studio clean out………..

[gallery] haven’t written here for quite a few days, have been really busy cleaning and sorting my studio, lately i haven’t been able to ground myself and have been all over the place , so a couple of days ago i made a list and that gave me a clearer direction

# 1 clean up , organize, and make definite work area’s in studio ( photo’s are proir clean up)

# 2 work areas – a desk for paperwork,writing, journal and research

#3 file all tid bits and ideas scrawled on bits of paper (100’s)

#4 an area for encaustic,an area for printmaking,a clean paper area, a table for making my own paper, containers to store all collected material for papermaking, a corner for my easle with all my paints, thinners etc..       so far so good………tomorrow i will continue sorting paper work,sketch books etc……….

my fresh new goals as of next week- begin making more handmade paper, print my collagraphs, lino’s ,monoprints etc…continue with encaustic with handmade paper……a little directions feels much better, instead of going from one thing to the next……………once i get back on a roll as i usually am , i am going to learn how to make artists books with my work on my paper, have joined a group called “artists books 3.0″ a wonderful website full of wonderful talented people,worth looking at,anyway all sounds good in theory, i’ll see how it goes with the 2 teenagers,1 three year old, a partner, a garden, dogs, ducks,chickens,ferrets(& their babies), errands,cooking, cleaning,friends and xmas just around the corner…

purple……….

we sat for ages collecting these awesome purple shells today at the beach, well part of a shell..love the colour………

where the ocean meets the land…………….

found myself needing to be near the ocean today, i find at times when all seems just too much and mind goes onto overload, the coast is the answer, it clears my mind and rejuvinates me, thoughts on today………

overcast,cool,water grey, noone around, just me, my 3 year old and the edge of our eastern coastline facing that mysterious pacific……….i love the beaches that don’t have flags, hardly any sand, pebbles small and large, rockpools, no previous footprints, places to explore, somewhere to sit with a coffee (red wine would have been, but i had to drive) and think about everything and nothing, things we found or noticed today – the lack of people- funny how the magority of people don’t find the beach as appealing when it isn’t a scorching hot australian day, smooth tumbled glass- all colours, brown, green,blue, clear, i like to get away from towns for that glass as i have found beaches closer to large populations have more brown glass and further down the coast there is more green and blue, i remember reading somewhere that it is called ‘mermaids tears’..driftwood,mmmmm would like to make some chairs out of it..one day i will…shells, smooth rocks, awesome rock formations,love them for designs for future works..fossils….pelicans,it’s been a good day,

saturday morning………….

raining gently, all still asleep, partner left early for work, (not for long though by the look of the weather),coffee, one chicken that won’t stop clucking, i look through the window the ducks are already busy foraging through the garden,what will today bring i wonder, the frogs have started, rain is such a celebrated thing now here in Australia, the drought is terrible,read that our local water supply dam is down to 59% and it isn’t even summer yet…am reading a wonderful book at the moment,have read it before, but a second time is always good..” COLOUR – TRAVELS THROUGH THE PAINTBOX ,by Victoria Finlay, a wonderful book about Victoria’s travels throughout the world sourcing history to discover where colours used by artists etc originate from,one fascinating anecdote from the book is where she goes to a small village in Central America where women still wear skirts that are dyed with the purple tears of sea snails……….if you are amazed by colour and in its natural state i recommend this book………….at the moment i am really inspired  about the ochre and natural pigments…………….

lakes & reeds

this morning my little man and i ( 3 year old) packed ourselves a thermos of coffee for me and a thermos of hot chocolate for him, a quick stop at the bakery for 2 croissants and off to the lake we went , after yesterdays inspiration in the studio i thought we’d venture off again to a place that gives me peace of mind and a menu of unlimited inspiration for more work to be done, not to mention somewhere for my little one to skip pebbles, watch turtles and generally be free….the sand was fresh after our downpour last night only our new footprints in the sand, until we noticed many different sizes of bird prints in the sand, a mark left by a slithery snake and what appeared to be a wombat that had wondered down for a morning drink after foraging for food all night.the smell of the bush was awesome, the sweetmess of blossoms, gum trees with the dampness of rain….i have often come here to clear my mind and generally just sit and take it all in with my sketch book handy for ideas……..