TIHB Blogging...

…Has come to a temporary standstill. We'll keep you posted.

Announcement: So Long, Blogger. Hello, Tumblr!

After a brief trial period, we have decided to part ways with Blogger. Our new blog home is at Tumblr (http://ihummingbird.tumblr.com).

We're still moving in and trying to tidy up but we are officially up and running.

Website Update: Latest Design, February 23, 2011

Latest Design:
Royal Sapphire Garden Bracelet

Meet the latest addition to our Crystal Facets Collection. This one-of-a-kind piece is made with lampwork glass, fire polished Czech glass, and accented with Swarovski crystals. Strung on professional grade jewelry wire. Decorative metal-on-metal brushed gold toggle clasp. Heriloom quality.

Website Update: Studio Sneak Peek, February 23, 2011

Studio Sneak Peek:

Moisturizing Lavender Bath Bombs. Relaxing, soothing, moisturizing. Perfect for a relaxing soak in the tub after a long exhausting day.

These bath bombs are all natural and handpacked. Made with real lavender flowers.

We hope to have these in our Etsy store soon.

Website Update: Latest News, February 23, 2011

News: Hard At Work

New designs, new projects, upcoming events...it's been busy here at TIHB. So many new things happening and brewing that it's overwhelming and exciting at the same time. Unfortunately, we can't divulge too much here but be prepared to see new things in our horizon soon!

Our Favorite Picks: Dragonflies

Dragonfly: Odonata Epiprocta Anisoptera. An insect characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body.[1]

A bit mysterious, quiet, and a little eerie in appearance, the dragonfly has been the subject of many different forms of art throughout the passage of time. Its physical appearance draws visual interest; it is an usual looking member of the insect family. The dragonfly's elongated torso flanked with large, transparent wings and large eyes makes this creature look imbalanced but yet it travels about with ease and grace. Its attention seeking vibrant and often iridescent colors captures our interest as it flies by while hunting a tasty mosquito dinner.

Flying Dragonfly Tabletop Fountain

By Art Matters

The dragonfly represents power and poise. This may be derived from its amazing physical skill. It has the ability to move in all six directions. Moving at a rate of 45 miles an hour, the dragonfly can hover like a helicopter, fly backwards like a hummingbird, fly straight up, down and on either side. It can do this while flapping its wings 30 times a minute, while mosquitoes and houseflies need to flap their wings 600 and 1000 times a minute respectively. The dragonfly has 20 times as much power in each of its wing strokes when compared to other insects. It is no wonder why the Samurai use the dragonfly to symbolize power, agility and victory.[2]

Entomophobics, fear not. Dragonflies are harmless to humans. In fact, they are beneficial insects, preying on the insects that pester mankind such as mosquitoes and flies. They also help keep the bee and ant population in check.

Strong, agile, and helpful. Beautiful, timid, and graceful. The dragonfly is a creature that is loved, admired, and immortalized in art (a small, minuscule fraction of which has been compiled below. Enjoy!)

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Dragonfly Lantern

By Achla

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(Excerpted from The White Company) 

“Clouds of insects danced and buzzed in the golden autumn light, and the air was full of the piping of the song-birds. Long, glinting dragonflies shot across the path, or hung tremulous with gauzy wings and gleaming bodies.” 

~ Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr.

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"Dragonfly In Night: Necklace, Design No. One"

(Black onyx art glass, chocolate suede cording)

By Artist Linda M. Lee

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Pond Surface

Gossamer on wind

Wings flit taking unseen paths

Dragonfly flies by

~A haiku by Taomaster Frank

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Japanese folk song "Red Dragonfly"

(From the album "Water of Life")

By Insight In Sound

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The Dragon-fly 

Today I saw the dragon-fly

Come from the wells where he did lie.

An inner impulse rent the veil

Of his old husk: from head to tail

Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.

He dried his wings: like gauze they grew;

Thro' crofts and pastures wet with dew

A living flash of light he flew.

In its eyes are mirrored

far-off-mountains

Dragonfly!

~Alfred Lord Tennyson

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"Dragonfly In Night: Necklace, Design No. Two" (Rose quartz & Swarovski crystal handcrafted pendant and necklace) By Artist Linda M. Lee

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Short Story: Dragonfly

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions. Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend was dead, gone forever. 

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top. When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying. 

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed. Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended. But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!

~Author Unknown

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"Dragonfly In Night: Phone / Purse Pendant"
(Swarovski crystal & black onyx art glass)
By Artist Linda M. Lee

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A Dragonfly

Your delicate wings rapidly beat the air

The sleekness of your weightless body hovers

Curiously observing as though you care

Steadily searching for lifelong endeavors

Do you bring a message of a tranquil destiny?

Does your evolving maturity convey wisdom?

If I follow, will I find harmony or perplexity?

As you disappear… I am serenely lonesome

~Theresa Ann Moore

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Techie dragonfly
(8GB USB Flash Drive Pendant)

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Dragonfly, Dragonfly

Dragonfly, dragonfly,

Please don't pass me by

Wait with me a little while

Whilst I look, wonder and smile

You, my poetic inspiration

Maybe even for Da Vinci's invention

Did you teach the planes to fly?

You lovely, lovely dragonfly.

I can see you poised and still

On the leaf, and thus until

Blazes the kind summer sun

Until coldest winter has begun.

Branch,pond, flower and breeze,

Wait a while with me now please;

We shared the silence, but now

You've flown onto another bough.

~Rani Turton

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Dragonfly Oasis Plates

By CNI Designs

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Dragonfly; For I Follow

Your colors glisten, promoting your beauty

Your wings; prosperous and gentle, alike

I want to catch, capture, hold onto; forever

I seek you day and night, always by your side

Heart stills with your absence

~ Gregory Reed

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Tiffany Dragonfly Auto Stick Umbrella
By Galleria

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Silent Noon

Your hands lie open in the long fresh grass,

The finger-points look through like rosy blooms:

Your eyes smile peace. The pasture gleams and glooms

'Neath billowing skies that scatter and amass.

All round our nest, far as the eye can pass,

Are golden kingcup-fields with silver edge

Where the cow-parsley skirts the hawthorn-hedge.

'Tis visible silence, still as the hour-glass.

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragon-fly

Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky:

So this wing'd hour is dropt to us from above.

Oh! clasp we to our hearts, for deathless dower,

This close-companioned inarticulate hour

When twofold silence was the song of love.

~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti

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Handmade Vegetable Glycerine Soap

By Primal Elements

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Blue dragonfly photo from http://razorfamilyfarms.com/simple_living/pilgrimage-of-the-heart-part-two/


References

1. ^ Wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly
2. ^Dragonfly-Site.com http://www.dragonfly-site.com/meaning-symbolize.html

Learning Life: Why Does TIHB Blog?

Red Flowers Over Pink Flamingos

(Fine Art Prints & Posters)

By Artist Linda M. Lee

New to the world of blogging? Read blogs but never understood the real concept of it? According to Wikipedia, a blog is "a blend of the term web log," and is "usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video…..Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic."

Orchid Upclose
(Fine Art Prints & Posters)
By Artist Linda M. Lee

Just about everyone seems to blog these days. Some use it as a way to vent. Others write with the hopes of beginning a new lucrative blogging career. Some people use it to privately journal daily life. With all of these blogs out in cyberspace, why does The Iridescent Hummingbird need to blog? To understand that, one needs to understand the essence of The Iridescent Hummingbird.

The Iridescent Hummingbird is a group of multi-medium artisans with an insatiable passion to create art in any form. We believe that art is an essential part of life. Art is everywhere; some easily seen, others need to be coaxed out of the shadows. Painting produces art. Jewelry making produces art. Cooking produces art. Music produces art. Perfuming produces art. Writing produces art. Organizing a closet produces art. If it affects the senses, emotions, and intellect, then we believe it is art.

Shadowed Heaven
(Fine Art Prints & Posters)
By Artist Linda M. Lee

So why does TIHB blog? To share our thoughts, ideas, and passions. It is another creative avenue for us. We blog about what captures our attention and about what moves us. We  want to inspire others to look and approach life in new ways. We want people to see that not everything is as it seems and to take nothing for granted.

“To a true artist only that face is beautiful which, quite apart from its exterior, shines with the truth within the soul.” ~Gandhi

“Everyone is gifted but some people never open their package.”

Orchid in Glass 
(Fine Art Prints & Posters) 
By Artist Linda M. Lee

“The secret of life is in art.” ~Oscar Wilde

Up Above the World So High
(Fine Art Prints & Posters)
By Artist Linda M. Lee

“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” 
~George Bernard Shaw

Sunset Allure III
(Fine Art Prints & Posters)
By Artist Linda M. Lee

“All art requires courage.” ~Anne Tucker 

Awaiting Sunset
(Fine Art Prints & Posters)
By Artist Linda M. Lee

“True art is characterized by 
an irresistible urge in the creative artist.” ~Albert Einstein

Pillows to Heaven
(Fine Art Prints & Photos)
By Artist Linda M. Lee