The Colourguru

I'm livin' in the 70's

well - today my DH & I have been married for 28 years - whew - I don't like to portray it's been a walk in the park - AND it certainly has had it's fair share of precipes' but, you know, it's comfortable - some days we're a cranky 'old' married couple - bickering at each other - then on other days it's like we're still kids muddling our way along & being sweet to each other.  The 70's were my teenage years & we were married on 12th July 1980 - in 70's colours..chocolate brown, cream & powder blue.  Someone coined the phrase for the '70's it was 'the decade that style forgot' yet, it seems sureal, for the first time in my life, reliving through a fashion/design era...seeing the shops, colour trends, patternation & Visual Merchandising in large stores full of designs & colours I wore when I was a teen - it's a bit wierd.  I haven't seen shoes like this yet - but I had some!  My hair (even for our wedding) used to look like this.....My FAVOURITE group was BCR (blushing with shame - AND YES - I HAD a pair of their famous pants!) until about 1972/73 - until the REAL music of my generation was created & IF you can bear it (I laughed when I saw it again)........here's the famous song, by a band called Skyhooks - the song - I'm livin' in the 70's'.

Until my DH came along, smoking (eeee-uuu.....B & H), & swooned me off my feet I was going to marry this man! who reportedly was worth SIX million dollars........LOL!!!  (ah, those were the days!!!)....

When I get back home I will post my baby face - yes, I was a child bride - married at 19! (added 15th July)

a visual person struggling without pictures

we are still away & having a good time - which is solace from the challenges of the past few months.  I feel as though (now that I have allowed myself some 'grieving space') - I am OK - and life will start to go on - the fog has cleared.......I am struggling not being able to SHOW you what I am up to & realize how much of my blogging relies on me tying it to a visual story - well - I can only make words right now - I am missing you all - thanks for your sweet & encouraging comments - you are wonderful, special people!

I have been hearing about some amazing stuff happening in Peru & how even simple little things like a tablet for 'worms' can save a child from malnutrition.  I am a long way from being Bono - however I just didn't know this was happening in the world - perhaps you didn't either.

delicate things

yesterday was a day of delicate things......of early spring babies,

of misty forest,

  of moss, of feathers, all captured in my own 'backyard' ..... it has been an instrumental direction for my 'white' canvas board..... it should be ready for you to see tomorrow....  

Doors

Here is another of my 'country canvases' simply titled 'Doors' .  It is approximately 16" square & a pictoral representation of where my life is right now, lots of decisions, each one with implications.... lots of choices, each one with unknowns & uncertain direction (I trust God, so that doesn't worry me, however,  I just don't know which direction I should be heading right now). 
Life can be like that sometimes & we look for talisman along the way......the quote says, 'there are things know, & there are things unknown & in between are the doors' - how true for where I am right now.  The stamps are from a company selling a great product called 'Darkroom Door' (introduced to me by Jenene).  I love them, they are really nice.  (this piece is already sold)

In the front of the canvas is on of the skeletons I have pulled from the leaf refuse I have swept from our deck lately.  It didn't photograph too well like that, so here is a separate one.  Sweeping the deck with my little Princess 'L' is one of my special joys.  It is always when life is complicated the pleasure of simple things seems to be amplified.  Her mum has been quite unwell this week & they have practically lived here, so we have had lots of 'deck time' with the 'boom', as she calls it.  Our other joy is cooking - she LOVES it - we are up to 3 - 5 word sentances now & one of her regular requests is 'Ellie cook, Nonna'.  I don't know if you have noticed, but we are FINALLY starting to see the emergence of hair - YAY!!  She will be TWO next weekend, (where did that 2 years go???) & the fine little golden ringlets & waves are pretty much on track with her mum.  I gave birth to bald babies & it always took them a couple of years to get hair!

 

Down on the Farm

this is my w.i.p. (work in progress) from the weekend.  I have 2 other completed canvases to show you, however, I haven't photographed them yet, so I can't show you those.  As soon as I saw this image of a tree I was mezmerized by it.  It is solitary - & lonely, but serene & peaceful all at the same time.  I have attached some nice papers to the piece as well, but I am not sure which direction to take it just now.  I gessoed over everthing & then rubbed it back......Jenene says snow, but that wasn't really where I was heading with it (although all of the crisp white does give that impression)........my daughter says she will cut my fingers off if I add or take away anything from it, because she loves it just as it is......hmmmmm not sure on this one.  Now that I am back home, the country magic of the moment has broken & it's very possible this one will sit for a while with no direction.   Here are some of my 'captions' & inspirations from a special artistic sojourn in country Victoria.  One of my lovely surprises was how incredibly lush & green everything was.  We have been in drought for such a long time & water has been (& still is in short supply), obviously it is doing it's job down in this area (though our over all water storage for drinking is quite low) I HAD to take a pic of Jenene's fabulous bird house - it's a work of art in itself!.... then there were the new alpaca guests being housed in the

side paddock & early morning Rosellas (which is the reason that the rest of my canvases aren't photographed - I got distracted!) One of my great joys was seeing the sunrise - as we don't have a clear eastern perspective at home, (it's a mountain) we don't see the sunrise.....spectacular sunsets (off our front verandah) - but no sunrises..... so seeing this was VERY special.

(as usual, I have to apologise for the formatting of the pics - sorry they are all over the show, I can't seem to get them where I want them to be, but my friends at Typepad assure me that some new tools are on the way to assist with this)

Away to Play

I have been away a couple of days in the country with my special friend Abby, at my other special friend - Jenene's house (who HAPPENS to be Abby's mum!)....what a lovely, restful & peaceful time I have had......such solace for the soul.....(thank God for precious friends) I made several 16" x 20" collaged canvas boards....this first one showcases my new collage sheets (that will be available from Alpha Stamps soon) called FishTales.  I have used acrylic's watercolours & pearl & metallics....it's really difficult to tell from the pic, it is soft water tones with slithers of bling all over.  This is made from all of those hand cut stamps that I made a while ago....the text on the piece reads... only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been posioned, only after the last fish has been caught, will you realize that money cannot be eaten.'

I have an early morning tomorrow - so I am off to bed, I have heaps more to show you from my time away, but I thought I'd just quickly post you a little sample of what we got up to.

a little rain

a foolish, irrelevant 'child' has decimated my world & I am struggling to breath at the moment..... OK, so if you read my post in the last few hours, my post today was pretty negative……. I am in a low place and it's a challenge not to stay stuck there. I feel like this fragile flower in a jungle of concrete & hob nailed boots....and it doesn't take a real lot for me to be undone. You know - the typical..... 'How are you?' greeting ..... not a good thing to ask me right now! This afternoon I have read numerous artists' blogs whose writers seem to be in a similar place & because I don't know their circumstances (the stories are appropriately veiled) the story has no soul - it is just sad writing. This cyber experience prompted me to come back & re-write my post........and while I still feel there is a cathartic value in 'getting it out' (whether in writing or in another form) perhaps a blog to the world in general is not the appropriate place that I want to share this.  (I am sure I have many fans for 'Come back tomorrow for the next installment of SAD Keron!') The thing is that I am in the process of a significant professional change.  I did not initiate it, it became out of my control, I did not invite and do not like it. It has had major financial & life implications that aren't really what I'd hoped for by this age - so, I am grieving & sad. That's not really all, but that's all. Art seems trivial & daily routine is insignificant.  I don't care that my half finished art projects are languishing........my place of solace at the moment is my garden. We have had a little rain.....I have planted some herbs, I have been weeding & pruning mercilessly & have mulched the garden........ I am finding grace & beauty there & it is helping me to re-ground important things.
I am blessed with special friends & precious people in my life who are walking the journey with me, making the challenge easier to bear. Their comfort in itself is a joy.  Thank you dear hearts.

  I have taken photos in my garden this week, & this morning after the rain. 

NOTE TO SELF: 'Never allow anyone to rain on your parade & thus cast a pall of gloom & defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, no creative genius is required to set up a fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your life is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of perceived failure, self loathing & regret. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces.'(Adapted - Og Mandino)

 

Oil Cloth & other Interesting things

NEWS FLASH - IT'S OFFICIAL - World, I am to be a Nonna again!!

WOW, that makes 3 times in 3 years!!!  (I am kinda cheating a bit, cos our first two grandbabies were only a few months apart both born in 2006!)  We were very excited to find out today that our son & his wife are to have another baby early in the new year.......thrilling news for any Nonna.  Babies bring such joy & it is so lovely having them in our lives again.  (yes - though I am 47 yo - I am STILL clucky!) At the moment they are hoping for a sister for darling little Toby, but I think as time goes on, they'll be wanting the same as most parents, a healthy baby!  I have been busy, busy with work stuff this week, and sadly, not alot of time for art.  I have been 'forced' to bring out my old sewing skills though to make up a new art apron for the Princess. (I'll tell you the story later)   Last weekend she discovered 'painting' (with my dirty water from artwork), & I discovered how much she had grown when she was NOT happy squeezing into the 'coverall art smock I have had for her for a little while. I later realised was actually only a size 1 - not good considering she is quite a tall almost 2 year old!  Alpha Stamps have some great fabric in stock called 'oil cloth' (scroll down the page a bit, there are some great colours & patterns - I have no idea why it's called oil cloth though), it's printed fibrous fabric that has a plastic coating - JUST the thing for a toddler's art smock!  The good thing about it is that it doesn't fray, so I have gotten a deckle (patterned) edged ruler & am making a 'scalloped edge' to the apron by just marking out the template from the ruler then cutting it out.  COOL HUH?!

Autumn is beginning to fade and blow away as we start to head into winter.  The mornings are very cold, often around freezing point here in the hills....and we are having some short bursts of intermittent rain.  Oh how our country needs rain - we have been in severe drought for several years now.

DAY 1

Of course DAY 0 became DAY 1 as Jo, Kasha & Gaye arrived in Melbourne mid afternoon yesterday.  We didn't waste any time at all, after a quick tussle loading art laiden suitcases in the car, we headed off to visit our local chocolatier - Chris at Xocolat, OMG - what a treat - he told us all his special chocolate making secrets, but then swore us to secrecy, (bribing us with samples) so I can't share that - but here he is telling us all about what's happening & a shot in the shop of some of the finished product.  After a delicious treat, we embarked on a shopping adventure to gather some ephemera & play stuff from our local purveyor of old emphemera & paper goods & the adventure has begun.  I read a quote last night, which I will use at some point in some art, but it kinda applies to how I feel right now, our guests are snuggled in, settling off to sleep for their first Melbourne night, & I am having some quiet time in my studio for the first time in days.  The quote reads 'time's fatal wings do ever forward fly.  For everyday we live is a day closer to the one we die' Thomas Campion.  (the relevance is that it is only DAY 1, but it already seems surreal, & the time will have to pass in order for us to have the experiences we long for & have looked forward to.  Throught the process of living through them, we are already drawing our time together to a close - OK this is getting TOOO TOOOOO deep - basically 6 days is going to go in a blink!)   Although I hate this photo of the 1/2 acre I carry behind me - this is an important shot of us heading off, it marks the beginning of our'Artistic Journey' together, to shop & to explore - to share & to learn. (thanks for being so insightful, capturing this moment in time, Abby)

0 days

I started a countdown clock 180 days ago, and today it is 0 days to go - today is Day 0 - but Day 1 of a great week of fun ahead.  My house is an intersting mix of some lovely places & some messy spaces, still not sorted, but I am thankful that some of my guests are mums - mums are just sensible people - they are fabulous, realizing that things aren't always perfect, or just how you thought it might be.......anyways - so there may not be much posting this week, I am not sure how it will all pan out, but here's a little glimpse of our new fabulous room!