Art Felt

Leaving

Leaving, even when it is something for which you have great passion and for which you have anticipated with relish, is never easy. For me it is because of those parts of you you leave behind.
I am looking forward to the journey I will take over the next few days.  I am grateful for the oppotunity to do this and for the support of my loved ones.  Thankyou family.  Welcome back my darling daughter too. I look forward to your camp stories when I return. Thankyou my precious husband for shuffling your work and life so I may pursue my passion - see you on the dance floor!

I carry your heart with me
(icarry it in ny heart)
I am never without it
(anywhere I go you go,
my dear; and whatever
is done by only me is
your doing, my darling
I fear)
I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)

From "I Carry your Heart with Me"
by E.E. Cummings

Short and Sweet

Last friday night I went to see The finals of short and sweet .
It was the finals night and consisted of 12 ten minute plays.
I could not believe how diverse and powerful they were. In ten minutes so much could be said.
The winner was actually one of my favourites. "Almost", it was the story of an office romance on the verge of blossoming when fate takes its course. In this case it was in the form of 9/11. It seemed another reminder of the importance of living in the moment - it was very powerful. Another interesting play was "The Pursuit of Happiness" It centred on our search for happiness and weather we would actually grab happiness if we had the chance, or if we would even know what it looked like if we found it. 

I guess art has the same ability to give the viewer a message - on the most part without words or actions and the message can be different for each person that views it.

I have a very dear and wise friend called Karen. we share  lots from nail varnish colours to solving  global warming - one day Karen is going to write a book with all her words of wisdom. She manages to almost always look at situations objectively and leaves me with a more restful mind whenever I seek her counsell. In fact as I head off to Artistic Journey Retreat tomorrow, I do so more easily knowing she is close at hand for the family I leave behind. She often sends words of wisdom to me, I leave you with one that seems to fit with my thoughts today.

"Any moment is the best moment, and any place is the best place"  (Artwork -encaustic Butterfly")

Letting Go

An emotional daughter farwells a seemingly unemotional mother off to camp! All was held together until she left with her father in the car to head to the bus for a one week camp in the kangaroo valley with southbound adventures. It is a tougher camp than she has experienced before with NO bathroom facilities - digging holes survivor style!  I know she will manage and I know the experience will strengthen her, but it doesn't make waving off your number one daughter any easier. She has a beautiful soul and cares for others way too much, It will be a strange old week with the remaining three of us. And when I leave for Perth for artistic journey at the end of the week - just the two boys! They will collect a weary and
wornout daughter and sister I am certain.  I am sorry I will not be here for her return, but perhaps I will get a better version of the camp once a few days have passed, home cooked meals, showers and sleeps have been had.  Travel well my darling, we will be thinking of you. xoxoxoxo   

More Learning

What a day!
Today was yet another day of firsts for me on the technology front! The trusty Ursula once again proved her patience can rival that of a saint, as she guided me through the next layer of blogging!I was reminded of the tale of the "Hare and the Tortoise" - I certainly have the slow and steady part, and I will win the race as soon as technology stands still long enough for me to catch up! Alas, I think not. May you enjoy the evolving site.
Meantime, here's my own little hare about to dive in for one of his big races at his swimming carnival last night. I'm pretty sure lane two was the one Ian Thorpe  won gold in, at this very same pool!
I was so proud of the effort he put in in all the races he qualified for. Well swum number one son!

Book Swap

A piece of Art from a bookswap that my fortnightly art group composing of Alyshia, Ursula, and me have been doing.  We complete each theme in whichever book we have at the time.  I completed this in Ursulas book.  The theme was white. I used Gesso as a base, then created texture with texture paste and by scribing into the wet surface, then applied the collage elements, stamping and tranferred image.
I buffed some treasure gold over the completed work.

It has been a really interesting process to see our individual interpretations on the chosen themes.


My daughter has been able almost without exception to pick out who did what in each book as she becomes familiar with each of our styles.

I love the different approach we all  take.

It has been a great exercise in disipline ,

If we complete nothing else during the week,

we all seem to feel compelled to finish the book swap page so the books can continue to rotate.

That said, if anyone does'nt complete it, it seems to be me!

Weekend Celebrations

On the weekend we celebrated my mothers
birthday with a family picinic.
I am lucky to have the best mother in the world.
She loves unconditionally, is gracious, never speaks unkindly about others. Gives and then gives some more - everything she does is done with class.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!
We enjoyed the day in the gardens at Lavender Bay by the harbour. The gardens are owned by the state rail authority, but meticulously maintained and tended by Wendy Whiteley the wife of the late Brett Whiteley .  It feels like you are in the garden bellow the home where much of his work was done.
The harbour bridge provides a spectacular backdrop and the weather was brilliant.
A very special day celebrated with family I feel most fortunate to have.

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

     
Since reading my dear friend Ursula 's blog entry of afew days ago, I have tried to focus on living in the moment. Hard to do when you spend so many moments planning for future moments. I thought back to when my children, now 10 and 13 were younger - they only lived that moment - why as an adult is it so hard to be present then?  What a magical talent!

This moment is after all, all that we have.  We can plan as much as we like, but all we have  is now, this instant. The rest is a mystery, and can change in a hearbeat.

How will you spend this moment? Better still, will you be in it?

Some wonderful moments for me -

Watching my children sleep
Waking up beside the love of my life each morning
Sharing laughter
The smell of the ocean
The sound of Cicada's
Making art
Breakfast in bed
Christmas morning
Looking at art
Being with Family
The UNICEF bears
Sydney Harbour
Listening to music
Watching my son paly the cello
Watching my daughter recite
Spraying on perfume
Making my husband laugh
I am grateful for this moment.xox

VALENTINES DAY

LOVE IS ?

What's love to you?
To me it takes on many forms, from the unconditional love from my family, to a day of creating, did I mention chocolate?
I use  the heart image in  alot of my work - I don't always intend to, but it always seems to end up that way - maybe it is reminding me of the love that surrounds me daily.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. Martin Luther King Jr

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY XOX

Some of my Treasures

I am lucky enough to have two real treasures.
Here we are in the great city I live in.

"It is the wise parent that gives their child both roots and wings"  Chinese Proverb.

I am still working on that one!

I do believe that our children are our greatest teachers - and that we keep beign presented with the same lesson until we learn from it.

This was a trip to an amazing exhibition at the 2006  Biennale    in Sydney. There was a room filled with 210,000 clay figures.  The artist had gone to a villiage in China and worked in collaboration with the 350 people. The result was an amazing and moving artwork.

Beginnings

Today marks the beginning of what for me is a huge step!

Entering the world of journaling - quite a feat for a technology challenged soul.
This has been made possible with the amazing Ursula.

It will be a slow learning process - but it is underway.