Talenshi - Birds & Magical Books

@talenshi.bsky.social

1555 Followers 1493 Following

She/ her Next events: STL Ren Fest & KC Ren Fest (at the same time, full run for both) Illustrator, maker of magnetic refillable journals & magical wearable leaves. ✨ https://www.talenshistudios.com ✨ Contact: karen@talenshistudios.com

My hand holds a mini bookmark showing an eastern bluebird in a dogwood tree. The bird says "vote 2026" and is surrounded by an ornate frame. Text on the backs of the bookmarks reads "Missouri election dates 2026, Feb 3rd, Mar 3rd, April 7th, Aug. 4th, Nov. 3rd." The back is not laminated, so you can cross off passed dates if you want to.
A bookmark I drew as a vote reminder. It shows an eastern bluebird in a dogwood tree surrounded by an ornate frame.
Our Renaissance festival booth
My drawing of an 'Apapane from Hawaii, wearing glasses with a white, gold, and purple outfit and carrying a little sling bag. Text: again august 2025 day 6: 'Apapane, Talenshi, procreate, 2025. Talenshi Studios
My booth at anthrocon 2026. We decorated it more like our Ren faire tent!
Donna, sleeping in her basket on my desk.
Meccha chameleon player hidden in a potted plant in front of a brick wall. Player name is Birb
A green, yellow, and tan colored leaf wallet shaped like a sycamore leaf. It has a brown strap loop and a decorative silver button with brown waxed cotton cord. Background is a stream and lush plants. We make these from cork leather. They have zippers on the back. The wallet size holds credit cards, ID cards, earbuds, etc. and the coin purse size is great for earplugs, coins, trinkets, and cash.
Purple poppy mallow flower with a tiny grasshopper looking over the edge on the top left
Purple poppy mallow flower with a tiny brown grasshopper in it.
A very tiny bee enjoying prairie clover
Little doodle of a long bird with lots of legs. Birdopede.
My hand holding a green oak leaf shaped coin purse (zipper on the back), in front of lots of other leaf shaped coin purses and wallets hanging on my display.
A pair of brown and white domestic geese with three goslings swimming in a pond
Our booth at the Tennessee Renaissance Faire
Solin, the barn swallow, posing as justice in tarot. He's wearing armor and holds the blindfold of justice under his perching foot, with the other foot on his sword. He's in a mulberry tree with early evening stars behind him and a bright disk behind his head. I don't think justice should be blind.
Witch hazel leaves with cone galls on them.
Photo of ground ivy flowers
Very rough composition sketch. A magpie silhouette casting a spell using a staff is in the upper right. Their staff is pointed into a well below and to the left of them, with carved designs on it. Surrounding the well are numerous blue crystals, and around those are many different silhouettes of magpies. The whole scene takes place in a domed cathedral.
A black billed magpie casting a spell using a staff is in the upper right. The spell is directed into a well with carved birds on it. Surrounding the well are numerous blue crystals, and around those are many different types of magpies, all dresses as mages. The whole scene takes place in a dreamily lit cathedral and one large magpie stone statue can be seen at the top left. Illustration title: The Mage Priest, by Talenshi, Photoshop, 2021
Yellow false indigo flowers and leaves in front of a clear blue sky
Our cat, Donna, loafing on top of the couch
Our cat, Donna, curled up on our big bean bag with sheets over it.
My hand holds four oak leaf shaped pouches made of cork fabric. They all have brown straps, decorative metal buttons, and faux suede cord tied around the strap and button. Left to right the colors are Nebula, Red/ Orange, Galaxy, and Green/ Yellow. The background is leaves and vertical tree branches. Zippers are on the backs of the pouches. This size is good for holding keys, money, earplugs, and other small trinkets. Hang them on a belt or bag to expand your pocket space!
A black billed magpie casting a spell using a staff is in the upper right. The spell is directed into a well with carved birds on it. Surrounding the well are numerous blue crystals, and around those are many different types of magpies, all dressed as mages. The whole scene takes place in a dreamily lit cathedral and one large magpie stone statue can be seen at the top left. Illustration title: The Mage Priest, by Talenshi, 2021 Watermark text: Talenshi studios
A design I created in collaboration with my partner, which mirrors the seal of the united states. I drew this by hand in procreate. A loggerhead shrike, with its head turned to our left and wings open to each side, carries a blue ribbon in its beak. The shrike also holds a spear with its feet, the point of the spear on our right has torn through a bag of coins to let them spill out (representing putting and end to greed). Nightshade is held with the spear in the bird's foot on our left, and represents transformation and change. The shrike has an orange halo with a star motif in it, and yellow flames behind that. Surrounding the bird is a wreath of olive leaves, representing resilience. The ribbon held in the birds beak has text reading "resistere pro multis," a Latin version of the large text surrounding the olive wreath. The large text reads: Resist, in defense of the many. We chose a loggerhead shrike because while they are small songbirds, they use spikes, thorns, barbed wire etc. to help them prey on creatures as large as mice. They are resourceful, whimsical, and fierce.
My hand holds a small ginko leaf zipper pouch made of cork leather, with the back facing up and keys sticking out of the open zipper. It's great for holding keys, coins, earplugs, tiny pretty stones, etc. (I got random keys from a hardware store for my photos.) background is a stone ledge over a stream.
My hand holding a green ginko leaf shaped zipper pouch with a brown strap and silver decorative button. Background is my sewing machine with the needle and presser foot on the left.
Photo of the back of a ginko leaf shaped zipper pouch on my sewing machine. The bobbin thread ran out one inch past the end of my seam.
My drawing of an ostrich looking down at a small gray bird on the ground who looks up at the ostrich, startled. The ostrich is wearing giant leaves as a cloak, and has neck and leg warmers. Rocks on the ground are bouncing into the air from the ostrich's heavy footsteps. signature: talenshi
Our bird OCs looking cheerful: Front: Solin the barn swallow, standing on one foot with the other on the pommel of his sword. He's wearing leather armor with a red scarf. Middle/ Left: Penchin the rockhopper penguin. She holds a spear with a blade made of magical ice in one flipper and wears a padded gray armor. Back/ right: Bolivere the black vulture stands with one wing held slightly out to the right and holds a scroll in one foot. He's wearing a teal scarf and belt, a blue and gold tabbard and a backpack with a scroll and feather pen poking out.
Chickadees are alarm birds, alerting other birds to threats. You'd do well to listen to them. (Art by me, Talenshi) My artwork: A decorative arched window that frames an angry chickadee perched on a vertical stem and yelling "vote April 7th.” There are bits of straw colored grass below the bird. The sky behind the bird shifts from pink at the bottom to blue at the top with stars. Watermark text: Talenshi Studios Signature text: Talenshi
A digital illustration of an outdoor scene with autumn birch trees on the right, a stream flowing quickly from right to left, pine trees and snowy mountains in the background in front of a darkening sky filled with stars. in the foreground on the right there is new growth of ferns and ground cover. The scene is meant to show all four seasons. A black and white dog runs to the left along the stream, and a yellow dog leaps off a rock over the stream while looking back to the right. This was a pet portrait commission I did in 2017 in photoshop. watermark text: Talenshi Studios
An illustration of two characters in a kitchen from a children's book by me and my partner, Justin Melendez. An orange tabby cat wearing a white business shirt and tie is getting a cling-wrap-covered plate of cheese out of an open refrigerator on the left. there are drawings and magnets on the closed freezer door. a counter and cupboards with a teal backsplash are behind the fridge door. to the right of the counter on the floor, are the cat's water and food bowls. a little girl with her hair in pigtails, wearing a green sweater and jeans stands in the doorway to the kitchen gesturing to the cat's bowls and looking exasperated. The drawing and shading were done in colored pencil on tan paper, then the art was scanned and colored in photoshop. From "The Little Orange Man," a book based on a little song we used to sing to our orange kitty, Tiger. Watermark text: Talenshi Studios
My hand holding a sticker printed with my daydreaming bunny artwork. A calico bunny standing on their hind legs, holding a little spiral of green vine, and looking up to the right. They are wearing a blue, green and yellow shawl with an intricate decorative pattern and a light blue cap. There is a decorative golden disk behind their head. Art by me, talenshi
Peregrine Fables: Two creatures that are hybrid sable/ peregrine falcons- one is flying while holding a fish, and the other perches on a fence post. pink and purple flowers and green leaves are at the bottom of the image, with petals blowing in the wind. the background is simplified clouds. watermark text: talenshi studios Painted by me in photoshop, sometime in Feb 2017
My hand holding a sticker featuring my illustration of a fawn with a fledgling robin on their back, hiding in dense foliage. Decorative text reads: “Leave Trans Kids Alone." Signature text under the artwork reads: by Talenshi Studios. The background is fake yellow flowers and foliage in front of a wood panel. Watermark: Talenshi Studios- Works by Karen Swartz and Justin Melendez
Drawing of our OC, a stylized young lesser yellow headed vulture named Lizbeth. She is mostly brown with some light cream baby down tufts. She wears a teal scarf and holds a green wreath of woven flowers in her beak. She is facing to our left and holding one wing out. Signature: Talenshi
My hand holding the strap of a green oak leaf zipper pouch made of cork fabric. The background is a hedge in winter
A green jay perched on the end of a sweet acacia tree branch, holding a glowing sweet acacia flower in their beak. A blue jay holds onto the branch further down and shows interest in the flower. Both birds are dressed in cloaks and the green jay also wears a breastplate and a hat with a long thin feather in it. They are surrounded by foliage and glowing flowers. This is the color comp I made for this piece- I'm still working on the final image. Made in procreate. Watermark text: Talenshi Studios
A photo of my hand holding an apple pencil above my iPad screen where I'm working on the face of a green jay holding a yellow spherical flower by its stem. The bird is wearing a tan hat with some beads on it, and a green cloak.
Our cat Donna curled up on a black and white soft blanket.
Donna, our cat, curled up on the end of a big beanbag in our sunroom. You can see the top of the corrugated plastic wall we set up in the bottom of the photo. She's in cat jail for three weeks after having radio iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism.
Chickadees are alarm birds, alerting other birds to threats. You'd do well to listen to them. Trans rights are human rights! (Art by me, Talenshi) My artwork: A decorative arched window that frames an angry chickadee perched on a vertical stem and yelling "trans rights now!" The speech balloon is drawn like a stained glass window with clouds and stars. There are bits of straw colored grass below the bird. The sky behind the bird shifts from pink at the bottom to blue at the top with stars. Text below the artwork reads "by Talenshi Studios" Signature text: Talenshi
A green jay perched on the end of a sweet acacia tree branch, holding a glowing sweet acacia flower in their beak. A blue jay holds onto the branch further down and shows interest in the flower. Both birds are dressed in cloaks and the green jay also wears a breastplate and a hat with a long thin feather in it. They are surrounded by foliage and glowing flowers. This is the color comp I made for this piece- I'm still working on the final image. Made in procreate. Watermark text: Talenshi Studios
My artwork: A decorative arched window that frames an angry chickadee perched on a vertical stem and yelling "trans rights now!" The speech balloon is drawn like a stained glass window with clouds and stars. There are bits of straw colored grass below the bird. The sky behind the bird shifts from pink at the bottom to blue at the top with stars. Text below the artwork reads "by Talenshi Studios" Signature text: Talenshi
a small yellow and orange ginko leaf zipper pouch hanging on a stick in front of some trees
Our cat, Donna, climbing on top of my head. Her back feet are on my right shoulder and her front paws and head are on my hat. I'm laughing really hard while she purrs up a storm. She climbed all the way into my head shortly after this, but I didn't have the camera ready before she lost her balance and went back to my shoulder.
My illustration of a blackburnian warbler laying on their back and eating an empanada filled with bugs and berries. They are leaning against a tree root, and are surrounded by lush ground cover, on a sunny afternoon in a dense forest. To their right are a second empanada on a cloth and a pickaxe on the left and behind the bird sits a basket filled with blue crystals. One white butterfly has landed on a crystal, and another sits on a leaf in the lower left of the image. Text at the bottom: Talenshi, procreate, 2023. Watermark text: Talenshi Studios, works by Karen Swartz and Justin Melendez
a small green/ yellow (black oak) leaf zipper pouch hanging from my fingers in front of a hedge in winter
My drawing of a black hawk eagle in a cute blue outfit, sitting on a pillow. She holds a hunk of bread in her right foot and gestures with her left. She seems to be in the midst of a pleasant conversation. A plate of food and mug of ale sit in front of her.
The shrike: A design I created in collaboration with my partner, which mirrors the seal of the united states. I drew this by hand in procreate. A loggerhead shrike, with its head turned to our left and wings open to each side, carries a blue ribbon in its beak. The shrike also holds a spear with its feet, the point of the spear on our right has torn through a bag of coins to let them spill out (representing putting and end to greed). Nightshade is held with the spear in the bird's foot on our left, representing transformation and change. The shrike has an orange halo with a star motif in it, and yellow flames behind that. Surrounding the bird is a wreath of olive leaves, representing resilience. The ribbon held in the birds beak has text reading "resistere pro multis," a Latin version of the large text surrounding the olive wreath. The large text reads: Resist, in defense of the many. We chose a loggerhead shrike because while they are small songbirds, they use spikes, thorns, barbed wire etc. to help them prey on creatures as large as mice. They are resourceful, whimsical, and fierce. Signature text: Talenshi Studios
Two Luna moth engraved wooden notebooks and a Luna moth sticker. Small white flowers in the background. The notebooks show a Luna moth on grass that has gone to seed with a moon and stars in the sky. The border features moon phases. All art by me. We made the notebooks too.
Bottom row 1: my drawing of Browt, a small yellow bird that is a grass type starter in pokemon wind and waves. They are all yellow, with dark brown belly and legs, and bright green leaf eyebrows and green beak. 2: My drawing of what I think Browt's middle evolution could look like- a fluffy yellow bird with big green eyebrows, green beak, green flight feathers, green tail, and a green seed pod on their chest. Their feet, brood patch, and throat are dark brown. Browebo is loosely based on the summer plumage of the willow ptarmigan. Awebo! 3: My drawing of what I imagine Browt's final evolution could be- a big, puffed up bird, striding forward with wings out and vine tail curled behind them. They have a dark brown face, belly, and legs/ feet; yellow body feathers, and green flight feathers, tail and leaf eyebrows. They have six green seed pods on their chest. Browbeat is loosely based on the greater sage grouse. Top row has the shiny versions, where green is replaced with red and orange, and yellow/ tan are replaced with white/ gray Awebo!
Left to right: 1: my drawing of Browt, a small yellow bird that is a grass type starter in pokemon wind and waves. They are all yellow, with dark brown belly and legs, and bright green leaf eyebrows and green beak. 2: My drawing of what I think Browt's middle evolution could look like- a fluffy yellow bird with big green eyebrows, green beak, green flight feathers, green tail, and a green seed pod on their chest. Their feet, brood patch, and throat are dark brown. Browebo is loosely based on the summer plumage of the willow ptarmigan. Awebo! 3: My drawing of what I imagine Browt's final evolution could be- a big, puffed up bird, striding forward with wings out and vine tail curled behind them. They have a dark brown face, belly, and legs/ feet; yellow body feathers, and green flight feathers, tail and leaf eyebrows. They have six green seed pods on their chest. Browbeat is loosely based on the greater sage grouse.
A purple notebook engraved with my luna moth design in lavender. It depicts a luna moth (top view) with wings spread, perching on a stalk of grass that has gone to seed. the background is a field of that grass. a crescent moon and stars are in the sky. There is a luna moth caterpillar in the bottom right, crawling on the design's border. The border is decorative and has moon phases in the four corners. The notebook has a brown spine and a purple bookmark ribbon coming out the bottom. the background of this whole image is a close up photo I took of some mushrooms on the side of a mossy stump.
My digital artwork of an eastern bluebird family gathered at a bird house. The house is decorated with gold and blue stars and the birds are wearing scarves, hats, earmuffs- one has a purple backpack. There are swirling designs in orange around the entrance to the bird house and around the birds on the roof to represent the feeling of "home." There is a decoration and a wind chime hanging from the bottom left of the house. Snow swirls all around the scene. Art by Karen Swartz/ Talenshi Text at the top: "Keep Minnesota Housed: #keepMNhoused" Text at the bottom: "ICE is still terrorizing Minnesota, and people need help making rent so they don't lose their housing. Visit KeepMNhoused.com to adopt a rent or donate to rent funds!"
A loggerhead shrike, with its head turned to our left and wings open to each side, carries a blue ribbon in its beak. The shrike also holds a spear with its feet, the point of the spear on our right has torn through a bag of coins to let them spill out (representing putting and end to greed). Nightshade is held with the spear in the bird's foot on our left. The shrike has an orange halo with a star motif in it, and yellow flames behind that. Surrounding the bird is a wreath of olive leaves, representing resilience. The ribbon held in the birds beak has text reading "resistere pro multis," a Latin version of the large text surrounding the olive wreath. The large text reads: Resist, in defense of the many. We chose a loggerhead shrike because while they are small songbirds, they use spikes, thorns, barbed wire etc. to help them prey on creatures as large as mice. They are resourceful, whimsical, and fierce.  Signature text: Talenshi Studios
Screenshot from Merlin. It picked up calls from American woodcocks, Canada geese and killdeer in Weldon spring, Mo on Feb 22nd around 6:20 pm.