In the studio...

So, have made new batches of gum ammoniac, pounce and gesso. Did you know that cuttlefish bones REALLY stink if you get too close when grinding it up? Ewwwww.

Today I have been gilding and now just have to wait out the drying time. I've been doing initials and smaller stuff rather than full on illuminations. Making Christmas cards to send out, want one? I'm making them with gouache, 24ct gold and Arches HP Satine. Email me name and postal address. I swear I don't have enough energy to stalk you, if you're worried. Oh, and don't wait until later, cos you'll probably get an Easter card instead! hehehehe.

I took Ann's advice and decided not to keep shoving furniture & stuff in the studio around as I am still feeling less energetic than usual. Hopefully the ants in the pants will return soon and I'll be happy. I have been walking for 30 mins but then have to have a nanny nap to recover.

Hubby went away for 2 weeks to the tropics, so I'm a tad jealous. He is working though, so I'm not that jealous LOL

We finally bought a new dishwasher as the one I had is 19 and only works erratically [the youngest daughter] so I sucked it up and spent the money. It was on sale though, $495 for a Dishlex is cheap!

Well, must twaddle off and start dinner.



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Now playing: Graeme Connors - Let The Canefields Burn
via FoxyTunes

Back again!

Well. That was not a fun break. I missed going down to Phillip Island for Motogp for the first time in years. I had pneumonia for the 2nd time, except this time it was in both lungs, apparently it was viral and then turned to bacterial. You know it's going to be bad when even the soles of your feet hurt while you are lying down.

Anyway, I am a lot better today. Last Friday I honestly thought about my mortality and of course scared myself stupid. Mind you, the Dr helped with the OMG!!! I don't wanna die bit, so I did exactly what I was told to do, rest, drink plenty of water, take antibiotics religiously and various puffer thingys. Then promptly had to add another allergy to my list of medication I definitely can't take again or the mortality question will raise it's ugly head.

Now one of the kids has had it as well, but he should be well enough to go back to school on Monday. We both just went for a follow up visit and the Dr has pronounced us well on the path to healthiness again. TG.

Mum and Dad diverted their holiday and came here earlier as they were a bit worried after talking to hubby. I had 3 days of my Mum looking after me *g* They've gone now to Geelong to see my Aunt for 2 weeks, then come back here for 2 weeks before chuffing their way back up to Brisbane to my brothers place.

You should see the mess in my studio! I have to reorganise again after the rearrangement of the house for visitors. sigh.

Away....

Will be back in a few days.

I absolutely love this! Totally worth watching.

They can be found at Myspace or their site

Go on, shake your bingo wings with me *g*

Softies for Mirabel

Pip has put up the last round of auctions to raise money for the Mirabel Foundation, so this is your last chance to grab a gorgeous soft toy!

bleh

Sorry, am under the weather. Ever since I had that blardy pneumonia a bug only has to look in my direction and I glom onto it.

Back tomorrow with some pretty shiny things :-)
and a place I found to buy some vintage patterns by download.

Cold.

Well, the weather played a nasty trick today. Beautiful weather all weekend, then wham. Gale force winds and biting cold rain. Harumph.

Of course the bloody shed door had to fling itself open at the height of it. The cat stuck her head out the door, then looked at me as if to say "You're going out there? Are you crazy?". When I got back inside she was laying on my chair in front of the heater.

I finally found an old arcade game that my MIL loved to play and wanted a copy of. Rodent's Revenge. All anyone could remember was something about a mouse and a cat. I've been googling it for a while trying to remember what is was called. It came out on W95 and if you want it as well, the link is here works fine on Vista as I have been playing it all afternoon LOL

Oh noes! Wahhhh

Anyone have a broken microwave? I need the glass turntabley thingy that you put food on. I use them as a palette and mine is broken :-( or know where the hell I can buy one from? Short of stealing mine out of my new microwave [ somehow I don't think I could justify why I pinched it for paint LOL ]I have no clue.

I have no idea why but goauche seems to mix better on them, must be magic :-)

Apart from that, I have done absolutely nothing today except watch V8's [ well, absorb the race through my eyelids would be a better description! heehee] and read a book.

We bought the beanbags btw ROFLMAO should have seen us putting the beans in. I am but a shortarse and hubby kept lifting the bag up higher while I was coaxing the beans out. Grrrrrr.

I read the instructions that said to fill the bag while in the bathtub but decided that as a grownup I could handle it. We're still picking the bloody things up.

What's even funnier is hubby has been full of static the last few days, every time he touches something or someone he shocks them. Anyway, the beans keep attaching themselves to him. If he keeps this up, he'll pass for a snowman!

Taking a deep breath...

and jumping back in.

I've entered an artwork I just did in a competition.

Details and image at a later date.

OMG. I am absolutely freaking out.

Messin' with the kids

I bought tickets for St Kilda vs Collingwood semi for the 2nd eldest and her bf yesterday. And actually got great seats for them. Wasn't on purpose but shhhh, they don't know that.

So, she rings me tonight to ask if we want to send the 2 bratlets down for the Royal show. Errrm, no, says I, but, you can grab me a show bag. A Hoff show bag. [The contents of The Hoff showbag, which costs $16, include The Hoff Wig, The Hoff Love Dice, The Hoff Headband & Wristband Set and the The Hoff Dollar Bling Necklace.]

She still thinks I'm joking.

Yes. I think I found my personality again, it was obviously on an extended holiday along with my sense of humour.

How to look like an idiot without any effort required...

change your mobile phone and chuck away the sim card packaging without writing down your new number. Then, ring important places to change your number and realise you don't know it! DUH!

Nice knowing you all!*

There's definitely one positive if the world comes to an end tomorrow...

I won't ever have to listen to the teen next door playing his doofdoof music so loud it vibrates my entire house ever again. The minute his olds are out the door he turns. it.on. EVERY.DAY. MDK to the MF. Nah, I actually have a present that I am going to leave on their doorstep for him...

NO! I am a nice person *g* doesn't mean I haven't thought about ringing the elec company and telling I'm moving and making an error in the addy LOL. I have a wonderful wireless headphone set that I am going to put there. Maybe he'll get the hint.

We did notice that the beanbag chair thingys we want are in the catalogue for BigW that came the other day. The sale starts on the 10th, so it's the Day after tomorrow sale *g* Perhaps they think everyone will be so relieved that we didn't go bang that we'll all rush right out and buy stuff on sale. ROFLMAO

* ermmm, just to clarify, I am in the world is not coming to an end because they flick a switch camp. They've had smaller one's of these for a long time. Plus, ya know, blind faith and all that jazz :-)

Softies for Mirabel

Pssssst...wanna see some great softies? Go here and you can even own one! Not necessarily for a child in your life, you could also buy one for your inner child *g*

Meet me at Mikes Ebay store

Meet Me at Mikes has a blog here which explains what Softies for Mirabel is about :-)

Echoes

I had a big clean up in my studio last night. Tossed images I've been working on into my trunk and locked it back up. Strange how something happens or you talk to someone and things change and you realise you've been on the wrong track. Oh well.

The new stuff is working well and I finally have a connection to them.

I also found in my ratpack a cd of a Uni assignment for Video Editing. I uploaded it to Youtube to watch as I don't have a mac anymore. We got a HD for this. I can't believe how young the kidlets were!

On being a Fantastic Frog and Muso Magic

I had 2 fun days last week...

I volunteered to help out at a Muso Magic [ go, click, I'll wait till you come back, drop down the recent school workshop box and it's there :-) ] workshop run by Adam Thompson [ ex Chocolate Starfish singer] If you ever get the chance to help out, jump in both feet. Or, if your kidlet gets the chance through school to do the workshop, sign the permission slip and send it back immediately by registered mail to the school *g*

Yes. It's that good.

Yes, it's motivating but not in a visible way. Adam transmits his energy out to everyone there and you just kind of absorb it. He doesn't waffle on about being positive etc it just happens naturally.

The kids have heaps of fun as well as learning to write a song and perform together. Adam and his team are excellent at what they do. You can't top Adam and Glenn [Goat Man] I wish I could bottle the magic they really do create. Seriously.

2 days and I know all of the kids went home feeling great about themselves and are now probably thinking of things to do that they would never have dreamt they could.
The kids wrote and performed the most amazing song and got up there and sang it like they were rockstars!

Made me feel great too :-) watching it happen. I got goosebumps when the kids performed it live on stage for the first time. And I am still feeling happy.

I'm really glad I got to meet Adam, Glenn and Linley and see them as people who care and are excellent at what they do, rather than just a name and picture.

PS. And, yes, Adam Thompson sounds exactly the same while jumping around with kids in a room as he does on a cd. Even with an iron on his head. The Goat man is one cool dude too.

Groundhog Day

Remember that movie? I'm stuck in a special screening just for me. I try to be positive with the eldest and stay hopeful. At the moment though, that hope is slipping away. Tough love is aptly named, although it's tougher on the parents.

On a funny note [ which isn't really funny but more macabre] I heart Yahoo search. They've got the first husband pegged right with their alternate search suggestions for his name MUWAHAHAHAHA! I know it's mean to tease, but if I said it I'd get sued. LOL

Anyway, I have had busy fingers, I sent in my contribution for the Mirabelle foundation auction on Ebay that Pip from Meet Me at Mike's is running. This is my very first original designed and made by me softie!

Meet KreepiKat :




I've also made a version in polymer clay as a pendant and a print one for a tshirt. I've become rather enamoured of him, so if the cats in the house aren't careful, he'll be getting the best sun spot to lay in *g*
I'm working on a painting today but the photo will have to wait until the photographers get home :-)

What a load of manure!

Can you believe this freaking BS? The horses that survive Hendra virus get put down anyway! Why not put them down when they are sick then? Why wait for them to recover at all? Why put them through it all? If they're serious about the human risk, would that not be more logical to reduce it? The practical cynical side of my brain is also wondering who pays the astronomical vet fee's incurred while treating the horse?

I can't articulate the rage I feel for this complete and utter BS.


Hendra virus claims $200k racehorse Tamworth
The two-year-old gelding is being put down despite surviving the deadly Hendra virus that claimed four other horses at Queensland's Redlands Veterinary Clinic.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24182088-1248,00.html


I know I haven't posted much. I swear I am really, really busy. Apart from the pneumonia putting me a month behind, I am also working on new stuff. Good news is that I am being weaned back off medication and can start excercising again.YAY. Plus, 2 pro photographers in the house, you'd think I'd be able to get photo's of artwork and stuff. no. not so much. They are busy too LOL

Journalisation of a brain

My daughter is having the same problem I do when it comes to creative process.

"Where's your journal?" was the most oft asked question while I was at Uni. "Ummmm, right there with the rest of my work I would reply." Most often followed by " Well, where's your ideas and process for the piece?" which would have me explaining that it's all in my head. I go straight from brain to fingertip, with a short side trip to OMG, that looks like crap, let's start again. So, my journal would have multiple versions of the final image in various stages BUT with no clear path of why I went there.

I just can't journalise my brain. no matter how hard I try. BUT. I think I have found a solution to my dilemna. I'm going to work it like a swatch [inspiration, design or style] board then when it's finished, take a picture and voila! A visual journey of my creative process. Phew.

So. tried the theory out *g* and true, it did work. But now I get asked why is there a Robbie Williams poster hanging off the side of the board? and why is there a Max Biaggi photo in it as well? And why are there recipes for ham and vege soup? alongside paint test strips and lyrics to Puff the magic Dragon? and Library Due Date receipts. Pics of friends and family and dates to remember. One of my daughters photo's that has no direct correlation to the artwork in progress.

Very simple. That's my creative process for everything. It's all what makes me think of what that piece of artwork is about and where it came from.

So, Daughter is now working on her own board in the same way.

Still in bed...

this is getting annoying. Apart from the idea of no technology in the bedroom going down the loo, you can only watch so much tv, read blogs and books before everything becomes too much effort. Amazing how bright screens can be, even reading an email was hard.

Poor kidlets come to visit their really young and cool Nana for fun stuff and all they get is the shrew in the bed asking if they've brushed their teefs and read their books. Oh, and had a bath. Although they're currently playing Wii bowling, so they're happy.

So, I've been stuck in bed since I came back from Melbourne, the house is a mess and if I venture beyond the sickroom I end up crying because well, the house is a mess! Poor hubby. Luckily for him, I can barely talk, so he's spared the yelling part. He tries, but we have incompatible cleaning methods, so usually I end up cleaning up his cleaning. To him, it's neat and tidy, I see a rubbish tip. LOL

I am starting to feel better tho, even starting to feel hungry & can at least sit up without my eyeballs falling out of my head. So tomorrow I'm getting up. I can't stand it anymore. I've been doodling in my art journal, so have some ideas. LOL although maybe not.

Toodles, everyone have a weekend!

Vertical Gardens

I came across an intriguing link on another blog to this site called Vertical Gardens by Patrick Blanc.

What a great solution for small space gardening! The possibilities are endless. Instead of grafitti, they could put this on ugly concrete. Although, probably not in high smog areas like the tunnels. And so easy even black thumbs like me could implement it. If you click on detailed presentation he tells you how to make it using easily acquired items, seeds and cuttings. I'm going to do a trial run in miniature *g* the less death & destruction I wreak on the plant world the better, I think.

I have felt left over from cushion making and pvc plastic from our move as well as a metal frame from our old dishwasher wheel contraption. So, it's a recycling bonus as well.

I don't think it would be water hungry as it seems the felt would hold the water and reduce the amount it would require, perfect for drought areas.

So to me, all in all, seems like a great way to garden.

Let me know if you try it and I'll post pics of my attempt.