Thursday 31 May 2012

Moments of Gratitude (Girly Days)

Girly Days and Pampering

There is nothing nicer that having a day to treat yourself to some pampering. Whether it be a massage, a facial, a manicure, a pedicure, whatever floats my boat and makes me feel relaxed and special. This week I spent a beautiful day with my Mum, we went to yoga together, had a pedicure and then some lunch. Just perfect. I am so grateful for these precious days!

Tuesday 29 May 2012

You are the knowing.....

This week I am also linking up to Instant Inspirations with Nicole Levesque at Inner Expresions. (see button on right hand column). What has inspired my creativity this week.....??

Nothing that comes and goes is you.
"I am bored." Who knows this?
"I am angry, sad, afraid." Who knows this?
You are the knowing, not the condition that is known.
Eckhart Tolle

May - Creative Colour Challenge

The colour Pink was selected by Louise Gale for this months Creative Colour Challenge. I love pink, it is one of my favourite colours. The colour of love, romance and for me it is a very calm and relaxing colour.

As I was playing around with ideas for my piece for this challenge the song “Pink” by Aerosmith came along like a little ear worm. Not that I am an Aerosmith fan but the lyrics “pink is the colour of passion” kept going around in my head every time I thought about my pink creation. So I thought, why not run with that? It certainly is very pink ... LOL!

Art:- Reason and Passion

Acrylic and metallic paints. Textured with tissue paper and modelling paste. I also created a stencil effect with silver spray paint over lace. Sketch of a sexy lady looking very passionate. The quote in the picture is a snippet from On Reason and Passion by Kahlil Gibran.

"Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows -- then let your heart say in silence, "God rests in reason." And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky -- then let your heart say in awe, "God moves in passion." And since you are a breath in God's sphere, and a leaf in God's forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion."

Monday 28 May 2012

I LOVE Texture!


I really do love working with texture!! Getting my hands dirty and experimenting is so much fun.

Texture and modelling pastes are so forgiving of mistakes and they offers so much freedom. Anything is possible and you can get the most amazing textures from simple household items.

This piece is textures with a combination of tissue paper, lace, a comb, and a potato masher. Painted with acrylics.

Art is an adventure that never seems to end.  ~Jason, Los Cerros Middle School, 1999



Art:- Delicate Movement

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Moments of Gratitude (Modern Appliances)

Modern Appliances

This week our toaster broke which meant that when making breakfast we had to stand at the toaster and hold the lever down until it was ready. It is amazing all the other things one can do normally while the toast is cooking itself, make the tea, pour the cereal, get the milk out of the fridge. So standing there holding down the toast I realised how lucky we are to have all these modern appliances which make our busy life so much easier! No manual washing of clothes or dishes, instant boiling water, a clothes dryer for rainy day, I even have a little robotic vacuum which scoots around the tiles and vacuums up the dog hair while I am at work!! Seriously .... I have name him Wally!

So this week I decided to express my heartfelt gratitude for all the modern appliances which save me so much time, and on Saturday morning I went and purchased us a very groovy new toaster and kettle to match!!

“But the toaster was quite satisfied with itself, thank you. Though it knew from magazines that there were toasters who could toast four slices at a time, it didn't think that the master, who lived alone and seemed to have few friends, would have wanted a toaster of such institutional proportions. With toast, it's quality that matters, not quantity.”  Thomas M. Disch, The Brave Little Toaster

Monday 21 May 2012

The Magic of Mosaic

This week I thought I would share my mosaic birdbath via Creative Every Day and Inspire Me Monday. It relates to the "one" theme of CED in a couple of ways - it was my first attempt at a mosaic and it is totally unique, the only one exactly like it on the planet... :-)

I had such a beautiful time with this project. It was extremely time consuming but the process of gluing the tiles into the design was so relaxing, almost meditative!

I bought a plain terracotta birdbath to start with and then a whole lot of colourful tiles from the local hardware shop. I had quite good fun smashing them up! I also found some sets of little square tiles in all kinds of colours, as well as some coloured round stones from home as well. So it didn't really cost much to make, it just needed alot of time and some patience.

I am really pleased with the outcome! It makes me happy every time I look at it, so bright and colourful.

I have had to secure the top onto the base as sadly not long after it's completion my cat Maya (bless her) jumped up onto it, the top fell off, landed on the base and smashed it. My heart sank for a moment but it was nothing a bit of glue and black paint couldn't fix.

I am really looking forward to doing another mosaic project soon, when I have the spare time. Perhaps a nice big garden pot or something could be fun. I have also seen some amazing mosaic mirrors as well which could be an awesome challenge.


Hope everyone has a magical, joyful and creative week!!

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Moments of Gratitude (Sunny Autumn Days)

Sunny Autumn Days

This last week the weather has been absolutely glorious! After such a wet summer I am so grateful for this spectacular weather that we have been given in Autumn. The sky has been the most intense and amazing shade of blue. Perfect weather to be a cat and curl up in the sun!!



"Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns"  ~George Eliot

Monday 14 May 2012

It's Beautiful Here

After a hectic week at work I was craving a weekend of solitude and peace. Sometimes in my job I have to talk and listen far to much, it becomes like a sensory overload towards the end of the week. I am aware that when I feel like this the cure for me is simply a weekend at home with my cat, my 2 dogs and my husband. No TV, not even music sometimes just silence, creativity and perhaps a good book. 

I had fun playing around with several ideas. This piece represents that space right in the centre of ourselves where there is a perfect nothingness. No thoughts, no expectations, no conversation, just pure Santosha, contentment.


I actually started out with colour everywhere, I went a little crazy with blending a confusion of colours that moved  into a centre of bright yellow. Perhaps this was an indication of how I was feeling. 

As the day went along it kind of transitioned into all white with bits of gold and yellow, which is certainly more true to how I felt by the end of a beautiful day at home with just myself and my pets.
 

It really is so beautiful there.......

Art - It's Beautiful Here

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Moments of Gratitude (Blogging)

Blogging

When I decided to start Blogging at the beginning of this year I thought it would be a great alternative to many years of writing in a journal and a nice way to compile my thoughts and creative projects. I had no idea of the amazing communities of Bloggers that exist out there! There are so many talented and inspiring people who I am very grateful to have the opportunity to connect to, learn from and share the joys of creativity with.


I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular. You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers. The writers are in it for other reasons. Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn. All you get is the pleasure of a completed task.” ~ Scott Adams

Monday 7 May 2012

Beautiful Buttons

The theme for Creative Every Day this month is one. Interesting……this can be interpreted in many ways so I am exciting to see what it conjures up for me over the coming weeks.

I decided to post my Button Artwork this week as each individual canvas in this piece has one button.  I bought a very groovy jacket from an op shop for about $5 just for the buttons. I had no idea what I was going to do with them at the time, I just new that there were so many unique and beautiful buttons on this jacket that I could not leave it behind.

Eventually the buttons became part of this artwork I made for my kitchen. I made each individual canvas with a different texture and the buttons became like the feature jewel on each one.

Friday 4 May 2012

Moments of Gratitude (The Ocean)

The Ocean

There is no doubt that the ocean and humans are intrinsically linked in so many ways. I feel very lucky and grateful to live so close to the ocean, giving me the opportunity to frequently connect to and experience its magic.

The ocean draws me in and fascinates me with its beauty and power, its mystery and its endless ebbing and flowing. It possesses a unique ability to instil calm, just by being near, listening to the sound of the waves and breathing in the salt air.

My connection to the earth is reinforced through the rhythm of the waves. ~Mike Dolan