Saturday, September 1, 2012

My original "Birthing Pumpkin", and more, to kick off Halloween! Also, my obsession with oils

This was one of those pieces I made, I believe almost two years ago, that I will never duplicate (although I've been asked, and really, there are enough "spawns" out there, so I've been told ;-)). Like all of my wacked out ideas, it came to me out of the blue. Yes, I'm twisted, in case you haven't noticed! I haven't launched fully into making Halloween stuff just yet, but I'm slowly inching in that direction. Even my tomatoes are darker (Black Krims).

The bottom three pics are of my oils...essential oils, absolutes, CO2's, and fragrance. I got interested in making my own perfumes about a couple months ago. It's fascinating and fun, but not as easy as it sounds! There is alot that goes into making your own fragrance...top notes, heart notes, bottom notes...finding the right balance, etc. As you can see, I go a bit hog wild when something interests me, so my oil buying has been nuts. In one of those boxes is a vial of civet, which is extracted from the perineal glands of the wild mammal. It's used for musk notes. another vial contains castoreum, which is taken from the castor sacs of the North American Beaver. In other words, near it's asshole :-/. By themselves, they are NOT pleasant smelling, believe me...but when added judiciously in a blend, they add a real earthiness, which I adore. I'm not really a sweet fragrance lover. I tend to like chyphres, orientals, fougeres, etc. Oh, and I like the marine, "oceany" types as well.











15 comments:

  1. Whoops, I think spell check has struck again! I believe you mean barfing pumpkins. But then again the other would be extremely original :)

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  2. Nicole, you had it right- it's not spell check ;-)!

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  3. Hi Kiva, your work is always amazing!!
    I'm also a fan of essential oils (except of animal origin) among other things helping me to palliate muscle pain with good smell !!

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  4. unos trabajos impresionantes , me gusta mucho el bote con los peces,parecen vivos , y la primera calabaza a mi me da un poco de juju, pero es un buen trabajo , los tomates geniales y es divertido experimentar con cosas distintas , seguro que conseguiras buenos resultados

    besitos

    Mari

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  5. Thank you Maria!! I adore your dolls!! The civet and castoreum I have are synthetic copies of the real animal scents!! And they smell VERY animal :-O!! I can only imagine how intense the real thing is, because these are so strong!

    Hey, I've made some topical pain reliever with essential oils, too!! What do you use? I've also made something for my sinuses and aromatherapy for sleep and relaxation :-D. Isn't it great?? I love it!!

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    1. Have you tried the Po-ho oil Vogel (Switzerland) is a mixture of eucalyptus from Australia, mint, etc. To me is great for the muscles of the neck especially, also serves for respiration.

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  6. Mari, eres una muñeca - gracias! Me encanta hacer reliquia tomates porque hay tantas variaciones. Krim tomates son de la variedad negra, y son deliciosos!

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  7. Kiva you crack me up and your fabulous work blows me away :)

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  8. Wow that is one awesome pumpkin lol Your work is amazing. My daughter is also into oils and often makes me up something :)
    Hugs Maria

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  9. Aww Linda!! And your work always leaves me speechless!!

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  10. Thank you, Maria!! That's so cool- you have an in house apothecarist!!

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  11. O´oooo, I Love those fish...Your fish are so Gorgeous , Love, love love them! :)

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  12. Maria, I haven't tried that particular brand, but I have made muscle rubs with eucalyptus and mint!

    Ooooh, I just googled it and I see that they make inhalers, too! There is nothing I love more than the smell of Eucalyptus! It's like an aphrodisiac to me, he he.

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  13. Awww, thank you Kikka! Fish are my favorite!!

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  14. Hello Kiva,
    Quick question: What is the point of making halloween miniatures if they are not going to be twisted! that would just be wrong! I never thought of the work that goes into making oils and fragrances...something else to googl! I look at the wonderful work you posted, and I am confident when I say your ideas might be copied, but nobody can hold a candle to you!
    Big hug,
    Giac

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