For The Roses

This is as close as I get to traditional quiltmaking. I love working with small squares, it's my secret vice. I don't do it very often, but find it fascinating when I do. I have two quilts in this mini series so far, this one, a summer garden 'For The Roses' and 'Autumn Rain', a garden in autumn (surprisingly enough). I've made a number of 'garden' quilts, though, starting with the Healers Garden quilts that I made during the breakdown from hell, and seemed to have great significance for me. Then there was a crazy quilt for Robin's mum and dad's Silver Anniversary (which was incredibly late for the event, in truth...). Then there was a wall hanging for my friends Archie and Sheila; Archie has a passion for gardening, Sheila likes my quilts, seemed like a good idea at the time!

For The Roses, though, illustrates a point, as does Autumn Rain. People often looked at my handdyed cloth and said things like, but I don't know how to use it, or what would I use it for, or it's too beautiful to cut up... I wanted to show that you could get great results using small amounts of hand dyed cloth. In this case, four pieces of cloth were used to make this, three of them on the top, one of them on the back. All those different shades of red and green came from two pieces of fabric. Economical! And isn't it amazing, what can be done with simple shapes and vibrant colours!

The piece is quilted using rose motifs that are reminiscent of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (as are the little squares, come to think of it...), so this piece harks back to my Scottish roots in art as well as economy (well, I live in a house called 'Skinflints'...). I'm contemplating offering small kits for garden quilts like this, with instructions on how to make them. Unlike most kits, of course, what you end up with will be different to anyone elses quilt; the cloth is unique each time! Please let me know if you think that's a good idea...and let me have your email address if you want me to reply to you... so many people don't give contactable email addresses via blogger!

Random Thoughts.

I speak four languages, what's to stop me learning HTML?
Must get Andrew and Sarah's quilt pieced together. Making the blocks is Not Enough.
Want to quilt...want to quilt... and heaven knows there's enough up there to get me going, including a large (for me) piece.
Must get the entry form for FOQ before it's too late. If I'm going to be there, I'd quite like to have a quilt there, too...(you will find me on the Spunart stand, working with lutradur and Evolon).
Must paint more bondaweb
Must buy more bondaweb!
Wonder if it's worth applying to Mintd (probably not...)
Wonder what to do next with the wip in the photo (lutradur with brusho, paper, foil...).
Wonder what the parcel is that's waiting at the depot for me to collect?

It must be lovely to have a tidy mind....sigh.

OOH, Look!

Not all of the weekend was spent doing nothing other than eating chocolate and snoozing, you know! Look how far the shed has progressed. Ahem. That would be shudio. The Little Green Shed is moving on apace. The electricians will be coming back to finish the wiring, and Robin will doubtless do his best to put the walls up at the weekend, though it won't be all that easy, there are lots of windows to cut round...

I have to confess that I'm starting to get really excited about this. The light in there is great, and I'm going to take all the wet stuff out there, so the dye stuff will go out as well as the paints and mixed media. Tables at the right level for dye painting and screenprinting... that will be wonderful. I can hardly wait!

Home Again

to snow, winds and worse weather than there was in Edinburgh, which is not how things are meant to be! I had a wonderful time with my lovely sister, Jane and her equally lovely spouse, Frank, as well as flying visits to sons, daughters and grandmothers... but I did weaken towards the end. Jane and I went to the Gallery of Modern Art on Thursday, and I came back wanting to paint. Frank, bless him, had all the materials to hand, and 'Head Over Heels' was made in an hour or so on Friday morning. It is really a sketch, I would have approached it quite differently had I been at home, but it's not a bad wee thing, really. There's definitely room to make more work around this. Jane assures me that it will be down to live with me, so it might end up looking quite different... but for the meantime, it is drying calmly in a corner of her kitchen.

And here I am, back again, full of ideas and thoughts, and delighted to have spent some quality time with my 'little' sis! Now it's back to work, of course, but that is hardly a hardship.

Know Thyself...

was the inscription above the entrance to the Delphic Oracle. I know myself by the art that I make, because it is a way for me to work out what is going on in my life, my relationship with myself, others and the environment. So when I was asked to create a 4" square self portrait, what could I use other than images of my work to illustrate it, printed onto lutradur. Beneath that, there is a photograph of me. And on the back, a comment; By My Art, Shall Ye Know Me. That is a theme to which I intend to return, but in book format. Watch this space! Meantime, here is an image of the piece to be going on with.

I'm off for the rest of the week to visit with my sister in Livingston. It will be the first time we've spent more than a few hours with each other in a very long time...I don't remember the last time, probably before I went to University, and that wasn't yesterday! I'm looking forward to this trip a great deal, but my blogs are likely to remain silent until I get back...so, see you next week!

Lucky Me!

Part of the joy of Etsy is getting to know other sellers and their work, and arranging trades with them. Not everyone trades, of course, but sometimes they do, if you ask nicely... So I asked Karen Turner, whose blog I've been reading for a while now, and whose work I love, if she'd be prepared to trade with me. And she was... but that wasn't the end of the story. She then sent me a 'top up' trade, because she thought she got the better end of the deal (wasn't true, but there you go...). LOOK what she sent me! Aren't they lovely?

I've now made a number of trades with different artists on etsy, and each time been delighted by what I have received. I now have some wonderful jewellery and handbags, neither of which I make, a lovely doll from Karen, and a selection of ACEOs that is fast turning into a collection! Come to think of it, I have one or two lovely pieces traded with other bloggers, too. Lot to be said for good old fashioned barter! Who's up for a trade, then ??

Textile Equals Stitch...Right?

Well, no, not really...or not always. Though I must admit, this is the first time I've made a textile piece without actually sewing. This is a textile collage, called Dream Journey, which I made on Saturday afternoon. I had been thinking about doing 'something' with a piece of velvet dyed in lilacs and turquoisy greens. That something turned out to involve adding some painted bondaweb, some metallic foil and some hand dyed silks. And there it stopped. The whole thing is mounted on a studio canvas.

I talk about 'leaving space for stitch', and in theory, at least, there is plenty room to place some stitching, either by machine or by hand. But the piece feels complete of itself. It doesn't seem to need anything else. So I'm not going to interfere. Always best to keep out of one's own way wherever possible...

The Missing Photos From The Last Post!

It Has Been A While...

since I posted, the demons have been dancing, and keeping me busy. I was asked recently to describe a bout of depression. In the end, I said, imagine your worst ever day, when nothing goes right, you feel lousy, tired and low, you hate your work, you hate everyone and you hate yourself. Then replay it over several weeks, as it gets steadily worse...and then steadily better...until you are wondering what all that was about. I'm one of the (arguably) fortunate people for whom fluoxetine (Prozac) actually works (if you believe the most recent studies, which suggests that antidepressants of this type don't work for many people), but all that means really is that I don't get quite as low as I used to.

I'd like to show you two things that I've received recently from other artists. The first was a PIF on another blog, by wonderful textile artist Karen Hall. I had forgotten about the PIF, and was amazed to receive this fabulous doll from Karen in the post, just after Christmas. As you can see, she is me !!! And I'm flying!!! Isn't she amazing? The second image is of a journal I received as part of an online swap in a group I'm part of, ZNE Artists And Poets. Again, it is a beautiful piece of work, by Heidi Eberle, expertly conceived and made.

So what do they have in common, apart from the fact that they were both made for me? Well... I have taken part in swaps, trades and such before, and doubtless will do again, but what makes both these pieces stand out for me, is that the artists have clearly seen me as a person. They have gone past the outer facade and made something for me that touches me at lots of different levels. That indicates a level of caring, much less craftsmanship, that leaves me both cherished and humbled. Karen, Heidi, thank you.

Just To Prove...

that I'm still working with lutradur, and how versatile it is, I've been making ACEOs this morning. I like the small format of ACEOs, and often make a series of works on a particular theme. The theme here is Blue Stripe, which was painted on watercolour paper, and a layer of hand dyed lutradur added over it. I'm really pleased with the results. Now to continue the series!

3D Felt...

is fun too. These wee things were also made at the workshop on Sunday, using a single needle. It took surprisingly little time to make them, maybe just over an hour for all three. I was...surprised.

The first piece is a flower, a daisy, I think. The second started out as a nest, and just asks for a couple of chocolate eggs to be added. The third is ACEO sized, and is called Snow Blind; you can just see the colours in the white, I think, reminiscent of shadows. I'm thinking about making some more flowers, it's such a cheery thing! Fun for brooches, or to be added to quilts, I think. Ditto with the aceos.

A Walk In A Magic Forest...

There is a major textile exhibition on in Norwich at the moment, at the Sainsbury Centre. Entitled Cloth and Culture, it brings together work from Estonia, Finland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania and the UK. If you can get there, run, don't walk, and plan to spend most of the day in the gallery; there are some very interesting works there. In addition, there is a programme of talks and workshops. I was fortunate enough to spend Saturday working with plastics with Ieva Krumina from Latvia, whose work is for me one of the highlights of the exhibit, and Sunday with handmade needle and wet felt with Auste Juregelionyte from Lithuania, whose energy and enthusiasm for textiles, and felt in particular, bubbles out from every pore.

Magic Forest was the result of an afternoon spent wet felting, which really removed many of my preconceptions about felting by hand. I had a wonderful time, and throughly enjoyed working in a lively, interesting group of people. And I have the feeling that my one wee felting needle will be as well used as my Embellisher in future!

Just To Prove...

that I still do the occasional piece of textile work, this is a close up of a new piece, called 'Cracking Up'. It is made from lutradur which has been dyed and overdyed about six or seven times, and then stitched. The idea came from photographs I took at Hunstanton, where there are beautiful chalk cliffs that resemble coconut ice, red and white. There is a whole series in this, I think; meanwhile, I'm considering entering this into shows, so am not including a larger picture at this point.

I'm off to Paris tomorrow, to meet up with Dijanne, with the intention of working on the lutradur book, which we hope will be out soon! Meanwhile, if you want our free worksheet, please email me at lutradur (at)tiscali.co.uk. If you leave a message here, please make sure that I have your email address; most of the messages I get here, I can't reply to, and can't trace you, either. So do make sure I can reach you!

Meanwhile, I'll be back on Wednesday!

A Bit Of Fun!

It started with the Quilt Pets, cute little pieces that had their own stories attached. Then I started wondering about what happened to those cats and dogs who weren't quite so cute... and came up with this...the Wanted Poster. It's made from lutradur, distressed with paint and heat, and, best of all, can be made for humans, too... I'm just wondering who I know who deserves the Wanted treatment! I dare say a few 'celebrities' could use this treatment...

WIP

That would be my shed! The Little Green Shed is just waiting to have its walls added; what you see is the insulation that will, I hope, keep me warm in the winter... the board for the walls arrives tomorrow, and will hopefully be put up over the next couple of weekends. And I'm off to look for an electrician...wish me luck!

Changing One's Mind...

is supposedly a woman's prerogative. I've decided to stop working in mixed media...or at least, in collage. Check out ArtmixterEmporium for the reasons behind that, and details of a special sale.

I've been working with textiles over the last couple of days as you know, and I've just made some ACEOs and a small wall hanging using lutradur. We do hope to have the lutradur book completely finished by Eastertime...so watch this space and the Emporium for more information!

I've been out in The Shed today, tidying up so that Robin could start putting up the boards on the ceiling... it's exciting, I should be able to start using it in the next few weeks, just in time for the better weather and longer days. Might even pop a sewing machine in there... the space is big enough... hmmm....

Sometimes It Takes...

a bit longer to work out what's going on in a piece. I've been experimenting with working pretty much at random, and had pieced this with random pieces of cloth, then quilted it...and felt unhappy about it. It wanted, I thought, more texture. So I added some painted bondaweb. This proved to be A Bad Choice. It was dark, there was too much of it, I didn't know what to do next...so it sank into the morass that is my sewing room...

I got it out a couple of days ago, and changed it a little. First sheer brute force and nailpower took a lot of the bondaweb back off again. Then, I added some foiling, and thought, well, that's a definite improvement, took a photo (the top one) and stopped. This morning, I looked at the piece again. Yuk, I thought. It needed something...in this case, a bit more colour. And now, I genuinely do like this piece, now entitled Blue Maze. Making it seems to have been a bit like a maze, certainly... but sometimes that's what it takes! Try clicking on the images to see exactly what's going on...there were several layers of process added to the quilt before it got to stage one...and now, it is complex in the best possible sense!

Washi

is wonderful stuff. My friend Jill went to a workshop on using washi paper recently, and shared her tiny stash of the (very expensive, hard to find) glorious stuff. And here's what we did with it, or at least part of what we did; fragments of washi added to a washi base, and covered with nylon net. I suspect it'll be clearer if you click on the image to enlarge it. I plan to add some stitch to this.
For myself, I thought I'd use it to make hand bound books, together with some textile and stitch. Not sure what Jill will use it for, but she's doing an MA in Textile Culture, so doubtless will find somewhere to fit it in there... It's a joy, having a textile buddy who lives a very short drive away.

Purely Painting...

has given way to quietly quilting. I spent the last two days clearing out the hovel that was my cloth studio, and am now working my way through a pile of pieces that have been patiently waiting for my attention to shift to them. I've worked on four of them today...or was it five?... and am quite pleased with the results, but in the absence of photos, you'll just have to make do with looking at another painting...this one is the first in a series called 'Cascade'. Notice the springlike palette...I'm smitten!

Spring...

is always associated with green and yellow, in my mind, anyway... so I thought I'd vary things a little. This is another painting in the series I'm making that celebrates Spring, 'Spring Elsewhere', a companion to 'Spring Somewhere'. I don't usually repeat myself, but I thought I'd make an exception!

I think it's time I made some textile Spring pieces... and got on with Andrew and Sarah's wedding quilt also... it's already February!

As If...

there were any doubt that it is not yet Spring, it snowed quite convincingly overnight. Grr. But that didn't stop me working on some spring-like paintings. Yes, you guessed it, more yellow! I'm improving, slowly, but it doesn't do any harm to reinforce the mood by working in bright colours.

This is the newest of the ongoing series of work celebrating Spring (or, rather, the idea of Spring, it's too cold to be pretending!), a landscape in acrylic on canvas, entitled, Spring, Somewhere. A girl can dream...and it's true that the nights are drawing out...it gets darker, later, always a good sign.

Still...

hoping for Spring and better moods...thanks to everyone for the supportive comments. The piece above is one of a series of eight ACEOs I made today. Still working in yellow!

Bad Day...

Haven't struggled with the demon depression for a while, but the past couple of days have been difficult. So I decided to work with yellow... and the painting resulted, Spring I. It looks bright enough to cheer everyone up, even me. It's amazing how colours affect our mood. I'm making a whole series of works that will contemplate Spring; it seems like a good thing to be doing right now, when the nights are beginning to stretch out a little bit.

Usually...

I tell people I can spell in four languages. And indeed, I can. But that's not what this photo shows...sigh. I'm involved in a swap in one of the ZNE groups I belong to, and I made these ACEOs for it.... The theme was cherubs. Did you spot the (not so) deliberate mistake? I didn't...not until I uploaded the photo, anyway.

For reasons best known to my unconscious, I want to work with yellow today...so I'm off to put the heater on in the conservatory and start work!

And After Lunch...

I discovered that I'm featured 0n laundry... check it out! And thanks to Stella for featuring me and my work!
(and yes, thanks, lunch was great!).

Out To Lunch.

...in all the ways that matter! I've been busy with the kind of thing that nobody thinks artists actually do. Things like admin, promotion, letting the cats in and out (how did that get in there...), creating databases... thrilling stuff, I admit, but essential. I created my mind dump of what I'm up to at the moment, as well as future plans, and began to realise that really, I do a LOT, and if I don't get control of it, it'll drive me...well... out to lunch!

Bubbling Up is another of these red acrylic paintings, slightly bigger this time, at 9" by 12"/23cm by 30.5cm. This one is destined for Dawanda, though. I discovered today that my German-English dictionary didn't contain the word 'acrylic'; perhaps it's time to buy a new one....

Love A Challenge?

I know I do... so I set one for VAST members. VAST is one of the Etsy street teams I belong to, and we're having a challenge to make something on the theme 'Simply Red' for February. So here's my piece, an abstract painting which, surprise, surprise is very, very red!

We're going out to lunch tomorrow, so I dare say I won't get much done in the way of art. On the way to hospital yesterday to get my hearing aid fitted (it's on the other blog), I bought some paints and canvasses to work with, and a number of boxes to keep things in, starting, I think, with the scrap fabric that is lying all over the floor in the workroom. The woman with me laughed. She said, I can't imagine you tidying up after yourself. She may have a point...sigh.

Desperately Seeking Susan...

or at least, her snailmail, so I can send her ACEO to her... I know one or two Susans, but really don't know who this one is .

Bouncing back after a tummy bug, parcelling up things to send to people, contemplating the cunning plan... time, I think, to deal with that. It's a bit like wrapping an awkward parcel. You think it's going to be difficult, so you delay, and prevaricate, and worry... and then you do it, and find it's easy! Lets hope that the same can be said for my cunning plan, which in its wildest form will be nothing more than a mindmap....or possibly even just a minddump... everything onto the paper, so that I can see where I am and what I need to be doing...

Aerial Dive is just the thing to encourage me...whoever that is doing the diving looks unconcerned about the whole thing. She doesn't worry about where she is going to land, just goes with the process until she reaches the point of landing.

Thank You Very Much...

to everyone who commented on the last post, and congratulations to the first five ACEO winners; if you haven't done so already, please email me with your snail mail address, so that I can send your prize to you!

Finally, I'm about to make A Plan, A Cunning Plan. I've been putting it off for several months, now, but I feel ready to attack it. The way to eat a mammoth (if you ever wanted to...), is to do it one bite at a time; the only problem is that you have to work out what all the bites actually are, and which are more important, more urgent than others. So that's what I'll be doing over the next couple of weeks, that and finishing my part of the lutradur book. So there... And beginning to work towards the exhibit I'm having in October, Mixing Up The Marks. And.... well, I'm sure you get my drift; I wouldn't be me if I didn't have fifty things going at the same time! And no matter how many plans I may make, doubtless my life will remain as Entangled as this painting, one I made several years ago. Detail shots are here if you wish to see them.

The Cost Of Cloth...

...is not measured by money alone, you know. In my case, it is measured by the effort it took to lug a large wheeled suitcase around London, up and down staircases, along pavements (playing find the taxi when the tube shut the line I was using to get to the station...). I have bruises. Big bruises. No, really, very big bruises. My muscles are complaining. And that's two days after the event. Poor moi? Oh, yes. But it was worth it... I brought home a cornucopia of cloth, a small fabric mountain, ranging from brights to pastels, from commercial prints to some very nice cloth for dyeing. Thanks, Sally, I had a great time!

Now, though, it's time to get back to Real Life. Today is Housework, with maybe a bit of playing with some bits and pieces if I don't fall asleep first... Perhaps some new ACEOs like this one, acrylic paint on paper.

ps It would appear that this is my 500th post... wow! I never thought I'd get that far... but there you go. First five people to respond to this will receive an ACEO each!

Off To Pack...

for my weekend away, but someone told me about this... I do get around! See you on Tuesday!

Gallivanting...

off to see Sally tomorrow, back on Monday with piles of fabric, I hope...I expect... Farnham Maltings hosts an annual sale of quilting fabric, and I'm told it's wonderful. I'm hoping to come back to an insulated shudio, as Robin is staying here with cats and two rolls of insulation. So today, I shall do a bit of housekeeping, a bit of packing and perhaps a bit of sewing... I feel a doll coming on!

I don't feel too bad about it all...I spent yesterday and the day before working with acrylics on paper, and have some interesting results, like the one above. I'd like to make more of these on a much larger scale (these are 10" by 14"/25cm by 36cm), though I think mounted and framed, these will be interesting to look at. As always, all feedback welcome!

Hope you all have as good a weekend as I know I'm going to have!

Look What I Got!

A 'You Make My Day Award'...hurrah . Thanks, Sandra

Now I get the pleasure of nominating some people who make MY day...

Well....

There's...
Mags
Sally
Dijanne
Carol
Thelma
Olga
June
Sonji
Rayna
and, last but not least...
Lynda!

All great bloggers, and many of them great friends, too! Thanks for what you do, folks, it's much appreciated here, at least...and doubtless much further afield!

Congratulations!

to Jean Levert Hood, whose name came out of the hat for the 'other' postcard...which turns out to be 'Hearts And Flowers'. Thanks to everyone who took part! Jean, I'll be in touch!

I've been making more ACEOs over the past couple of days; I'm truly enjoying the process of working at a small scale, though I have to say I don't really see myself making Inchies...though I've said that before about other things, and have lived to see myself actually doing them, so who knows? The two shown here are oil paintings on paper, the special heavy paper that is made for working with oils. Most of my work features mark making, and yesterday, I talked to my friend Jill about a possible exhibition on the theme, 'Mixing Up The Marks', which would feature our work with a particular focus on markmaking. I have to call the gallery today, to discuss it. Wish us luck!

I Was Asked...

by another artist to make a textile postcard for her, blues and greens and a vaguely Valentineish theme, that had to be able to go through the post. So this afternoon, I went upstairs and played for a while; the results are here.

The first one is made from lutradur, with fused commercial cotton heart shapes; the other is commercial fabric with hand dyed cotton gauze over it. Both are machine quilted.

I wonder which one she will choose. What do you think? Vote here for your favourite...I'll put all the names in a hat on Tuesday and whoever's name is chosen will receive the other one. In the unlikely event that she wants 'em both, I'll make one specially for you instead...how's that for an offer!

For now, though, I'm off to do some more sewing!

Rather Slow...

at getting back into the swing of things, though I have posted elsewhere. Partly, that's because I had a wonderful Christmas. One of the highlights this year was meeting up with my sister and her family, whom I hadn't seen for far too long a time. And of course, Christmas Day with my son and his fiancee in their new house was a wonderful experience. And yes, you know it, I got very, very tired after all that, and a visit to lovely friends Alison and Michael near Inverness just before the festivities, too. So here I am now, surfacing slowly, getting into the swing of things.

Last year has to have been one of the happiest of my life. Lots of things contributed to that... my sister coming back into my life has filled a gap that I didn't know was there. Finding a wonderful therapist with whom to work, and coming to a position where depression is no longer the centrestone of my existence, has been a revelation. My lovely husband continues to be the loving, supportive man he always has been. It's a joy to watch my son grow and change at this exciting point in his life, too. My etsy venture has proved to be great fun, and I have met lots of wonderful people through that medium, and discovered that people really do like my work! And I am surrounded by loving friends, many of whom I have never met other than through the internet. Truly, I am blessed, and am profoundly grateful to all of you...you know who you are!

So much for last year. For this year, I'm not sure. I feel that a change is in the air for me, for my work, more particularly, but I haven't yet worked out what it is, so in the meantime, I'll continue with what I'm doing, especially the lutradur stuff. And yes, we WILL finish it soon, that dratted, but lovely book on using lutradur that I'm writing with Dijanne Cevaal. I have more book ideas to work on, too, but that takes priority. For now, though, I'm finishing work that I started last year, like this piece, Moving To Centre, a small lutradur art quilt. Like it, I too am moving to centre. Wish me luck on this part of my journey...

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!