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...

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... :)

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

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

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!

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...