The Horseradish Dinner

Work in progress today.

The Bank Clerks

The Bank Clerks. By Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler

The Deathwatch Beetle

The Deathwatch Beetle. To attract mates these beetles create a tapping or ticking sound that can be heard in the rafters of old buildings on quiet nights. They are associated with quiet, sleepless nights and are named for the vigil kept beside the dying or dead, and by extension the superstitious have seen the deathwatch beetle as an omen of impending death. Deathwatch beetles have a famous mention in Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. I combined this with the Victorian love of fairies and their artworks that seem obsessed with turning insects into little cherubs. Original 8" x 10" Acrylic on acid free paper.

 See the finished The Deathwatch Beetle Painting at My Good Babushka.

Shisha Skull Embroidered Pillow

 

Another skull adorned pillow. The finished piece is pictured here:

 

Purchasing information can be found Here at My Good Babushka!

Two Skulls Hand Embroidered Pillow with Shisha Mirrors

Five shisha mirrors sewn on and lots of chain stitch. I wasn't sure I was going to like it until I started putting in the flowers. I think it's shaping up now.

All in the Well

Original 9" x 12" acrylic on acid-free paper painting inspired by an entry in W.C. Hazlitt's Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore. There is a short entry that names a children's game "All in the Well". This is a surreal and macabre interpretation of that entry. It's a little bit spooky and a little bit campy. A hapless young girl is the masked quarry about to be sacrificed to the tentacled monster in the well by her sadistic playmates. Creepy fun!

 You can purchase it Here at My Good Babushka

All in the Well

Inspired by an entry in W.C. Hazlitt's Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore for a children's game called "All in the Well" but no description is given. I've made up a campy, macabre little game that involves quarry in a rabbits mask getting sacrificed to a tentacled thing that lives in a wishing well.
Hopefully, it will be done in another day or so.

All in the Well

Painting of the mysterious children's game called "All in the Well". I've taken some fantastic liberties with a game I assume was some variation of hide and seek. I've turned it into a human sacrifice to the tentacled creature that lives in this well. I'm just getting to the juicy tentacles. What fun!

All in the Well

I've been reading W.C. Hazlitt's Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore and there is an entry for a children's game called "All in the Well" but no description is given. So I've had a pretty good time guessing what kind of game this would be. I've settled on depicting sort of a campy, kitschy picture of three girls bringing a fourth girl in a rabbit mask as the quarry for this tentacled thing that resides in the well.

All in the Well

I've been reading W.C. Hazlitt's Dictionary of Faiths and Folklore and there is an entry for a children's game called "All in the Well" but no description is given. So I've had a pretty good time guessing what kind of game this would be. I've settled on depicting sort of a campy, kitschy picture of three girls bringing a fourth girl in a rabbit mask as the quarry for this tentacled thing that resides in the well. A little bit of campy horror fun, why not?

Baba Yaga

Here you can see my finished Baba Yaga painting in my etsy store. My camera broke, so I missed some of the progress pics toward the end, but you can get a nice view of Baba Yaga and Her Children at My Good Babushka.

Baba Yaga

Working on my Baba Yaga painting, still. Working up some of the underbrush. Soon I'll have to tackle those spindly trees on the right.

Three Anatomists Embroidery

I got up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep. So I went down to the kitchen and worked on my embroidery. There was a storm in the distance and I could see, every once in a while, a flash of lightning. It was quiet. I had the radio on low. Now every time I pick up this embroidery, I remember that night. Even though it was lovely, I prefer to sleep through the night.

Three Anatomists Embroidery

Three little anatomy students busy with a cadaver. Hand embroidered cotton on cotton canvas.

No Peeking

Acrylic on bristol 8" x 10" work in progress. A young adventuress roams a dark and mysterious forest. This is one nebby forest! (nebby means prying and too curious in western Pennsylvania). We know what will cure that. A poke in the eye with a sharp sewing needle! You can get a better look at the finished piece here at My Good Babushka.

No Peeking

A work in progress. Acrylic painting on bristol 8" x 10" of a young adventuress in the dark woods. Mysterious eyes are peering up through the serpentine tangles of tree roots. But don't worry! Our heroine is armed with an oversize and very sharp sewing needle, and she is very brave.