Happy New Year

One of the high lights of 2009 was my time at Creative Soul Retreat held in Melbourne earlier in the year, the house swap was a lot of fun. Finally I have about 2/3rd's of my houses mounted on this 12 x 12 canvas for my classroom wall. I am sure it will intrigue my students.

Another art high light was the 12 Days of Christmas Swap help on Aust Art Sisters. I had no idea I would be so excited by opening a gift every day. Pictures are some of the wonderful items I received. I took the photo a day early and some decorations were already in use.

Happy New Year everyone, may you be blessed with peace and health.

A Class With Stephanie Lee

I have put off blogging this class for ages because I wanted time to do something with my bits and pieces, but alas it was not meant to be.

I was lucky enough to spend two days with Stephanie, a blow torch and some other wonderful ladies. By lunch time of the first day I was in bliss, and said to my roomie, "If I go home now I will be happy with what I have learnt." Stephanie is an amazing teacher who shares of herself generously and has a wonderful positive attitude to life and learning. I appreciated her sharing about the properties of metals (a little science) and her reasons for both the ways she does things and her choice of supplies.

Just writing now takes me back to that lovely room with arched doorways looking out over grassy lawns and trees, with a river running below... all beautiful, but the buzz inside the room was even more amazing, thank you Stephanie.
I can't get enough of my babies at the moment, and photo's of them sleeping are so much easier than when they are playing chasey at full speed through the house or across the lawn!!

A Class with Bernie Berlin

On the third day of retreat I was tired and a little emotional; I attended class glad to be there but not putting pressure on my self to complete the project. Bernie was such a wonderful teacher with stepped out instructions, a generous supply of resources to share and too my surprise I finished three projects (all except the final lot of gluing - which I did yesterday). It was a pleasure to meet someone who is as they are on their blog and Bernie is all that and more, sharing her heart with us as she taught.

The other wonderful thing about this class was that the focus was on using what many of us already have, stamps, paint, glue, images etc. I didn't leave with a purchasing wish list. Have to love that!

Images here are Michael deMeng and Lost Aussie.

Postcards from Melbourne #2

Urban art, Melbourne style.

While the art is clean the aroma down some of these lanes is not so ...

The water seen through the knot hole in this jetty is part of a great big ocean, stretching right around to my side of Australia, and to the ocean closest to you - isn't that awesome?

Are the stencils, graffiti, art or vandalism? So many in the city and the suburbs..

Dotee on 'her' pier. The water was clear, the sky blue and the air fresh - perfect.

With the 'chatty' Miss Essie...

... and the handsome smoochalicious Mr Ronnie.

Postcards from Melbourne #1

Dear friends, Jen and Dawnie, and just look at the view from our Retreat venue deck.

The super talented artist and teacher Stephanie Lee - more on classes in a day or so.
Sweet Charles would not let me pack my cases in peace, each time I lifted him out and turned for another garment he jumped right back in. After I closed the door (a rare event in this house) he melted my heart with his efforts to join in so I carried the image all around Melbourne with me.

A starling right inside a major shopping centre, there were so many inside buildings, including the airport. I felt so sorry for them living the urban life.

The iconic entrance to Luna Park, St Kilda. What a wonderful tram ride it is to this cosmopolitan and yet friendly suburb. I would stay here next time.

You may notice this one is taken from the inside, the coffee was fantastic too.

Part of the bakery strip in St Kilda.

A gorilla installation in the car park at our retreat, I wonder who put it there?

Mum I am confused, why are you packing your things and not mine.

Archer certainly looks happier now and had a lovely holiday at Aunty Nicky's.

"Sorry Dawn, I can't look now, Julie has the camera out".
Meredith, Dawn and Dot sharing art.

The village is....

WooHoo! I finally finished the houses to swap at Creative Soul Retreat in March. I laughed at Janet's comment on an earlier posting - that by the end I would be a master builder; I am not sure about that, but by the end I was definitely on a roll and anything on my desk was fair game to become building materials.

And here is Archer smelling scrumptious (please tell me you did not just sniff the screen), after his visit to the Grooming Gallery on Monday.

Hello

Antique bisque doll head earrings

Archer: Are you in there?

Hi everyone, time has flown since I last blogged and so much has happened good and bad.

I have been sick, and truly the list sounds like the Lament of Job, my foot continues to be an issue, a winter cold, conjunctivitis, mouth ulcers and more - just when I though I had escaped winter without being sick. So there was not much art completed at all.

These earrings have been sitting waiting to be constructed for ages, it is nice to finally have them finished and dangling merrily.

I thought you might like these pictures I managed to capture during a game of hide and seek, often the pace is too fast as the game is combined with chasey in the furry world and I get pictures that are a blur.

Last week my new nephew was born - he is smoochalicious and i am besotted already! While he was arriving my Mum had my niece to stay and we had a giggle playing hide and seek -it was nice to be a participant.

Work has been difficult. I have to be careful what I say, but essentially for the first time in my life I had to raise a concern about some abuse I was experiencing. The decision about how to handle that was taken out of my hands and some interesting decisions were made which ultimately left me feeling unsafe at home as well.

More houses for the Creative Soul Retreat village.

Now I am feeling almost 100%, the dark cloud that has come as I battled situations and sickness is lifting and I can enjoy the outdoors as summer saunters in with the help of daylight savings! Long afternoons in the garden are coming, furries all coming to pester and chase the weeds as I pull them. Early evenings on the deck with a cup of tea or a glass of red and all while unconstrained by jumpers, jeans and joggers (OK, I couldn't resist the j's).

Harvey: At last she recognises my Indian roots - dahl on nahn bread.

I just checked I have well over 200 blog posts to catch up on so there will be a nice night or two browsing for inspiration and catching up as well.

Phantom: Can't a bloke have a bit of privacy while he cleans.

Art and more..

These little houses are the first 7 of 45 I am making for a swap as part of Creative Soul Retreat in March next year. I think perhaps I am nuts, but they will look fantastic when we all have 45 in different styles, sizes and shapes. the backgrounds are all the same, torn vintage papers, and they will all be coated in shellac, as for the in between - whatever is on my desk.

This Tassel Secrets Doll is a step out for me - working in pinks and some purples. She will be available on my Etsy in the next day or so.

This needle felted ATC and the one below were so fun to make, and a great way to use the tiny fabric scraps on my desk. The 'River' tassel doll was a commission and is (I think) hanging in her new home.