Carving stamps on Sunday

One of the things I bought at yesterday's pop up store, was this deer head. I mean to use it to give the house a Christmas feel...even though I'll be in England. And this morning, that beautiful deer head put me in mind to do something animaly and Christmasy.I decided that carving stamps to use on Christmas cards or wrapping paper might be fun.Chloe was busy working, ( she had some extra weekend work because her boss had to go out of town), but then she finished her work just as I said, "OK, let's see what I got!"One fox and one sitka spruce. I love the way these two turned out. C loved the way they turned out. We decided to carve some more. (note to self: never use scratched stamp rubber)Clover grabbed a piece and designed some lovely trees.I love C's graphic style. This will look lovely on anything she stamps with it.Pretty soon the fox and spruce were joined by an owl, and then a badger.OK, time to stop and make Sunday supper. But that was so much fun today. I think I'll carve some more tomorrow. :D

Banana bread on a manky day

Today was one of those days where I kept thinking it was much later than it was. It's been one of those 100% rain days. The daylight...if you can call it that...felt like around 5pm all day. Waterfalls were overflowing gutters, rivers were running down the streets, lakes were pooled at every intersection. Manky to the max!That's the perfect day to do some baking.It's so lovely, that fresh, sweet smell in the kitchen while the rain drowns everything out. One of my most favourite times.We still had to get out in the rain. We had a full morning of plans, including a flea market that was so crowded and squishy, it really took some stamina to stay there and look around. We stopped by a special pop up boutique and found some beautiful things I want to use to decorate with at Christmas, and did some much needed grocery shopping.Chloe finished framing her student's brilliant linocuts, which she will hand back on their last class of her art series. I stayed to watch her and was amazed at the skill and imagination her 5 - 10 year old students managed. Some of the prints were so beautiful. They get these framed prints, plus they get their block to take home, plus they've printed their design on some fabric which is being sewn into a carry bag for their school work.Home now with some beautiful books and other treasures from our morning. It may only be 2pm, but it may as well be evening because the light quality is so poor.Oh well, time to turn up the heat, make a hot cup of tea and have another slice of banana bread.I'm afraid I can't tell you the recipe, mainly because I very rarely use them, but if you like, my friend Claire has one of the best recipes out there and you can find her blog here: Livia Sweets.

Drawing Challenge: Liminal

When I was a child living in Prague, my aunt Vera, (the artist), used to tell me a lot things people might consider nonsense. But it was the most beautiful, romantic magic to me, and now that I'm, you know, like an adult and hold two degrees, it's still wonderful stuff that I hang on to even if I should know better. For example, I remember walking hand in hand with my aunt in a park in Vienna and watching a crow ripping up a paper bag. "Why is that crow ripping up the paper bag?" I asked my aunt. "He's angry." she said. "Why is he angry?" "Because it's so cold." said my aunt.And I'll tell you what, a little, tiny part of me still believes that crows get angry when the weather gets cold. Like her, I like to wash my face in the early morning dew. Apparently it keeps the wrinkles away, and I still say, "good morning Mr Magpie" to the first magpie of the day that I see. Actually, then I tend to look for the second one just to be on the safe side...you know, one for sorrow, two for joy... anyway, thanks to my aunt, who the whole family, (scientists, doctors), described as having no common sense while I thought she was the most brilliant one of us all... I like to think that starlings who sit on lines and flock together in murmurations are in training for a long flight to southern climates. Artist...eh?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmYOf course, I'm all grown up like an adult now, and know that starlings fly in murmurations has much more to do with a primeval response for shared vigilance, and especially in late autumn when breeding is over, and maybe once breeding is over they have nothing better to do, but part of me wants to see it as a great Olympic style training for the long and arduous flight south. They need to escape the snow, and in that way, they are my choice for this liminal space. To me, they best represent the threshold into winter.I like magic so much more than common sense.Art: Starling painted on a Chopin piece with the word "sostenuo" sustained, and sotto voce, so as not to be overheard. That's magic for you, always there, silent. Painted with black ink, white ink, and watercolours.Come visit and step thru the liminality of these fine drawing challenge friends: Ariane, Melodye, Nadine, Tammie, Lucia, Sharmon, Sabine, and EricThe world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for us to believe in them. :D

Etc...

A wind blew thru here at some point last night.I was hoping that maybe a wild wind might whip up and spin all the leaves into a nice pile. Last night’s wind was the kind that just had enough strength to scatter all the leaves in every possible direction...and the aftermath looked like a lawn sized Jackson Pollock painting.I could have stayed in my studio all day, but the sun came out and there was that Pollock outside which my neighbours, those who don’t have any artistic sensibility, tend to see as a blemish in this ridiculously Truman show neighbourhood.Being slightly resistant to Truman, I threw on my million year old Uggs, grabbed the lawn rake and started to methodically rake up the leaves. I was thinking about the time I discovered that I didn’t have to drink cow’s milk in order to have strong bones. About the three dead bananas in the kitchen and weather I wanted walnuts or chocolate chips in the banana bread. That there must be something wrong with me because I can't stand that Downton Abbey thing while everyone else is watching it. That I really shouldn’t let three weeks elapse between visits to the yoga studio and when the teacher asks “Do you have a regular practice?” I hesitate and then spend the class trying to lift my leg above my head. This, my friends, comes with inevitable consequences...like the inability to turn one’s head to the left.Then I pile the leaves in a bare patch of ground behind the giant cherry tree and realise that raking leaves is much cheaper than therapy.And now I’m in the studio finishing these two song sparrows and wondering if I should make burritos for supper. The clouds are rolling in over the harbour. Big, dark clouds that I hope will bring rain in buckets and knock the rest of the leaves down.Computer’s about to die...must hit publish...where the hell’s the charger lead?

Reflections

I brought down the Christmas map to hang above the fireplace, but it didn't feel right just now. What did feel right is the vintage mirror, so I hauled it in from its garage storage and bribed C into helping me heft that solid wood and glass weight into place and lit some candles and admired the reflections.Then I did something silly. I said to myself, "hmm, wonder how that mirror changes the feng shui of the room?"Now I'm no expert, and, for a while, I had a feng shui master who bothered with those things for me, but she's since moved a little too far away to come do readings. So I took a few minutes and did a quick Google search and learned that a mirror is actually ideal in the living room reflecting the beautiful room. Hmm, mine is propped against the wall so actually reflecting the beautiful high ceiling. But, hey, as far as ceilings go, it's a good one!Then I thought, "what about the one in the dinning room?" Again I struck gold! Great place for the mirror, but I should apparently probably rethink the light in front of it. Might be reflecting too much fire in that room. Ok, not ideal, but as far as lamps go...come on...that mirror's reflecting pure beauty!I had a little walk around my house and realised that actually there are tons and tons of mirrored and other reflective surfaces everywhere. Yikes!And then, my early 1900 Craftsman has huge windows which turn every room into a mirrored reflection of itself by 6pm these days. Feng shui that baby!And then, disaster struck! I have a mirror reflecting the front door!!!Apparently it doesn't matter if anything beautiful is anywhere in the house, because no good chi will ever get past that entry hall mirror and its own reflection. Apparently beautiful, good chi is not that great to look at.Of course there are fixes. I can stick a beautiful healthy plant against that mirror and never open the door of the closet. I could stick stickers on the mirror and block out the reflective surface and make this beautiful space look tacky and cheap. I could keep the door wide open and then the mirror wouldn't face the front door, or I could replace the 1900 door with another door and compromise the integrity of my Craftsman.Not one fix I like among the lot.So I had another think. There's my father's guardian chair (an ancient black wood carved chair) guarding the front door (Feng Shui master told me that's where the guardian chair belongs.) So there's that. There's also my painting of sunflowers. Big, bright, golden beauties shining in that little room on those lacquered red walls which I custom blended to be a true lacquer red. Red = good feng shui, right? And then I thought of all those people all over the world who've never heard of feng shui and go on in their ignorant bliss and happy lives installing mirrors reflecting front doors and I decided that I might do a little Feng V instead and declare this home a happy, lucky and healthy one full of good chi, which enters thru the front door, bounces off the guardian chair, pings off the beautiful sunflower painting and flies straight into the living room. So there. Feng V logic.Coincidentally, I had my lovely friend Rosemarie for afternoon tea today and we caught up and chatted for two hours and I think there was so much happy energy going on that any self respecting chi would just die to get in on it. :DMirror or no mirror.What do you think?Sharing with the Wordpress photo challenge: Ornate 

Trouble in paradise

The hardest lesson for me is accepting that sometimes there are things beyond my control. Sometimes there is no fix and nothing to do but wait it out. Allowing feelings to bury me deep underground for a couple of days without fighting them...letting things just happen, that’s one of the hardest things to do.One of my friends is very spiritual. She seems very grounded, enlightened, connected to nature. She told me that my authentic self is repressed, that I should be more playful. Yeah, probably. It’s been commented on more than once. I figure my authentic self would just like to be left alone. I’m too busy fixing things or organising the hell out of everything, or, you know, preparing for the apocalypse.Anyway, it’s a weird time. A sort of in-between time that feels like a such a race, doesn’t it? The scurrying around, the decorating, the preparations, it’s all a bit timeless and placeless, yet everyone’s running around like time’s running out. And I'm sitting here staring out the window thinking there aren’t enough sunny autumnal days left, (there never are).I revel in the melancholy of it all. The ending of autumn is always better than the beginning. Autumn sort of slides in without anyone really noticing, but the ending! Oh the ending is so dramatic – like when being broken hearted feels good because you’re feeling something so much and it’s so much better than the alternative of not feeling anything at all.I’m rambling, but it helps me to write my feeling and thoughts, and it helps me to share them with you.I should be painting something. I should be seriously busy and focused on my career. But I’m looking out the window again. The leaves are just so beautiful. This is November’s favourite party trick. I’m torn between staring out the window and picking up my pencil. But whatever I draw won’t be enough. That’s the heartbreak of autumn.Morgan is perfectly happy doing a whole lot of nothing. And I may be starting to resent her for that.I feel like I need a good hair cut.Am I being dramatic?

Announcing a new Drawing Challenge : Liminal, plus a little brain food

Yesterday I felt the liminality of the day. The air was thick with transition. It felt like I was standing on the threshold of seasonal change.I thought about the liminality of every day and when that happens for me. The above image is one of about 60 but one which got into a project I did a few years ago, to construct and develop and publish a 24 hour 24 page zine. I'm imensly proud of that body of work , but I remember feeling the liminality contemplating the project. I suppose that's where the breakthroughs come from, from that feeling of being on the edge, on the threshold of figuring things out.I popped over to our Rose and decided to call a new drawing challenge: liminal. Won't you join us in stepping over the threshold?As usual, just leave me a comment with your blog address and I will link to everybody Friday Nov 6th, and we'll all have a visit over the weekend.In already are: Ariane, Melodye and Nadine.And, in case you need some super extra brain power, here's a quick and easy recipe for kale chips:Go get some kale! Mine is from my garden. Easy as pie and cheep and chips to grow, but oh, so much better for you.Kale contains powerful phytochemicals and antioxidants, and high amounts of vitamin C. Ounce for ounce, it contains more calcium than milk, and is more easily absorbed and more bioavailable.Pick a few leaves, wash them, shake them around in a towel, or that salad spinner thing, to dry.Tear the leafy bits off the hard stems, get a scant teaspoon of good olive oil and a bit of sea salt to your taste.And spread the olive oil all over the leafy bits. Actually, the best way to do this is to pour the oil on your clean hands and toss the leaves with your oily hands. Then spread them on a baking tray (try not to crowd them), sprinkle a little salt over, and bake at 300F/150C/gas mark 2 for about 8 minutes.Try one to make sure they're delicious, put the rest into a bowl and immediately lose the chips to any hungry children that happen to be around. Oh well, repeat! :D

The king sparrow

Today seems like such a liminal day. Halloween is over and suddenly the red cups have arrived at Sbux...you know what I mean? Nov 1st seems to the the start of the Christmas season, but to me it feels like it's being pushed ahead of its time. But we are standing on the threshold, aren't we?Does anybody feel like that?Boy it's dark outside! The time's changed and suddenly there's no daylight. But happily, Robert and I no longer have to try to adjust our schedules (daylight savings ended a week ago in England and it always throws our day off.)I took this photo in the middle of the afternoon.It stopped tipping it down for about 15 minutes just after lunch and so I took a walk to the international magazine and newspaper store about a mile away. I stayed looking at some wonderful French house porn and British garden porn magazines, and by the time I walked out of the store, it was tipping it down again.But you know what's so fantastic about the rain? The tannins in the fallen leaves leave beautiful natural eco prints of leaf shadows all along my walk.Back home there is no way to coax Morgan out on a day like today. She's such a girly cat and even hates a dew, let alone a November monsoon, but the nice thing is that she loves to cuddle.And I've done something...which I might come to regret...I've signed up for that Nano-poblano thing, and I'm planning on writing a blog post/day all thru November. My reasoning is that I'll paint, I'll photograph and I'll write if there's pressure for me to do that. I love deadlines. Nothing like deadlines to get me going.So, in honour of this liminal space, I've spent the afternoon in the studio and painted a sparrow, the commonest of all sparrows, a house sparrow. Yes, he hasn't flown south for the winter, he'll soldier on among the late autumnal leaf litter and the early Christmas finery. I've put him on an old music page from a 1920's song book. It's called Whispering Hope. Hope that the brave sparrow will be alright over winter. It's a dual vocal song to celebrate this liminal space at the ending of one season and the beginning of another. And lastly, I've given him a golden crown. The king sparrow. So that he might guide his bird kingdom until the spring, until the warmth comes again.

Halloween

Welcome to our haunted house.Well, maybe not so haunted. I must admit that the garden is beautiful right now and I am resisting raking the leaves up because it's my little piece of autumn glory,But it's been too impossibly busy today to rake leaves.Boys had to be helped with make up, quick snacks had to be eaten,Ragamuffin homemade crows had to be coaxed above doors,And hoodies painted in Zef style.And then, all is ready. Our resident Zef girl Chlo-landi Visser takes her Halloween leave,And I have time for a quick glass of something deeply red and a half hour dedicated to a little art.A bat, just waking up, ready to fly off the folk requiem page.And me, I shall stay up reasonably late in my haunted house, with one of my favourite Halloween books.But first, please excuse me, I must rush off. I seem to have some victims children at the door.

Helping to save the world one blue tree at a time

Blue trees! A round the world installation to raise awareness about deforestation. It's a treat to live in this forest rich country of mine, and sometimes I don't see the forest for the trees...you know what I mean? It's a treat to be able to participate in a little creative harmlessness and paint trees blue. The dye will last a few months in our climate, the trees will be planted and thrive, and people might take notice and remember to conserve, recycle and help do their part in saving the Earth.Sharing with the Wordpress bunch and the photo challenge of treat.