found = tote

i love a tote
i'm drawn to witty or interesting statements
i'm getting an idea for one i want to complete
in the mean time, these few on etsy caught my eye

 

my weekend - sunrise on afton down

there's nothing better than a sunrise

there's nothing better than a sunrise when you're not a slave to the clock and having to trudge off to work
since i started to work part time i have felt a wonderful change in myself
it's almost an illicit feeling at the moment it's so new
it's not romantic at all
it's a slower feeling
too hard to describe
i can say though, that i am seriously wetting myself with joy now that i sacrificed my wallet to make myself happier

i can see what i want in life more clearly

make choices with more consideration

breath easier

sleep more soundly

laugh more readily

i can appreciate the beauty that surrounds me with greater wonder

this definitely sounds twee and kind of hippy-earnest
but i don't really mind; it's the truth

found = the simple things

there's a new magazine out
and, quite frankly, it's right up my alley


i am currently loving the miscellaneous section
but this magazine, like a fine wine, gets better the longer you let it sit
i savour each page
especially the article on cheese...i mean CHEESE...yes!
now that's MY kind of double page spread

i am not joking when i say i shall jump up and down with uncontained impatience waiting until next month's issue
no,seriously, i'm NOT joking
....
i got to the raspberry chocolate brownie recipe and had to bake
let me tell you, it did not disappoint
blow portion control
look at its oozing unctuousness and the moist jewel-like raspberries waiting to burst in your mouth
droooool

 

now what inspiration can i take from it next?
ooooh, the possibilities

made = birthday bag

my mother loves the place were we live
she loves most things about it but she loves swimming in the Bay the best
so brain + fabric pens + tote = original gift
i did an illustration of Freshwater Bay in a sort of panorama style (very simplified)
i sketched a very light basic outline first in pencil directly onto the tote
then went over this and added detail with the fabric pens themselves (Fabrico)

the ones i bought had a different style nib at both ends and, actually, it came in really handy as they it gave different intensity of colour and I had a limited palette (5 colours)
i wanted the focus to be on the water and sky


i didn't want to waste the space on the reverse so i thought up some words
i tried to describe the Bay in all its seasonal moods

 

i hope i caught the wild essence of the sea

my mum loved it and i don't think it was ONLY because she's biased
by the way, that is AFTER ironing (i just ain't that good)

appreciate = katharina trudzinski

this sculpture is strange yet endearing
is it a person?
it is a bird?
is it an angel?
is it/are they empty inside?
to be honest, i know nothing about this artist and her page is in a language I'm not familiar with
that doesn't matter
this piece of art makes me wonder
and that's what matters

paper + card - ahoy!

with this card you get two for one
by carefully cutting out the letters with a sharp carft knife
and keeping the small insides of the letters a and o
you get a positive and negative image from the same base
i reckon the photo guide is fool-proof:

this card is bitter sweet
i made it to cheer up a friend, lifeboat mentor and teacher, called Bob who was suffering with cancer
his illness was short but painful and unbeknowst to me he had taken a sudden turn for the worse
i delivered the card on a saturday morning and, later that day, heard that he had died that morning
i doubt he even saw the card but i have no regrets about the sentiments i expressed inside
Bob was a great bear of a man and yet the gentlest and kindest person i think i have ever met
he had a laugh that was always bubbling and ready to burst out
if you heard it you couldn't help laughing too, even if you didn't know what you were laughing for
he was the living embodyment of father christmas
everyone who knew him will miss him
as i do

found = carved wooden birds

there's something about wood that is so simple and tactile
like wind and water is a primative thing for me
i feel calmer around wood
when that most natural of materials is linked with another love, birds, for me, that's the perfect combination
 

appreciate = sea and sky studies

living on an island i suppose i am naturally draw to the sea
browsing my posts it's a recurring theme or image
i feel very draw to these two images
mostly because these famous artists both capture the beautiful wilderness that is the sea
i had no idea turner painted images of the island but tate britain proves otherwise 
turner: 'study of sea and sky, isle of wight'

 this one is constable. It broods so magnificently, 'the sea near brighton':

paper+card - first paper cutting attempt

there's no method to my madness, alas
just some paper
a rather blunt craft knife (note to self: don't use a blunt craft knife)
a cutting mat
a pencil
and my brain
that isn't meant to be arrogant but i like coming up with words that are mine
i enjoy quoting as much as the next person but i feel less lazy if it's come completely from my own cerebral mound (mound isn't a pleasant word is it)  
i didn't use a tutorial or anything
i just sketched a design on the paper (just some writing paper from Paperchase) and cut
what was tricky, you ask?
well, not having a blunt blade... hmmm... would have been better
practice needs to be done to improve on some of the jagged edges or over cutting on corners etc
the placing of letters could have been better planned, too
above all though I think it looks pretty good for a first go

the words are about someone who is special to me and reflects our shared love of our beautiful surroundings

i'm liking this craft at the moment and have already started on my second piece

appreciate = lia melia

songs of melusina 4
saatchi online

i want to mark this day

i had a mini revelation today
i just felt it was the first real day of the rest of my life
this is the first day where i have not been paid to work
the change i elected to make has happened
i just enjoyed making something beautiful and unique
this special feeling will fade and i will forget that moment of epiphany
a sense of freedom
but i couldn't let this day pass with puttung a mark down somewhere

my weekend = fire

my weekend was gorgeous, actually

i rowed my little boat in glass-like water and had a garden fire in the evening

there's nothing better than fire

it makes me think of all the people who've sat around fire for millenia 

were they all as mesmerised by it

as i am?  

 what's your vital force?