Merlin's Musings

Buried Treasure

2011-07-30T12:03:00.007+10:00

Here we are again for another round in Seth Apter's Buried Treasure experience and one I have enjoyed every year. It does have it's problems, for example picking one post that I felt a connection with that I hope you all enjoy again as well, but also the much needed butt therapy that derives from the hours spent in viewing all the posts of the participants, LOL!

Butt seriously...

here we go again...

Welcome to...

and my contribution

I hope you enjoy...

'The Descendents of the Dragon.

Did you all hear that spooky laughing and thunder too, LOL!
(Halloween is close, mwahahahahaha).

But, back to the world of reality.

The descendents of the dragon is a term that the chinese people have used for centuries in reference to themselves. The theme of the piece however, is actually inspired by the culture of the Chinese people. China is home to the world's oldest continuous civilisation. Leaving all the facts and figures behind for a moment, I wondered when doing a little research about chinese customs and culture, in a civilisation as old as this one, there had obviously been many changes over the centuries. What had changed I wondered? What has been discarded over time and what has survived and still holds a place in the Chinese culture of today? And so to research. Now didn't that just keep rolling and rolling along. Suffice to say that I found so much information it became an overload. In order to present a piece within the confines of the book structure it was necessary to do a lot of whittling of ideas, honing the project down to something achievable both in terms of dimensions, and information size but also in obtaining the support items required to do justice to the ideals I was trying to present here. The piece for Lisa's book here reflects just a small part of what I have found. And so to the piece.

Here it is, it just needs to be slid onto the book posts.

But wait I hear you say what's this? There's something that resembles a book structure and some red bag thingy, what is going on?
We'll get back to the bag thingy a bit later, first to the pages for Lisa's book. A piece always needs a good introduction, something to capture your attention. Here it's a set of doors, (yes Kim has done doors again! I love them, so effective and dramatic!)
The doors here are based on designs found within the forbidden city. I love all the drama of those huge red doors!
Under the doors...

a bit of an explanation about the piece for the viewer.

Over the page and...

meet Long, the chinese dragon.
Chinese dragons are fequently depicted with a flaming pearl under their chin. The pearls is associated with prosperity, wealth and good luck.

The dragon here is made from layers of fabric paper to give it depth and dimension. The flame surrounding the pearl is made from strands of silk fibres. The background colour, looking quite washed out here from the camera (it is much richer in person) is traditionally the colour retained solely for the use of the Emperor under Chinese custom as is also the figure of the five toed dragon. The background fabrics are all satins on this page resulting in loads of trauma for both the camera and yours truly at picture taking time.

Opposite Long, the key book. The key book is the depository of the rest of the piece for Lisa's book. It is a collection of fabric quilts sewn together as a book structure. Each page highlights one particular aspect of chinese cultural beliefs. All are still relevent to chinese customs and practices today although they have undergone some significant changes over time. Each page of the book has been designed so that each colour and embellishment used here is symbollic of current beliefs and practices. They were chosen to reflect and highlight the main theme of each page. Although mostly of a fabric construction, any paper used in the book structure was sourced from China to reflect the importance of paper in Chinese cultural history but also to maintain the ideals of the books original theme. Each page also contains a piece of literature also chosen to reflect the theme of the page, even if that theme may be a little obscure by western standards. With the exception of the last page, each page has a piece or excerpt of poetry attached. Most of the poetry here is from the Tang dynasty and many of the pieces were written by the master of Tang poetry, Li Bai. Poetry is regarded as the pinnacle of Chinese literature and reached it's height under the Tang dynasty. It is still held as the foremost form of the art today. The last page differs in that the quote here is taken from what is regarded as one of the four classic novels of Chinese literature, but more on that later too. All the beads in the book are made from bone, lotus seeds, wood or gemstones, including freshwater pearls, coral, amethyst, agate, and lepidolite. The fabrics include, silks, satins, cottons, a few man made pieces and chinese silk brocades.

The key book free of it's confines.

Onto the book.

Here's the book as it appears tied into Lisa's book structure

I decided that it would take forever to post all the pics and describe the embellishments in detail so here's a little slide show instead.
(You can click on it to bring it up to full screen size if you like.)

Oh and about that bag at the top.
Well, like I said there is so much background detail attached to this piece I decided to make a scroll with all of that information on it to fill the viewer in on the details. The scroll is made from linen, paper and silk and when finished measured over 2 metres. As it is too large to fit comfortably within the structure I decide to make a matching silk bag to house the scroll. So now the book has a doggy baggy for all the extras, LOL!

This piece was such a pleasure to make and work in. It certainly presented some wonderful challenges too. (Photography was one of them, all that reflective shine from satin and silk!!!) It is quite different from most of the other work so I hope Lisa likes it. Now to package it all up and send it on it's way. Yay Alicia, watch this space! Now it's back to the studio and onto the next pulpy book that's been waiting for me. Oh dear, hopefully I can find my way out of the studio a little faster this time!

The Beginning of the End. -Pulp Redux, Alicia's book, the 'Museum of Forgotten Things".

2011-07-22T12:53:00.003+10:00

I have been deep in the darkest depths of the studio for some time now finalising the piece for Alicia's book, "The museum of forgotten things'. Suffice to say I think the rest of the Pulp Redux collaborator's probably think I have forgotten all about it! Not true dear ones! It has taken a long time to finalise this piece. It is quite large and required such a lot of detail. Of course if you have jumped over from the Pulp Redux blog you will know all about the before part of the story. If you haven't here's a quick wrap up for you...

The main charachter is Hester who has recently died. She found out her husband was having an affair years ago and murdered him in an arson incident. After the murder Hester finds she is pregnant to her deceased husband and gives birth to a son, Thomas who dies in infancy. After this Hester embarks on an affair with Hans, the affair peters out and Hester has a child, Charlotte whom she gives up thinking she will have a better life this way.
There you are that's the short version, LOL! Breathe!!! LOL!

Okay so now you are up to speed. The question is Kim, what are you going to do to wrap up this story?

(Good question by the way!)

It seems to me that the tragedies here are compounding throughout as each participant's pieces unfold.

Secrets by their very nature eat away at us.
We are consumed by them, both in wanting to know them, then being horrified by that knowledge at the same time.

But, in the end, the thrill of the secret is in the sharing.

Wise words indeed.

And so I have created the book of secrets.

Able to stand on it's own as a piece but also well able to join with the rest of the participants pieces here, a book structure.

(What can I say, I love books!)

Some sneaky peeks from the inside.

Ladies white lace gloves. What do they keep hidden?

A tragic tale of a family doomed by the guilt and secrets that they keep.

But what happened to everyone, I hear you ask? Hester, and the child Charlotte.

As for the tale, well as you peruse the texture images from the piece I will tell you a little about it.

You see Hester gave up the child to her younger sister Iva who raised her as her own, but renamed the child Anna. (Remember that Hester was survived by her sister and a niece Anna?)

But of course it all went horribly wrong.

Anna (Charlotte) grows up well loved and happy, never suspecting her aunt is her mother and her mother is really her aunt.

She follows the family tradition and becomes a seamstress.

Meets a wonderfully handsome young man and they marry.

They have a child, Anne, but soon after Charlotte's husband is killed in the first world war.

Life continues but Hester becomes consumed in her later life by what will later be revealed as guilt and rage, but for the present is thought to be old age memory loss.

On Hesters death, Anna, (Charlotte) and Iva are clearing out Hester's papers and Hester's secrets are revealed.

And so...

Anna, or Charlotte as she now discovers herself to be, is enraged by the secrecy. Unable to come to terms with the lies and deceit she takes her own life, drowning herself in a local river. Filled with grief, Iva confesses all to Anne who is ignorant of the whole mess. Saddened by the loss of her mother through suicide and the stunning news of Hester's secrets and her murder of Richard, Anne decides to leave and start her life anew. Somewhere where she can forget all the pain and secretive lies of the past. She constructs the book of secrets and donates all the pieces of the puzzle to the Museum of Forgotten Things, finding in the museum's title an apt place to lay to rest the pieces of the lives she is leaving behind.

And there it is folks. I should say that the piece here is part of an art quilt. Measuring 34" x 22" in size the piece detaches completely from the book base if preferred and can be hung complete on a wall as is if Alicia would like to. Now I guess you can all see why it has taken so long to complete. Constructed of three layers of cloth and a mix of both machine and hand stitching it has been a mammoth task to finish in any sort of reasonable timetable, but here it is complete at last, my needle population decimated as I have literally worn out about 8 handsewing needles in it's construction, yikes!

I would love to show you it all in detail of course but that's all you get for now. All the last pieces of the Pulp Redux collaboration will be shown together in an online exhibition in the near future. We will of course give you those details later as they become available and you will be able to view all the last pieces of each book in full at that time.
But for now that's it for the museum of forgotten things.

I hope Alicia enjoys the piece. It will be winging it's way home in the next week dear one!

I should add here that this collaboration has been an absolute joy. For me the prurpose of joining in was to both better aquaint myself with each of the participants, each and everyone of which I was already a fan of their work, and also to push myself. To tackle new mediums, ideas and make them work within the limitations of the structures provided. To boldly go where I had never been before...

Okay I digress, but you get the picture.

I must say the collaboration has in everyway lived up to those original aims and expectations. I have indeed pushed myself way... way, out of my comfort zone. Had to tackle completely new ideas to integrate a piece or problem solve the how the heck am I going to get that idea over thought. I would strongly recommend the process to anyone. Go into it with your eyes open. It will be harder and challenge you more than you ever thought, but the rewards...

Unbelievable!

Would I leap in again, especially so soon after just completing this one... you betcha!

In a heartbeat.

The bonds of friendship I have gained, and the insight into my own artistic abilities, creativity and concepts have been the singularly most insightful process I have ever had the priviledge to be a part of. Yup, as I said ... in a heatbeat. Thank you girls for the bestest and most creative fun ever. Mwah!

Soon there will be more exciting things to show you as I delve into some projects which have had to take a backward step in recent months.
Stay tuned.
Also don't forget to visit Seth's blog, The Altered Page for all the latest goss from his new editions of the pulse, which I am happy to say I have again taken part in. It is such fun to find out what everyone is up to, thinking, participating in. I love interactive sites like his and he does such a colossal amount of work to collate it all and get it out there to everyone. If you haven't popped in to join in the fun, where have you been?

That's it. I'm off! See you all again soon with more fun and games!
(Well, at least the latest doings here anyway)!

An Absolutely Shameless Plug!

2011-06-18T09:45:00.004+10:00

Since my last post I'm afraid I fell immediately into the firm grip of the local dreaded lurgy (commonly referred to these days as flu!). At last I have regained some temporary control of my throat and lungs again and have reduced my coughing to some sort of nightime annoying tickle and am able to at least function in some sort of semi coherent way approaching normal again, YAHOO! But enough about my health issues and onto the arty news!

I'm sure many of you know that the fabulously hardworking Alicia Caudle over at the Altered Bits site has released her first edition of the Altered Bits zine as a print issue! Oh hooray! While I love downloads for their space saving and green tree preservation soft and fuzzies, I am the first to admit there is nothing more mystical for me than the slow drooling over a real page turning experience. It's probably the reason I love book arts so much. Can't resist the touch of the page or an intimate session with something textural either for that matter. While art is forever a feast for the eyes, the more senses I can engage at any one time in an artistic experience, the better I like it! Having said that smello-vision might have me rethinking about some experiences, but I digress!

I have two submissions in this edition of the zine. Below is my piece in the Notorious section entitled
'Never Dull'.
The piece is a 8" x 10"mixed media collage mounted on a wrapped canvas featuring the rather infamous Bonnie and Clyde.

The second submission was for the theme -Letters and Symbols, and is also a mixed media collage although this piece is mounted on a
9 1/2" x 11 1/2"book cover.

Titled 'In Praise of Writing' the piece is a reflection of the Chinese peoples contributions to human society with the invention of both paper and writing. The central symbol is a fragment from a silk and paper scroll and is the character for 'water' or 'river' and is symbolic of the ink used to produce writing.

(Both pieces are available for sale. Feel free to email me for details or leave a comment here and I will get back to you.)

While that covers my own submissions I would strongly recommend that you consider purchasing this zine in either the downloadable or hard copy print edition. Neither will break the bank or your hip pocket to purchase and in return a fabulous feast of arty offerings will be yours to pour over for eternity.

Including 21 artists who offer an array of styles and pieces and 46 drool worthy pages, there is bound to be something that sparks off your own creative senses.

So what are you waiting for.
Click the picture above now and it will whisk you off to the dear Alicia's page where you can order your own drool worthy edition!

As for myself I will be back in the very near future with some Pulp updates for you.
Stay tuned!

Where does your inspiration come from?

2011-01-23T10:51:00.003+10:00

Confessions of a blog hopper!

Right now, right here I will confess all!

I am a blog hopper!

Yes, yes...I am!

I admit to you all that I spend WAY more time than I should in looking!

Truthfully now, I think this probably counts as some sort of major addiction. I can visualise a future in which there will be institutions set up for the rehabilitation of many like minded souls who will require years of therapy in able to live more normal (read that as less addicted) lives, and physiotherapy sessions a plenty aimed at the reduction of flat bottomed butts! This is bound to be a major by-product of blog addiction in the future.

But...

I must say if you are seeking inspiration, then, this is certainly a place where you will find it.

(It is also damn handy to be able to get up and attend to the chores and distractions of life as required then flit back again later for the next drool session as time permits!)

I admit to perusing all manner of others blog types.

I can frequently be found jumping from artist's blogs to decorating blogs, and store blogs etc.
Yes. I do not snobbishly leave out any particular type of blog. In this I am a model of tolerance for all!

In truth though I am looking for inspiration.

The trick is to stop looking at the items as objects and to start to look at them more closely.

Blur the lines and discover.
What is it that appeals to me?

If you are seeking inspiration take a closer look with your artists eyes not your usual 'scanning and immediately passing over it without really seeing it' eyes.

Look at the colours... the hues, shading, tone.

Look at the textures, how they work off each other to form the whole.

Line, form, it's all there. What do you see?

Here's what caught my eye from the world of architecture.

(Disclaimer- The following pics are all from my inspiration files and very naughtily I forgot to list their source, which I would normally do.
Obviously this day I was somewhat distracted but at least had the good sense to file the pics.
So if these came from your blog, let me know and I will credit you as the source, and thank you for the wonderful inspiration!)

A beautiful vaulted ceiling. The sinewness (is that a word???) of the lines caught my eye and the colour shading and depth.

Think...

How can I transfer this to my art?

I'm in love with the texture of the stone, the lines formed by the design of the groined vault.

The cut and smooth set against the rough hewn blocks.

I would love to walk through here and touch the beauty of the stone and hear my footsteps echo.

And who can resist a staircase, winding away out of sight to...

anywhere.

And then there's this ...

the 'piece de resistance'...

Wow! Now that's a staircase!

No way I'm walking down that in my high heels, I'm putting mine on at the bottom, LOL!

(The woman in me is saying I would hate to clean that!)

I'm loving the curved lines.

So there. Flat bottomed people unite!

Confess your sins.

Where do you go to find your inspiration?

Texture Peeks

2011-01-20T15:05:00.001+10:00

I know it's a bit quiet over here at Wandering Heart Studios but there is lots happening.
Of course you know I can't tell you about it yet so...

until then enjoy some texture from the studio.

Perhaps some white...

and some not quite white!

(and no this isn't a picture of my skin!!!)

Texture from sneaky peeks...

and the imprint of a leaf in hand made paper.

Hope your day's a textural one!

Learn How You Really See Color!

2011-01-17T22:36:00.007+10:00

Ever wondered how you really see colour? We all have our own perception of colour. Some of us view certain colours as more red or blue, or maybe yellows get you confused! Maybe it's just certain hues that get your knickers in a knot!

Ever wanted to try to work out exactly where your colour perception is at? Try this for a little fun. It only takes 5 minutes and is relatively pain free, LOL!

Here's a pic of the test.

See easy, just arrange the squares in order.

and here's how mine turned out.

Not too bad really. I can live without the need to be perfect!

X-Rite Color IQ Test – Learn How You Really See Color!

Why don't you give it a spin.

You never know, maybe you have perfect colour perception!

Good luck!

Things are gettin' hairy!

2011-01-07T18:04:00.004+10:00

Christmas and New Year...

were...

wonderful...

and then...

Now I know you have all heard about the rain in Oz, especially in Queensland where I live. I was talking to Cat, from La Dolce Vita the other day. She was asking if we had had any of the awful flooding here where I am and I answered that most of the serious rainfall has been north of where we live and things are wet here but pretty good, no real flood damages in our area, but after today there might be a bit of a reassessment.

The heavens opened here today...

just for a few hours we had some serious, and I do mean, SERIOUS rain.

Looking out my front windows the yard suddenly became this...

Then this when I opened my front door...

In the space of 15 minutes the front door mat had sailed away down the river that had begun to flow from the front, around the side of the house and into the pool in the backyard.

Do, do, do, lookin out my backdoor!
(Channelling some Credence for you all, LOL)

Don't know if you can see it but it was bucketing, even for subtropical us!

Oh, No, gotta go!
Down tools and every man/girl/there's only me here, gulp, to the rescue the water is risin real quick folks!

2 hours of, digging trenches for drainage, siphoning off the pool of 6 inches of water and setting up some ag pipes to carry away excess water and I finally got to go inside again.

No-one home but me, and thank goodness I was!

The view over my back fence...

We have lots of native bush and parkland around us here but over the backfence which is about five feet lower than the yard this is the stream running through the land now! I think the local bush turkeys have lost their nests!

Thank heavens I managed to save everything and the weather has eased back to mere normal rainfall instead of torrential bucketing!

This is the forecast for us until approximately mid April!

The thump was my jaw hitting the ground today when I was told the long distance forecast.

In need of some middle ground here I think.

Anyway's can't let you all go without leaving you with some art to look at.

The last of the journal pages for 2010.

Look into my eyes...

Told you things were gettin' hairy, LOL!

Looking for a way out?

Hope your 2011 is fabulous!

So what are you up to?

Caio!

En Route... Kim's final contribution to Debs book-Pulp Redux Collaboration

2010-12-07T18:08:00.009+10:00

Hello everyone, back again. No interenet connection for four days left me feelin a little crazy I can tell you!

Oh, isn't technology fabulous!...
that is until it stops working!

We have had the most unbelievable wet season so far, rain rain and you guessed it...
more rain!
The pool is overflowing and I'm not sure if it is ever going to get hot enough to swim in, but I digress!

The fabulous (only if you're a duck!!!) weather has however had a fantastic effect on my art time, no distractions at all to take me away from the studio so tada...
I have finished my contribution to Deb's fantastic book for the Pulp Redux collaboration.

Okay, if you haven't read the post over at the pulp site, (and WHY HAVEN"T YOU!!!) here's the update on the storyline...

Deb's book centres around a storyline about our heroin Maude. Now young Maude has finally escaped from a loveless marriage, and purchased some great retro eyewear to correct her vision problem (which the evil first husband didn't even know about either by the way, what sort of husband was he!!!), and has taken up with her first true love Damien and the pair are cruising the world, as only people from the late 1800's can in fabulous style, (I'm still volunteering to be the baggage handler if only they would take me up on it, I don't mind a good holiday...). Okay last seen in Egypt (courtesy of diary entries from the fabulous Alicia), we now join the story of our star crossed young lovers.

Enter Kim.

Okay, so now you know the backgrouind I decided to do a 360 degree turn (as only I can, LOL) and pick up the storyline from Damien's perspective.

Now our dashing gent had some sort of life prior to he and Maude resuming their undying love, so what is it?

Now young Damien is an anthropologist, oh yes he is... with interests in the up and coming sciences of archeology and cartography, a perfectly respectable career for a man of his age and times.

Now as you have probably guessed from the previous post, Damien has been offered a position in an expedition to the Yucatan penninsular to explore the ruins of the Mayan civilisation.(Oooo, Oooo, pick me, I'm sooo wanting to be the baggage girl now, sigh!)

(Ahh, well if I can't go in person I'm so going to enjoy the creative process of making the piece and pretending I did, so there!)

Enter the brass book!

Here you saw the background information to the storyline and the scene is set for the next part of the tale.

Hidden niches, I love them so much!

And now over the page and...

Tada!

Damiens journal!

More secret compartments to reveal...

well there were more secrets to tell you LOL!

Since it would take waaaaay too many pictures to tell the story in this post I have put together a slide show instead. It includes some of the pics you have already seen and more of the new section together to tell the story. Sit back and enjoy...

or at least I hope you do!

I did think about adding music but decided it would probably drive you all mad after a while so I left it out.
(Read that as it would probably drive me mad after the bazillionth time it played, LOL)!

So here tis!

So there did you enjoy it? So our lovers have married in the steamy South American jungle. The package in the niche contains a piece of fabric from Damiens wedding vest and a small piece of lace from Maudes dress, along with a piece of poetry from Maude to Damien. Did you notice that Maude has cast aside her eyewear? Apparently she doesn't need it now! Very brave of her really, her being in the jungle and all! Well there you are. The piece will be winging it's way off to the lovely Lisa Sarsfield in New Zealand for her contribution now. I wonder what Maude will get up to next?

Speaking of the long white cloud, (which I'm sure has hit some sort of snag and ended up hanging over my house for the last few months!) Really it has rained evey day for weeks now and we are apparently going to have our wettest summer on record, oh goody! I'd best brave the rain and try to rescue some of the garden before it washes away! Just as well I love the rain now, isn't it!

I'd Like to Take You on a Journey...

2010-11-21T06:47:00.003+10:00

I thought we'd have a peek into what I've been up to in Debs piece for the Pulp Redux Collaboration. It's almost done so there will be a full update soon but until then...

I'd like to take you on a journey...

(Ooooh, secret pockets!!!)

to somewhere a little off the beaten track...

to see what remains after...

of a once proud civilisation...

Take a peek...

Hope you enjoyed it.

Stay tuned folks, more coming your way soon, LOL!

Flutter by Butterfly

2010-10-20T18:33:00.003+10:00

Okay so I know many of you are aware that the lovely Trudi Sissons over at Two Dresses Studios has been asking for butterfly donations, but for any of you who missed the call and may be interested here's the deal...

The Holocaust Museum in Houston Texas is dedicated to educating people about the holocaust, the millions who perished as a result and to remind us all of the danger of apathy, prejudice and hatred and where it can lead. One and a half million children died as a result of
the holocaust and in rememberence of them the museum has launched project butterfly. They would like to collect one and a half million butterflies which will go on show in the spring of 2013 in what should be a momentous exhibition. Now the lovely Trudi Sissons has volunteered to collect handmade butterflies from you. Would you like to make one and join in? All you need do to join the fun is click on the butterfly image below to go to her blog and read the details. It really is easy. Just make your butterfly and post it to her and she will on forward them to the museum. It is that simple. Come and join the fun and your butterfly can be one of the many too.

Here's mine, posted and on it's way across the seas to Trudi.

A few fabric scraps and a little copper wire and hey presto...

a butterfly.

Winging it's way to Trudi as we speak.

Come and join the fun. Just click on the butterfly link below to jump to Trudi's blog and read all about it.

Hope to see your butterfly flutter by too.

Today you are you...

2010-10-11T07:52:00.001+10:00

And in the words of a most knowledgable and articulate hero from my childhood...

Today you are you...

that is truer than true...

there is no-one on earth...

who is youer than you.

Thank you Dr. Suess.

Happy 50th birthday dearest Carol. Friend, confidante, sis-in-law. Mwah!

Paint Play

2010-10-04T08:41:00.001+10:00

I've been feeling inspired to play with paint again.

seeing red...

flicking my brush...

and having some fun.

Nothing specific in mind...

Just enjoying the moment.

What are you up to today?

Studio updates and tropical bugs!

2010-09-28T17:52:00.003+10:00

So have you all caught up with Seths fabulous studioscapes project? I have to say I was most relieved to see the pic I did send in to Seth didn't include all the packaging stuff that was going on at that time! What a relief! Things were a bit tense back at the old ranch here I can tell you. Thats what happens when you're outrageously busy and have the memory of a sieve! So I thought I would keep rolling with Seth's idea and show you a little peek at some of my fav things in the current studio setup.

My inspiration board at present, tada!

And yes it reeally is that tidy! Much of the focus is on all things Pulpy with the Pulp Redux collaboration in full swing. (I don't know what I will do when it's over, cry myself to sleep at night and dream about lost creative inspiration I think! We are all one big family now.)

Here's my desk currently. I admit that arty stuff takes over the entire house really. It just depends what room I am feeling creative in today. I do confine most of the messy paint to this space. However you might just find all manner of other bits travelling around the rest of the house with me.

My chair sits next to windows both behind and beside me. This way I get a great cross breeze without the need of too much artificial cooling. Fans are a problem blowing stuff all over the room but the aircon is an absolute necessity in Summer. (Its the subtropics here, even in the first month of Spring as we have now the temps are hovering at around 28degrees C today and the humidity is in the eighties with a storm on the way.) I need the open air as much as possible or I feel I'm going nutty fairly quickly! I found having the desk looking out the windows was far too distracting. This way I get the best of those views and am able to concentrate better. The natural light spills across the desk too and there is absolutley nothing that can come close to that!

The next pic is of my favourite space. It is just one shelf of the bookcase but it is the place I gaze at from the desk and it inspires me the most, other than gazing out of the window at natures wonderful play that is.

It is really a bit of a shelf of curiosities. There is a large wooden tiki from New Zealand to protect me from evil spirits. Hubby is a Kiwi. I love the paua shell eyes. There is a large piece of coral from the Great Barrier Reef which is as flat as a pancake. I recommend that experience to anyone, just amazing! There are two little seahorses just a few inches long and next to them some tiny irridescent perfect shells just a few millimeters long that belonged to my grandfather. I will never part with them. Some shells which have been sliced open to reveal their natural labyrinths and a small part of my collections of favourite rocks and stones. The large green piece in the back next to the tiki is a solid piece of New Zealand jade. At the front a couple of chinese authentic coins over a thousand years old. Anyeway I think you get the drift. The little bottle at the back is a 100year old chinese snuff bottle that is handpainted. The painting is done on the inside of the bottle and it still smells of snuff.

Next to this motley collection is the bug collection. Oh yes, you live in the tropics and like art you know what happens here!

I have run out of compartments in the boxes so I have resorted to plastic homes temporarily for the latest bits. On top a butterfly that recently passed away on the lawn and under that the wings of a large moth. Each wing measures approximately 6 inches. Oh yes we grow em big up here! That makes for fun times around the bbq at night. The wooden box houses a collection of scented items. From cedar chips to frankinsence and myhrr (is that how you spell that???) its all in there. I always wondered what the heck those items were when I was young. I took the trouble to find out. Anyway it all smells heavenly. I think scent is such an important inspiration too for artists.
Under that the compartment boxes house a collection of bugs that only the tropics could produce! Maybe I'll let a few come out for Halloween and show you all, LOL!

Well there you have a glimpse of a little bit more. So now show me, what's going on in your studio?

Studio Stuff

2010-09-23T06:32:00.005+10:00

Just in case anyone out there doesn't know, the fabulous Seth Apter from The Altered Page has his latest installment of The Pulse going out each Sunday. This installment is Studioscapes. It's a fun and at times suprising look into the studios of many artists. I have found this to be so liberating at at times downright fun to peek into the creative landscape of fellow artists. Liberating in seeing that many are messy creators, (like me!), and funny as often I can pick which artist belong to which studio without the need to see the artists names. Our studios really are a reflection of ourselves and our art. This week Seth has a pic from my studio going up. That should be fun, it was taken right before we moved house and life was utter chaos. In fact, thinking about it, I'm not sure what pics I actually sent him now! Gulp, this could be revealing! Anyway pop on over to view some fun insights and in my case mess, LOL! Anyway click the pic to jump to Seths page, and disregard the mess!

Beneath the Descendents of the Dragon-Pulp Redux

2010-09-04T17:34:00.007+10:00

I've escaped, woohoo! Someone finally left the studio door open here at Wandering Heart Studio's and I've made it back to the outside world dear bloggers! Ahh but seriously, I have been absent for a bit haven't I? Life caught up here and a small break was the order of the day, but now it's back to creativity again. I thought I'd start with a peek at what I have been up to whilst confined to the studio, it's Lisa Jurist's fabulous Pulp Redux book- Roots beneath the Layers. I love this theme! Very Kim this one! Truthfully I had loads of ideas for this topic and really had trouble honing it down. Just when I had a very girly can't make up my mind moment, the creative energy did it's thing and one topic just launched its I must be heard at all costs thingy!

Welcome to...

'The Descendents of the Dragon.

Did you all hear that spooky laughing and thunder too, LOL!
(Halloween is close, mwahahahahaha).

But, back to the world of reality.

The descendents of the dragon is a term that the chinese people have used for centuries in reference to themselves. The theme of the piece however, is actually inspired by the culture of the Chinese people. China is home to the world's oldest continuous civilisation. Leaving all the facts and figures behind for a moment, I wondered when doing a little research about chinese customs and culture, in a civilisation as old as this one, there had obviously been many changes over the centuries. What had changed I wondered? What has been discarded over time and what has survived and still holds a place in the Chinese culture of today? And so to research. Now didn't that just keep rolling and rolling along. Suffice to say that I found so much information it became an overload. In order to present a piece within the confines of the book structure it was necessary to do a lot of whittling of ideas, honing the project down to something achievable both in terms of dimensions, and information size but also in obtaining the support items required to do justice to the ideals I was trying to present here. The piece for Lisa's book here reflects just a small part of what I have found. And so to the piece.

Here it is, it just needs to be slid onto the book posts.

a bit of an explanation about the piece for the viewer.

Over the page and...

A Little Buried Treasure 2010

2010-07-15T18:11:00.004+10:00

I'm back dear blog readers!
It has been a little while since I have said hello to you all. I have been away in the land of parties, hangovers and pain killers for a few weeks engaging in some much needed family fun time, only to return and find the wonderful Seth Apter has announced the return of Buried Treasure for 2010!

A fun must do event last year, I could not wait for the chance to jump right in and play again this year, although I do admit that last years blog cruising resulted in some much needed physio therapy for one's butt! However, not to worry , I have stocked up on pain relief, booked the husby for remedial butt therapy sessions and am fighting fit and ready to play once again!

But what to post?

After cruising back over the last years posts, there were a couple that were close to the heart for a number of reasons, but one remains for me a standout. There are certain art pieces that connect with us. Either as artists or viewers it doesn't matter the connection is undeniable. Some pieces just insist on being created. They nag at us and persist to be heard until the artist just gives in and allows that creative flow to occur. The post I have chosen to drag out of the vault is about one of those pieces for me. It's a little lengthy, so grab a cuppa and sit back, I hope you will stick it out to the end, it was a heck of a ride to create and I hope you enjoy it too!

A Photograph, some History, and a Book- Pulp Redux update

It began slowly...

I was intrigued by a photograph...

that led me to search...

where I discovered a map...

that caused me to think...

about a nations beliefs...

and then it began...

Time for a short history lesson.

I'll try to stay brief.

I have been watching with interest as libraries and museums around the world take up the opportunity to make a number of their historical photographs available to the public through a commons licence. (Fabulous effort to all and I applaude loudly at this generous effort by those who have taken it up. Thankyou for the material that has become available!) In browsing through the various photographs I became intrigued by pictures from the first world war, and in particular those relating to the Anzacs and their part in the Gallipoli campaign. Here's where the lesson kicks in.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, Gallipoli in Turkey was the scene of a major catastrophe that resulted in a huge loss of life, for all participants on both sides of the divide during the first world war. For Australians and New Zealanders in particular it has reshaped our nations and united us with a bond that remains so strong it has never left us. Anzac is an acronym touted during the war that stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The word came to have such significance attached, and to represent such heroism that during the first world war when it was touted, the acronym was officially dropped and the word Anzac, was granted status as a word in its own right. On April 25th 1915, Great Britain and her troops from colonial India, Australia, New Zealand and her ally in France, attacked the Turkish coast first on the beaches of what is known to us as Anzac Cove and then around the rest of that headland. The next few months saw the cream of the nations men die in a futile attempt to take possession of a strip of land that would result in the deaths of thousands of men from both sides and that they would then withdraw from a few months later, resulting in a victory to the Ottoman empire. Almost 500,00 men from both sides lost their lives in a 9 month campaign.

It changed our nation.

Australians entered the war having implicit faith in the dominance of the British Empire, proud to be a part of that empire. We came out the other side, a nation altered, forged by war, really united together as Australians, for the first time. It has helped to shape our identity and it remains strong to this day.

Anzac day is a traditional holiday here. Thousands attend dawn services and line the streets to watch the marches of our veterans. The number of original Anzacs has dwindled with the passage of time to a few old men, but the places of those others who have passed away is held by their sons and grandsons who march for them, maintaining their place in the ranks of men. It is a touching sight. My own son has marched holding a placard inscribed with the name of a man who no longer lives or has any family to maintain his own place. In this way these men, and the sacrifices they made, are never forgotten.

And so the lesson ends.

I have wanted to do a piece representing the Anzacs for some time. It has been quietly smoldering away in the background, insisting on being heard as these things are sometimes want to do, but how to achieve that?

And then along came Fragments, Vestiges and Remains, my book in the Pulp Redux collaboration.

An opportunity to represent some small fragment of this time, these men and the reshaping of a nation.

And so, to the piece...

I cannot show you the before pictures or how the piece developed and was put together. I would like to, but was so caught up in it's creation that I forgot to take any photographs!

I can tell you that the background was constructed using gesso, acrylic paint washes, metallic waxes and walnut ink. I quite liked the patina it produces, it just took ages to dry!

The left side of the page is dominated by a map of the Dardanelles campaign. A reproduction curtesy of the Australian War Memorial.

While researching the campaign, I came across the papers of Pte. Francis William Edwards. Pte. Edwards joined the Australian Lighthorse in 1914 at the tender age of 22. After training, young Francis shipped out with his comrades to Egypt then onto Gallipoli. He lost his life there in May 1915.

Under the map, a glimpse of a life lived.

The piece is representational of the lives of the men who fought in this campaign.

I have constructed a niche in the book pages and gathered some possessions to represent the life of a soldier.
What remains of his belongings, and a life lived.

Included here are copies of some of the papers of Pte. Edwards, pictures of some of the Anzacs, and some items which would have been typical of a mans belongings at this time. I could not however in my research find any photograph of Pte. Edwards himself. ( Many thanks to Australian War Memorial for their photographs which are reproduced here under a commons licence).

I have also reproduced a diary and included excerpts from diaries kept by some of the original Anzac soldiers. Just a few that pertain to the events portrayed here.

The page as it looks under the map.

A reminder of those lives lost on the opposite page.

This page contains a dedication to those men who died in this campaign.

A series of doors and windows.

A closer view...

The words spoken so eloquently then, resound just as poignantly today.

The words are not my own but reproduced from a newspaper article of the time in 1917 (I think!!!). I don't have the original paper it came from. With the rise of the popularity of the term Anzac came a profusion of businesses trying to trade in on the sentiments of the nation. Anyone and everyone tried to cash in, until eventually the government of the times stepped in and prevented anyone from using the word without licence to do so. Hence the loss of the acronym and the infusion of the word Anzac into our national heritage.

And then there's the ode...

The ode is recited at every official Anzac day memorial service held today.

Opposite the ode, a fragment of a letter, chosen to represent those thousands of letters sent from home to the boys at the front.

And then...

The remains of our flag, tattered and torn...

representing the vestiges of the nations beliefs...

reborn and reshaped...

into something far stronger.

And a picture is chosen...

of a young soldier...

to represent thousands of others, long since gone.

I could not resist this boys eyes in the photograph.
An unknown Australian soldier.
He too lost his life. He could be Francis.

At least he can be, here.

(Picture courtesy of the Australian War Memorial and reproduced here under a commons licence).

And so the end of a very long post. Hope you weren't bored.

So now the book will be winging its way accross oceans to Alicia and the then the rest of the girls, with a little suprise inside! I can't wait to see what they all do in the book. Of course their input will be completely different as I have not set any topic for this book but want it to reflect each artists individual take on the theme. I have reserved the last section of the book for something else by myself but you will have to wait for those fragments until it wings its way back home again at a later date.

And there you have fellow blog readers, the end.

I hope you all enjoyed the story, even though it was a long one. Thank you to Seth for another chance to retell the story of the piece. The Pulp Redux collaboration still continues and you can continue to follow the progress of everyones books there. Pop in we'ld love to see you there!

Oh and by the way, I know the name of a fabulous butt therapist if you need one, LOL!

Postcards from the Heart

2010-06-05T14:54:00.010+10:00

Have I left you all in suspense for long enough?

It's probably time to put you all out of your misery and let you all in what has been going on in the studio for the last few months!

As many of you know I have been buried deep in the Pulp Redux collaboration and am really enjoying it too, but what I haven't let out before is that I am also involved in another collaboration with the gorgeous Caterina from La Dolce Vita.

When Caterina and myself decided to embark on a collaboration together I had all the usual ideas but somehow it wasn't working for me. I just wasn't satisfied with how things were shaping up in an already existing book structure so decided to make my own.

Introducing...

Postcards from the Heart.

The book is constructed entirely from fabrics, many hand dyed along with the embellishments.

The story is set in the late 1800's and finds our heroine about to undertake a tour of the continent, something reasonably common amongst the well to do families of the time. The story is told through a series of fabric constructed postcards sent by our heroine back to her friend in England. The pictures on the postcards are actual photographs of various european cities taken during the late 1800's and transferred onto the fabric. The reverse or postcard side of the cards is also achieved using transfers and are also photographs of actual period postcard documents. Each postcard sits inside a pocket on the page and is an interactive element.

The pages themselves reflect the nature of the postcards they contain, contributing to the overall theme and feel for the story.

Of course the story remains unfinished until Caterina adds her own piece to the whole so you will only be able to view the goings on so far as I have done them. There are a number of pieces of prose throughout the book contributing to our knowledge of our heroine for whom you never find out a name. She signs everything only with an 'A'.

To bring you to a starting place I will give you this piece which is included in the first page of the book. The words by James Kavanaugh provided me with a wonderful starting point for the story.

Some people do not have to search - they find their niche early in life and rest there, seemingly contented and resigned. They do not seem to ask much of life, sometimes they do not seem to take it seriously. At times I envy them, but usually I do not understand them - seldom do they understand me. I am one of the searchers. There are, I believe, millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach - we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers, and the lonely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with the one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know - unless it is to share our laughter. We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we want to love and be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or compete for love. We are wanderers, dreamers and lovers, lonely souls who dare ask of life everything good and beautiful. - - James Kavanaugh

So would you like to take a peek at the book now?

Enjoy the slideshow!

(You can click to bring it up full screen size)

I can't wait to see what Caterina does with the storyline, or what happens to our girl. The photographs used in the book are all curtesy of the Commons project and available to the public under a commons licence through Flickr. Many thanks to all those institutions for their continued support of a wonderful resource.

From the Heart

2010-05-24T17:57:00.001+10:00

Something is going on in the studio.

There seems to be lots of this...

and a little of that...

and one of these could come in handy too...

which leads to this...

resulting in...

problems

with

ones heart.

I'll fill you all in soon.

Journal Update

2010-05-09T08:40:00.002+10:00

Phew doesn't time run away when your busy. Working crazy hours at the moment, and spending time in the garden now that the weather has retreated to something under boiling point yay! Winter is finally around the corner here and I am so happy! I love our winters here. They're probably more like everyone else's springs, warm days and cool nights, perfection! Hooray for the ability to finally wear jeans again without collapsing into a squishy, perpspiration drenched heap!

But fear not bloggers, I have been arting away quietly, well somewhat noisily really! I've been buried in the studio trying to catch up a bit as well as enjoying lots of new music I've just downloaded and getting lost in projects! It has been a fabulous battery recharging time and has resulted in a huge increase in creative energy again! So, I thought I'd give you the rest of the journal making pics today so you could se how it turned out. Here's the inside back cover.

Yes time to go back to reality again, thanks for playing!

The back cover.

and here it is all finished and sewn together.

This was so much fun to do. Thanks to Teesha for all the inspiration, it's been a blast, in fact it has been so much fun I may just keep doing some more journal pages in this style for a while!

Journal Experiments

2010-04-21T08:27:00.000+10:00

I've been flat out buried in various projects, family staying on holidays with us, then a virus and have only now realised how long it has been since I have posted on the blog. Doesn't time just wizz away when life gets busy! After being ill for a few weeks the creative mojo was barely able to be scraped up to lie around the house with me. Lots of ideas spinning around in there and zero energy to do anything about it! However I did manage to drag my journalling bits out to the couch and the mojo and I spent some time in the prone position playing with our journal and watching a few movies (in between bouts of virus wrestling)! I'm always spinning ideas around in my head and after accumulating a pile of loose but completed pages realised they needed some sort of home, so decided to create a book binding to put them all into. I know I should have made the book first, but I was flat out holding a piece of paper let alone a book when the virus frst attacked and so everything sorta ended up being done backwards.
I've long been a fan of Teesha Moore's fabulous journal work, so decided to take a leaf or ten from her style to create the covers. I had loads of fabric lying around (I'm in the middle of a fab project with that but we'll talk about that another time) so decided to create fabric covers for the book. I've painted and collaged directly onto raw calico to construct the covers then doodled to my hearts content in between movies, virus wrestling and sleep and am quite happy with the end result.

The outer front cover.

and the inner front cover.

Yes, leave your reality elsewhere and welcome to my world!

I have placed heavy cardboard between the fabric layers before sewing them together to form the front cover and the whole works well. The calico becomes quite stiff after numerous layers of paints, collage and inks, but flexible enough to sew with ease.

Anyway that's the front covers done, I'll show you how it all works out when I finish sewing the rest together.

Biohazard 101 and a few fossils!-Final contributions to Lisa's Pulp Redux Book

2010-03-22T19:06:00.004+10:00

Lesson number one in how to avoid becoming a biohazard...

Don't include natural stuff!!!

Sigh!

Okay so it sounds like common sense doesn't it.
Don't put any items that were once alive in anything you want to post to New Zealand!
Apparently I wasn't listening.

After finishing the pages for Lisa's Pulp Redux book I thought I had the customs guy beat. Surely imbedding everything in resin was going to beat the biohazard importation rules! Maybe not! Sad to say, I chickened out.
After a little more research into New Zealand customs do's and don'ts I was pretty sure I was going to challenge almost every rule they had on importing anything prohibited into the country, (short of trying to bring in a dead body and maybe that would have been easier)!

In short I decided to rehash the pages rather than risk Lisa's book and run the risk of it becoming the latest addition to a Guy Falkes night bonfire! (Does anyone else still do this or is it only me??? I love a good burning, LOL!)

But... I'm stubborn!!!
(Stop it, I can hear you all snickering away!)

So I flatly decided I was going to stick to my theme and keep to my idea of reflecting on labyrinths in nature... or nothing!

and so...

Tada!

Here 'tis!

When last I left you we had pondered the idea that man is constantly finding inspiration in nature. We mulled over one or two ways of reproducing nature's labyrinths in a man made form, then...
boom! In comes the resin encased natural items I decided to include to represent natually occuring labyrinths in nature.

So now to carry on...

Heres the latest on natural labyrinths.

Leaves and trees!

Oh yes you say, wonderful Kim, but aren't they also natural items and therefore their inclusion is banned by every law pertaining to the customs importation of a certain country.

Well yes, but I didn't put in any real ones!

So here's the page as it now stands.

The cabinet is still there, more on that later.

On the left, a leaf.
Well my leaf!

Enter the labyrinth of the trees.
(You know the deal, click on the pictures to see the details if you like).

The background structure for the page is created from burned book pages (yes, yes, more burning, LOL), acrylic washes, and inks.
The leaf is made from leather and embroidery thread. The page is a reflection on Spring. The world turning new again with the unfolding of Spring's new leaves on the trees. The colours here a reflection of brown wood and the bright green of new growth.

The page is hinged and opens to reveal the contrast between Spring and Autumn. From the green of spring to the decay and golden colours of autumn, the leaf's structure is revealed.

The leaf here is one of those skeleton leaves in glorious autumn colours of gold and rust. See no real biological hazards in sight!

Of course since that page flips out another is revealed.

The trees.

Here's how the page looks opened out at this stage.

Lift the flap and the tree is revealed...

as a living thing.

Here I have created a little pocket for Lisa to put in feathers, twigs, leaves, real ones of course, and any other items that remind her of trees. I have been very good and only included a few artificial ones here for reflection.

And below...

Winter lays bare the beauty of summers dress to reveal the bare bones reaching towards the heavens.

I have kept the page free of overdressing, trying to imply the bareness of winter in the trees.

The view unfolded.

But then, there's the cabinet door...

and what lies behind...

Of course last time we had a page of natural items embedded in resin inviting you to touch.

Now I was still determined to keep with the touching idea, I rather liked it!

And so, how to continue without compromising the original idea?

By creating fossils!

Yes, it was nature again to the rescue!

Fossils, natures fabulous means of showing off her former accomplishments even though they haven't existed for millions of years!

I decide to create fossils of my own, taking negative copies of the natural itmes I wanted to include in my piece using Fimo clay.

After a little pressing, baking and paint splashing...
Tada!

Fossils, well sort of!

You can still touch!

I knew you would be soooo excited!
The pieces retain all the texture of the original items in negative and feel wonderful to the touch!

Here's the pages spread out from the book.

Excuse my photography skills or lack of them, it was a real challenge to take pics of the entire opened structure!

So there you have it, finis, complete!
Lisa's book will be away this week to the next person.
(My humble apologies for the starburst that used to be a book that will arrive on someones doorstep!)

And as for that customs man...

Haha! I won! LOL!

I'm such a child!

Take Heart

2010-03-08T18:09:00.001+10:00

Life seems to be all about the little things of late.

Details, it's all about the details.

Take heart...

there's one for you.

I seem to be stuck in this mode...
making hearts.

I have changed my blog header, mostly as I have decided to spend some time putting on a more professional appearance.
At least that's the idea anyway.
You will have to tell me what you think. Is it working?
Hopefully soon, a store front where you will be able to buy my art as well.

In the meantime...

remain young at heart.

You Can Touch!-Part 2 of Kim's Contribution to Lisa's Pulp Redux Labyrinth Book

2010-02-14T16:17:00.005+10:00

I don't say this every day but...

YOU CAN TOUCH!!!

I knew you would be so excited!

Now I last left you deep in the labyrinth. If you were left a little anxious after the last post about what was going to come next...

well now you can relax!

The second section of my contribution to Lisa's book revolves around nature, how we as artists are wont to reproduce it and the beauty it provides us with. It seems since man first stuck his finger in the mud and painted on a cave wall, artists have constantly reinvented, recreated and reproduced the natural world in their artwork. Nature has apparently got the goods when it comes to creative inspiration. So how does that translate into the labyrinth theme of Lisa's book?

When I was thinking about this idea I started to notice the myriad things we are surrounded with every day and how labrynthine the structures of some of these items are. I was gazing at probably the most awful plastic placemat in history in a cheapy store when suddenly it occured to me how much the plastic reminded me of vines or ivy climbing up a wall. Said revolting placemat suddenly wasn't such a bad evil item and promptly came home with me for the grand sum of 20cents AUS, and into the book it went. Some creative chopping here and there, a little copper and voila!

The page is a reflection on mans constant reproduction of nature in art. How we take the forms we find around us and find new ways with available materials to reproduce those forms. The found poetry from the underlying page reads:

Then inspiration came,
too wild this burst of sentiment interrupted true reason?

I think creative ideas are frequently like this. A sudden burst overtakes us and for good or bad out it flows until it's finished. Sometimes the ideas and execution are great, at other times...
well no-one is perfect everyday!

The next page also reflects man's continued drive to represent the labyrinthine form in art, but has taken a somewhat 90 dgree turn in thinking. The page is a representation of celtic knotwork. Celtic knotwork sprang into being around the 8th century AD. It is supposed that originally the forms were created to represent particular significance, but unfortunately the knowledge no longer exists and art historians can come to no consensus on the matter. What is agreed upon in general is that the interlacing patterns represent the unending continuum of life. The crossing and recrossing of the plaits is symbolic of the ongoing connection between the physical and spiritual planes. The three lobed Triquetra (the design used below is a derivative of this form), symbolises the connection between the three planes of existance, mind body and spirit.

The page was designed to look like old crumbling plasterwork. Why, just because I wanted to, OKAY! :)
(I like old plasterwork, and I wanted to see if I could!)

Here's the double page spread as it appears in the book.

So having looked at man's continued drive to represent nature in his art, that leads us back to the inspirational forms found in nature itself.

Over the page we go and...

Nature produced the original labyrinths for us as inspiration and we have been reproducing them ever since.
The intricasies of a leaf that reveals its innner skeletal structure as it decomposes. A flower from my garden.

On the other side of the page...

something a little different.

As some of you know, I'm fond of doors in my art.

Couldn't resist this opportunity could I?

(Apologies to Lisa, the book will never close again!)

Under the door the cabinet contains...

some of natures best efforts!

The page contains some exhibits including, coral, bees wax, a shell fragment and an insect wing.
What better examples of natures labyrinths could I find!
(Okay, ones that will fit in the book people!)

The pages have been cast in resin then attached to the book. When I first pondered the idea of natural labyrinths and their inclusion in the book I couldn't work out how I was going to be able to post the book successfully across the world. It has to travel constantly between the States, Australia and New Zealand. This constituted a customs nightmare trying to include these items in an altered book until I hit upon the idea of casting the pages in resin. Hopefully Mr. Customs man will have no objections now and the book can travel safely through everyone's hands!

So now you can touch!

The page as it appears fully opened.

The pieces although encased in resin still reveal their structure if you touch them. You can still feel the the items under the resin.

I have created a small magnifier that detaches from the page to help one examine the exhibits in the cabinet.

And so to the end of my contribution to Lisa's book. I have had so much fun with this theme and enjoyed finding solutions to obstacles that came with the ideas I wanted to include here. I can't wait for the next book to fly it's way over the waters to me. It will be Lisa Jurists gorgeous book and I am so looking forward to seeing and touching the already gorgeous work that Lisa and Lisa (NO it's not a mistake Lisa J posted to Lisa S!) have put into it!

Getting side tracked

2010-02-08T17:55:00.002+10:00

Yup that's me, wandering off, creatively speaking.

I know it has been a while since I have blogged but don't think that means I haven't been up to much. Conversely it usually means I have been so busy I just haven't managed to get around to it yet. Such is the case at this point in time. As you all know I have been busily engaged in the Pulp Redux collaboration with 4 other fabulous artists and I'm having a wonderful time doing so, but every now and then one needs to recharge one's creative batteries and take a sideways step into something else for a wee while. I seem to have had little time for journalling lately, in part as I am getting short of journalling pages, (I know can you believe it!!!), so it was time to take a creative break from the book collaboration and spend some time making myself a new journal to play in.

I decide to enjoy a little encaustic play with this one and I think I might be doing a few of these for a while, I LOVE them!

I think I have a bit of a thing for wax!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that texture!

I just love the way it feels under my fingers.

This one is quite a big one, 8 x 10 but that's all the more room to play in!

The cover is not a flat encaustic finish but undulates with the items embedded in the wax, but not enough to be a problem when using the book. I really like this imperfect type of finish and the textured results it gives and how it feels to the touch.

Background is clear encaustic wax, acrylic paints, ink, tissue paper, transfers, photograph, fabric, feathers, leaves and bark. Items which represent the usual wandering of my mind which translate into journal entries.
Coptic binding so it opens nice and flat and a heavy weight water colour paper for fun journal play.

Now if only I could stop touching the front cover long enough to do something on the inside, LOL!

I've finally gone Dottie

2010-01-20T08:42:00.000+10:00

Well it's finally happened. I've gone Dottie! No, it's not a misprint, Dottie is spelled that way!
I've taken on the challenge. The Dottie challenge! I will do my utmost to buy only handmade or second hand goods this year!
I should announce right now there will be exceptions!
Some art making supplies will just have to be purchased outright, no ifs or buts!
Food of course and definitely no second hand toilet paper for this girl!
Recycled yes, reused, umm, no thanks! LOL!

But, seriously, I have decided that this will be good for me, make me think outside the box in all sorts of ways!
If you would like to know more about it all, click on the pic below and the link will take you over to the Dottie site.

As part of my Dottie challenge and ways, LOL, I have also signed up to take part in Debs barter challenge site.
(Clink on the link below to find out more)

Deb has created a site to exchange arty goods to help support each other through the challenge. How nice to be able to exchange goods with fellow artists and spend nothing more than a bit of postage costs! You never know what you might find. Check out your stash! Surely you have an excess of something you could exchange here. Now is the time to declutter the studio of all those bits you have been hanging on to and don't really use, make a list, send it to Deb, and we can all work on swaps to support our art and it will be put to the very use you kept it for in the first place!

Of course this may mean some interesting challenges in the workplace wardrobe will occur!
Oh well, they all think I'm crazy already!

Deep in the Labyrinth-Pulp Redux Update Lisa's Book

2010-01-12T19:02:00.001+10:00

From an age of myths and legends...

come stories of strange beasts...

beautiful maidens...

and the heros that saved them.

Welcome to the labyrinth...

and what it contained.

From ancient Greece...

a tale of treachery...

forbidden love...

and death.

Lisa's book for the Pulp Redux collaboration is themed, Labyrinth. The theme is one which brought so many ideas to mind I was having trouble deciding on one, so in true Kim fashion decided to do two! The first part of my contribution outlines the ancient Greek myth concerning the Labyrinth of Crete.

The sea God, Poseidon, sent to King Minos of Crete, a beautiful white bull to be sacrificed in his honour. Minos so admired the bull that he refused to kill it, and decided to keep it for himself. Poseidon was so angry with Minos, that he cast a spell upon Minos' wife, Pasiphae causing her to fall inlove with the bull. Pasiphae unable to resist the God's spell fell in love with the bull and mated with it. The offspring of their union was the Minotaur.
The Minotaur grew to become ferocious and untamable, so King Minos had a prison built to contain the Minotaur by his servant Daedalus. So Daedalus built for the Minotaur a labyrinth, in which the Minotaur was imprisoned.

Years later, the people of Athens killed one of Minos sons and the King called a plague upon their city. The only way Minos would agree to remove the plague was if the people of Athens agreed that each year they would send seven young men and seven young women to Crete, where Minos sent them into the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur.

Prince Theseus of Athens was determined to stop the slaughter of the Athenian youths and volunteered to go to Crete as a sacrificial victim where he would find a way to destroy the Minotaur. On his arrival in Crete Ariadne, who was the daughter of Minos and Pasiphae saw Theseus and fell in love with him. She provided Theseus with a ball of string and urged him to tie one of the ends to the exit as he entered the Labyrinth, then he would be able to find his way out again. Theseus did as Ariadne bade him and deep in the heart of the Labyrinth he met the Minotaur and killed it, then fled taking Ariadne and the remaining Athenian youths.

I have constructed a set of doors in Lisa's book where I have set out the story of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. It is an interesting tale and one which I thought should be included in the book.

The second part of my addition to the book is quite different, but as I haven't quite finished it yet you will have to wait a little while longer for a sneaky peek at that part.

A Photograph, some History, a Book- Pulp Redux update

2009-12-27T08:31:00.006+10:00

It began slowly...

I was intrigued by a photograph...

that led me to search...

where I discovered a map...

that caused me to think...

about a nations beliefs...

It changed our nation.

And so the lesson ends.

And then along came Fragments, Vestiges and Remains, my book in the Pulp Redux collaboration.

An opportunity to represent some small fragment of this time, these men and the reshaping of a nation.

And so, to the piece...

I cannot show you the before pictures or how the piece developed and was put together. I would like to, but was so caught up in it's creation that I forgot to take any photographs!

A reminder of those lives lost on the opposite page.

This page contains a dedication to those men who died in this campaign.

I'm Under The Covers- A Pulp Redux Update

2009-12-21T20:18:00.002+10:00

So hello dear bloggers. I can assure all those worried folk out there who are wondering if I have fallen off the planet that I have managed to claw my way back again! Truthfully I found heavier boots work well at keeping ones feet well attached to terra firma, LOL!

Ah but really I have been up to my, err, derrier (is that how one spells this word??? let me know) in fabric!

The studio, I should say new and previously clean studio, is covered in bits, the cat plays non stop and is well disguised as a mop, in fact if I thought about it I should drag some string around the house and he would chase it and mop the floors all in one go! Exercise and clean floors... something to ponder at another time perhaps!
I digress!

I have however been extraordinarily busy trying to get my book for the Pulp Redux collaboration finalised and posted away to Alicia before the poor girl has a fit and thinks I have forgetten her. Never fear, that wouldn't happen!

And so, lets take a peek at the progress so far...

Five darling cherubs, one for each artist!

Inside the cover a pillow of fragments. Little threads kept from projects over time and brought together to form a pillow. On the pillow some sage advice from the bible. (Hard to beat for sage advice really!)

(You know the drill, click for details if you need a closer view).

Nothing be lost!!! OMG! After moving house and trying to find everything in the new house and studio, I'm not sure I can even find the cat anymore!

Onto the opposite page.
(The cat will eventually miaow when he gets hungry!)

The wee cherubs.
Underneath I have constructed a chatelaine.
A what??? I hear you say!
A chatelaine.

In previous times a chatelaine was a series of chains attached to a womans belt to hold the household keys.

This chatelaine is for the contributing artists.
I thought it would be nice if it held a token item, one from each artist. I have attached a key and a washer inprinted with the word friendship. The items represent the friendship formed over the making of our books and our collaboration together.

But wait there's more...

The right hand page opens out to reveal a hidden page.

Inside are 5 small handmade books. One for each of the artists.

I thought it would be nice to give each contributing artist a place to talk about their contribution. Here we can discuss our artwork, talk about the ideas and the formation of our contributions, or ourselves and include a wee picture of ourselves if we like and have a place to sign our work. Many of us work with surfaces not conjucive to signing and this offers a place to enable that.

Each little book is constructed by hand and has an outer cover made from suede and has watercolour paper pages which have been stitched together by hand. Each little book measures only 8 x 5 cm.

Here's a closer look at one of the minibooks.

Here's the book free of it's confines.

Then bound within the page.

The light is a little weird it was very early in the morning so sue me!

The colour of the book is actually somwhere between the two pictures, but you get the idea.

And then on the opposite page there's these little ones.

The five chicks...

Like us, five chicks singing their song...

5 artists hoping to be heard.

And so the inside cover work is complete.

Time to move on to the actual piece for the book,

But more on that later.

It will involve a short history lesson...

or two.

So Where Do You Live?

2009-11-30T16:15:00.001+10:00

As many of you know I have recently moved house. Although I have only moved locally the move has been hectic, (is there a move that isn't!!!), and I am a little exhausted. We have a house full of relatives visiting from all over the Australia and the rest of the world and it's a hectic time in the lives of various family members at the present. One of the nieces has turned 21 and rather than everyone visiting the family in Sydney to celebrate, the family has taken the opportunity to have the celebrations here in Noosa as we often do. Everyone loves this part of the world and once again the family has come from all over the world to gather here as the place of choice.This has left me thinking about where we live and how lucky we are, and how beautiful this place I choose to live in is. The family was not born locally, we are from many other places, but now we all think of this area as home more than any other. This is the place we all choose to gather for the significant events in our lives, both past and present. With all these things happening I thought it was time to share a little of it with you all. Tune out now if you don't want to see a gratuitous commercial for my neck of the woods!

Welcome to Noosa, Queensland Australia!

Average temperature around 29-32degrees C in the summer months.
Summer lasts about 6 months of the year.

It's subtropical!

Noosa enjoys loads of sun, a little light tropical rain now and then, (read that as tropical storms, LOL) and day after day of glorious sunshine!
Winter is sorta non existant! (Average winter top temperature 20degrees C and low of around 10degrees C, as I said non existant!)

The heads and inlet from the Pacific Ocean to the Noosa River.

It sits on one of the worlds best strips of sandy beaches at the top end of what is known as the Sunshine Coast.
A section of sandy beaches stretching for over 100 kilometres with vast areas of undeveloped beaches and natural bush. It is famous for it's sunshine, beaches, everglades, salt water lake sysytems national parks and nature walks. This strip encompasses a number of small towns of which Noosa sits at the northern tip.

The local tourist beach in Noosa.

The salt water lakes.

The national park here in Noosa where you can walk to one of the best surf beaches in Oz!

Fancy some more?

The river area at sunset.

Fancy a walk along the local surf beach?

One of the locals has been fishing again!

One of these guys lives literally around the corner from my home!

So there you have it! A small glimpse of my home here!
Hope you enjoyed this plug for tourism Oz style, LOL!

We'll get back to your regular viewing channel soon, I promise!

As soon as the family leave and I finish unpacking!!!
(Read this as a week or so...)
Now where's that drinky gone???

In the meantime...

Fancy a walk with me along the beach?

Lifes too good, hope you're enjoying yours!

Check Your Pulse!

2009-11-18T07:51:00.001+10:00

Have you checked your Pulse lately?

No, not that one, The Pulse!
The fabulous Seth Apter of The Altered Page is once again taking everyone's art pulse, gathering information of interest to we arty types!

Have you checked it out because you soooo should.
If you do nothing for yourself you should really get involved with this, but I'm sure you know all about it anyway.

Several times a year Seth gathers info on what's happening in the world of online art, artists and mixed media, compiles and sends forth a wonderful gathering of information about, well... all sorts of stuff of interest to the art community. Its happening again but this time something a little different is underway...

Check your Pulse...

Its a Secret, shhhh!

This time Seth has a wee secret to share!

On a Sunday!

Sunday November 22nd to be precise!

Seth has sent out a call.
Beginning Sunday 22nd November a series of weekly posts about...

secret art business, LOL!

If you want to know more, and I know you do, pop over to Seth's blog post and find out!
You won't regret it and you will be glad you did!

I'm soooo excited, I love secrets...

but the suspense nearly kills me, LOL!

It's no secret, check your Pulse now!

Obsessions

2009-11-05T08:00:00.003+10:00

Admit it!

We all have them.

Obsessions!

Oh yes you do! Those things you just love and have to have but are usually completely impractical. Oh we all justify them, sometimes well too, but really could you live without them, yes but why would you!

I thought I'd show you one of mine.

I love old photographs! I know many of you do too. How often do we pull them out to use as grist in the makings of our art? Quite often these days I think if you look around. I love faces and people. Portraits particularly but I will opt for landscapes and still life as well if the other isn't around. Portraits painted or snapped on film, I'm not fussy, I love them all.

Usually I like to guess at the people in them. Who were they? What are they thinking? What were their lives like? What is their relationship to the others in the picture? I like to make up lives and stories for them.

Recently I came across this little beauty and thought I'd share some of it with you all. It is an old antique Victorian album containing lots of photographs, mostly from around the late 1800's and early 1900's. It is not small as it measures approximately 12"x 9" and is about 2.5" wide. When I saw it I fell for it's charm and the obsession bug kicked in. You know the one that screams mine, mine, mine at you and refuses to let you leave the store without it! Oh, I argued with myself about the price, haggling internally, poo pooed at it and spun tales of how it will feed my artistic inspiration for decades to come etc; but in truth I must admit that it is really just that this is my own personal obsession. I purchased it and took it home and have gazed adoringly at it almost everyday since. LOL! From its covers wonderful textures to the gilt on each and every page to the gaze of those who inhabit the pages, I am lost...

The front cover...

Embossed leather, it feels wonderful. If you're a texture peep it will draw you in right here.

The spine, yumm!

and without even opening a page, I was in love with the back cover...

The most amazing cutting and embossing ever! It feels wonderful!!!

(Told you all I was obsessed, LOL!)

So I suppose I should give you a glimpse at the lives inside the covers too!

Isn't she wonderful!

Don't you love the artwork on the pages and the foxing!

Does it make you wonder who they were too?

No hands touching there, I wonder why?

Another gorgeous decorative page...

and then there's the girls...

I love that one of them is sort of peeping away candidly at the camera from the side.

What was she thinking?

And then there's these lovelies.

Lots more of course but I don't want to bore you all completely.

Think I'll just close it up now or I will be here dreaming all day!

What obsessions do you have?

Gifts and Exchanges

2009-10-29T18:49:00.001+10:00

I think I love my mailman!

I arrived home from one of those days at work to find a wee box! How exciting, I love pressies!

I open said wee box...

and...

the bestest pressie ever!!!

Art supplies from my gorgeous friend Cat from La Dolce Vita!

Waaaaaaaaa! (Mucho excitment in the camp, LOL!)

(Can you hear me all the way from OZ!)

Omni gel, (which I have never seen here before so yay something new to play with), wonderful ribbon, lace and fabric flowers (I already have something lined up for them), some lovely old book papers on the Tudor period of England ( she knows it's my fav), and some wax beads for encaustic play, YAHOO!!!. Seriously, I am so happy and excited, I can't wait to play with it all. Thank you to a dear friend from the bottom of my heart!

Now I have also been a part of the art exchange that's currently zapping around the world amongst arty folk. If you haven't heard about it, it requires you to make one piece of art and pass an invitation to play to six others. After all is said and done in an ideal world you make one piece of art and recieve 36 pieces of art! How cool is that! I played of course!

So here's my piece I have made.

Currently it is winging it's way accross the seas to the lovely Jill Zaheer.

I hope she likes it!

'Beauty's Muse'

A little mixed media collage play.

If you are interested in playing along with the art exchange let me know and I'll send you the details. One piece for 36 seems a fair exchange to me, LOL!

Now to find that mailman and give him a big hug!

Fragments, Vestiges and Remains-Pulp Redux

2009-10-25T08:46:00.001+10:00

I have finally finished the covers for the Pulp Redux book collaboration, at least as much as I will at this time.

I have some brass fittings to add but will keep them until the book returns to me after its sojourn around the world.
The weight of the fittings will add too much to the overall postal costs and the book will likely need rebinding on its return so they will be set aside for a later date.

I have added a fragment of text...

I did say it was a fragment!

I have filled the niche with the title of course and the remains of a burnt photograph and a small brass key.

I have also framed the niche with the vestiges of an old belt buckle that has undergone a somewhat radical transformation from its previous incarnation.

I added a few small details...

the remnants of some chains and some favourite beads...

and lo...

'Fragments, Vestiges and Remains'

A story about the little pieces is born!

I can't wait to see how everyone will interpret the theme and what they will do with it.

Imagine the stories this book could contain...

Update Pulp Redux Collaboration

2009-10-22T07:28:00.002+10:00

So I found the matches...

LOL!

I thought I should fill you all in on the progress of the altered book I'm making for my part in the Pulp Redux collaboration.

The end result...

I'm quite happy with this one!

I've created a burned niche in the front cover of the book to house a new title.

Oh, yes, the title, well...

I rather thought I'd call it...

Fragments, Vestiges & Remains!

What do you think?

A book about the little pieces that make up the whole.
Perhaps fragments of fabrics, text, textiles. Maybe a fragment of a life lived, an object from another place or time,
or some small vestige from something that has survived... something.
The idea intrigues me.

Then again I'm curious, and inexplicably drawn to remnants of almost anything and the stories they represent.

Here's the book niche.

I rather thought the niche worked well with the title.

I love it, so of course you should too, LOL!

Ahh, but seriously I thought the burnt remains idea worked well with the theme and you all know I really enjoy a good burning in the name of art!

But there is so much more to do so I had best get on with it!

Now the dark blue covers aren't at all what I have had in mind , so...
what to do?

Well I really like the aged look of the book boards and fabric on the cover so how about a wee colour adjustment, a bit of a reno!

I decided to go with that idea and have used walnut ink to dye the covers.
Wow, that was fun and I'm really pleased with the result, just what I had hoped for!

Look...

Hey, not bad, but you should see my fingers, LOL!

Basically it took about a third of the bottle to get good even coverage and 2 days to dry completely but it was worth it.
I'm really happy with the resultant colouring and it has kept the book covers aged appearance, and I think it fits in with the theme so much better than that blue shade.

Now pushing ahead with the alterations and keeping in with the theme, some fabric dying to add to the covers.

Since my hands were already covered in walnut ink, I have also dyed some cheese cloth and tulle to add to the book with the ink.

I've glued it on and now I have to wait for that to dry too, sigh!

Getting there! I'm sooo impatient, I have all these ideas and can't wait to play!
(Stamping my foot and poking out my tongue too, LOL!)

Think I'll go make some embellishments while I'm waiting!

Pulp Redux

2009-10-19T17:34:00.002+10:00

Things have been a little hectic of late, now I know that sounds familiar but well that's life here, always on the go! For those of you that don't already know I am so pleased to announce that I am a part of what I am sure is going to be a fabulous altered book collaboration with another 5 wonderful artists! Introducing...

Pulp Redux!

A fabulous altered book collaboration with Lisa from Lucky Dip, Debrina from Debrina's Diary, Alicia from Altered Bits, Andrea from
The Artful Eye and Lisa from Mudhound Primitives and yours truly of course, LOL! We would of course love to have you all pop in and follow the collaboration as it makes its progress across continents and countries changing, altering and growing along the way. Click on the logo below or the sidebar of this blog to jump over for a peek. Don't forget to say hi while you're there either!

So what am I doing for the collaboration...

well that would be a book you sillies, LOL!

Oh, okay, you really want to know the details, well here goes.
In keeping with the pulp redux theme, I have gone for an already exisiting book to alter rather than a new book construction.

The book below is the choice, a Dutch text -'An Introduction to English Art'.

How apt an art book for an altered book, LOL!

As you can see just you're average book. The book is 10" x 7" so large enough for plenty of fun but hopefully not to large to post as weight will be an issue as it progresses through everyone.

The book has some beautiful pictures and I have had to thin it down by a third to accomodate lumps and bumps for additions by everyone so out went the gorgeous pics. I have included one here to show you.

Gainsborough, Yummmm!

After some thinning, time to get to work creating a cover. Nothing too complex. It needs to set the theme but not be too heavy for postage or overly embellished as I don't want bits falling off with postage and handling and also as I expect I will be rebinding the book on it's eventual return back to Oz, so simple to kick off I think!

Time to chop!

Wow, aren't old book boards tough going but at last a hole. The start of what will be a niche for the new title of the book.
For those of you who know me, I think I will be doing a little more altering here.
That blue has got to go and I have one or two other ideas as well.

Don't forget to pop over to the Pulp Redux blog site and say hi. We would love to hear from you all!

Now where did I put those matches...

Immersion

2009-10-09T06:19:00.001+10:00

Time for some journal love! I'm working on a few ideas and projects but it's too early to fill you all in yet, so in the mean time here's a journal page. It must be spring fever or some such thing but colour seems to be taking over everywhere here including my journal pages, and so it's time to soak it all up.

Immerse yourself...

I think I'm tempted!

Are you?

I think it just may beset me too!

Sound advice that!

As I said, a colour fixation at the moment. It's everywhere here, an absolute riot of colour and true spring weather at least for a little bit until the heat of Summer arrives. Now I know for many of you things are cooling down, so I thought I'd share a little of life's colour around to warm your artistic hearts!

The butterfly pic is a photograph and I have painted out the background just leaving the butterfly in all his glory. Isn't it beautiful!
All that fragile beauty gone in such a short space of time.
As to the rest, watercolours, ink, lace scraps, acrylic, text and mat medium and natures inspiration, the best bit of all!
Have a colourful day!

Paper Swap

2009-10-06T06:44:00.005+10:00

If you haven't heard, Lawendula over at Woven Letters is organising an international paper swap for all the mad paper peeps out there! Now you all use it somewhere, somehow. Umm, paper that is, LOL, so why not join in too. Think of the possibilities...

Paper, cardboard, postcards, stamps, book papers, decorated paper, wall paper, vintage paper....

I could go on...

(and frequently do, LOL!)

So why not jump in and join in, then you get to use something new in your art, yay!

Click the pic to go to Lawendulas post!

And it's free, and you all know I'm all about the free when you can get it/ it falls into my lap/ hits me over the head, LOL!

Golden Sunshine

2009-10-01T18:07:00.003+10:00

I thought I would give you all another sneaky peek into a creative process. Okay so last post we looked at a little journal creativity, now onto something a little more challenging. I thought I would post the process of creating a mixed media piece. Nothing too elaborate, collage and acrylic painting. Sounds easy...well truthfully it is. So lets begin.

Now I have a primed canvas board ready to go. Next I add a little paper for the background with some mat medium.

I'm impatient so I dry it with my heat gun. What can I say, I don't want to waste time so the heat gun is one of my fav essentials.
Next it's time to add a bit of paint. Now I want the background to be quite pale, hints of colour showing through but no real colour domination, so lots of white shades with hints of colour.

Now you can see the collage papers have receded to the background and have really become more background texture. Its hard to see here but hints of the original colours show through the painted surface. So now its time to sketch out a few ideas. I use a pencil to lay out a rough sketch then collage some papers over the surface. These lovely papers were part of a gift from the lovely Ro Bruhn. She has the most gorgeous papers available for sale.Fabulous colour and patterning. I would highly recommend them. The papers have formed the main structure of the figures dress and the building set into the background, and I have used an offcut from some text for the bottom of the bird cage. Now over the surface its time to lay on a little paint, beginning to build the main framework for the piece.

Oh dear no legs! Its a part of the process I will add them in later.
Little by little it starts to come together. Gradually I am building layers of colour, filling in the details.

See legs!

Now you can see the detail building. The dress sleeves, castle, tree and cage, the flowers. They are all strarting to pull together. It doesn't matter if it isn't perfect, just go back and refine it later. At the worst you can always start again. What's a little paint between friends! Time to cook dinner I'll be back later.

Okay back again. So now lets just keep filling in detail. Time to paint the features of the face. Now to add some fine detail using ink. I use a pen to draw in the detail of the dress, bird cage, castle and flowers. I add detail using acrylic paint to the flowers to create colour depth and highlight areas. The light is the trick. It has to look right. I'm not perfectly happy here but everythings a learning curve, right?
This photo had some sort of weird lighting moment its not quite as yellow as it appears here.

Now we are almost there. Add some flowers to the tree and the figures hair. These are tissue paper and then over painted to highlight them. Add the butterflies and bird, then the words and...

tada!

Well not a masterpiece but you get the idea. Now this is very not my usual style but I was having a little fun trying out something different and decided this would do to show you the process. Hope it helps.

We will get back to your regular viewing channel next post, promise!

Mixed media-collage : tissue, assorted paper scraps, mat medium, acrylics, ink

Wandering, wandering... for 45,000 years

2009-09-27T18:10:00.004+10:00

Time to share a journal post for September with you all, before the month completely runs out and I get too far behind. Life has been hectic of recent times with illness and work committments but now the committments are done and I am free to art away again, Yay!
Pat over at The Weaver of Grass, asked me a little while ago to share my collage process with you all, and I said I would once the crazy work stuff was over.

So today's the day. I thought we would start with one in a journal. Journals are a great way to thrash out ideas, techniques and allow you to makes mistakes and learn without pressure. You don't have to share them with anyone and they are just the greatest learning tool EVER!!!. So what if it all goes horribly wrong? It was cheap, you lose nothing but time and a little of this and that, you learned something, and you can just turn the page and start again! Yay to the freedom. And no one ever has to see it if that's how you feel, woohoo obligation free experimentation!

So here's the start of Septembers page.

At this stage the page has a coat of Gesso and some tissue paper stuck to it. I used mat medium but feel free to use whatever you like, remember to experiment that's a major part of what you are doing here. I wanted a tissue background and I have zillions of tissue patterns left over from when the kiddies were little tikes. How jolly convenient!

Next its time to splash around a little paint and develop the background. Now I did have some preconcieved ideas here. Objectives to achieve. I wanted bright colours. The page was going to be a reflection of Australian colour and light. It's bright here, bright light and colours so thats what I add to the page. A little stamping is added to the background for interest.

A smudge here and there, fingers are great tools, LOL!

Now lots more paint. What colours do you imagine Australia to be?
Reds, golds, and earthy tones inland. Lots of greens and blue shades along the coast.
I wanted to represent the inland areas in this page , so bright golds and reds, a little green and

voila!

Some scratching here and there, building up the layers and visual interest.

Now for a bit of focus. What do you want to say?

I want the page to speak to you about my home in terms of its texture and colours.

I add a gel medium transfer onto some calico, I like the rawness of it.
Its an iconic Australian image. The kangaroos and the setting outback sun.

I add some stamped numerals and some wording to boost the imagery. I want the message to get across, and I have something to say.

And there it is...

I am wandering, wandering...

45,000 years of history incorporated into the page. (well at least visually I hope!)
Australia is an ancient land. The aboriginal peoples ancestors migrated here approximately 45,000 years ago.
European settlement only a tiny 231 years ago, give or take a few days, LOL!

Journal page -gesso, tissue paper, acrylics, ink, calico, gel medium transfer, paper, bark and text.

Dorian's Picture in Black and White

2009-09-18T20:07:00.002+10:00

The lovely and enormously hard working Alicia Caudle over on altered bits has just put out the latest bumper edition of her eZine.
The latest theme is black and white and honestly she has sooo out done herself here. The zine is so enormous it has had to be uploaded in two sections. It is jam packed full with art from an amazing array of artists. Honestly there is something in there for everyone and you can access it for free. What are you waiting for run...now!!!

Stop!!! At least wait to read the rest of this post first, LOL!

I will be so terribly disappointed if you don't as I'm in it!!!

Here's the cover, a sneaky peek at everyones work is in there somewhere.

My own contribution is an assemblage based on the Oscar Wilde novel 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'.
A fabulous read if you have never gotten around to reading it and you like gothic horror novels, and it is relatively short if you have limited time to spare.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (wow now there's a mouthful and yes he was Irish) was one of the most notorious and successful playwrights of the late Victorian era. He is probably best known for his play 'The Importance of Being Earnest' (which I also love) and his biting wit. Wilde lived what could possibly best be termed a colourful life and 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' probably reflects much about his views on the social circles he moved within as the novel is set in Wilde's contemporary times.

Oscar Wilde

The story first appeared as a short story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890. I have used a copy of the magazine image and altered the colours to greyscale to fit in with the black and white theme. Wilde did several rewrites of the original story adding further background material to flesh out the character of Dorian Gray. The end result is a classic piece of gothic horror which still rates as a good read today.

The basic plot revolves around the central character, Dorian Gray and a portrait painting of Dorian done by an artist friend who is taken with Dorian's beauty. The artist introduces Dorian to Lord Henry who espouses hedonistic views and gradually Dorian becomes aware that his beauty will eventually fade and in desperation wishes that the image in the portrait would age instead of himself. The wish is fulfilled. Dorian gradually begins to slip into Lord Henry's hedonistic life, surpassing his mentor and eventually his moral decline leads him to explore a life of vice and sin which eventually lead him to commit a series of murders to enable him to continue living his decadent life. The portrait changes with each new sin committed, twisting and aging the subject as it reflects Dorians debauched life. Dorian of course remains unchanged, still the vision of the beautiful youth, but underneath the shell lies a corrupt and degraded man.

Here's the original cover of the Lippincott publication in which the story appears in print for the first time.

In order to represent the story in an assemblage it was necessary to reinvent the idea of the 'portrait' from the story. To convey the sense of change that the portrait undergoes I decided to remove various sections of the portrait to represent the change the picture undergoes as Dorian slips further along his path of moral decay and decline. In the portrait for the assemblage only the eyes of the portrait remain, the rest eaten away by Dorian's decline into hedonism. The background is the altered Lippincott cover, changed to gray scale in keeping with the b&w theme. The other supporting items relate to the various sins Dorian commits over his life to continue his decadence unopposed.

Here's the piece.

The piece formed quickly as they sometimes do and you find yourself in the zone. I was thrilled to be in Alicia's zine and especially when I look at the other artistic endeavours included here. The range of pieces for inclusion is astounding and I love everyone's differing ideas and pieces within the central theme and can't wait for the next one. (I have already started on some ideas!) Alicia has slaved away tirelessly to get the mag up online with the result that she is in need of a good rest and recuperative period. Hope your feeling the love hon, enjoy your rest you well and truly deserve it. Thank you for all your efforts, they have been amazing!

So there you have it. Please visit the mag here and drop in to Alicia's blog and leave a little love
to let her know you took the time to visit. It is truly inspiring to find people who devote huge time and effort in order that we can enjoy these publications for free. It isn't everyday you can say that anymore. You can also visit the other contributing artists blogs. Their contact details are on the mag too!

Two pieces of interesting info from researching Dorian Gray and Oscar Wilde!

1. Quote from Dorian Gray-

"Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter... it is rather the artist who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself."

True I believe. Our art work speaks volumes about us, the artists, and loudly too!

and

2. Just a month before his death Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying, "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has got to go."

(I know what he meant, LOL!)

Sadly the wallpaper won.

Snowed Under

2009-09-15T09:12:00.005+10:00

I've been snowed under with work committments and have been ill as well, so not much happening in blog land here but I did see this over at Patty Van Dorin's blog and it made me smile, so here it is for you too!

Enjoy!

Love the Beatles, this song and Cirque Du Soleil.

The Highly Probable and Quite Likely Tale of Billy Wobbledagger

2009-08-30T18:12:00.002+10:00

Well, it's been quite a time recently. Holidays and family get togethers. The season is warming up here and social get togethers are on the rise again. Ahhh, distractions. Wonderful, but as always there is time to art. As you may or may not know (and if you don't why not!!! Pay attention ! LOL!) I have had a few projects on the go but haven't had them quite completed to show you. One is finally completed so it's time to post. It was one of the projects that had me caught up in research and distractions as oft happens. As you know from previous posts, (Just nod and agree... It's easier for us both) I have been buried in poetry and renaissance arts recently. The upshot of all this...
I have written a wee rhyme about a bloke named Bill, you may have heard of him. He wrote the occasional piece of prose and one or two fairly good plays. Of course that meant incorporating it into a piece of art. Hence the headaches from a previous post. Details, it's all about the details. However... drum roll please maestro... tada , it is finished.
Presenting...

The Highly Probable and Quite Likely Tale, of Billy Wobbledagger.

(Stunning title, I know!)

And to the rhyme, (for I don't believe it could ever fall into any more serious sounding category!)

Young Bill would oft regale his friends with tales of love and woe,
Of kings and things and faeries that did amuse them so.
His friends and family laughed and cried and encouraged him to go,
Saying "Bill the Globe is all the rage for putting on a show".
One day the Queene came calling as Bill's fame began to grow,
She'd come to see the actors as into character they did flow.
The common folk did gape and stare from the crowded floor below,
They'd never seen so close before, Red Lizzie's royal glow.
Now at first she did but titter, and then albeit slow,
An enormous laugh began to rock Red Lizzie to and fro.
And at the last her Maj arose to clap and cheer, "Bravo",
"That Bill", she said, "I think he has the makings of a pro".
And so young Bill, his future sealed and very rightly so,
Forever more known as 'The Bard', that rocked the royal toe.

Awe struck are you not, LOL!

Okay, okay, I had a wee brain melt down but decided that should make for art as well as the usual stuff one does.
After all everything is grist isn't it.

The piece isn't as far fetched as it may first seem. Shakespeare was member of the Lord Chamberlains Men, a group of players who performed for the Lord Chamberlain and were retained for the courts amusement. Shakespeare himself acted and wrote for the company and also shared in the profits from their theatrical performances. In the days prior to the troops purchase of the Globe there is proof of Shakespeares performance before Queen Elizabeth and her court in and around London in the public records of the Treasurer to the Royal Chamber.

So now for the arty bit. Of course it's all about Bill, err, Shakespeare of course.
So here's the piece.

Now remember I was a card carrying member of a medieval society. So to take on a different tact, here's a recreation of a medieval velvet doublet as worn in Shakespeares time. Sleeves were of course an optional extra of the times and instead of being sewn in were tied into the base clothing piece for men and women. I couldn't get the arrangement I wanted with a sleeve as well, so the doublet is sans sleeve.

The doublet is scaled down of course to fit the canvas board (12" x 16"). Underneath reproductions of Shakespeares first folio productions from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and the Sonnets. (All favs, but I love them all really especially that Scottish Play and Hamlet). The doublet is all hand made no machine sewing anywhere. The trims are all couched by hand (that means sewn on in an authentic period style of attachment for anyone not into medieval dress making) and the button loops are also fashioned and attached by hand. Not as hard as one would imagine and I have had lots of practice now though. Included in the piece a fabulous old book cover from 1885 with a beautiful gilt WS on the front cover that I found in a local bookstore and couldn't pass up. (Okay it isn't from 1600 ish but then who owns a book from then with the initials WS that you're gonna chop up for art???) Also included a couple of feather quills I also fashioned by hand according to period methods and dipped in ink to look like Will could have just left them lying there. Boy that's a whole other story that one. Feather quills, what a hassle, who knew?

Here's a close shot of the gilt on the book cover. It's a little over exposed here but then it's gilt, lots of glare and crappy photography skills.

So sue me, LOL!

Beautiful writing.

Inside the book cover a copy of the rhyme for posterity, and because I like the humorous element to add to the story.
I fancy Shakespeare had a good sense of humour and wouldn't mind me taking the mickey out of him.

It's typed in as close to an authentic font as I could get, my calligraphy isn't that good, on the oldest paper I had.
The paper is from 1835. I have reproduced at the top and bottom of the page decorative elements as they actually appeard in the publications of the works from the first folio.

So there you have it. A little bit of Bill, as I like to call him. Actually in researching Shakespeare I found out quite a few interesting facts and stories. Who knows how true they are. Shakespeare it seems had a wicked sense of humour as well as wit. One story goes that a lady fell in love with one of Shakespeares comtemporaries, Richard Burbage, when she saw him play Richard III on stage and begged him to come to her chambers that night under the name of King Richard. Shakespeare apparently overheard the proposition and as a joke, left the theatre early to take Burbage's place. Apparently he was at it when a message arrived to say that Richard the third was at the door.
Shakespeare apparently replied that "William the conqueror" came before Richard III.
Now tell me that's not a man who can take a good joke, LOL!
Will, you kill me!

Me, me, me, it's all about ME!

2009-08-27T20:11:00.005+10:00

My gorgeous friend Cat over at La Dolce Vita has passed on a MeMe award. Aw shucks, (blush, blush) I don't know what to say now.

Yeah right, who would believe that! LOL!

Now this one calls for me to reveal seven wonderful things about me and then pass it along to another seven fabulous people.
Umm, seven things about me??? What do you want to know dear readers???

Like you, I eat, sleep put my pants on one leg at a time, (I haven't mastered the art of the two leg jump and get both feet in at the same time thingy yet. Not that I haven't been practising mind you, it's just that I haven't got the timing quite right yet).
Soo after some pondering here's what I could come up with for you all...

1. I'm actually quite shy.
Now stop that all of you, I can hear you laughing, oh yes I can. I take a little while to feel comfortable with people, must be why I art. I quite like my own company.
2. I loathe the telephone.
Have been known to easily ignore it and drive my family nuts. I just don't see the necessity of answering the thing just because someone else is calling. Sometimes I don't want to be available. The other bods who live here however couldn't ignore it if their life depended on it and jump at the infernal machine. Hey I've got an 18 and 20 year old. Who do think the call is for anyway?
3. I don't have a favourite colour (Cat we are the same, how funny!)
I like them all, especially when they are highlighted by other perfect colours partnered to show them off to their best. What more do you want?
4. I love movies and books.
I have too many favs to begin to list them. Am completely happy curled up with either for company and woe betide the idiot who presumes to interupt this perfect condition. (I don't suffer interuptions gladly. Surely you can see I only have 3 pages/minutes to go and the hero/heroine is about to fall/die/blow up).
5. Merlin, my blogger name comes from my cat.
It was the name of a beloved feline friend who has cast off his mortal coil. ('nough said. If you're a pet person you know.)
6. I was once a card carrying member of a medieval re-enactment group.
Loved it. It taught me much about life between 600AD and 1600AD. I cooked banquets for 200 people at a time, made historically acurate clothing by hand and met the most wonderful people. It taught me much, introduced me to a wealth of knowledge I am grateful for and satisfied that peculiar thirst for history I have. I no longer participate for a variety of reasons but am grateful for the time I did. Never stop learning.
and last but not least...
7. I have had no formal art training ever.
Not even participated in a class. (Well since leaving school that is, and that didn't go well either, LOL!) This does not mean however that I don't want to. I am all for class participation and have a list that I am dying/bungyjumping/freefalling from aircraft (preferably with a shute) absolutely going to attend as soon as I can arrange the time/find the class I want/get the dough to get there. Yes, for shame, I was the artistically challenged child that sat up the back while the art teacher shook their head and wondered at the system that required every student had to participate in at least one term of introductory art. So to you I say, do not ever believe the people who tell you, that you can't do it, can't make it, or you are wasting your time, about anything. Stop all self doubt. It is completely destructive and not at all true of anything! I once commented to Seth that I had no idea what rock I had been under for years that meant I had missed the joys that art now brings to me, but that I would never go back. No truer words have ever, and I do mean EVER left these lips dear blog readers. I have at long last learned life's most valuable lesson. Become a NIKE convert!
JUST DO IT!

And now here's a little something about me for free, cause I'm all about free when you can get it/ it's offered/hits me over the head!

I live to laugh!
Nothing makes me happier than a good laugh, especially one shared with friends. I suffer from the typical Aussie irreverent and self deprecating humour that seems to abound here. No topic is off limits. Nothing is above being poked at in the name of a good laugh. I don't mean you need to be rude, crude and crass, but a great laugh really makes the world a better place.

And now to pass the award on to others. For the inspiration, laughs, support, encouragement and sheer joy you have all brought to me, thankyou!

Judy

Mrs.G
Now for anyone who is not familiar with Mrs. G, anyone who is serving me mancake with my coffee in the cabana is my sorta gal, ROFL!
(Go look girls, go on, you will not regret it, trust me... you will want to hang out in the cabana!) For all the fellas out there, go look too, but be warned...
it's not called the Womens Colony for nothing, LOL!

Crashing Back into Reality

2009-08-23T13:50:00.001+10:00

Well unfortunately the holiday is over and I find myself crashing back into the world of reality and the demands of full time work. I must devote more time to working out how to earn an income from holiday life. Wouldn't that be wonderful. Unfortunately since I don't, it's back to the grindstone for me! This does not mean that there has been no time for art. On the contrary, I have been completing a couple of projects, which I can't show you yet, and so that means again journal play only to show, well at least for a wee while.
So here we are, the first page in a new journal...
step inside.
Seems an appropriate starting place.

Some play with water colours and acrylics.

And it's on to a collage, I've been headlong into a bit of a poetry plunge and this piece has stuck in my head.

I sometimes feel this happens to me. I spend so long immersed in the research, techniques or the colours of someone else that my own creativity seems to get bogged down in it all and it fills my head. I am in need of some clear space I think to refresh myself. So there will be no more research for a time just art play to enable me to breathe. I feel better already!

Remembering Leo

2009-08-05T12:11:00.001+10:00

It's been a lazy beginning to the week, now that I'm on holidays. Oh yeah, kicking back and relaxing, arting when I want, watching a few movies and generally not doing too much, at least so far. Now if only I could work out how to get paid for doing this I'd be in heaven! So while relaxing I've been taking a few lessons from Ann Baldwin's book 'Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists'. Great book! Did I mention it's a great book? I did, well truthfully well deserved too. I do love Ann's collage work, and rarely do I find that these type of books live up to the my hopes for them, but this one! Worth every cent if you're into paint techniques for mixed media and collage! It's a wonderful place to begin anyway. So I been playin'. Have been researching madly for a current project and have a pile of books next to the nightstand as high as the nightstand on the Reanaissance period, my fav historical era. Soo much change in soo little a time period! Have sorted out all the issues for my current work in progress and am now into that, but I'm keeping that a secret at the moment so no peeks, at least not yet, LOL! However, as always the journals a great fallback, so here's the latest journal play.

'Remembering Leo'.

Love Da Vinci, what a fabulous mind. Fancy being clever enough in his day and age to go from paint, to sculpture, to engineering, to anatomy studies and back again! What a talented and inquiring mind he must have had. This page was a direct play from Ann Baldwins book. Her colour palette and style just my subject matter, but I liked it! Pooh, it's my journal and I'll play with what I want!!! (I'm sticking out my tongue and blowing raspberries too, LOL)! Don't know that I've finished with it yet either. I'll just have to wait and see.

'Walking on the Moon'

I've been in love with everything 'spacey' for as long as I can remember. I wonder if it was a direct influence from these guys? I remember watching it all on the tv as a child and being so entranced with the idea that someone was up there walking around as I was looking!
I was a grand 6 years of age (I soo cannot believe I gave my age away! What was I thinking???) and was hooked. I so admire these men, their predecessors and those who came after. I'm probably also a wee bit jealous! I'd go up tomorrow if only NASA would phone and ask!!!
Why haven't they??? Surely they've heard of me!!! LOL! I actually have the original newspaper broadsheets, published at the time. They are yellowing and delicate but I wouldn't part with them for anything! I have copied them and resized them to include here.

Next... onto something a little different.

Some jewelry play. The wonderful Ro Bruhn sent me a pakage a wee while ago and I have slowly been incorporating various of her bits into projects. (OMG, that sounds like I'm some sort of serial killer!!! I apologise to all, believe me, Ro's still out there folks! Alive and well! Trust me, I'm an artist, LOL)

Mwahahahaha, I kill me sometimes!!!

Anyway, the result of playing with beady bits...

Loads of glare when I took the photos. Sorry to all you photography types out there. I so suck at this.
(I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, much bowing and scrapping, LOL). Loads of glare from the mother of pearl discs, but they are sooo pretty. Every girl needs a bit of bling!

And then a little mixed media piece which I think may turn into a series.

I've been practising my portraits since last we spoke. Slow improvement. Ah well, Rome wasn't built in a day and all that!
Do you see the beatles, LOL! Couldn't help myself! John, Paul, George and Ringo in on the act! Mixed media canvas panel, acrylics, oil pastels, charcoal, ink, sheet music and all four beatles! Wow, should be worth a fortune with all four, LOL! I have been scouring the garden (much to the delight of the cat who has been pouncing about at every opportunity as I rummage amongst the bits) for the right kind of beetle but, it's winter here, a disctinct lack of buggy bits in the yard at present, especially the already departed type. Couldn't actually kill any for my art now could I! Unthinkable!!! So had to resort to making them from dried beans. Maybe I should watch out for that Jack guy, I hear he has some used beans!

Ahh, I think that's all for now. Gotta get back to my...

well nothing really, but I gotta get back to doin it anyway!!!

I so LOOOOOOVE holidays!

Creativity Can Be A Rough Journey!

2009-07-28T17:47:00.003+10:00

Well, I have finally finished going through all the blogs that were participating in Seth's Buried Treasure. The butt's recovered and ready to go, the therapist is a damn sight richer than me now, LOL, but alas, between blog hopping, family and work there has been little time for art! Ye gads! I knoooow you are all soooo shocked! (me too!) I am currently head bashing around some art ideas and they are causing some, what had better be very temporary, wrinkling of the forehead.
The subject has been chosen, step one complete!
The format, arrived at, step two complete!
Now do you here the screaming sound of brakes being applied!!!
That's the old noggin grinding to a halt, and herein lies the issue.
I just haven't nutted out all the little details!

Guess I'm feelin a little discombobulated! (Oh yeah baby, look who swallowed the dictionary for breakfast today, aha aha aha! Go out and use that in a sentence today, then let me know how it goes. I'm interested in the unusual stuff!) For any of you completely at a loss now, the dictionary defines discombobulation as: to confuse or disconcert, to throw somebody into a state of confusion. That's me!

I am one of those people that maps it all out in my head when I embark on some major piece. Never does it just go blithely on and develop on it's own. Painting play yes, collage yes, but altering books, no, and that's the problem. I just cannot break, chop or generally destroy a book, even for the sake of art, without some sort of overall plan first. Oh, it may all change after I start, but there was originally a plan! I just loooove books too much to hack one up only to find I am unhappy with the way it is all going so let's just cut up another. Think it was too much time devoted to reading over the years, I loooove reading, so just can't do it! :( Sooo, the current problem is just that I need to nut out the finer stuff. I have no doubt that will happen shortly as I am about to take a two week break from work and intend to spend some serious time arting, woohoo, can't wait!!! Roll on Fridaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!

In the meantime, however...

DON'T PANIC!!! No matter what is going on there is always time to journal, phew! Sooooo, here's the latest round of journal fun, just so you know I haven't fallen off the planet!

Umm do you think this reflects my current dilemma? Maybe journalling will help!

Naaaaa, didn't work. Time to watch the storm instead!

Oh yeah, now I rule da house!!! Getting closer I think, LOL!

As you can see a variety of styles from various journals I have going, all at once too I will add. (For my sister in art, Cat, who's got the AADD now baby!! LOL! To all those souls out there wondering about AADD, a common affliction amongst members of the artistic community, AADD stands for Artist Attention Deficit Disorder. An affliction which causes said sufferer to constantly rove between various art forms and ideas without being able to settle on any one particular art form or style. Yeah you know you have it too, LOL!)

As a small aside I also suffer from DTS, otherwise known as dyslexic typing syndrome, which I define as a person who manages to type slower than their brain composes and so ends up with words completely typed in a state of utter chaos which would render any spelling bee champion apoplectic! (Woo that's two fun words in one post! Doin' the fun dance now kiddies!) Thank goodness it only happens when I type. I can actually behave in a semi normal state at other times, LOL!

Digging Deeper into the walls-Buried Treasure Round 2

2009-07-23T18:11:00.005+10:00

So welcome back dear blog readers. Did you enjoy Seth's Buried Treasure? I know I certainly did, although I'm not sure about my butt, LOL! After serious remedial therapy, the butt's good to go for a second round, so on to, Buried Treasure Round 2! Seth has put out the call for another round of willing participants to join in and repost another of their Buried Treasure posts. But what to post??? In the words of a famous WWII poster, Keep Calm and Carry On. (Read this as...Now panic and freak out!!!) Well, the navels already clean from the last lot of contemplation, so... a snap decision. I have only been a participant in blogland for a small amount of time (since christmas last) so not a large vault of goodies to choose from really, but being the ever resourceful soul I am, I have found something for you. Although only posted initially a short time ago, I so enjoyed creating this piece that it's back for another round. And so.... drum roll please...
here's the repost for you

If Walls Could Talk.
(I'll let it speak for itself now folks. Stop clapping so loudly, I already know I talk too much, LOL)

Rolling back about 8 weeks or so...

Confessions of a bloghopper.
I am always jumping from one blog to another, sometimes I admit, I get lost and can't find my way back to where I was, or worse see something I love, close a page then can't find my way back there again! Do you do this too? Terribly frustrating! I am slowly becoming more disciplined about my blog hopping and bookmarking pages and sites I love so I can refind my way there again, but I still madly bloghop, driving my family nuts as they ask, "Are you downloading pages again?", all the time! :) Umm, yup, that's me, sorry to all the obsessive online gamers at my house, but raspberries to you I say!!! In my mad dash from place to place I often find myself returning to Le Divan Fumoir Bohemien (if you haven't caught this wonderful blog, then do. It's full of the most incredible fragments of interesting things!) So while there in recent weeks, an amazing piece of texture caught my eye. Paper and resin, brittle from the passage of time. Okay I'm hooked just from this alone. LOVE texture! But vintage texture!!! Ooooo! The piece was all about this fantastic house built from paper. Okay, a quick bloghop over to Rockport, Massachusetts (don't you just love the spelling challenges presented by some words!!!), and it's a quick spin through the paper house. Walls, furniture all made from paper and resin, how interesting. (Read that as brain ticking starting up). Alright, so now I'm thinking about the paper house and remembering a news article I saw sometime ago about how many years ago (that's centuries past), folks in the U.K. would bury sentimental items from loved ones who had passed away, in the walls of their homes. Baby shoes, clothes etc, and now workmen called in to do repairs are turning up all manner of strange items in the walls. Now, I have been watching with interest Seth Apter's Disintegration Collaboration where artists are making up bundles and leaving them out to the ravages of the elements for a period of time, only to reclaim them and produce something using their altered pieces in an artwork. Great stuff too Seth, can't wait to see more of this one! (If you have been under a rock somewhere and haven't caught this one, then jump to it and check it out, it's a must see!) So with all of this churning around in the noggin, the beginnings of an idea. Keep with me here, we are going somewhere, albeit slowly. The birth of a creative idea. What would your walls reveal about you? What would you imagine someone putting in there, preserving for all time? What could be hidden from view, secreted away in those spaces? Precious things, posessions, secrets waiting in time. Ahh, so here is the idea. Following along with the disintegration line, what would happen if there had been a fire? What would be lost or revealed?

And so...

the layers peeled away...

Under the wallpaper, inside the walls, what was hidden is now revealed.

A secret love...

a choice made...

a love lost.

Under the wallpaper, inside the walls the fire reveals, pictures of a love forsaken. Love letters hidden within the walls, kept close in the secret heart of the home.

The piece in its entirety.

Layers of paper, glued and colourwashed, then covered in dimensional magic. Now for the fun part, burned. Yes that's right, bubbled and blistered to form the texture of the piece. I had so much fun with this, burning the paper and dimensional magic to my hearts content. The family constantly checking to see I wasn't personally alight, (or at least the house!). I think I must be some sort of closet arsonist, LOL! Anyway, after the burning, lots of embossing in black, red and gold. More burning!!! (said with glee and maniacal laughing). I seem to be on some sort of upswing lately, everything rolling along so well. I am pretty pleased with this one (just in case you were in any doubt. LOL) Here's another glimpse of the textures, click away for a closer look.

Now I think I might have to contemplate the issue of water and how to apply it. (Just to put out all the fires you know)!

So there you have it dear blog readers, a wordy post from the vault but I wanted you to understand the piece, and how it evolved. I do hope you enjoyed it! Now to initiate another round of butt therapy by watching all of your posts. See you at the therapists. I think I will recognise you all as you'll all be bent over double like me! This therapist is sitting on a fortune, LOL!

Convicts and Emus in the Nest-Buried Treasure

2009-07-16T18:31:00.004+10:00

These days even the most dedicated blog hopper, (myself included here), will find it difficult to catch all the posts of favourite bloggers. There is just so much out there to see of interest and only so many hours of the day one can plant one's proverbial butt in a chair and blog hop and still retain one's job, physical shape and family devotion! So what to do dear blog readers? In order to prevent long hours of eye strain, broken chairs with permanent butt impressions, and millions of sleep deprived zombies from roaming the land, Seth Apter of The Altered Page has devised a plan!!! Buried Treasure! A call for willing participants to repost their favourite blog post. This action is intended to provide scores of deprived blog readers with the opportunity to catch up on posts they may have missed from favoured sites, and so provide said blog readers with the minimum of flat bottom exposure time needed to complete their blog roamings. Yes, yes cheer the Apter child for his insightful clear thinking, well deserved it is too! (Why , oh why didn't anyone think of this before!) This has, of course, led to much dilemma in the blogging community. Entire communities of people suffering from sleep deprivation as they decide what to post! Even I, a decision maker of extraordinary speed, required time to contemplate my navel over this decision. And then, after many moons of deep thought, and a lint free navel, there it was. The decision. As many of you know I have been busy over a few months creating a book construction for my mother. The piece is the culmination of an extraordinary journey into the lives of the members of my family. I feel I know them so much better now. It has also been a learning journey artistically. It has challenged me in both technique and creativity and I have loved every minute of the ride. And so this post is an amalgamation of some of those posts which show a few of my favourite pages from the book.

This is the first, a page about my great grandfather. The emu represents both where he lived and his career. The original name of the town was Emu Bay (now known as Burnie, in Tasmania, Australia, Pooh, bring back the original moniker I say!). His job for most of his working life was as an engine driver for the Emu Bay Railway Company. One of the first railway company's in Tasmania, and the last privately owned one to sell to the government only a few years ago. During his working life he saw many changes and under the picture of the emu, the page includes photographs and ephemera representational of the years he worked for the company. The original post for this page is in two sections. To view them click for part one here and part two here.

The next page is about my great grandmother, Ivy. The page is a favourite as it incorporates copper wire and metal leaves as a visual representation of her name. Love these items! Under the frame, a poem and some dried hydranger flowers which always grew in her garden, and a photograph of Ivy. To see the original post click here.

Next, a frame construction incorporated into the book. I just loved this one. Making it and how it turned out. Hey, what can I say, we all have our favs! You can see the original post here.

And lucky last, the doors to the nest! This page is a reference to my grandparents. At this point in time they have embarked on their married life together, hence the doors to the nest. I enjoyed the change of focus with this page and the switch to a more fabric constructed page. And, lets face it, who can resist vintage laces and doilies! The original post is at the same site as the frame above.

So there you have it! Some of my personal favourites. In all seriousness thank you to Seth for a brilliant idea. Can't wait to catch up with the other bloggers and check out their posts. OMG, I am going to need some serious butt therapy after viewing the number of sites that look like they've joined in!!! For those of you wondering about the convicts referred to in the title of the post, both of my great grandparents referred to here are directly descended from convicts sentenced to transportation and sent to Tasmania. More about that on the original posts. Oh, and Seth, best leave some bright ideas for the rest of us. It isn't at all fair you have so many in one year, LOL!!!

Journal Chillin

2009-07-12T14:53:00.001+10:00

It's been a weekend to relax and catchup on a little journal play. I have been so busy recently it was nice to just sit and play at something without any pressures or expectations for a change. I have been reading art books, magazines and blogs and taking a few lessons from them all. So here's the first one. The first page is a sort of hybrid creation after watching Pam Carriker and Sharon Tomlinson create portraits for their journals. I've never been tempted to do a portrait, always felt I couldn't draw for quids, but, in for a penny... (and you have to learn sometime, right? Yeah... right! LOL). So here she is.

She's a little washed out from the scanner, but you get the drift! I can live with her, so that wasn't a complete failure!
(P.S. Ro, notice your fabulous stamp!!! LOVE it!)

Onto the second page... texture play!!! Woohoo!

Again I wanted to try something completely new, so, I'm gazing into the garden comtemplating the trees and what captures me...
Bark!!! Hmmm, must be able to use it somehow, what about a major texture play. Incorporate as much as I think the journal will hold up to without completely caving in! So off I went. Tissue paper and gel medium. Modelling paste with background and foreground stamping (I told you I love this poppy stamp Ro!!!). Then sheet music and gel again, then layers of acrylics and oils, followed by gel and bark. Add a few words and the piece d' resistance (did I spell that right???) wax!!! Oh yeah baby it sneaks in again! Gotta say I love, love, love the feel of the page, can't stop touching it! (Makes me sound a bit suspect really, but you know how it is with us texture peoples, LOL) Not an earth shattering picture but the texture... drool!

Okay Kim, wipe your drool up and move on!

And finally the outpourings from too much time spent at NASA/JPL's website.
The eye of the universe. Read into this piece what you will, I'm not influencing your take on this one!

The orange is actually copper but once again I succumb to crappy photography skills. Perhaps I should have stuck to reading photography for dummies instead!

Constructing the Covers

2009-07-05T18:14:00.005+10:00

Well as promised here is the book finished at long last. It has been a wonderful experience to construct, both from the family reminiscing point and also for the book construction techniques learned along the way, lots of fun there! I admit to being somewhat headstrong here, (there are so many gurgling noises and throat clearings going on in the background you would think I was at the doctors surgery! The whole family's a comedy act!) Anyway, as I was saying, being the determined soul I am I proceeded blindly into the construction of the covers and assemblage of the book without any prior experience in construction techniques. Never even read a book on the topic. Naive, YES, ABSOLUTELY!!! Yes the construction presented some challenges (read this as design problems extraordinaire!), and I almost caved and sought advice, but (being me) I persisted and eventually solved all obstacles myself (oh, yeah baby, I am soooo proud!)
So here it is the finished article, proudly presenting...

The Book of Hearts

The front and back covers are constructed from book board and covered in a fine kangaroo leather, (well it is Australian) rather than a book leather. The finished article is quite large and heavy so I felt a heavy duty cover construction was needed to prevent the possibility of needing repairs in the near future due to weight issues from a more flimsy construction, and I have never done this before, and the tannery isn't too far away either, so there you are! Brass fittings and leather strapping to bind. The front piece is an old wooden frame I found for 20cents, left in its pre-loved form and into this I have placed the front piece from a vintage book.

(It reads, Book of the Hearts - Loves Emblems)

In constructing the book, the pages are of course heavily embellished and decorated. This meant the in order for the book pages to sit flat and present like an ordinary book that spacers had to be constructed to fit between the pages along the binding edge. Each one individually designed for each double page spread according to the size spacer required for that particular spreads needs. This done, I covered the spacers in a black fabric to enable them to blend into the background (which they do beautifully). Now the assembling! An extraordinary number of eyelets, hammering, leather strapping and the odd colourful language lesson later, tada! Fini!

The spine...

Here's the side view. As you can see it sits flat!, Yahoo!

The finished book was rushed off to my mother in time for Mother's Day here, (JUST!!!) and is well loved, phew!

Last Pages

2009-07-02T21:14:00.001+10:00

And so onto the last pages in the Book of Hearts, my mother's pages. My mother is eighteen at this point, and I decided that this was enough, at least for now. The book is so much larger than ever first envisaged and it seems a good point to finish at both as a new chapter of her life began after this (namely the married with children phase ) and also the book worked well at this size before it became in danger of becoming clumsy and awkward to negotiate and utilise. So here she is at eighteen.

The page has a frame constructed using modeling paste and has been stamped and had tulle embedded into the paste to add some texture (got to love the textural stuff :), then a few coats of paints and wax finishes to deepen the effects of the texture additions. At the bottom of the page pictures of myself and my brothers as babes, (the future yet to come), and a cameo at the top because i always regarded this particular picture as a cameo of sorts and, well, just because both I and she love them, OKAY! Under the frame (which has a layer of mica over the pic too), an old doiley and some beautiful embossed papers I really was fond of and wanted to send to a good home.

On the other side of the spread a window frame (curtesy of Jen Crossley, thanks Jen!) coated in paint washes and small gold embroidery threads embedded in an impasto painted onto the surface. It's hard to see here but they glisten beautifully in person. A mica window covers a poetry piece and some seeds from my garden. All this and a wonderful green velvet background, (I also love green!) chosen to represent the future that blooms before her at this stage of life.

And on the inside of the frame...

A little quote for my mother and an image I couldn't resist to finish off the book. (You can click to see details of the pictures if you like).
And so the end is nigh.

The construction of the outside covers was a whole other story so I will post the pics of them in the next couple of days. Needless to say that was frought with obstacles but was a wonderful learning experience in itself.

Roses and Australian Etiquette

2009-06-28T21:23:00.002+10:00

Winding up the posts for the Book of Hearts, it is finally time to post the pages of my mothers sister. The passing of my mother's only sibling has left an enormous void in my mother's life, and so the theme is roses, for what she was for us all, beautiful, sweet, and like no other. And so to the first part of the double page. A little book on Australian Etiquette. I must admit it was a great find, a little damaged and so the cover has been edged in lace to give it a bit of something extra and to tidy it up. (I must admit that I was a bit shocked, etiquette for Australia! We aren't really a nation of etiquette style people, are we? Must be a relic from our old colonial days!) Anyway the book was perfect for this spread as it is my Aunts debut ball. On the left of the page some old tulle and some catholic religious medals as she and my mother were raised and schooled in the faith.

Inside the book cover, a photograph of my mothers sister and the then archbishop of Tasmania who attended the ball, and a small vintage victorian angel image that I am really fond of.

And here is the photograph of my aunt at her debut. A small vintage pressed rose held between sheets of mica on the right.

I will post the last pages from the Book of Hearts later this week. I think this has been enough for now.

Caught in The Fabric

2009-06-21T14:01:00.003+10:00

Those of you who viewed the post about what is on your inspiration board may have noticed on mine the images of a star system, time pieces and eyes (in the lower left hand corner). I have always been fascinated by anything remotely linked to the solar system, astronomy and like sciences. Oh, I can't tell you which star is which, or the like, but the exploration of it, how it was and is continuing to form, and the science of it's exploration is an endless source of fascination to me. I am happy wrapped up and watching film documentaries about missions such as Voyager and Cassini or Solar eruptions etc. This inevitably leads me to reading about other interesting things, like time, and relativity, (although I am the first to tell you I don't have any clue about understanding the physics of it all, it is just, well, fascinating!) Anyway I have been spending much of my spare (oh hahahah) time cruising around the NASA/ JPL web site in seventh heaven admiring the image resources. So what does this have to do with anything I hear you say, well not much but you know how it goes... once it's in there it has to get out, somewhere! And art is such a great way to digest everything. Roll it around and chew it up, LOL! So here is the result...

"The Fabric of Time" 14''x18''

The background is collage with acrylic washes and masking then a layer of clear wax. (Watch out everyone, I am also currently obsessed with wax, Umm, in an arty way of course. This is not the forum for discussion of other wax related topics! LOL)
Then the addition of some mixed media elements.

A closer view.

And one of the background. I know you can't see the wax but trust me, it's there. Lovely tactile experience too, I think I'm hooked!

If you're interested in visiting the NASA /JPL images page click on the link, but be warned...
Be prepared to invest some time...
It's fascinating!

Gratitude and Thanks

2009-06-19T17:39:00.001+10:00

Some time ago the lovely Ro Bruhn sent me a packet of goodies to play with. It included some of her wonderful papers, napkins and other assorted oddments and also included some lovely beads and charms. I have put many of them together in a charm style bracelet along with some other bits and pieces of my own. I love the copper and turquoise colour combination. Now I'm no jewellery designer or such but it makes me happy, and reminds me of the spirit in which the gift was given.
Here tis.

So thank you Ro, I love it and it is much appreciated!

The Song of the Five Chicks

2009-06-16T17:57:00.001+10:00

I have been so busy lately that I have almost forgotten to post the remaining pages from the Book of Hearts construction. Well I had better get it done, especially as I have posted the slide show for the book on this blog now, LOL. I saw this picture and just had to include it. You will see why in the coming pics.

As my mother was still very young, approximately 3-4 years of age here, I decided to depict this time by creating a little cotton shift dress, a miniature of one she would have worn and use this as the backdrop for the page.

The picture is attached to a green velvet covered board, and inside...

the five chicks.

Love this photograqph. Mum is the curly haired cheeky urchin on the right. (Always reminds me of Orphan Annie in this pic!) Her sister, Bev on the left. Her cousin that passed away last year next to Mum and two other cousins are the two boys in the photo. The five children ran around and grew up together into their teens and remained very close. (Bet they terrorised Burnie between them all, LOL). I also really liked the picture of the five little cherubs, and how fitting, 5 of them, so in that went too!

Below, the decoration from the bottom of the page.

And I just bet it was too!

Keep calm and carry on!

2009-06-07T23:45:00.001+10:00

Sometimes it takes a bit of planning to get a project right! Sometimes ideas just run out whole and complete and at othertimes an idea will roll around in my head for forever then suddenly, pop! Currently I have several things rolling around, and a few ideas as well, LOL! Seth Apter has posted pics of his inspiration board for all to share and has posed the question. Do you use one? What do you have on it? Well, yes I do, but not as organised as yours Seth, and it's more of a chaotic view inside my head thing really. But seriously, I like to get it all down somewhere to help me nut it all out. Usually I write copious notes and have a hard drive full of images that inspire me. My computer desk (which is huge!!!) always has an area on one side with a neat stack of papers, usually containing notes, images, fabric and textile bits etc. These seem to be related to rabbits, breed overnight and cover my work table as well. The computer desk might be organised, but the work table is a whole other question:) (No, I will not show you pics either!) I do run a planning board though. Its covered in all sorts of stuff. Images that inspire me, other artists work that also inspires, pictures relating to current ideas, some that pan out and others that need more work, quotes I love, and notes. (I couldn't live without them). I am always scribbling down ideas. So Seth, here it is, my current crop of ideas in their plannning stages. (I don't believe I'm doing this! You can click to see details if you're feeling brave!)
Keep calm and carry on!

As you can see, bits everywhere. Probably a reflection of my inner psyche.
Now panic and freak out! LOL.
So now I've shown you mine... it's your turn to play!
(P.S. Seth did you clean yours up, it looks so organised! )

If Walls Could Talk

2009-06-02T18:51:00.002+10:00

Confessions of a blog hopper!
I am always jumping from one blog to another, sometimes I admit, I get lost and can't find my way back to where I was, or worse see something I love, close a page then can't find my way there again! Do you do this too? Terribly frustrating! I am slowly becoming more disciplined about my blog hopping and bookmarking pages and sites I love so I can refind my way there again, but I still madly blog hop, driving my family nuts as they ask, "Are you downloading pages again", all the time:)! Umm, yup, that's me, sorry to the obsessive online gamers at my house but raspberries to you I say! In my mad dash from place to place I frequently find myself returning to Le Divan Fumoir Bohemien ( If you haven't caught this wonderful blog, then do. It's full of the most incredible fragments of interesting things!) So while there in recent weeks , an amazing piece of texture caught my eye. Paper and resin, brittle from the passage of time. Okay, I'm hooked just from this alone. LOVE texture! But vintage texture!!! Oooooo! The piece was all about this fantastic house built from paper. Okay so, a quick blog hop over to Rockport, Massachusetts (don't you just love the spelling challenges presented by some words!!!), and it's a quick spin through the paper house. Walls, furniture all made from paper and resin, how interesting. (Read that as brain ticking starting up). Alright, so now I'm thinking about the paper house and remembering a news article I saw sometime ago about how many years ago (that's centuries past), folks in the U.K. would bury sentimental items of loved ones in the walls of their homes. Baby shoes, clothes etc, and now workmen called in to do repairs are turning up all manner of strange items in the walls. Now, I have been watching with interest Seth Apter's Disintigration Collaboration where artists are making up bundles and leaving them out to the ravages of the elements for a period of time, only to reclaim them and produce something using their altered pieces in an artwork. Great stuff too Seth, can't wait to see more of this! (If you have been under a rock somewhere and haven't caught this one, then jump to it and check it out, it's a must see!) So with all of this churning around in the noggin, the beginings of an idea. Keep with me here, we are going somewhere albeit slowly. The birth of a creative idea. What would your walls reveal about you? What would you imagine someone putting in there, preserving for time? What could be hidden from view, secreted away in those spaces? Precious things, posessions, secrets waiting in time. Ahh, so here is the idea. Following along with the disintigration line, what would happen if there had been a fire? What would be lost or revealed?

And so...

the layers peeled away...

Under the wallpaper, inside the walls, what was hidden is now revealed.

a secret love...

a choice made...

a love lost.

Under the wallpaper, inside the walls the fire reveals, pictures of a love forsaken. Letters hidden within the walls, kept close in the secret heart of the home.

The piece in its entirety.

Layers of papers, glued and colour washed, then covered in dimensional magic. Now for the fun part, burned. Yes that's right, bubbled and blistered to form the texture of the piece. I had so much fun with this, burning the paper and dimensional magic to my hearts content. The family constantly checking to see I wasn't personally alight, (or at least the house!). I think I must be some sort of closet arsonist, LOL! Anyway, after the burning... lots of embossing in black, red and gold! More burning!!! (said with glee!!!). I seem to be on some sort of upswing lately, everything rolling along so well. I am pretty pleased with this one (just in case you are in any doubt. LOL). Here's another glimpse at the textures, click away for a closer look.

Now I think I might have to contemplate the issue of water and how to apply it. (Just to put out all the fires you know)!

The Nursery Years

2009-05-29T17:57:00.001+10:00

Time to press on with the book of hearts. Another childhood page (it actually faces the previous one that was posted). Here is my mother and her sister with their grandmother, Ivy. I just loved this photo so had to include it. Mum is the wee tot in her granny's arms, too cute Mum! Surrounding the photo an old silver frame thats taken a beating, literally, LOL. Re shaped and glued down over the photo so as not to cover too much of the background paper. I really liked this old book page and , well it suited the theme rather well. It was after all mums nursery years. So to go along with the theme, the birds nesting in the top corner, some old vintage lace and an oyster shell button with a little silver hummingbird charm.

The picture shows some green tinting which isn't actually there, just a light trick. If only I could work out how to do that when I want to!
Dud photography skills again:)

And a closer view of the lower section of the page. The branch and a wee nest of silver wire and beads (for eggs) with a few tiny down feathers under the beads. The partner to the top hummingbird at the nest.

And music of course. Birdsong. Can't you hear them?

The Inconsistent Muse!

2009-05-24T17:49:00.001+10:00

It's time for the May journal challenge over at Blue Bazaar and for a change I have finished one on time and really had one of those wonderful flowing days today. Don't you just love that when it happens!

The page is about the ideas in my head and how sometimes they just seem to bubble and overflow so much faster than my ability to do anything about them. At other times, nothing, nix, nada! No amount of provocation or stimulation will shift anything into any sort of positive action. The joys of an inconsistent muse! LOL. Don't ya just loathe that frustration!

Book of Bubbles

2009-05-22T17:15:00.001+10:00

Bubbling...

in...

the past...

And so to the next chapter in the Book of Hearts, my mothers childhood years. The Book of Bubbles page. This appealed to my sense of humour, lots. :) Bubbles and childhood just seem to go together really. These pictures are of Mum and her sister at their first home in Burnie, Tasmania. Mum is the little terror with her doll bottom left. (hahaha mum, dobbed you in). I think she is about 2 years old here. Won't reveal her current age, thats just not very ladylike really.

Suffice to say she was around a little after the dinosaurs (just kidding) LOL! ( Ouch. I felt that Mum!) hahahahaha!
Oh, the lock and key are to symbolise the key to a happy childhood...carefree times with your best friend, your big sis!

Deep Digger

2009-05-14T16:26:00.002+10:00

Over on Viv Bonder's website she has started a journal challenge, dig deep, or deep diggers. (Click on the link to go see Viv's amazingly inspiring site). There are inspirations provided, something to help you dig deep, those things which challenge, hide, inspire, motivate, and affect us in some way. The nitty gritty of our lives, or perhaps just a colour or thought and what does this evoke in you? I decided to join, afterall this is for me a year of growth, both in myself and my art, so both feet in and splash! Here's the first one- honesty. Well thats a hell of a prompt Viv. Lots of stuff associated with this word, some good, some great, some... other things. So here's the page.

Oh, yeah, this was more of a challenge than I originally anticipated. I could have written all the nice cutesy stuff, but that isn't what this was about for me. Although I haven't talked about specific things here, and it's not about revealing hidden closet skeletons or such like, (no there aren't any weird or wonderful skeletons trying to get out either!!!), the word was more confronting than I anticipated. That was good though, liberating really, so that was what it was about. Honesty is liberating!
Let me know what you think. Be honest!
Liberate yourself too! :)

Icarus Rises

2009-05-10T16:39:00.002+10:00

Time for a journal page post. Its been a while and I have been so busy but I have finally gotten around to completing this months journal challenge at Blue Bazaar. The challenge- transfers. All different types just pick and choose and jump right in. Well splash!!! I did of course and decided on attempting an inkjet transfer. I think I must thrive on challenges because for some reason this became one! Harder to get a good result than I would have liked but finally I am happy enough with it all. I found it worked best if I applied the gel medium to both the background and the transfer. Dont play with it too much and dont over apply the gel and have it slip all over the place. The transfer looks very white here but I kept the background behind the transfer white deliberately to enhance this aspect, as the picture is of a marble statue so I wanted it this way. The background is made from some lovely papers from Ro Bruhn (thanks Ro), acrylics texture paste and twinkling H2O's. I have over painted the transfer a little with acrylics to highlight some of the areas but only a little. It is much more rose-gold in person but the camera insited on seeing only the fiery colours and leaving out the rest:( Oh well, such is life, or at least my photography ability. LOL.

Oh I forgot to mention I threw in a few feathers, but you could see that anyway!

Building The Nest

2009-05-04T15:40:00.001+10:00

Moving along to the next set of pages in the Book of Hearts, and here they are. Love gives you wings. (Contrary to the words of wisdom currently being espoused in a certain advertisment that tries to sell some form of liquid refreshment). The frame is constructed using texture paste, acrylics, stamping, polished pigments tulle and other assorted odds and sods. Grungeboard wings and an old heartshaped frame that had a wee makeover as well.
(You can click on the pics to see the detail if you like).

So behind the doors...

They build their nest. Here are my grandparents not long after they have married, building their nest together.

I wanted a little something different for this page so after being all inspired after browsing through the fabulous Ruth Rae's blog..there was the answer. To construct my own set of soulful doors. I really enjoyed this process. Being away from the usual chaotic work bench and doing something different was lots of fun. Might have to make some more of these for myself!

They built a wonderful nest together.

Hello Sailor!

2009-04-30T16:11:00.001+10:00

She was the eldest daughter, one of three.

My grandmother, Lorna. Loved this lady so much, she was such a kind soul. Here she is on the right, the photo taken during the war years. The photo is covered with a broken piece of mica to resemble broken glass. My grandmother is on the right. I felt the broken glass look highlighted her in the picture without diminishing her sisters. They too were a fun pair of girls with a wicked sense of humour.

Here is my grandfather as he was around the time they met. He had been a merchant seaman before giving it all up and seetling down. This page reflects that part of his life. Wow he looks so young here.

And here is the facing page with my grandmother. She went to college as an adult and took a tailors course and was good at it too.

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor...

The Barrackers are Shouting

2009-04-26T20:17:00.001+10:00

There was a growing awareness...

that she too was under the spell...

like her mother before her...

the fever was in her too.

Like her mother before her, my grandmother was a one eyed supporter for life. Collingwood all the way. Go those pies! (Do you think I have this one too. lol!) What can I say... I come from a long line, it's in our blood. Don't believe me? I told my husband, when he was only a fiance that we couldn't get married unless he became a Collingwood supporter too! He agreed. Quickly. ( I don't think he considered it to be much of a sacrifice. He's a kiwi and a mad rugby union supporter so it wasn't too hard for him!)

60 hugs and thankyou's

2009-04-25T18:22:00.003+10:00

A wonderful suprise awaited me when I returned home from work last night. After a week of working late shifts and feeling quite tired, a suprise. A parcel fom Ro! OMG I am so excited, Ro you are so generous! Hugs and kisses aplenty! The gorgeous Ro Brun celebrated her 60th birthday last week with a blog giveaway. How lucky was I to be a recipient. If you haven't seen Ro's work, what are you waiting for she is a wonderful artist. Click here now! Beautiful jewelry, paintings, journals, paper and stamping designs just to name a little of what this lovely lady does. Look at what wonderful delights Ro sent!

And this!

I am so excited I can't wait to play! Thankyou Ro for such fabulous treasures and for the fun they represent and will give me over the upcoming months. I hope your birthday was wonderful!

Ivy's Trail

2009-04-12T23:15:00.001+10:00

A new page. This time it is my other great grandmother, married to the great grandfather in the previous post. Are you completely confused yet? Her name was Ivy. The front of the page shows a construction which incorporates metal leaves and copper wire used to represent, well, ivy. A visual representation of her name. (Click on the picture for a closer view of the details if you like).

Here's a closer view of the top of the page.

Ivy enjoyed gardening and was by all accounts a great cook, looking after her extended family, and so the page is a reflection of those things that my mother remembers about her. So here is a little piece of poetry for the gardener...

Who loves a garden
finds within his soul
life's whole;
He hears the anthem of the soil
While integrates toil;
And sees beyond his little sphere
the waving fronds of heaven, clear.

-Louise Seymour Jones

One of my mothers strongest memories is of the Hydrangeas that grew in her garden, and so I have captured them here for her.

And here she is, our Ivy. The microscope glass contains little phrases of text describing some facts about Ivy, while on the side of the page some text relating to her convict heritage, as Ivy's heritage also contains a convict background. As with my great grandfather, I wanted to acknowledge this past but not focus directly on it. (You can click on the picture to see the details). So the focus remains on the things my mother remembers about her. The garden, her cooking, where she lived, for the aim was to bring alive those memories for my mother, the things for which she new her best.

Ivy was also a very one eyed football fan. Apparently the family gave her a wide berth when she was there supporting the local club where my great grandfather used to play in his younger days. A seriously one eyed supporter was our Ivy. Love her commitment :) Apparently the rest of the women in the family caught this particular gene too, lol.