Last day + even more stretch goals unlocked! :)
over 1 year ago
– Thu, Jul 06, 2023 at 07:56:53 AM
Whew - we are at the last day! And I can't believe how far we have come! Last night, we unlocked yet another new god and today we unlocked his entire matching set. Ra is now a part of the collection!
Ra - the falcon sun god, was the first god, with whom all of creation came into being - said to have created himself from the water of the primordial void, he blossomed into existence on a lotus flower. He was the light that called into being all of creation by speaking their true names. Ra was the sun god, the god of gods, the father of gods and he embodied power, creation, and light.
At his core, he was the glorious sun god who came first into being before all else. His power was luminous and vital, the ever-glowing strength and fount of life. This is Ra as the creator god, the noonday sun, the unquenchable fire and power who brought life to all the universe. It was said that the Bennu bird represented Re’s soul - Bennu was the Egyptian phoenix - showing Ra’s soul as an ever-renewing fire of life.
Last Stretch Goal!
We have one last stretch goal to go! :) Atum is the last god in the series that I have painted so far - so if we unlock him, that will be a complete set of everything (until I paint more gods lol). I put Atum's stretch goal at $20k - and that will be to unlock everything! Bookcharms, pins, stickers, sets - all of it unlocks at the same time.
I've also added one last freebie stretch goal - also at 20k! If we hit 20k, I will add a free enamel pin of Aton to every backer's reward. Aton was very unusual for Egyptian gods, as he was the monotheistic sun god that lasted for a generation. It was forbidden to represent him as an animal or human - and so he had no other symbolism than the sun itself. I wasn't sure if he fits in the collection and if I should create a design for him at all. But then I realized I wanted to create a design for his sun disk and include it in a different way than the rest :) It seems fitting.
Whew - I think that's it for now - at least for the next few hours lol 😅 We've been going so fast this last little stretch and its so wonderful to see all the designs being unlocked! I think there is a very good chance we can unlock the last one today before the end!! Fingers crossed!
Nuit Unlocked! And last few stretch goals :)
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Jul 05, 2023 at 11:15:21 AM
Goodness - I woke this morning to see that not only did we reach the next stretch goal to unlock Nuit, we sped way past it, and are already almost at unlocking her complete deluxe set as well! I had thought with the holidays things would have been much quieter last night lol - but it was a very nice surprise <3 So thank you to everyone and welcome to the new backers!
Nuit is now unlocked!
She was one that I was a little nervous about how I would design her - as it felt challenging to make a cow beautiful and elegant. And yet, as soon as I started working on her, it felt so clear and effortless what her design would look like. I definitely didn't expect it, but she ended up being one of my new favorites for the series.
Nuit was an integral part of the universe to the Egyptians - she was the starry heavens, married to her counterpart Gebb, the god of the earth. The two were said to be so devotedly in love, that there was no room between them for existence and so their creator, Shu separated them, lifting Nuit far into the sky and laying Gebb low, far below. Though this separation created the space for life on Earth, it was a tragic separation for Gebb and Nuit. It was said that storms were the result of Nuit pulling close to reach her love.
Together, they had four children who are even more famous than them - Isis, Osiris, Nephthy, and Set. (Some Egyptian myths also credited her as the mother of Horus, instead of grandmother) Ra had forbidden her from having children on any day of the year, and so her children remained unborn within her, unable to come into existence. Thoth sought to help her from her plight and so in a game, he won 4 extra days of the year from Khonsu (the moon god of time). With these extra days, Nuit was able to give birth to her children who became some of the most important and powerful gods of Egypt.
What's next
I didn't know if we would get this far and yet, we sped through unlocking Nuit so fast, and have almost unlocked her second stretch goal for matching sets already. So it seems I should share that I have a few more stretch goals in mind to see what we can add in these last two days :)
There are only two gods left (well three - but more about that it a moment) that I have painted for my Egyptian Mythology series - Ra and Atum. Ra will unlock at $18,750 and his matching set at $19,500. And for Atum, I decided rather than spacing his goals out by 750 each like all the rest have been - I will add his stretch goal at $20k for both the bookcharms and the matching set!
And also, if we hit 20k, I would like to add another free bonus to everyone's rewards! :) At 20k, all backers will get a free pin of Aton added to their rewards.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to include Aton in this collection - as he very intentionally does not have an animal symbol. (It was forbidden to represent him as anything other than the sun disk) So I worried he would not be a good fit with all the animals of the collection. But I also didn't want to not ever create anything for him either. So I thought it would be fun to design a pin based on his very iconic symbol of the sun reaching down hands, on rays of light to offer life. And I wanted to include it as a free bonus for everyone :)
I am still hard at work on these last three designs and hope I can finish them before the campaign ends tomorrow night, but that is a breakneck speed for me lol even more than this campaign has already been - so fingers crossed. And either way, all designs will be finished in the next few days, long before the reward surveys go out, so you will have a chance to see all unlocked designs before choosing which ones you want. :)
Last Day!
That said - tomorrow is the last day and the campaign ends tomorrow at midnight (est). So if you are thinking of adding another design or two, you can until tomorrow night. And it might help push us to those last few stretch goals! Another way you can help us get these last few designs unlocked if you like, is to share the campaign. I've done my best to shout it from all the rooftops lol, but a few extra voices is always helpful!
And either way, I really just want to say how grateful I am for all of you and all the support and enthusiasm for this collection :) It means so much and as a creator, the support and joy for them gives me so much motivation to create beautiful things to share. I couldn't do it alone and I'm so thankful to be a part of this project with you <3
Now I better get back to work! lol love you guys!
Isis unlocked! :) Plus free stickers!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Jul 03, 2023 at 12:47:59 PM
I can't say enough how grateful I am for all the support you guys have shown for this project <3 Creating beautiful things is such a joy to me - but even more so, is seeing people enjoy and love them! So thank you for sharing in this project with me and sharing your enthusiasm with me :)
We've passed a few stretch goals in the last few days. All backers will now be getting a free 2-inch gold foil sticker with their rewards. I haven't completed the designs quite yet - but you will get to choose your favorite between Bastet, Anubis, and Thoth when the surveys go out later - and anyone pledged for $100 or more will get all three! So all backers now will be getting free bookmarks and stickers with their rewards :)
I'm also happy to announce that Isis has been unlocked! I know that she is a very well-loved goddess and was asked after by several of you, so I am glad to have the chance to add her to the collection.
I was initially unsure of what direction I wanted to go for her design. Though I had used a fish for her animal symbol in her painting, I really felt the right choice for her charm would be a hawk, like her sister Nephthys. I decided to follow my heart on the design - so for Isis, I chose the black-shouldered Kite - a small white kite that lives along the Nile. It felt important as well, that she was a white hawk, rather than a black one - as I see the two sisters of life and death as a duality. I hope you guys love the design for Isis, as I know she is very beloved <3
And though we are down to the last few days, I have another design almost ready - just in case we keep going like we have been :) The next goddess is Nuit - the goddess of the starry night sky. I have had fun designing all of these - but I'm really surprised how much I am loving Nuit's design so far. I can't wait to share her with you guys!
Lastly - I would love to know which designs are your favorite! And I'd love a little insight into what the numbers will look like for ordering the different bookcharms. So if you like - please comment on the Kickstarter and let me know which favorite gods and goddesses you are choosing!
Love you guys and thank you so much for all the support an excitement! <3
Wepwawet Unlocked! :) plus some extra freebies!
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Jun 28, 2023 at 11:08:51 AM
Goodness - we are still going strong <3 Thank you so much, everyone!
We've unlocked another design - Wepwawet - which takes us up to 14 different gods to choose from!
His bookcharms are unlocked - and we are on our way to the next stretch goal of unlocking all the matching pins, stickers, and set at $15k.
Isis -- As I mentioned in my last update (I wanted to reiterate since its something a lot of you have been messaging hopefully about) - I've added Isis as the next goddess in the stretch goals :)
Bonus Stretch Goal! -- In addition to that, I've added an extra stretch goal for bonus freebie stickers! It has been so amazing getting to grow this collection and add so many designs to the series - but I wanted a few stretch goals that were not just more designs to choose from, but were extra rewards and bonuses for all of you as a thank-you for all the support <3
These bonus stickers will be 2-inch, gold foil stickers. I will have three options to choose your favorite from - Anubis, Bastet, and Thoth. And backers pledged for $100 or more will get all three! This stretch goal unlocks at $15K - the same time that Wepwawet's deluxe set unlocks :) I don't have the designs quite finished yet, but will share them soon!
Pin Tiers -- Another update I wanted to share, is that I have added some more pin tiers for the pin collectors among us :) I saw that there were a few of you who backed for multiple pins with the pin-only tier, and I wanted to give you a way to get all the pins you want with some discounts for multiples, so I made a few more pin tiers for 5 pins, 10 pins, and 15 pins. This way you get some extra savings on getting multiples and are able to hopefully get all the ones you want!
Ok, I think that covers most of the bases for this afternoon :) love you and thank you so much for being a part of this campaign and making it such a success <3
More stretch goals unlocked! :) Akeru added!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Jun 26, 2023 at 04:50:27 PM
We're still going strong unlocking new designs!! :) I can't believe all the love you guys have shown for this project! It warms my heart to know that all these new deities are going to be added to the collection - and that they already have homes out there in the world in your lives (and books!) :)
We've unlocked both of the Akeru stretch goals!
So now he is available as a Bookcharm, as well as the matching pieces (pin, sticker, print). I wanted to share a peek here at the final design for Akeru, as well as the painting of Akeru. While I am focusing on the animalistic aspect of each god for the pin and bookcharm designs - for the painting, I focused on a more sphinx-like interpretation of Akeru, as the paintings are all meant to be cosmic portraits of the gods. In the paintings, each god has a cosmic symbol as part of their portrait, and Akeru's is the wormhole - the opening in space/time where you travel into the netherworld and emerge again through another gate (shown as the opening in space in their chest). Symbolically, this is one of my favorites of the collection - and I hope that he resonates with you as well!
Next up in the stretch goals is Wepwawet! :)
Though he is a less well-known god, he has a really interesting place in Egyptian mythology. Wepwawet was a death god similar to Anubis, but much older. Rather than being represented as a black hound or jackal, Wepwawet was represented as a white hound or jackal. Wepwawet was also more aggressive than Anubis and was a god of war - said to be the fastest spear of the pharaoh. Later in history though, as Anubis became more popular, Wepwawet was absorbed into the Anubis mythos and disappeared from Egypt.
This is one I am super excited to do - as my entire Egyptian mythology series of paintings began with a juxtaposition of these two gods in two separate paintings many years ago. It seems fitting now to finally create the matching design for him in enamel as well.
And, after Wepwawet, I decided to add Isis!
I know she is one that a lot of people are hoping to see and asking after - so I am happy to have finally figured out how to proceed with her, so I can add her to the series! I was hesitant about Isis because when I painted her, I decided to represent her as a fish - but that didn't feel right going forward as her bookcharm and pin design. Isis was quite the shapeshifter, and more so than any other deity I've researched so far, she took the form of so many animals. But over and over, I kept coming back to the Kite (a small hawk) as the central form she took. So I've decided to go ahead and design her as a Kite for the collection (specifically, the black-winged kite).
We still have 10 days left, so I think there is still time to get both of these designs unlocked (fingers crossed!) and who knows - maybe even more! lol
Thank you again everyone for all your support <3
