Cute Overload!

This is so cute! Just to help you get your daily dose of aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhssssssss.

Well, I finish work tomorrow and after the shock of it all subsided, I'm actually really excited. I will be working 2 days a week Jan & Feb, and I can spend the rest of the time creating and getting ready for the arrival of our baby. Sounds lovely doesn't it?

After work tomorrow we hit the road to start visiting family for Christmas, so I expect things will be very quiet around Inspire Create until 12th Jan when we get home. I just want to wish all my visitors a Christmas filled with love, laughs, family and friends. And here's to hoping that 2006 will bring us all health, happiness and prosperity (in that order!).

Take care,

Love M

Diversionary Tactics

When the inspiration wanes, or your mind is wandering sometimes the best thing to do is walk away and do something completely different.

So to help with getting your inspiration back, today I thought I'd share some fun stuff that you can use as a diversion. Now, I don't condone the wasting of time on silliness when you should be working - instead please consider this list as a helpful tool to get you inspired (or not!!).

Orisinal Flash Games
Mr PicassoHead
The Scribbler
3Hive - legal music downloads
Candybar Doll Maker
Fish Tank

If you have any time wasters inspirational tools - please feel free to share them in the comments!

Home

Do you get that feeling sometimes when you’re driving that you just feel so free and lucky to be where you are?

I have always loved driving – especially in the wide open spaces in country NSW, Australia. But lately when I’m out and about I often have this feeling wash over me that I am so very fortunate to live where I do – my home, my community, my country.

For some people being in a bustling city really rocks their boat – all the people and action is inspiring. When I visit the city I always enjoy it, but at the same time I can’t wait to get home. I live in a comfy little cottage on a 2000 acre farm (mostly sheep, wheat and canola) and I love it. Sometimes the isolation gets to me – it can be a real pain if I run out of milk because the nearest supermarket is 50km away! But most of the time I love my bit of “big sky country”. I can’t see or hear my neighbours, the noisiest thing we have to deal with is the sheep and the harvesters for a couple of weeks a year. I can sit on my back verandah on the beautiful summer evenings we are experiencing at the moment and look out over a paddock of hay towards a stand of gum trees and watch the sun set. This place makes me feel like I have space – space in my head to think and space for my body to move.

I love the weather here – in summer we have a couple of weeks of 40C+ temps (ouch!) and in winter I only have to drive 15mins to see snow (not enough to ski on, but enough to play in!). I adore these extremes – you really know you’re alive when in the space of 4 months you go from sweltering heat to frosty clear days. The 4 year drought we have just been through wasn’t so great though, it breaks your heart to see animals doing it tough and farm families struggling – but that is the way of nature, we are merely passengers on this ride and we are foolish to think we actually have any say in the matter. The recent floods we experienced are very clear reminder of that!

Since living in this area we have been so fortunate to meet some wonderful people – simple, honest, caring, family-focused people who care about what is going on in your life, but aren’t busy-bodies. Who are always ready to help out when they can and can cook a mean BBQ! It feels good to know we are part of this community.

Everyday I’m thankful to be Aussie. I’m not wearing rose coloured glasses – I know we have social, political, environmental problems, but I also know that Australia lives up to it’s title of “The Lucky Country”. I feel safe, I have access to excellent education and health care, I’m not limited because of my sex or religion. I have clean air to breathe and room to move. I can choose the type of life I want to lead. I can afford to live comfortably and have enough left over to travel. I can explore what it means to be me – my strengths, talents, beliefs, emotions. I can love who I want and be able to openly display my affection for the people I am blessed to share my life with.

So this weekend, I plan to get my in my car, put my favourite music on loud, drive through my beautiful country and sing my heart out! Because whenever I do that I feel so alive and so inspired to make the most of the wonderful place I live. I just wish I could find a way to capture that feeling and express it through some creative means.

How does your home make you feel?



The view from my home office/studio across the neighbours' wheat field.


The view from our kitchen door on a stormy afternoon.

Changes

Well, I had plans for some very inspiring posts today - ideas that have been "marinating" in my mind for days. But then a rather large spanner was thrown in the works - I have just been made redundant from my job! I finish just before Christmas. Great timing eh?

The company I work (worked!) for has undergone huge changes in the last year, and my job has shrunk over the past 6 months because I have finished all the big projects I was working on and am now just in maintenance mode. So, it wasn't completely unexpected, but still a shock as I would be going on maternity leave late February and they wouldn't have to be paying for me then anyway. So, it really just means that I finish work about 6 weeks earlier than I'd planned. The negative side is that I don't have the security of knowing I could have my job back if I wanted it. (Maternity leave laws in Australia guarantee that once you have worked for a company for 1 year before having a baby you can return to your job exactly as it was before having the baby if you want and we can take up to 12 months unpaid leave).

Today has been one of very mixed emotions though - one minute I'm on the verge of tears, the next I'm starting to plan all the things I can do now - start my creative career, do freelance computer work, throw out the alarm clock (yippee! well, at least until the baby starts waking me at all hours), set up the nursery, spend time with family and friends before the baby arrives....

Sometimes these things happen so that we are pushed to do what we really want. For a couple of years now I've wanted to make a change, but haven't felt ready to make the leap, and since finding out I was pregnant I have been thinking about what I would do when the baby arrived. I know I don't want to work away from home full time, so I'd started thinking about what I could do part time from home. Now I've been given the shove, I plan to grab it with both hands and try very hard to make the best out of the situation I find myself in.

Forced change is never easy, but I hope it will all turn out to be the best thing for me in the long run. Mind you, as it all sinks in I may not be so philosophical tomorrow!!

100 Journal Ideas

Keri Smith has a lovely web site - I'm a regular reader of her Wish Jar Journal. I have just found on her site her 100 Ideas for Journals which is a wonderful place to start if you need some inspiration for your journal.

I love the idea of journalling, unfortunately I'm a very irregular writer! I go through stages of writing almost daily to not picking up my journal for months on end. I'm great while I'm travelling - there is always so much to record and I have more time to do it. I've always thought it's such a great way to download (that's the geek in me talking!) whatever your brain is processing and often by writing down a concern I have I achieve the clarity I need to deal with it. I also love looking at other people's art journals.

Anyway - I think Keri has put together a wonderful list of things to get the create juices flowing!

Artdaily

ArtDaily is an online art newspaper. It has reviews of exhibitions, biographies of artists, lists of fairs, links to resources, image galleries and more.

It has lots of information and is updated daily which I love. Sometimes I think I have the shortest attention span - I'm forever jumping around web sites looking for interesting titbits, I love sites that have something new for me everytime I visit!!

Routines

I've been thinking about the routines of artists. While in Paris we went to the Picasso Museum, which was fantastic, and I loved Picasso's sketch books. There are so many of them, so full of interesting scratchings. It was especially interesting to see a sketch book that he used as he prepared for a major work, and then to follow that through to the finished piece. It was also heartening to see that a lot of what he sketched was not earth-shattering, in fact often it was pretty ordinary! I say this with the greatest respect, but I found it heartening as often I will create something and be frustrated as it's not as good as I think it should be. This made me realise that artists that do produce what they want, do so as a result of a lot of work - practice, practice, practice.

This then got me to thinking about the routines and discipline artists use to drive their development. So I searched around for some stories on artists and their routines:
This article in the NY Times (free rego required) is an interesting overview of the routine of a wide variety of artists.

Art:21 has a lesson focused on the routines and rituals artists make a part of their work, and it has links to interviews with a number of artists.

Robert Genn's The Painter's Keys has a list of quotes related to routines and art (this site is chock full of great information and you should consider signing up for the twice weekly newsletter - a lovely source of inspiration).

Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way is all about using routines to release your creativity.

Sites like Illustration Friday are good for inspiring the regular output of work.

Then there are projects like Art Everday Month and National Novel Writing Month that would be great for developing a routine (safety warning - these are a big commitment!).

I know that at the moment I can't expect to create as much as I'd like, or to improve my work until I make creating a more regular part of my life. And even though a lot of the above links talk about huge commitments of time and energy, I'm sure it doesn't take that much of an effort - small steps are the best way to start.

I'd love to hear about the routines you follow...

Keen Look

I've always loved the "Big Eye" paintings of Margaret Keane - and I just found a gallery with a number of her paintings. The children are so sad, yet beautiful...

Margaret Keane Gallery

Relish the moment

Last week in the comments Maria suggested I read a passage by Robert Hastings called The Station. It much more eloquently expresses many of the things I was trying to say in this post. So I have included it below:


Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are travelling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn, and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the Station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, daming the minutes for loitering - waiting, waiting, waiting for the Station.

"When we reach the Station, that will be it!" we cry. "When I'm eighteen." "When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz!" "When I put the last kid through college." "When I have paid off the mortgage!" "When I get a promotion!" "When I reach retirement, I shall live happily ever after!"

Sooner or later we must realize there is no Station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The Station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

"Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The Station will come soon enough.

Shock leads to Inspiration

Every now and then we are given a wake up call - sometimes we listen, sometimes not.

N and I received a huge one on the weekend when a longtime friend of N's died suddenly of a heart attack - he was only 36 years old. Mixed up with the grief comes a feeling of "am I doing what I want to be doing, because well, you never know what tomorrow may bring. Would I look at my life and be satisfied I'd done all the things I wanted, was the best person I could be". And for most of us we wouldn't be happy with the answers to those questions, because it becomes so easy to just "be in" your life, rather than really "live it". I do achieve goals, have enriching experiences and I make sure I regularly tell the people I care about that I love them. But I still have a very long To Do list - and at moments like these I realise that if I don't get a wriggle on, I may run out of time to get them all done. I mean, this year I've travelled all over the world (South Africa, around Australia, New Zealand, France, Scotland and Hong Kong) and had amazing experiences, we got pregnant, I've supported N through big changes in his career and supported family members through health scares, but I still have things I haven't done, risks I haven't taken, things I haven't said.

At the moment I swing between despair and uncontrollable bouts of tears, to feeling like I'm sparking with inspiration to get on with life. Out of a tragic loss it can be very difficult to find anything positive. Once the pain and shock subsides, I hope I can hold onto this renewed desire to live for today. It sounds wrong, but I feel inspired by the tragedy. It isn't disrespectful, actually I kind of feel it shows a lot of respect - this person meant alot to us and I refuse to let his passing not make a difference to me, even if it is just a slight attitude adjustment to be thankful for everyday I have.

Everywhere, everyday someone experiences tragedy - finding the strength and inspiration to move on, to do better, to be better is the challenge. If you haven't had that wake up call recently, maybe it's time to think back to a time when you did and remind yourself, not only of the pain, but of how fortunate you are to still have the chance to do all those things that are important to you.





I've just been looking at this post for ages - should I post it, should I not... I'm not looking for sympathy - I'm just trying to process the chaos of emotions I'm experiencing at the moment. Trying to remind myself that life goes on, the pain eases and the memories remain. Dealing with the shock of losing someone so young, so vibrant. There are so many wonderful things happening in my life at the moment, that something like this just reminds me to really appreciate them, to not take anything for granted and to get off my butt!!!

IAMcore

IAMcore is a very new web site with big plans to support independent artists. From the site:
"IAMcore is being developed solely as a means to promote and connect artists from all mediums and genres in an attempt to give strength to and enhance the growth of the Independent Arts Movement."

At the moment there isn't much on the site - really just an explanation of what the contributors hope it will become and a call for people to get involved. It has caught my attention, I like the idea of it becoming a community to support independent artists. It does sound a little hardcore (excuse the pun!) for my taste (you know - a bit "rage against the machine"), but I'm interested to see what it becomes. Some of the plans sound really positive.

Something for you to check out and decide if it appeals to you, or not!

Illustrations

I have been a regular visitor for a while now to a number of bloggers' sites who participate in Illustration Friday. Anyway today I decided I was going about it all the wrong way - I should go straight to the source. So I visited the Illustration Friday site. Now I'm not so sure that was a good idea. If you have nothing to do for, oh say the next month, go to the site and work your way through the list of contributors. At the moment there are 348 who took part in last week's topic of "Broken"!!

Ah well, I didn't plan to get any work done today anyway. Enjoy!!

The Diva

For my Aussie readers - how good was Makybe Diva's win yesterday in the Melbourne Cup??!!! Gave me goosebumps!

For readers from everywhere else a bit of an explanation - the Melbourne Cup is THE biggest horse race in Australia, and when they say it's the race that stops a nation, well that's no exageration. Even those that don't follow horseracing (like myself) watch the Cup because it's more than a race, it's a tradition, it's fun, there are always fantastic stories of triumph over adversity or unnatural skills associated. And yesterday was no exception - Makybe Diva was the first horse to ever win 3 Cups in it's 144 year history, she's a mare (go girl!), she was only entered on the weekend, she was carrying 58kg (it's a handicap race) and she is the most successful Australian race horse having won AUS$14.4m prize money. This site and this one have some history of the race - how's this for a great story - "The first Cup was run in 1861. There were 17 starters and, paradoxically, the prize - apart from the money (170 pounds) - was not a cup at all, but a hand-beaten gold watch. Archer, the winning horse, had walked to Melbourne from its stable in Nowra, New South Wales, a distance of 500 miles (800km)." Aussies love a battler, they love sport and they love a good time - the Cup always meets all these criteria. So if you are ever in Australia on the first Tuesday in November try to get to Melbourne. But be aware - you must get dressed up (dresses, hats, suits, ties, etc are compulsory!) and you will need to book accommodation in advance as Melbourne will be packed! Being miles away from Melbourne, we celebrated at work by watching the race while enjoying afternoon tea and champagne.

The Art of Science

The Art of Science is a competition run by Princeton University to find the most amazing images created as a result of scientific research. Some of the images are absolutely beautiful, the science of some of them though goes straight over my head!!

I love this idea - that beauty can be found everywhere - even in a sterile lab.

Happy Snaps

Due to popular demand - well OK, one request from Maria! - here are some shots from our trip.

As I've been going through the photos we took, I've had the feeling they aren't a full representation of our holiday, and I think I've worked out why. The best times were generally had with friends or family over a lovely meal and we didn't get the camera out because we were too busy having fun, and the things we saw that had the most affect on me were in art galleries. I have a philosophical issue with taking photos in art galleries - I know now with digital cameras that you can just turn off the flash and snap away (as most other people in the galleries were doing), but I just can't bring myself to do it. I feel like it's sacrilege or disrespectful. I like to be able to sit in front of a spectacular piece of art and just quietly soak it up (note to art galleries everywhere - you need more seats!!). I wish I didn't feel this way, because now I would have a fantastic collection of photos of works by people like Monet, Picasso, Degas, van Gogh, Da Vinci, etc, etc, etc. Poor N - he desperately wanted to take photos and I wouldn't let him!! So instead what we did was bought software at each of the art galleries - it's lighter than carrying books and more interactive. So now we have CDs with full reproductions of a dozen of Picasso's sketch books with all the history associated with each one, virtual tours of the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay, etc. Tell me, do I need to let go of this irrational behaviour and get with the times, or do you feel the same?

Anyway, enough talk - here are some of our photos for your viewing pleasure!

France_Sept05_059V2
Originally uploaded by Mich M.

Vineyards of the Cote D'Or looking towards the village of Pommard. I took this photo one day while out walking.

France_Sept05_312V2
Originally uploaded by Mich M.

Saturday morning markets in Beaune. These markets were wonderful - all sorts of cheeses, salamis, flowers, fruit and veg, antiques, crafts - my idea of heaven!

France_Sept05_398V2
Originally uploaded by Mich M.

The gardens at the Palace of Versailles. It was a cool, overcast day but the gardens were still beautiful.

France_Sept05_535V2
Originally uploaded by Mich M.

The Eiffel Tower from the top of the Pompidou art gallery. Tres bon!

HongKong_Oct05_011V10
Originally uploaded by Mich M.

A crowded street in Hong Kong. Each day we were there they blocked off the streets in this area to traffic and opened them up to pedestrians - lots of them!

I'm back!

My sincere apologies for neglecting Inspire Create, it has been in the back of my mind for weeks, but so many other things have been vying for my attention.

So, first an update that will hopefully explain my absence. After my last post I was so busy getting everything done before going away and feeling pretty lonely with my dear hubby N being away. But it was all worth it as we had a wonderful holiday. For the first 2 weeks N was still working, so I took this time to sleep, read, go for long walks and investigate the area around Beaune in Burgundy. Then, we spent a wonderful week in Paris - we focused on visiting art galleries and good restaurants so we fed our creativity and our bodies! It was my first visit to the Musee D'Orsay (I didn't go last time I was in Paris) and I was speechless, what a spectacular collection. We also visited The Louvre, the Picasso Museum, the Pompidou, Versailles, we strolled the Champs Elysees and generally just tried to soak up the atmosphere.

Then we visited N's youngest brother and his family in Glasgow. It had been a couple of years since we had seen him, and the first time we met his gorgeous 9 month old daughter. We had a wonderful, special time with them.

Then we stopped off in Hong Kong for 2 days on the way home to break up the flight. When you live just about as far as you can be from anywhere else in the world the flight is a killer!! I did the trip over to Paris in one go - 42 hours it took. I was beside myself with exhaustion by the time I got there! Hong Kong is mad! Granted we only ventured walking distance from our motel on Nathan Road, so I'm sure what we saw isn't a true indication of all of Hong Kong, but what we did see certainly was a feast for the senses. It was all neon signs, a crush of people, loud noise, great shopping, smog and very interesting smells! We had a ball and plan to visit again. I bought some beautiful semi precious beads for my jewellery making at fantastic prices, which I'm itching to put to use!

My sister had her baby. After a difficult 18 hours of labour followed by an emergency caesarian she delivered a gorgeous little boy. Both are now well and getting used to one another! I am ecstatic about being an aunty and wish I lived closer to them so I could see him more.

I know all that sounds pretty exciting and busy - but the news I'm most excited about is the fact that I'm pregnant with our first child!!!!!! I'm so happy I feel like I'm going to burst. I'm 19 weeks along today and have my second scan tomorrow. I can't wait as N will be able to come along to the scan - he missed the 12 week scan as he was in France. I'm feeling pretty well, and loving feeling the baby move, which only started a bit over a week ago.

So, it's been a wonderful, exhausting 2 months! I've really missed posting here and am looking forward to getting back into the swing of it. I've been slowly catching up on my internet friends' blogs which has been lovely.

I hope you will start visiting regularly again, as I have a stash of inspiring sites and info I'm getting ready to share with you.

Quiet around here and exciting news

Things are a bit quiet around Inspire Create at the moment. There is just so much going on that something had to give. So instead of posting most days, I'm trying to post at least once a week. Apologies to any visitors who come here only to find old news!! As soon as things settle down I'll start posting more often.

But, maybe when I explain what is going on hopefully you'll understand. My wonderful hubby is off to France next week to work for 6 weeks, and I'm going to join him in 4 weeks time!! So I'll be there for the last 2 weeks he is working, then we are going to have a holiday for 2 weeks. We are so excited!! We're not happy about being apart for 3 weeks, but due to work and other commitments I can't get away any earlier.

So aside from planning the trip and getting everything booked, I have heaps to get finished at work so they'll let me take a month off and I'm busy supporting my sister (who is about to have a baby) by doing the paperwork for her business. Plus I have to get a secure yard built at my parent's place so our dogs can stay with them while we are jetsetting, I need to get the car in to the panel beaters' to get the hail damage fixed, I have to get my tax return done, organise to have the mail held, get travel insurance, renew my drivers licence....

ahhhhhh my head is going to explode!!! But in such a good way I can't help but smile.

Kind of cute...

Kind of cute is the site of illustrator Maricarmen Pizano who does the sweetest, most beautiful drawings. She only posts about once a week - but they are always worth waiting for.

I'm loving her contribution the Illustration Friday topic of aging of a little old lady knitting words.

Managing Blogs

BlogLines is a great service for managing your blogs. If you're like me, you have lots of blogs you visit regularly. Bloglines helps by pulling together all your blogs in one place. It saves downloading a site only to find there aren't any new posts, so potentially reducing your ISP costs and you can sort your blogs into folders. I find it a really handy tool. Also helps reduce the guilt I feel for reading so many blogs by making it quicker and easier to quickly review them all!!

Interestingness

Interestingness is a new feature in Flickr. It pulls together photos that are considered "interesting" based on a combination of factors, including where the clickthroughs are coming from, who comments on it and when, who marks it as a favorite, its tags, etc.

What you get is a daily selection of amazing photos that Flickr members are sharing. Get a cuppa and prepare to treat your eyes.