Finding the muse

trialling a new home

2007-01-02T12:47:00.000+11:00

yes, I know, that was quick! try me here at my new home...

www.sammiam.wordpress.com

communication...

2007-01-02T09:47:00.000+11:00

I'm having a breakdown of the I.T. type...

On the day I was born, the sun, moon and stars collided and determined that this little girl was to be a communicator. A gemini, a listener, a speaker, a writer, a communicator. Today, it's happened again and I find myself in a very frustrated mood. Since I last typed on the 10th of December, I have typed a further 3 entries, all sharing photos and stories of my art, Christmas, work and the new year. Of friends and family, pets and weird weather, my last was the most detailed. Three photos, two of new, exciting art explorations and one of the MOST stunning ficicolia (flowering gum) but alas, somewhere out in cyberspace, three blog entries float, looking for a home perhaps, or maybe just float...

IT DRIVES ME NUTS....

I don't know whether its blogger or whether its the wizbang, kill all spam programme that I installed or whether it was just busy christmas traffic online, but I don't know how much more I can take! Today I'm restoring my soul by making my quilting arts 2008 calendar challenge piece (no links, previous blog entry had one but it ended up somewhere in c-space). I'm returning to the basics for a bit... I will be back, I promise, but I think it may be at a new blog home.

So, if you want to see any of my current art work..... um, I'll be at home!!!
xo

a recipe for lucky dogs!

2006-12-10T10:30:00.000+11:00

Yesterday, because it was sooooo hot, Miss Tilly and Dave the GR had their favourite hot day treat.

I froze a food container full of yummy chicken stock and placed chicken necks throughout. When the ice block is turned out they happily lick away for hours. Keeps them cool and content and I don't worry so much about the heat while I'm at work and can't be there to let them inside. Ahhhh yes, the life of a spoilt dog!!!!

still burning

2006-12-10T10:15:00.000+11:00

I'm guessing, but I think this photo is looking towards Paradise Falls

Photo taken in Cheshunt, NE Vic. Unnamed photographer, undated and sourced from the Herald Sun website.

Elvis, you are my HERO

Photo again sourced from Herald Sun website, water collection at Lake William Hovell where Miss Tilly Tuppence and Dave the Golden Retriever enjoyed a mid winter swim.

Unnamed photographer and undated

oh my goodness

2006-12-09T10:39:00.000+11:00

Black Range fire: Army trucks have been sent to the Whitfield region.

(Fri 08 Dec, 11:18 AM) Photo by Rilla Maxton

oh it's all just too sad - fires in NE vic. I find it so frustrating that I'm sitting here in my safe, comfy house while places that I love are burning. Gary and I were only at the Pizzini's winery a couple of months ago, we looked at a block of land to buy in Cheshunt that same visit and now, the township of Cheshunt may be burnt....

If anyone is reading this, please do what ever you do to send out good thoughts... raindance, prayers, reiki or just a thought every now and then.

christmas is coming....

2006-12-07T13:34:00.000+11:00

here is the first of my christmas decoration dolls! she has taken me sooooooo long to finish only because other things have come up like unscheduled work at the shop and simple pure laziness really!!! (oh and the beading around her skirt seems to have taken forever...)

these photos are not so good... you can't see in the second one, but she is hanging from copper wire which has green and red beads on it.

I'm happy with the way she has turned out though. I'll start the "boy" one some time soon! (better hurry, christmas is coming!)

the old blue truck

2006-12-07T09:55:00.000+11:00

the old blue truck at "Hazelberry"

I'm sparing many of my thoughts this morning to our friends in the North East of Victoria who are all under extreme stress due to the current bushfires in the area. The above photo is of an old truck which sits against a tree at our friend Laurence's place in Edi where the fires went through last night. The truck sits approximately 200 metres from the house and marks the spot where the fires went through.

This photo was taken on our first ever visit to "Hazelberry", just after he had purchased the farm but before Laurence had even moved in. Gary and I spent a week around Christmas time camped by the old shed, enjoying our new caravan and the peace and solitude that time away from the city brings. It was Gary's first introduction to camping and the beginning of my love affair with the King Valley and in particular, "Hazelberry".

So, it is with much relief (for now anyway) that I can report that the house still stands, Laurence is weary but ok, there's probably a few less blackberry "weeds" (which has got to be a good thing) and trees. I just keep thinking "cool water" thoughts and hope that when the wind changes, which it is due to do this weekend, the fire behaves itself and that Elvis has got his BEST flying wings on...

summer's nearly here...

2006-12-04T14:07:00.000+11:00

I took this the other evening, a couple of days ago, then had a fight with my blog and the posting part of my blog specifically so i couldn't post it.... But how beautiful is this sunset? I was driving home from Mornington along the beach (my favourite way to go). Got to Mt Martha beach and pulled over, stuck my head out the sunroof of the truck and snapped away.

The cricket's on the telly, cicada's are in the trees, Dave the golden retriever is panting, excessively(!) and I've got a teeshirt on! Yay for sunshine!

I joined the gym again last week. Today was my 5th visit since joining and if I keep this up I'll be dead before christmas! Oh my goodness, how unfit a gal can get in just two years!!! Slowly but surely.... i've got my goals and I'm already feeling stronger.

Off to clean up my studio space this afternoon - HUGE task, need lots of help but I'm really looking forward to being organised. I feel like my head is all jumbled, full of great art ideas, but because my physical space is also jumbled, I can't get anything out there. Spring cleaning - what a joy.

Dave the scholar

2006-11-19T09:15:00.000+11:00

I'd like you to meet Dave the Golden Retriever. In his spare time, Dave likes to read, drink only the finest scotch whisky and smoke cigars...
Dave is 5 and a half years old on paper, spends most of his time acting like a 2 year old and a little of his time in a 90 year old man's clothes - this is one such occasion. We try to love him most of the time...

spc - glam

2006-11-16T09:17:00.000+11:00

and they say diamonds are a girls best friend...

bit chilly!

2006-11-15T17:47:00.000+11:00

WOW! Nothing like a lovely, Melbourne spring day to warm the cockles of ones' heart.....

Looking from Dromana pier back towards Mornington

Dromana pier looking towards Sorrento

Today as I sat in the shop, I watched people being hammered by hail, then the sun would shine. The light would change dramatically and the rain would come down, horizontally and I would chuckle as people were blown down the street with all the signs from surrounding shops. I shouldn't have laughed, but I was warm and dry!

It snowed in the Dandenongs and I heard on the radio that somewhere, the wind chill factor dropped to -7 degrees celcius.

Isn't Melbourne weather a treat?!

here's a funny thing

2006-11-14T22:16:00.000+11:00

this kept me awake for ages the other night... at 3.15 am these words were rattling around in my head, nicely coupled with images to match and I couldn't go back to sleep until I wrote them down on the inside cover of the paperback i'm currently reading, under the light of my mobile phone.

"weave us a road", he said and we did. she and i were entranced by each others maps and drawings as we felt our way along. "play a trombone for me", he said so I did. as i sat, all tangled in the 'bone and its arms and legs, he said, "you must swing from great height, it is only then that you will achieve the note of beauty that you desire."

I can picture the images as well but they are hard to describe - let me try... for the bit about the woven road, there was a page of woven paper, like a road, leading gently off the page. the maps and drawings were a part of us, a girlfriend and me. the trombone was actually a seat that I was sitting in, a bit like a chairlift seat hanging in the sky but a trombone. and the arms and legs of the instrument were the part of the trombone that you move to get the different notes. it was what held me safely inside the chair.

the more i read the words the more i like them. i reread them when i woke up in the morning and was quite surprised at how poetic they were! weird, but poetic!
xo

Nice stuff

2006-11-14T09:44:00.000+11:00

This is lovely. I read about Oriah on another website and thought I'd post this poem today. For me, it clearly describes what's important in life and I feel like I'm almost on the right track...

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for

and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool

for love

for your dream

for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...

I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow

if you have been opened by life’s betrayals

or have become shrivelled and closed

from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain

mine or your own

without moving to hide it

or fade it

or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy

mine or your own

if you can dance with wildness

and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us

to be careful

to be realistic

to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me

is true.

I want to know if you can

disappoint another

to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal

and not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithless

and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty

even when it is not pretty

every day.

And if you can source your own life

from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure,

yours and mine

and still stand at the edge of the lake

and shout to the silver of the full moon

“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me

to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up

after the night of grief and despair

weary and bruised to the bone

and do what needs to be done

to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know

or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand

in the centre of the fire

with me

and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom

you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you

from the inside

when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone

with yourself

and if you truly like the company you keep

in the empty moments.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

cup day at RHE

2006-11-08T18:49:00.000+11:00

Swanky race caller George

What a day of chaos and madness! Red Hill Estate vineyard ran their inaugural Cup! 12 horses, 12 jockeys with legs hobbled ran around the track causing much hilarity!

And they're racing!

All the jockeys had to tie their ankles together with belts and most jumped around the course. Unbelievably there were no protests....

Fashions on the Field beauties.

Fashions on the field was judged by the Tutti a Tavola ladies who are visiting the peninsula to run a series of cooking classes at Max's restaurant.

bit windswept today

2006-11-07T12:46:00.000+11:00

Miss Tilly!!

Love of my life! Pretty cute and REALLY naughty...

Tilly can tell you all about how she squeezed herself out of my car window the other day while I was having a wine tasting at Tucks Ridge, ran to the cellar door, saw me then nicked off into the vines! Okay, so it is a dog friendly vineyard but I think they mean well behaved dog friendly, not NAUGHTY staffies with minds of their own... She thought she was hilarious....hmmm!

Dromana sunset

I feel the weather. I feel really ratty today - the wind is blowing, it's overcast, I can't decide what to do. Everyone is at work serving Melbourne Cup day punters and I can't decide whether I should be sewing, painting, constructing, cleaning or sleeping...

I have got a 3.45pm date to record George calling the Red Hill Estate cup! 12 hobby horses +12 incredible jockeys + lots of sparkling = lots of laughs and potential injury and hopefully a great video!!

finished

2006-11-06T09:53:00.000+11:00

Here is the box - finished now! Lizzie loved it.

Thanks Glen!!

I'm so bad at putting photos in my blog!!!

nearly finished!

2006-11-03T18:00:00.000+11:00

I wanted to post some pictures of the results of my box making workshop with Glen Skein. This box is for my cousin Lizzie who is a fashion designer currently working as a visual merchandiser for Cue and Veronika Maine. She's a pretty talented young lady I reckon!

I love the idea of a box full of bits. There's always an element of surprise when you open a box to find the contents and when there are little hidden shelves and boxes within the box it makes the adventure even more alluring!

Anyway, this is a box that contains 21 thimbles from my late mum's collection and was intended as a 21st birthday present for Liz (who turned 21 in May 2005 - oops!!!). The box is about 13x13x7cm and will (by Sunday!!) be chocked full of thimbles, art books and little bits of sewing ephemera. The art books (at the time of taking the photo, the only one is the red one in top right corner of the 2nd photo) are all hand bound and the pages are made from vintage pattern tissue paper. There is a fairly diverse range of thimbles, sterling silver, brass, plastic and ceramic.

I've had a great time making it so I hope she loves it!

oh yeah

2006-10-30T10:06:00.000+11:00

and I forgot to mention that my new favourite movie is CAPOTE. Oh wow. I was enthralled from start to finish by an amazing and definately oscar deserving Phillip Seymour Hoffman. What a genius, what a story, what an incredibly incredible movie.
my johnny cash loving husband, who thinks that joachim pheonix was robbed of the award really needs to check this movie and reassess his opinion. oh wow, what a film!
warning..... i may be on this rant for quite some time. good movies only come along (for me) once in a while and this was one of those good ones!
now i need to read "in cold blood"....

funny

2006-10-30T09:24:00.000+11:00

I think it's really funny how things happen! One minute I'm dreaming of a community art space and some studio space for myself and anyone who wants to share and the next minute its all happening.

I've just secured a great space on a local vineyard for myself as a studio/gallery/workshop area. Okay, it needs a heap of work done to stop the birds getting in and to make it a bit cosy but its mine to do whatever I want with. A whole barn to play in!

Then, at the Scarecrow Festival awards last night (congrats to Dan etc who came equal 1st with their very fantastical, whimsical scarecrows), not only did I discover a new place to go and meet lots of lovely local people but I met a guy who loves the idea of a community art space and is willing to work with us and aim at building the space right here on the peninsula. OMG! And you should see where it is.... best not to mention names yet, until it is a formal agreement, just in case!

So, in a very short space of time, the wheels have started turning..... really quickly! oooo I'd better get moving!

I'm feeling a lack of photos in my blog.... must work on that too!

silent tears

2006-10-28T11:32:00.000+10:00

Amidst all this madness and fun and organised chaos of art and life a little bit of my private world crumbled yesterday for my dear, dear friend Marty and I was forced to stop and breathe for a bit.

Marty's dad passed away yesterday morning. He had been very unwell and so for this reason it was a little bit expected for Marty and his mum but regardless of how sick, how old, how young or how sudden it doesn't stop the fact that Marty doesn't have a dad any more.

I remember these next days. Something akin to a vaccum or vortex. Everything in slow motion while faces and tears and phonecalls and plans and funeral directors and flowers and food and music and conversations all float past. Somehow your magical body does the work for you while you just keep breathing.... just breathe Marty and at the other end, when the funeral day is over, you'll sleep and that's when you'll need us. When you do my beautiful friend, we'll all be here waiting to catch you.

xo

wow

2006-10-25T16:43:00.000+10:00

She's wrapped up posting now but she's got some great things to say. I'd like you to meet Natalie....
http://www.greenfoxbarking.blogspot.com/

tread lightly

2006-10-25T16:24:00.000+10:00

Things are happening. The gentle breeze is pushing me ever so softly in a direction that I should have travelled along long ago, and I think I'm ready. I'm tied up nicely in my world of art, my protective covering, my quilt. My place for free expression, where for some reason I'm not scared of others responses. I do what I can and what I feel I'm going to enjoy, and most times it comes out okay!
But this breeze.... Gary and I have thought for ages that we'd like to have a square (or rectangle, triangle, whatever angle comes to us) of sanctuary somewhere in this mixed up crazy world. We nearly had one two years ago and I lament the day we walked away.... always will despite what my head keeps telling me. This morning Mandy and I chatted on the phone about land, co-ops, sharing, environmentally responsible stuff and having something, a gift even, to pass on to our next generations. Then just now, as I did my usual peruse of my favourite blogs, I tried a random new one from Teesha's blog.... it was this one http://chestofdrawers.blogspot.com/. Not so much the blog that got to me but the links at the end of the October 12th post. Why did I randomly pick this blog? I really like the little brown dress site....
There are some really responsible people in this world and I really admire those who can be. Sometimes it takes huge strength to say "no thanks" and to keep walking in the direction that you feel you should. I am ashamed to say that I don't even have a bucket in my kitchen sink to catch the drips. I try to justify my actions by saying that I don't turn a tap on outside, I don't water anything except the tree fern and that's only when I'm changing the pets water bucket. Water, water, water... wow, it really makes me wonder where we'll be without it?
xo

a book in a box

2006-10-23T17:51:00.000+10:00

What a wonderful weekend..... perhaps only slightly marred by a certain migrane/girly trouble sickness which forced me to miss most of the second day of an amazing workshop with Glen Skien .

Glen is a boxmaker extraordinair. Oh my goodness, talk about appealing to the "collectors" sense of everything! I am entranced by his stuff. What a fabulous way to record history or any narrative of life. Silver pocket watches, vintage cigarette lighters, photos and documents all placed thoughtfully together in a box decorated with lovely handmade paper. Something that sits on a shelf just calling for someone to open it and peer in, to pull out a drawer here or there and to find a little secret hidey hole containing something precious.

If you get a chance, Glen is currently exhibiting at Icon Gallery , check out his work. I'm going to try! It finishes on the 25th November.

So, the workshop was organised by the Papermakers of Victoria, a wonderful group to whom I belong. There were about twelve of us in total and we toiled away, cutting remarkably precise pieces of boxboard which eventually turned into the most incredible works of art. Unfortunately due to the fact that I was in bed throwing up for most of Sunday, my box cannot yet be shown here! Watch this space though!
Glen is a beautifully patient and gentle teacher, who spent much time with all of us, watching our work, guiding us gently, and sharing small little insights into his work and inspiration for it. Think Japanese bento box. I loved every minute of our workshop.

Dolls..... who's got one and who hasn't?! I haven't but here's a secret, I know it's not far away! Dan promised I'll have it soon - woooo hooooo!

she's leaving home

2006-10-18T10:55:00.000+10:00

oh dear! the time has come. she's leaving home tomorrow...
she's all packed up, two more things to add to the final package, some brown paper to wrap the box in (is it bad to pack her in a "maxwell williams" dinner set box???) and an address label and off she'll go.
i'm okay with this, really, i promise. i've talked to mandy about it, and she's okay. her doll left a little earlier this week, she's still okay, i think!!! i know mel has sent hers, and her emails remain cheerful. so, i'll be okay, won't i?
plans afoot for mandy and i to do fibre forum next year and then art and soul the year after. oh my goodness, how much fun could that be? oh yay! i'm trying to find a course to do. i need to find the right one. i think i've whittled it down to two, both only one day a week which suits perfectly. it's just a matter of choosing the right one - hmmm.
xo

a doll collaboration

2006-10-08T18:08:00.000+10:00

so, i decided to start a doll and journal swap. i posted a picture a little while ago of a funny looking bird thing, she's staying home with me now..... too scary to send her out into the world on her own!

I got the latest edition of Cloth Paper Scissors and followed Katie Kendrick's great directions for making an art doll and then there were two! neither of my dolls have names yet and the plan is for doll on the right to go out, cause trouble, learn some stuff about life while doll on the left (twin sister) stays at home and "grows" at the hand of her maker! could be fun.

affair of the mind

2006-10-03T06:35:00.000+10:00

hmmm, inspiration thursday asks for inspiration
for me it involves my head. once an affair starts in my mind, it doesn't leave until satiated. words and flickering images that jangle my thoughts, keeping me awake at odd hours, speeding my heart and metabolism. it started yesterday. some broken thoughts, innocent at the start, browing bolder by the hour, by the minute, until i find myself awake at 2, at 4, again at 5 until now at 630, im out of bed putting the thoughts out on paper and hopefully out of my head.
business, no not work business, but the art of being busy.... that's what its like in here right now. a collage, or two, an unfinished felted melty stitched thing, an idea for a quilted piece to enter into a competition, an art doll round robin about to start....is my journal okay? a small installation, to use poor miss polly's dolly - a small treasure for my mum who watches, ever watchful from above, a piece to say "i still hear you". now the tears, more inspiration or do they make me question what i do and what i think of doing?
two finished but unsent canvases for another round robin - they sit waiting for the money to send... will it ever come?
lots of words, sentences, almost a book but not quite yet.
unfinished business - something to dream about, perhaps a reward for tb when she's ready, when she's ready for her flight. will that flight ever land?
an exhibition perhaps? not scared, more inspiration... something tangible, a goal, involves others so i'm accountable
see, inspiration comes from within. with the seasons as they drift on by. today is a doing day, i hope i do
ps once again i've missed the photo boat but i may do an abridged version!

broken lines

2006-10-02T15:40:00.000+10:00

feint memories, a breath, a touch
whispers in the dark
heat

back's up against the wall
cold on my skin
hot breath,
cold wall

years of words
broken lines,
wishing again
heart's racing

xotb

back from the sun

2006-09-14T17:43:00.000+10:00

oh wow. have i just had the most wonderful, sunfilled 15 days.... 15 days in paradise, sunny far north queensland in fact. port douglas. we spent most of our time lying in the sun (suitably sunscreened of course), second most of our time drinking cocktails and playing canasta, and third most of our time in the rainforest or out on the great barrier reef. and as you'll see reflected in these two photos, we had a pretty tough time of it!!
Mrs Humpback and her baby were quite easily the highlight of my holiday if not my life. We spied these two on our return trip from the outer reef where we spent the day snorkelling with Nemo and his mates! I can't describe the emotions I feel when I see whales on the telly or elsewhere and to have the privilege of seeing them in the flesh is almost too much! I will admit to a couple of tears as I pressed down on the continuous mode button of the camera! Amazing.

This is four mile beach. we walked into Port most days and spent a lot of our time in the sun and the lovely 24 degrees celcius water here too. thats me in the distance on one of our walks along this beautiful stretch of sand.

So back to reality we come. Work, dogs, cold weather (although spring has sprung!) and a messy, tap dripping house.... ahh, but i must say how LOVELY it has been to catch up with friends again.

Onto the doll round robin challenge....

birdsong

2006-08-15T16:43:00.000+10:00

birdsong,
originally uploaded by meingeismaid.

made this collage today for a commission. used acrylics, water colour crayons and water soluable oil pastels, ephemera and zig pens. hands are a photo taken by gary. really enjoyed doing this today, out in the lovely sunshine, with a couple of inspirational coronas and lime, listening to gary strum the guitar. nice!

beautiful morning

2006-08-15T13:14:00.000+10:00

oh what a beautiful day....

went and had a nice brekky this morning at a local cafe. soy hot chokky and read some old quilting arts magazines for inspiration. i got gary to take the photo of my hands for a piece that i'm doing for some friends. typing this while i'm waiting for my work to dry so i can start on the next layer!

gary's off rehersing for tomorrow night - muso night at the balnarring beach general store. such a great night, looking forward to it lots.

leonie and craig had their baby boy last night. all happy and well and safe. bring it on!!! love and kisses to them.

xosmb

altered board book

2006-08-13T12:01:00.000+10:00

altered board book,
originally uploaded by meingeismaid.

just mucking around in flickr again and discovered that i can add o my blog straight from my photos - hmmm, neat trick!
another page from my altered kids board book.

funny flickr photo

2006-08-13T10:39:00.000+10:00

was fiddling round on flickr this morning and posted this http://www.flickr.com/photos/meingeismaid/213559442/in/pool-52241283780@N01/ to a group called "what's in your bag". hmmm, don't think they quite bargained for me coming along to play! I'll admit it, I have inherited the "big bag, lots of crap" gene from my mum! you never know when you might need that.... thing....

my day

2006-08-12T17:20:00.000+10:00

so off I went to the McLelland Gallery and sculpture park in Langwarrin (photos at left are just two of the sculptures in the grounds) to see Louise Weaver's exhibition "Taking a chance on love". I think in some cases it is truly legitimate to use the word WOW to describe things, and this is one of those select few cases! I'm not so good at adventuring on my own (believe it or not) but my gorgeous friend Mandy has a case of the sniffles and needed a day in front of the heater so off I ventured. I would love to post some pictures of her work from the program that I bought but i'm not sure that I'm allowed to so I'll do my best to describe. (check this out though http://www.darrenknightgallery.com/index2.htm)
Louise crochets things! We're not talking your average granny inspired knee rug here either... she crochets animals, and pouring objects and branches and even some antlers to make them look like coral! I think the most interesting object that I saw was a taxidermied (u know what I mean) hoopoe bird that she had completely covered in white crochet and beads, leaving only the eyes and it's amazingly long nectar eating beak uncrocheted! again WOW! There is an instillation, lets call it "red" - red, red, red, animals, tree branches, pebbles and rocks, all covered in red crochet. As Mandy said, wouldn't it be great to have a camera to record peoples faces when they first see the red! It's amazing!
My very favourite was a collage, untitled - acrylic, woven mulberry papers, embroidered circles and woven bits (in wool). I am so, so inspired that I'm dreaming up a piece as I type, I've been and collected some stuff and I'm going to tuck into it very soon!

black and white thursday part two

2006-08-11T18:02:00.000+10:00

okay so I didn't take it, but it IS black and white and it is art. portrait of me last summer taken by my incredibly talented photographer husband. i really like it!

doll swap

2006-08-10T21:55:00.000+10:00

Okay, so she's looking a bit funny right now but i want to keep a running commentary of my doll swap. this is..... um.... haven't quite come up with a name for her yet, and she's a kind of prototype for the real deal. she's a bit big to be sending around the world so i'll try a scaled down version to send off on the swap. i am so excited. i just scanned her head, there's much more below... i have run out of polyfill and the shop i went to at 10 to 5 this arvo had run out of it so she remains in a semi-filled state! poor thing.... imagine having your picture posted for all the world to see when you're not quite ready?!

black and white thursday

2006-08-10T20:22:00.000+10:00

Influenced by the simplicity and beauty of the geisha. An altered book with pages folded to symbolise the folds of the kimono. Not strictly black and white, a little red won't hurt, surely?

moved by the music

2006-08-10T19:40:00.000+10:00

you my friend are an angel, appearing at a low point, to cheer and inspire.
strumming my face with your fingers,
in the deepest of dreams you come, you spread your warmth along the length of my soul.
i dream of you at night time, in the secret space of my time.
you fill me up, overflow my cup,
my cup spilleth over with you.

so for the third time i saw you, waiting with baited breath for minutes that stretch into weeks and months, waiting for another smile.
a smile that warms me to my very core, keeps me thinking, keeps my inner music humming,
the tunes that sing to the beat of your heart.
i long for a touch, that's all i'd need to keep me together for another minute.
time would go so easy if only i could feel.
if only once.

2006-07-25T10:29:00.000+10:00

This photo has taken me three attempts - I'm not going there....

So this is one of the pages of my most recent altered book. I kind of had an " inside out" theme going on as I was trying to get ideas for an ATC swap (which the cards never made it to!!) I started with a kids board book and covered the pages with gesso. Note to self, sandpaper the pages first next time, not enough tooth on the page to hold the gesso down! I've done about six pages so far, but my patience is wearing very thin with the whole uploading images thing - yesterday I even went to have a cuppa while waiting but by the time i'd got back, my images had disappeared into cyber space somewhere! I hope the Cyberspacians are enjoying them! I'm probably going to use these techniques for a workshop that i'm running where I work (august 18th!!). Quick and easy and uses a huge variety of stuff.

Very busy planning a holiday to Port Douglas at the moment - ahh, two whole weeks in the sun.... lovely! oh and busy waiting..... more on that later!

Off for brekky, Tuesday morning luxury in Mornington with friends.

smb

absent but inspired!

2006-07-13T11:44:00.000+10:00

Can somebody tell me why I can't get my photos to appear where i want them to? So frustrating - oh well, pretend these pictures appear somewhere in the middle of this post! Picture one is a seamless vessel I made during a felting workshop at Textile Artistry with Kay. I have been watching it for weeks now, waiting for the embellishments to "appear" before my very eyes... last night, while watching Zorro on DVD (very good btw), these bits of embellishment appeared! I got my inspiration for the piece from the Japanese waterfall artwork (pic two). I just loved the colour and flow of the piece. Now I think my vessel looks more American indian! I've got more threads to add....

Wow! Where have I been? It seems that Time has tripped gaily past without a care in the world and has conveniently forgotten to take me along with her. Last time I looked it was June, or perhaps May when I turned another year older.... Now it's July. I will have been married two years on Monday, I STILL have a houseful of Mum's stuff (OMG) and I'm still no closer to finishing anything for the folio I'm trying to put together! OH DEAR! Mind you, I soooooo love the journey!

Tuesday, in my letterbox, appeared the 4 (hmmm, yes 4) back issues of Quilting Arts mag that I found on ebay for some kind of bargain price (i'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you kind of bargain!) so for the past two days I've been entrenched in the pages, buzzing with excitement, dreamily musing..... and NOT DOING!!!! I have however found the reason why I still have all of the beautiful old Irish linen napkins, old fashioned doillies (last count 120), and other amazing pieces of fabric marvels - of course..... a wall hanging with family historical connotations! That is my big project, the one I'm working towards, the one that is going to catapault me into instant mixed meda / textile artistry stardom.....

self portrait tuesday

2006-05-20T14:43:00.000+10:00

Not so sure what the challenge is this week but I think it might still be introduce yourself - so here I am....

mixed media round robin

2006-05-19T17:05:00.000+10:00

This is my foundation layer for a mixed media round robin that I have joined on http://vb.nervousness.org. 1o artists all start with a first, or foundation layer, then send it on to the next artist who adds a layer and sends it on again. I can't wait to see mine when it comes home in a couple of months!

inspire me thursday

2006-05-19T15:59:00.000+10:00

ohhhhh.... for some reason I keep uploading my images the wrong way.... Anyway, my interpretation of journalling for this weeks inspire me thursday challenge. Page two is on the top!!! grrrrrr

smb

more cards

2006-05-19T15:30:00.000+10:00

Another card and the beautiful autumn colour.

I've had a day of wandering today. Normally these kind of days would really irritate me but I've learnt to look at them through different eyes. I use them now as inspiration. As I drove, recklessly ignoring the very low level of petrol that had to last me at least until Monday, I stopped and gathered some fallen leaves. The trees have been in such stunning colour for weeks now and I've been meaning to stop and take some photos. I didn't have my camera with me today so I will try and turn the leaves into a new piece of art.

travelling the Serpentine Road

2006-05-17T10:35:00.000+10:00

I'm having a ball on this amazing journey led by L'enchanteur. I write each day and can feel my skills, long forgotten, coming back as my fingers warm with each tap of the keyboard. I've met such lovely people already.

My cards are getting better too. I've got two definate buyers and hope to have another one by the end of the week. I'm making and selling in ten card lots. A bit of pocket money.

There was also talk of me running a few workshops. That would be so much fun. I think that journal art and altered books are such a great canvas for anyone to make and use.

My ATC's have slowed down a bit. I have a couple that I have to make and send before the end of the month - I'll make a promise to myself to do one a day.

smb

the first one counts....

2006-05-15T10:12:00.000+10:00

oooo, I'm finally here! I've got a blog to call my own. To post my words, my art, my anything!
I've had a really busy few months. My time has become my own and I have been able to spend most of it my studio. I've joined http://www.atcards.com and http://vb.nervousness.org. I love the sharing that goes with these sites.

Yesterday, I finished my part of a round robin project and will send it off to the next person today. This one is going to be fun. Each person works on a layer for each "canvas". I should receive the next layer of someone else's canvas soon.

Just yesterday I started down the serpentine road with friends from the hermitage. It is going to be a long, exhausting but very rewarding journey and I can't wait to meet myself again at the end of the ride.

Will check in sometime later. Bye for now
smb