Inspiration Avenue Challenge - It's Tea Time!

I decided to re-use (I'm not going to call it 'cheating' this time!) a drawing I did back in February...

My clever, clever plan was to paint it different strengths/shades of tea...

Clearly, I've never used tea before - not even to do those often-convincing 'aged' pages - so I had no idea how incredibly pale even the strongest looking cold tea appears on the page... *sigh*

But not to be deterred, I decided to do a two-page spread - paint the drawing with watercolours, and tea-stain a second page and stamp an appropriate message...

And voila!

What do you think??

You can see I need some more practice with stamps... applying the pressure left-handed is still a challenge...

And the label is from the yogi tea I had at breakfast, and reads 'See the soul and divinity in everybody'...

So, tea does make everything better :)

Thursday Thoughts...

How to express my thoughts and feelings at the horrors in Norway at the weekend, as a mother of teenagers?

I simply couldn't...

So I put Back to Black on the CD player and made this spread in my journal yesterday...

... focusing on the loss of a talented young woman, while saying a prayer for all the mothers who lost their children to a madman's gun...

Virtual Coffee Tuesday - A Busy Week...

Hello again! The days just whizz by, don't they??

Well, the kettle's on - I'm guessing everyone wants a hot drink - it is c-h-i-l-l-y here! *brrrr*
I'm convinced we had our summer back in May...

Oh, and there are lots of scrummy biscuits in the barrel - just help yourself :)

Well, now we have our drinks and biccies, shall I tell you about our busy week so far?

Kids in the UK have finally broken up for the summer *phew*

And we got to see the last Harry Potter film - though not as a family as I'd hoped...
the kids went with their respective friends on Wednesday (half-price tickets), and Nick and I went on Friday...

picture copyright fanboyz.net

Still, it was a fun evening - early showing, then dinner - and it was nice going out just the two of us :) One of the perks of the kids being almost 16 and 14!!

Then, Saturday was an early start for mother and daughter... as I took my gorgeous girl to have her ears pierced! She was been wanting them done since she was 10(!!), but I managed to persuade her to wait till she was a bit older... and now, she's soooo happy and I'm the best Mum in the world - for now :)

Then on Sunday, we all met my dad for lunch here (they do a very nice roast dinner!), and E went home with Grandpa for the first week of her summer hols... and I'm trying not to miss her too much...

Given what a fun weekend I had, I couldn't quite see where this came from in my journal pages yesterday... but that's the subconscious for you!

I know I quite deliberately wrote 'monotone' rather than 'monochrome'...

I think I was half-remembering the re-run of Vincent and the Doctor on TV at the weekend (my absolute favourite Dr Who episode, btw), and Vincent saying he could hear colours sing... 

E and I watched it on Saturday afternoon, and maybe, I just can't hear colours sing while my girl's away... *sigh*

Now, can I get any refills?? And yes, there are more biscuits :)

And we can settle down to hear your stories from the past seven days... it's all happening over at Amy's...

Monday Music - Can Never Beat the Original...

... sorry James Blake fans, but this is how it should sound, though I do like his video :)

Inspiration Avenue Challenge - Wings

Now, I must confess to cheating a tad...

I decided to finish a picture I started for the IA Angel Challenge a few weeks ago, which I never completed...

I'd done this drawing in my regular sketchbook...

... of this painting by Rosso Fiorentina (c. 1520) in my Angels book by James Underhill (Element Books Ltd, 1995), p. 86.

I decided to paint the drawing using the unused gouache paints I found in my newly released art supplies, which had been trapped in the garage by dh's 'shed stuff' for the past year!

This is how the drawing looked yesterday...

I can tell you now, gouache is not for the faint-hearted!

I love it's opacity and strength - much more fibrant than watercolour paint - but it shows every single brushstroke... and once it's on the paper, that's it, no lifting, smudging, or even painting over...

Added to that, I'm still learning to control a brush left-handed, and fine work is still rather beyond me! (btw the picture's roughly 5x7in on ordinary drawing paper)

However, this is it completed today...

I am my own harshest critic, so all I can see are all the mistakes... but generally, I have to say, it's not bad as a first attempt with a new medium... and I'm quite proud of the little forearm strumming - it almost looks realistic...

But what do you think? I'd love any feedback... :) 

Virtual Coffee Tuesday - The Lovely and the Not-So-Lovely...

Wow! It's been a week already?! Where do the days go???

I know a week is a long time in politics - especially this past week with all the phone-hacking-NoW-Murdoch-police-bribing scandal developments, but it's a long time in Blogland too...

It's been a real up-and-down week in my patch...

So, to start with 'The Lovely' of the post title... I got this beauty in the post last week from the lovely, talented Jo over at Gemheaven

It's a style she calls a mermaid's purse, but this one's extra-special to me, as I provided the stone...

Since the stroke, I haven't been able to wear my gorgeous carnelian Da Vinci ring and it's been languishing in a cupboard for four years... Then earlier this year, I read on Jo's blog how she does custom work and often refashions stones... Isn't she clever??? And aren't I clever to reuse and enjoy an old favourite?

And I want a pat on the back, or at least for you to raise your coffee mugs...

Ta-da...

Now, I'm not going to show you my art cupboard... ah-hum... but I do have a tidy desk and space to make things :)

Here's a couple of close-ups...

My favourite photo of Marilyn by the wonderful Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt. I know his shot of her standing over the air vent in that dress is the more famous, but I love seeing the bookish side of her more:)

And the tools of the trade :)
A little bit of card that says, 'aspire to be' - can't remember where it came from... and a  miniature by the multi-talented Cathy Cullis which reads 'another deep day'... just to inspire me and remind me what is important...

And a wonderful set of gouache paints, which I never got to use before the stroke... It's a medium I've always wanted to try, and yesterday i did...

I did a page in this wonderfully recycled journal made by artist Julia Reyes. I love it's grungey look and the fact the pages are made of paper bags :)
I didn't feel at all 'precious' about spoiling it, as I made this collage yesterday...

(you can click on the photo to get a clearer look)

And so to the Not-So-Lovely part of the week...

I have been feeling rather under siege... vulnerable... threatened... I don't feel I can talk about here, but I can show this page... made while i just let the images come as i rifled through my stash of collage materials...

It certainly isn't fine art, but it is a raw and honest expression of how bombarded i feel...
and I am proud of the fact that, for once, I didn't worry about making a 'nice' picture... I just immersed myself in the process and was truly surprised at what came out...

So, how are you?
Has it been a good, or not-so-good week?
Have you made anything?
Expressed yourself?
Or just laid back and had fun with the kids... :)

Our kids break up for summer on Friday - finally! And hopefully, we're off to see the last Harry Potter film on Friday night to celebrate...

And do join the others over at Amy's!!

Virtual Coffee Tuesday - Giveaway Winners Amid the Chaos...

Hello again...

Well, it's Tuesday, and the kettle's boiled, so while somebody makes the coffee and tea, i'll get straight to the lucky winners of my giveaway, and then we can chat over coffee...

Thank you so much to all of you who left comments, both on the post, in emails and on Facebook...

And the first winner, who gets to choose which journal she'd like is....

... the ever-lovely Kate, over at The Queen of Creativity. I'll drop you an email, Kate for your choice of journal and your snailmail...

And the second winner is...

... My very own Lil Sis, Johanna! (we're not actually related, but I've known Johanna since she was a teenager and have kept in touch ever since... :) )

So again, thank you for all your comments - I so enjoy reading them :)

Now, in other news...

This is the current state of my art area in the living room...

It developed over the weekend,as my dh finally pressure-washed the patio...

...which then meant he could take his 'stuff' from the garage into his beloved shed... which then meant we could get at my art supplies, which have been trapped on the far side of the garage since we moved last year... which meant I spent Sunday unpacking crates, and this is as far as I've got...!!

It was like meeting long-lost friends - all my stamps and pads and books and papers and...

And having been inspired by Lisa, I shall slowly organize it all and show you the results... though, I can't promise it'll be by next Tuesday...

Anyway, you now know what we did over the weekend, how about you...? Any fun outings...? Time with family and friends...? I can't wait to hear and see what you've been up to...

Poor Amy's been having Blogger problems(!!), but finally found the coffee crowd....

Monday Music - Camelot

I am so enjoying this series on channel 4, especially the performances of Joseph Fiennes as Merlin and Eva Green as the evil Morgan... though, I agree with the Guardian's reviewer, Jamie Campbell Bower's portrayal of Arthur is just not strong enough...

Sadly, I couldn't find a youtube clip of the actually opening titles - copyright issues, I'm guessing...

But you can enjoy a flavour of the music :)

Inspiration Avenue Challenge - Poetry

As soon as I saw this week's theme, I knew I had to find enough energy to participate...

Sadly, what I produced with was not as stunning as I envisioned in my mind, but I hope you get the idea...

I adore this poem by W.B.Yeats! Here's a close-up of the first stanza...

And my interpretation of the line: 'Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold...'

You can read the whole poem here; and as a bonus enjoy the amazing Joni Mitchell's interpretation...




PS Do join in my giveaway to mark my 100th post and my Mum's birthday!!
I'll draw the names on Tuesday morning and announce them on the Virtual Coffee post  :)

Virtual Coffee Tuesday - A Special Birthday and Post 100 Giveaway :)

Today would be my Mum's 67th birthday... sadly she died over a decade ago, a week before her 56th birthday...

Like a lot of daughters, my relationship with her was far from straightforward... but there is rarely a day when I don't think of her, wonder how she would respond to a situation, wish I could call and ask her opinion...

I know she would have loved to share Virtual Coffee with you all - though she was definitely a  china-cup-milk-in-first-tea-drinker - and would insist that I never invite you over unless I had decent biscuits or cakes to offer :)

Unfortunately, I didn't inherit her wonderful baking gene - though I know my daughter has, and often I wish Mum were here to encourage and advise her in the kitchen...

So, in honour of my Mum's birthday and to celebrate my 100th post, here's the giveaway I'm offering...

I have these two wonderful journals, which sadly I cannot use... and I realized I've hung onto them long enough and they need a good home where they will be used, not just admired!!

The first one is 8x10ins and from Papaya! and has both lined and blank pages, but as it's perfect-bound, the pages don't lie totally flat...

The second is a stunning handmade art journal I bought from Zorana's etsy shop several years ago. It's roughly 7x8ins, though the pages are all different sizes...

Just leave a comment here and I'll put your name in the hat :)

I will draw TWO names first thing next Tuesday morning and post them in the Virtual Coffee post. The first name out of the hat can choose which journal they prefer, and the second will get the other journal...

Of course, if you just want to say hello, and don't want to be in the giveaway draw, just say so :)

Now, how has your week been?

Friends in the States - did you have a fun 4th of July? Did you go to any parades?

I can't wait to hear your news, more coffee anyone???

(The rest of the VC crowd are linked up over at Amy's.... )

Monday Music - Happy 4th of July!!!

PS and it's Post 99... giveaway planned for tomorrow's Post 100 :)

Object of Desire...

Those who know me well, or read my blog regularly, know there's few things that get me as excited as a new book or magazine...

And look what came in the post today...

Now this is issue 3, but I'd never heard of it before a chance comment in an article in last weekend's paper...

I found mine at magazine cafe, but I understand it's also available in the States...

It's about the size of Vogue and this issue has over 200 pages! It's also like the big glossies in that it starts with a fair few high-end adverts, but believe me, that is the only similarity...

Starting with the cover... one of my personal bugbears with magazines is they slip everywhere - especially off my lap. But this lovely has a textured cover - how clever is that? And inside the paper is a mixture of semi-glossy pages and, lo and behold, recycled pages!!

And it's packed full of interviews with interesting women... some I've certainly heard of, like Adele and Fatima Bhutto, others are new to me, like the singer Laetitia Sadier and the artist Germaine Kruip.

Sadly, The Gentlewoman is only published twice a year :( but you can be sure I'll be getting the Autumn/Winter issue!!

PS I'm rapidly approaching my 100th post - this is no. 98!!! and I'm planning another giveaway :)
so watch this space.....

Friday Fun: Why I Love Etsy...

I joined Etsy over 4 years ago, and I love it more and more...

I love that you buy direct from the creator - no greasy middleman is making off with any profits...
I love that every Etsyian I've 'met' over the 4 years is just lovely :)
I love that even in the virtual world, you can build up a real connection with the person making what you're buying. A lot of Etsyians do custom work and seem to get as big a thrill as I do buying something made just for me - remember the lovely Jenny over at this post who made me a journal...

Yesterday I got this in the mail...

How gorgeous is this?

It's my recent purchase from Barbara at Vintage Bunty - they're 'only' scraps for collage, but it's like a birthday gift :)

And like a lot of etsy sellers she included a lovely freebie

And the scraps themselves are scrummy and begging to be played with... the colours... the textures...

This is how shopping should be - a pleasure for the buyer and thoughtfulness and helpfulness from the seller - and hopefully a true, mutual appreciation :)