feeling fine means....

If life is a series of connected experiences we are perhaps guilty of being arrogantly judgemental of it. I can consider everything that I have experienced this last year. I thus ponder the value judgements I put on those periods of time and how to categorise them.
There is time....a week....a month...a school term a whole year, a decade or a weekend.
'How was your week?' I will ask my offspring electronically. They will reply briefly and almost always that is was fine, enjoyable, busy and perhaps exhausting. But fine. I have been guilty of being unsociable, rude, angry and hard to like around my peers when my recent or daily experiences did not match my expectations of what I am worth. The week then was not fine enough for me.
What experiences make us 'fine' then?
For some it is the delight of feeling useful, valuable and relevent.
For others it is being hugged, touched, smiled at, patted or romanced.
Yet another may only be experiencing their 'fine' when they were aknowledged for their physical beauty often enough over that period of time.
For the grieving it is some relief from the pain and heartache.
For many it is having sufficient food.
For whole communities it is surviving the night uninjured.
For too many human beings it is feeling safe.
But feeling fine wears off.
What makes a child feel fine?
What makes a mother feel fine?
What makes a society feel fine?
What makes an addict feel fine?
What makes you feel fine?
Do other people influence your degree of feeling fine?

Fashion, aging and how to get it right...

Fashion, aging and how to get it right....A lot has been written on style...I love Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel...also Debbie Harry aka Blondie, Innes and many more. I adore the 1930's, hats, scarves and bangles particularly if I have made them myself or 'redesigned' existing ones.
Op shopping is a buzz and out comes the box of stuff to make them my own...not erasing their history, but carrying it into my arena. At the centre of any fashion arena is ....the Body One Has. Back to aging and style ...check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4znrNtLKDE4

 ...it will truly make you smile!

I recently wrote in musing...

'Style has many characteristics. Of course, some are obvious such as an understanding of what is appropriate for occasion, personality and the aesthetics of 'making it all work' visually....colour, texture, proportion, flow etc. But it is the innate relationship we have with our body on any given day that dictates our clothes' message to the onlooker. Age, experience, money, education or beauty won't cut it alone. If you take that body and dress it like a precious and sacred object every day, regardless of how the world has been treating you, your own honest, uncontrived and instinctive style will be enough. Begin lovingly with the personal in all its flesh and form and just drape it until it feels done without trying too hard. Then leave the house with confidence that it is the one thing you absolutely own.'

Pelicans in south west New South Wales Australia..

hello?...were they flying south for the summer?

a lot more rocks....

Love paint...another one on the go...

my half finished painting..

talking to myself

I have not been writing here...stating the obvious, huh? But I have been reading many blogger's postings and finding a common thread amongst we middle-aged women. There is an all pervading search for comfort on a daily basis that is driving us mad! That quest takes us into domains of calming offerings for spiritual affirmations....poems, quotes from the wise, sites to purchase candles, crystals, astrological or tarot readings, self-help books and the love of people we have never met. It also drives us to dwell in fantasy by reading about the lifestyles of others, seeing beautiful objects that transport us to exotic places and trawling on-line fashion shows so we can be in the clothes...in them for a moment. You may notice that I am a little taken with all things French...but I am not French so I can appropriate there. My ideal in food is Mediterranean style and I am lucky to live as an Australian.
Free from much of the world's horror in my own backyard.
So I have been talking to myself a lot about what I'm looking for these days.
It's still the same thing...contentment....je ne sais quoi.....bien dans sa peau....(comfortable in one's skin).
So how do you, after 56 years on earth, continue to chase that pot of gold when it keeps moving?
The Delphic Oracle says 'Know Thyself'....'Connais-toi toi-meme'....
Look at the Blogs I follow and you will find many more answers on the same theme.
It is all about Mental Health, Style, Fashion, Body Image, Relatedness and Nos petits demons....our little demons.
What are yours? And how do you deal with them?

graduates - authentic artworks - happy students

My senior art class are nearing the end of our time together. I have enjoyed teaching them immensely and find that they have all jumped a gap in the past few months. The knowledge that their world is about to be redesigned is both daunting and exciting. I have encouraged them above all, to be authentic beings. To be true to oneself can make us periodically unpopular, difficult to be around and restless until we figure it all out. Of course, it takes decades. All the self-help books, slogans, platitudes and outside advice serves to stir some ancient truth in us, but making art and writing from the heart are two of the valuable practices that will ensure the quest resonates with something close to joy. I do wish them well and am cheerfully grateful for what they each have taught me in return.

Gay Marriage is a right...bullying isn't

How foolish is it that we as a nation are so crippled by the comments against gay marriage by non-gays that are being thrown into the debate? Are we heterosexual people really such an authority on the needs and rights of those who feel differently to us? Do we have a right to continue to make decisions on behalf of a percentage of society who are adults, employees, graduates, tradespeople, teachers, students, professionals or simply people and law-abiding citizens? Is it as if the Gay Community are children - not yet mature enough to own an opinion about their personal welfare? Check out the overall behaviour of the people who are pretending to know who should be allowed to marry? How laughable that many of the individuals who are barking on about how wrong gay marriage is are rather 'badly married'?! Should we look closely at the issue and note that the percentage of men and women who wish to live in partnership with someone of the same gender is irrelevant and they should not be referred to as a 'minority group'? I have naturally curly hair, am left-handed, have obvious OCD traits, am not at all fat and don't like eating lollies. Am I in a minority group? I think so! Everyone needs to stop making discriminatory excuses, scrutinise their own social/relationship/parenting/ecological crimes/addictions and other nationally damaging habits and demand marriage equality. Then the mewing pollies can start to be real Politicians instead of pseudo gate-keepers.
It is really just...Bullying....

changed address

I have changed the address of this blog since its first inception, so comments on older posts will not  appear. However, the idealogies that prompted me to begin writing posts has remained the same. Trawling other blogs about art, psychology, youth issues and education have given me many hours of musing.

gel medium transfers

It was perhaps Robert Rauschenberg to whom we can bow in thanks for this clever little technique. Is the ink significant? Images on canvas are particularly versatile. How do they go on tiles? I have tried several types, the inkjet images included and found little difference. How I love the slightly less-than-perfect results of some. Please post some samples.

today in memory of my mother....

make time, make dinner, make friends, make career choices, make-up, makeout, make good, makeover, make art, make music, be self-made and remember

 

No comments....

Still no comments.....?

where is the creative hunger?

The very important issues of providing a well-rounded education to rural populations is close to my heart. It is inevitable that small communities may never have a chance to recognise or experience some of the ongoing opportunities of their city counterparts, but as technology and communications reach heights unimagined in the past, we can only hope to push the boundaries here in the bush. I believe that developing creativity is a vital ingredient in educating our youth. I have a deep conviction that there is a power in making art, music and literary texts that can turn back the tide of depression and delinquency plaguing our culture. Kids need a rich internal dialogue to keep out the boogeyman.Suicide is an issue in rural Australia. Too much external suctioning of the joy that should be inherent in our young people robs them of their creative life. In my classroom, I observe the amazing healing properties of using colour and form every day. So why is this not a priority in many homes? Do adults think they should stop being driven by the urge to craft stuff? Is filling a supermarket trolley the new flower arranging or embroidery? Is buying more clothes than we need a replacement for the tactile satisfaction gleaned from painting, drawing, sewing, knitting and spinning wool?

Portraits are friends......

Portraiture...always a way for an artist to 'talk' to oneself when the urge for deep conversation occurs.

Portraits are friends who can speak volumes or just be quietly present...

Chewing from the dailyplateofcrazy.com

I have been thoroughly immersed in The Daily Plate of Crazy a few times lately and find it full of wonderful discussion. I reminded myself how technology has changed the way we feed our emotional need to reference ourselves as I was reading posts. The anecdotal, the anonymous and the familiar are absorbed during pensive scrolling. Is it a way of being a loner and a voice central to a conversation?

lindaswinfield.wordpress.com is a fabulous resource for artists too.

The Pandora Group: six women artists: The Pandora Group: a history

The Pandora Group: six women artists: The Pandora Group: a history

Spending my Sunday trawling for inspiration, I came across these women and their work. Inspiration indeed. Well worth an hour of your time if you are searching for some time with really good art...

Farewell

Here's to the Elegant Bohemian,
I salute you for the decision to stop blogging for an indeterminant period of time. I was a member of fb for about three months before deciding that it just wasn't for me. My decision was easy but did however, impact upon those close to me and I have to be content to be 'the last to know' many things. I wish you well and thank you for sharing your love of fashion, creativity and female focused viewpoints as you have.

I take my hat off to....

How beautiful are these guys? I love their energy and how theatrical their taste. In a life peppered with uncertainty and sorrow, they epitomise the true human spirit. Has anyone been to the French-Congo as it was known? I would love to hear from you or have a look at images of Brazzaville.

troublesome 'c - words'....

Contemplating some of my pet hates today......and selecting the ones that are what I call troublesome 'c words'.....................there are some that I chew over at times of repose.........
Conceptual art.....I am not anti conceptual...au contraire...I am an artist but please, please spare the ego-driven, self-promoting Crap of some artists who have no talent and are merely flopping out some unresolved toddler tantrum in ugly forms that waste paint, glass, stone, fabric, digital imagery, food, foam, plastic, paper and our time and energy......as we try to determine their point....etc....etc...
Colonisation....an interesting word for ethnic Cleansing or Corruption....think about how things may have panned out globally had people merely visited and communicated foreign countries without stealing and murdering.....
Commando boots....girls, girls....please.....
Crows feet....earned or not, what a Complete Catastrophy they have invoked around my eyes!
Cruelty.....I have had enough of the human condition here.....
Controversial media coverage......just give us the damn facts, you guys and leave the debates to the well-prepared debaters...
Can't....sorry, I forgot....no such word....
Cleaning.....it's Saturday....sigh....off to rid my floors of the fluff, dust, grit, grime and dirt....
So....
Which ones now, of these seemingly innocuous words beginning with the sunny letter 'c' are the Critical issues??

Joie de vivre...creativity is a love of life....you ARE your art and style

It is a beautiful morning here in the country region where I live in Australia. It occurred to me as I read a post on That's Not My Age this morning that it may seem odd for my 'creative pursuits' blog to feature so many fashion or beauty connections. Check out the Blogs I follow and you will see a theme...French anything, (soignee!) Classicism, Bohemian, Personal Style and Art/Craft connections. I believe that what we wear or style is indicative of our creative personality. For some it is still evolving, or still someone else's idea of how it should look. It may be ecclectic or even ragingly rebellious. Like our artworks, poetry, stories and photographs, we will only be happy with their reflection of us when it is truly initiated by us. How do we know when we are authentically us? I would love to hear you voice your ideas ...it will make you feel good...bien dans sa peau....ca va?


 stage style

holiday style

Crafty arts

Get Crafty these last sun-kissed days of autumn and herald the cold. I am inspired by the slanting light of the early morning...for me that's 8am....sorry early risers...I'm not emerging before the sun is shouting loudly. Woolly, knotted and gorgeously textured stuff is what makes us feel like making our winter nest, so get collecting bits of wool, towelling, felt, feathers, spongy knit scraps and make a beanie, a bag, decorate an object or a create a wristlet.

 

                                                        

How is your brain behaving itself today? We know it is the source of our relating style and the 'animal' that shows our love/relating face to the world. How does this work? It is rather complicated but simplistically....this is what psychologists have told us...

The amydala is a transmitter of signals in our brain. It alerts us to danger in terms of how it was wired in our early years. Any situation that echoes an early threat experienced by us, will trigger our defences. Thus we attack, duck for cover, avoid, shut down or throw accusations at our perceived opponent.The flight response sends us looking for a cave....a place to hide....bottle of alcohol, drug addled view, new love, new house/shoes/jewellery/magazine or food. Our fight response swears, hits out, punches, smashes, abuses and destroys whatever is the closest thing or person at the time.

Often the original threat is now redundant, but our responses remain poised to act.
Apparently we can rewire this pathway and stop over-reacting if we aspire to work hard and be unrelenting in our disciplining of the delinquent fuse.
 We must penetrate to the cellular level and restructure the threadwork in there!!
How?? There are people who know.....it is not for the meek....has anyone had any success with this?
I would love to hear from you.....check out the work of +Marilyn Gordon.www.marilyngordon.com/.../train-your-brain-to-let-go-of-habits

But...we can prepare our brains for change by regularly accessing our creativity....

softly, softly ...a gentle but insistent boom, boom, boom...time for a different drum...

Hey, let's change the world today! Let's creep around and move the furniture, straighten the pictures.
It's time we got serious about what is going on with the next generation of Australian teenagers. The current batch are about to discover that the Baby Boomers are reworking the middle-age exit plan and being as reluctant as they always have been to follow their predecessors. There is no way they will sit and be old when it is their turn. The horror of aging is not about plumping up the flesh for today's 50-60 year olds, but about not being heard. Our teenagers are very noisy themselves, but they don't know what to make a noise about. There is not much left to begin. They are left simply to reinvent, to recycle or in many cases to destroy.
ADHD,ODD,ADD......deficiencies, destruction, devaluing, defacing, desperate and downward....
How to get them to be creative?
How to give them hope that deconstruction is not their only lot?
Is there any merit it telling them to go back to 'truth to materials'?
I think it must all begin with going back to respect for the 'temple'...the physical body.
Friends and I were looking at photographs of ourselves in our 20's. someone commented on how 'wholesome' we all looked. (That's the attraction of Mad Men, isn't it?)
Yet we know that we were subject to eating disorders, depression, cancer, anxiety and mood swings BUT not at the age of ten, eleven or twelve. And it didn't define us.
Our youth are no healthier, smarter or psychologically fitter than many children of the Third World.
And they have a far less savoury regard for education, family values or their elders.
So let's start to fix it. How? Start the dialogue people. Begin to push back. Warmly, gently, quietly.
Grandparents.... redirect the values of the young...maybe, just maybe if we stop fussing about clothes, wrinkles, bunions and grey hair, bake something wholesome (get rid of those damn trans fats!!!)and turn off the news for a while, we can get them to stop comparing themselves in a frenzy of Australian Idols and just be kids.

Loving London & all things Borough

I can't believe this was 2 years ago this week...

she'll be apples if I just keep painting...

a draft in acrylic wash

then work areas with the heavier acrylic with some flow medium

start to establish the relationships between the parts

alter egos are a great way to create pseudo realities...

 

Rachel returned to the arbor in the garden with a strong desire to assert her influence. She was frustrated by her sense of inertness. The stumbling block to her moving forward as always was taking a long time to shape itself in her mind. She sat concentrating hard on the feeling that weighed her down. It was like a concrete block in her upper abdomen, a rock pressing against her ribs and dragging her consciousness toward her very core.

“Oh what?!” she demanded of herself sharply. “Just finish pruning the poor bloody roses and get on with the day.”

Addressing herself was a common habit of Rachel’s. Since her peculiar detour from the sane, self-contained woman she had been in her thirties, to the anxiety-driven and panic-attacked train wreck of her mid-forties, she had allowed such indulgence.

She knew that she had to get moving or the tightness that swelled within her intestines would give way to cramps and gripping pain.

 

Sometimes making art makes art all by itself...or maybe making art makes one crazier all by itself. It was raining... the old bit of white sheeting on the floor of the car was slightly damp and held a pattern from where I had cleaned the roller after a lino print.I liked it as much as the print itself...perhaps even more....