It is cold and wet which means I'm enjoying a cosy Sunday afternoon doing all the things I love without feeling the guilt I should be doing other things. I'm listening to an audiobook Longing and Belonging - The Complete John O'Donohue Audio Collection (a big thank you to my friend, Jenny). His beautiful Irish voice and Celtic words of wisdom are just amazing. Lots of cups of T2 Melbourne Breakfast Tea. The dog is in on the rug contentedly asleep in front of the heater. I've been knitting and nearly finished a beanie for Darcy.
7 day drawing each day challenge update
This hasn't gone too well but it has been school holidays so lots of visitors and extra activities, including:
Visiting the Japanese Gardens, Cowra
As a local, I admit I haven't visited Cowra's most iconic tourist attraction for possibly over a decade so it was a treat to visit with friends from Melbourne earlier this week. Even in mid winter, it is stunning and inspirational. The photo above is only of a small section of the garden - there is so much more and well worth the visit.
Studio time . . .
I have been working a bit more on my studio space and becoming more comfortable with the work area. I now have two white Ikea tables and a swivel office chair so I can easily move between the two tables that I'm using as desks. I've set the computer and printer up on one and left the other completely clear. It is liberating to have a studio space that has a clear desk, with good light and is heated!
After noticing how easy it was to allow the last fortnight to slip by without being creative each day, I'm going to trial keeping a studio journal - a bit like a visual art diary. I borrowed from Cowra library the March 2015 art issue of the Australian Country Style magazine which had a number of feature articles about artists, one being about Philip Wolfhagen who lives and paints in Longford, Tasmania. I was really taken by some of his insights into the creative process: "You'll hear many artists say that every painting is a world unto itself, that it has its own rules, and I think that's kind of a magical, miraculous thing. I find that it's not explainable - and it's part of the reason why painting is still meaningful. It does something that you can't do any other way."
7 DAY CREATIVE CHALLENGE
This week's challenge will simply be to be creative each day and use the studio journal as a structured record of the process. We'll see if that helps get me started with being a little more committed to studio time . . .
MEANWHILE, IN THE GARDEN . . .
I started pruning the roses in the front rose garden over a week ago and need to finish that task this week. We have had lovely rain along with the cold weather. I'm seriously contemplating creating a vegetable garden along the path leading to the back door as it seems to be the only area in the backyard that receives enough sun in both summer and winter. The peas and broad beans are struggling up the back as is the spinach - simply not enough sunlight. I have herbs in pots at the back door which are doing well - parsley, rosemary and thyme, and also a good amount of rocket and mint near the chook pen. I have three Isa Brown chooks and have been collecting three eggs a day since November from Jasmine, Basmati (both named by Erin) and Chook (the boss chook given to me by Andy and Anna). I think I need to add sage and chives to my kitchen herb collection. Hot pink geraniums are also a bright spot at the back door.
Next time . . .
My grandmother, Dot, was a wonderful country-style cook and my grandfather, Charlie, was an incredible gardener who grew many of the vegetables that grandma cooked. I am fortunate to have a lot of grandma's beautiful old china and also many of her favourite recipes. Her "make do and mend" philosophy has been handed down to me as a positive and inspirational attitude to life generally. So next time, I'll be talking a lot about pumpkins because we have heaps of them and have been loving finding different recipes to create different ways of cooking pumpkin. Not your favourite vegetable I hear you say - well, you might change your mind!