sideways

thank you for the comments on the last lot of paintings! as always, i really appreciate hearing your thoughts.
i've had this painting, 'orange flowers' {at the top} 3 quarters done for ages and finished it on the side last week. the print, 'home' {bottom} has also been in the system waiting for a final move for months.
so yep, a few different directions happening at once!!
orange flowers is here. home will join soon.

our creative space

this is me today. planning on letting these happen like they started, without too much thought! contradictory i know, but fingers crossed i can tap into it.

happy creative space day. click for more spaces.

i think it's finished! thanku for the feedback and encouragement from yesterday :)
off to start another one~

our creative space

have been working on these pieces this week.

i/{we} made the decision to add another work day to my week starting this week, which means our little one is in another day of kinder and childcare. i think it's the right decision, but it does add more financial pressure and a feeling of guilt! it's so tricky to know what's right and to follow through with changes like these ~ but, i am loving the feeling that i can keep going tomorrow on what i've started today. i think working during the week rather than on the weekend might feel more 'normal' for the whole family too ~ something that i've also wanted to change for a while.

so complicated!! i'd love to know how people work these things out!

happy creative space day! check out the new space :)

new work

thanks for the lovely comments on the last post! it's always so helpful to read your thoughts :)

have been playing around with these digital pieces ~ all inspired by paper cuts!
not really sure how i feel about them yet, kind of getting used to them . . . i've got an idea that might work for the 2nd one.

happy mothers day!

my creative space

so great to have 'my creative space' back for the start of the new term. school's back!!

the one at the top ~ 'theory' is finished and the other two are in progress. they are/will be acrylic, pencil, pinholes and stitching on paper.

painting these pieces inspired a trip to the art supply shop this morning. i had spotted the most beautiful gouache paints ever {over the holidays}, and have also been obsessing about water colours, which i think might work better for what i'm trying to do with the bottom layer. i was very restrained and bought only a couple of colours to try them out . . . am sure i'll get back to the shop soon. {i don't shop for shoes very often!!}

hope you've had a creative, fun day. will pop in to yours asap, no doubt i owe you a visit {sorry!}.

visit kirsty for more spaces.

work in progress

here are a few of the new pieces i've been working on lately. i'm a bit excited about the top one! i cut some pieces out of a photo i printed and stitched around them to make some of the collage elements. i wasn't sure how i was going to use them or if they'd look too out of place. it's acrylic, marker, cotton thread and collage on paper, with pinholes. {clicking takes you to flickr}.

i'm playing with a looser kind of painting with the others! and some chunkier leaves {2nd last pic/sketch}.

happy march + happy autumn {in melbourne at least}! it felt almost like winter today, which i guess is what autumn is about. don't think i'm ready for the cold just yet . . .

my creative space

every time i do a stint of digital colouring i go through a shake up!
it makes me question why i'm doing it, what i'm trying to achieve that i can't achieve with non~digital work. and what is it i'm trying to do with my non~digital work again??
i left it alone for a bit and found these leaves from the real world {they've been a source of inspiration many times} and got out the gouache and markers and did some drawing by hand! i did put them together digitally and painted the red in photoshop in the last image. the little ones are gouache on chalk board paint.
i get a feeling that my work is going in many directions at the same time, which is exciting but also comes with a weird sense of guilt! not entirely sure where that comes from, but it could have something to do with thoughts/theories that come from having an online shop and 'branding' {kind of the opposite of free art~making}, the pull between graphic design {the past} and fine art {my real passion} and what i should be doing . . . eeeek, the pressure!!
do you ever tie yourself up in these kinds of knots about your work?? does it always come before a calm, resolved feeling?? {fingers crossed}.

happy creative space day! pop into kirsty's for more spaces.

ps. thanks for the kind thoughts/comments on the last post + thanks to everyone who has subscribed and entered the giveaway :)

my creative space

:: february~may

:: june~september

:: october to december +


today i made the listing for the 2011 calendar ~ very excited to have it finished.

i thought i might be fun to list it as a pre~order to start with and include a free 13th collage print. sadly, i can't add an extra month to the year, as much as i'd love to have a spare/extra month!
{the 13th one is the bottom right in the last image}.

i made a couple of changes to the format this year ~ the size and shape is the same, but it now hangs from a loop of blue lacy yarn {which can come off} and i've added a design detail to the dates area. the detail is light olivey lime green ~ not quite as bold as it looks in the blogger version of the image . . . just to divide the dates up a little.

also, there was a method to the image~month matchup this year: i chose an image for each of my family members! i've had this habit from childhood ~ checking to see if my favourite happens to be on my birthday month and was so happy when my oldest son made a request for the november image! hope you like your month! {read top left to right, then bottom left to right ~ clicking on these takes you to flickr for better viewing}.

for more creative spaces and to play along, visit kirsty.

happy creating :)

new work

these are the pieces i've been working on over the holidays. i took lots of photos but the shiny embroidery thread is very tricky! the shine of the thread {which i love} seems to look tacky when i brighten the shots in photoshop {a necessary step}!
the stitching has been fun and the thread has turned out to be just the kind of addition of colour that i was after. i didn't want to cover up the drawing with paint ~ i wanted to keep the simplicity of the drawing . . . and the paper is 100% cotton . . .
i took these photos in the kids' room against the an old map. i'm hoping to get some better photos soon.

thanks so much for all the comments on my last work post :)

3 finished collages

here are 3 of the bigger collages ~ now finished. they are roughly 7 x 10 inches on 300gsm paper.
i know i said i'd post them here on the weekend, but you know how things go sometimes!

friday . work in progress

i just wanted to say thanks for all the comments and positive feedback on the brooches and pendants. it's so great having a blog and a little community of like-minded people gathered around! thanks for reading too.
here are 2 mixed media {drawing/paintings} on paper that i started this afternoon, and will hopefully form a series with this one. they are about that feeling that gets carried around some days after a dream-filled sleep that is kind of a mystery but at the same time a definite 'thing'! you can't quite put your finger on it but it affects everything.
am off to get a much needed haircut tonite.
happy friday to u :)

friday . work in progress

the holidays are officially over, so it will be back to normal for the boys and i next week ~ always a little/big jolt!
a couple more aceos in progress ~ am now addicted to making these.
my wishful thinking yesterday resulted in a full day behind the computer fixing up photos for the brooch and pendant listings, which i am happy to say has finally begun ~ you can find the first couple here.
yay!
also, i followed a tweet and entered a competition and won a little ad spot for july on gold school, {thanks to danielle}.
happy friday to you :)

my creative space

here is my creative space today~ deciding which to make into pendants and which brooches . . . a little hard-core glueing {appologies in advance for the messy glue on the back of these ~ neat glueing is not my forte!} and taking hundreds of photos. there are now 16 brooches and 8 pendants done + one for my sister. i hope to get through all the photo editing and description writing tonite {not sure that i will!} so that i can list them. there are a couple of photos up on flickr if you'd like to see {click on an image above} the 'chain' part of the pendant is hand dyed and rolled silk that i found at my local bead shop ~ it's made locally and very soft. . .

i hope you had a creative day.
to see more creative spaces or show your own, head to kootoyoo :)

** in other news ~ kim from Udessi gallery will having a stall at the boutique markets in brisbane on sunday 12th july {8am - 4pm}, so if you are in brisbane that would be fun to check out {lots of my prints will be there!}

art cards {aceos}

have been making lots of art cards lately! they kind of tie in with the pendants and brooches and are part of the perspective series {pencil and acrylic on paper}.
hope your week has started off nicely :)