Fountain or drain?

Be a fountain, not a drain.

I read this somewhere this week and I can't remember where, but it resonated with me. We all know those people who are drains in our lives - you part company and you're exhausted, even though it was only half an hour. Everything is always a drama with them and there's always something going on.

Then there are those people who buoy you up and refresh you. You can spend hours with them and still feel energised when they leave (yes, even us introverts!). They build you up and nurture you.

I know which type of person I'd rather be.

Leaving a mark

 

What are you leaving your fingerprints on?

What tracks are you leaving?

Both of these pages are about leaving a mark, a legacy. It's fun to think about what we are leaving behind and how we are affecting those around us. I guess it's the time of year when we look back and reflect on how things have gone, and soon we'll be looking forward to what we want to achieve for the coming year. 

So, are you leaving fingerprints as you shape things (and people), or are you walking (or driving) over them?

Nest

What's in your nest? 

Sometimes pages just seem to take on a life of their own. This is one of those. No idea where it came from, but when it was done it was obviously a nest. 

So what are nests all about? They are receptacles and shelters for eggs and young. They are cosy places to wrap up and settle in. They are bowl-like, used to hold, protect, or support something. So what is being laid or sheltered? What is being supported? Or do I just need a bit of quiet time? (Always!) I need to do a bit of thinking here.

Making new

Making the familiar feel new again – every year. 

That's what we face each Christmas as we run around trying to make the church services new and exciting, bringing a new perspective or awakening forgotten feelings of nostalgia. I'm already sketching in my ideas book, thinking about the installation for the crib service, the midnight service, and the giveaway on Christmas morning. It's sometimes made harder by the shops being full of Christmas items as soon as November hits. Plus my Christmas spirit is difficult to perk up when the days are getting longer and hotter instead of shorter and colder – southern hemisphere problems :)

What makes Christmas for you?

Landscape play

 

Sometimes you just get an urge to do create certain things. For me at the moment it is landscapes. I don't know why, but I'm having fun doing it, so why not?

The one above is my favourite by far. It is done on Karst stone paper with a palette knife. The smoothness of the paper lends itself well to smooshing the paint around. 

The next two below are on a different type of paper that has more of a 'tooth' to it, so the palette knife leaves a different type of mark. The paper was thin as well, so has gone a bit curly, but it's just play.

The one below is again done on the stone paper, but mostly with brushes this time. I'm not sure how many more landscapes I'll do, but I'm having fun at the moment, so who knows?

Organised

No matter how organised we try to be, there are always things that won't fall into line. 

This page has a lot of clean lines which are unlike my usual way of doing things. The scribble reminded me that we can plan as much as we like, organise things, but there are always those unknowns, those uncontrollable parts of a plan. We have to be ready for them and not thrown off-kilter. 

So plan for what you can and be ready for the uncontrollable. 

Support

So much fun to support other artists.

Where did the last week go? I suddenly realised that I hadn't posted all week due to... life in general. It happens.

Anyway, last Friday evening I had the privilege of attending the opening night of Tony Busch's first solo show. He does fabulous weavings inspired by Australian nature. Absolutely gorgeous and textural. You can find him on instagram @burningatgbusch

Here's one that we bought at his end of year degree show:

Tony dyes his own fibres with natural materials. This one is inspired by the floor in the Sturt Gorge. If you look carefully at the right hand side, you can see 'pebbles' underneath the fringing inspired by stringy bark and eucalyptus leaves. Tony attended art college after retiring and is now winning prizes as an emerging artist. It just goes to show that retiring can be the beginning of brand new branches of learning.

Landscape

 

I always find it fun when a landscape appears on my page. It may not be the 'correct' colours - yellow sky? - but something about it screams 'landscape' to me. This one felt like that before I added the stones at the bottom right. Our brains like to find patterns.  There's something about the shapes, the composition, how the colours play against each other that suggests a landscape. I'm still trying to work out exactly what it is, but in the meantime, I just enjoy it when it happens.

From the inside

Sometimes you have to be on the inside to see the full glory.

I went to a Eucharist of Affirmation at the cathedral last week, kicking off Pride week. The stained glass windows were beautiful - glorious colours. But when I stood outside afterwards, the windows looked dull and dowdy. It made me think about how we can think of things that we're not part of as dull or unworthy of our attention. A lot of people may think that way about the church, but for me, faith is vibrant and glorious. That's my view from the inside.

So what things am I looking down on, when they may be beautiful from the inside? Just because your hobby/obsession is not my cup of tea doesn't mean it doesn't add beauty to your life, not least in the people you meet because of it.

Metamorphic

Some of the most beautiful rocks are those which have been transformed by heat and pressure. Marble is a metamorphic rock made by transforming limestone. A lot of gemstones are formed in this way. 

Heat and pressure are not comfortable. We try to avoid those situations when we can, but it isn't always possible. When we endure and get to the other side, we often find that we have been transformed into something more durable and resilient. 

May the times of heat and pressure in your life transform into something beautiful in you.

Talk to each other

Talk to each other. Stronger together. 

When you feel like you're isolated in a situation, talk to someone. 

I mentioned that my experience with a particular exhibition this year was not a good one. The lack of care (not putting up artist's names or producing a price list) continued. I sold a painting, but when the exhibition finished, I had real problems being paid for it. A month later, I still hadn't received payment and was sick of the excuses ('my phone fell in the toilet' ?!) I was feeling frustrated and fed up. I made a complaint to the people who oversee the month-long set of exhibitions. The exhibition had been a group show, so I also got over my own discomfort, and reached out to everyone on the list. Lo and behold, I wasn't the only one. Suddenly we were having a conversation and sharing our frustrations over how things had been handled. I told everyone that I'd made a complaint, and I think some of the others then did the same. Whether it was the conversation or the complaint to the overseer, the following day we all got paid.

If I hadn't reached out to the others, we would all be sitting on our own thinking that we were the only one that this was happening to. Together, we encouraged each other, and got the outcome we wanted. So reach out. You're probably not the only one.

Heartbeat

 

What makes your heart beat faster?

It's funny how both fright and excitement can have the same effect on the heart. So when your heart quickens, ask yourself - are you scared? Or are you thrilled? 

Especially ask yourself this when you feel this way in creative endeavours, as both can be showing you the way forward. You might be scared because you are moving out of your comfort zone, which isn't a bad thing, just uncomfortable. You may discover something new.

Or maybe you're thrilled because you're in the sweet spot and what you are doing delights your heart.

So listen to your heart. 

Guidance

What is your guidance system?

Do you navigate by the stars? Is your GPS invaluable? Or does it send you down the wrong road sometimes, insisting that you've arrived at your destination when you clearly haven't. 

Who do you take advice from? Who are the wise people in your circle that you can depend upon when you're at a crossroads? Why do you listen to guidance from some people but not others? How do you decide?

Ebb and flow

Ebb and flow. Life is full of rhythms.

It's okay to feel less creative at some times than at others; to have less energy some days; to feel less sociable. We can't run full throttle all the time. If we try to, we burn out. But if we lean in to the natural rhythms we can keep going with smaller peaks and troughs than if we try to overdo it.

Be kind to yourself.

New triptych

 

Recently I've found myself using this palette a lot. Starting with a black background definitely gives a lot of depth. These are repurposed canvases, so I scratched through the black paint and the colours come through, although they don't show up so well in photos. 

Sometimes it takes me a while to work out what I am painting about. This is about menopause. Not surprising, really, as it is a big transition.

I think these pieces are finished, but I'll give it a couple of weeks just to be sure.

Do you know what you're art is about before or after it is finished?

Travel well

 

Life is full of ups and downs, barriers, and obstacles. But each day is a new start with new opportunities. The thing to do is travel as well as you can through life. 

We can whine about our circumstances or we can tackle and overcome them. Attitude makes a huge difference.