At Last...

I'm feeling almost human. It has taken quite a while to shake off the effects of the flu or whatever virus invaded my system. No fun at all. Today, I'm wandering around doing The Boring Bits...creating custom boxes for things that have to be sent, a painting via etsy to the US (above), a shoe shrine via a swap to Cambridge (below)... Nobody thinks about this kind of work when they envisage the artist at work, do they! I hate it with a passion, but it has to be done, the packing, the admin, the visits to the post office... And I've been trading work on etsy, acquiring some lovely small pieces of art and a couple of lovely handbags in exchange for pieces done by me. I profoundly approve of barter!

I'm really signing off, here, for a couple of weeks. Holidays, family and friends all beckon. I will, however, be back just after Christmas, doubtless with a lot to say, as usual! I'd like to thank everyone who comes to my blogs, who looks at my shops, who sends me encouraging feedback. You have no idea how important these things are to me. I spend most of my time on my own; you all remind me that there is a world out there, and that I have a place in it. Thank you. Wishing you all joy during the holiday season and throughout the year.

Wabbit

The Scots have a word for everything. Wabbit is just how I'm feeling, run down, a bit wobbly on the pins, tired...not ill, exactly, just recovering. So I spent part of the time looking at paintings, intending to take some photographs. I had forgotten how many smaller paintings I've made...these two are interesting. They were made at around the same time, with the same palette, but how different they are. The first, Tranquil, was a reflection of how fleeting such moments are; the second, Signs and Totems, is another of those paintings that reflects how our minds struggle to make sense of the marks we see, whether random or structured. Are these indeed signs and totems, or are they but random marks? Is there a story here, or not?

I also found myself waking to a fleeting moment of fame, I'm featured here , to my great delight. I find Dawanda a difficult environment to be in, but I'm hoping things will settle down...in all three languages!

Despite all the things I need to be doing, I'm going to rest some more today, and hope that I can start shopping for Christmas next week, in between hospital and dentist appointments (I lead such an exciting life...). And then to Scotland, friends and family, food and feasting...sounds good, huh ?

When Life Hands You Lemons....

you make lemonade. So, when life hands you a virus, you go back to bed with a sketchbook and some hand sewing. That's what I'm planning for today. I got as far as the post office yesterday, just round the corner, and had to sleep all afternoon. Today, I'm tired, and would have slept in, had not the fire alarm needed new batteries, and therefore started to beep loudly just outside the bedroom door... sigh. It's cold, it's raining and it's miserable, so I'm going back to bed to draw! And maybe to sleep, too. It's good for one.

The image is Bronze Sun, an ACEO. It is one of a series made from the same manipulated image, cut up into aceos and painted/altered. The original image was of one of my paintings. It's an interesting thing to do, all told; I intend to do more of this, particularly with paintings that I feel are not as successful as they might be.

I don't like...

being ill, and this virus or flu or whatever it is is NASTY... two days in bed and I don't feel much better. Sigh. Just to give you some eyecandy...Dreamscape is a semi abstract landscape in encaustics...it will get onto etsy eventually...when I feel better...but not today...
sigh.

Unclean, Unclean....

flubound, to be precise. Maybe not as uncomfortable as egg bound, but not being a bird, I can't comment!

A piece of cloth to brighten up the bad news...some hand dyed cotton. I'll resume normal service as soon as I stop coughing!