Tarot Cards: Swords and Wands

I finally got a chance to work on some tarot cards this week! I got started on the Minor Arcana because I hit some roadblocks with the final few Major Arcana cards. I decided that I would hand draw all of the Minor Arcana because I simply do not have the time or resources to collage them all! This week I did cards one (ace) through ten in the swords and wands suits. They are kind of a hodgepodge of different card styles. Most of my inspiration was taken from the classic Waite deck and the Crowley-Thoth) deck.

Here is Ace through 10 in the sword suit:

And here are the wands:

And on a completely irrelevant note, I found this super cool Dooney & Bourke bag at the thrift store yesterday:

The seal thingy says it's "all-weather leather", but the outside is obviously fake leather (there is real suede inside). Why would they do that?? It seems silly. Anyways, I think it was a super good deal!

 Also, my friend Jessica got me some henna for my birthday, so we made some cool designs! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of Jessica's henna, but I did this design later on:

Here is what the finished product looks like. I could only leave it on for about 3 hours, but I like how it looks!

Also, would my tiny audience (yes, that means YOU!) like to see more thrift haul stuff? Let me know below!!

Rainy Days

It has been super dry here in Butte, leaving me with a sore throat and longing for a lazy, rainy day. I made this playlist of songs that I love to listen to when it rains (or anytime really).

I don't know much about proper playlist etiquette, but this one has multiple songs by the same artists. Is that wrong? I don't know... Anyways, enjoy!

Rainy Day from TheFlyingOkapi on 8tracks Radio.

1.Promise-Ben Howard
2.Storms in Africa-Enya
3.As We Pray-Fretless
4.Beat Your Drum Slowly-Peter Mayer
5.Atlas' Marker-Rickie Lee Jones
6.Seven Years-Norah Jones
7.New Slang-The Shins
8.Satellites-Rickie Lee Jones
9.Glosoli-Sigur Ros
10.Skeletons-Yeah Yeah Yeahs
11.Someday Soon-KT Tunstall

The last song on that playlist may very well be my favorite song of all time. But I really love all of them... maybe this should just be called "My Most Favoritest Songs Ever"!

If you have any trouble playing this, please let me know! It's important that I work out the kinks so it's as accessible as possible!


*Side note from future Robin: After I posted this playlist, it rained for 5 days. This confirms my suspicions that I am in fact a magical sorcerer.

Soul Patch!

While I was at camp, my friend McKenzie, Maggie, and I decided we very much needed to form a girl band. After some strong deliberation, we decided on the name "Soul Patch" for our group, after a special someone's facial hair.... Anyways, here are some "band portraits":

Thanks to Emily for taking these lovely pictures! It was lots of fun. And McKenzie- we have to get together and rehearse!

Also- I forgot to add this photo in the last post. Here is "Soul Patch" with Tim and Koady Chaisson. They are super cool and great musicians! Check out Tim's new album, it's really great!

Have a great day and remember: "Always be yourself, but if you can be a unicorn, always be a unicorn."

-Helen Austin

KLKP 2013

A few weeks ago, Maggie, Tom, and I left for a two-week musical adventure in Southwest Saskatchewan. Our aunt and uncle run an all-ages music camp there and we have been going for 5 years now. A week before the actual camp, they organize a camp specifically for kids and run by teens and young adults who work on their teaching and kid-management skills. Maggie and Tom went on as counselors and I got to work as an art intern with the director of art at the camp. It was a great opportunity and I learned a lot!

The kids had square dancing lessons every day!

 This is the final artwork display that the kids put on. There assignment was to create their own island country, complete with a map and a flag. I was so happy with how creative (and cute!) they all were.

The kids made block prints with foam and printed on canvas to create their flags.

This is the group Maggie was in charge of. I seem to have lost my picture of Tom's group!

After Kids Camp was over, we spent a few days in Forget Sask. (pronounced four-jay), where my aunt and uncle live. It's a really cool teensy-weensie town with a population of about 35. Most of the people that live there are musicians, so it's teeming with talent and creativity. They have their own summer arts festival, a music store, 3 venues for concerts, and regular jams and house concerts. It's a really great atmosphere! This, paired with my aunt and uncle's beautiful home with a jacuzzi and pool made it a lovely and relaxing few days.

I didn't get any pictures while we were there, but Maggie took some lovely pictures of the landscape!

The super flat farmlands in Saskatchewan are a big change from the mountains in Montana!

After our 3 days in Forget, we packed up and went back to Kenosee Lake for the start of the actual camp. It was a super fun time this year!! Maggie and I played fiddle and Tom played guitar. Our instructors were all incredible musicians and teachers. Tom had Ken Hamm, Maggie had Karrnnel, and I had J.J Guy. I would strongly reccomend checking out their websites if you are interested in traditional fiddle and/or blues guitar! Also, check out the website for KLKP to learn more about the camp and its wonderful instructors!

Again, I didn't take many pictures (heh heh... not thinking ahead...) So here is a random hodgepodge of photos that I happened to take:

Instructor concerts and other performances are held every night of the camp, followed by square dancing! (which is actually really fun!)

This is our lovely bunkhouse! Four of us (Maggie, Ashliegh, McKenzie, and I) stayed there. Home away from home!

My friend Emily's fiddle group, High Strung, performed one night. Emily is the one on the far right!

Maggie's fiddle group performing at the final concert

Some super cute baby birds!

A few more pictures from the trip are coming soon, and then I will be back to regular posts!