Like and Dislike

I like dreaming up ideas, I like making things and I like planning.

I dislike having to make a large quantity of the one thing, I dislike organising and I dislike actually having to address and post.

But I promise I am really finished now. Here is a little photo documentation to prove I am not lying.



Ah... finally done.

my kind of art...

I mentioned before that the Internet is such a great way to share you arts and thoughts. And I am just learning and discovering the possibilities.

One of my worries about teaching is that it can be so time consuming and tiring that I don't have time to engage in my own art. But then I came upon this site. This is the kind of art that I can do no matter where I am; in the class, walking to school, driving, in the kitchen anywhere. This reminds me of one of my all time favourite art books by artists Candy Jernigan. She collected evidence from her life and travels in her journals, and she is a beautiful illustrator. I always wanted to follow in her footsteps and create a journal like hers and now thanks to the wonderful Wreck This Journal website I have the motivation to do it and share it.

I have done a few similar projects in my uni days. These images are from a "coffee table" book I created for a painting unit. It was called "the worst home renovator's guide to home renovations." I scrubbed paint and dirt in wallpaper, piled paint in glasses and on book, spray painted wallpaper, made wallpaper from newspaper and covered a room and generally had fun making a mess. I then turned it into a pretty book.


So without further ado, the first pages from my 'Wreck This Journal' journal. Evidence from my kitchen...

It is fun to be free and not worry about looking pretty. If you are into this kind of art check out abject art

More inspirational Wreck this Journal images here

Outside: Textures

Some more photos from outside my life.

Every afternoon I walk up to meet Adam at the train station. This gives us a chance to catch up on each others day and engage in one of our favourite activities: walking.

On the walk up I noticed that there are so many textures. Man made and natural. The more I started looking the more interesting textures I noticed. The walk is not a particularly scenic or beautiful walk. But by looking closely it is obvious that beauty can be found anywhere. Or should I say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder?


Sadly our afternoon walks will probably only last until I start work. But before you feel to upset for me take comfort in this photo. Yes, daylight savings has ended and the sun is setting earlier and earlier. So it would no longer be a nice, warm and sunny walk anyway.

Driving and learning

I have shown you lots of photos from inside my new life. So I thought it was time for some outside shots.

(the drive)


Today I drove to my new school, where I will be teaching for two terms. It takes about an hour and ten minutes to get there. With the music playing and the sun shine it was actually quite enjoyable today. But I suppose I left at 9.30 AM and not 6.30 AM (like I will be doing when I start actually working and not just visiting)

(the school)


I met a lot of people, had a lot of names and information enter one ear and immediately exit the other and enjoyed thinking about all the challenges awaiting me. The new school actually reminds me a bit of my old school in Queensland: a country setting, rolling hills and vast landscapes and some cows in the school grounds to boot.

a good week..and some boggle

Okay, i have been away for a week (or has it been longer?) and had a great week. I spent the week with one of my favourite people We had a wonderful break together, visiting some lovely relatives on opposite sides of Melbourne, shopping, wedding dress hunting, a ferry ride and some general exploring. Sunday morning saw Mum departing for Brisbane on an early flight which consequently meant the household waking at 3.30 AM! So this is how Adam's and my Sunday panned out
A few games of boggle, a bit of napping, some DVD rentals, a glass of wine and general relaxation. There was also a very brisk walk. Brisk because it was so cold outside. I am not looking forward to a Melbourne winter ( it was so cool the heating even came on inside)

and now it is Monday...

and since it looks like I won't be starting my new teaching job for three more weeks. Today involves cleaning, vacuuming and catching up on laundry. What fun!


PS, I learnt to make a hypertext...can you tell? (Mum click on the boggle link and you can get some online practice, which you will need for next time if you want to beat me!) But of course I am cleaning not playing online boggle ;)

Coming to a post box near you..

signed, sealed and almost delivered...keep your eyes peeled.

Light

Yesterday Adam and I were both feeling a bit flat after average days. I walked up to meet him at the train station as per usual and walking home I noticed we seemed to be in the same kind of mood. But once we were home and together it all seemed irrelevant, all the things that had been getting us low. Our catch-phrase "things are better when we are together" from the Jack Johnson song "Better Together" seems to be more true everyday.

While I was cooking dinner Adam noticed that the light through the window was creating beams across the living room. It looked extremely cool and Adam took pictures because we were so fascinated! See the other stupid things we were worrying about are nothing compared to light beams in the living room! Thank you Sweedy for always cheering me up and making it all better.

wedding ramblings

I was teaching a year 11 Art class who did a unit called traditions and rituals. Students had to focus on rituals in their lives, whether it be listening to music everyday, brushing their teeth or playing football. They had to think about the traditions in their families and amongst their friends. We discovered as a class that many assume that tradition is ancient and set in stone, but theorists claim that tradition changes in accordance with a set of needs, or even to suit a particular day. I was thinking about this while planning for our wedding. What does it mean to be marrying? What tradition are we following? Or are we making our own tradition?

I found a great website which looks at many cultures wedding traditions http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/

On this site I found this great quote about pledging your love in front of family and friends:
"Traditionally the wedding pledge is made in front of family and friends who take special pains to stand up and witness our pledge. The wedding pledge is to be true and faithful and loving to another human being. To wed is both the most basic of all human pledges, and at the same time the most sublime."

I particularly love this quote:
"Marriage is a bringing together. It is a bringing together of two people, of two families, or two tribes, or two villages, or even two countries."
I think that having this new extended family is very important to me. Suddenly your life is so much bigger because you are adopting new people into it, to share and live it with. We are able to use our families and freinds for their own experiences of marriage, family and love.

I am also excited about is making it our own day, filled with our own special bits and pieces; our own traditions. A constant desire in my life is to create. This would explain why I am spending hour upon hour making each individual invitation! I feel more connected to an event if I am making and creating for it myself. I suppose this is a ritual in my own life.

I have come to the conclusion that the most important thing is too feel comfortable, maybe feel a bit like a rock star and make it an enjoyable day so that everyone can have a warm fuzzy feeling inside!
"it is one of the unceasing marvels that we are able to express something as basic as love and marriage in so many wonderful and touching ways. Such is the wonder of human existence. The ceremonies and the traditions may be different, they may seem strange or outlandish or they may touch feelings in us that we never knew we had, but there is something about marriage that is instantly recognizable no matter what the language."

Speaking of rituals,after this extremely long entry I have forgotten my weekly ritual of putting out the bin! better run....

A draw with a story

This draw contains the travel books, the books about the place we are going on honeymoon for almost three weeks. This would not be so unusual except that I have no idea where we are going. Hubby-to-be is planning the whole thing and it is a surprise. I am not going to know until we arrive at the airport and check in.

This surprise is under constant threat. The first threat being that I am home ALL day, until i start work. Home ALL day alone while Adam is at work. I have shown amazing restraint and not peeked, although sometimes the temptation is unbearable. I clean around the draw, I place newly ironed clothes on top of the pile of clothes in the draw hiding the books, I make the bed with the draw staring at me, but I haven't peeked...I swear!

The second threat stems from the fact that this will be Adam's first overseas trip. Sometimes he is so excited he can hardly contain the secret. He will be in the bedroom planning and come out to talk, just itching to tell me something or ask me something. So far he has also shown great restraint in not blurting it out in a moment of great excitment.

The third threat, and possibly most dangerous, is my constant demand for clues and hints. Adam had to give in and let me ask one question a month. My first question was unfortunately wasted...I asked "should I pack socks?" the answer was "yes"
A terrible waste I know :(

Needless to say we are both very excited. Let's see if it stays a secret...I will keep you up dated on my clues and post the new hints each month.

All in a row

More news on the wedding front. Well, sixth months ahead of the date, and without the girls to support or guide me, I have bought four bridesmaid dresses. On a one-off-clearance-sale, so no returns, exchanges, refunds! It was one of those crazy, unexpected moments...we were going to the library, which unbeknownst to us, was closed...and we just happened to go for a walk through the garden...and just happened to stumble on an Allanah Hill Clearance sale in town...and they just happened to have four matching *green* dresses!



So now they hang in our living room, all in a row. Waiting for their new owners, waiting to be worn and, most importantly, waiting for the big day. And I can sit back, look at the prettiness and check off one more to-do on the wedding planning list.

Into the Unkown

Here is the artwork I started the other day. It is now for sale at my Etsy shop (clicking on the title will take you to the shop). I will do a more detailed blog about my art at a later date. But now I am off to swim in the sea. Have a fun weekend.

A day like today

Some creating that happened today.

Today I worked on wedding invites. Today they are almost done.

Today I was inspired again by my faithful watercolour set and some lovely butterflies.
Today I worked on a painting which will be added soon to my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5083328

Today was a day of much creating.

a room that is very lived in

Finally I get around to posting a new room. The living/lounge room...and boy is it lived in. We love this room and this couch. The sun shines in from our small backyard almost all day long. The one thing we need to do (which may take a long time, well after saving for the wedding) is fill it with more furniture. We have stuff, lots of stuff, we just need a few more shelves, tables, boxes and baskets. However I am sure it won't take too many years before we are looking at everything and saying how did we accumulate this much!
While I was photographing the couch I noticed that we seem to have a strange addiction in this house.....

see our ironing board cover








and our new outdoor director chairs









and even our tea towels.









Yes it seems we are addicted to all forms of STRIPES...there are countless other items, socks, placemats, pot holders which are all striped. strange.

small successes

A morning of nerves...
...an afternoon of relaxing. After completing a job interview in front of a panel of three, with minimal nerves (which is saying a lot for me) and having my confidence grow a little by the end, it was time to relax. So it was a trip to the library and then a stack of books, a cup of tea and some toast with lime marmalade. What a nice way to let all the buzzing in my brain die down.



I also kept my nerves at bay last night by attempting a slap-up gourmet meal. Or as gourmet as you get from a book made by Maggi for first time cookers! I am happy to report it was a huge success. Hubby-to-be, Adam, called it the "best-meal-since-we've-been-here." Yay...the mess I made was worth it!
Here's to small successes

Red Sky at Night...

...Shepherd's Delight

The floor, a perfect desk?

No desk? No worries...so much more room to spread out on the floor!