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.

Sniffles was the name....

OzFemme has been unwell, go make her feel better. Then come back here and make me feel better as I've since caught her germs even though we live in different states and with different germ factories kids.

I snuffled my way to Melbourne to see my GP. I haven't been able to find one here and he already knows the ins and outs of all the ducks. Youngest daughter also needed to have a blood test done, poor kidlet was not happy after. They tried many drinks of water and hot packs to try and coax her veins up with no luck. At one stage they were even looking on her hands and feet to see if they could get a cooperative vein. The Dr ended up doing it himself. From a very small vein.

Then I dragged myself* to Southland for some shopping therapy. and tissues.

I got the Countdown Spectacular 2 dvd that I have been chasing for ages. Big W is having a dvd sale, so we got some more movies. Handy now that I am stuck in bed feeling like fat cat has taken up residence on my ribcage. I also got the complete 6 series & Specials of One Foot in the Grave which is as good as chicken soup! I love that show.

We had fun trying to catch trains at both Sthn X and Flinders St. The line we needed at Sthn was closed [found out later that a train upline had a door stuck open] and at Flinders their display thingy was wrong, the other one was blank, with the added bonus of a track change to the blank side with no warning. Everyone getting on kept asking where the train was going. LOL

Well, I'm off to turn the bathroom into a steam room. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Hugs Bunnies.

* 2nd eldest drove us around, she's on L plates still, so got plenty of practice in. We were nearly in an accident as some silly cow in a tarago with squillions of kids decided to pull out from a side street over 4 lanes of traffic. All the kidlet could say once we pried her hand off the horn and the stream of obscenities subsided was how glad she was that her Dad made her pay the extra for good brake pads he installed. LOL Oh yeah, youngest piped up with "Wow. you sound just like Mum" Hmm.

Life in the country

Overnight I have succumbed to the evil flu/cold germs floating around. You would think that the fresh country air would scare them off, but no. Tomorrow I am going down to Melbourne on the train for the day...

Anyone want to take bets on the number of death stares I get from other commuters as I sneeze and snuffle my way to the SE suburbs?

To the [ahem]friendly person who emailed me : I'd just like to point out that I was not bagging out Hugh Grant in my previous post. I've just read his Wiki bio as well as a couple of interviews and from that I have formed the opinion that, no you are quite correct, in Real Life he would not be a sad loney git. Probably more a cynical smartarse like me and the lovely Anonymous commenter who actually comprehended what my post was about.

So, there you have it *grin*

OMG! When did this happen?

I have obviously been a closet Hugh Grant fan for years without even realising it.

And it hasn't been obvious, even to me. We bought some new dvd's on sale and I grabbed Love Actually as it was on special for $3. Anyway, youngest daughter and I are putting them away and she says "Would you like me to put all the Hugh Grant movies together?"

HUH? WHAT?

Yes. That's right, I wrote that correctly. I have enough movies with Hugh Grant in them to have a whole Hugh Grant category. When did that happen? I wasn't aware that I even liked his movies. So, I've been turning this over in my mind all night. It's a bit troubling, does this mean I like romantic comedy's? or, perhaps sad lonely gits?

I've always been the sensible one, head on straight. Not the one who watches romance and reads Mills and Boon and cries at weddings.

But apparently I am.

I am a meat popsicle.

It's 4pm here and I'm sitting in bed huddled under 2 doonahs and a cat. Heater going like the clappers and it is still freaking freezing in this house. 4c degrees. Obviously, I am so cold my brain is frozen as well as I just read the BOM weather report and it says..
Weather Pattern:
A vigorous cold front will move through the rest of eastern Victoria this
evening then further cold fronts will move from the Bight to cross Victoria on
Tuesday and Wednesday


I read vigorous as vicious. LOL I like my version better.

Poetry

My son has a poetry assignment for school. One of his is called an Ode to Poop.

Kenny has a lot to answer for!

more!

My all time favourite music....

Phantom of the Opera by Nightwish

Help? Where? Rhetoric over action strikes again!

Sooooo, the crisis people can't even find them a caravan or 2 to go where the house/garage was?

ROFLMAO. And people accuse me of being cynical. What a freaking joke.

Yes, I am a big fan of self reliance and responsibility, however, sometimes the help on offer is useless. Giving them a caravan and hooking it up on site and organising for the family to take part in an owner builder relationship to rebuild would be practical. Finding a civic minded builder to help would have been more practical, or even nominating them for one of the shows on tv, instead of a garden makeover they have a whole block they could make over. 3 years dumped into crisis accomodation where they have to pay rent and utilities does not help a family recover from losing everything.

And, the council waits till winter? Yes, that's practical help.

I'm not a fan of just doing everything for people, but putting forward other options other than short term crisis help needs to be incorporated. Practical help, not looks good on paper and pat me on the back help.

A CRANBOURNE family of eight is out in the cold after bulldozers moved in on their makeshift home.

Shortly before 10.30am on Thursday, two police cars arrived at the Darcy Court property to remove Vince Grant, his pregnant partner Karen Dyball, their four children aged 12 and under and Mr Grant's 76-year-old mother, Patricia.

By lunchtime, the garage they had been living in was demolished. Hours later, Ms Dyball went into labour a week early and was taken to Frankston Hospital where she gave birth to a healthy son David Bradley. Read more

Let's do the time warp again...

Time just seems to keep getting away from me.

We are moving my studio around [yes, again!] I just can't seem to get it into a proper workflow, so we're changing it from the 2 rooms into 1. I need an uncluttered easy to get to space in order to work and it seems impossible in this house. Could just be my brain though LOL

I am allowed to start excercising again [light only, no joint impact at all] so have chosen bellydancing ROFLMAO This should be veeeerry interesting!

I have my eye on a house, slightly out of town, in a smaller town. I am seriously sick of house hunting. The house we're renting has no heating and it's absolutely freezing here. Even the cats are getting under the doonah's. The first time, I thought hubby had suddenly grown a full pelt! We've bought heaters but they still don't seem to heat the house to comfortable. Then again, being a tropical girl it may just mean I am doomed to feel frozen forever down here LOL Hopefully by the end of the year, just in time for summer, we will be in our own house and I can paint the bloody walls any colour I like and hang a gazillion pieces of art if I like!

Oh, and have a straight floor.

Well darrrrrrlings, I must be off to see if I can create a masterpiece *g*
Luvyas all.

Aha!

We wandered down to view the Archibald '08 exhibition which is currently ensconced in the local gallery. I was a bit hmmm about this years winner but seriously, the images you've seen on tv or photo's do not do the actual image justice. In person it is vivid and full of movement and subtle textures and shapes. I can now see why it was chosen as the winner.

The Heath Ledger image is also wonderful but feels very dark and foreboding. Although, that could just be my layering after his death. Mildly creepy and I felt like a bit of a voyeur looking at it. Don't get me wrong though, it's a great artwork and powerful, I felt like he was going to reach out and poke people.

One by Leslie Rice that was split into multiple images that you could barely see. In fact, I walked past half of it before I realised the frames weren't empty [could partially be the lighting though]

My personal favourite after the Del Kathryn Barton piece was by Hong Fu, Dr Joseph Brown

Afterwards we wandered across the road and browsed the Antique/Secondhand shops. I found a set of wooden cats that I hinted at hubby as my birthday present and a couple of beautiful marcasite pieces that I drooled over as well. Could keep me entertained for days in there LOL We decided to go to the Beechworth Bakery for lunch, which was really busy.

Then we came home.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I am in my studio wondering which thought to release first :-) I've finally finished all outstanding webwork, so am freeeeee!

I'm back

I spent a lot of money at bookshop and drooled for hours over the manuscripts. Learnt a lot of information.

Proved beyond doubt that I really do not have any social skills whatsoever.

Antikva's big city adventure!

No cooking, No cleaning but Reading, Room Service and Restaurants for 3 days :-)
I'm off to Melbourne for this -

Conference: Imagination, books and community in medieval Europe
An international conference at the State Library of Victoria, 29-31 May 2008
This international conference will examine the role of the manuscript book in nurturing both the imagination and a sense of community in medieval Europe, focusing on continuities between medieval and early modern visual, intellectual and religious culture.

I had to change the commenting permissions, if you have any probs let me know.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Question of the day...

Why do people join fan clubs if they're not fans? Numbskulls.

PS. I haven't been here cos I have been sick with some stoopid arse bug thing. Feeling better now though. Guess I better finish the redecorating LOL and put everyone's links back up before you all think I don't love yous all anymore :-)

PPS Don't you just love rambling run on sentences with improper grammar?

PPPS. It is absolutely.fricking.freezing here. We're not buying a house unless it has central heating to the wazoo and warmed toilet seats. GEEEEEEZ.

I blink and a couple of weeks whizz by...

Sorry, got a little bit carried away playing Mah Jong solitaire on Facebook lately!

I had my Mother's Day last Sunday as D2 and her BF were up for the weekend.
I got a true daylight work lamp, a sewing machine, some ugg boots and a Jennifer Fallon book, a set of Phantom mags and tyres. And, flowers. Score! LOL

Apparently we are now a holiday destination LOL Eldest is having her gallbladder out some time this month and we're having the baby here until she recovers.

I'm going to a conference in Melbourne on the 30/31 May. Imagination, Books and Community in Medieval Europe. Might have to take the grandaughter with me. heh.

I've been asked to do a 2 part gilding workshop, so need to get some work done to show them. All of mine have gone to their owners and photo's don't really show the gold glimmering. I've been doing test sheets for it to show the different methods of gilding ie. old method, modern method and writing out my recipes for ink, gesso and paint as well. I see my Immuno specialist in 3 mths, so hopefully he'll give me the ok to go back to using pigments.

So, I have one final corporate client site to finish off and then I will only be consulting for them. But apart from friends and family, I am done with web dev/design. Unless of course, I urgently need money to buy art supplies.

I've also been reading a lot. I've found 2 new Aussie authors, Jennifer Fallon and Fiona McIntosh I've found this cool little second bookshop and have been haunting his shelves. He has great old books on art that are reasonably priced. At this rate, I'll have to buy more shelves LOL DH says we shouldn't be looking at houses to buy, we'd be better off buying an old library or warehouse *snort*

Wel, that's it for this weeks enthralling instalment. LOL

Hugs everyone!

I am not invisible anymore!

must be magic! LOL Nah, I think I finally whined at the right person. I'm going to be in Melbourne [again GAH!] at the end of May for a conference on Illuminated Manuscripts. Hopefully I'll have time to swing by and check out Michelle's latest exhibition entries. I really love her Happy Days piece. My friend Ty is moving back to Melbourne very soon, so I am really happy and dying to catch up. A couple more of the gang from Uni are also gravitating to Melbourne [ hmmm. funny how they all turn up just as I leave! LOL]] for work. So, I've been changing stuff around, not just furniture and hopefully everything will be ready to unveil on Thursday. I'll also have some news by then and hopefully be able to invite blackmail/guilt people into coming along. Well, I'm off to get some sleep. It's freezing here and I have a book to read :-) Hugsyasall.

You can see me

but I can't. Having a bit of a tech problem at the moment. Back when I can see myself again!

Definitely a WTF moment.

I bought a motorbike racing dvd [official] and just watched it. The sound track is not the sound of motorbikes as you'd expect nor some commentator waffling on, not even silence... Elevator music. and REALLY freaking bad elevator music. WTH were the producers thinking and WTF were the *official* lot who approved thinking. The only thing I can conclude is that noone watched or listened to it prior to approval. Either that, or they were all out to lunch.