Northern Swan Creations

09/21/2026

Okay, all of my puffin fans.

I was practicing drawing a horned puffin the other night, and I noticed a little slit in the bottom of the upper beak near the gape (where they open their mouth).

Down the puffin research rabbit hole I went. 😂

Turns out, it’s a nostril! A single nostril is called a naris; the plural is nares.

Of course, I had to go look at other puffin photos. This one is from Pixabay and—sure enough—there it is.

How have I never noticed them before?!

It reminded me of a quote from Frederick Franck:

“I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen.”

And apparently, I had never really seen a puffin’s nostrils. 😂

09/18/2026

15 down. 9 to go.

The behind-the-scenes side of getting ready for a holiday bazaar.

Each wood slice gets prepped with watercolor paper, branded on the back, drilled, painted, finished, and eventually turned into one of my Alaska animal ornaments.

Right now, this is what 15 future ornaments look like from the back. 😄

Slowly getting there!

09/16/2026

After working on ornaments for the November Bazaar, I decided to clear off my desk for a fresh start the following session.

It was late in the evening and I still wanted to create. After browsing through Mr. Northern Swan Creations’ photos, I settled on a Dall sheep, pulled out my graphite pencils and a sketchbook, and started drawing.

I’ve spent the past few years painting from traced or grid-drawn images, but that has sometimes left me feeling like an imposter. As a child, I drew everything that brought me joy, and that’s where I want to return — to being able to sit in nature and capture what I see in a sketchbook.

This Dall sheep was yesterday’s practice. And this morning, with a little distance from it, I looked at it again and thought…

Damn. That actually looks pretty good. 😊

09/15/2026

Apparently I have a new studio supervisor. 🐦‍⬛

One of my artist friends gifted me this baby raven, and he immediately took up his position overseeing today’s ornament painting.

It’s been a bit of an up-and-down ride figuring out these ornaments, but I finally have the process sorted out. I also haven’t been sharing too much here because every time I do, I sell one—and I need some left for the holiday bazaar! 😂

So far, he seems mildly disappointed in my productivity.

Back to work…

09/12/2026

I think I might need to plan a trip to toss pufflings!!

Light pollution confuses and disorients seabirds around the globe, ...

09/11/2026

This morning, as I was sitting down to paint some more products for my November holiday booth, I was met with this….

Those two colors are what I used to mix my blacks and grays. Because the pigments are different sizes, they separate as the mixture dries.

And apparently, this time they separated into a little animal looking back over its shoulder. 🤣

I see a dog…or maybe a fox?

Please tell me you see it too. 😂

That gives people a tiny peek into why

09/11/2026

New in my Etsy shop!

“Where My Spirit Meets the Woods” is a handmade journal filled with Strathmore drawing paper—ready for sketches, notes, lists, or whatever you’d like to put on its pages.

Only one available in my Etsy Shop

09/10/2026

Mystery solved!

Those watercolor strips became hand-painted paper earrings. Each pair is cut from an original watercolor painting and then sealed with resin.

This pair is headed to my November Holiday Bazaar—with many more designs still to come!

Did you guess correctly?

09/09/2026

Oops. That didn’t go as planned. 😂

It’s been a while since I’ve worked with UV resin, and apparently in front of my window is not the place to do it.

Two little pieces lost their lives, but lesson relearned!

09/08/2026

Well… that escalated quickly. 😂

Yesterday, they were two little watercolor paintings.

Today? Respirator, gloves, resin and a UV lamp.

They’re getting closer….

Have you figured out one of the things I’m working on this week?