Found!

Slowly, ever so slowly I have been putting pen to paper in my evenings when the little ones are sound alseep. I am neither happy or satisfied with any of the results yet but I think importantly it is a start! Without a beginning there can be no ending and so I hope with continued effort that something will grow from this.

Cathy Nichols has inspired a couple of my recent efforts with her themes for her Found Art Friday. I never seem to finish mine in time to participate but I thank her for giving me encouragement to pick up my pencils when I might otherwise happily opt for much needed sleep.

The top one is "found" which was inspired by our recent search to find a home for our little family to live in earlier this year.

The second is called (Extra)ordinary. The theme for this one was "ordinary" and so I thought about the flowers and small plants we walk past every time we go to the supermarket. They are I think very ordinary and yet extraordinary at the same time.

I'm looking forward to finding out what this months theme will be.

Beauty in the Backyard

Aah, it has been a while since I stopped by my blog to add anything. I will offer no excuses. But I took a couple of snaps a while back that I intended to post of something I found in the backyard. I was hanging out the washing one day when I looked down and saw a single bougainvillea flower on the ground. It had blown in from somehwere and completely captivated my attention. How beautiful this little thing is I thought to myself and scooped it up to photograph and sit on the window sill in the kitchen. I am always happy to find such things which highlight so perfectly the beauty of nature.

Everything Blooming

I am a big fan of Cathy Nichols art. I guess I am attracted to her wonderful use of colour and inspired by the fact that she manages to produce new pieces weekly even though she also has two young children of her own to take care of. Anyway, I also follow her blog and on the last Friday of the month she encourages readers of her blog to participate in her 'Found Art Friday'. The idea behind this is to create an artwork around a theme that is created freely without too much planning. It is not a way I usually like to work as I am one to sketch and doodle away making small changes to a design before I begin on the final piece. But having so little time these days for such luxury I decided to participate in last month's theme, 'everything blooming' and the results you can see above. Okay it is hardly Klee or Picasso but I think the important thing is that it was a start. Hopefully I can keep the scissors and paper out and find the time and energy to participate in next months found art friday too and improve upon this one!

The Family Treehouse

I spent Sunday morning reliving my childhood memories with my 2 year old as we played with the Family Treehouse. It was probably one of my favourite toys as a child and my mum has lovingly stored it for me over the years just waiting for a time when it might be enjoyed again.

Essentially it is a doll's house in the shape of a tree but the features would have to be the wind up and down lift, the outdoor swing and the car that holds the whole family and even the dog in the centre if you squash it inbetween.

I think I am having just as much fun as my little one as we arrange the furniture and put the little people up and down the elevator. I am loving the Miffy-like interior but am not sure about the mum dressed in an apron and the dad in a business suit - it is a toy of the 1970's so definitely a reference to that era.

It is nice to be able to take the time to play and go back to a time in my life where imagination was everything and to see the wonder and enjoyment of my own child at play.

Possibility

A couple of weeks ago I got out a selection of coloured paper I brought over with me from Japan with which I optimistically believed I would handmake all my Christmas cards. Gone are those days. With two little ones to occupy my time and an awful cold thrown into the picture I realistically only ended up making one card which I sent to my mother and father-in-law in Japan. But I did manage to make some Christmas gift tags for my family and after Christmas a wedding card for my cousin who married recently and was coming back to Adelaide to celebrate with family and friends.

I love choosing the colours and I love the delicious possibilities when I see the paper. I feel enthusiastic for the new year. 2010 is full of wonderful potential and possibility. I have not had so much time to create this year but I feel very hopeful of achieving much more in the year ahead.

Happy New Year. I hope anything is possible for you in 2010.

A Good Day

Today was a good day.

I baked. I sang. I laughed with my 2 year old.
My husband had a job to go to.
I ate dinner surrounded by these beautiful yellow flowers.
I visited a new friend.
I went to the supermarket with my 2 year old. He had a good time.
I sang Jingle Bells at bath time.
I sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to my 7 month old.
I hugged and was hugged.
I saw rain and I saw sunshine.
I talked and laughed some more.
Yes, today was a good day.

Designing in my Dreams

It usually takes me a lot of time to design something I'm really happy with. It will start with an idea and a sketch that I may draw and re-draw numerous times to make changes until I am satisfied with the final result. And then the making process itself may determine that more things need to be altered or adjusted slightly. So it comes as a great surprise to me when I have these dreams where I see whole jewellery collections or exhibitions. As far as I can remember they are not pieces or designs that I have ever seen before but there they are as clear as anything in my dream as perfectly finished pieces of jewellery. Sometimes in the dream they are my pieces or sometimes they are pieces belonging to other people or friends - but strangely I must conjure up all the shapes myself.
The other night I had another of these kinds of dreams. This time it was not jewellery as such but an evening dress. Of course when I wake up I lose the details of the design but what I remember was a beautiful white evening gown with a strapless bodice and pleated and folded fabric. Around the waist was an obi like band with a big black bow. The bodice was then joined to a wide belt-like collar with coloured strips of fabric. Now as I'm typing this it sound really bad.
I have little interest in designing fashion but I love the way my brain dreamed this one up!