Artistic Play

This is an unplanned piece of artwork. Hmmm! This is actually pretty cool. I think I'll add it to my Red Bubble profile.

Archive Friday

It was 12th November 2004, and I had written a small poem inspired by a photo taken way back in 1983.

This is the photo…

This was the poem…

Tiny brown haired girl

Mighty brown skinned boy

Fight a battle, struggling

To have more of Auntie’s legs

Both wanted more

Both wanted all

Both wanted to

Bump the other off

Who will win the battle

For Auntie’s legs?

I actually remember when this photo was taken. My cousin, Peter, and I were fighting each other for more leg room on Aunty's lap. We were both strong willed baby kids and seemed to be constantly at loggerheads with each other. I think this photo just says it all.

Would you like to join in with my Archive Friday meme and share something old?

My Creative Space...

My creative space this week has involved scrap booking, crochet work and desktop publishing. More specifically…

I have been working on my baby's scrapbook. I have put this off for such a long time so now there is real lot to do. Roughly 11 months of scrap booking here.

After much silent cursing I have finally caught on to the crochet instructions, so that I can create a panda. Hooray! So far I have succeeded in making the head. Hooray-Hooray!!

On the weekend I finished crocheting (freeform) a Legend of Zelda coin purse for my enthusiastic husband, as you can see below.

As for the desktop publishing… I must say the zine I am working on currently is a source of discontentment at the moment. I do not have enough ideas circulating. And the ideas that I do have, I have doubts that other people will be interested enough to read. And so it continues. Oh well.

Well that's all from me for now. Why not wander over to Kootoyoo and take a gander at other interesting creative spaces.

New French Country

Recently I borrowed a fabulous book from the library — New French Country: A Style and Source Book by Linda Dannenberg.

I highly recommend this book to almost anyone as it can appeal and be a handy resource to a wide and varied spectrum of people. Such as crafters, historians, interior designers, gardeners, people simply wanting inspiration to redecorate their own home, francophiles. It also goes without saying (though I am going to anyway), New French Country is a wonderful choice as a coffee table book.

New French Country provides a cross section of current country style within Provence* (a region in France's South East). Let me say, as one who has been long seeking just the right inspiration for redesigning my home, and coming up short, finding this book in the library has provided me with the perfect solution.

The photos in New French Country portray a country style with an elegance which sometimes seems to be missing in the modern home. In today's world where so much of what we own is mass produced, a lot of intricate detail is missing. But back in the old days to have something made — a cabinet, a quilt, you name it — quite a bit of time and craftmanship went into the product.

To recap, coming across a book like New French Country truly is like finding Leprechaun's bucket of gold. I'll definitely add New French Country to my Christmas wish list, because I just know it'll be a difficult day when I return this book to the library.

* Did you know? When the Romans conquered Provence in the 2nd Century BC they named the area Provincia Nostra, which means ‘our province’. So the name in French then became Province. 

Mondo Notion

… as Michelangelo (the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle)would say. Last week we had homemade pizza for dinner and it was good the first night, and simply awesome come the second time we made the pizza.

The goal my husband and I have over the coming months is to perfect the pizza process. A good pizza has lots of topping, without being sloppy. Has a light base that isn't dry and won't give you IBS*.

Check out last week's pizza in the above photo. It didn't take long to demolish the pizza. And just look at the lovely plate. This is my favourite plate and it is the only one of it's kind that we have in our collection. My husband knows to always let me use this plate.

*Irritable bowel syndrome.

Green Success

The other day I finished crocheting a coin bag for my husband. This bag is a Birthday treat, and he absolutely loves it. I am now attempting another crochet project. This time it is of a Panda.

Meme: My Place & Yours

The theme this week for Meet Me At Mike's Meme: My Place and Yours is… My Collection.

Ever since I was a child I have always been collecting something. I would go through phases, sometimes only for a few weeks, and other times for a few years.

Since the age of nine I have been a stamp collector. There are no rules or a limit to my collection. I am attracted to bright colours, antique, and even international stamps. I like stamps because they say a little something about our history — politics, economics, and especially culture.

As long as there are stamps my collection will be ongoing. And one day my collection will be passed on to my offspring.

My collection has never been valued, though I suspect there are some real treasures in the collection. Some of my stamps date back to WWII era. I especially love the modern Australian stamps as AustPost goes to a lot of effort to make our stamps so bright and cheerful.

Where I Am

I am busy juggling a few things at the moment.

• I am trying to crochet a panda at the moment — a hair pulling experience for a beginner who struggles with written instruction.
  
• Still working on my zine — this activity is moving at a slothful rate. Partly because I want it to be picture perfect when it is done.
• I am developing a character (The Gwendo) who likes to ride her skate board. Not fully certain where I'll go with this idea as I have only just begun fleshing out this one.

Ciao for now.

Archive Friday: The Beach

Here are some old photos I took way back in 2003. These photos were taken around the Bayside shores, very close to Mentone. A few years back I went through a stage of taking heaps of photos. I was obsessed with the beach scene and was a sometime photographer for a band then-called Dekker.

I think “Archive Friday” will become a new blogging theme for me. Each Friday as a wind down activity to the weekend, I will put out very old examples of past work, whether it be photography or art journal notes. And won't you join in?

If you wish to join in “Archive Friday” simply leave a link, or comment below, linking back to your blog entry.

The World At Your Feet

I took this photo way back in 2003 (I was 24 years of age). Don't ask me why, but for a time I loved the idea of taking photos of my feet in different settings.