What open inspections are to an artist

This has become.........

This.......And as for my laundry/dyeing room......... Totally and completely unrecognisable...wish I could find the "before"

More playing with "Paint"

There is so much to learn....I feel both tired and excited

Playing

I was doing some monoprinting today and then took 2 photos of the plastic I used.

I then played in "Paint" very elementary stuff but great colours.

Other people sit at the computer and play "patience" !? The danger of course is that you can spend more time here than in the studio...

Collaboration

I thought I would answer Dave King and send another post about the photo collaboration.

Jo of "Mystory" and myself began in January last year, taking a photo in the morning and joining them on Paint....actually Jo joins them...I send mine to her and she puts the her photo with mine.

Because our photographs are random, it is very exciting when they "belong" together.

This year we are doing "day" pictures sometimes with a theme...maybe colour or shapes but mostly we just wing it.

This is not our idea, there are many collaborations through the internet and even books published.

I should really like to make a book with some of my favouites

October 8th 2008

Feb 5th 2009

Feb14th

For one month last year I used the photos as exercises in design

The plan for this year was to do a drawing for Mondays and combine...we havn't quite got there yet but I am sure we will.

It is the most wonderful thing to do each day and it also means I get to "talk" to someone first thing in the morning.

march 23

This is todays collaborative photo with Jo, it made me happy.

I can't believe its not......

After such a harsh couple of months with high temperatures and hot winds there was no lawn and no garden and we have had about a week of rain and this is the garden now.

I find the garden an extraordinary miracle and I know that I will miss its comfort and beauty but I will really miss the fruit trees. The persimmons are coming outThey hang like golden baubles in the autumn, the leaves go a beautiful red and then abandon the fruit to its short time hanging like little presents waiting to be picked.

In every change there are the moments that will not be recaptured.

This is my house taken from outside and it just makes me want to go in.

I signed for my new house yesterday and talked to the lass who was selling and she is lovely and says the neighbours are really great and she can't wait to introduce me to them which reinforces my feelings about the decision.

One of the difficulties at the moment is that I am so weary, moving furniture and .....tidying......dusting......for the real estate photographer, who may come tomorrow, and I have not done any of my art. We have 2 challenges to complete in a couple of weeks "Fungi" is the 5 letter word and we are beginning a book and my topic is "Spirit"(I don't know what I was thinking)!

I will have to learn from others how to focus when I do work...Ro???? Some of you manage so much in your life and still make art..amazing.Here are some preliminary doddles of ideas.

This is one I designed for an etching

I have just discovered Ben Nicholson so I was trying out drawing a still life and not taking the pen off the paper, this was the first and up in the corner a few more "Doodles" of fungi....I tend to write on whatever is near.

How about this as my challenge!!!!!???

Suzanne

A lovely thing happened today, after visiting a friend I drew up to a main intersection where a lady was washing car windows , as I drew up I shrugged and smiled knowing I had no change, she smiled and said she would do it anyway, we got talking and she told me in which estate she lived and I mentioned I was moving into the area, the time on the light change was imminent and there was a large group behind me, however, after I said I hope we meet again she shook my hand and said,

"It would be nice to see you again and you could come and have tea with me".

I was so humbled by the sweetness and generosity of this smiley lady.

I went home with this wonderful feeling and optimism , she was such a dear. I will pass by there quite soon and hope to have another talk.

It also reinforces how comfortable I am to return to the inner city, where I lived for some time , it felt like I was "coming home"

This mornings collaborative photo between Jo and myself follows, how remarkably similar they are given we are unaware of the others intention, however we have specified yellow for a week.

I found an old wooden ironing board and put these nails in to hold my cotton reels. Reminds me of Rosalie Gascoign.

The husband of a very dear friend of mine, died last night. When my husband died, 6 months later, I decided I would do a small diary quilt for six weeks to monitor each day and guage the level of "coping".

One of the great things we all share is our "art" which is a comfort blanket in stressful times as well as a great excitement in the good times.

This is the result, it is remarkable how there was still a balance between the dark and "light" times.

Here is a box I made a while ago, but as our topic for the month in our group was "box" I did a little "resurrecting"It is only about 6" high, a domino box for "little"" people.

Great

Endings

The exhibition ended yesterday and we had to take back what we had not sold, what made me sad was seeing the ones I HAD sold and that I was not going to see again. As I am new to the game it was a loss.

Stangely we were all fairly sober picking them up that is except Jo (Mystory) who was still her ebulliant and enthusiastic self. She had wonderful news about the reactions which she will fully impart tomorrow at the meeting of the "Very Stuff" group.

These two I will especially miss as I do not know where they have gone....anyway to move on

Tomorrow, for the first meeting of the group after the big one, our topic is "Box"

Here are 3 boxes I have made out of recycled jumpers and felt pieces. They fit inside each other.

If I have time I will do another.

A radical change in the light for the last one.

So looking forward to the meeting tomorrow with the" girls".

Quilts

I have finished the little quilt for my friend who lost her family in the dreadful bushfires.

For all the serious quilters who will look at this, I have to say I quilt for complete relaxation and always for someone, and often as a comfort or a celebration.

Here is Laura's quilt, my neice who went into a new flat.

It was made of Japanese fabrics.

This is Ruby's 4th birthday quilt...I have had this one on my blog when I gave it to her.

This next was for Erik...a "grand" nephew, while it is blue for a boy, the colour has photographed a bit too stongly "blue".

Gabe's quilt is one of my favouites.

I made this charm quilt for my blue room.

The plan was for this to occupy me for a long time,all hand pieced and hand quilted, but I become quite manic once I begin, which somehow defeats the purpose.

I have many more but I don't want to overstay my welcome.