open

this is my gentle aim for this little break i am taking... 

quote from here 

perhaps i'll have fairy dust between my toes when i get back ;) 

around here

 one tiny long stitch journal done. 

and 

extreme measure for intense heat by Pax ;) 

making

i love making journals.

at the end of this week i'm going on a retreat i know very little about, 

except that it is with amazing people,

it's called "Away with the Fairies", 

it's in a magical corner of South Africa 

and 

we are going to work with horses.

(and my whole being was telling me to go) 

oh and we have to bring a little gift. 

and this is how all this fits together:  

in one creative outburst i am:

- making something i love

- doing one of the Make/Do art workshop assignment

and 

- making a pretty handmade gift 

(i love giving something i've made)

vision

i didn't get to art as much as i wanted this week. 

i got sick last monday,  a nasty bronchitis that i just couldn't shake it off.

but i did manage to work on my vision board 

as part of Make/Do art workshop

and i loved it. 

the word

so this is my word for 2016: OPEN. 

at first i had the word "explore" 

and then just like that OPEN made it's way into my psyche and wouldn't leave. 

to be honest, right now, i wish i had kept "explore". 

i'm having a hard time getting acquainted with OPEN.

here i am trying to figure out why: 

- firstly because it feels like a passive word, 

not doing,  just being open, 

and i realise how much i value doing. 

it's a big part of my persona, my worthiness, the way i show up 

in the world. 

- secondly being OPEN is not really my natural state. 

you probably wouldn't think so if you met me, i can be pretty 

outgoing and engaging but it takes me a long time to really trust 

and open my shell up to someone. 

also i am a loner and an introvert so my private and alone time

is sacred to me, that is how i recharge. 

- thirdly OPEN feels very vulnerable... like there is nowhere to hide, 

no escape plan.

of course "explore" could have been more fun.

but i can feel how OPEN is challenging me already, 

pushing my boundaries, 

making me expand. 

and ultimately this is what i want, to be OPEN to new possibilities, 

to possibilities i haven't even imagined yet... 

to grow, to explore, to learn. 

so i will stay with it and be all i can to honour this word this year. 

OPEN, onward.

playing...

yesterday Misty Mawn's online class 

MAKE/DO art started 

and her introduction videos were so full of

fun and playfulness, 

they just put a pep in my step...

i had to play as well, 

with selfies, stripes, some apps and introducing myself...

handmade "spectacles",

apps used: 

pictapgo, (and old time favourite)

over, (to add text) 

superimpose, (to layer - not really user friendly in my opinion) 

of course i couldn't resist some quirkiness. 

i was inspired by Saul Steinberg's mask

photograph by Inge Morath

i'm in...

i think that i have been very good 

(even if i say so myself) 

with not taking online art classes for a while... 

so when two of my favourite artists,

 Misty Mawn  and Lynn Whipple 

announced their latest classes i had to jump right in! 

Misty's class: 

Lynn's class: 

                         

they're both starting soon, 

i'll be taking my time going through them, 

can't wait! 

on my easel

 hooray, i am getting my creative mojo back! 

these little guys are coming along nicely

and they are making me cross-eyed. 

my intention with them is to keep pushing further than 

i normally do in an oil painting.

to keep adding layers and layers

that will hopefully add some richness to my work. 

let's see... open! 

do i still know how?

i haven't been particularly creative lately... 

i realised i need a break after last year's projects.

i needed to catch my breath and to tend to a lot of things 

that had been neglected for a while, admin, garden, pots, 

my home in general... and it feels good. 

i feel like i am regrouping, 

letting the dust settle and getting ready for the next step. 

study of a mountain goat

to make sure still know how to paint, draw and be creative.

it's strange, this fear of forgetting...

updated!

et voila! 

i'm back! 

so my computer is ageing a little and it started clashing with 

all the internet "platforms"... it needed a serious update! 

thanks to my mister (so grateful he can help me with all my technological issues)  it is all done now 

and i can start blogging, exploring and researching again! 

welcome back, i'm glad you are still popping by ;) 

some of my paintings are also being updated, 

time for change, for being brave and for new beginnings...