art, spirit, textiles, fibre, dreams, nature, love, life...

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Angel Healing



A breath takingly beautiful experience recently happened...
I had an angel healing, thru meditation, and a marvellous healer.
Feelings of elation, wonderment and beauty and pure love....
wrapping warmly around me, safe, loved, cherished...
Thankyou Ellie Blessed Be.

Naturally spirals


I love watching the water, the waves calm me....
wandering, investigating, collecting, poking....
naked toes dipped into arctic water....
in winter...
theres not another soul around...
i can breathe....

Public Art and Fairy Penguins



Been working on a public art project with the divine Victoria Nelson, my art teacher, and a very special friend....


the sculpture will consist of 3 large bronze panels, on a peice of granite, to be placed just outside Grantville, Victoria Australia.
I felt proud to be part of this process, ...


(my job was to smooth the lumps out!)



Miss Vic has been a dedicated islander on Phillip Island for over 30 years, not only in the Arts and teaching, but everywhere... from shearing sheep, and working at the tip to nurturing wildlife, and saving shearwater birds, to protecting our most precious treasure here on the island... the fairy penguins. ....


Vic has now relocated to another coastal town, and i will miss her dearly.


Bye Vic, thankyou for EVERYTHING you taught me.




Thursday, August 6, 2009

Rebel Rebel


Rebel Rebel 1mx 1.5m canvas in oils
unfinshed in pics...waiting for some good light...will post asap...
A painting would usually take me a few weeks to a few months,
this one took a day.
i needed to get all these emotions out of me, so i threw them on a canvas, melted into it, getting totally lost in my painting...
its raw, and its probably my best work yet.
now i understand, that it doesnt have to be about painting a symbol, or a flower, or a nude....
its about how the painting feels, how it vibrates out to the veiwer, the energy that enimates. i knew this... now i TOTALLY GET IT!
This is my experience, its my emotions smeared around in colour, its
my hurt, my pain, my release, my love.
it was never meant to be about him ... yet its all about him



Adventure bound



My biggest boy left home this weekend, city bound for more adventure than what a little coastal island can offer.


Always been adventurous this one, fearless, brave, mischievous, gentle.


We grew up together, i had Jamie at 18, hes now 19 and almost a man... hate to sound all cliche... but where does it go, all that time,
it flashes in a blink of an eye, a life time in a nano second.
he has taught me so much more about life, than i have taught him....

I don't feel as if i have lost a son (as my mother put it).
No longer do i have to pick up his soggy towels, or wash his clothes, wake him up after lunchtime, or piss and moan at him to put the rubbish out or do the dishes.... AND i don't have to keep feeding him, (bottomless pit this one!) no more stupid arguments and grumpiness and bickering...yeahy!

I will miss his Jamieness, his smiles, and his infectious laughter, the smart arsed comments that make me giggle, his naughtiness, the sound of his voice and his presents in house and of course....his big warm cuddles, he calls me mumma bear, and i like that.

Actually I am really excited about the next phase of our life journey together...

I let him go with love, knowing i have been the best possible mum i could be, and have instilled as much goodness, morals and love as i could cram in there... I'm excited to see what unfolds in life for him, I'm excited to see how he matures and grows in the future, and what adventures he gets up too...


New beginnings
Always my baby
Love you Jamie


it was coming....






There was an odd day a few weeks back, a strangly warm sunny afternoon for winter, i remember getting out of the car, walking to the front door, enjoying the sunshine,

and then i felt it...
the wind, gentle yet strong...
and i heard that voice in my head...
the winds of change are coming...
i know this wind, i have felt it before,
i asked for the changes coming to be painless and positive ones.....
Then i quickly dismissed it, and told myself i was just being silly, and giggled out aloud.....
but deep down .... i knew it was coming.

Does anyone else have these experiences or am i the only "kook"?



i got lost

I got lost, really really lost after the last solstice, i have never suffered from depression before, it just kind of crept up on me ... got me from behind when i wasn't looking.
Came over like a big dark cloud, and stayed for a while.


As the solar eclipse passed, i hung on to what was precious in my life, my boys, my partner, my art, my health, my sanity... then they started to slip away...

Painting.... my passion became a struggle.
Pap test reveals pre cancerous cells,
Fibroids have invaded my womb,
Doctor tells me i have depression, anxiety, and complete exhaustion, prescibes anti depressants...
Have to have time off work to get fixed...no work = no money
My big boy leaves home.... the same weekend i found out my partner has been with another woman.
Sanity slips away
OK universe...how much do want to squeeze into 10 days! ok, maybe it was over a month, but felt like a really short amount of time.

ENOUGH!

Crap!... just re-read my last 2 posts.... didn't see that coming!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

wow...What an intense few weeks leading up to winter solstice.


BIG changes for me.


Making those giant leaps into the unknown are terrifying but at the same time exhilarating!


Looks like the universe has some plans.


Monday, June 22, 2009

Winter Solstice


The darkest day, the longest night, a completion of the cycle of seasons, birth, death, rebirth...

At 3.46pm 21st June 2009 the sun was at its most northerly point for the year... from this moment onward the shadows retreat into the underworld and slowly the sun awakens and day by day grows stronger...
My journey turns inward searching for my own inner light, as my cycle comes to an ending, i shed some tears, and let go of old worn and tired out personal clutter... so that my cycle may start afresh, my spirit shine and grow stronger with the light.

What do you dare to dream?
What do you dare to create?
How bright do you dare shine?


Tingly with anticipation of new possibilities, excited and welcoming of new adventures yet to be had, creations yet to be sewn, plant bits yet to be boiled.... i honour the darkness, for with it, it brings the light.


Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Looking up


outside layers peel... old leaves fall... dead wood drops....
blossoms burst out, new shoots form, growth begins,
it all happened when i wasn't looking...

Saturday, June 13, 2009

on my easel...


with an exhibition in september, id better get on with it....


Been painting spirals all year, dont know why...
must look into that a bit more...
going with the flo...
just a little secret between you and me...
i paint with my fingers, dont like using a brush, love getting mukky, love feeling the paint blend and move under my fingers...
the sensation takes me away into that special place, where my spirit likes to journey, where its all quiet and still, i can hear my heart beat...

Friday, June 12, 2009

hidden projects...


My hands are continuously busy, constantly in motion, forever moving ... down beside the lounge is a secret wool stash, when watching a movie i untangle my needles and have a knit...

What did make it into the dye pot...


...got a lovely rusty orange colour brewing up weeping cherry leaves ...
fabric left in overnight on top the fire place, keeping the just below simmering.
India's words tattooed in my brain "Time is your friend".




and a deep purply charcoal from the bark in a cast iron pot... dyed over night.
This became a really thick rich dye, i keep replentishing it and re-using it

What didnt go in the dye pot...







...this moss has been growing on the roof of dads shed for years, it looks like tiny mountains...

very tempted to boil it up and see what colour it gives... but resisted... had to touch and explore ..... so velvety and soft.


A cluster of mini mushies...




fly agaric - Amanita muscaria

The mad monk tells me he boils them and eats them, the 'Fly' in fly agaric comes from the sensation of flying or delirium when ingested... Celtic druids, Indians, cultures from all over the planet have used them in some form in spiritual ceremonies.... witches and warlocks brewed them up to make a flying potion....

they do evoke a sense fairy like wonderment...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Just because its pretty....


...the colours in the sari wool are so delectable...
outside is cold overcast and rainy, reflecting a really lovely natural wintery light.

stitches...


...hand stitching with crochet cotton, on a landskin, playing with the stitches... coloured by nature.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Tanjil Bren tales



The journey up to Tanjil Bren is one i have been doing for many years....

... loving every emerald green, fern encrusted bend and curve on that road.

and gems the forest has hidden away ... if you know where to look...


old loggers bridges... you can peep thru, and watch the waters beneath swirl and flow....

Friday, June 5, 2009

The Living Canvas

On a trip up to Tanjil Bren near Mt BawBaw, i was given a copy of "The Living Canvas" by John Yule, by a 'crazy monk artist'...

...i was fascinated by the stories he shared, by the fire, over a cup of sweet tea with manuka honey... about life, and living in The Czech Republic during the Russian occupation, his accent easily transported me into his tales.... we are truly blessed to live in a land where art, literature, music and thought can be enjoyed so freely.

Reading the book, i found this.... and felt it should be shared....



Art is essentially something which happens to the artist,

not something the artist makes happen.

to quote Jung again:

The creative urge lives and grows in him

like a tree in the earth from which it draws its nourishment.

We would do well therefore,

to think of the creative process as a living thing

implanted in the human psyche.


Monday, May 25, 2009

For Pam... Landskins


...some of the 'Landskins' being created...









....beautiful silks, wool, and cottons, have been bubbled up in a pot with eucalyptus leaves, onion skins, iron, to give the most luscious natural colourings




India Flint workshop

A little bit of this, and a pinch of that...

sprinkled lovingly on a merino felt ...
incantations whispered over a bubbling pot...

a wriggle and flick of the willow stick .... Majic!


While i was off on my adventure at India's workshop, i stayed with two lovely ladies, also students, at the backpackers in Warrnambool... and at night i would dream of pots bubbling away, full and overflowing with flowers and petals and leaves, and the incredible array of colours... i couldnt wait to get into class the following day and play .... weeks later... and im still having the dreams, i wake up smiling.... with that same anticipation, and need to go and play and explore some more... Thankyou India

Workshop with India Flint

......recently i was lucky enough to spend a whole blissful week at a workshop in Warrnambool, with the lovely India Flint.....
.....learning the ancient art of felting, dying with eucalypts, and stitching, we made "landskins" and 'eco prints' ....
India is softly spoken, has a presence of pure serenity and grace... and is a brilliant teacher...
i was intrigued, and enchanted by the knowledge she shared with us, about wool and how it reacts, about dying explorations with different leaves, about her love of nature, and her travels...
i was totally enraptured by this amazing woman... and how she weaved, felted, boiled and stitched her magic...





There is something incredibly magical about a bubbling pot, full of colour....
it gives me tingles....

Chai Tea Cake


made this yesterday...

ohhhh it makes the whole house smell devine, i love the scent of Chai tea, its devine...

found this recipe at www.fatfreevegan.com and used Byron Chai www.byronchai.com.au