December: Foxes and Tulips

December's block came about more quickly than I thought it would with Christmas cards and gifts, travel and everything else I was feeling way behind and like I really didn't have time to just create for me.  We were planning a trip to Philly for our friends Renee and Dave's Christmas party and we were going up early so that Wayne could work a couple of days at Dragonfly so I knew that I would have a couple of days by myself in the house so I planned ahead and painted my block and got everything ready that I needed to take along.  Above you can see the sketch of the background on the fabric and the fox on the interfacing before painting.   Below is the the piece after the pieces were painted, cut out and the layers assembled.    
The bottom photo is the finished block.  I am going to start with the Tulip for symbolism since in this piece it has more personal meaning than symbolism.  The tulip has many symbolic meaning with each color of tulip having it's own meanings.  The main meaning I found that included most of them was the tulip is a declaration of love.  December is a meaningful month in my life since in 1970 my brother, sister and I were adopted 2 weeks before Christmas.  What a present for my new parents they suddenly had a 1,2, and 3 year old.   Tulips have always reminded me of my mother because in Iowa they are often blooming around Mother's day and I would pick one to put in a vase for her breakfast in bed.  In the picture below you will find 11 tulips representing the day were were adopted.   

There is a lot of symbolism regarding the fox and there is no way I can include it all here.  When I found out that the fox was one of my animals and I read about what they mean I was surprised by how much of myself I could see in it.  First I will start with the basic meanings; cunning, slyness, stealth, observation and wisdom.  The fox teaches us harmony with our surroundings and that listening is often more important than speaking.  They also show us how to respond to situations by using the power of inner instinct and knowing.  I react to people largely on an instinctual level, going with what I feel is right.

 The fox has the ability to hide in plain sight and although I thought that I might do that unconsciously sometimes I wasn't sure until I talked to Wayne and he said that I definitely do that.  I think part of it is that in social situations I will often draw into myself.  Wayne has said that at a number of events someone has come up to him and ask him where I am and I am usually not far away right there but unseen.  I guess luckily Wayne always knows were I am.  

The fox lives in the between time of light and darkness and can look into both the physical and spiritual worlds. They are considered masters of camouflage and shape shifting.  Foxes are often considered guides to the Fairie or Spiritual realms.  They are connected to twilight and feminine magic.  It seems many of the things I chose are related to the feminine energies and also the boundaries between realms.  

The fox is closely related to the creative process,  if the focus stays on creative energies life's twists and turns can be accomplished with ease.  Some foxes can actually run up trees and those with the fox totem can move in new directions and call upon new resources instinctively.

Foxes are very monogamous and yet live alone about 5 months of the year (sound like a military spouse?)  They are often solitary and comfortable with that state most of the time.  People with the fox have a love of home, often have great tests in childhood and have great instincts.  They will avoid potential danger and will go out of their way to do so.  (That is so me when it comes to conflict.)