pinch me to see if you're dreaming

Courage from a Book

2012-01-23T07:13:00.001+11:00

An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory is a fantastic book. It is basically a look into a bunch of artists' sketchbooks.

I have had it for probably a year and haven't finished it yet. Why? Because I read a bit then wait a while before I read more. I do this to give myself time to let in what each artist has to share.

The past week I was looking at the pages on Noah Jones. He is a graphic artist, and he was talking about how he does these stream of consciousness drawings in his sketchbook. It is a relaxing thing for him. He doesn't show them to people or do anything with them. I really liked the idea of drawing as a way to relax.

Drawing without knowing what you are going to draw has attracted me in the past. Not long ago I was doing the 120 Day Challenge where I was drawing, without knowing what I was going to draw, 20 minutes a day. (No, I didn't make it the 120 days.)

Along the same line I have been admiring Susan Christensen's drawings for a while now. She does a daily drawing practice. I told her the other day I wish I could draw like her. So maybe all these thoughts converged and Noah Jone's pages were the tipping point. I thought 'why not?'

So the other evening I began drawing, with full permission for it to be dumb or bad or silly or repetitive. And it was relaxing, and it was fun. And I would like to do more, not as a part of any challenge or commitment but just as a kind of light entertainment.

But you will have to forgive me if I don't show you in the near future. Not because I mind sharing with you guys, but just because I have the feeling that it will make me a little self-conscious during my drawing time.

But I would encourage you to give it a try. And I would love to see what you do, if you want to show me.

Creativity can Change Everything

2012-01-21T06:40:00.000+11:00

This video illustrates one of the reasons I have such a deep belief in the power of creativity. This woman has not only changed her life from disability to superability. She has changed the larger perception of what it means to be 'disabled'. She has literally changed reality.

I found myself actually envying her choice in legs. And I bet I am not the only one.

More Drawings in my Art Journal

2012-01-17T07:30:00.001+11:00

I had a sudden impulse to draw Rapunzel yesterday. I think she ended up older than in the fairytale, maybe the wicked witch died and the prince wasn't up to her expectations - or couldn't commit, haha. Anyway, she looks happy enough.

Her braid goes off the bottom of the page.

(Click on the drawing to see it larger.)

Here was the initial penciling-in for the second drawing. Yes, I draw it in pencil first -not every detail, but the basic proportions and placement. Then I come in with pen and watercolour and usually more pen over the top.

I am not sure what her story is. I just liked those sleeves, and I have such a thing for red hair. I am pleased with her face.

Drawing in my Art Journal

2012-01-15T11:32:00.004+11:00

This drawing is one I did off a doll that I liked on the internet. It is hard to see her unless you click on her.

I apologise that I don't have the artist's name. If anyone recognises the doll, please let me know so that I can link and give credit.

I thought I would pop up drawings as they happen. I am working in two art journals, this one is only drawings and writing.

My Artist Studio

2012-01-14T08:39:00.001+11:00

I should write a post about my drawing class, but instead I want to show you these photos of my studio. I have taken them for the 21 Secrets Workshop (my class is called Alternate Lives) video I am making.

This is walking from the house. It is about 10 metres.
Here is the front view. On a slight hill which the camera has exaggerated. The studio is smaller than it looks here.
Here is part of the inside. It is always messy. Clear roofing on the back brings in more light, but also makes it impossible to heat or cool.
You are looking through a doorway into my 'writing room' which is by the front door. I had it added on years ago when I was writing two (two!) novels, which I never finished. Now I have stored some old paintings in it and there is room for this small table.

The view out the window. There are lots of animals around our place: wallabies, goannas, echidnas, birds and snakes. It can be quite entertaining through this window.

Writing the PDF for Alternate Lives

2012-01-08T11:51:00.004+11:00

I began writing the draft for my class in the 21 Secrets Workshop today. I had been procrastinating a bit, out of nervousness. But to my surprise and delight I am having fun.

Did I Ruin this Drawing?

2012-01-06T09:20:00.001+11:00

And does it matter?

I drew this into my art journal last week. I liked it okay but it didn't excite me. What did excite me was the thought of colouring it in wild colours with my water-soluble crayons. I have some lovely Neocolor 2 Carand'ache ones. (when I put in the link I saw that they have sets with over 80 colours, it brought up my crayon lust! I have the 40 colour set.)

So I did. Then it looked weird on the white background so I put in the dark background with Derwent Inktense water-soluble pencils.

I didn't think the lines all over the background was working. So I took my art journal out into the studio and painted in the background with black gesso. Much better. It suites the strength of the colours.

I finished the page off with a prayer that a dear friend taught me for taking total responsibility. Sorry, but I don't understand it well enough to explain it.

Do I think the drawing is better? Not really. Am I sorry I changed it? Not at all. I am happy with the page, I took risks and it was fun doing it. I think when I look at the page I remember that.

What do you think?

Being an Artist

2012-01-03T19:46:00.002+11:00

This is a video I originally made as a guest curator for Jenny Doh's crescendoh.com blog.

An Amazing Art Journal Workshop

2012-01-01T08:27:00.002+11:00

The 21 Secrets Workshop is an art journaling workshop where you receive 21 classes with 21 different teachers.

That is a pretty cool idea.

I am one of the teachers.

It starts the 1st of April, when the 21 classes will be online. Each of the teachers below will be teaching a different class. Each class will include a PDF and a video. You will be able to access any of these classes at any time. You can go back and forth, do one and go onto the next, return to your favourites, it is all open, 24/7.

There will be open chats on Ning, interaction with the other students and all of the teachers. Your Ning account will be free and it will enable you to post your photos and get feedback and comments. And give feedback and comments.

It goes on sale the 2nd of January.

It only costs $59.

To learn everything, get more details about individual classes, and to register go here.

Here is the line-up of teachers and a digest of the classes (I am going to list myself first because I can. And because in every other list I am last simply because my name starts with a 'Z'. Now I ask you, is that fair? teehee):

ALTERNATIVE LIVES

Zom Osborne

Have you ever fantasized about living another life? We donʼt have to be unhappy in our lives to wonder what it would be like to have a different one. Did you want to be a famous singer? An athlete? Live in the time of the pharaohs? You can explore any life you can imagine in your art journal.

GET LOST

Aimee Myers Dolich

Unfamiliar places, both emotional and geographic, snap us out of our identities and comfort zones. The unknown sharpens our senses and brings us directly in touch with the moment, pushing us into spaces that are ripe for self-discovery. In this workshop, we'll lose our way (and ﬁnd our way back) through a playful series of journal workouts.

CHILD'S PLAY WORKSHOP PART 2

Alma Stoller

In this workshop, we will continue to explore and play with everyday items to create richly textured journal pages and canvases. I will show you numerous ways to create intricate patterns, one-of-a-kind surface designs, and unique journal pages using various children's toys, recycled materials, basic art supplies and found objects.

WORD PLAY

Christine Mason Miller

In this workshop I am going to share some of my favorite techniques of incorporating words and text into mixed media creations. I will demonstrate and discuss the way I use rubber stamps, vintage books, and old letters to add poetic, thought-art journal pages and collage pieces on wood.

THE ART OF TEXTURE

Christy Tomlinson

Texture is all around us and I can't help but love all that texture has for us to explore. In this workshop I will teach you some of my favorite techniques for creating texture in my art journal.. techniques will include the use of modeling paste, ﬁbers, beads and more!

FLOW

Connie Hozvicka

Stop thinking so much about it!! Our juiciest Art comes when we embrace our mistakes and just go with the ﬂow! In this workshop weʼll paint FEARLESS™, have fun, and stop the exhausting search for our Artistic style/voice---weʼll just go with the ﬂow!

PERSONAL ACTS OF KINDNESS

Dale Anne Potter

The world around us sometimes tries to take us out of our POSITIVE, HAPPY, JOYFUL place. We can succumb to those contrasts OR we can manifest some POSITIVES from them. One way to do that, is to be kinder to ourselves. In this workshop, we will create ART and send ourselves some of those POSITIVES.

TAMING THE CRITIC

Diana Trout

Scary? Not. My techniques for getting in touch with your critic are pretty amiable. Heʼs not going anywhere so letʼs get to know him! Iʼll encourage you to move quickly, outrunning your critical left brain.

INTUITIVE PAINTED LAYERS

Dina Wakley

The only way to get a layered look is to do the layering work. With this workshop, I will show you how to paint intuitive layers. Intuitive layers come when you free yourself from any concept of a ﬁnished product. You start painting, then you step back and observe. You listen. You let the journal tell you what to do next.

WISDOM CIRCLES

Dion Dior

The word “Mandala” is a Sanskrit word meaning “Circle”, they are an iconic part of human culture well known for their calming effect on the mind and body. The creative process of making mandalas is an ancient form of meditation and healing that is deeply calming and insightful.

15 MINUTES TO SANITY

Gina Rossi Armfield

Give me 15 mins a day and a few supplies and I will have you ﬁlling your journals. Ever sit down and think - Where do I begin? Well, lets put an end to that! Do you take photos of everything and not know what to do with them? Do you collect magazines? Are you an eye candy junkie? I will show you what to do with all of those images to create a journaling technique that ﬁts your own voice and style!

FROLICAHOLIC (aka DRAW HAPPY 2)

Jane Davenport

Turn "I donʼt know what to draw" into " I need a bigger journal!". Drawing is a great tool for untangling and expressing every emotion from the heaviest burden to ﬂoating-way-above-cloud-nine. But you have to get that infernal inner-critic behind bars, to allow your natural drawing talent the security and conﬁdence to roam freely.

WONDERFUL WATERCOLOR

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

I love watercolor! Itʼs inexpensive, easy to clean up, and enormously versatile. Iʼll be sharing ﬁve different ways to use watercolor in your art journal: shadowing, stamping, stencil printing, and two techniques for creating backgrounds.

THE ART-BODY JOURNAL

Karin Bartimole

Using your body as inspiration, we will redeﬁne the art journal to create a healing process that will help transform and deepen your relationship with your body. Whether it's a trauma, an illness, or a discomfort with some physical characteristic of oneself, most everyone has some challenge in the relationship they have with their one lifetime companion - their own body. This journaling process will encourage a shifting of old perceptions and limitations trapped within the boundaries of ﬂesh to unite body and spirit as one.

LET'S GET INTO SHAPE -- COLLAGE LIKE THE DIVA, THE COLLAGE DIVA

Kathryn Antyr

I'm excited to share with you my favorite medium, collage. I'm often asked "How do you assemble a collage so the random objects look like they were meant to be together?" I'll share some key principles that will get you piecing together new works of art.

CHANNEL IT GIRL

Kelly Barton

channeling our stories we will throw them down by ﬂinging some paint, creating a colourful piece, containing a bit of ourself.

it is simply about using our inner self to allow the creative process

a creative spread.

channeling it girl is all about getting
those juices moving and opening
up the flow, allowing yourself to play.

THE SHORT ATTENTION SPAN ART JOURNAL

Ken Robert

Wow, art journaling sounds great, but you're a creative bumble bee. You buzz about your life, zipping from one thing to another.

A blog could be just the thing you need to bring all your lovely distractions together in one place.

Learn how to use Tumblr, or any blogging service for that matter, to create your very own short

attention span art journal, the kind you can add to a little at a time for as long as your attention

will hold.

CREDIT CARD FLOWERS

Martha Lever

In this fun class we will use cut-up credit cards to create ﬂowers! I will show you how I cut mine into several shapes to create ﬂowers, leaves and stems. We will also discuss brieﬂy one of the most important concepts in any painting… value. I wonʼt bog you down with a value study but we certainly donʼt want any hokey paintings and a painting without light, medium and dark values will certainly ﬁt into the hokey category.

JOURNALING OUR (HE)ART OUT

Nolwenn Petitbois

In Journaling our (HE)art out, we will be using the symbol of the heart, this shape we know since weʼre little kids, and make it tell what is actually inside ours. Put it out on paper. The fears, the shames, the doubts. And make it something beautiful we can look at afterwards.

THE PRACTICE OF SELF-AWARENESS THROUGH VISUAL JOURNALING

Traci Bunkers

People are so used to the daily grind, of trying to get everything done, just getting from one day to the next, that they frequently function on auto-pilot. Because of this, they are fairly out of touch with their feelings and with themselves--not thinking about how they feel, just going where life takes them and then wondering later how they got there. Itʼs time to stop. Itʼs time to look within and gain some self-awareness.

JOURNAL QUEST™

Tracie Hanson

Do you dare step into an artistic adventure of the heart?

During JournalQuest™, youʼll encounter exotic creatures, ancient artifacts, meaningful symbols and lore . . . the stuff of legend! It was there all the time, buried deep and waiting to excavated by you. Join the journey.

So that is the lineup of classes and teachers. I feel quite excited just reading about all the classes. I confess, I haven't taken the 21 Secrets workshop before. As a teacher, I am allowed to take everyone's classes. So you will probably see a lot of me on the forums.

Secret Code

2011-12-27T09:03:00.000+11:00

Okay, is it lame for an adult to make a secret alphabet?
I don't think so. But I did notice that I didn't mention it when we went to a friend's for dinner last night. Even though it was the most exciting thing that I had done that day.
Here it is on a largely unfinished art journal page.
These are pages from one of my latest art journal. The one I have not been posting (mostly).

I have been doing a couple of 'private' art journals because I want to make sure that I am not censoring myself. I like to share my art journals with my students, and online, so it hasn't been a great solution.

I am imagining a combination of mostly normal writing with some coded writing when I feel the need. Usually it would be entries about specific people or sometimes private angst stuff. Or, I could actually combine it with normal writing, like people's names could be in code.

I haven't used it a lot, but even so I notice that I am already remembering some of the alphabet. I wonder if I could get to the point where I could read it.

I think it looks kind of cool too.

Steal this Idea

2011-12-25T10:05:00.000+11:00

Steal this Idea. Please.

I read a comment on one of Ricë's posts where a woman suggested that there should be an artist's exchange. What she meant by this idea was a place where people could contribute stuff for artists to make art with. Isn't that the coolest idea? Afterwards we could post the contributer a photo of the finished work.

I am not an organizer. If anyone wants to steal this idea (I didn't get the impression that the commenter wanted to do it) please go for it.

I would love to give the original commenter credit for this idea, but there was no profile to get in touch with her.

More Patches - Refashioning Projects of the Moment

2011-12-22T16:53:00.000+11:00

Here are the refashioning projects I am working on at the moment. I am enjoying personalising thrifted clothing with hand drawn patches.

Above is a sleeveless denim shirt that I thrifted in the U.S.. Do you think the patch is going to work on the back? I am planning to add embroidery as well. Suggestions are always welcome.

I drew her with a fabric pen and then painted her with acrylic paints combined with fabric painting medium. If you want more details go here.

My other project started out as this t-shirt dress below. I found it at a garage sale, in pretty good condition. I wouldn't wear a t-shirt dress, and especially not a short one.

I cut the sleeves off and hemmed them. I also cut off the length to make it into a t-shirt.

I sewed it by hand because I can't get my machine to sew knits very well. I also enjoy the hand-sewing.
I don't think I have shown you the frog patch before. I drew him a while ago, and then painted him in with crayola fabric pens after I knew I was going to put him on this shirt.

I am putting some coloured embroidery in the running stitch around the arms. I want to do something to the neckline too. I want it to have some more spots of pink and orange, and maybe green.

Drawings from my Art Journal

2011-12-19T16:08:00.002+11:00

To see the floating woman, you should click on her.

My newest art journal is also my plainest. All it has in it are drawings and writing. No painted backgrounds, no collage, no sewing, no added bits.

I am a little self-conscious about its unadorned look. Does it still qualify as an art journal?

What is the difference between an art journal and a sketch book?

You Just Never Know

2011-12-16T08:38:00.001+11:00

It was my ugliest background in my ugly art journal. I didn't touch it for at least 6 months. The rest of the journal progressed, but not these pages. Every time I went past I would wince at their ugliness.
Then suddenly one day it just went ahead. I had some collage I wanted to put down and the colours went with this background. Later we were doing stitching in our journals in class and the stitching came through. A bit later the writing. Now this spread makes me smile when I go past.

You just never know.

Beginning a New Painting

2011-12-14T19:15:00.001+11:00

Is there anything more exciting than the start of a new painting? At the time of inspiration anything is possible.

I took a series of reference photos with a neighbour girl nearly two years ago. In that time I have only used them for compositional sketches and a single finished drawing. The subject matter was good, I liked some of the photos very much. I knew I would use them, but was unsure how to approach it.

Today I know.
I spent the morning resizing and redrawing the compositional sketches. Sometimes I can get enough of an idea from a black and white photocopy of a reference, other times I need to draw the composition.

I am very excited.

21 Secrets Workshop

2011-12-07T07:20:00.000+11:00

There is an online art journal workshop running in 2012 with 21 teachers who teach 21 different classes. It runs for 10 months and is only $59. Pretty amazing way to check out all those teachers and get a slew of different classes.

It is called 21 Secrets.

I will tell you something else, if you haven't already guessed. I am one of the teachers. It will be my first online class.

You might know that I have been teaching art journaling for the past 3 years. I thought I would never teach online, but there is something about this workshop that intrigued me.

If you want to know more, like who the teachers are and what we are going to teach: Click here to view more details

I am at the very end of the list of teachers - comes with having a name that begins with 'Z'.

Colouring on Fabric

2011-12-04T17:39:00.001+11:00

I wanted to put some colour onto the drawing that I did on the t-shirt. The black and white drawing looked rather plain on the grey stripes.
I had some Golden GAC-900 that I bought months ago. It is a medium you can combine with acrylics paint to make fabric paint.

I mixed it with acrylic paint and painted over a drawing on muslin I had done a few weeks ago. I think it looks very much like regular painting. That wasn't the look I was going for, though it is interesting.

The medium is supposed to make it so that the fabric still feels soft after you paint it. I didn't find this to be the case, perhaps I didn't use enough.

As I didn't want a painted look on the t-shirt, I tried Crayola fabric markers to colour the drawing. It was more the look I had in mind. The colours are very limited. I wanted some opague white to separate her face from the grey stripe, and some pink for her lips and to warm parts of her face.

A brown stain mysteriously appeared when I was ironing it. (You have to heatset the markers to be able to wash the garment.) They might have come from the muslin patch that I was ironing at the same time.

What to do with those Drawings?

2011-12-02T13:54:00.002+11:00

Remember the 120 Day do What You Love Challenge? I kind of wimped out. I say kind of because I still want to do spontaneous drawings, I just got annoyed with 'having to'.

But what I wanted to show you is that I found a use for at least one of those drawings.

It isn't finished yet.

My Disappointment with Gores - or more honestly, with Myself

2011-11-27T17:48:00.002+11:00

I was so excited about gores. They are triangles that you sew into things and they make it a whole new shape.

I still like gores, but I no longer believe they are the solution to my refashioning problems.

Remember my dresslet? It is my adventure with not only refashioning but reconstructing. I started with a thrifted pajama top and some fabric I have had for years. I made up the shapes, didn't use a pattern. All stuff that I have no experience with.

I had fun. If you want to see my initial inspiration and the process go here.

But there was a problem. Bubble butt. I wasn't happy with how it looked in the back. I thought perhaps a gore, a triangle of cloth inserted would solve the problem. I basted it first and tried to check it out in the mirror. I thought it was working.

I get upset everytime I look at this photo. I liked it better before.

I was hoping that the insert would make the skirt more triangle shaped so that it would go out a bit at the sides. But it has stayed the same unflattering bell shape with the addition of the weird fishtail.

I can't go back. I don't know what to do. I have put it in the closet and am trying not to think about it.

On a happier gore note is this thrifted coat/dress thing. It isn't really a dress as it only buttons down to above my crotch.

In the back is this huge split. So I went for another gore. This one was more successful.

I think it needs more. I haven't done anything in the front. Any suggestions?

And I am not sure about the 3/4 sleeves.

the Fifth Secret of Creativity

2011-11-26T19:30:00.000+11:00

The fifth secret of creativity: Choose by where the Energy is.

This means that when I go into the studio, I follow where my energy goes, what excites me at that time.

Usually my thoughts go: "You had better finish so and so painting" or "you were working on that one yesterday, you really should continue it today." That rather stern internal voice always seems to tell me to work where my energy is Not.

But if I remember to ignore it and instead work on what feels like the most fun and exciting, I am happier (and more creative). And strangely enough, everything seems to get done at much the same rate that it did in the years when I used to listen to what 'the Voice' told me to do.

Today I was lying down in my afternoon nap when I had some exciting inspiration about soft sculpture. Of course 'the Voice' did not approve. I have not been working in soft sculpture and 'the Voice' believes in continuing what has already been begun. It is most suspicious of any new directions.

Fortunately I remembered the fifth secret and got out some old books I have on doll making. I spent an exciting hour marking pages and getting ideas.

Will I do some soft sculpture? I don't know. But in my experience, honouring that inspiration is not only fun (very important) but also encourages further inspirations. Your mind is trained by you! It pays attention to what you honour and what you act on. If I dismiss my new ideas, eventually they may stop arising.

NollyPosh is Gone

2011-11-24T07:35:00.003+11:00

Vicky/Nollyposh died yesterday. She had been living with cancer for the past 6 years.

We met when I first began this blog, over 3 years ago. She was one of my first blogging friends.

Vicky is an amazing soul. Her blog posts were as much poetry as prose. She walked with one foot in Spirit. She wrote from her Soul. She was honest and brave and beautifully Heartfelt. Even though we never met in the physical, she was a friend. I am honoured to have known her.

More than anyone, I am sure she has gone Home - as she referred to it.

I am sure she will have no problem reaching the Other Side, however that is done. Though it is always good to pray for those who are crossing as it can be challenging.

I cannot think of anyone who will be more at home in the realm of Spirit and Soul.

I look forward to meeting her there.

The painting is a very old one of mine. I always intended to send her a print. It is so much of her spirit. It is called All is Love.

Guest Curator on Crescendoh.com

2011-11-15T14:14:00.001+11:00

Jenny Doh generously asked me to be a guest curator on her popular blog Cresendoh.com. I have two new links each day of the week for posts that I find creatively inspiring from different bloggers.

This task has given me a new respect for curators.

Each curator is also asked to tell a story of how art has affected their lives. If you are interested, the short video that I made is here.

Painted Coffin Lid -the Guide

2011-11-14T17:36:00.001+11:00

Remember the coffin lid I was painting ages ago?

Click on the photos if you want to see them larger.

I enjoyed painting it. I had a kind of fantasy while I was working on it that someone would buy it in preparation for their death. Perhaps they had been sick for a while and were at the point of facing that they would die. I imagined them bedridden, with the coffin lid hanging on the wall where they could see it. As I write this, I realise that might sound a bit morbid, but I wasn't seeing it that way. In my imagining, the young woman is a comfort to them. The name of the piece is 'the Guide' and she is the guide to the other side. I tried to make her loving and gentle as she looks over her shoulder to gently show you the way.

The lid had its debue last weekend at the Dying Art Exhibition at the Civic Hall in Mullumbimby NSW (Australia). The art show was part of the Carnival of Life and Death held yearly as a fundraising event by the Natural Death Centre. It was an interesting exhibit, the Civic Hall was dimly lit and people went around with flash lights to see the works. This created a hushed atmosphere, most appropriate to an art show filled with coffin lids, urns, shrines and shrouds.

Drawing from Nature

2011-11-12T18:07:00.000+11:00

Much of the time I am drawing in the studio and this limits how much I can draw from nature. But I think I need this on a regular basis. The series I am doing is immersed in nature, and where I live nature is all around me. There is something incredibly nourishing for me about drawing from nature.

So today I did just that. I ended up doing a lot more walking than drawing, but even the little drawing I did felt wonderful. It isn't about ending up with a finished drawing, and I didn't. It is how I connect with what I am drawing, imbibe it with my eyes and bring it into my hands.

Once again, it is not about the drawing I end up with. I know that branch better than I did before I began. I know the angle the little branches leave the main branch, I remember its texture and colour, even though I didn't put those in the drawing. It is amazing how much I remember of things that I draw, even years later.

I Listened to Your Advice

2011-11-11T16:05:00.001+11:00

This post is so you guys know that I listen to you. Remember the patches?

We all agreed that they needed a bit of integration.
Arrgh! You can't see it with these little photos. Sorry but you will have to click.
I embroidered around the edges. I think they look much better.

What's Inspiring me

2011-11-10T08:48:00.000+11:00

I will have to go live drawing soon.

Garage Sale Haul

2011-11-06T11:36:00.000+11:00

I went for a garage sale hunt yesterday. Unlike many refashioners I don't have loads of clothing to start with, so I have been doing a lot of thrift shopping. Has anyone else noticed that thrift stores have suddenly raised their prices? What is that about? I am assuming it is because thrift shopping has become more popular. I think this is a poor reason.

Thrift store prices have driven me to the garage sales. The difference between $1 for a top and $5 is the difference between me being willing to give a piece a go, knowing that I can use it for fabric, patches, cut it up in bits.

At garage sales I don't even bother to try things on. I will do that later today (they are drying on the line at the moment.) The truth is, I buy second hand clothing to cut up and make stuff, when I find things that are fine the way they are, I am sometimes a little disappointed.

I got a big haul. I went to a friend's after the sales, and her daughter was sorting through her clothes, so I picked up a few more pieces.

While unloading my second load of laundry I found more garage sale loot. Three t-shirts that I got for 50 cents each. One is a bit stained, the other old, but I plan to use bits for patches, neck bias and maybe the sleeves off one.

A Good Painting Day

2011-11-02T07:15:00.000+11:00

In the studio I consider it a good day if my painting looks better than when I began it that morning. This is an agreement I made with myself years ago as a way of tricking my inner critic.

This painting came alive for me yesterday. When that happens it is a really good painting day. Some paintings are alive from very early in the process. Some you aren't really sure if it will happen. I was a little concerned about this one. I liked the colours, I liked the subject, but she was looking a bit... flat.
Here it is much earlier in the process. If you want to see her at the very beginning go to this post.
And this was how it looked before she began to come alive.

She is still quite a ways from finished, but I am no longer worried.

Weekend Silk Screening Course

2011-10-31T18:05:00.000+11:00

Last weekend I took a silkscreening course from Anne Leon, an artist who runs a fabric design studio in Byron Bay. The course was great. Anne is a warm and generous teacher, with many years of experience in silk screening.

We were told to bring a black and white drawing. I wasn't sure what was suitable for screen printing and assumed that my usual very detailed work might 'fill in', so I came up with a more graphic design.

I wanted to do several prints, and was also thinking of patches for refashioning, so I hoped that multiple images would give me more options. Hence all the little people falling.

Above is my original drawing. If you look closely at the top, you can see where I pasted a new figure over one I wasn't happy with.
And here is all the patch material. Not sure what I will do with it yet, but it gives me a few options. It was interesting to see how it worked on the different fabric. The design wasn't strong enough to show up against my purple diamond fabric. My favourite is the rosebud and polka dot sheets, some of the first sheets my DH and I bought together in the 90's.

Anne threw in the yellow baby shirt to show me a technique. Very kind of her. I am hoping it will fit my grand-daughter.

I found the clothing more challenging to print on. If you look at the top of the pale blue t-shirt you will see what looks like staining. It is. Paint stains where I forgot to cover an opening in the screen. After I heat-set the design, Anne was able to water-blast most of the paint mistake off except for the pale stain. It was worth the mistake to see what could be done.

I might try adding some bits of colour to some of the figures with fabric paint.

Patches as Embellishment

2011-10-26T17:53:00.000+11:00

My latest fun, patches. It started with my niece putting patches on her thrifted clothing, part of making them hers. When we went to a Seattle market there was a woman selling lovely printed drawings on patches. My niece bought a few. At the time I didn't take a lot of notice.

Then, also while in the States, I bought two fabric markers, the Tee Juice fine point marker in brown, and a SetaSkrib marker in black, thinking to compare them. At home I did some drawing on muslin fabric (the bird is coloured in with some Crayola fabric markers I already had) and then remembered my niece's patches. It seemed like a fun way to personalize my thrift stores finds a bit more.

I sewed rattie onto my purple tunic, and the bird onto a thrifted top I had dyed a while back.

I am not completely sure how I feel about them. Perhaps a bit 'stuck on' looking? I am going to wait, maybe wear them a while and see how I feel. The good thing about the patch is I can always take it off and put it onto something else.

I Just Wanted to Show You

2011-10-18T20:05:00.001+11:00

Dyed and Reverse Applique T Shirt

2011-10-18T09:44:00.002+11:00

For this refashion you will have to imagine a plain white t-shirt. I didn't take a photo, but that is pretty easy right? First I put it into a purple dye bath with a few other thrift store finds. Then I recut the neckline and cut a strip out of dotted cotton knit that I had. I ironed it in half and commenced to hand sew it onto a new neckline.

I enjoyed the hand sewing, and I worried less about it stretching than with the machine.

The polka dot neckline looked a bit out there on its own, so I thought about putting strips on the sleeves. But my bloggie friend Ricë had recently been doing reverse applique and I thought I would like to give it a try.

The paper shapes in the background were me trying out different shapes. I decided to go with heart shaped leaves.

I drew the leaf onto the back of the dotted knit and then sewed it where I wanted on my t-shirt.

Here I have done a second leaf and then cut them both carefully out. You then go around to the right side and cut away the fabric that covers your shapes. Be sure you cut inside the stitching.

I think the leaves might have looked better without the internal lines, but I still like it.

Recent Drawing

2011-10-17T07:14:00.004+11:00

Another drawing from the 120 Day Challenge. I just felt like sharing this one, not sure if it is finished.

An Ugly Art Journal

2011-10-14T08:55:00.000+11:00

An ugly beginning.

I don't write as often about my art journal as I used to. I think my AJ and I have been going through a difficult phase. I knew things needed to change, not because anything was 'wrong' but because, for me, the innate nature of my art journaling is dynamic. An art journal can be anything you need it to be, and what I need changes.

At the moment I have two art journals, an A5 journal (8" x 6") and an A4 journal (12" x 8"). The larger one is different from any art journal I have had in the past. It is very plain. So far all it has in it are drawings and writing. They aren't elaborate drawings. Well, you have seen a few of them, they are my drawings from the 120 Day Challenge. No collaging, no painted backgrounds, no fun art journaling techniques, just drawings with a bit of colour. There is a lot of white page compared to my other art journals.

My smaller art journal is older. I began it last February. It looks like my other journals, with backgrounds and collage and writing. More of the usual art journal (is there such a thing?) and I am struggling with it. I thought I was wrestling with it because I am still doing it in the 'old' way. I assumed I was a bit bored with the format. I have considered abandoning it.

Last night I thought what the heck and started working in it. Just sticking down some collage, not paying too much attention. Just gluing stuff in without worrying about how it looked.

It felt good.

And then, this morning a new possibility came through to me about why I have been struggling with this art journal.

I think it might be my ugly art journal.

~another ugly beginning

In the past I have always had my ugly art journal pages. We all have them. I have written about them, talked about them with my students. I believe they are a necessary and important part of our art journals. Being willing to make ugly journal pages frees us in ways that beautiful pages can never do. (Go here and here to read older thoughts on this subject.)

But an entire art journal? Am I willing to be that free? Can I continue on with a book that is mainly ugly pages? With only the very occasional pretty page?

Refashion Post - Maybe not as Finished as I Thought

2011-10-10T16:33:00.000+11:00

Hey, anyone remember that dresslet I was working on ages ago? Probably not. Everything I do takes ages, I am so slow. Well, that isn't entirely true, but it is close enough. I used to think I couldn't be very creative if I was so slow. It seemed like really creative people didn't stay interested in stuff long enough to be slow. Hah, all the ways we judge ourselves...

Anyway, tah dah - here it is. Right there at the top. Looks a bit like an apron, not entirely successful but I still like it.

I began my dresslet here. I think I will just repost the pictures as it was last May and I want to give you an idea of the process.

Here is part of the original inspiration. I took the photo in the dressing room. I would have bought the original but I didn't like the colour, and it is more fun to try and make it.

Also the inspiration was a man's pajama top that I thrifted because I liked the pattern and colours. Sorry, no photo. By the time of above I had already removed the sleeves and collar and recut the neck and armholes. Also I turned it around to have the buttons in the back (I felt really clever when I decided to do that) and cut off the bottom. I made it curved because I wanted it to drop in back like the one in the second photo.

Bia tape around the neck and armholes. I am a fan of bias tape. It makes everything look nicely finished.

That all took a while so you get several photos to get the sense of time, teehee.

This is me trying to decide what to use for the bottom half. It might have been prettier if I had gone for the flowers, but sometimes I just don't want pretty. Does anyone understand that? I have said to my hairdresser "don't make it too pretty" I don't think she understands.

All tacked together. Let's see how it is going. I really want one of those mannikan things to try stuff on.
I held my arm up so you could see how the bodice drops. Now I have to figure out how to do get the hem to do the same thing.
Aren't the buttons in the back nice? There were originally half that number and they were boring white. So I changed them and rather than make all the button holes I just sewed the buttons through to the other side because the dresslet can go over my head.
And now you see my problem. The funny thing is that I didn't realise what a problem this was until I got this photo back. This is because my students are all too polite to say "Hey, cool refashion but it makes your butt look big." I gotta remember, us girls with bubble butts need more cloth in the back.

Is it Finished? I Think It's Finished.

2011-10-06T06:17:00.000+11:00

How do I tell when my artwork is finished? I assume it is done when I can't see anything else for me to do. Well, let me qualify that. There is a difference between something I need to do, and when my mind just wants to fiddle more.

But other people don't necessarily agree with my assessment. Friends will see a painting I have been working on for a few weeks, and sometimes they can't see a difference. This used to bug me. I would think that I must be stupid to spend all that time when most people didn't seem to notice.

But I don't feel that way anymore. I can see the difference. And that difference matters to me, a lot.

Here is where I left this painting the last time I posted. If you want to see it before that go here. Or earlier go here. For the very beginning go here.

Between these two photos I was mainly working on her face. She now has pupils in her eyes, more colour in her lips, darker darks in the shadow areas.

As hard as it might be to get people to see the differences in the studio, it is even harder here. I am not a photographer, my paintings always look 'more' in real life. Subtlety is also lost on the transition to the computer and online. But let's try anyway.

For your part, you will need to be willing to click on the pictures and see them at a larger size.
Here I have added more vines to the background. I made the transitions between tones more subtle in her face and body. I made her hair lighter and added more detail. I also added insect holes and discolouration in the vine leaves.

Finally highlights in her eyes, more detail on her raised hand, more leaves on the background vine, and some subtle colour altering on a few of the vine leaves.

I didn't take notes, so there would be quite a few changes that I don't remember. Now I will leave it for a while and take another look in a few weeks.

120 Day Do What You Love Challenge continues

2011-09-27T17:32:00.000+10:00

I am on day 24 of the Do What You Love Challenge. I am drawing spontaneously, with no idea as to what I will draw, for 20 minutes a day. To find out about the challenge go here.

If you want to see any of the drawings bigger, just click on them.

So far this is a lot of fun. I have had maybe one day when I didn't feel like drawing. A couple of days where I wasn't very happy with what I had drawn - but I don't pay too much attention to that.

I don't often finish a drawing in 20 minutes, so most of these are done over 2 - 4 days. Looking back at the first drawing I posted, I think I would like to put in more backgrounds. Not sure if that will work 'spontaneously' - though I could always add them later.
If you are wondering, this isn't all of them. There are two finished ones that I didn't post. No, it wasn't because they were the ones I didn't like, it is because they contained nudity. Not that it worries me, but I didn't want to have to add that warning about adult content in my blog.

I would love to hear if any of these drawings appeal to you, and why.

Refashion Post - Combo Skirt and a Plea for Input

2011-09-22T06:18:00.001+10:00

It has been ages since I have written a refashion post. Probably because I don't have a lot to show you. Still, I am looking at inspiration and getting my warm weather clothes out of the closet, so it is on the radar.

I do have one thing to show you. My new skirt. It isn't terribly original or look all that beautiful, but I feel good in it. I like very casual dressing, and I like wearing full long skirts because you can sit cross legged. I also resonate with denim, probably my 70's childhood of wearing jeans and overalls.

I made it by combining a tiered skirt with an elastic waist with a cut-off denim skirt. Easy peasy. I think I will do some more. I like that it has pockets.

I need your input. I redid this thrifted top a while ago. I dyed it blue and shortened it. All very good, but it doesn't feel 'ready'. The yoke really looks like it needs something. Immediately I think embroidered flowers, which just seems to be what is expected - I wouldn't actually like it. I need to put something up there that will kind of counteract the puffy sleeves.

Maybe something geometric? The yoke is lightweight, semi-sheer fabric otherwise I might consider applique. Should I paint it? Or draw something?

Obsessions and Weird Interests

2011-09-19T19:36:00.001+10:00

One thing that I absolutely love about being an artist is the 'permission' it gives me to follow any interest. However weird, however bizarre, however unrelated to my art. You never know where it might lead...

Bead weaving, astronomy, ancient history, cake decorating, bees, species of grass, torch welding, refashioning, computer games, macrophotography - it can all feed your creativity and your art. Your interest can be unfashionable, childish, unsophisticated and perhaps hard to understand. Extremely weird could be good. Though it doesn't need to be weird.

It could be about how you combine two relatively common interests. Say... knitting and coastal environments, or scrap-booking and global politics.

Artists are allowed to be Eccentric

(even assumed to be!)

I love this!!! It makes me feel free.

You may already know about my fairly recent interest in refashioning, taking old clothes and changing them into something different.

While I was in the United States, another new interest raised its head. Comic books. Graphic novels. I suddenly became inexplicably attracted.

It started with Poison Ivy, a villain in a Batman comic. You know my recent drawing of a woman with grass hair? Well, Poison Ivy has a bit in common with her. They are both rather fanatical about the environment. I wanted to learn more about this eco-terrorist so I started looking for batman comics.

This lead me to looking at other comics (they were right there, next to the batman comics) to looking up comic book stores (I didn't meet a lot of other middle-aged women, but there were lots of nice geekie young men). I started out walking into a comic store, not knowing what I was there for, but by the end of the month I knew what kind of comics interested me (complex, tortured women, superheros), recognizing that certain artists and writers were much better than your run-of-the-mill types. Did you know that there are zillions of artists and writers creating batman comics? Different styles and different takes. Some hand drawn and painted, others are entirely computer generated. Dozens of minor characters, some of who become major characters with their own comic books. Back stories, sons and daughters stories, it is endless.

Comic books aren't just comic books. Apparently they haven't just been for decades. Graphic novels, what a cool idea. As a narrative painter, how can I help but love this?

Where will it lead me? I have a few ideas, but the truth is: I don't know. Maybe just a few months of reading comic books. Maybe a new direction for my art. Either way, it makes life interesting.

My Art Journals Change with What I Need at the Time

2011-09-16T17:05:00.000+10:00

Continuing on with my previous post about how your art journal can have multiple lives, I will carry on with the history of my art journals.

My first official art journal (I did have a previous kind-of art journal, more of a scrapbook of images that I liked - but as I hadn't heard of art journals, I didn't call it an art journal and so I am not counting it) was pretty much trying out the art journal stuff that was on the internet at the time. I think it was a pretty good way to start, as I didn't know what I liked to do or why I was doing it. But I do think it is interesting that I am not overly fond of this first art journal. I look at the pages and often remember the instructions I followed. Maybe this is partly why it doesn't feel intrinsically 'mine'.

My second art journal is the first one that I love. I went much bigger, from an A5 moleskine to an A4 Daler Rowney sketchbook (8" x 6" to 12" x 8"). I knew more where I wanted to go then too. This is what I wrote in my first page:

"I want to do more writing in this art journal, pages of it. And I want to write directly into it. I want it to be more RAW than my previous art journal. Messier, more spontaneous. Sloppier pages, some of them anyway. More of a work journal..."

And it was rawer, messier, less deliberate, unplanned - I rarely followed anyone's ideas for pages or prompts. I drew more. I still occasionally tried a technique that appealed to me, but often I just worked spontaneously. I think during that time I did take a few internet classes. One on making backgrounds, the teacher also gave prompts which I seldom followed. Another on stenciling - that was more exciting. But while I enjoyed stencils for a while, I lost interest as I couldn't spray or paint stencils at my computer desk.

This art journal has some of my favourite pages in it. It also has some of the most awkward and homely pages.

This art journal is the only one where I decorated the cover.

Your Art Journal is Anything you Need it to Be

2011-09-13T18:51:00.001+10:00

I am always telling my students that their art journals are for them. That an art journal doesn't have to look, or be used in any particular way.

I have created a few different kinds of art journals in my 3 years of art journaling. Gee, is that all it is? It feels longer. In that time I have finished about 8, no maybe 9 art journals. Right now I have 3 art journals going, not counting the small journal that I keep in my purse.

My first official art journal, you can see my post about it here, was where I tried out the new techniques I had read about on the internet. I was just learning about art journaling, trying all the ways people had suggested. This was interesting. There are techniques that are still my favourites, and others that really did not appeal to me. My art journal was mainly experimental.

I tried rubbings, I tried borders, collage...

I did free classes on the internet, much of it was not a great fit for me as I don't much like being told what to do. But it was all a road to seeing what did fit...to be continued

You are Needed How You Are

2011-09-09T07:56:00.000+10:00

Since arriving home to Australia from the United States, I have been waking most mornings at 3:30am racked by feelings of inadequacy. While this is not terribly unusual, it seems discouraging somehow. Did I hope that being reunited with my family would change this? I think I had hoped that it would at least show me what I needed to change in my life.

Maybe the answer is 'nothing much'. The message I received this morning is "You are needed how you are". That I should persist with everything I am doing to support my art and teaching, but not try to be anything or someone that I am not. To persist and allow myself just to be myself, flaws and all. Just to offer who I am and what I have to give, knowing all my faults, not even trying to hide them.

A Radical Approach.

(the drawing is my first 'spontaneous drawing', meaning that I drew without knowing what I was going to draw - like automatic writing, that I did for the 120 day challenge.)

Yippee! I Inspire!

2011-09-05T16:35:00.000+10:00

It is always thrilling to be sited as a source of inspiration. This morning, via facebook, I found out that Betsy Cañas Garmon has mentioned me as one of her sources in an interview on the Create Mixed Media Website. Thank you Betsy!

Go here to read the interview. It is a good one. And I also recommend a visit to Betsy's blog, Wild Thyme Creative, she makes beautiful art journal pages.

120 Day Do What You Love Challenge

2011-09-03T11:15:00.000+10:00

Isn't it funny that it can take making a commitment to do what you love?

I have been feeling like I want to do more spontaneous drawing for a while now, at least a year. While I occasionally draw without knowing what will come out, it is rare for me to draw that way. Mostly I work from life or references. I know that my drawings will come out better if I work that way, so I have been nervous to risk 'bad' drawings.

Lately I have pushed those boundaries a bit with my 'what I wore today' drawings. I want to draw less self-consciously.

And now perhaps I have something to help me stop hesitating. The 120 Day Do What You Love Challenge. I heard Pollyanna on the radio talking about this free challenge she has put up on facebook. I liked her, I liked the idea. It is free and you have a place that you can share challenges and support.

Anyone want to join me? The fun thing is, it has to be something you love!

The picture is a spontaneous drawing that I did on the plane home. I will do my first spontaneous drawing for the challenge today. I am a little excited and nervous. I find that kind of strange.

Where I Have Been

2011-08-31T19:52:00.000+10:00

I want to tell you guys where I have been.

If you have been reading my blog for any time, you probably know that I am Australian. You might not know that I am also American. I immigrated here from the States 26 years ago. I haven't been back to America in seventeen years.

Last month I went back.

My parents have been dead for a long time, but I have a sister living in Seattle. She is schizophrenic, and as far as we know, lives on the street. She has always denied being 'crazy'. There doesn't seem to be any way to help her. She doesn't seem to want it.

She has two almost grown children. That is one of the big reasons I went back. I had met them both on facebook and wanted to meet them in person.

So it was a very intense and life-changing 4 week visit to Seattle Washington. Now that I am back home one of the questions on my mind is: how to take internal change (getting to know my family and all that it means) into everyday life? I suppose one could argue that if you have changed, you have changed, and nothing needs to be done. But in my experience, past habits are strong and change needs to be supported by how I live.

Habits are difficult to change. But as our daily life is largely made up of patterns that run unconsciously, changing these can be one of the most supportive ways to bring the New into our lives. I feel my heart is opening in new ways and my priorities are changing. This is so deep that I almost am unable to think about it.

So how can I live in a way that will support this change? I don't have answers to that question, but I am searching for ways to find some. I am looking for indicators. I am watching where my energy goes and how I spend my time. I am seeing what seems to nourish this opening, and what pulls me back into old ways. I am noticing what I value now.

I am writing down all ideas, all possibilities. I am making space for the New. I am delaying evaluating these ideas. I am delaying reaching conclusions. Why delaying? Because in my experience the New has seasons just like nature. And if I try and force the seeds, they won't grow to their full maturity.

Going on a Blog Holiday for the month of August

2011-07-31T06:42:00.000+10:00

To all my lovely bloggie friends, I am going on holidays for the month of August. Please come back and see me in September.

A Spread from My Art Journal

2011-07-23T19:09:00.003+10:00

It has been a while since I have posted any art journal pages.
Ink and watercolour drawings.

How do you Develop a Style? Part 3 -the Shadow Style

2011-07-16T16:53:00.000+10:00

Walrus Boy by Jesse Reno

Part 1 and Part 2 posts about how an artist develops a style.

We have talked about style as something that is perhaps inescapable, while also acknowledging that it grows and evolves. Partly unconscious, partly conscious. The 'us' in our artwork that we can't shake and also want to develop. Is this what they mean by an 'artist's unique voice'?

But I also want to bring up the shadow-side of our style. The inescapable allure of the opposite. The part of ourselves that is fascinated by the kind of work that comes most unnaturally to us.

When we see it, we might feel a combination of envy and inadequacy. A good example of one of my shadow styles is Jesse Reno.

Understanding Intersections by Jesse Reno

I look at what he does and how he does it, and I feel longing and inadequate. I am fascinated and almost shamed. In those feelings is a lack of honouring of the gifts and strengths in my work. I compare and see only my lacks.

These feelings are symptomatic of positive shadow projection. What does it mean? How can I use Reno's work and what it brings up in me to positive effect rather than turning it against myself?

In this kind of envy, there is often a signpost of possible new directions for our work. It can be a helpful bridge to look at what we already share with the artist. In my case I would say it is the love of the spiritual and trust in the intuitive. Although my studio work is planned, the inspiration is always intuitive. Even the decisions along the way are intuitive - not as quickly made as Reno's but based on similar foundations. We share an interest in nature and our work is figurative and symbol-based.

Our values are very similar.

So, from here, where does his work intrigue and pull me? To more trust of process. Perhaps to experiment, to try his way of working a few times and see what it might offer me. Not to feel that I have to go his path, but to be open to incorporate what might be helpful to my growth.

Opening to both his and my work in this way I see the similarities and value both. This gentles my self-judging thoughts and opens me to new possibilities.

a New Drawing

2011-07-14T09:47:00.001+10:00

This drawing is called Kikuyu Grass. (I recommend clicking on the drawing as you can't see it very well in the small version). Kikuyu is a species of grass that is considered a weed in Australia because it takes over from our native grasses. It was originally planted for cows because it grows quickly, survives drought and is tough as nails.

This drawing, along with two others of mine, will be in the group show Drawn Forth at the Retrospect Galleries on the Gold Coast in Australia. It looks like there will be an interesting mix of artists. I love drawings. The show opens tomorrow night at 6pm. Unfortunately I am fighting off the flu and won't be able to attend.

How do you Develop a Style? Part 2

2011-07-12T07:20:00.001+10:00

In the previous post I set out that in my experience you don't, maybe even cannot, consciously choose a style.

Perhaps it is more of something you uncover. It is like finding out who you are. A popular expression is 'you can be anything you want to be'. Most people over a certain age know this isn't really true. I am 5' 10" and no matter how hard I worked I wasn't going to be a jockey, or a muscleman, or a carpenter (something I actually considered). I have little muscle mass, and am not very good at practical things. I actually get ill if I don't get enough time alone, so politician is probably out as well. And so on. I am suited to be an artist, and isn't it grand that that is what I love to be? This is often the case and enough proof of a benevolent higher power for me.

So slowly I progressed from irritation that my work looked like something I would do to thinking there could be some value there. I appreciate subtlety, have a good eye for detail and love a good story. Okay, maybe I am not suited for abstract expressionism. I love Kandinsky but when I tried to do anything abstract I just couldn't keep interested. But when I went to life drawing I found it endlessly fascinating.

From the beginning I wanted to draw and paint realistically. I went back to university in '89 and no one was interested in naturalistic painting. I am pretty sure the teachers had not learned to work that way. It was considered old fashioned and not cool. When I asked for advice on how to paint, skin say, my teacher would say "however you want". I felt intimidated and 'wrong'.

But realism was always what I wanted to do. I realise now that I wanted to be able to create other realities. That is what art is for me. Even though I went off and learned how to paint traditionally I was never interested in painting what was in front of me. I wanted to paint the invisible world. And I wanted to do it in a way that expressed it as 'real'. This combination of natural abilities and natural interests now combine to make my 'style'.

Thank you for the thoughtful and intelligent comments on the last post. I love that with blogging we can have this back and forth and it isn't just about me giving my opinion. I learn from your comments and it changes what I think.

Jeanie commented that style can change and evolve over time. I think it must really, if we are to continue to grow.

I want to add that I am still thinking about this whole concept of style. I understand that the galleries need to sell work and that if artists have a recognisable look to their work it helps with that. But I do think this is a tricky thing for the artists as most creatives are driven to keep experimenting and changing. I know I am.

How do you Develop a Style?

2011-07-10T06:23:00.000+10:00

This idea that an artist must develop a style is something that gets my goat (is that an expression? what does it mean? we used to have a pet goat, they make great pets by the way.) Or that you have to find it. It sounds so intentional and... contrived. Like it is some conscious choice that you make. I will take this...

In which case, I choose to draw like Picasso

and paint like Rembrandt.
Or perhaps draw like Durer
and paint like Kandinsky.
I don't think it is a choice. You don't get to choose your style anymore than you get to choose your height or your personality or your looks. Sure you get a bit of wiggle-room, what you do with what you've got kind of thing -- but in my experience certain things just ain't gonna happen.

Like me. Now I am not comparing myself with any of the previous masters, but my odds are a lot better in having a style like Durer than Picasso. And Rembrandt than Kandinsky. Now I will most likely never achieve either, but I can go in certain general directions and try and do the best I can.

I started realising this at a certain point in my development when no matter what I painted, it looked like something that I had painted. This used to frustrate me. I used to look at a piece I was working on and say with scorn "that looks like something I would do." (This may reveal a few more issues than just my painting style, but lets not go there.)

to be continued...

Experimenting with Art Markers

2011-07-06T17:42:00.000+10:00

I did another one of my 'what I wore today' drawings, but this time I drew my creative blog-friend Rice in one of her fabulous outfits. I didn't really feel like the watercolours that I have been using did her outfit justice.

So I decided to give my new art markers a try. This is my first time so I didn't know what I was doing. I think I will try a few more. Hopefully I will improve.

Which version do you prefer?

Small Changes can make a Difference

2011-07-03T10:06:00.000+10:00

This is my refashioned trenchcoat. Not as impressive as a lot of refashions, but refashioning is an 'aside' for me, a minor fun hobby. Also a way to get out of proper shopping and wear clothes that are more individual.

Here is the 'before'. I am kind of embarrassed to say that I have been wearing it like this. I am no fashionista. I have to put in effort not to be a complete dag which is my natural inclination. (Australian slang: A dag is technically the matted wool on a sheeps tail, but in typical useage throughout Australia, it refers to people who don't have a neat, tidy or cultured appearance. It can also refer to a person who tends to be quite informal.)

The buckles were horrible cheap things, and the coat was all too military looking for me. I took off the belt, which was too high, and the buckled cuffs.

I decided to replace the buttons. The purple ones are what I initially bought for the coat, but they didn't look right. Then I remembered that I had some recoverable buttons the correct size and thought I would try them.

The red and black button is my first ever recovered button. I got very excited.

I recovered more.

Then I sewed the new buttons on. I am thinking of leaving the old ones on the pockets. What do you think?

I think I will shorten the sleeves as well.

Mid-Winter Walk

2011-06-28T16:05:00.000+10:00

I live in the rainforest. It is a bit of a drive to the beach but I love walking next to the ocean.
I had an appointment in town so it was a great excuse.

We need the things that make us happy.

Trying out my New Background Stamps

2011-06-26T06:14:00.000+10:00

We made background stamps in class last week. I had been promising to show my class how for ages, finally I got the supplies together with the help of one of my students. It is actually really simple, some craft foam, waterproof glue and wood for the back.
I glued down some undercollage and then used black gesso with the diagonal stripes stamp.
Red then blue acrylic paint over the top.
It was a hassle to cut out the circles, but I think this stamp is my favourite.
Red over the purple paint. Then I painted the stamp with cerulean blue mixed with a little white and stamped again.
The stamp made with triangles.
And finally the small checkerboard stamp.

What about I Draw You?

2011-06-20T14:18:00.000+10:00

So I have this idea. I am really enjoying drawing "what I wore today" but am getting a little bored with always drawing me. Ho hum. So I have been thinking, what if I drew you and what you are wearing instead?

Anyone who is game, go and like my facebook page. Then post a photo of yourself up there, a full body shot please, we want the whole outfit. Then I will pick out a few and draw them. And no complaining! You have seen my drawings, you know what you are getting into, teehee.

What I Wore Today Drawings

2011-06-19T12:27:00.001+10:00

Nearly a month ago I wrote a blog post about wanting to draw more. Over the years I have gotten a bit too ego-involved in the whole thing and it has lost some of its fun.

I found this cool flickr site called What I wore today and started drawing and posting.
Because I am drawing my self, I feel free to make them wonky.
(The red sweater came out really well when I used some new art markers I bought from Dick Blick. But unfortunately they went through my page and ruined a drawing on the other side so I couldn't continue.)

I can play and experiment, and it combines nicely with my recent interest in thrifting and refashioning clothes.
I am having some challenges with my scanner and colour.

I was using mostly watercolour and watercolour pencils. I am not happy with them because the pages don't accept the watercolour very well. It often splotches.

Here I am just using coloured pencil. I enjoy that on the moleskine pages, but it doesn't scan as well. These look better in real life than they do here.

Here is the last one I have done. Do you think they are changing?

Habits Part 2

2011-06-14T07:32:00.002+10:00

Continuing on from yesterday's post about habits, is that the other thing about habits is that they need to change. I find that I need to be reevaluating and changing my habits regularly. As I grow and change, my habits need to change too. I can outgrow habits and they start to pinch like a coat that is too small. But the thing is that I don't always realize that is what is going on. And I have found out, the hard way, that my habits don't automatically change just because I do.

I have a few outgrown habits at the moment that I am finding difficult to change. I may have had very good reasons to form these habits, but the situation has changed yet the habits remain. Life long habits.

For me these habits have to do with how I relate to people. I was always a 'sensitive' or an empath. I am not sure if these are the same, but basically I am referring to feeling what other people are feeling. It can be quite uncomfortable, and confusing, as I can mistake other people's emotions for my own.

There is a town near where I live where there are a lot of unhappy people. I say this because every time I used to go there I would feel emotional pain. It took me years, literally years, to realise that this pain was not mine. I mean, you just assume what you are feeling is yours, don't you? Well I did.

Then I heard a woman on the radio talking about empathy and ways of protecting yourself. I had tried things like surrounding myself in white light in the past but not had any success. When she said to wear a crystal I was doubtful but I thought "might as well give it a try". I was pretty desperate. I bought one and wore it under my shirt. From then on when I would go into this town I felt fine.

Anyway, you might be able to imagine the kinds of habits I picked up around being this way. Yup, avoiding people. And another one, trying to solve people's pain. Because when you are feeling it too there is a strong incentive to soothe their pain anyway possible.

Since I have been teaching I have noticed that spending time with others is not as tiring. That I still have energy afterwards. That I am not walking away feeling whatever everyone else is feeling. I think I am more grounded and have more stamina that I used to. I have changed.

But I have a lifelong habit of spending most of my time on my own. Now I can choose otherwise. But to be honest, it is challenging. It is a lifelong habit, in a way all that I know.

A dear friend of mine always reminds me: babysteps. Take babysteps. And I think that is the best way to change habits. Little changes that take you gradually in a very different direction.

Habits, More Important that We Realise

2011-06-13T08:05:00.001+10:00

In my experience, a lot of life comes down to habits. Habits around what we eat, how we work, how we spend our time, relationships, everything. That may sound humdrum but I find it a helpful way of seeing things.

I pay attention to my habits, and of course they are all around me. The diet that I eat, what time I go to bed, whether I exercise or not, how often and what times I work in the studio, etc. These kind of habits are profound in the effect they have on my life over time. A good thing is that once you have a habit it is pretty easy to keep going. So I try and form beneficial ones.

I also have less obvious habits. Ones that have to do with the way I think, my perceptions, how I approach things. This might have to do with how much time I spend with people, how I approach new situations, how I judge others and myself. These also have a profound impact on my life, but are often harder to pinpoint and even harder to change.

Because that is the thing about habits, they can work really well for you once they are in place but they can be difficult to change.

More tomorrow.

Painting a Coffin

2011-06-05T16:38:00.000+10:00

There have been a few interesting challenges in this unusual painting project. If you have missed the story on how I came to be painting a coffin go to this post.

I seem to have gotten over my initial twitchiness at having a coffin lid in my studio. I don't even think about it now.

The first challenge was the actual material. It is a slippery cardboard. I tried to draw on it with pencil but it came out very pale. I tried a drawing pen but it didn't dry. A friend of mine had gessoed his, but he warned me that it caused the lid to warp. I approached with caution.

I gessoed several coats, sanding in between. It didn't warp, which saved me from having to gesso the back as well.

The next problem was how to work on the lid. If I leave it on the table I can't draw the proportions correctly. I need to be able to work vertically to see the proportions and to be able to step back from the work.

If I put it in one of my easels there is a danger of it folding from its own weight as the bottom is so narrow.
Fortunately it turned out that I was able to hang it from my portable easel. I take it down at the end of the day and lay it flat so it won't warp.

The next challenge was the composition. Subject matter is always a challenge, and on a coffin I don't want to go too obvious. But as a friend of mine pointed out, I could not ignore the fact that it is a coffin. I have to somehow acknowledge that. I will go more into the subject matter in a later post.

The composition is a little different than the subject matter. It has to do with how you are going to place elements in your painting on the canvas. Except in this case it isn't a canvas, and the tricky part, it isn't a rectangle. It is this distinctly coffin shape and how do I place things in there to look good?

After sketching out a few possibilities in my little coffin shapes, I chose one.

Now I was ready to draw it onto the coffin lid. The gesso worked better than I imagined and I was able to draw out my design in charcoal.

At this point I am thinking of doing more of a coloured drawing rather than a full on painting. I don't like the stark white of the gesso and want it to look more like paper - maybe a slightly yellowed paper.

I am working with acrylics at this point, which are not my usual medium. This basically means I am not familiar with their capabilities or how to get the effect I want, so I made several experiments on gessoed cardboard.

I am pleased with experiment 3, but there is still a risk whether I can repeat the effect on the larger scale.

the Cult of Stuff, a Response

2011-06-02T09:01:00.000+10:00

Leslie Herger has written a series of posts on what she calls the Cult of Stuff. This is must reading for any art journaler.

In the first post she defines a need many of us seem to feel to buy lots of stuff for art journaling. I think this is more prevalent in the U.S. than Australia - perhaps just because it is more available in the States. Art Journaling hasn't created such big waves here, but also with our small population we always have less choice available in terms of products. For which I am sometimes grateful (for the reasons following).

What I see in myself around the need to buy stuff to make stuff is that it often comes out of insecurity. I find scrapbooking stores upsetting for this reason. They stimulate my feelings of inadequacy. I look at the stamps and think their stamps look better than ones I could make. I see the patterned paper and think it looks cooler than what I can do. Little things you can attach that perhaps I would never think of - they even have writing that looks like poor handwriting! (Surely we can do that ourselves. ) I leave the store feeling less inspired rather than more.

In Leslie's post on the Cult of Stuff, part 2, she starts to give some suggestions on how to pull ourselves out of this dilemma.

One thing she addresses is the "I don't have time, I want results" thought. One of the wonderful things I love about art journaling is that it is one place where you don't need to worry about the results. It is a book, you close it, it can be private. You don't usually hang it on the wall. It is your place to Play. It is an opportunity to be willing to just 'give it a go' (an aussie expression) and not worry about the results.

There will be 'results' (and beautiful ones) anyway. But if you allow the experimentation, you will get much more than beautiful results.

Part 3 is my favourite post. In this post Leslie goes into some personal history on the 'olden days' of art journaling and gives wonderful subversive suggestions on what you can do with all the stuff you already have. Ways to subvert the "right way" to use those products. Ways to grab your creative self-expression back. Because that is what we are talking about here. Few of us are making art journals to sell. We are making them to be creative and have a place to explore ourselves and our world. So why should we worry that our pages don't look 'pretty enough' or that our hand-carved stamps aren't perfect? Are these things even a problem? Or are they actually what we really want in this journey of self-adventure that we call art journaling?

What the Heck is It?

2011-05-29T04:56:00.001+10:00

I went to David Jones department store yesterday looking for a red scarf. They are surprisingly difficult to find. I wanted a finely knit one, not too wide.

On my search I found this intriguing piece. I don't know what to call it. I don't know what it is. It is long and shaped like a scarf but has buttons and buttonholes on the ends of both sides. When you button both sides it looks like the photo above. It looks kind of like a rectangular unshaped vest but there is no neck hole.

This is it from the front. Both sides are buttoned through the bottom half. How are you supposed to wear it? That was the question I asked the saleswoman. She had no idea. We went on a tour through the floor, asking at least four other saleswomen. None knew, and for the most part they were only politely interested.

Another customer came over at one point and tried out another way of wearing it. I wish I had thought to take a photo. I think she buttoned opposite sides together after she had draped it around me. We had a fun 5 minutes talking about possibilities until her husband called her back. It turned out she was a sculpture.

Later she found me again and asked if I was going to buy it. I replied that I was, if just to puzzle out ways to wear it. I was hopeful that I could look it up on the internet. I imagined a website that would show me five ways to wear it. It has the brandname Gregory Ladner, apparently a designer in Melbourne.
I couldn't find a website or anything that looks like it. Here is probably the most obvious way to wear it. Not really very attractive. I have buttoned one side together and looped it over my neck.
This is how it looks in the back. You can see the unbuttoned buttons under my arm.
Here it is just worn unbuttoned as a scarf. Have you ever seen anything like this? Any ideas?

Link to the Flickr Group

2011-05-26T08:21:00.000+10:00

This is a drawing of what I wore to my Art Journaling class yesterday. I used a reference photo, but I am happy cause I didn't get all perfectionist with it (look at those wonky feet. The photo didn't reach my feet, haha.)

Here is a link to the flickr group called What I Wore Today, if you want to play. Only drawings are allowed, no photos. It is such a great idea. I am going to try and post whenever I am out for the day. When I am at home in the studio I pretty much wear the same daggy clothes. Come to think of it, maybe I will draw them too.

Drawing for Fun

2011-05-25T07:35:00.000+10:00

I want to draw more. I want to take my drawing less seriously. I want to play with drawing like I did as a child.

I hear people dismiss their ability to draw. "I can't draw a stick figure."

Sure you can. And why not? What is wrong with stick figures? They can be adorable.

They can be expressive.

Drawing is like singing or dancing. We can all do it. Maybe not 'well', but it can bring us joy whether we are sing like a bird or... or not so well.

I have the opposite problem. I learned to draw really well. I mean this is a good thing. I took many years to develop the skill and I am glad I did. I just wish I hadn't taken it all so seriously.

I wish I had been more playful in learning to draw. And I would like to become more playful with my drawing.

This sounds like it would be easy. But surprisingly, it isn't. Whether because of pride or ego, it is surprisingly difficult to get past the way I have conditioned myself to try for 'perfect' drawing.

I am not saying that my drawings are perfect, I am not saying that. I am saying that I am overly concerned with trying to get them perfect. And they suffer from it. Ironically I am a worse drawer (is that a word?) for it.

So, in the spirit of play I thought I would contribute to the flickr group "what I wore today". There are some very playful drawings there. In the spirit of getting away from my perfectionism, I am not using references and I am allowing my drawing to be 'wonky'. This is just for me, for fun.

What I am Stitching Now

2011-05-22T15:21:00.000+10:00

I now have 3 jean jackets. I don't need that many but I have been finding them in thrift stores. I want to make this one look different from the other two, and I've been yearning to do some embroidery, so...

In the past I have planned my embroidered pieces out by drawing the complete design. But I want to approach this one differently. I want to do it spontaneously, just do one bit and then another, not knowing really where I am going or what I will do next. (This is Rice's influence.)

I drew the curves of the stems with a ChakoAce fabric pen. It makes a very faint mark which is hard to see, a bit frustrating. The good part is that it disappears over time, or with water. The fabric shapes are added with applique adhesive paper, then I am doing the satin stitch over the edges. I don't think the adhesive would hold up through washing, and I think it looks better with the stitching.

I am going for a rather jacobean flower look.

a Rather Strange Painting Assignment

2011-05-18T08:24:00.000+10:00

Several weeks ago I was asked to be in an unusual group show. It was initiated by a local woman, Zenith Virago, well-known for her work concerning dying as the president of the Natural Death Centre in Byron Bay. Every year they have a Day of the Dead ceremony to honour everyones' dead.

There is also an art show. That sounded interesting, and I imagined what I might paint. But the curators already had a plan for that, I was to paint a coffin. A cardboard coffin.

It wasn't until it actually arrived in my studio that I got a little creeped out.

Fortunately the feeling seems to have passed. I was worried that I would continue to feel uncomfortable in my own studio.

The coffin lid is very long and narrow, rather difficult compositionally.
To begin I have drawn out lots of coffin lid shapes and am trying out different compositions, going into my sketchbook for possible ideas.

What would you paint on a coffin lid?

Responding to: Creativity Doesn't Have to be Pretty

2011-05-14T09:14:00.012+10:00

I am writing in response to an amazing post that Rice wrote on her blog. Here is the link: Notes From the Voodoo Cafe: Creativity Doesn't Have to be Pretty. The post is complete in itself, it doesn't need anything added, I just wanted to write about my own experience.

I am going to write this assuming you have read her post.

I relate deeply to what Rice has written, yet I have a little different take on it. I am not at quite the same level of creativity as Rice is. Yes, in my experience there are different levels. This is not an outer judgement, it is not from me observing others but from observing myself. I have learned to go deeper into my creativity.

I was always an artistic child. Good at drawing, playing creative games with my sister. But it was actually my sister that had the more full-on creative life. She came up with the ideas for our games, what we would create, the greatest stuff. I would often jump off of her creativity. Or perhaps I learned from her. She is my older sister.

As I got older, I was always attracted to creative endeavours. I majored in the fine arts at university. I was only happy in creative jobs such as graphic arts and sign-writing. I had the soul of an artist, but I wasn't wildly original. I can see that there is a difference, though I haven't looked at it deeply enough to explain it. My art is beautiful but not wildly original. I am not one of the truly original creatives that others can barely understand. I am somewhere in between.

But the amazing thing is that my creativity is growing. I thought you had to be born that way, apparently not. I am finding that you can nourish it and it will grow.

I want my creativity to grow because I am finding that the bigger it gets, the happier I get. It is such a wonderful gift.

Rice related her creativity to a psychotic symbol of a charming man who becomes rabid killer. I understand where she is coming from (and you do get the sense that she has a lot of affection for this psychopathic character) but my experience relates more to creativity as soulwork. Which isn't necessarily a contradiction, just a different viewing platform, as soulwork can be done in the dark as well as the light.

Working on Three Paintings

2011-05-11T19:49:00.010+10:00

For the past few weeks I have been working on three paintings. I always work on several paintings at the same time. Because oil is relatively slow drying it is convenient to go from one to another. But I also find that working on one helps me to understand the others, and vice versa.

This is the larger one that I started and then changed the composition. Go here to learn more.
This is the step before the first photo when I was putting the oil paints on over the acrylic underpainting. It was so great to be back using the oils. I struggled with the acrylics as I do not normally use them. I realised that a lot of what I wasn't liking in the underpainting was because I was using acrylics. The oil colours were much richer and the painting immediately improved.

Above is the acrylic underpainting before I put on any oil paint.

Here is the second painting where we left her last time.
You can see that I am going in and making the colours bolder and the contrasts of dark and light stronger. I have also added another layer of cobalt blue to the background to take it back to gray.

Earlier stages of both this painting and the next are in this post.
Finally this one, which I have been working on the past few days. Again, making it richer and stronger. I change the colour in one place and it usually means that then I need to change it somewhere else. I am continually refining the drawing and making transitions more subtle.
All three paintings are still far from finished, but it gets harder to show you what I am actually doing. It is difficult to show the subtleties of oil paint in photographs.

You can see the images closer if you click on them.

Girls with Chickens, a drawing

2011-05-09T06:08:00.000+10:00

This is a spread from my secret journal. Shhh, don't show anyone.

Remember that I said I want to draw more? It is starting to happen. It feels good.

Laura Ashley Refashion

2011-05-06T07:36:00.000+10:00

Remember the 1980's Laura Ashley dress? I found it in a thrift store and had already cut off the puffy sleeves and lace collar before I remembered to take a photo. Here I am, holding the sleeve on so you can get an idea of the 'before'.
Already so different. A lot can be done in refashioning garments just by cutting stuff off, whether sleeves or length or whatever.

So I made it into a jumper, as Americans say. Or a pinafore if you are Australian.
I don't know if I am completely happy with the neckline. Square might have been better. I took it from the pattern for the dress that sucked. I didn't have any other necklines, but it is very boring ordinary. I think I need some other patterns to work from.

Morning Walk

2011-05-05T08:19:00.000+10:00

It was a bit dark, so I couldn't take more photos.

Sewing Blind: More Refashioning

2011-05-01T11:36:00.000+10:00

I am having much more fun sewing blind than I ever had sewing from a pattern. It is slow, it is inefficient, my mind says "this is stupid, you could have finished it by now if you had a pattern." True, true, but I didn't have a pattern - I am creating it from a thrift man's shirt and a photo I took in a change room. I wouldn't have believed I could do it.

Below I am sewing on the bias tape to finish off the neckline and armholes.

The bodice is mostly finished. I plan more button holes in the back (I turned the shirt around so it would button up the back). I will also change the white buttons that were on the shirt to dark purple ones. But first I have a problem.

I am a bit stuck now. See how the bodice curves up in the front in the change room photo? I love that, so graceful. I managed to cut my bodice like that but now I want to cut out the skirt. I want it lightly gathered rather than full. How do I cut the curved shape? How much do I cut to get lightly gathered? I must confess I don't know.

How does Working Work Best for You?

2011-04-29T16:51:00.001+10:00

Today I have been in the studio from nine in the morning until two in the afternoon. During that time I took breaks and an hour for lunch. Since leaving the studio I had a bath in which I was reading Mail Art (do you read in the bath?) and getting inspired to try some. After that I came upstairs and have been sewing on the overtunic.

I realize that I don't post the way that I actually create. I have been saving up photos of painting in the studio, and different stages of my refashioning so that I can put all the painting photos in one post and the refashioning in another. So I can list all the steps in order and make it 'coherent'. But that isn't how I work.

In the past I have forced myself to stay in the studio working from 9am to 4pm. Sometimes it went well, other times it was torturous. Other artist friends talk of how they get into the 'zone' and time just disappears as they create. I used to wonder what was wrong with me. Time never disappears for me. I can be having a good time creating, I can be having a difficult time creating, but time is always there, ticking away.

I no longer think this means something is lacking in me. People are just different. We are wired differently and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. What works best for me is jumping around. I have about six paintings on the go at the same time plus a couple of drawings in the studio. They are at different stages. In the house I have 4 art journals going, and three refashioning projects. What works for me is a few hours on this, 30 minutes on that, 20 minutes catching up on emails, a snack, and another hour art journaling. All with breaks and changes. I am not sure, but I think I end up getting about the same amount done as when I used to force myself to stick to one thing.

And I am a lot happier.

What a Difference Space can Make

2011-04-26T16:38:00.005+10:00

Do you remember in my last post, where I said that I want to set up my desk so that I can use watercolours? Well, here is the before shot.

I am not a big slob, but I am not what you would call tidy or organised. Creative always seems to slide into disarray. I don't mind some chaos, but I do notice that the space I can actually work in tends to get smaller and smaller.
Here is the after! ta dah! I know it looks tidier and all that is very good but to be honest it won't stay like that for long. (the funny thing is that it still doesn't look all that, not like the pretty pictures in other art blogs with a rainbow of pens in spray painted jars and so on.) What does get me excited is that I brought up my watercolours from the studio and I can easily use them here, at my desk.

And that means - more drawing!

That is what I am excited about. How much difference it makes if I set things up so it is easy to be creative.

Since I bought this table and put the sewing machine under the window, it is much more conducive to me doing the refashioning. This kind of setting up is important. Not that you need to do it before you are creative - that can be another form of procrastination - but it is a form of honouring your creativity.

In the Spirit of Drawing More

2011-04-21T08:10:00.000+10:00

It isn't a recent drawing, but I added some colour yesterday. Is she wearing a tutu?

I want to set up my computer desk differently so it is easy to use my watercolours. I am not sure how I will do that yet.

I Want to Draw More

2011-04-20T13:02:00.000+10:00

You know, just fooling around.

I call this one Jacquie and the Beanstalk.

Are You Willing to Risk your Painting?

2011-04-20T06:08:00.000+10:00

If a painting is going okay, are you willing to risk losing it to make it better? Do you remember me blogging this underpainting? If not, you can go back to the original post.

This painting was going okay. Pleasant enough. I didn't really think about it until I showed an artist friend my paintings in progress. His felt that the composition wasn't as strong as in my smaller works.

I immediately saw what he was seeing. Damn.

His advice was to stick with the smaller size.

But I wanted to try something different. What if I made the composition tighter, as if it were a smaller work?
Since I had done the underpainting in acrylic, this was definitely doable. I just had to redraw and repaint.

You can see that I am still struggling with working in acrylics.
All I am trying to do is create the new composition and get the drawing basically right. The fact that it looks all splotchy doesn't matter. This figure will eventually be covered in several layers of oil paint.
Now I put the vines in to see how the dark values in the leaves work against her figure. This is all compositional stuff. Where the figure is in relation to the support, how the values (light and dark) work in the painting, and the basic colours. All compositional stuff.
This is how far I will take the acrylic underpainting. It gives me the basic idea. My next step will be taking it into the oils.

I feel the new composition is a stronger statement. Whether that is better or not is a matter of opinion. Maybe it will be a little intimidating in the larger size? My other paintings are tiny, 9" x 12". This one is 15" x 20". It is a very different experience.

Inspiration for Refashion Projects

2011-04-17T00:30:00.000+10:00

I had to start out with this photo just because it was so funny. I went shopping yesterday with a friend and we were having some fun in David Jones. You know, trying on the stuff you would never wear. I mean, you just don't know do you? There might be an alternate personality in there just waiting to be expressed.

Aren't these little hats hilarious? I get really tempted to wear stuff like this just because I think it is funny. Sometimes no one else gets the joke and then I feel self-conscious. But I am sure you guys will get it.

These bags are made from flannel. Cuddle your bag. I liked them but $300??? That is why they have locks on them. They looked like pretty simple construction.
Hey, here I am looking all glam. Two women walked by and told me how great I looked. I teased them about working for the store.

I don't feel very comfortable in ruffles, but I thought it kind of suited me.

Here is an interesting idea for a refashion. It looks quite simple. I am going to put it in my notebook as a starting point. I know it looks a bit like a rug - hey maybe I can find a thrifted rug to make one!

So now we are back at my place. This is my refashion table with my current projects. The dyed shirt up in the left, a thrifted shirt that I cut off the sleeves and collar. The denim purse up in the right corner. And my Laura Ashley dress.
I forgot to take a photo before, so I am holding up the sleeve so you can see. aeiii! Laura Ashley dress all the way. I guess it is actually an 80's Laura Ashley dress, the ones they sell now are quite different. The ones I remember have poofy sleeves and lace collars.

Here I have cut off the lacy collar and the sleeves. I am thinking jumper - pinafore to my fellow Australians. I will cut the neckline lower.

And here is my project with the thrifted man's shirt. I have cut in the armholes, lowered the neckline and turned it around so the buttons will go up the back. I want to make it into a kind of overtunic.

Here is the initial inspiration (another dressing room shot). I have two choices of fabric for the gathered part.
Which one do you think I should use? The diamond shapes on the left or the flower pattern from an old dress?

I am Interviewed by Rice Freeman-Zachery

2011-04-14T17:47:00.001+10:00

I am interviewed by the wonderful and immensely creative Rice Freeman-Zachery, artist and author of five fabulous books on creative endeavours.

Another Good Thing about Art Journaling

2011-04-13T07:12:00.002+10:00

Part of what I love about Art Journaling is that you can try out stuff, even get it out of your system if necessary, haha.

When I did this page, I was fascinated by the whole drawing/painting/photographing dolls thing. I don't know why, well maybe I do. Dolls were a big part of my make believe play as a kid, they were magic stuff. They felt like real little people and we would go on adventures. So I guess it was about feeling some of the excitement I felt then.

Anyway, I felt this fascination but another part of me was groaning, "Oh Zom, you're not going to start painting dolls are you?" There are quite a few people painting dolls, and while that wouldn't stop me if I really needed to paint dolls, I wasn't comfortable with it.

So, ta dah, in comes the art journal. I can draw dolls to my heart's content and no one will see or know. (I know, I know, you are seeing and you know but that is different.)

Now it isn't that I will only allow myself to make them in my art journal, that could easily be just the beginning. It is more of a see-where-this-goes thing. I know better than to ignore or reject my muse, but that doesn't mean every inspiration gets its own painting series right away. It has to prove itself, show a little staying power.
I drew a few dolls. I photocopied my drawings and collaged them onto other pages and changed them around with paint and pens. I, well, played with my dolls in my art journal.

Then, much to my relief, I just naturally kind of lost interest and went onto other things.

Maybe I just had a bit more doll play to get out.

Rainforest Walk

2011-04-09T14:14:00.001+10:00

My husband and I live on 80 acres of rainforest that we share with 5 other households. It is a beautiful place. Some people call it paradise.

I don't. Not because I don't love it, but because we have lived here 13 years and I am better acquainted. It is wild and enchanting, but if it is paradise it is one with poisonous snakes, deadly spiders, ants that sting, leeches, and ticks. It is a place where you keep your eyes open.

This morning a few of us met with a man who is helping us regenerate the property. We met up for a walk to see what he has accomplished. Like many places in the world this apparently wild forest has been mistreated through ignorance. There is a huge problem with introduced weeds that take over from the native plants.

We have already planted over 10,000 native trees. It is a huge undertaking.

I don't go into the forest often, and seldom alone. People do go in, it isn't that dangerous, but I feel more relaxed when with other people. I enjoy it on its edges where we live.

Today it was wonderful to go for a good walk. We have had a lot of rain but I didn't get any leeches and wasn't bothered by mosquitos. It was lovely.
There was a lot of climbing up and down hills.

Colour Matters

2011-04-09T07:08:00.000+10:00

Remember these? Dyed them with a gorgeous blue dye. The topstitching all came out white, so I had to pick most of it out.

I am very happy with them now. I cut off the blue top on the left and made it a bit shorter. It is amazing what dye can do.

An Underpainting, Beginning a Painting

2011-04-07T07:27:00.000+10:00

I have begun another painting. This photo is where is where I have left her in the studio. It is really just an underpainting, most of it will be painted over with several layers.

Below is how I got to this point.

I am experimenting with doing my underpainting in acrylics. I am hoping this will get the whole process going much more quickly. Here I have drawn out the painting, just enough to indicate placement, and put down the first coat of ochre yellow.

Some printing with leaves. The top leaves are printed with gesso. Some more colour into the background.

Drawing in the figure a bit, to see how she looks against the background.

Seeing that, I decide to make the background darker. I am not worried about how she looks at this point. I know the drawing is off, but there is plenty of time to correct it.

Bringing in some flesh tones so I can see how the warmth works with the background. Sorry about how the light is changing the colours, it makes it kind of confusing to see the changes.

Bringing in more darks into her so I can see how the tones are going to work. Tones are how dark or light colours are.

To really see what is happening tonally, I decided that I needed to put the vine in. That is because you really need the darkest and lightest parts of the painting to be able to gauge the tones.

It felt awkward working with acrylics. They feel different to oils, my usual medium. My drawing was awkward because of this. But like I said, it doesn't matter because I have plenty of time to correct it.

I am happy with how quickly I got to this point.

You don't Have to be an Artist to Make Art

2011-04-04T07:18:00.000+10:00

Okay, at the risk of swimming against the tide and making a lot of people angry, I gotta say it. Everyone in Not an artist.

Please just hear me out.

Everyone is not an artist and we are not doing people a favour by saying they are.

Being an artist is more of a vocation than a career. The artist is driven to create. It is hard work. For most artists it is solitary work. Days, weeks, months of being alone in the studio. Often no one else sees your work for months on end, and it is not uncommon that few people care about your work. The pay can be nonexistent. It is facing insecurity, inner demons, self-doubt regularly. It can be wondering why you are spending your time doing something for little or no pay that hardly anyone cares about.

It may not be like this for every artist, but in my experience it is for the majority. With that said, I love being an artist. It is the joy and love affair of my life. I would not trade it for anything.

But you can understand why it might not be a fit for everyone.

The good news is: You don't have to be an artist to make art.

Maybe even better, you don't have to make Art to be creative. And I deeply believe Everyone has the capacity to be Creative.

You don't even need to figure out whether you are an artist or not. You can just be as creative as you want and see how it goes and grows.

When I was twenty-nine I asked myself what I would regret if I died tomorrow. The answer was immediate. That I hadn't painted and drawn more. At this point, I didn't know I was an artist. I had a creative background, but I kind of figured that since I wasn't a genius I wasn't an artist. But I decided to give myself some time to paint and draw and just see what happened.

I went to community college and took some painting courses. Then I went onto university. I watered the seed of my creativity. To make a long story short, that seed turned out to be an oak tree. And now I have no other choice.

But what if that seed had grown into a delicate rose bush instead? How beautiful is that? Maybe me creating on the weekends or the monthly art retreat. Sweetening my life with creativity while I enjoy an alternate career.

Or perhaps painting wasn't really my thing and I became a crafter. Making beautiful quilts and weaving cloth? Or being creative with my children and cooking beautiful meals? There is room for it all.

People don't say 'everyone is a musician'. Good thing, because believe me, I am not. Of course I can make music but it isn't the same thing is it?

One of the reasons it worries me is that it subtly reinforces the belief that only artists make art. Anyone can make art. Anyone can dance, sing, create, cook, and hopefully balance their books. It doesn't make them a dancer, singer, chef, or accountant. Give some credit to the people who dedicate years or their lifetime to an artform or profession, and take the pressure off people who want to paint for fun and self-expression.

And, just to add something else to the discussion, you don't have to be a genius to be an artist. You don't even have to be good at making art.

Finished Paintings

2011-03-29T16:41:00.002+11:00

This is the finished LichenGirl. My post showing her in progress is here.

How strange that I forgot to show you guys the paintings that I finished! I posted them in progress, but not the final painting.

It's weird, I realise that I am more comfortable posting my works-in-progress than posting the finished painting. There is something about calling it 'done' that makes me nervous.
And here is the finished VineGirl. The last post where I show her in progress is here.

A friend of mine thought the titles were silly. Maybe they are, I don't mind adding a little levity. But I was also thinking of superheroes. You know, superman, catwoman, spiderman, batgirl, etc. I am hoping it is an indication that the figures aren't completely human.

What is Happening in the Studio

2011-03-25T20:30:00.001+11:00

This is where I left off last time in the progression of this painting. If you want to see the very beginning go here.
I am still in early stages. I have been drawing in the vine, starting to refine her skin and working out values (how dark and light I want to go.)
I think that is how dark I want the background, but I plan on more glazing to alter the colour. I gessoed the background with transparent gesso and only a single coat of white gesso behind the figure. I don't really like it. I feel like I am fighting with the wood panel to cover it. I prefer several coats of the white gesso, at least under the figure.

I have lost my interest in letting the wood grain show through.

Here is the other painting that I have been working on.

I am much preferring the texture of this one. It is painted over an old painting so there are several layers of oil paint underneath. If you want to see how I started it you can return to that same post.

Obviously I forgot to document a few of the stages in this painting.

I have been glazing the background to get it darker and richer. Again, I was trying out my darks and lights to get a feeling for the tones. Initially they are a bit harsh, but that is giving me a sense of my range. Later I will can put in more transitions to make it more subtle.

I am constantly reassessing the painting, looking at it as an entire piece and seeing what it needs. At any point I am willing to redraw and change.

With this last step I decided the painting wasn't having the feeling that I wanted. The vine was looking too incidental, as if it was just looped around her neck like a kind of necklace.

So I went back to my reference photos. I wanted more vine, for the viewer not to know whether she was wearing the vine or it was growing up and and over her.

I prefer the mood now, and I also think it is a more interesting composition.

Caught in Inspiration

2011-03-22T19:11:00.001+11:00

I bought this bag at the thrift store for two dollars. It would be much improved by new lining, instead of its original horrible polyester black lining, but I can't be bothered as it has a zip coin pocket and other fiddly bits.

I am thinking of putting this beading on it. What do you think? I originally made the beading as a bracelet but the picture works better flat. I like it but it seems rather plain. What can I add that won't overwhelm the picture?

Do you ever get so caught up in inspiration, caught up in the high of possibilities that you don't actually do anything? Just jump from one idea to another, maybe noting them in your art journal but not actually physically starting a project? I find the internet especially dangerous for this. It is a commitment problem really, thinking that I will find some idea even more interesting around the corner. It is fun but not satisfying.

I just realized that my last refashion post was also ideas and possibilities and I wondered if I was caught in the inspiration merry-go-round.
Do you ever try on clothes in a shop and take a photo for inspiration? There is something very fresh happening in clothing, I think it is related to refashioning. The designers are getting ideas from the refashionistas. They are cutting away parts and adding bits that normally wouldn't go together.

This trench coat has an interesting cut. A little too cool for me - a hole in the back? but I like the idea of sleeveless.
I did do something with my stock of thrift clothes. At least I did some cutting.
This is a boring man's short sleeve shirt, way too big. I bought it for the cloth, I like the colours. For years I have been wearing pink and purple, suddenly I need to wear blue.

I cut off the sleeves and collar. Next I plan to sew up the sides and cut a shape for the neckline. I have more in mind, but you will have to wait, teehee.
These two are going into a dye bath. I have been buying my dye by the packet, quite expensive and I can only dye a little at a time. I have a cobalt blue for these; it will be interesting to see what colour the one on the left comes out.

Art Journal Backgrounds

2011-03-17T18:12:00.009+11:00

I have been away in the big city last week, looking at art but not creating. After teaching my Art Journaling class yesterday, I thought I would be jumping back into the studio and my oil painting, but instead I felt the need to reconnect with my art journal. So I spent the day doing art journal backgrounds. Easy and relaxing.

The above background was done with gesso resist. I printed with leaves and flowers, when the gesso was dry I painted over the top with thin washes of acrylic colours. Here is more information on gesso resist.
This background is also done with gesso resist and a background stamp. Before the gesso, I put down some book pages in undercollage. That is collage under your background.
Gesso resist with leaves.
Gesso resist with dandelion flowers. For this background I put down a wash of cadmium red, then printed with the flowers and finally added a thin wash of alizarin red. Transparent layers of different colours give the pages depth.
Layers of acrylic paint over gesso.
Finally, another resist. This one was a little different. I painted a thin layer of burnt sienna on the plain paper, then I printed with bubble wrap. Instead of gesso, I used matt medium to print with. Matt medium also creates a resist, but it is clear so that the burnt sienna shows through. After that was dry, I did another wash of cobalt blue.

Refashioning Projects

2011-02-26T14:01:00.000+11:00

I need to get a few refashioning projects going.

In my studio I always have 6 to 9 paintings and drawings going at any one time. This is great because it means whatever my mood I can jump in. When I am filled with inspiration and beginning energy I can start one of the paintings waiting in my sketchbook. Or draw more compositional ideas. Other times I might feel like doing something already plotted out, something kind of mindless like details on a dress or in the hair. Other days I am up for a challenge, ready to tackle that problem that has me completely stuck.

But now when I am out of the studio and itching to sew, I am at a loss. I finished my dress but nothing else is ready to go. I am not feeling inspired and full of energy, I would like to do some gentle stitching. But nothing is prepared or even planned.

I do have this rather nice white top that I bought at a thrift store. I am not much into white, but I like the woven yoke and it has cute little covered buttons on the back and the sleeves. I have been trying to get a stain out of the front, no luck.

I have bought some Dylon Ocean Blue dye and plan to dye it. That might be enough. We will see if it covers the stain.

Here is a thrift store shirt. It is a men's pajama top, loads big for me. I bought it for the fabric. I am thinking of using it for a yoke for a tunic. I am imagining cutting off the sleeves, saving the collar and the buttons, sewing up the sides smaller and then sewing another fabric on as a kind of gathered bottom. A little on the style of the dress that sucks, (sounds like it is doomed from the start, doesn't it?)

And finally, perhaps my most interesting thrift store find. Is it a dress or a coat? It is of medium weight cotton, fitted with darts and no lining, it seems more like a dress. But as you can see, the buttons stop about crotch length.

And the back would be indecent as well. The size is a little smaller than I would like. The sleeves are a bit tight around the elbows (those must be dress not coat sleeves) so I might cut them short. The bust fits fine. I am thinking to put a triangle of interesting cloth in the back. I don't have it yet. Maybe a pattern of some kind.

Now what about something with some embroidery stitching? Or beading? I would like to do some handwork.

Please feel free to jump in if you have any ideas for my projects.

How to do Background Undercollage for your Art Journal

2011-02-22T18:17:00.000+11:00

Easy peasy. Paste down some magazine pictures or book pages. Strong images work well. You can cover the pages or only undercollage in selected areas.

Here I used torn edges so they would blend in more. Either way. Do different page backgrounds differently. Try out stuff. It's fun.

Glue them down well with acrylic matte medium (be generous). Stick glue won't keep its 'stick' when you paint over the top. If you smooth the papers down with a ruler or credit card while still drying you will have less bubbling.

Then paint over the top with gesso. For this background I used black gesso, with the first one I used white (forgot to take a photo of the white one.) You can wipe off some of the gesso if you want the undercollage to show more. But it is intended to be a background. I usually put more collage over the top.

I will put more writing on this page, some over the top of the undercollage, to take it more into the background.
Here is the beginning of some collage and drawing over the first undercollage.

You can see how the magazine images were knocked back with the white gesso. Some of the images I completely covered, others I wiped back again. I then painted over the gesso before I added the collage and drawing.

Who Do You Admire?

2011-02-19T09:09:00.000+11:00

Who do you admire, who do you like, and what might it mean?

Consider that the person you admire might represent a shadow side of your self. We have a positive shadow as well as a negative one. Our positive shadow contains those qualities in ourself that we don't feel 'good enough' to claim. You might be creative or clever or smart just like that person you admire. At least consider that the potential for that is within you and that might be why you are so attracted to them.

Lately I have been avidly following the blog Notes from The Voodoo Cafe. Rice is a creative and entertaining woman. She is a true individual. By that I mean someone who has the self-esteem to be truly who they are and express that in the world. She looks eccentric, but not out of a desire to be noticed - it is an expression of her being.

When I was still in high school there was a 'dress code'. It wasn't from the school, we were allowed to wear whatever we wanted, it was from our fellow classmates. Depending on the clique you were part of, you dressed a certain way. Doesn't sound that different from the everyday grown-up world, does it? I don't remember all the ins and outs, but I remember that all the popular girls wore clogs.

I wore ballet slippers. I wasn't a dancer, I just liked them. I also used to wear my Dad's over-sized shirts, and some over-alls that I had made into a dress. I was fortunate in that my family could have afforded to dress me in the popular girls' uniform so I had that option, but I just wasn't interested.

Sometimes I used to paint a flower on my face. I remember feeling rather uncomfortable with the attention I would receive when I did this. I wasn't doing it to be noticed. I felt compelled to express myself this way.

I think over the years I have lost that some. It has been overlaid with too many magazine articles telling me what is in fashion and how to dress for my body type, and now how to dress for my age.

For some reason, the changes of menopause are making me feel free to start the return journey back to that girl who dressed to express herself.

Remember the Dress that Sucked?

2011-02-18T19:36:00.004+11:00

Yeah, this one. The muumuu-clown dress. Incredibly ugly. And do you remember what I was going to try? (check out the post if you don't).
Ta-dah!

It may not be perfect, but you gotta admit it is a big improvement.
It even has side pockets. Yippee.

The bodice I took from a thrift dress that I had. It is barer than I would like.

I am still looking for a good dresslet pattern. The one I used to make the original dress obviously does not qualify.

This is not a Tutorial - Beginning a New Painting

2011-02-14T16:25:00.000+11:00

This is not a tutorial. You have been warned. I don't always know what I am doing, so don't follow in my footsteps!

In the last two weeks I have begun two new paintings. Beginnings are fun, exciting. I haven't made any mistakes yet. Everything is glorious potential, not the problem solving that comes in later.

I have two sketches in my studio sketchbook that I want to paint. I am always putting ideas for paintings in here. The majority never become paintings, because there are too many to get around to. I like lots of choice.

The beginning of the painting using the sketch on the left I blogged last week here.
I photocopied the sketch the size of the painting.

I covered the back of the photocopy with soft pencil to make homemade carbon paper, then I placed it onto the prepared panel and traced over the lines with a hard pencil.
I finished drawing it in after that as it was difficult to see. I don't usually draw the image out to this detail, but I have an idea that I am trying.

I might want to keep the background as wood, so I just gesso inside the figure. The panel is already gessoed with clear gesso (you can't oil paint onto unprepared wood) but I want the figure to stand out from the background so I put down this white layer.
At this point there was a wallaby outside, eating grass. By the time I got the camera, he had gone.
Here are the two beginnings side by side. I wanted to show you how I am going about them in two different ways. I don't know if it will make a difference in the end.

It must have been the next day that I decided to work on this painting a bit more. I like to switch around a lot. I guess that is why the slow drying of oil paints has never bothered me.

Even though I am working from a compositional sketch, there are continuous decisions to make. I am constantly evaluating what I want to keep or change from the original idea. Here I am designing the leaves as I paint the shapes in.

Colour and tone bring in entirely new elements as well. I might have a basic tonal idea in my initial sketch, but that can always change and has to be refined.

I don't know what I am going to do about the old painting that I painted over still showing through. You can still see the railing behind her head.

I leave the first painting to dry and go back to the one I drew out. I paint on the initial colours to try them out. She is more finely drawn so there are fewer decisions of placement. But I am finding that I am not so interested in keeping the pencil line as I thought.

And I don't like the way the colours are against the wood so I put down a thin layer of blue in the background. I want the woodgrain to show through. I don't know if I will try and keep it.

This Dress Sucks

2011-02-11T16:51:00.001+11:00

I can't believe how this dress I am sewing is turning out. I wanted to make a dresslet and bought this pattern. This is exactly why I haven't sewn in years. I pick out the material, the pattern, spend hours sewing it together and it turns out disgusting.

The first thing I thought when I tried it on was 'clown dress'. The blue looks stupid with the tulips. And the weird V neck seems to accentuate it. The whole shape is really bad. This is worse than looking pregnant.

I have made a f**king mumu.

And I have bought more fabric for another dresslet from this pattern! I don't think so.

The only thing I like is that I put in side pockets. I added inseam pockets (because of course this stupid pattern didn't have them. ~not really fair, as it did have quite nice patch pockets.)

See? Aren't I clever? I even had to make the pattern for them.

I shouldn't have made them white though. That was a mistake. Still, I Love the pockets. (Here is a tutorial from the Owls are not what They Seem on how to put inseam pockets into skirts and dresses.)

But hopefully there is a happy ending, or new beginning, to this tale. Because of art journaling, because of all the interest I have been taking in refashioning, almost immediately my mind went to 'what can I do with this?' Fortunately, the skirt is only basted to the yoke. I can take it apart and refashion it.

One idea I have has to do with the above recent thrift buy. (Just ignore the model, she thought she was striking some pose, boy has she got a lot to learn!) Too short, even for over pants. But what about if I cut off the skirt and put the tulip skirt on? Here I drew a picture to help us imagine.

I think it is worth a try, don't you?

But is there anything we can do with the turquoise yoke? It is lined and everything (meaning it was a hassle and I want to use it). If I use more drapey fabric for the bottom and made it into a shorter top, do you think it could work?

Link: a Good Article on Drawing

2011-02-10T03:43:00.000+11:00

Recommended reading about drawing. Is This Your Year to Become a Draw-er?

Art Journal Pages

2011-02-07T19:53:00.003+11:00

Sometimes I stick writing in my journal that I have written elsewhere. I like that you have to open them.
Cat woman with her cat.

Beginning a New Painting

2011-02-04T20:00:00.000+11:00

On Thursday and Friday I began a new painting. Beginnings are the most exciting, everything feels possible.

I looked through my sketchbook, deciding which composition to use. There are always lots of ideas waiting.
This is an old painting that I never finished. It was one of the initial works in my In Between series. The later paintings were better so I lost interest in this one.

It is almost 2 years old so there is no problem with painting over it. I don't have any other supports ready and I want to start something new, so I decide to sand it back.
More sanding. I like the texture. I am just trying to make it less definite, it doesn't need to go back to white.
But I also don't want to be fighting the old image, so I coat it with lead white. Lead white is a beautiful white, and very stable, but they don't sell it in Australia any longer because the lead is so dangerous. I don't recommend using it for that reason.
I am roughly drawing out the new composition with vine charcoal. I am using the sketch on the far left which I have gridded out.

I have turned the support upsidedown so I won't be distracted by the old image.
Then I can begin drawing it out with some neutral colour used with an underpainting medium. This isn't an exact drawing, more of an approximate blocking out.

Sewing and Refashioning

2011-02-01T19:22:00.000+11:00

I have begun my dresslet. That is what Rice from Voodoo Cafe calls them. This one is going to be a dress (so I am not sure if it qualifies as a dresslet), but is for wearing over pants as well.
Here is the pattern. I am doing one with the v-neck, then making it longer with a blue border at the hem.

It has been so long since I have sewn anything, especially from a pattern. Ten years? More? I had decided that I didn't like sewing and was going to sell my sewing machine. But the refashioning has ignited my interest again.

And this time, I feel free to experiment. I never used to feel that way. I would follow the pattern exactly, not trusting myself to change anything.

See the white bodice-thingie? I was concerned that the pattern size might be a little big so I decided to make the top part in muslin first. I made the shoulder a bit longer because I am so long in the body. But it didn't look good. Then, because it was a little baggie, I tried making the side seams larger but that made the armholes too small. Then I tried darts in the back. I liked that.

Funny to have darts in the back, but the top is more of a yoke than a bodice. It ends above the peak of the breast so darts in the front wouldn't have worked.

I rather enjoyed doing all the fooling around. I had the patience for it because I am plan to make several versions.
Here is a top I got from the thrift store. I like the bodice with gathers underneath, and I like the black and pink plaid. The length was unflattering for me, I have a pear shape with thunder thighs so I don't like tops ending there.

Here it is, shorter. Strangely satisfying, cutting things off. Looks a bit like a maternity top, but I like that shape. So easy to wear.

Here is a linen dress I got from the thrift store. I like the colour and that it is linen. It is very dumpy.

My plan is: cut off the length to knee height. Take in the side seams a bit. Recut the armholes so they angle into my shoulder (much more graceful). And new buttons. I would like to cover buttons for it in a patterned fabric.

The dress is actually made from seven pieces, so I am not sure whether I need to take all 6 seams in or can get away with just the side seams. I don't think it will get finished before the weather gets cold.
Finally this shirt. I have already taken in the side seams. The only plan I have at the moment is a dye job, a gutsier blue. Then we will see.

Finished Painting - Feral Love

2011-01-27T07:55:00.001+11:00

It is kind of a strange title. It has to do with the fact that rabbits have become feral in Australia and do great damage to the landscape. Yet how can anyone resist a bunny?