Life's a zoo

Happy Birthday, thornwolf!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:46:04 GMT

Hehee. :) No comment! <3
The actually painting is tiny, about 2".

Mbala and I went out to run some errands the other night and decided to stop at Baker's Square for a piece of pie since we haven't had any in forever. They had... all you can eat pie for $5.99 after 8pm, which is exactly what time it was when we got there. Omg. I highly recommend you go partake of your local pie feast. ;) I just had a few half slices but YUM. PIE.

Been cleaning like crazy, happy that the house is looking very nice.
Morticia, my oldest ball python (she's got to be getting on 27 years now...) gave me a nice clutch of eggs, they are happily sitting in our new incubator. I'm hoping for five more clutches of eggs to come soon. A bunch of the female boas are possibly gravid, as well. Keeping my fingers crossed about those guys. I really wish I had an ultrasound machine!

Back to painting!

Whole buncha art.

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:22:41 GMT

A collaboration with Mbala - I drew this guy and he colored him. I don't usually do cartoony style, so this was fun. :)

Look mom, I gotta stick! A pet portrait for Odder.

ACEO for Coyox.

Quick sketch for Omnilugia.

Second sketch commission for a great commissioner - his friend's character, Lady Liberty.

Our two year wedding anniversary was last month, so I wanted to get something really special for mbala. I decided to try my hand at brewing, and made him homemade root beer! Amazingly, it worked - it didn't explode and actually carbonated! I was very excited. I don't like root beer but tried a little anyways and will admit it is better than store bought stuff. I want to try ginger beer this next time! This is the custom label I made up for the bottles. Kudos to you if you get the reference. :)

A few prayer feathers I made.

Snarly werewolf badge commission. So much love for the werewolves!

Busy working on a few things, artwise. Happy to be making art again. :)
Excited about some upcoming potential changes in life. Feels good to be excited like that, and not just scared.
Made an amazing dinner tonight. I'm really growing to love cooking more and more. I experimented with a mongolian beef recipe, but with broccoli instead of beef and YUM. Fresh ginger and garlic in chinese food... mmm. I really want to get a little recipe section up on my website eventually. :)
I wish we could throw dinner parties. Not knowing people in town and eating on the floor (since we sacrificed our kitchen and dining rooms for aviaries) kind of puts a stopper on that. Someday I want to have a really nice table and cook big meals for people. Good food, good company, good stories... life doesn't get much better than that! Someday, someday.

Favorite artists?

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:34:52 GMT

Who are your favorite artists? Any style, genre, time period, etc. Why?
The only thing I really miss about college was all the art history courses, where unlike most of the rest of my class, I was riveted looking at the slides. I feel like it's been awhile since I've been exposed to a bunch of new artists en masse, so... if you have the inclination, please share some of your favorites with me!

I'll post an update on other things soon - so far there is no news to share. Everyone else here at the house has been doing well, and I finally found Alma - the female tegu that was missing. There is still no sign of the gecko, but so far Alma has been doing alright (a bit sluggish and dehydrated but that's been taken care of with heat and liquids). That is a relief - the petsitter must have just left the cage open a little and she slipped out. Still waiting and hoping for more closure to all of this.

Nightmare.

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:20:27 GMT

I get really stressed before I go out of town. I even worry if I'm gone for part of a day, I don't like leaving the house and all the animals here alone. We found a good petsitter and that was a big relief - we left for smaller trips, 3-4 days and everything seemed fine. Mbala and I had planned to go visit his family in the Czech Republic because he hadn't gotten to see them for almost two years. I told myself not to be such a worry wart - I checked and double-checked everything before we left, the weather was mild and in the 70s, and the petsitter came over to meet with me again to go over things before we took off.
We were gone for eight days, came back late Wednesday night. The trip itself was really nice - it was great to see Mbala's family again and we survived the delays for immigration and customs without missing flights. The time out there was very busy, and we spent all of it with family - it was nice to see how people live there day to day. I have some nice photos to post, I will do that later.
The problem is since we've gotten back it's just been a nightmare here. I feel like I'm in a horrible dream and just can't wake up. I keep hoping I will. I was ok for awhile but now I'm just breaking down.
First off, when we got back I did a quick scan of everyone. When I walked into the snake room I smelled that horrible death smell - and after checking through everyone found one of my favorite snakes, the prize of my collection, dead. His body so bloated to be useless for autopsy, liquefied. Snakes left dead rot extremely quickly when on heat and in a humid setting. I have no idea how long he was there - it really could have only been a day or two, but I don't know. It makes no sense. He was fine when we left, he'd never had any problems at all. Checking the snakes over again and again everyone else was alert, responsive and seemed ok. The alarmed thermostats didn't show any problem with heating. I've never lost a snake before and I was just in shock.
Checking everyone else was fine, but then we found out two lizards were missing - a tegu and a gecko. The tegu cage has really tight doors that are difficult to open even for me - the petsitter had sent me a note saying she knew the tegu got out and she possibly had left the cage open by accident so that might have been what happened. She didn't know about the gecko.
The next morning, I woke up to Mbala holding a dead genet in his hands. The female genet, looking totally healthy, just stiff and dead. I don't know what happened to her - she seemed dehydrated but that look can happen quickly after death. Just utter shock. I don't know if the house got too hot (it was warmer than it should have been but the alarms don't say anything) or if maybe the petsitter forgot to give them food or water... she said she was having a really bad week and maybe she was just too busy. We're going to get a necropsy done to see if there are any results that could help us understand what exactly happened. There are so many possibilities and I have some ideas about it - but time will now tell.
I feel sick. This is exactly why I hate to leave, why I stress so much and just don't want to go. I love to travel but I feel like every time I go I put everyone here at risk. I know everyone, how they act, their normal routines, I devote my time to caring for them. I don't think the petsitter meant ill but someone who doesn't work with these animals all the time can't catch things that someone who knows them well could - and that may be ok for a day or two but not for 8 days. It's too long.
I can't sleep, I'm nauseated and trying to keep myself together. Mbala and I worried it could have been something wrong with the water, maybe even the tap in the one bathroom so he went out in the middle of the night to buy purified non-local water and we changed the water in every enclosure completely. We saved water from many places to have it checked.
I just don't know what else to say. I am going to spend the day cleaning and checking everyone over again and again, and I have to work all weekend. It just feels so wrong here, not like home.

Genetta Genetta!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:04:30 GMT

Meet the newest additions to our busy household - a pair of African Large Spotted Genets!

Nox, (short for Equinox) and Calypso.

You can see the difference in coat color here - Nox (on the left) looks almost more like a rusty-spotted genet than a large-spotted - you can see Calypso's more standard black pattern here.

Calypso, a little unsure about the whole camera thing.

Nox.

Some quick FAQs about genets!

Despite their feline-like looks, genets are small members of the Viverridae family, more closely related to civets and binturongs than to cats.

Genets are small, weighing 2-10 lbs, with the males being significantly larger than the females.

Large Spotted Genets are native to Africa, and are not endangered.

In captivity, they eat a base diet of high quality cat food supplemented with cooked meats, fruits, and vegetables.

They are fastidiously clean and can be litter trained much like a cat.

Genets have no smell, and unlike cats their urine isn't offensive to the human nose. They can, however, musk if they are very frightened. They can also use the musk to mark territory. While not unpleasant, this oily substance can have a strong smell to it.

Genets can get along with other animals, but are predators with strong instincts and will kill birds and smaller animals, including ferrets.

Genets can make wonderful pets, but only if they are hand-raised and well socialized. They tend to bond with just one person (or a few if handled frequently by a couple or family) and it is best to get a very young genet if you wanted one as a pet. They have a catlike personality - but are NOT domesticated. They are extremely agile and can get anywhere. They are easily startled and can inflict a nasty bite.

Genets have semi-retractable claws which they use for climbing. They do not use their claws as weapons and do not 'sharpen' them.

Genets are very quiet. They can make an angry hissing noise when threatened, a mewling noise while mating, and can purr. But for the most part they are silent.

A single pet genet can be kept in a very large ferret cage (2x3x5) if it is just used as a sleeping area. But a pair or genet kept caged more frequently needs a much, much larger space.

A pet genet is a large time commitment. They must be supervised when out in the home, and can fit through anything their head will go through. They quickly revert to a wild, 'touch-me-not' state when not handled every day.

I sacrificed my last remaining art space for the genet cage, so now the room where the fennecs are is split for the fennecs/genets. Our family is really, completely full this time. Until we can move and build an actual facility. :) I am so excited to have them - they had a rough trip in (lots of airline delays) but are settling in nicely. They are used to being around other animals so the fennecs don't bother them at all, and so far the fennecs have totally ignored the genets (they are not allowed in contact at all, but they can see/hear each other. A local guy made us a really awesome area for the fennecs - where we can hang tons more shelves/den areas - Mbala and I will spend this weekend getting everything all set up. :)

And a cute fennec pic, just to balance things out. Shiva loves to be touched, she especially enjoys having her ears and head scratched. She makes little whining noises and closes her eyes when I do it, and if I stop she'll flail herself at me until I start again.

Live Food Rant

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:51:26 GMT

I will keep this short.

I am a snake keeper. I have many snakes. I feed these snakes. They eat rodents, since that is what the snakes I keep have evolved to eat for countless thousands of years.
However. I do not feed live prey except in two cases where I have snakes that I got as adults who will not eat frozen/thawed or even pre-killed prey. I have been trying with these guys for years now to switch them and will continue to try to switch them over. Every other snake I own has been switched (it's usually relatively easy to do) to accept pre-killed prey.
There are a lot of ideas on both sides on the live vs. pre-killed prey debate for snake owners. I have read it all. I have thought about it, and in the now ten years of experience I've had keeping herps, I am adamantly for feeding my collection only pre-killed prey when at all possible. There are a lot of reasons why, including safety (for the snakes, live rodents can do a lot of damage to a snake, they have incredibly nasty teeth), possible parasite/disease control (freezing kills a lot of things), convenience (with a large collection, I am not going to try to keep around the hundreds of live rodents it would take to feed them (they stack nicely in a chest freezer), etc.

The reason for this rant, however, is the most common excuse I hear for feeding live prey to snakes, one which really pisses me off. 'It's what they would do in the wild'.
I'm sorry, but the plastic box/aquarium you keep your snake in is NOT the 'wild'. You would not put ticks in your snake enclosure because that is what they would experience in the 'wild'. You would not find a feral cat or bird of prey to chase your snake down because that would be a natural predatory event that happens in the 'wild'. So don't give me a bunch of B.S. that you feed your snake live prey just for the reason it's 'natural' for them. Keeping them in houses is not 'natural'. When we take the reptile into a captive situation where we are responsible for all of its care, we make the decisions regarding its health, living situation, breeding life, and on and on.
Now, there are some creatures and situations where the 'wild' excuse sort of works - generally animals that have complex psychological behaviors or are being kept to be released or by people who truly believe in trying to mimic a 'natural' state as closely as possible (zoos, research facilities, etc.) but this is not the case for these snake owners that I here bandying this excuse constantly about why they dump live albino mice into a plastic tub with a snake. Mice don't fall from the heavens in the wild, either. In the 'wild' a snake would experience hunting in a very different manner - whether actively seeking prey or waiting in ambush. If people are so concerned about the psychology of their reptilian brained babies, they should perhaps be more concerned about keeping them in an unnaturally confined space than whether the snake needs the 'feel' of a kill. I have plenty of fat, happy snakes who constrict, eat, digest and live lives just fine without strangling to death a still living rodent.

If you're going to feed live, fine. I can't tell anyone what to do with their collections, and if you or anyone does it, I respect your decision even if I don't agree with it. But be realistic in your reasoning about it.

Art Catchup!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:06:37 GMT

Sketch commission for vlad_badger! I love doing romantic/cuddly pieces. :)

ACEO for Bloodhound Omega.

A commissioned sketch of a femme werewolf.

For Kesame, her white wolf character.

Serval badge for Sand.

Fennec badge for Keito.

Quick sketch for sapphire_kun of her goat-dragon character.

I'm also working on some pieces for MFF, will have those to show soon. And a commissioned badger mug, that makes me happy. I love badgers!
I am still a bit under the weather, I ended up with an awful case of food poisoning last week and it's been unfortunately lingering. I (thankfully) haven't had to deal with that since I was a kid, so I guess I was due. No more old meat, ever. Never ever.

And with that, have some cuteness. :)

(Not my photo - courtesy of Julie's Jungle). Baby genets are way too cute. :>

With a little help from my friends...

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:19:59 GMT

This past weekend Mbala and I drove out to visit kenket and blackteagan. Colorado is such a beautiful place, and the trip was full of awesome company, good food, and lots of fun. We got to take Preacher to the dog park for the first time (we don't have a fenced one locally) and that was awesome, too.

The four of us went to dinner at the Red Lion and sampled much exotic meat goodness. Dinner was delicious, and bubbly champangenois made everything even better. Emaciated buddha joined us for dinner and the duck exploded into flames.

We annoyed the wait staff by taking artsy photos of the food. There was also an amazing water slave, I have to get myself one of those.

Our host...

Was a werecougar!

We ventured into Boulder. Boulder was full of terrifying things.

Kenket and Preacher.

Go dog, go!

A beautiful headshot by blackteagan.

We had many awesome slumber parties and learned how to properly be American by watching 50's PSAs. It was nice to see screwbald but he spent the entire time drinking in the closet and scribbling out art. Sunday we were invited to darknatasha's birthday party but she didn't show up so we had it without her. We were going to save her some pie but goldenwolfen ate it all, covered in gravy. The spoon wasn't even big enough so she had to use a cat litter scoop. I tried to say hi to her but she ignored me. ;)
Really, it was an awesome dinner. :) Supposedly impromptu, ssantara had made an amazing feast (she is a phenomenal cook!) - turkey, exotic broccoli, risotto, yum! It was so nice to be able to hang out outside of a con when things aren't just insane everywhere. It's pretty difficult to travel because of the animals, so Mbala and I don't get the chance to do this often enough. I feel incredibly lucky to have so many awesome friends. :) I came back feeling so energized and motivated. You all have to come back to visit again so I can reciprocate the hospitality! Hope you had an awesome birthday, Natasha! I hope we get a chance to see you and Dark Mumsy next time we come out.

No matter how much I love to travel, it's always good to be home again. :)

Midwest Furfest

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:28:31 GMT

It's been announced, and a few people have already asked me about it, so I figured I would mention it here.
I have been invited to be Guest of Honor for Midwest Furfest 2008 this November.
I was very excited to accept, and will enjoy the chance to run a few panels (on both art and exotic animals) and join in on convention activities.

If you don't know what I am talking about, please check their website at : http://furfest.org/

They've got a fantastic theme this year, 'North to Alaska' - I look forward to drawing lots of caribou, snowy owls, moose, bears, and other arctic type critters. :)

And, with that, have some art!

Icon for Alpha_Ki

Icon for Orzel

Full ACEO for Alpha_Ki

Larger version of the painted icon. A birthday gift for my friend Orzel!

A quick sketch for Lyenuv. I was happy for an excuse to draw a frowny frog. :)

I'm trying to finish up with my last few commission pieces and get a bunch of things done around the house. Been busy as all heck lately. I could definitely use an extra pair of hands. They need to figure out biotech things faster. If only I could be Dr. Octopus.

One Sketch Commission

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:14:49 GMT

Nevermind. :) Taken!

Happy Valentine's Day!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:25:36 GMT

I know it's a day early, but have some love anyways!

For my sweet potato. :)

If you don't get the reference, check out this link. It's an addictive song. :)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4378b_mika-lollipop_music

Post FC Art Pile

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:31:02 GMT

For the January anthro sketch exchange. Beaucerons are such cool dogs!

A commissioned badge for the great guys at Sofawolf Press.

A commission for Orange04 of her magpie character.

Badge commission for Arch Teryx.

A joke badge of a very uniquely colored kitsune. ;)

A collaborative piece between Thornwolf and myself - she sketched the image and I painted it.
A wolf, rambling through a field of oats, meets a horse. “Look,” says the wolf, “Here is a fine field of oats, which I have saved just for you. I shall greatly enjoy the thought of such a fine friend enjoying such a fine feast.” The horse replied, “If wolves could eat oats, my fine friend, you would not have indulged your mind at the cost of your belly.”

There is no virtue in giving away what is useless to oneself.

I came back from FC with the con crud, I have a pretty nasty case of the flu that has kept me curled up in bed for the last few days. I really hope it passes quickly, I have so much to do and things to get caught up on around here!
This FC was most likely my last. I'm pulling away from the furry cons, I just can't afford the time for them anymore. I will try to keep MFF since it's within reasonable driving distance from me, but that will depend on how things are going that time of the year. I will really, really miss seeing friends at the shows but I'd rather visit outside crazy con-hours anyways. :)

Many, many thanks to Wes who saved my butt with rides to/fro SFO and showed me an amazing time, the Blotch duo who as always are the best to hang out with, and Louve - who is a wonderful roomate and great person, even sans pants. ;) Thorn - it was great to get to hang out with you and I hope I can come visit you eventually. I got to meet a lot of great people at the show and will be very sad not to go again next year. To everyone who stopped by and said hi, thank you!!

Foxes foxes foxes

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:37:39 GMT

Shiva playing in the living room.

Dancing shamelessly for a treat.

Can't catch me!

Little fox on a loveseat!

I'm doing well. Scrambling to get ready for FC, which is coming up way too fast. And working on a giant secret project with Mbala. Yeah!

First of many... Fennec Video!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 15:19:00 GMT

It's very short, but full of cute. Mbala and I have been videotaping the fennecs a lot and will put together a nice video of their behaviors sometime soon. :)

And a Happy New Year!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:47:42 GMT

Click to see my holiday 'card' for the year. :)

Here's to a great 2008!

Happy Holidays!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:49:57 GMT

"Chien Noir" - a custom wine label I made for holiday gifts inspired by the famous 'Chat Noir' poster.

For my dad - a custom beer label featuring his two previous K-9 cop partners, Hondo (the brown shepherd) and Sam (the black). The back says, "Man's best friend from man's best friend. Cold, refreshing, and even better than a partner who looks good in a collar." ;)

Another gift label, for a bunch of cat lovers in the family.

A gift for crowebasalt and her husband Adam. :) Miss you guys!

A commissioned holiday badge for Berg the polar bear. I love, love, love drawing bears!

This past month has been incredibly hectic, but yesterday was pleasantly relaxing. Mbala and I had all of the gifts printed and ready to go so that we could just leave in the morning and enjoy the day. I also made homemade kolaches from scratch (apricot ones and strawberry cheesecake) - they turned out delicious! We brought Preacher with us for all the family adventures and he had so much fun. My aunt and uncle have a black standard poodle that looks a lot like Preacher with a perm. It was so much fun to watch them tearing across the huge yard, bounding through the snow and hopping over each other.
We also found another stray husky (apparently now a christmas tradition, we found one last year, too) - luckily the owners contacted the police a few hours later and we didn't have to drag her around anywhere.
My parents bought Mbala and I a video camera, which makes me incredibly happy. Now we can take videos of the critters and upload them online. Fennecs, crows, toucans, snakes - YouTube here I come! ;)

I am very much looking forward to things getting back too less crazy... err, 'normal' now. I still have some commissions to finish painting and I need to get ready for F.C. but I feel like, with the holiday insane deadline gone, I can breath again.

I'm actually looking forward to catchup and cleaning! This was the first x-mas and now new year's that I haven't had to work on the day before and of in eight years. Oof! I'm not religious and I don't really celebrate, but it's really nice to have the time off.
I'm also looking forward to the new year - I feel like I've made a lot of headyway into last year's artistic resolution (to learn to paint better) and that I can really push myself for 2008's goals. :)
I hope that everyone who celebrated had wonderful holidays!

Christmas Crazy!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:04:58 GMT

Last minute christmas card image for Horsefeathers Farm.

Plunking away at commissioned badges. :)

Icon for glddaisy - Full pic under cut.

Commissioned badge for Weremoose. A moose character, how cool is that??

Commission for peachcat001 of her cheshire kitty, dancing!

Quick silly sketch for GldDaisy.

Last Days before the Holidays!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 21:56:44 GMT

The last few days are here to order for holiday/christmas delivery! We have lots of handmade, one-of-a-kind pendants ready to send, as well as t-shirts and other items. :) Please take a look! Check out our new, interactive tagua shop!

What it means to be 'Wild'.

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:16:14 GMT

I work with exotic animals, and one of the questions I am asked most frequently has to do with their suitability as ‘pets’. To make things perfectly clear, I don’t consider any non-domesticated animal to fall into a proper category of being a ‘pet’. However, I am not against keeping exotics in captivity. Some of them, anyways. Let me explain.
I strongly feel that living in the wild, living ‘free’, is highly glamorized. People seem to get the idea of noble animals, striding through the forests and jungles, playing, loving, roaming where they wish. Not so. ‘The Wild’ is a very harsh and unforgiving place. Parasites, starvation, competition for food and mates, the elements, habitat destruction, predation and many other factors make life extremely difficult for wild animals. They are often slaves to their stomach. Granted, animals are generally well adapted to live in the environments they inhabit and they have many instincts built in to deal with these realities. When displaced into captivity they still have these instincts, unlike a dog or cat; they have not had thousands of years and generations to make that shift from ‘wild’ to ‘captive’.
In captivity, when properly housed and cared for by educated, experienced individuals, many creatures thrive. Food magically appears on a regular basis, there are no parasite loads to carry – the best medical care available, often mates without searching/fighting for them, warmth/comfort, a steady territory, etc. There are benefits to living a captive life. Yes, there are drawbacks. It is a double-edged sword. But some animals have made the choice themselves (arguably dogs and domestic cats) that the restraints of captivity are worth it when it comes to the comforts that living with humans provides. Some people even go so far as to say dogs are one of the most effective species, biologically, next to humans because of the relationship they have formed with us. We care for them, breed them, keep them and as a species they thrive. The wolf’s legacy will live on, intertwined with humans – which you have to admit (despite all the destruction we cause) we are a very successful species. The biological meaning of life is to survive and procreate.
I worked for many years in wildlife rehabilitation. It always made me really sad when a young animal was put to sleep because of an injury since it was unreleasable – though it was still young enough to be imprinted and could have enjoyed a long life in captivity. But a whole lot of people think an animal is better off dead than captive. Having worked with these animals, I beg to differ in many cases. Some animals do NOT do well in captivity. They show awful, self-destructive behaviors, pacing, etc. But many more creatures than people would think settle in nicely to the routine of regular food and contact.
I am not saying that keeping wild animals is great and everyone should do it. It takes a lot of dedication, knowledge, time and money to provide proper care for them. But if no one had taken in that first wolf or wild cat, we wouldn’t have the domestic companions we enjoy today. And life in captivity isn’t THAT bad ALL the time. It’s the generalizations that really get to me.
I could share many stories of rescued wildlife or exotic pets that thrive and have wonderful lives, being cared for by humans. And many stories of animals that came into the center in atrocious conditions from enjoying their ‘wildness’. And vice versa, really. It is part of why I got out of being so heavily into wildlife rehabilitation – to many people who devote themselves to that, the joy of releasing an animal back to its natural habitat is the zenith of their work. To me, educating people, interacting with animals, studying them, and working towards conservation and knowledge through captive efforts is where my passion lies. The sad truth is that most of the wild places are being destroyed at a truly alarming rate and it will come down to the choice, for many species, to live in captivity or not at all. Animals’ environments change over time. The climates change, species either adapt or die out. Captivity is sort of an environment change – just one that we have control over.

What do you think? Do you think a thriving life in captivity is better for an animal, or in the same circumstance extinction if it cannot inhabit its traditional habitat? Do you think a wild animal can ever be ‘happy’ living a captive life?

Daily Dose of Fennec.

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:16:32 GMT

Look at the pouty fox lip!

Indra loves the hammocks, he rolls over upside down in them when I come into the fox room. Fennecs have such bulgy eyes and funny faces. ;)

Just hanging around!

And Tikka bathing on our kitchen windowsill. Shake shake shake!

Manbuddies!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:54:05 GMT

Friends, they aren't just for women anymore. ;)
This is from a recent Mayo Clinic Newsletter, it made me laugh and I just had to share.

The more you know... ::rainbow::

And more art...

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:16:53 GMT

Snarly badge commission for westly_roanoke. I love drawing the snarlies!

Commissioned arctic fox badge for Wind-Dancer. I think this is one of the most girly pictures I've ever done. :)

ACEO for wolfyu of her dragon character Sherowkey.

Back to painting badges!

Art!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:58:28 GMT

Sketch commission for the wonderful lanakila of his eagle character educating an audience about his friend the red-tail hawk.

Part of a fun series of stereotypical animals for the MFF art show. It was fun to see all the little pieces hanging together!

The other two pieces ocean-themed pieces done in collaboration with skulldog. I sketched these, she colored them. The originals (these two and the river dolphin) are for sale, email me if interested!

Quick sketch for rayndancer for this month's sketch exchange!

MFF!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 10:41:44 GMT

I am now back from MFF and Chicago. It was a good show. It was great to see friends and meet many new people. I brought my new pendants there and sold out many of them. I'll be posting photos of those as soon as I can sit down and take some.
Had a really nice dinner at a brazilian grill (aka endless meat-on-a-stick) place with goldenwolfen and ssantara, got to hang out with skulldog who is full of awesome and her guy Kam. Ate really good japanese food with crowebasalt and her husband aikou_bakudan and some of their friends as well as westly_roanoke, Crocuta, and the Blotch unit. Had really good chicago deep dish pizza. We roomed with screwbald which was lots of fun. Cons are so full of crazy. There's the traveling, set up, dealer's room hours, parties, food, and way too many awesome people. :) Missed kyoht but understand about traveling so far and doing the shows like this... I don't think Mbala and I will do them much longer, either.
After the con kenket and blackteagan came out to visit. We had amazing slumber parties, eating lots of rainbow colored licorice, ice cream, and playing drinking games to 'Blood and Chocolate'. Yesterday they kept me company while I cooked all day and made a massive Czech meal - goulash, potato dumplings and bramboraky (potato pancakes). Mmmm. Unfortunately I had to work last night so they had to have fennec fun time with mbala but without me. I wish we lived closer! They also taught me to play backgammon, which was fun. Mbala and I will have to buy a board. I can see how it's so addictive.
Today Ket and Teagan are heading out, and Mbala and I are going to do the familyish Thanksgiving thing. I feel very energized from hanging out with friends. :) I have a lot to do, though - lots of conbadges and a few small commissions, and work for F.C. which is coming up fast.
Have some new art and photos to post, when I get the time!
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi at MFF and sorry I didn't have more time overall!

MFF Craaaazy!

foxfeather@foxloft.com — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:47:56 GMT

Sea Otter and River Dolphin
Two little ACEO paintings - collaborative works between skulldog and myself - she sketched, I painted. :)
This will be in the MFF artshow.

A graphite badge commission for bandrik of his happy, upbeat fox character.

Been going a bit crazy getting ready for MFF. Partially because I decided to renew my entire stock of tagua pendants, which meant polishing and preparing over a hundred pieces of tagua. I also have the new style art pendants... which I will post pictures of when I get back (just didn't get the time to do it before hand!)
Matting, framing, packing, oh my!