There was a young woman who lived in a shoe...box

What does one do when one has no space to swing a cat?

One has to compromise of course.

So when I see people's beautiful art rooms (I too have had them in the past)I think, how can I do this IN my living room which also doubles as a bedroom (I live in a studio apartment) but also keeping the space as a living space. I am happy to work on the tiled floors, on the couch an on the bed. All my works are very small after all.

My dilemma yesterday though was how to make my own 'inspiration board' like the ones I have seen on other's beautiful blogs. I don't have the space and I can't pin things to the walls of my rented apartment. This is what I did with string and mini pegs...

Do you have some dilemmas and solutions to share?

x

Birdy Hide and Seek

Sometimes when I ride my bike through the bush I like to go really really fast. 

Wooooo hooooo!!!

But today I wanted to go very slow so that I could photograph the beautiful birds that play in the trees by the lake.

 

The problem is, whilst these birds are very noisy, they are also very very shy.

 

Stand still for a few minutes and you will see one finch hopping on a branch, then another finch, and maybe a wagtail, then another bird until you realise these birds are everywhere - you just have to stand very very still.

 

Catch a glimpse of the little things and you will see how beautiful they really are. 

So my photos today look like bird version of Where's Wally but it was the best I could do without standing like a statue for half an hour.  

One of my favourite books (such a geek) is Robert Hughes The Fatal Shore which is about the colonisation/invasion of Australia by the English. I think he describes the bush perfectly...

'...the landscape was alive, but secretively so. Here in the Australian bush one needed to look, and look again, before glimpsing the gray koala camouflaged against the fleshy gray burl of its gum tree. The voices of the animals tended to be out of all proportion to their size. Just as space was drained of perspective by the random, flickering of the trees, so it was hard to guess where sounds originated' (p.7).

I love the bush

x

Dandy pants

I completed some things on my to-do-list which is a lovely feeling...

 I bought some blank cards and made these pretty little dandelion cards. I wanted to make them more of an artwork than a greeting card so it can be used as both. 

They look so pretty with the light shining through - almost reminiscent of an old vintage photograph.

x

Where I live part 2

More of where I live...

More of Autumn

Autumn Seasons Shelf...

I was lucky enough to visit two wonderful girlfriends yesterday and to spend quality time with their children also. Both beautiful souls and their kidlets inspired me to create my own seasons shelf. I don't have room in my house (otherwise known as the shoebox) for that special little corner so I used the windowsill. On my windowsill sits all the things that remind me of Autumn...

Dried flowers and feathers in miniature jars...

Dried leaves and my little dandelion print...

Little gnomes and elves, wooden pencils, ceramic birds, a hand-painted wooden Easter egg, and one of my oil paintings. I will keep collecting to add to my Autumn Seasons Shelf.

...

Today, as I parked my car in the local council carpark, I noticed a lovely big lemony smell - like the smell of pure essential oils. Then, as I turned the corner there was a huge lemon teatree bush. This made my day. Why buy cut flowers when I can fill my house with the heady fresh smell of lemon tea-tree? Bliss!

The frangipani is slowly dropping its foliage. Shady in summer and bare in winter, letting through much needed sun. What a perfect tree for me.

The owl and the gnome sit at the entrance to my house, keeping an eye out.

How are the seasons treating you?

x

To do list...

Autumn...

Still raining.

Raining raining raining.

A little chilly. But not too cold. 

What am I doing now?

Let's see...

1. I have just cut and printed on paper this sweet little dandelion into lino. I think I will print many and make some little autumn greeting cards. Will keep you posted. Must go to art shop to buy blank cards...

2. Or maybe I will print the sweet little dandelions with white fabric paint on some nice brown linen. Or cream on white? Or white on blue? Must go to art shop to buy fabric paint and fabric...

3. Or maybe I will varnish my two new oil paintings *see previous posts - the owl and the doll*. Must go to art shop to buy some new varnish...

So many lovely things to keep me occupied. Yay for holidays. I hope you all had a lovely Easter.

x

Pretty...Incomplete

Oh dear..

I have all this beautiful wool and all these beautiful crochet squares but alas, it is hard work and very fiddly. I thought it may be possible to make crochet blankies for Christmas presents but I think it may take me 20 years to finish one. Ha ha. At least I am positive about the colours - aren't they pretty? 

Maybe as Autumn moves into Winter the motivation to crochet will come back again... let's hope

x