In some weird funk

Sorry for not post this past week, i am in some weird funk, i cant seem to get going on my art. I have a really strong urge to do a portrait and a coloured pencil piece at that but cant seem to find the right subject or story. I havent been doing my sketching, i just cant seem to quieten my mind or sit still long enough to do it.

I have been absolutely FLAT out this month with my sons 5th birthday, preparations seemed to be lasting for weeks... I have also been helping my mum move after selling her house after 33 years (so yes kinda a big deal). I also FINALLY recieved my new computer which means that i can now work on things without it suddenly shutting down on me at random moments but that has also meant i am busy installing software and sorting out files etc etc taking up my time.

Something I have learnt to deal with about myself recently is that i seem to need to "build myself up" to large social events as well as major events that occur in my life. When there are big things going on they seem to absorb all of my energy, Really! by the end of the day i have no strength left and just roll into bed no space left in my mind. When the events are over or a milestone is reached because i put so much energy into them i need time to just gather myself again, take stock and just quieten myself before i can start going again. This month has been one of those busy months and while i still have alot going on i seem to be just gathering my foundations again to move forward.

This evening i have been looking at my goals and while i seem to be on track for some of my plans i am behind on others but i am not beating myself up thats ok, they will just get moved onto the list for next time.

I am hoping from tomorrow things will have settled down as far as my family commitments for a bit and i can focus on getting some task done. Baby steps!

Goals set and Ready to Go ! 2009 - Part2

Following on from my post yesterday Goals set and Ready to Go ! 2009 Part one - Here is Part 2 and how I came to my magnificent plan for 2009. As I mentioned yesterday rather than go into my specific goals I am going to keep this a bit broad and explain my process with the hope that it helps others.

Brainstorming
As I wrote yesterday, one of my main problems in working out my goals and vision was that I didn’t know where I want to go, I was just coping and I had nothing to strive for and whenever I tried to think about it I would just come up with a blanks and it all seemed very hard.

I knew I had to dedicate some time so I locked myself up in a room (had a babysitter to watch the kids), got out a big A3 sketch pad and in the middle I wrote the question “Where do I want to go? what do I want to do ?”. I then wrote small notes or words around the question whatever came to my head.
For example: the words security, independence, selling art, money, direction and future amoung others popped up.
Following that I then started to question and add to what the word meant or other things connected with that. ie. Art = future for me and my children, enjoyment, a direction.
Following that my process was eg. Art: Who buys my art ? Or who is likely to buy my art? What have I sold to date? What are comments about it? What art do I enjoy doing most? Etc.

Then I turned the page and went through this process for my design business. ( I realized I have two separate thought processes for both my design and my art even though they do merge quite often to similar themes they are different). So again questions like where do I want to go? what markets should I target? what has been working for me so far? What has brought in the most income over the past year? What doesn’t bring me income?

On this step it didn’t matter that this page doesn’t make sense, I know that it will later. When this started pulling up a blank again, I put it aside for a few days and came back to it. I think this was important, it allowed me to have some distance and think more about what was going on. If anything came up I had forgotten I added it, then after a few days I re- read it and repeated the process with few more questions, added a few more notes. Then I let it sit for a few more days again.

Analysing
After this it all needed to be analysed. I had loads of notes on bits of paper everywhere. I basically tried look at common themes or statements I had written, I did have the same issues that I just kept coming back to and realized these must be the important ones. I then looked at the things that could be classified as “goals” or things I wanted to do and wrote some notes on what action I could take to get to that goal. Some goals would require some steps before I could move to the next, (thanks to Joan for teaching me that one) what would they be ?

After lots of messy scribbles and writing I then decided it needed to be cut down and consolidated and record all really important stuff. So I then started a word document and titled it
“WHAT I WANT TO HAVE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE END OF 2009”

I found it easier to start with the result I wanted, and then I would work back to how to get there.

I started it with a motto for the year “Working Smarter Not HARDER”

( one of the things I realized in my brainstorming session, as I mentioned in yesterdays post, I cant work harder at this point it has to be smarter which means basically not spending time on things that don’t bring me to my end goal. My time is limited I need to spend it more wisely)

VISION
"I am supporting myself and my family."

(This is vision is something I kept coming back to. It’s something that is very important to me in this time in my life, it is something I realized that also gives me many other things such as security, accomplishment, a reason for doing what I am doing, it gives value to what I am doing and why I am doing.)

GOALS
My next step was to work out ACTUAL things I would like to have accomplished by the end of 2009.
This step really helped me sort my head out.
Some examples I came up with were:

• have at least 3 sketchbooks completed (something I realized I really need to stick to over the year)
• increased my illustration portfolio,
• increased my mailing list (technically I know I should have a number or percentage here but seeing as I don’t have many atm the only way is up )

In setting these goals I was very careful to make sure that I haven’t set the bar too high but is also a challenge to work to over the year. I also included some personal ones as well connected with the kids as these are just as if not more important.
It’s also important to note here that there were some goals I came up with which didn’t really align with my vision, they would just take time away from what I really wanted to do so I scrapped them. Everything came back to my vision and the steps I need to get there.

ACTIONS
After doing all that I came up with ACTIONS that I can do throughout 2009 which if I keep at it throughout the year will help me achieve the goals.

• Complete 1 cp drawing a month
• Complete 1 canvas a fortnight
• Participate in the VSD
• Ensure I have at lease 1 extra fun activity with the boys a week (something I haven’t been able to do)

Again I had to remember to no set anything that I wont be able to meet, I don’t want to set myself up to fail. But I do have to be disciplined to meet these goals, and I do have to have a deal with myself that I am committed to achieve them.

KEEPING MOTIVATED and Being Accountable
So after all these goals are defined I need to keep motivated to be able to actually do them. The biggest thing for me is that I forget, so I printed out my VISION out including my ACTIONS as well as some little affirmations or sayings that I need to be reminded of, laminated it and have stuck it next to my computer monitor so I will look at it a few times everyday.

Part of my stresses last year was not just art and work but also things like keeping up with the housework, preparing dinners and family stuff. During this whole process I realized I have not been allocating enough time to these things. Somehow I was assuming that they will get done but as there is only me to do them and my task list is long I continually put these tasks off, they become a mammoth overwhelming time consuming task which only adds to the problem.

A saying that I heard last year at the business mums conference was to “DO A LITTLE BIT OFTEN” so as part of managing my time better I am going to adopt this system.
For example: boring stuff like dishes, rather than putting off emptying the dishwasher I will make sure I do it first thing. This will save me time later on rather than the dishes of the day accumulating. For art I will set aside a timeframe for artwork so I am only spending 30mins or 1 hour and then move onto other jobs. I will also do things like allocate tasks which take less brain power for the night rather than the morning, and save my morning head for things which take a lot of my concentration.
For example: I need to sort out all my bookmarks./ favorites. This I can do at night when I am tired, it doesn’t take much brainpower. Better to do it at night than in the morning when my brain is on full steam.

I will also be concentrating on investing my time on activities that will help make me money and bring me towards my goal (for my design business). Rather than cost me time. It’s not all about the money, there are things I need to do which I enjoy which is catching up with friends or helping someone out, but at the same time I need to watch that this isn’t constantly absorbing my time as I don’t have the luxury of being able to invest too much time in other things.

MONTHLY TASK PAGE
I realized that I also have a few tasks which are one-off tasks which need to be done and allocated but once they are done I can move on. So as well as all of the above I also setup a page which is titled
TASKS FOR JANUARY 2009.

In this list are 6 tasks which I need to get done by the end of January.
For Example:

• Update to my blog. Before I do that I need to do some research on other blogs. So my task is: I must research at least 10 blogs, noting the designs, sidebars, tags, what I like and don’t like about them.
• Another one is to setup and install my new computer system which is hopefully coming mid January.

The Montly Task Page is printed and placed on the other side of my monitor. I think this list will work basically based on guilt and help me with avoiding all the stresses I wrote about above. I tend to feel guilty if I am wasting time. Or if I am wasting time its because I don’t have anything allocated to do (or I am procrastinating on it). This list is there starring at me its prevents me wasting my time (I hope).

At the bottom of this page I have the result of these tasks. Or reward if you like. The reward is after I do my research I will be able to make conscious decisions and implements my findings into my own blog template in February.

ALLOCATING THE TASKS
After this step was completed I then got out my organizing system that I talked about in yesterday's post and allocated blocks of time and reminders to my days and weeks. It’s all very well to have these goals in place but they need to fit into my day. I need to be held accountable to them. Tasks and reminders have been placed on days when I am likely have time to get them done. So they will be. This is also very important step as without specifying when you are going to do it all and MAKING the time for it wont get done.
Oh and in case your wondering .. yes I also allocated some “mum time” in there 1 morning a week. For an hour, just to have time for a coffee at the coffee shop or have some peace time to myself when the boys are at kindy !! It’s the one time in the whole week its just for me to sit.


DIRECTION
So after all of this if I still have your attention the final thing I have done is to have some Directions also printed out.

Basically my DIRECTIONS are ideas, notes, broad statements or just important points I need to remember that came out of my brainstorming which helps align my activities. I categorized them into Art Direction, Design Direction, Personal Direction and listed about 5 points for each.
For Example.
Art Direction:

• work more in a series
• exlplore some limited palette pieces
• continue to explore more time saving and messy techniques. You get the idea…

Personal Direction:

• Encourage the boys to help out more around the house with tidying up, becoming more independent .

LONG TERM GOALS
During the process some long term goals came up for things I would like out of my life. i.e. For the next few months, years etc. These are specific i.e. I want to have this done or that sorted by X Month. (You thought I was going to share those didn’t you !! I have to keep some things secret! So nope your not finding out :P) These are printed and will be filed along with my accomplishments for 2008. Something I don’t need to see everyday but its there to refer to.


CONCLUSION
In conclusions my process was as follows:

1. Brainstorming
2. Analyzing the Brainstorming
3. Defining My Vision and Putting It up to keep Motivated
4. Defining Goals - What I want to accomplish in 2009 with Actions I can do regularly
5. Creating a Month task page with results / actions
6. Allocate your Tasks to your Daily Planning Schedule
7. Creating a Directions page to with specific notes on directions
8. Long Term Goals

So there you have it! I am not sure whether you made it through all of that post Congratulations if you did. One of the reasons why do my blog is that I want my help others through my journey. If your struggling with your goal setting I hope there might be something here that helps you. Let me know if it does I would love to know.

Goals set and Ready to Go ! 2009 - Part 1

I will split this post into two for you, the first one being the lead up to working out where I want to go and the second being the examples and steps I took to get there which will come tomorrow..

Up until about 3 years ago, I never really set many goals. I kinda just went along assuming that things would work out for the best and I would get what I wanted out of life. After my second child I realized as I was getting older things weren’t quite happening for me the way I wanted, all these other people were doing great things and creating beautiful artworks which I knew that I could do just as well (if not better in some cases) so I decided I had enough of excuses and I was going to do something to pave my way even if it was only baby steps at a time.

Not long after first starting this blog in September 2006, I also came to the realization that I needed to make an Artplan for 2007 to give myself direction. It was a new concept to me, as I said, I never really planned much and I had a small baby plus a toddler to contend with so I didn’t go into too much depth but it was my first step to planning out where I wanted to go. Had I not taken that first step I wouldn’t be where I am today. Skip through a whole bunch of stuff from then to now, and so here I have come with a magnificent plan for 2009.

Firstly, it’s important to know, I really wrestled with everything this year, I had a lot of life changes and challenges in 2008 and in the past few months I have really been feeling like I have been struggling and failing with it all. Not matter what I did, I felt like I was always backfoot running to keep up. As I was sitting down try to think about what was happening around me it suddenly it hit me that I am already working hard, I can’t work any harder than I am already, something needed to change I was investing my time in the wrong areas or something? Not really sure to be honest but I knew that I can’t go on the way I was.

During this time I picked up a book called “The 10-Minute Life Coach” by Fiona Harrold. I figured why not, it was on one of those book stalls relatively cheap and a thought entered my mind you never know it might just be the thing that changes my life! Give it a go !

So, before I go further, I can definitely recommend Fiona’s books and website. It’s not all wishy washy and found it very logical way of thinking and what I liked best is that you can do it all yourself you are holding yourself responsibile and accountable which means of course you can change it ! You are in control. Could go on about this but look at her site and see for yourself, if your at all interested.

Not long after reading Fiona’s book I also had the opportunity to have session with business coach Joan Weir who I heard about via the Business Women Unite website. Joan's session was fantastic. I had already began to think about some of the topics we discussed about and had already started to implement a few strategies in my business. One of the things Joan and Fiona got me to recognize is that I need to action things and set tasks to achieve what I want. I am the one who has to do hard yards here and work this out for myself, alot of the work is done right here in the planning stages. There is no magic bullet, no one can do this for you. You can't skip a step, What works for others doesn’t necessarily work for me and I needed to set time for myself to work out what I want to do and where I want to go. And now was the time to do that.

One of the things both ladies talk about is having a vision. Basically everything else revolves around that, I needed to sort mine out and so I asked myself, What Do I want to Do ? Where do I want to be?'

The answer didn’t come straight away, in fact I was blank, I didn’t know, I sat on this for a while, took my time, wrote little things down as they came to mind (more about that tomorrow). The result was that I worked out that: I am already doing what I want! I want to be able to work from home with my family around me. I like having a home business, I don’t want someone else to raise my children, I enjoy preparing meals and all that comes with it. I want to be able to have art regularly in my life. So the issue is not what it’s that I need to find a way which makes it work for me. Financially, emotionally, physically and most importantly needs to help me to raise and support my family.

Organising

Towards the end of 2008, I came up with a system of organizing work, family - life. I trialed having diaries, online tasks etc etc none of it worked for me. I came up with a system of printing out daily calendars from outlook and sticking them organized in “DAYs” on my fridge via Velcro and bulldog clips. It allows me to allocate tasks to a day rather than a week or month. I can add to it regularly I don’t have to find it, I can be reminded of regularly. I can add shopping lists etc to it as well as work and art tasks, drs appointments whatever I want. I can go on about it but this post is already long enough, so lets just say it works for me :) .

I had experimented last year with the fact that if its not on my “day” then I just don’t get to it. One big list is too overwhelming, if I write things down and allocate them to do on a day they generally get done, if not I re-write them on the next day until they do. So basically what I needed to do was to work out what tasks and goals I have for the year and allocate them to a day, month. That way they will get done. So I had my actions and ways of being accountable to getting things done, I just needed to work out what exactly I needed doing, removing anything that didn’t involve moving me towards my goal and helping me with my vision. That is how I will get to what I want.

Tomorrow I will post the actual steps I took work out my goals. While I will include some of my personal and art goals but it will talk more about my process rather than the goals themselves. Hope it keeps you interested, until tomorrow…

Links:

Fiona Harrold - http://www.fionaharrold.com

Joan Weir Business and Personal Coaching - http://www.businessandpersonalcoaching.com
Business Women Unite - http://businesswomenunite.net

Business Mums Network Conference - Change of Life

This past weekend I attended the Business Mums Network Conference.

BMN is a organization that I belong to for business mums here in Australia.

As you may or maynot know (seeing this blog is an artjournal), not only am I an artist but I am also a graphic and website designer.

I provide both services (my artworks and design services) as part of my business and if you have read anything about being a professional artist you will know that one of the first things they tell you is to start treating your art as a business.

I wanted to make this post about what I learnt about this conference in the hope it might help someone in some small way. And also bit more selfishly to remind myself all that I have learnt from such a fabulous group of people lessons that I don’t want to forget.

What did I receive and learn about from the business mums conference?

- Connecting with people and making Friendships is so important and even just the act of going has given me the confidence to do this more and make more of these important friendships in the future.

- Encouragement – inspired me to push forward, not to give up even when everything feels like it’s failing apart.

- Understanding – from other members knowing that I can’t do it all and to ask others for help as everyone is pretty much in the same boat.

- Permission to allow myself follow my own values, beliefs and thoughts and ignore all the other guff that keeps being put my way.

- Actually changed the way I “speak” and communicate with others, all of the networking really changed my way of thinking and speaking about myself and my business and put importance and value to it. Something which I haven’t always allowed myself to have.

In particular the words of keynote speaker, Kathie Thomas touched me significantly. Much of what Kathie spoke about gave a voice to my own thoughts and beliefs, things I had heard before but I didn’t allow myself to listen to. As I was listening to her seminars I was thinking “hey this is what I have been feeling / thinking all along”. Here is the remarkable woman who essentially has been had much the same issues and thoughts as myself and yet look at where she is all because she believed in herself and pushed forward. My next thought was: I can do this all I need to do is listen to myself!

FAMILY: I have always believed that family life is extremely important as has my own family. My mother was always home for us kids when we came home from school and especially as when we were older even though we probably didn’t always appreciate it then, it was always nice to know deep down that mum was there. It wasn’t until discussing all my various issues recently with my own father that he mentioned how he always felt it was important that my mother was there for me and my brother and it was an intentional choice for her to be there even as we were getting older. It is something that I have always wanted for my children, and when others have discounted this important issue I have tended to agree with them but in hearing Kathie speak about how she has done it and how important it has been to her and her daughters especially as they were teenagers and growing up, I can see that it can be done and I am going to try my hardest to do it! A big part of the weekend has been for me to challenge where I am heading and where I want to go and this is definitely one of the most important decisions I am sticking to.

DIRECTION: The truth is I enjoy what I do, I like designing and coding and I really do enjoying being in business for myself but what I also did realize is that I do also enjoy mixing with people and in essence supplying them with something they can be happy with. From an art perspective I love hearing that someone has enjoyed sending one of my greeting cards, or what an artwork they have bought reminds them of every time they look at it. This is such an important thing to me and is one of the parts in life that give me the most satisfaction. I need to remember that this is essentially what I am trying to achieve with everything I do rather than just getting through the day. There is something much more important here I am trying to achieve this gives focus and direction to my actions and allows me to have something to align myself to (if that makes sense).

Kathie’s personal stories in particular really touched me, to the point in her seminar on Are you working for your family or because of your family? I had to fight back tears when she read her poem as her words spoke so clearly from my own experiences. I came out of that seminar emotionally drained but also uplifted finally understanding and giving direction of just where I want to go from here and why I am doing it. I might not have all the answers right now, but i know i can search for them and they will come.

Helping others and enjoying the importance of giving is something I have always done. During my personal life and the 12 years I have been in business, circumstances and people have often taken advantage my giving nature. In turn recently it has meant that I have pulled back from that slightly as a defense strategy and tried to inwardly cope I guess sometimes provide the bare minimum. I think following the conference I have realized that giving is as much for me as it is for them. I enjoy it, its part of why I write this blog, do my art, and share my experiences and knowledge with others. Connecting with people is something I realize is I must do in order to survive and move forward not just with my business but with my art, my children and is a good place to be.

All in all I learnt so much from the conference, I am still absorbing it all and I think I will continue to do so for weeks and perhaps months to come.

When I came home my children looked just that little bit cuter, that little bit bigger and that little more innocent. I spent the day giving them extra special love and attention and vowed to continue to do this as much as possible in the future and not let all the other stuff get in the way of that. They are my strength, and are so precious, they really are a gift I must protect and nurture and help grow and I am so lucky to have been given them. Now it is up to me to do all that to make my life and theirs as happy and fulfilling as possible.

Business Mums Network website is: http://www.businessmums.com.au/

Kathie Thomas 's website is: http://www.kathiethomas.com/

Kathie's new book "Worth More Than Rubies: The Value of a Work at Home Mum " has recently been published one i will be devouring over the next few weeks.

I managed to get a bit of sketching done last night Woo HOO!!

I really miss it when i don't do some type of drawing and while i wont show the whole drawing i will show you this part just to prove i did :)

I wanted to follow on from my post yesterday where i mentioned that sometimes as mums we need to cut ourselves a bit of slack. I think this is true in the business world, art world and all sorts of worlds :) I think often we tend to put so much pressure on ourselves to get things done we should allow ourselves to say :

"You know what i didn't do that .. but thats ok!!!"

Ever since the beginning of the year i have been in accomplish mode. setting my goals has made focus on where i want to go and i plan on regularly revisiting them. Life and unforeseen things can get in the way tho and i know all too well how easy it is for things we plan on doing to get pushing to the way side or simple procrastinating. Then comes the cycle of feeling like a failure because you haven't done all the things you need to and it all gets a bit overwhelming doesn't it ?

So, today i wanted to share with you something i have been doing which makes me feel good about myself, allows me to set tasks for the next week and keep focused.

Every Friday at the end of my week i have been making a list. I write on the top of the page:
"What did i achieve for this week? Date"
Then i list in brief points all the things i did this week that were "good/positive" or which i wanted to get done. They can be from the simplest household jobs to fun activities with the kids that i can point back to and say i did that eg. This week we had a really fun time at the play center. etc . The list also includes my art and business projects that have been done.
As i mentioned above, not only does it make me feel good about achieving things but it allows me to asses what areas of my life i need to tend to and allocate jobs to make it onto next week's list. I dont have to detail them just store them in my head (tho i usually write them down or i forget). I find i am motivated to get things to put on the list for the end of the week, and i guess more than anything it means i am holding myself accountable for doing things and making sure they are completed.

So there you have it, something that is working for me if your feeling a bit swamped it might work for you! :)

Uhoh's back home

There's no art for me atm. I am in the middle of writing all about myself for some promotional materials. So lots of thinking and planning and working out what i am going to tell the world about myself :) This is a bit hard as today is presenting me with a lovely head cold grrr means i dont make much sense to anyone, so bear with me while i get myself organised :)

We have also been away the past few days up at Scone, visiting the inlaws, its always so lovely there and we get taken care of so well but its nice to be back and get ourselves back into a routine. We also brought our dog "uhoh" back home with us he had been visiting the inlaws' dogs for a couple of weeks while our house was being sprayed and while we were down in Sydney. Its lovely to have him back but he is missing his friends, we might have to get him someone to snuggle with i feel so sorry for him. He just keeps looking at me with those droopy eyes.

Working Update - Small Fields

Things have been busy around here, we have had work and family staying and Christmas preparations and events etc all sorts of things going on. I keep trying to hide away and hope that Christmas passes us by but i know thats not going to happen. I am excited about it all , but we just have so much stuff going on its hard to concentrate on something that is still a few weeks away when i have so much to do now. Oh well never mind i guess what ever happens happens i am going to try to have Christmas with at less stress and worry as possible and just try to have simple things without all the concern and worry. The boys are the most important thing and as long as they get to open a present or two and have their parents around them i think that is all that really matters.

On the art side i have lots of business to take care of, i have these fields paintings (the above is just a miniature small one) plus my tree painting, plus a portrait plus i have some promotional things going on which i am excited about but i wont post about those until its more solid and i actually do the work for it. Slot all of this in with other design work and Christmas an somedays it feels like a bit much.

I have noted of late i spend alot of my time playing catchup just to keep up with all the things i have to do, and my list keeps growing and growing once one thing is done another has taken its place so i feel like i never achieve anything. I have also noted that as i have so many things going on i rarely give myself the fun time with the family and the boys and that is what life is all about it cant be all work and chores (tho it often is with young children). So i have decided next year my weeks are going to be split up so that i ensure that i have a few fun activities and specials times for them during the week which are just as if not more important than all the other stuff. I am also going to do that for the family as well so that we have some special fun times where we don't have chores or work to do and just enjoy life a bit more. Anyway like i said we will get there in the end its just something i have been thinking of lately i really have to pay more attention to.

On Friday i had the chance to have a quick swing by visit of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. I got to have a brief look at the current exhibition there which is of the artist Shahzia Skiander. The work i did see was amazing. I cant see any of the smaller pieces which i saw on any websites but i saw some fabulous miniature works and some works with such detail i could have been there for hours (i only got there close to closing time). Anyway if your a sydney sider i definately reccommend popping in there for a visit its well worth it :)

Oh and just so you know i wrecked my bubble pic :( i couldnt get the skin tones smooth and bright enough for my liking so as a consequence i have to start again. I tried a few experiments on pastelboard but i think that for this type of work i really want it all to be smooth. So i am going to try it again with the smoothest surface i know, Drafting film !! Let see how i go :) the only problem will be that then i have to put a background on it which i was trying to avoid .... hmmmmmm

Unclutter your life!

Recently i decided that i needed to unclutter my life !

It started with my recent "awakening" to life in general and how it feels like another year has slipped by, without much to show for it. In addition to this my eldest will be at school the year after next, they are growing up so fast i need to start taking action and it will start by taking away things that cost me time or are just basically in the way of what i really want to do as life is just too short and i need to enjoy it while i can.

In thinking about this I decided that the "uncluttering" was needing to take place in many areas of my life and many different ways. Each week i am going to try to do at least 1 uncluttering activity in an effort to improve my life. The "clutter" for me, can come in many forms, its typically a "task" that needs doing that i keep putting off, but is also sometimes an action or behavior that needs to be changed or looked at in order to avoid the "clutter" and messing things up.

This post has been coming for a while so here are some of the things i have started to do already:

1. Consolidate my tupperware / plastic container cupboard.

we have so many things in this cupboard that every time we open the cupboard everything falls out.. it was driving me NUTS! Taking the time in the middle of cooking dinner to sort it out is usually not on my agenda so it never gets done. My youngest is now well past the purred food, and bottles stage but these containers were taking up lots of room and i was hanging onto them because they might come in handy .. So i decided enough is enough and got to it, out all the baby stuff goes, anything which didn't have lids, closed properly ... or was cracked was also in the bin. Some i kept for a garage sale that i may have (eventually). i neatly stacked the rest of the containers i actually use and i can find things easily now and everything doesn't fall out !!! woot

2. sort out my favourites

I am actually still in the process of this one, but i have been doing a bit of a time. Like everyone over the years i have accumulated many links ... some of which i am glad i have kept, others no longer work, but most of them i wouldnt really know where to find what, they all got muddled when i switched over to firefox and i just havent had the time to go through them all ... so off i go ... i am sorting out all my links, i have created a "new" folder where i am keeping all of the links i want to keep, then once all the old ones are gone i will rename it so they are neatly organised :)

3. only worry about the big stuff

This is a big one for me, and falls under the category of a behavior that i need to change.... Ever since having kids i find this time of year particularly hard when there is all the pressure of Christmas and gift giving and food preparation and for me trying to organize myself and the kids with other friends and family for get togethers of where we are going on what day, distance makes it a problem and overall i tend to get worried about trying fit it all in and get good presents etc. In addition to this there is the usual everyday stuff, as well as money issue etc ... so for this and other things i have decided not to worry so much about fitting it all in, and just dealing with it as it comes and only worry about the big important things, if its not high on my list i am not going to worry about it. I am not going to worry about getting great gifts for people because its just too hard, and if anyone doesn't like it tough! ..

More to come on what i have been uncluttering in my life !! stay tuned :) p.s. i was going to illustrate cute little icons for these items but then i would just be making more work for myself :)

A day out at the Art Gallery

Yesterday, I took myself off to the NSW Art Gallery - http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au.

No kids just me and the art, woot! It was a great day busy I was very tired and got lost finding it at one point. I had a bit of weird paranoia going on as I am not used to spending the whole day with no one to talk to surrounded by lots of people i felt a bit vunerable but that left me by the end of the day luckily.

It was really amazing as I walked around remembered parts of the gallery which i must have seen in primary school and some paintings from that time (just goes to show some of it sinks in). When I entered the Australian art room iit was great to see a few of the artists / artworks I had chosen to study in highschool so those memories came flooding back they felt like they were old friends.

To begin with I walked through the 19th century eurpoean art section and was I awed at seeing such large fabulous works. Then went to visit the Dobell Art Prize and contemporary galleries. They were good .. I recognised some artworks by Grace Cossington Smith. see the link below. In my opinion the one which one the Dobell looks much better on the internet than in real life. I stood and looked at it for a while it I can see why they chose it but .. yeah .. leave that one up to you guys. One thing to note is that all of the artworks were extremely large dimensions .. from someone who tends to work quite small I was amazing to see the work and level of detail in some of these larger works.

After this I went and had a coffee on my own no kids, no mummy I want, no spilling of coffee / sugar, no loud screeches and getting up and down off the table ... but there was also no smiles, no hugs, no mummy I love yous or little funny scenarios going on .... how torn we are as mothers...I enjoyed my coffee in peace but I also missed the company :)

Just as I was about to go see the aboriginal artworks they announced that a guided tour was about to begin so after a moments hesitation off I went up to take the tour. This was by far the highlight of the day. The lady was a volunteer guide called Norma she was fantastic so took me a couple of other people on the highlights tour of the 18-19th century European and Australian rooms I had already been in. I saw many more works I originally has missed she had so much information and stories about various artworks and artists and "the times" of what was occurring in the world and the thoughts of the people. Interesting things she noted was the distinct shift in what was being produced from one period to another the early period alot of the work was very formal foreground, middle ground and background. then this changed and we saw the shift to the artwork being more about the people and being drawn into various subjects and historical events particularly after the French revolution where people were freer with subjects, thoughts etc.

One the of interesting points was many of the paintings of Sydney in the earlier days showed alot of pollution, apparently Sydney was a very dirty city .. and there was a few painting from pristine bush looking back over the dirty city I don't know why this was news to be but I found this interesting.

She also pointed out on a few of the artworks particularly of French artists, how they began to leave parts of the canvas exposed .. it was apparently a style that began to emerge and after she pointed it out was able to see it in a few artworks

She also noted the transition of what occurred when artists had access to tube paint... from previously where they were mixing paint she showed areas where artists where squeezing the paint directly onto the canvas and manipulating it this way ( I have to try that) one particular one of note here was Frederick McCubbin - ON THE WALLABY TRACK, 1896
She actually talked about this one for a long time and this painting is one I had studied in one of my art classes at highschool ... she talked about how the painting drew you right into the scene and how until in this point in time this type of scene hadn't featured in artworks it was a significant shift. Also of note was the use of different colours such as mauve and blue and pinks in the foliage where previously it would have been painted in a classic style of a green. You could see where the leaves and handfuls from the earth had been used to create the effect he has in the foreground scraping the paint away.

We also saw a few works by Tom Roberts whose work I also recognised.
A few particular portraits which were done beautifully were interesting as she actually explained that they were advertisements for Australia to get ladies and gentlemen to come out here. Everyone thought at the time that the place was very rough and ruggered and convicts everywhere .. so the advertisements show ladies beautifully dressed in fine clothes in order to say that we were and doing fine. I found this really interesting also as you forget just the distance barriers these artists had at the time.

So onto some of my own photos of the day ... firstly I have to apologise they aren't that good .the guards kept watching me I did ask if i could take photos they said it was ok but I felt self-conscious... . and obviously I couldn't use a flash but I wanted to show you all I was there!!!! :)

First up for those of you who took up the Waterhouse project earlier this year .. there he is .. a waterhouse !!!! :) I have to say I was excited to see him there... I didn't take up the project but I do remember seeing this one in Katherine's and Maggies posts.



Next up all in the one area on the bottom row there you have Pissaro who I haven't studied but for some reason this painting seemed very familiar to me so I must know it. then you have a monet which I didn't recognise as Monet at first but nonetheless it was, some of the other paintings there are recognisable .. but there on the back wall there .. there sits van gough ... so woot it was exciting to be there with these ones.





The next couple were paintings that just struck me .. the first one is called "The First Born " by Gaston LaTouche -(better pic at the link) The lighting and story of this one was just fabulous and a sad story ..i was looking at this for a while.

This next one by the artist Eioth Gruner the light and mood of this one was just absolutely stunning and again another one which draws you in ... This artist i will have to research some more on i really enjoyed his work.





Finally I wanted to show this work .. which was just gianormous .. by Edward John Poynter - The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. This work was also just inspiring it had so many things going on in it that I just wont attempt to explain .but the way he could achieve that is just amazing this would have been at the time of mixing his own paints apparently as well.



















To finish up this was a fabulous day I also took some great tree pictures which I will post for you tomorrow. As a note to myself and everyone reading this if ever you feel at a loss for inspiration or just feel like your in a rut with your art go visit a gallery it does wonders !!!


Links
Frederick McCubbin - http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/mccubbin_frederick.html
Tom Roberts - http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/roberts_tom.html
Gaston LaTouche - http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/la_touche_gaston.html
Grace Cossington Smith - http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/cossingtonsmith/Default.cfm?mystartrow=13&realstartrow=13
Elioth Gruner - http://artyzm.com/e_artysta.php?id=334
Edward Poynter -http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/poynter_sir_edward.html

Hunter Valley Gardens

Its not often i post pictures of the family here (i try to keep it about the art) but on the weekend we took the kids to visit the Hunter Valley Gardens in the Hunter Valley for those of you from overseas its where many Australian Wines are made Its just beautiful there.
Here is a link to the their website.



On the day we went they were having a Teddy Bear's picnic for the kids which was ok but kids really they just loved running around on the paths and looking at the flowers and ducks and wot not :) They have a storybook garden where the garden is themed around many of the nursery rhymes which was good, i would recommend it for the kids. My youngest Will just loves flowers and he was stopping to smell the roses on many occasions he was too fast to get a good photo of though.

Anywho, back to the art i got lots of good reference shots and i throughly enjoyed the day out for this reason as well. As i was walking around i was thinking about Monet in his garden and what it must be building a garden like this from scratch and the inspiration of drawing with all the fabulous colours and shapes in it everyday. Unfortunately with two kids you dont get any time for sketching but i have a couple ideas there that i might post another time.

So i thought i would leave you with a few of the snapshots of the day.



Not sure whether you will be able to see but the picture with all the foliage and white flowers. On one of the leaves there is a butterfly in there which given the right treatment i think make a really good picture. I would love to do this one as a coloured pencil piece i think i could really make that beautiful unfortunately i think all those leaves would drive me completely mad so i am not brave enough to tackle that yet .. but you may see a few test runs in the future.

You will also notice in the spirit of Monet they had a water garden there with water lilies and lilly pads. It was all very dreamy :)

At Crossroads - which way to go?

Sometimes in our lives we come to crossroads and events that change the direction of where we are heading. I have reached that point in both art and life recently but now i am struggling which way to go?

As for life, well i wont go into that on my blog, that would be a story that would lean itself to a very typical soap opera which i don't want to embarrass you all with. *sigh* Lets just say its made me assess my life, my relationships, my strengths and how i am existing in the world its been a good step forward despite the angst and heartbreak of it all. And has made me realise i am a much stronger person than i give myself credit for and all i can do is do my best and that's an ok thing to live by :)

As for art, i feel like my style is changing my techniques are changing and what was once a satisfying subject is now not measuring up. Which don't get me all wrong is good, in fact its GREAT as i know its how I move forward but the pitfall is now that i am stuck ! not knowing where to turn what to tackle next, where to make that mark on the page, what materials to use?

I have ideas of what i want to paint in my head, but i cant finalise them, i start to sketch and i feel like my skills aren't strong enough or cant get down what i want so i move away to something else but ends up that being the same thing. I have been looking at many other artists websites and styles and i get discouraged as i have all this self doubt on being able to do anything remotely decent.

I feel like i have lost that freedom which comes with just creating something fun as i am always trying to make it look "real" or a certain way rather than just having fun (you know how expensive the materials get .. i don't want to waste them). I think i need to just let go rather than trying to "achieve" something everytime i do anything!

As i read through this all it sounds silly and i know this is something all creative people go through and its just a matter of working through it. So i am hoping just writing this post will help me do that and you know what i feel better already !!!! wooT

inspiration

I think i have an urge to give oils another whirl!!! I have been looking at a few artists work recently who just have such rich colours and textures i would just love to try to achieve which is i think alot harder to do in acrylic. The messiness has put me off as has the drying time especially with the two littlies running around. But i am thinking i am at the point where i want to experiment. I think first tho i am going to make myself finish off this piece i started at the beginning of the year .. its one of my goals is to finish works before moving to next ones so i have this and my pears to do before going further. So nag me to see it!!! Cause i need someone to make me do it!!

While we are on inspiration one of my favourite artists who i have admired for years is an Australian artist and photographer David Baxter - http://www.studiobaxter.com/

Last night i was revisiting his work and i just love it not only the way he captures textures and lighting but also his subjects are just so interesting. He just comes up with some fabulous things its just fabulous. I particularly love the way he does his skies something i really want to give a go working on as i cant seem to get them right with cp or acrylic. On his recent works page he has a "step by step exposé " of how he paints. Its very interesting to see how he works very similar to the old masters, well worth a look especially for oil painters but also for other artists as well.

One more thing i am excited about...BOOK -"Masterful Colour" by Arlene Steinberg

I have just seen this promotion for Arlene's new book which is due to come out in March 2008 which i will definitely be purchasing and so excited about...

Arlene is one of the people responsible for my love of CP's she first dazzled me with her wit and her CP techniques (through her tutorials on WetCanvas and then on SribbleTalk). She is an absolutely fabulous teacher and definitely knows her stuff so i am excited about this you can preorder the book via paypal or just go to see the front cover here. http://www.arlenesteinberg.com/MasterfulColorPage.htm

6 days no power and two small kids plus a renovation = no art

Well i am on the other side of 6 days of no power ... we had bad storms here on friday and stuck without power until last night. I thought my feet were going to freeze off!!! not to mention go completely mad as we were in the middle of knocking a wall down in our living room and have two small kids to bathe, feed and entertain for the whole time with no TV!!! arghhhhhhhhhhh

if we had had heat i dont think it would have been too bad .. but it was absolutely freeezing !!!! ... luckily our lovely neighbours had power and let us come and boil the kettle and leech a bit of heat off them at night .. but they have a 10day old newborn .. not an easy time for them either.

Anyhow we survived ... we were much better off than some.. some people had flooding and lost family members and their houses and livelyhoods... what was drought one day was flooded the next .... we scrapped by with our tree falling down on the neighbour's house but no damage done ... a nice reminder of the little modern conviences we have like a fridge and running hot water!!! and lights at nightime ....

so needless to say no art done !!! i have a backlog now of design work to get done so hopefully i can post some art soon !!!!