three good things

'three sisters'

Well a few more days and I will be finished work for the year... Can't believe how fast the year has gone!!!

A few days ago my print arrived from the very talented and clever Michele Maule...
It was such a delight opening it, the packaging and presentation was just beautiful. The print was so much better in real life then on my computer screen, she also included a thank you print that I love just as much. So thank you very much Michele.

I feel bad moaning again, this is supposed to be a blog about my creative process. But I am finding my creative process is going down the toilet at the moment. I think my brain is slipping into a slight meltdown... I can't seem to think straight and everything seems too hard. But I guess that is just the way the creative process is sometimes.

It doesn't help having a few upsets arranging Christmas and now, me who usually loves Christmas can't wait till it is all over. Sometimes life just gets in the way of the creative process... I constantly feel like I need more time, more time to paint, to think about painting and to try different ideas. It is so hard to be creative when you have to grab a few minutes here and a few there...

I have always said I would never give up my day job... It is just too perfect BUT now little thoughts have been creeping into my head (especially when I read on other peoples blogs how they have had a great day in the studio) imagine a whole day!!! Financially it is just too scary at the moment, and doing it while Ben, at 3 is around is not easy, he says "oh you doing your art work, I will just look with my fingers" In shops etc I tell him to look with his eyes not his fingers. Also I think I'd have to have some kind of support network in place? So maybe it is an option in a few years? Any thoughts, ideas or experiences anyone has on this will be greatly appreciated.

Anyway I have nearly completed a few commissions that have been waiting for a while a part of one is the above pic, so that is a good thing. The third good thing is today we are going out for our technicians lunch to the Cider Tree.

I am tired

Ben thought there was something behind his curtain last night making a funny noise... we concluded it must have been a hedgehog under his window. Now I can feel the lack of sleep in a little pocket of my brain, in the between my eyes region. I also think it could be a little bit of hay fever as well it usually gets me at this time of the year.

I just heard on morning tv that they think Jesus was actually born in June sometime. That would be interesting... having a winter Christmas and everyone in the northern hemisphere will have a summer one. You will get pool toys and beach towels as presents, you wont have a hot meal it will be cold meats and salads, your Christmas cards will have pictures of Santa sitting on a deck chair sipping an ice cold beer and best of all... it will be warm and you can swim all day (that is my biggest memory of childhood Christmas... opening presents and then swimming till my skin would look like I was 87. I would love to try a white Christmas one day though.

Anyway back to reality... I have a few commissions I am in the middle of at the moment (was going to post a pic but left it at home) as well as getting more stock for the Christmas sales ready. At this time of the year everyday there seems to be something on, Christmas parties and last get togethers before the end of the year. I think I am sorted with my Christmas shopping... Hannah just informed me she wants a blue streak in her hair for Christmas and Ben wants chocolate.

I will post some pics of the commissions next week... they both have multiple girls in them which has been interesting to do.

I have also been picked for the December pikapackage have a look here...

Better go we are off to lunch today for our Christmas work party.

I hate being me... sometimes

These three are now finished...

Well I have just added two pendants to my etsy shop... and am about to send three more off to Kura Gallery in Taupo and take 3 into The Gilded leaf in Napier. I am super nervous, I am not sure they are good enough or whether people will like them, it is driving me nuts, I hate being me sometimes.

I am about to go and buy some new summer shoes in Havelock North (the place I was born and grew up). I have been wearing my old faithful winter shoes for far too long now and as summer is here my feet are just getting too hot...

hot and sunny... with a cool sea breeze

We had a wee holiday at Waimarama Beach this weekend... was so lovely to get away, and the weather was perfect, hot and sunny with a nice cool sea breeze. It was my friends husbands 40th birthday and they hired out this wonderful bach for the weekend. Was hard leaving Sunday afternoon especially knowing I was coming home to a messy house (we left straight after work on Friday and I turned a blind eye to the mess around me as I was getting ready).

(Waimarama Beach)

(Bare Island... view from the bach)

(the bach... our home for the weekend)

(looking down the beach from our front lawn)

On the art front, well I haven't done anything much for the last 4 - 5 days... But I have had a few calls from galleries saying they want more, so I will be getting back into it tonight (Just when I thought I was on top of everything). I also want to get some of the pendants ready by Thursday, I thought I would start with maybe 3 different designs just to see how they go. I will send them to two galleries and add a few to my etsy shop as well. I am a little nervous about doing this, I do worry about sending new things out into the world. Will people like them, or in the pendants case, will they fall apart etc...

Some of the work I sent out last month has been sold already so that is exciting, they were a little bit new, as in the materials used, so I was a tad nervous of the response. It is a relief that people seem to think they are ok. One piece got sold to decorate the walls of a shoe shop and the owner said people are more interested in the art work on the wall then they are in the shoes... funny.