Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Last weekend I got to do my first, and probably only, serious star gazing for the year. Oregon isn't exactly known for it's clear skies. I must admit that is one of the few things I miss about being a country girl, on those rare clear nights laying on the back deck listening to the creek rush by and watching the stars. As soon as it got warm out I would drag a mattress out there and spend a large number of the summer nights sleeping under the stars. The Perseid Meteor Showers always fell around my birthday so there was a good number of those flaming rocks streaking through the inky blue sky, it always seemed so magical making dozens upon dozens of wishes in one night.

Image by Dan Pesznecker (my father) Taken on our trip to San Nicolas, Mexico 2009.

While camping I got to relive some of those moments from my childhood. Laying out in a grassy field with perfectly clear skies. We even got to watch a decent sized thunder storm off in the distance, an even bigger rarity in Oregon than clear skies. I was kicking myself for not bringing along my tripod so I could get some long exposures of the stars moving across the sky like my dad did while on our trip to San Nicolas, Mexico. It was wonderful getting to gaze up at the beautiful twinkling lights in the night that inspire me so much. If I can capture just a fraction of their beauty in this project I will be happy.

Image by Dan Pesznecker (my father) Taken on our trip to San Nicolas, Mexico 2009. Looking out over the horizon of the Sea of Cortez, watching the world spin.

Get ready it is go time

Well it is official I am now a quarter of a century old. Where on earth did this year go is what I would like to know. I got to celebrate with some wonderful people on Saturday, I had people there from all different times in my life, including a friend from kindergarten, it was amazing. I also discovered something this weekend, birthday parties are not only great for hanging out with your friends they are a great place to find models! As of today I have all 12 of my stunning ladies selected which means I can start the interviews. How exciting is that?

In other news I have also talked to a videographer who is going to help me document some of the process and help me get some amazing behind the scene footage of the shoots. I am so excited to see this all coming together.

With all of the players in place there is only one thing left to do and that is to get the funding to get this project off the ground. Stay tuned and see how your support can help bring this calender one step closer to becoming a reality.

Also "Constellation Cancer" was featured in another treasury I particularly like this one because there is a little something for every stargazer out there. I think I might have to get me one of those shirts.

My Birthday Month!

Yes that means we get to celebrate my birthday for a whole 31 days, I like to make the most out of these sorts of things. I started celebrating a little bit early this year by buying myself a ticket to Scotland and in doing so I decided to take a little look at the role constellations play in Celtic folklore. I found the story of Arianrhod the Celtic Moon Goddess who like the Greek Goddess Ariadne is associated with the constellation Corona Borealis.  Here is an excerpt from an article "Under a Celtic Sky: The lesser-known stories of the stars"In this article they make reference to Arianrhod and many other Celtic lore connected to the constellations.

The upper crest of stars
that spans the arms is
Corona Borealis

"To the Welsh, Perseus represents their hero Llew Llaw Gyffes, who was the child of Arianrhod (herself represented by the constellation Coronae Borealis). He was killed by his treacherous wife and her lover but, at the moment of his death, his soul turned into an eagle: Gwalchmai or the “hawk of May”. His uncle Gwydion searched for him and found him as the constellation Aquila after traversing Sarn Gwydion>, the Milky Way, and eventually restored him to life again. This story ties in with religious beliefs regarding the birth, death and re-birth of the sun from Celtic legends."




Corona Borealis is also referred to as Arianrhod's Castle as many references say that she herself was the moon and Corona Borealis was her palace also known as purgatory because it was there with her attendants that she decides the fate of the dead. She was the Goddess of childbirth, the moon, fertility and fate. 

A Magical Place Call OCF and a Giveaway!

Oregon Country Fair was amazing this year, there wasn't as much body paint running around as I remembered, but I think that was due to the fact that I took Saturday off from the fair to to work on a clients order. I have decided that one day I will be working a booth at fair instead of taking a day off to work! Having attended OCF for several years I have found it to be one of the most exciting and creative places and feel that I would love to be more than just a spectator at such an unbelievable event. As I said OCF is a place where I go to recharge my artistic battery and once again I walked away feeling inspired.
After a wonderful weekend at fair, it was back to the real world. It was an extremely busy week for me with lots of photos to edit and being moved to the front desk at the office. Despite the crazy week I managed to get 4 more of my models set. So just three more signs to go. I very excited to have such a beautiful team of girls to be working with on this project. I couldn't be happier.

 Now that models are picked it is time to start introducing them and I want to know, is there anything you guys want to know about theses gorgeous girls? I will be doing short interviews with each girl and I would love to hear from all of my readers what questions they would like me to ask them. You can post your questions here on this blog or on the Celestial Bodies Facebook Page. Everyone that submits a question will be put in the running for a 4x6 print of the Zodiac Constellation of their choice when the project is completed or the original "Constellation Cancer" featured on this blog. Contest will end a week from today on June 24th. Winner will be announced on June 25th.

The rules are simple.


1. To enter submit your question by commenting on this blog, or by posting on the link for this blog on the Facebook Page.


2. Only one submission per person (you are more that welcome to submit more than one question, but your name will only be entered into the contest once.)


3. Earn an extra Bonus Entry by becoming a follower of my blog or liking my Facebook page (if you have already done these things you will automatically be entered with your bonus entries) 

The dog days of summer

I woke up this morning and found my "Constellation Cancer" was featured in a beautiful summer treasury.



I am so happy it is finally feeling like summer here in Oregon. I love warm evenings where you can sit outside and watch the stars appear in the sky, although the clouds have settled in today so there will be no star gazing tonight.

Oregon Country Fair

Oregon Country Fair is this weekend in Veneta, Oregon and I am so exited. I look forward to fair every year, the amazing vendors, music, shows, food, but most importantly to the wonderful body painting on display all weekend long. There are some seriously talented artists and it is shaping up to be the perfect weekend for them, the warm the weather the more bodies they get to paint!
To see some awesome pictures from past fairs go here http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/photo_gallery.php

I have been chatting with a few local Portland body paint artists about the project, but I am excited to talk to some of the artists at the fair and possibly getting a little painting done on myself. If painting happens there will be pictures, so check back next week. Even if I don't decide to get painted I do plan on taking my camera to capture some of the OCF awesomeness to share with everyone. Fair has a way of inspiring an artist, with so many talented people surrounding you it is hard not to walk away with the excitement to go out and create. I am looking forward to the weekend as a creative recharge for me.

I think their website says it best.
"The Oregon Country Fair creates events and experiences that nourish the spirit, explore living artfully and authentically on Earth, and transform culture in magical, joyous and healthy ways."

Exciting News

The wonderful Astrologer Amy Herring has agreed to be a contributing author on the project. I met Amy a couple of years ago right before the release of her book Astrology of the Moon she was looking for a photographer to do her head shots and I got to be that lucky photographer! I always find photographing people to be fascinating, you get to learn so much about them and I learned that not only was Amy a wealth of astrological knowledge, but that she really loved her job. People who have a passion for what they do draw me in and make me want to know more about what they do. I had the opportunity after the shoot to get a reading from her, where I got a first hand look a exactly what it is she does. I learned that astrology is way beyond just the horoscope you find in the back of a magazine, and whether you believe in astrology or not the whole process was extremely interesting.

Of course when I started thinking about including an author to help add some interesting facts on the zodiac to the calendar, Amy was top of my list. We are still working out the exact details of what her part in the project is going to be, but I can guarantee what we come up with will be well worth reading. Keep an eye out in the near future for an author profile where you can get to know Amy a little bit better and learn more about her style of astrology.