope to see you (in one place or the other)!  🙂

Robin’s Relief Benefit Auction

An accidental dog bite on Christmas, and a couple days later a woman was fighting for her life due to a rare bacterial infection. Robin Sullins has lost her legs and fingers, but not her spirit, not her hope, and not her family’s love and support. She and her family still need help, financially, for tremendous medical bills that have piled up and are still mounting. (You can find more info about Robin, her family, the accident, and her progress here.)

I don’t know Robin, but I have been inspired by her sister Angi, the bright soul who founded Duirwaigh Studios. Starting February 14th, Duirwaigh is running Robin’s Relief Benefit Auction, with art donated by a multitude of artists (including Michael Parkes, Alan Lee, John Howe, Kinoku Craft, Wendy Froud, and David Delamare among many others) who have come together in support of this family.

I have donated one of my favorite leather masks that I’ve yet made, a Scaled Ram’s Horned Dragon that is several gorgeous shades of deep purple. I hope you will check out the auction and all its beautiful works of art, and consider bidding in support. Thank you!

Update, 2/22: It seems eBay has taken down every single item from the Relief Auction, including the ones that had bids on them. 😦 I’ll update again when it’s sorted out.

Update, 2/23: eBay has allowed the items to be relisted, but at much cost to Duirwaigh. The volunteers had to list everything on their own time all over again. The bids were not restored, and the item URLs are different now, so previous links are invalid. I’ve updated the links here.

Update, 3/2: eBay has taken down the auctions AGAIN. This is unbelievable. You can read the details of the ongoing saga here.

Update, 3/3: eBay has apologized and the auctions are back up… hopefully for good this time. It seems they are not allowing Duirwaigh to post information about Robin’s Relief on the listings anymore.

Handmade leather pirate eye patches

Ahoy there, mateys, and avast! Fix yer good eye on these here eye patches, fit fer the pirate with discernin’ good taste! These beauties be handmade by an artisan from sturdy leather, and not mass-produced in a landlubber’s factory, so ye know yer gettin’ somethin’ fine and unique. These here eye patches, they be treasures in themselves.

If yer not a true sea dog, well, more’s the pity…. but ye can still pretend to be so free and blessed by the sea! These pirate eye patches be smart costume pieces for Halloween, yer local Renaissance Faire, or Talk Like a Pirate Day. (Ye can tell yer scurvy coworkers to walk the plank!)

Want to know where to find these here pirate eye patches, as well as other handmade leather masks?  X marks the spot.

Mindfulness for 2013

Happy New Year!  We all survived the nonexistent Mayan Apocalypse of 2012, and so far 2013 is looking pretty good. 

Five years ago, I started a new tradition of choosing a touchstone word for the new year instead of making resolutions.  (You can read about that here.)  That year, my word was Delight.  Since then, I’ve chosen Boldness, and Focus… and I’ve forgotten at least one and repeated at least one (since I didn’t quite “get it” in one year). 

For 2013, my touchstone word is Mindfulness.  I want to be present in every moment, alive and aware, not just wasting time on autopilot.  I no longer want to do things a certain way just because that’s the way I’ve always done them.  I want my mind to be engaged and active, always learning new things and seeing old things in new ways.

So, what about you?  I’d love it if you’d share your touchstone word (or resolutions) for 2013 in the comments!

BayCon 2012 Art Show

This Memorial Day weekend, I will be taking many of my leather masks to the BayCon art show.  I will be attending the con too, so if you see me there, please say hello!  🙂

Here is a preview of some of my new mask designs.

Red Panda leather mask, handmade by Eirewolf

Stitched Third Eye leather mask, handmade by Eirewolf

Golden Wolf leather mask, handmade by Eirewolf

Silver Wolf leather half mask, handmade by Eirewolf

Leather masks by Eirewolf – Dragons and ravens and foxes, oh my!

*sigh* Once again, I’ve been a very bad blogger.  I just realized that I haven’t yet shown off my leather masks here, and that’s what I’ve been working on for MONTHS now!  Almost all year, in fact.  I am loving leather as a sculpture medium.  The learning curve is not too intimidating, and yet there is still SO much to learn.  I feel that I could do this for the rest of my life, and still be learning new things when I’m an old lady.

Here are a few examples of my leather masks.  Look for new mask designs in 2012, as well as leather bracelets, bracers, and other wearable art. (My available works can be found in my shop on Artfire: http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/Eirewolf, and you can see all my work at my website: http://www.EirewolfCreations.com.)

Metallic Butterfly leather mask by Eirewolf

Red Fox leather mask by Eirewolf

Raven the Trickster leather mask detail by Eirewolf

Red Ram's Horn Dragon leather mask by Eirewolf

Sepia Gryphon leather mask by Eirewolf

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, handmade art by Eirewolf!

Now through Cyber Monday, get 10% off everything in my Artfire shop, plus free shipping within the U.S.! My leather masks and polymer clay sculptures would make great unique gifts for people who love art and handmade crafts.

Visit Eirewolf’s Artfire Shop

Defy the lies; discover your passion

You know which 20-year-old women I kinda’ envy?  I’ll give you a hint.  It’s NOT the ones who are cute and sexy, with perfect hair and tight abs.  No; those abs might be tight for only another 10 years, and only if they work really hard at it.  And for what?  To impress a guy that likes them for their body and not their brains and talents and personality?  No thanks.

No; I envy the 20-year-olds who have their heads together and are developing some mad artistic skills.  They are discovering their passions and honing their gifts, because those are the things that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.  They are the young people who know that media lies to them about how they should look and what is important and what they need in order to be happy.

I had a flat tummy in high school.  You know how much good it did me?  Zero.  Zero good.  I also had artistic talent, but back then I lacked the confidence and the drive to develop it beyond high-school level.  There was a guy in one of my art classes who was REALLY good, and I looked at his work and thought, “There’s no way I can compete with that.  I’ll just do art for fun occasionally, but I could never be THAT good.”  You know what?  I was wrong.  I COULD be that good.  I was just a coward about it.  Besides, at the time I thought that boys were more important, so I was too busy trying to be cute.

HA.  Girls, listen up: Most guys are not even worth looking at until college and beyond.  Their brains are too addled by hormones.  There are exceptions, but they are fewer than you think.  (Okay, maybe some are worth LOOKING at, and talking to, but not wasting time on as boyfriends.)  😉

I was also too busy trying to be a “good girl” and get A’s in my classes.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I was missing the point of education.  Many American schools seem to be about memorizing facts and being obedient and coloring within the lines.  That, to me, is not education.  It does not teach creativity and critical thinking.  It seems that young people have to be self-starters and take hold of these things themselves, in spite of the school system.  For example, in history class, don’t just memorize dates and events for the next test; get to the heart of WHY things happened and how they could happen again.  Annoy your teachers, not because you’re a brat in class, but because you’re asking probing questions about the subject matter that make them think harder than they want to.  Some of them will even love you for it.

I wish that, when I was younger, I had paid attention to what I was good at, and worked at making it great.  That’s what I’m doing now, at 35.  But I could be SO much farther along, so much better at my skills, had I not bought into stupid lies as a teen and 20-something — lies aimed at surface beauty and “cool” trends, which distract from things that matter, things that endure.

Discover what you’re good at.  Follow your passion.  Ask tough questions.  Let nothing hold you back.  Now, THAT is attractive, don’t you think?

Eirewolf Creations at the BayCon 2011 Art Show

Eirewolf Creations will be displaying sculptures and leather masks at the BayCon 2011 art show!   Visit the BayCon 2011 website for more information about this fun sci-fi and fantasy convention.