24.10.09

the bookfairy has landed...


well it took me all week, but i finally decided on the perfect place to leave Christine's gorgeous gift.  here on a park bench at George's Beach. i had thought about the war memorial, up on the hill overlooking the town and the ocean, or perhaps a bench on the boardwalk in town, plenty of people walk there every day.  and then today as i was driving back from the shops i remembered george's beach.  a gorgeous little peaceful place not far from where i live.  there's a carpark surrounded by gum trees and casuarinas line the grassy edge of the beach.  poeple come here to sit and each lunch, to walk their dogs, or their children -lol!  but what really made my mind up was this...

a few weeks ago now, a magnificent blue humpback whale, for reasons unknown, got wshed up on this beach.  it was an awesome, horrible and sad sad sight.  such a magestic animal, left high and dry in a world not his own (yes, i love whales). and it occurred to me, that it would be nice, or fair, or just to give something back to this place - to balance the universe a bit, to make peace.  something lost, something found.  equilibrium. balance.  give and take.  take and give.  so it is my hope now, that this book will fall into the hands of someone who really needs to read its words - and maybe not all would have been in vain...

i am alive...

i know, i've been a naughty blogger - but i am alive and haven't disappeared off the face of the planet.  it's just that life has been focusing my attention elsewhere lately.  life.   it twists and turns and takes unexpected lurches and leaps.  if you had told me 6 months ago that i'd be starting my own business, i would have laughed.  hysterically.  me, business?  but here i am.  starting my own small business.  emphasis on the word small, but a business none-the-less!  and it is exciting!  ex.ci.ting!  i'm really close to being able to show you my new brand/logo, header, etsy store and other yummy stuff...  after all - if i'm going to do this, i might as well do it properly don't you think?

so stay tuned, because in the not so distant future, i will be focused back on this space, and painting and creating and building and dreaming some more.  oh, it's all quite exhilarating really.  and i've even surprised myself in actually wanting to learn the business/accounting side of it too.  cool.

lots of love to you all - wherever you find yourself right now.  i hope you are following your passions too...

14.10.09

she brightens your day

about a week ago, an old friend of mine felicity, got back in contact with me and asked if i would be interested in doing a comissioned painting for her.  felicity is a miliner,and (you should check out her beautiful hats here) a dear friend of hers who also modelled many of her hats for her, is leaving town.  so felicity sent me a photo of Kate wearing one of her hats and really, the rest is history.  i've turned down a few inquiries about comissioned paintings before  because i've never seen myself as technically able to produce a likeness of another person.  but when i saw this photo of Kate with her hat - i knew i wanted to do it, and i knew it would be great!  and i've also given myself the freedom to produce a painting which doesn't have to be the exact likeness of the person either (that relieved alot of the anxiety!) so here's the photo that Felicity sent me of the gorgeous Kate... 




and here's my finished product...  I'm really happy with the outcome, and it's given me another boost of confidence in what i do.  That someone asked me to create something special for a friend is such an honour, and that they love it is very. deeply.cool... :)

12.10.09

some people really care a whole lot...


look what magical gift arrived in the post for me today...  when i opened the box to find this most stunningly - wrapped gift i was so in awe of it that i really didn't want to open it!  so i had to take a photo of it just to show what heartfelt lengths some people go to to make others feel special and loved...
 and here they are - the most beautiful pair of vintage earrings handmade by the lovely jennifer valentine... 
please go and check out her shop and all the wonderful treasures she has to offer - christmas is just around the corner - and these would be the perfect gift for a special bff, mum, aunty or sister... 

 
and i couldn't help but post these photos taken this afternoon in the fading afternoon light of miss chatterbox herself.  nope - she's not at all shy of the camera, can't you tell? 

hope you have a wonderful week.  i'm finishing off a commissioned piece of art tonight so hopefully will have something 'arty'to show soon.  thanks for stopping by, x me

11.10.09

true freedom


when Mr Happy (self appointed name) fell asleep on the lounge today, i asked Miss M what she would like to do with mummy.  her response?  'paint with your paints!'  how could i refuse?!  so she chose her own colours, and we sat together, and i watched her paint, and listened to her telling me all about it.  i even recorded some of it.  it is just so refreshing to listen to what children say as they paint - in the process, in the moment.  they are so free and so uninhibited.  they thoroughly immerse themselves in the pure joy of spreading paint.  the painting changed themes at least three times.  it evolved.  it morphed from one to another like clouds changing in the sky on a windy day.  first an elephant.  then a red sky, then... 'you'll just have to wait and see when i'm finished mum' 
then she found new colours which had to be used.  wait until one layer is dry and then paint righ tover the top. the rest of the day may have been bedlam, but this was a calm respite. 
have you painted with abandon today?
x me

10.10.09

wanting one of these...


oh.my.gosh - look at these!!!  this very talented lady makes cardigans, dresses and jumpers by repurposing old/other garments - how funky cool is this!

9.10.09

what matters most...


I'm reading a fabulous book at the moment called the gift by Lewis Hyde, and although i'm nowhere near finished it, it has started me thinking alot about our gifts and talents, and how they fit into our culture and collective identity.  i've been thinking about how we are each bestowed with precious gifts, (is cooking for my family a gift?  arranging a beautiful vase of flowers?  yes!) and must be good stewards of them - to use them wisely, but most importantly, to just use them.  it's as simple and as difficult as that really.  so this has been a bit of background to the words on this painting. for me, this journey has been( and continues to be) a wonderful and terrifying thing-especially to a) allow myself to do art (i'm not as good as them!) and to b) show anyone, and c) have someone actually want to hang it on their wall!!! so i really am trying not to look at all those amazing and talented artists out there with sooo much skill - because i believe there is aplace in this world for all types of artists, and creations. and it doesn't matter how good or talented you are.
 it matters most that you and i embrace it...


8.10.09

Through Her Eyes...



when miss moo was about 1, i decided that my sony cybershot camera just didn't cut the mustard.  it simply took too long to take the shot, and i always missed out on capturing the magic.  at the time my friend had a canon EOS400D which i played with, fell in love with and promptly bought.  i just love that what you see, you capture - no lag time...
so when Miss Moo wanted to start taking photos i handed her the cybershot and she's never looked back. here she is with me - taken on the cybershot, but here's a few of her own pics.  the world through Miss M's eyes...  I've deleted hundreds - i have had to be ruthless, but i so love seeing the world as she sees it.  and a big part of it is her little bro - dont you just love the faces!  and being caught red-handed (white faced) skulling a pot of yogurt whilst i was out hanging up the washing!

thanks for stopping by, x me

6.10.09

the magical powers of a sunny morning...

this morning i woke up and i was tired from the start.  i knew it was going to be a long day.  all i really wanted to do was to curl up in bed, wrap my doona around me and drift back into dreamy sleep.  but such is not the life of a mumma to  a 2 1/2 year old and a nearly-4 year old who like to wake up with the birds at 545 am...
so i dragged myself out of bed, staggered to the kitchen and made myself a milo.  recently our days have been pure heaven - sunny, breezy, perfect spring days.  the sort that should make you perpetually happy all day long even when someone cuts in front of you driving...  but i've been staying up late, and did i mention it? gettting up at 545,every.single.day.
but i dont want to be that drag-your-feet kind of person.  i want to be an up-and-at-em kinda girl!  so today i determined to kick the flesh into line with the spirit and i got us all organised for a walk to the beach.  now the beach is only about 200m from my house - but when you go with kids it becomes a small holiday.  towells - check.  water - check.  food-check.  sand play equipment - check. book - check.  mobile phone for emergency - check. dog-check.  hats, sunscreen and long shirts check, check check...

so off we trundled and within about 1 minute of being out in the sunshine i was instantly transformed from a drag-your-feet kind of girl into a click-your-heels kinda mumma!  it really was just what i needed.  and why (i continually asked myself) dont we do this every single day because this is just so magic- i dont know (NB if found asking this same question to self, re-read first para above).  and, well perhaps it could also be the fact that i have to push the two peeps in a pram up a very steep hill...   anyway...

i was so in love with the day and we were having such fun frolicking on teh beach and in the water that i completely fogot to take any photos until we started our walk home.  so here's my walk in reverse...

here's our own private lagoon - well, it was today!  When th etide is out - as in this morning, the reef forms a gorgeous protected swimming area just perfect for the kids and a dog who doesn't like swimming all that much.  did i say how perfect it is down here?  ...

here's my walking track along the beach...here's the two peeps in the pram that i push up the hill on the way home.  it's one of those that can get towed behind a bike, but i'm not sure what would be worse, trying to ride a bike up the hill, or pushing the pram up the hill...now this photo is VERY deceptive.  this is the hill, and trust me, it is a VERY STEEP HILL.  you cant see it - honestly, it is!and when you get to the top of the hill and turn back to face the way you've just come, this is what you see (facing due west off the coast)


and then facing due east - is the Chapman Valley - another beautiful sight - esp in winter when it's oh so green.  and my house is just down on the left about 50 metres or so...

so there you have it folks.  the evolution from lazy bed rat to life-lover in a morning.  thank you sun for saving me today!
thanks for stopping by, x me

4.10.09

She wears big hats...

i had a boyfriend once who gave me a small purple book of verse as a birthday present - i think the title was went something along the lines of " when i am an old woman i shall wear purple" .  i have had that book for many years and now, for the life of me, now, when i need it, i just cant find it anywhere!  but i love that title.  it reminds me that despite your age, your height, your weight, your colour of hair or complexion, or the size of your wallet, what's most important is just being the wonderful and beautiful you that only you can be.  and to do that without a care in the world, without worrying what other people may or may not say about you is the most important thing.  you know that positive poem curculating around - 'dance like no-one's watching, work like you don't need the money etc?' well if i could add one line to that i'd include:  
Wear big hats! 
be the wonderful, unique magical gift that you are to the world, and hold your head high.  be proud of your unique beauty and spread your special magic to others.  so there you go folks, a little bit of the inspiration behind this painting... 

and these two photos (below) show my first two prints framed and hanging on my wall.  i was so impressed with the quality of the prints.  it's very difficult to see it in the photo of course - but very crisp and clear - almost like having the real thing hanging on the wall!  so i'm pretty close to being able to print multiple copies of a few of the new paintings which is very exciting!  (btw - the frames were just Pixie Photo frames from Target - i think they look fine - what do you think?)  the printer down town uses very good quality long-life inks.  i'm pretty new to all of this - but the finished product look pretty damn spiffy to me!

well i hope you've managed to find some creative time in your weekend,  thanks for stopping by
x me

1.10.09

she shines from within and a dream seed...


i'm loving hats at the moment - can you tell?  having lived in the country on and off for many years, hats become both a necessity for life in the sun, and a symbol of fun and community when events such as race-round take place ( the annual horse-racing event).  some simple, some flamboyant.  hats, caps and fascinators of all sorts, i love 'em!  and i want to paint more more more!!!   so many ideas, and so little time...

have you been reading about Squam Art Workshops lately?  there's more about it here and here...and every person who went has posted wonderful dreamy magical stories about hteir time there, i could link them all.    all those wonderful posts about the time in the woods, the art, the creating, friendships made, continued.  the magic.  it sounds like a wonderful experience, so much more than an art retreat.  i would love to see something like that here - or in the south west.  wouldn't that be awesome?  for those of you reading this from the west coast of australia, you'd know what i'm talking about when i say the south west area.  i'm putting this out to the universe. let's have something magical here in our own backyard - why not?   i'd love love love to have something similar here - with the beauty and magic that is so befitting of a creative adventure- would you be interested ???  Let's talk!

and until the universe answers back, i'll just live vicariously through all you lucky souls who lived the experience and adventure of squam 09...