Power & Magic

So you say she's just a horse....
You don't understand what
Stands before you

You have not wisdom
You have not trust

She is honor
She is freedom
She belongs to only her
She is Magic
She is Power

Stronger than the wind
More precious than gems
No mere mortal should dare touch her
For she is divine

One with the mountains
One with the ocean
The forest is her sanctuary

It is there she finds refuge
You can see her true form
With faith alone believe with your heart
Only there does the Unicorn live

author K.Davies

Size: 8 x 10 canvas (not framed)
This item sells for $300.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

New Friends

I’m in the barn with sister Lu

We like to romp and play

We find lots of things to do

And sometimes trouble finds its way

As we roll and tumble and roughly sway

A vision of mysterious shapes come our way

New friends that might want to play

I’m not sure what these are upon the hay

They seem so small but I wish they would stay

We stared for quite awhile as they strolled by

But what really caught my eye was a sound I never heard

A bark that seemed to be slurred

As we chased them to and fro

A flurry and chatter they bestowed

Our new friends seemed to be nervous

And but for a moment slowed

So Me and Lu with nothing else to do

Watched as they scurried down their path

In wonder if they would soon come back

Author: Pauline Libutti

Size: 8 x 10 canvas (not framed)
This item sells for $200.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

Magic Eyes

When you were small faith was an easy task

Adventures await just beyond the looking glass

I wish upon you 'Magic eyes' that saw the world filled with rainbow skies

Every touch was pure and oh so new

The world's cruel truth unknown to you

Unquestioned trust, you would place your hand in mine

And blindly follow me through the ends of time

With 'Magic eyes' you would look upon my face

Innocence alive within that perfect place

Seasons past and time is now old

Flowers wilted and the air has turned cold

You look at me but can no longer see

The hero you once saw in me

Heavy heart and broken smiles

River of tears that flows for miles

I watch you as you silently slip away

And try and hold onto you another day

Alas, winter's bitter winds float upon a tongue of lies

Stealing all that is innocent from within your 'Magic Eyes'.



author Donna MontoyaRauh

Size: 8 x 10 canvas (not framed)
This item sells for $475.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

Imagination

Let thoughts and images cascade to your mind,

Creativity of wonders now coil and bind.

Take forth your eyes, inspire the senses,

Imagine a scene, establish no fences.

We take the true path into a starlit enigma,

Hear the magic, smell the mist, feel the stigma.

Brew does the storm not of natural cause,

For this cyclone is of the brain no longer with flaws.

Connected are ideas into mind's maze,

Thus starts the journey's front lining phase.

On we move to summon pure thoughts,

Where dreaming begins and we open the lots.

This great gift we have to create worlds unspoken,

Do the undone, tis our mind's free token.

Escape from reality, dive into vacation,

Arrive in a new world known as IMAGINATION.


Author unknown

Lil' Angelica

When God calls little children

to dwell with Him above,

We mortals sometime question

the wisdom of His love.

For no heartache compares with

the death of one small child

Who does so much to make our world,

seem wonderful and mild.

Perhaps God tires of calling

the aged to his fold,

So He picks a rosebud,

before it can grow old.

God knows how much we need them,

and so He takes but few

To make the land of Heaven

more beautiful to view.

Believing this is difficult

still somehow we must

The saddest word mankind knows

will always be "Goodbye."

So when a little child departs,

we who are left behind

Must realize God loves children,

Angels are hard to find.


author unknown

Size: 8 x 10 canvas board.
This item sells for $400.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

Forgotten Dreams

How the flights of fantasy

can bewilder some.

How it can capture loneliness make it flee and run,

And turn the tables inside out,

The cry into a shout,

Can make the unexpected fun,

The expected cease to come.

Yes! Strange that path of fantasy

makes happier the mind,

Makes brighter, lighter, the joy within

which rings and sings and climbs.

Flights can come and flights can go

and flights can come between

and you'll find that I'll be riding there

where the forest meets the green.

Yes, I'll ride the wings of fantasy,

of wonder, love and light,

And I'll ride them here,

and I'll ride them there,

through the winding paths of night.

And I'll sing to you of that rainbow high

Of its lovely, lofty light,

Of those wonderful, enchanted Isles

That I dream about through the night

By Linda A. Copp

Size: 8 x 10 canvas board.
This item sells for $400.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

Egyptian Queen

My Egyptian Queen
On an oasis high
Across a wide blue ocean
Lets cross that divide

My desire seeing your face
Surely something I can't hide
Like Mark Anthony's love for Cleopatra
I can't get you off my mind

Like your face on our coins
Your beauty something that can't be defined
The darkness of your eyes
I want to be lost inside your mind

Like a mystery in a pyramid
You are the mystery I choose

I am not like all the others
Who are abusive and confused

I am not someone dubious
I'm not evil, I'm not mean
I want to kiss you and adore you
I want to worship you my queen

Mystery (egyptian cat)

After the pyramids and the kohl painted eyes, almost nothing evokes more awe and mystery than the fascination ancient Egyptians had with cats.

They were not only the most popular pet in the house, but their status rose to that of the sacred animals and then on to the most esteemed deities like no other creature before them.

Cats domesticate the ancient Egyptians

Although no one can pinpoint the time exactly, we know that the cat was domesticated in Egypt, probably around 2000 B.C., and that most modern cats are descendants of the cats of ancient Egypt. One reason it is difficult to say precisely when domestication occurred is that the ancient Egyptians did not distinguish between wild and tame cats in their descriptions of them. There was one word for cat-and that was miu or mii, meaning "he or she who mews."

Wind Dancer II

The prairie blows the grasses
And whips the horse’s mane.
They travel, horse and rider,
Through the sea of amber grain

Hills roll by, and clouds pass
But steady are the horse’s hooves
Upon the wind blown grass
As they travel, horse and rider

There is no trail that they follow
No path that can be seen
There they travel, horse and rider
Upon the endless blowing green

Peaceful is the valley
where the Indian maiden walks.
In morning skies above her
a Raven soars and squawks.

The village of her people
lies quiet and serene
as her moccasins trudge narrow paths
through meadows lush and green.

She knows ancestral spirits
will protect her and will guide
as the trail leads her much higher
along the mountainside.

Size: 8 x 10 canvas (not framed)
This item sells for $350.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

Dragon Goddess

Much unlike a mortal

Who hurts the ones they love

A dragon's love is forever

And as pure as a peaceful dove

So she fights for the rights of dragons

She fights for their freedom to fly

She would give up her last breath of living

So these beauties may take to the sky

No wonder they love and adore her

They protect and nourish and feed

For she is their Dragon Goddess

And to love and protect is her life's deed


author Caroline Cichocki

Size: 8 x 10 canvas (not framed)
This item sells for $250.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

Goddess of Wisdom

Drink a Cup from Cerridwins Caldron
The Holy Grail of Immortality

A Cup to the Wise, the Poet, the Bard
So the words be not Forgotten

Hail to thee Great One
Who stirs the Caldron of Death and Rebirth

Brother Wolf trots at thy Heel
To sing thee his Mournful Song

The Seasons Change with thy Hand
The Corn ripens with thy Smile

Both Ends of Fate are thy Domain
Both Life and Death feel thy Hand

The Garden Path knows thy Tread
Mother , in Natures Green Dress

The Alchemist Deep in his Lair
Knows too your Loving Kiss

Great Mistress of the Hearth of Life
We Hail to Thee this Night

May We Drink ever Deep
Of Thy bounty of Wondrous Light

Size: 8 x 10 canvas (not framed)
This item sells for $200.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

Joey (ferret)

If I had to pick but one thing to take across the sea


I think I'd pick a ferret to go along with me

A ferret is more precious than any other thing

They can make you feel complete and get your soul to sing

And when that ferret and I Set sail across that sea

We'll fear no squall nor storm Together strong we'll be

A ferret is more grounding than an anchor or a rope

He can make you safe, secure and fill your heart with hope

When I've crossed that sprawling sea and stepped out on new land

I will not be a stranger there I'll have my ferret in hand

A ferret is more rewarding than the treasures of that sea

It can give you wealth through love your spirit rich and free

If I had to pick but one thing to take across the sea

I know I'd pick a Ferret to go along with me


Author unknown

Size: 5 x 7 canvas (not framed)
This item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters

Bird of Paradise

The bird of paradise is closely related to the bowerbird and crow and belongs to the family Paradisaeidae. There are 43 species, 35 of which are confined to New Guinea. There are 3 species in the Moluccas and several species of the less spectacular riflebirds in eastern Australia. Spaniards in the 16th century coined the name bird of paradise when magnificent bird skins were brought to Europe aboard Magellan's ship, Victoria.

These are medium-sized birds, perhaps crow-sized, and are remarkably beautiful. They have strong feet adapted for perching, and bills of various shapes. The trailing plumes, short velvet-like feathers and beautiful collars are used by the male in their courtship dance. The females, in comparison, are very plain. The males have established territories where they dance for the females. The dances are as remarkable as the birds. Perched on a branch, the birds sway and crouch or stand erect, tilt forward and backward, some even hang upside down. Every species has its own type of dance.

Birds of paradise live in forests and frequent the high treetops or lower scrub. The open nest is built in tree branches and sometimes in holes. The female handles nest-building, incubation of the one or two eggs that are orange streaked with brown, and raising the young. The males are polygamous. Their diet consists of insects, worms, small vertebrates and also fruits and seeds. The voice is quite plain. The best known and most beautiful are the members of the genus Paradisea. The Great Bird-of-Paradise, Paradisea apoda, of Aru is a rust reddish brown on the back, the head is yellow, the throat is emerald-green. It has long tufts of golden-orange feathers on the sides. The two elongated central tail feathers are very thin. When courting it spreads its wings and hangs upside down.

Iridescent breast shield, golden whiskers, and six wire like crown plumes mark a Carola's parotia, a rarely seen bird of paradise.

Count Raggi's bird of paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) is found in the rain forests of Papua New Guinea, is known for its wild and frenzied dances done to court the drab females. Its coloration is fiery red, yellow head and green around the bill and a dark throat.

Size: 8 x 10 canvas (not framed)
This item sells for $200.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Freedom Flight

Throughout history and across many cultures, Eagle has been seen as a symbol of strength, ferocity, vision and endurance. Mythology abounds with tales of Eagle, from the Native American's Thunderbird to Eagle which tore at the liver of Greek Prometheus. The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), our national bird, is the only eagle unique to North America. The bald eagle's scientific name signifies a sea (halo) eagle (aeetos) with a white (leukos) head. At one time, the word "bald" meant "white," not hairless. This great bird has also come to be the symbol of several nations, such as the Double-Headed Eagle of Poland and the American eagle. (Over the objections of Ben Franklin, who supported the Turkey as the national bird.)

Eagles are renowned for their superior vision. The wedge tailed eagle can see twice as well as a human. The rods and cones of their eyes are concentrated in the top portion of their eyes, so that their best vision is from above, looking down. They must actually turn their heads upside down to view the sky above. As with other raptors, a protective shelf above their eyes helps to shadow their vision from the sun.

Attacking in a swift dive, which can reach speeds of up to 100 M.P.H., eagles grasp their prey in long talons. Bald eagles subsist mainly on fish and waterfowl, while the golden eagle's diet tends toward rabbits and other rodents. Generally their prey is smaller than they, however a South American harpy eagle was seen carrying a 13 lb sloth, and a bald eagle was once recorded as carrying a mule 15 lb mule deer fawn. Bald eagles will also steal food from ospreys and other birds.

Eagles are not social animals, and the main family group is generally the breeding pair. They build nests high in trees or on the edges of cliffs. Bald eagles return to the same nest every year, adding sticks each time. The largest recorded nest was 9.5 ft wide, 20 ft deep and weighed over 2.9 tons. Although eagles usually lay a clutch of 2 or 3 eggs, often only one is raised. Hatching over a couple days time, the smaller, younger chicks often starve, or are killed by their larger nest mates. Because of this, eagle populations are slow to grow, and slow to bounce back from ecological threats.

Many species of eagles are presently considered threatened or endangered. The bald eagle population was nearly wiped out (down to 700 known breeding pairs in 1974 in the contiguous 48 states). Since the ban of various pesticides including DDT, and severe laws concerning poaching and nest disturbance, they have climbed to a present number of 4,500 breeding pairs. Presently the Harpy Eagle of South America and the Philippines eagle are considered extremely endangered as well.

Size: 5 x 7 wooden plaque

The item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Lost and Found

New-born elephants are born with an incredible mass of 77-113 kg. But they weight only 4% of an adult female's weight and only 2% of an adult male's.

New-borns may consume 11.4 litres of milk a day. Young calves commence weaning from the first year of life until the tenth year of life

The brain of new-born elephants are 30-40% of the size of that of an adult. Mothers allocate care and interact differently depending on the baby's sex.

Infancy is a fascinating time for all species. In the case of the elephant life cycle, it is early childhood that is most captivating. The new-born enters this world at an incredible mass of 77-113 kg, with a height of about 91 cm at the shoulder, and unbelievably may consume 11.4 liters of milk a day.

The young calves are tended not only by their mothers, but also by other females of the herd. There are many eyewitness accounts of the females in the herd gathering around to welcome the new-born. Within minutes of the birth, the mother and other females trumpet, rumble and scream, oozing temporal secretions down the side of their faces. During these initial minutes the mother also attempts to help the new-born rise to its feet. This is a matter of survival since the new-born must stand to drink its mother's milk. Without this necessary food, the calf is sure to perish.

The elephant is an amazingly social creature. This particular period in development can be viewed as extended social contact. Also, it is clear evidence of the well documented fact that it plays an important educational period for elephants while their brains develop and they learn important survival and cultural knowledge.

Size: 5 x 7 wooden plaque

The item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Look Out

The Toco toucan is at home in South America's tropical forests but recognized everywhere. The toucan's oversized, colorful bill has made it one of the worlds most popular birds.

The 7.5-inch-long (19-centimeter-long) bill may be seen as a desirable mating trait, but if so, it is one that both male and female toucans possess. In fact, both sexes use their bills to catch tasty morsels and pitch them to one another during a mating ritual fruit toss.

As a weapon, the bill is a bit more show than substance. It is a honeycomb of bone that actually contains a lot of air. While its size may deter predators, it is of little use in combating them.

But the toucan's bill is useful as a feeding tool. The birds use them to reach fruit on branches that are too small to support their weight, and also to skin their pickings. In addition to fruit, Toco toucans eat insects and, sometimes, young birds, eggs, or lizards.

Toco toucans live in small flocks of about six birds. Their bright colors actually provide good camouflage in the dappled light of the rain forest canopy. However, the birds commonly keep up a racket of vocalization, which suggests that they are not trying to remain hidden.

Toucans nest in tree holes. They usually have two to four eggs each year, which both parents care for. Young toucans do not have a large bill at birth”it grows as they develop and does not become full size for several months.

These iconic birds are very popular pets, and many are captured to supply demand for this trade. They are also familiar commercial mascots known for hawking stout, cereal, and other products. Indigenous peoples regard the bird with a more sacred eye; they are traditionally seen as conduits between the worlds of the living and the spirit.

Size: 5 x 7 wooden plaque

The item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Time Out

The white-tailed deer is an herbivore—it eats plants. Deer graze on tree leaves, broadleaved herbs, and berries in the summer and acorns, grass, and herbs during the fall. During the winter, deer munch on white cedar, twigs, nuts, fruits, and corn and in the spring deer eat grass, wheat, and alfalfa. Deer have a four-chambered stomach that allows them to digest these plant foods. They gobble up their food quickly and hardly even chew. Later as they are resting, they cough up their food and re-chew it—so much for table manners.

In the wild, white-tails, particularly the young, are preyed upon by bobcats, mountain lions, and coyotes. They use speed and agility to outrun predators, sprinting up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour and leaping as high as 10 feet (3 meters) and as far as 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound.

Size: 5 x 7

The item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Shepherd of Eternal Life

He lives under sky and stars. He abides in the fields and feels the dew of heaven like an animal, yet he himself must be watchful and aware. Like a ruler, who must represent both the one and the many, the shepherd is a threshold dweller with one foot in the human world and the other in the animal world. The Israelites were herders and their relationship to their flocks offered them a rich metaphor for God’s relationship to them. The shepherd also became symbolic of the ruler, at once powerful and humble. As the shepherd is wiser than the sheep, watching over them and seeing to their welfare, so should the ruler be far-seeing, because God, who is ruler of all, sees everything.

The shepherd preserves the flock.
The ruler preserves the nation.
God preserves God’s creation.

Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!

He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honors him the most.

Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way.

You provide delicious food for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as your guest; blessings overflow!

Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with you forever in your home.

-- The Book (Tyndale House Publishers)

Shepherd of Eternal Life

Size: 8 x 11
The item sells for $50.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

The Enchanted One

This is from the RiverRock Critters Fantasy Collection. This has been hand painted on a 8 x 10 wood plaque. It sells for $50.00.

The unicorn is a mythical creature. Strong, wild, and fierce, it was impossible to tame by man. Plinie, the Roman naturalist records it as "a very ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its body to a horse, with the head of a deer, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, a deep, bellowing voice, and a single black horn, two cubits in length, standing out in the middle of its forehead."

Powers

It was traditionally believed that a virgin who was naked sitting beneath a tree could only catch the delicate unicorn. The unicorn, who craves purity, would be irresistibly drawn to the girl and lie down with his head in her lap. While it slept, the hunter could capture it. If, however, the girl was merely pretending to be a virgin, the unicorn would tear her apart.

Throughout the stories of the unicorn, its horn, the alicorn, is said to have great medicinal powers. In Ctesias’ writings, the dust filed from the horn was supposed to protect against deadly diseases if mixed into a potion. Or, if you drank from the horn, you would be protected against any poison.

Symbol

Its white coloring made it a natural symbol for purity, chastity and virginity. The horn of the unicorn was the weapon of the faithful and of Christ.

The mythological unicorn was a symbol of chivalry with qualities befitting this status, proud and untamable.

Wherever else they may have come from,
Unicorns live inside the true believer's heart.
Which means that as we can dream,
there will be unicorns.

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters.com
Copyright 2008 CraftyCritters Newsletter

Gone But Not Forgotten

This is a painting I did for my son's girlfriend who lost her dog just a few days ago. It has been hand painted on a 8 x 10 wood plaque. Anyone who has had a pet knows it has to be the hardest experience to let go and move on. Gone But Not Forgotton is a tribute to all the pets who have crossed over to the RainBow Bridge.

Request From the Rainbow Bridge

Weep not for me though I am gone,
Into that gentle night
Grieve if you will, but not for long,
Upon my soul's sweet flight.

I am at peace, my soul's at rest,
There is no need for tears.
For with your love I was so blessed
For all those many years.

There is no pain, I suffer not,
The fear now all is gone.
Put now these things out of your thoughts,
In your memory I live on.

Remember not my fight for breath,
Remember not the strife,
Please do not dwell upon my death,
But celebrate my life.

(author:constance jenkins)

If you have lost a furry friend I would gladly do a portrait in their honor. Please contact me by email if you have any questions or concerns.

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters.com
Copyright 2008 CraftyCritters Newsletter