new studio :: week 4

doors are in

plumbing all sorted

 insulation up

electrical roughed in

t&g arrived & ready

extra window ordered

plaster up

no rain has been a blessing

and now thinking about paint

what colours?? 

i have some ideas of course

bit of scraping & sanding prep

edit : interior - going to 'play' with the paint colours
just a little ...
exterior - is going to match existing!
it may seem confusing but these
exterior old sun-beaten weather boards
are one of the now interior walls
love that bit of quirky

the gift of sharing

a note on sharing

what do you share?

we share our lives with our family & friends

we share our love with special people who warm our hearts

we share our homes with people we care deeply for

we share our thoughts & wishes

we share our skills in our work place & in our homes

we share our gifts .... or do we?

way back last advent....
 ann our director of Wellspring spoke 

about the 3 wise men & their journey

a journey that for certain had many physical obstacles

those wise men carried gifts

gifts for a king

a king sent to save us all

sent to share his love
to share his word
to share his life

perfect model for all of mankind

got me thinking then & i keep revisiting about

how i share my 'gifts'

been reflecting on what my gifts are?
i am an artist, a maker & a teacher
i naturally want to share ideas

 ann made the point

that if we ALL actually 'shared' our gifts
instead of hoarding them for 'some day'

(when is 'some day'??)

the peace that we all search for would
'be'

God asks us ...

to share

to act justly

to love mercy

to walk humbly

Micah 6:8

in our 'humanness' we all find it hard to share
sharing means that we have to take a risk

we find ourselves overwhelmed with timetabled commitments

 with loyalties, we protect our individuality, we hoard
... or simply we are fearful

fear is such a powerful matter of the mind

that can cripple us from our path

now .... i'm going to
share
my thoughts about:

sharing & blogging

might be a touchy subject ..... 

so be warned or simply ... do not read on!

when you are a blogger you are naturally sharing

...sharing ideas or feelings or thoughts

its personal
(but its my blog so i can essentially blog what i like!)

i will often write in comments i leave for other bloggers
"thanks for sharing" .... as i appreciate what it takes to actually share!

when the un-spoken rules of blogging etiquette are ignored

its hard to take

hard because you've shared yourself

& then the response has not been
just
or humble
or respectful

in all of history there has never & never will be a vacuum of ideas

the history
of architecture

of art

of food 

of farming

of dance

of music

of literature
of science
of story telling

every single creative mind has been
influenced

so of course if you read a lot of blogs

then you to will be influenced & inspired

it kind of ...
is the point
!!

but the very personal element of this is ...

really the ideas of someone
albeit on their blog

are that person's intellectual property

so no one should really be
pinching ideas

the nature of blogging as an absolute has
no vacuum!
on one hand if you do not wish for your ideas to be 'pinched'
then simply don't blog about them
but what if they are purchased items?
when the detail has not been disclosed via multi-media?
what if as an original idea no-one 'owns' the copyright
but the way you've made something is uniquely yours as far as you know it to be?

so when we are influenced
 ... we pinch ideas or 'elements of'

it can't be helped in one sense

its why the www works

information & ideas spread quickly

nothing is original 

i've made plenty of things that have in no way

been my original idea

but as you may have read ....

i am proud of how i tweak it my way

so people ....
work on making it your way

& not directly or indirectly copying it
copying with no credit is not polite, its stealing, especially for gain
copying for no profit with no credit is still not polite
copying with permission & credit is the way to go
or simply make it completely different

i share from time to time

'how-to-make' stuff

often, none are my ideas essentially

but you know .... they've been given my wendy-tweak

so that makes them original right? ... or does it?
kind of yes but not
so i don't hold the 'rights' to them
yet does anyone?
grey area hey!

so 'share' people with full grace

share your ideas where appropriate
task risks
that way we'll all 'feel the love' ....
& the rebounds of sharing will be abundant!

if you'd like to make a comment on this subject you are most welcome

i may or may not choose to publish your words
if you have been a sharing blogger you too may have
found that sometimes sharing can backfire & be hurtful
perhaps even hurtful enough to not wish to share or blog-on?
not by anything you have done but from the actions of others
let me know how you handled it

if what i've had to say
'hits home'
 in some way

consider it, reflect on it ....

 i have considered these words long & hard
i hope that they will be understood as they are intended

so how will you use the gift you can give?

the gift of sharing?
take that risk
believe that the rewards will be great indeed
for if no one were to share
this world would be a very sad place indeed!

new studio :: week 3

 decking is mostly built

every single screw is pre-drilled

yep that's the way to do it .... properly

studio walls & roofing & guttering almost there
that has not been an easy job as access is not great!

door frames in

large high windows in

plumbing sorted

lots of sawdust
steps happening

 taking shape little by little
loving the feel of the space
those weather boards are staying
more painting to be done

 and i may have done some
cabinetry shopping today
a little swedish store i know
has plenty of choices when it come to flat packs
mmmm yep .... something like that
a place to wash your hands
& the brushes & the gluey stuff

one-a-penny-two-a-penny ....

 "HOT cross buns"

a dozen of them

 freshly baked

"HOT off the press"

 all a bit wonky

the way i like it

randomly cut sort-of rectangles

sliced in half

add a strip

press towards the strip so it sits higher

 slice it again at right angles

add another strip

& there you have a "HOT cross bun"

usually baked at Easter

but you know .... 

tweaking it to work with the whole

HOTTIE idea

 in no time at all

your dozen will be done

note the use of a very funky newspaper print below

hence the "HOT off the press" .... love dualities

& a little extra b&w

yeah ... there is always an excpetion to the rule

my own rule about colour plus white ... 

(still waiting for that blog post aren't you?)

 piece them together

love the serendipity of fabric choices

& colour placement

yes they are all wonky & wrong

wasn't too happy with myself at one point ....

for not measuring anything

.... but then it might be a little 'too' contrived

to my eye if i had ...

 what on earth is all this for you ask?

its my entry for the "Hottie Challenge'

which is a fabulous fundraising exhibition

of HOT water bottle covers

some are actually useable too ..... mine isn't

but it has great aesthetic value!!

 

raising funds for the

Margaret Pratt Foundation

Cam from Curly Pops

has organised a whole heap of entries

i joined in ..... love a community arty crafty project

that brings people of all sorts & skills together

remind you of anything .... full circle maybe?

so the HOTTIE Challenge exhibition

is on at the Open Drawer

1158 Toorak Road, Camberwell

right near the Summerhill Road T intersection

from the 5th - 28th July

 "HOT off the press

HOT cross buns

HOT under the collar"

 HOT HOT HOT

 its ... a little bit cheeky

i like it that way

 when you read these 'personals' up-close

you'll see why some of them are

a little "HOT under the collar" ...

... back to the penny bit

it is a fundraiser after all

you can visit & vote

with your pennies .... i think that's how it works?

wintry woodend retreat

it seems that there is nothing quite like 

running away from the everyday

from time to time

went again to this sweet cottage

set on the edge of the small country town of woodend

easy to get there 

once you've actually managed to walk out the front door!

so from friday lunch until sunday late

complete delight spent with crafty minds

i worked on a couple of long sleeve renfrew tops

some 'jama pants

moved onto something a little more challenging

the lisette tunic dress in a very retro fabric 

with orange, which made it even more retro

i love it but it will need to be 'styled' just right

to make sure it not a bit costume-y

there were some hand quilting stitches added to a christmas figgy pudding quilt

& i cut out a new look dress

pattern & fabric bought earlier this year

very summer-y but well you know

you never know when you might click your fingers

& be somewhere warmer sooner rather than later!

check back later for some

photos of these finishes

(having not really posted much on wearable makes

... i'm not yet up with the whole take a pic while wearing it thing!)

we all took ourselves on a little into town excursion

into the brisk cool mountainous air

up the main road

a right, past the catholic church with its round arches!

along the way & onto the auction house

yep .... there was a HUGE i mean massive

deceased estates auction set for the sunday

with an amazing collection of truly vintage haberdashery

& collectables

some very sweet wooden display boxes & drawers

might have been one just perfect for a recently acquired thread haul

also lovely 1900's shop counter that i did work out 

would have 'just' fitted into my car ....

ooooh how i would have liked to have taken

some of these treasures home ..... went had a look-see at the auction

but alas ..... not quite my budget

but a great experience

seemed half the town was there for the entertainment

hope those lucky new owners speak lovingly to those special items like, forever!?

oh & there was the most extrodinary quilt

apparently made over 50 years

tiny tiny little hexagons

silky fabrics 

all completely...

hand stitched .... the maker slowly went blind

& it was huge ....

wonderful time spent away

thankyou for your friendships

your gift of sharing knowledge your caring actions

your words your stories your company on this journey

new studio :: week 2

 insulation

base floor

all systems go

 stud walls

supporting beams

design details
so excited

structural timbers

scaffolding

some rain

 leaps and bounds

suddenly there is a space emerging

it has a great vibe

loving it

flutter bys

did some sweet little

water colour paintings

on commission

heART a craft :: studio styling

"heART a craft"

a collection of favourite images & ideas

collection no.5

so now that you know... i've
been working away on a little

studio project

long awaited

so amazed that it is finally happening

i've dreamt about it in daydream moments

... its nearly the time to style it 
'just right'

or rather ...

to start out on a journey
of an ever evolving studio style

there may have been some favourite light fittings ordered
went for white .... what is wrong with me??
lots of thinking & imagining ....
so, 'well' ..... there's just ...

nothing like having a little secret sneaky look in other people's studios

here are a few
that capture 'something' 
of what i'm aspiring to

pintrested but today i'm having issues working out original sources.....

 

love the industiral but not institutional vibe

metal & wood plus pops of colour
liking the black but not sure if i will do?

from somewhere ....

then this one below:

of which there is something about

the proportion of space that i think will be simular

not so many windows but that morning light will be there

pintrested here

 

like the soft aqua blue of this

again industrial ... won't have enough space to dedicate to drafting drawers

but there is an essence here...

now this next shot

is actually another art studio classroom set up

i like the one wall of colour

this user friendly nature of the furniture

simple child appropriate & pops of colour once again

like the hanging chairs too ... have done that other places in the past

might re-visit that idea too ...

and this one below

always loved the versatility of wires & clips

another previously done by me idea
a time worn re-visit

they are a must

as is storage for shallow flat larger papers & art works

wheels .... there will be chunky industrial looking castors on whatever i can

& quirky storage or display containers

i am so looking forward to all things radiant

beautiful simple practical interesting

keeping my eyes peeled all the time for things that will 'work'

so blend up those ideas with a few that i haven't thought of yet

& a little bit of senrendipity

.... can hardly wait to move in!!
&
just to leave you with a thought .... from
ref: a favorite book i chat about over here
there will be plenty of problem solving going on
in my element

new studio :: week 1

so excited

... that i almost have no words

my longed for studio

is actually becoming reality

 it will completely change

how we use & what is housed in every room in our home

already there's been furniture juggling

& 'art resources' sorted

 so the build started last week

demolition done

those tricky levels sorted

we've had a bit of rain since then

so stump holes turned to muddy pits

gum boots squelched

timber has arrived by the truck loads

 the joists are in

progress so far has been quick

so studio plus a super huge deck plus a storage space

oooh yeah!

& we will still have the cricket ground

this space below is the floor area

of the actual studio

its going to have a 4m high ceiling

wonderful eastern morning light

will be quirky & have loads of character

just the way i like it

stud walls appearing

ugly exposed plumbing being hidden & sorted

window & door frames have arrived

my job ..... is to prime these this weekend

like to help??

i'm sure i could find you a paint brush!!

 

 stay tuned for further updates

i am enJOYing the journey

but .... there are some things about a reno/build

that seriously .... not much fun

but am so so so thankful that were are able to make this happen

lucky lucky me .... my cup runneth over!