The Hags of Le Mistral

Did you see the movie, "Chocolat"? Set in France, the characters Vianne Rocher and her young daughter move to a small Provencal town and open a chocolate shop. Do you remember when she is walking, wearing a red cape sheltering herself from the very strong winds? That is "le mistral", a very strong cold wind which blows from the north through Provence and the Rhone Valley.

The mistral, though harsh, also blows away the dust and makes the air particularly clear and that combination of air and light, inspired many impressionistic painters to the South of France. In France, they say the mistral brings with it good health and has played an important part in the life and culture of Provence from the beginning. The farmhouses there face south with their back to the mistral and the bell towers are usually open ironworks so that the wind can blow through them.  There are also "santons" or little saints which craftsman have sculpted for generations which depict these winds.

During my visit to Provence several years ago, we were fortunate enough to tour the studio of a very prominant santonnier. The craft is handed down from generation to generation. The figurines, comprised from Provencal village life, are placed in a creche, or nativity scene as we refer to them.

Inspired by these charming figurines, gave me the idea to sculpt some hags and witches from the old country, after all witches do indeed exist in France and are celebrated at the Bonnu en Sorcellerie every year. And being French myself, and loving Halloween as I do, it seemed so appropriate n'est-ce pas? Soon I will be presenting hags and witches of the Mistral!

Summer in Salem....By Way of Salem!

Hi y'all! I hope your Summer is going great so far. Up here in Washington, our summer has just begun. The weather has finally gotten warmer and the sun is peeking out now and again. The temps are hanging around the 70's for the most part, but last week we got up to the high 80's which was really nice for a change. We've had a pretty wet and cold winter and spring, so the heat felt great! I've even got a tan!


What have I been up to? Besides NOT making art right now? Well I've been riding my amazing horse Simba. THE most brilliant Arabian ever! And of course finishing school. I've JUST graduated cosmetology school and am set to take my State Boards exam next week and get my license. Yay!!! It's been a tough, and oh-so-very-long year. I thought it'd be a cake-walk. I had no idea "beauty" could be so technical!

After that, well it's onto a job finally. I've already had over 9 months on the "salon floor" at my school, so I feel totally ready to be out on my own and in the real world. Someday I might even have my own salon.....

At school last week, a few of the girls happened to spot my art through a link on my Facebook page and were raving to me about my Halloween creations. I can't tell you after being away from creating for so long, how great that felt! It gave me the boost I needed. I thought - what am I doing? Why aren't I sculpting/painting, etc? I really do miss it so much. Honestly though, school just sucked the artsy life right out of me. But I know that once I'm out, I'll be back at it. I did try to get reinspired throughout this past year and create a few things, but it really wasn't working for me. With all the distractions of school, I just couldn't focus or let my inner Halloween-ness venture out.

This year I'm planning on participating in some craft shows, as well as stocking my Etsy store full of new whimsies. I've got a ton of new ideas for either sculptures or paintings that I've been sketching out and saving and I'm excited to be starting on them soon too. It's kind of going to be a new re-launching of By Way of Salem!

Thank you all for staying loyal fans on my blog as well as Facebook and Etsy. Your support really makes a world of difference to me and gives me the encouragement and reason to keep on creating.

Love, Jeannine

Idle Hands are the Devil's Workshop

One of my mom's favorite expression when I was a kid. Guess I was always into something. LOL!

These hands have not been idle lately. I've been enduring a grueling schedule in my "technical" class at cosmetology school and I'm plum worn out! Last week was days of "foiling", this week it's been nothing but perms, perms, perms. This Saturday is another test, then I've got finals in another week. Non-stop I tell ya!

Good news on the craft-front: I do have some Halloween items in the works, a swap in September with Rabbit Hallow Prims, and I'm planning on doing a local holiday craft bazaar in November as well, so I will be creating shortly. And once finals are over, I'm going to start busying my hands in clay and paint, instead of perm rods! LOL!

Mostly, I just wanted to touch base with my loyal following who have been so patient with my non-creating lately. Thanks for staying with me and checking in. I'm lonely not creating and hearing from you, so please drop by anytime to just say "Hi!" Take care, Jeannine