Just been to the doctor

And am feeling a bit better now that I have some antibiotics in me.

I am getting frustrated with our lack of sun at the moment... the inks I use seem to only dry properly in the direct sunlight. I can't leave them lying on a table in the sun as our cat likes to sit on anything new. In the past I have caught her with one of my girls faces stuck to her fur!!!

We haven't had much sun lately, the wetest August in the history of Augusts!!! I have my girls pegged to the clothesline in the sun at the moment... keeping a close eye on them, hoping they don't blow away? better go and check on them.

look what I haven't killed

It is amazing I have kept them alive so long, two whole weeks...!!! (for people who don't know me that is an amazing thing, I have black fingers when it comes to gardening). And now this blooming glory has been the inspiration for my new business card I am doing after I found this post in the Etsy forum about 'The little black boxes'. A company that sells shops promo samples in a little black box... I will post more on that soon when I have finished my 100 samples.

But I just loved the colours of the chrysanthemum and it lead me to this below...


I had to redo it as I spelt stationery with an 'a' as in standing still... (my mother was surprised that was the only error). But I am really pleased with it, it looks clean and crisp. I like the way the new print has come out too, it has a New Zealandness about it.

more memories...

Thanks to Carine b. I have remembered the fun we used to have in our "forest" out the side of our house... playing games, having adventures and climbing the trees to hide away from everyone.

There used to be a fence in the middle dividing our property with the neighbors... they were old and the man used to call his wife Grumpy (which she was). Sometimes we used to be able to climb a very special tree on their side that was hollow in the middle, it was like a huge cathedral but from the outside you wouldn't know this just by looking at it.

And if we made a mad dash right across their property they had a bamboo grove on the other side (a good source for making bow and arrows). But it was very dangerous and we would spend most of the day daring each other to do it... if Grumpy caught you watch out!!!

I look at it now and it isn't a forest anymore, Grumpy and her husband have moved away and the new owners have subdivided the land and houses have been built where we used to play.

back to whispered memories...

Ok... so I am back here again with my girls, I went home and had a play and well lets just say it didn't work. I am going to let things happen when they happen and not try and push things into directions that just aren't right.

Does anyone else have these internal struggles with their creative bent?

This is a memory of stealing plums from the neighbors tree, I know it sounds bad but we had no choice but to steal them. Our neighbor would eventually give us the plums if we waited... waited until they dropped off the tree and she would kindly bring over a bag of nearly rotten ones!!! I liked them when they were still a little firm, slightly crisp, tart and make you shudder on the first bite.
We got caught and told off many times stealing these blessed plumbs but one day I had a really cunning plan... a plan that was so cunning we never got caught again.
We would wait till 6:07pm the nightly news was well under way and the neighbors would be on the other side of the house oblivious to us scampering up the tree picking the precious plums.

This is a memory of my brother and me who thought our Aunty Laureen owned the beach she lived near... I remember many fights with the local kids bragging about our Aunts ownership (I don't paint boys so my brother is a girl).

oh dear...

I am really struggling at the moment, just when I think a piece is working and I have done good, I take another look and I wonder what on earth I was thinking. I sit and stare at it, the more I stare the worse it looks, so I am telling myself maybe I need a break from making art work for a while...

A break!!! Good grief a break is not the answer, in fact the total opposite is what I need, a week of two of complete art making, living, breathing, doing with no interuptions. I am constantly frustrated trying to find time, a real good dose of time to get anything substantial done. I'm never able to follow through with any idea as I am constantly aware of wasting the time that I do get and I end up doing next to nothing. I am at war in my head, with myself, and I need to make peace.

I have been wanting to change the way I do things for a while now, I need time to play and experiment with different mediums and ideas. I have been using the same materials since I was at art school 10 years ago. I need a change... I feel my girls are wanting a change too, they are sick of having no hands and feet, they want to be able to feel the things around them, touch the world they live in.

A few posts ago this was my intention, to give my girls hands and feet. But in my last post I am going back to the same format of arms by their sides, it is what I know. So I am not really sure what will come of all this, whether the girls from my last post will even be used? But I am going home tonight and I am going to start changing a little...

Chinese whispered memories

New faces... freshly dried and awaiting facial enhancements.

I am planning something a bit different with these girls, they will be in sets of three and the themes will be based upon memories, those memories from long ago, childhood maybe, or even some from last week. Where over time they get a little disjointed, they are there but not quite fully remembered (A bit like dreams). A bit like they have done a round of Chinese whispers.

I went shopping on Friday and bought two books, "The Dangerous Alphabet" by Neil Gaiman and "Tales from Outer Suburbia" by Shaun Tan. I love new books... Our local bookstore has a whole stand of slightly dark and mysterious books. It was like they were displaying them for me because they knew I was coming. Reminds me of a childhood thing were I used to think the people in the supermarket were there to keep me company.

This weekend I also did some weeding, cleaning, washing, planting, talking, cooking, and watching the Olympics. Was very impressed with our rowers!!! Rowing is an important thing in our house, my daughter Hannah rows in the summer time, and the Evers-Swindell twins and Emma Twigg trained at the same rowing club when they were at school.

I will post some progress pics soon of the girls and their memories...

Changes...

I have changed my blog format a little, thanks to a helpful link on Kelly Rae's blog.

Things are chugging away nicely in my art world and I have got a few ideas for some new work, also some new different work, if that makes sense? It is just a matter of finding the time to give them a go.

We have had an interesting week... Hannah's arm is now in plaster, a hockey accident, she clashed with another players stick. I have a cut between my eyes at the top on my nose, Ben shut the door of the car on my head. He was more upset then I was I think.

I also now have a Trunkt portfolio as you will see on the right hand side on my blog if you scroll down... interesting to see how that goes.

will be back soon with some pics...