Latest Projects #3

Busy, busy, busy! I've been busy working, being a mum, entertaining visiting family, and all the usual "life" stuff. In amongst all that I have managed to complete the following crafty projects.

Two amber glass and brass necklaces. The first is the planned one, the second was made from the leftovers.




A stack of ATCs ready for swapping on ATCards. I have been developing a style of portraits that I'm really enjoying doing. I wanted to work out a way to draw slightly quirky people with only a bare minimum of lines and colour. I'm happy with how this series is progressing. I'm also continuing to do more Picasso inspired portraits. I'm pleased and surprised at how these are evolving.




And altered bottlecap charms for a swap on ATCards. These contain all sorts of found objects sealed with epoxy resin. These were fun to make and I can't wait to get back my swaps. I plan to make a charm necklace from them.



A sterling silver, blue lace agate and chalcedony charm bracelet I hope to sell.



I also reorganised my craft supplies cupboard. Previously, everything was stored in plastic tubs, and of course anytime I wanted something it was always in the bottom tub. It was driving me nuts! So I spent a bit of money buying some stackable drawers and now I can easily get to whatever I want. I am soooo loving this! I'm still using some plastic tubs, but they are Ok as they are on shelves and easy to access.



So, relatively productive. Some weeks I feel like all I've achieved is about a dozen loads of washing and lots of running around after my son. But then I sit down and put it all together and it don't look half bad!

Create Weekly #2

Perhaps I should title this "Create Fortnightly"! I've been busy creating, socialising, getting ready for visitors, and doing a jewellery course - so lots to share:

A handbag I made from a vintage scarf. I've been buying scarves from op shops for ages as I had an idea for a handbag and I finally got around to making one. I'm really pleased with the result - a few kinks to iron out, but a great looking bag I think!


An Ugly Plushie! I'm so pleased with this guy. He's made from polar fleece, felt, ribbon and buttons and was so quick and easy to make. My 21 month old nephew is coming to visit next week and I wanted to make him a toy, then I saw this pattern in the book "Plush-o-rama" by Linda Kopp and I knew he'd love it. (He looks a funny shape as I haven't sewn up the opening left in the side for stuffing!)


I did a half day course on Art Clay Silver which was just wonderful. We made a ring, leaf pendant and I had some clay left over so I made some earrings. It's the first time in ages I have taken some quality time for myself and done something I love, plus I got to meet a group of lovely, friendly, like-minded people. I walked out of the course feeling full of possibilities and inspiration - what a wonderful feeling....


I am starting to get a lovely collection of ATCs from my swaps on www.atcards.com and I wanted to display them so that I could enjoy them. So I just bought an A3 size photo frame and some large photo corners from the bargain shop and put this together in about half an hour. It's perfect as I can easily change the display and the cards don't have to be marked in any way to display them.


And of course... lots more ATCs! I have been furiously trading this past week - I've sent out so many cards and I'm now waiting on 20 returns. I actually look forward to getting the mail everyday in anticipation of new artwork arriving.


So, all in all, a very productive couple of weeks! I have family coming to visit for the next 2 weeks so I don't expect to get much time to create, so I may not post again until the end of the month. See you soon!

Created this week #1

I am very proud of myself this week as I have achieved alot! It's amazing how now that I'm a mum, some days can go by and I feel like I've achieved nothing.. because I'm a stay-at-home-mum I have a sense of obligation that I should be creating something/generating an output/contributing in some way... But this is just silly talk because I am achieving huge amounts - we have a happy, healthy, fun little boy. Anyway.. I want to share with you what I have done this week (of course besides vacuum, dust, wash, shop, clean, cook, run errands, attend swimming lessons, etc, etc, etc!!)

Tomato Relish

We eat tomato relish like there is no tomorrow and I am sick of paying $6 for a tiny jar, so I have started making my own. I just love this shot - the juicy, succulent tomatoes all ready to be transformed into jars and jars of yumminess!




Picasso Inspired Portrait ATCs

Now, if you don't know what an Artist Trading Card (ATC) is it's high time you found out - visit ATCards.com for all the info. Beware though...they are highly addictive and could quite possibly take over your life. I am showing great will power at the moment and only taking part in one swap at a time. Here are my practice and final cards for the "Picasso Inpsired Portrait" swap.



Chibi ATCs

Yep..more ATCs, this time the theme is "chibi" which is a Japanese term for "super deformed". They are cartoon like characters that I think are super cute! Do a Google search for more info.




Butterfly ATC

This one is for an ongoing swap I have with my Mum - hope she likes it!




Jewellery

Some works in progress.. a rose quartz necklace and a pearl bracelet.




What do you think?? Not a bad effort for one week!!

New Format

While I blow away the dust and sweep up the cobwebs here in Inspire Create world, please let me apologise for the lack of posts. This motherhood job is a very time-consuming one. I truly believe I spent the first 6 months after little D was born in a state of shock - the move to a new country, new baby, no sleep, and having no family or friends close by all resulted in me feeling shut-down and exhausted.

But, thankfully, that is passing and each day gets better. I am finally starting to get more than 2 hours sleep at a time, D is more fun each day, and I am starting to make friends in our new community.

Inspire Create has been on my mind for a while now - potential posts, news to share, etc - and I finally feel ready to move back in! I've been thinking about how to improve Inspire Create and have decided that I will try and post once a week. I will focus on a topic each week, and share my thoughts, links to inspiring web sites and sometimes pose a challenge/question that I hope you will respond to. But as with everything in life, we will see how that goes - I'm sure there will be tweaking along the way.


Also, to try and keep myself motivated I hope to post a summary of what I have been creating each week.

And well, just because I can - here is a recent photo of D.

My Inspiration

I know, I know - I've been a very slack little blogger.

But, this is why:



I think he's a pretty gorgeous reason to be absent! We are all doing really well and having a great time.

I have so many potential posts going round in my head that I hope to share with you soon. Until then though, I want to wish you a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of love and laughter.

It's a BOY!

My gorgeous little boy, D, arrived on 18 March 2006 weighing 3.6kg (8lb). As you can imagine, we have been on a steep learning curve ever since! I'm just starting to feel like I'm getting a handle on things, so hopefully I will be able to start posting more regularly again soon. Until then Inspire Create will stay quiet - but I just wanted to let you know that I have had the baby and that we are both very well.

We made it!

Phew - made it to New Zealand! It took nearly 2 weeks from when we left our house in Australia until we finally made it to our house in NZ. We wanted to attend a friend's wedding and then visit with friends and family on our way, which was lovely but made it such a long move.

The past month has been exhausting and very emotional. Even though we had removalists taking care of most of our stuff, there was still so much we had to sort through and either give away, sell, throw out or pack. Then there was the cleaning after all the furniture was gone! Thank goodness for my dear hubby N - as he wasn't working he took care of most things and did all the cleaning. Also, I was still working 30hrs per week right up till we left - when work found out I was moving away they had a little panic attack and asked me to do as many hours as I could! The extra money has been handy, but I worked too much and got a bit too run down.

All the goodbyes were such hard work - being 8 months pregnant made me emotional enough, then add having to say goodbye to all my family and friends - you can picture the mess I've been! 2 weeks of daily tears was exhausting. I agreed to the move and I know this is such a good thing for us, but the reality of saying goodbye was so much harder than I ever imagined (and believe me I expected it to be tough!).

So now we are in a beautiful big house that came with the job - we are rattling around in it though as our furniture doesn't arrive for another 2 weeks. We have a table, 4 chairs, a lounge and a bed - and that's it! I can't wait to get all our stuff in as I think it is going to really suit the house and that we will be able to make it very homely.

Anyway - just wanted to check in and let you know how I'm doing - I'll write more soon.

Does life ever slow down??

A silly question I know, because it only gets busier - but a girl can dream can't she?

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year filled with good company, good food and lots of laughs. I had a lovely time in NZ - hectic, but spent with family and friends in beautiful locations.

As we flew home from NZ, my dear hubby N and I joked about how we hoped that would be the last flight we would be on for a long time. We travelled so much in 2005 that we would both be happy not to see the inside of an airport again for awhile. Guess what - 4 days later we were on a plane again! N had a job interview in Adelaide so we decided to make it a long weekend and visit friends who moved there a year ago.

Then, a couple of days after our return from Adelaide N was offered a job in NZ - so guess what - we'll be flying again in the next month! It's all very overwhelming as we have to be there before the baby arrives which is only 8 weeks away. So in about the next 4 weeks we have to pack up our life in Australia and relocate to NZ. Just thinking about everything that has to be done makes my head hurt! But it is such a fantastic opportunity for us that we'd be mad not to do it. It's a really good job working for a successful, respected wine company in a beautiful part of the world.

So things will be quiet around Inspire Create for a bit longer while I organise removalists, pack up the house, sell both our cars, organise to transport our 2 dogs to NZ (and deal with quarantine, etc), fly to NZ, set up a new house, find a midwife/hospital, have a baby (!!), and support N as he starts a challenging new job during the busiest time of year for winemakers! Phew - never a dull moment! I'll try to post status reports and share anything inspirational I come across, but please be patient with me.

I think the next few months are going to be the most exciting and stressful of my life - wish me luck! Hopefully by the middle of the year I will look back and be amazed at what we achieved and be enjoying the fruits of all this hard work with a happy husband who is satisfied in his work and a beautiful baby to love. And I'll just go to the hairdresser to deal with the extra grey hairs I'm sure to acquire!

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!!