Grab a cuppa and join me, now where Do I Start?

Hi everyone, it has been a whirlwind two weeks since I last posted and I am finally coming back down to earth

First, I was at the Hayhouse I Can Do It conference in Sydney a couple of weekends ago and was part of the most inspirational, transformational, relaxing, entertaining and awesome weekend with about 3,000 other people. We were treated to 5 amazing speakers/authors who made us laugh, cry, think and overall inspired me to live a more authentic life.

Saturday began bright and early with us walking into the conference auditorium to the beautiful sounds of the didgeridoo. It is the most amazing sound and it instantly rose the vibration in the whole room and I will never tire hearing one played. If you ever get a chance to hear one live don't miss it.
We started our lectures with Dr Wayne Dyer on his farewell visit to Australia. What can I say but he was everything and more that I had expected from reading his books and listening to his CD's. He is called the father of inspiration and I would whole-heartedly agree with this. Such an amazing man.
In the afternoon Sonia Choquette ran an entertaining workshop that had us all up dancing and singing, letting go of our inhibitions and teaching us to live a spirited life. I just love her books and CD's and she is such a happy soul shining bright.
On Sunday our first speaker was Caroline Myss (who is my idol!) She is a fantastic lady and is so passionate about what she is talking about that you are mesmorised by her every word. She tells it like it is and her lecture was full of wisdom, humour and wit. Her books and CD's have inspired me to live less in your ego and pride and to strive to live more with grace, compassion and love. I can highly recommend her recent book, Defy Gravity.
After lunch we listened to Gregg Braden and his thoughts about 2012 amongst other things. Greg started out as a computer geologist and is now known as a pioneer in bridging science and spirituality. He was absolutely fascinating and really made you think about how each individual can really effect the global energy.
After Gregg we had a lecture/workshop with Dr Brian Weiss. He is a leader is past life regression and had us all doing a past life regression meditation during the lecture. It was amazing.

Sonia Choquette and me

Caroline Myss and Me

During the conference we had a chance to get our books signed and to meet our authors which I must say had me feeling like a school girl groupie at one stage but I collected myself long enough to have a coherent conversation with Caroline, Sonia and Brian and also had some photos taken.




Overall it was a weekend I will always remember.
I listen to Wayne, Caroline and Sonia on Hayhouse radio where they each have an hour long weekly show that I can tap into while I work so they seemed quite familiar by the time we met them. Of course, they didnt know me from a bar of soap (well, Caroline did recognise me from her Facebook page which was a bit of a thrill so we had a great conversation)I came home with an extra bag of books to read (the flight attendants just looked at me funny struggling to carry them on the plane) and a head buzzing.

On to last weekend......

I attended the True Blue Decorative Artists annual conference here in Melbourne of which I taught the two classes that I spoke about in my last post - the iris and the summer rose.


 I love teaching and I was grateful to firstly have people that wanted to do my classes and secondly to have such lovely students. I love seeing people learn new things and gaining pleasure from painting. 


First up was my Summer Rose class . It was only a small piece but there was a lot of technique and we all had the piece finished by the end of class. I used the Atelier Interactives paints and mediums for this one. If you haven't used these paints before they take a bit of getting used to how they work but once you have the feel of them you are OK. I love using them now together with the mediums they offer so much scope to try different things.
At the end everyone was happy with their paintings so it was a good start to the weekend.




On the Saturday was my 6 hour class teaching my Purple Iris. This was a more involved painting using Atelier Interactives paints.







 


The air conditioning played a bit of havoc with the paints and mediums so it took a bit longer than anticipated but we all live close to each other so we are going to put the finishing touches to it one Saturday.








Saturday night we had our conference dinner and entertainment. We all had to dress up in the theme which was Baubles, Bangles and Beads. Everyone had a great night dancing and catching up with friends.

the three winners of our fancy dress - yes she does have a chandelier on her head!

Sunday was another day of painting but I was a student this time and I did a portrait study in oils with Cathy Van Ee. I haven't finished it yet or photographed it yet so will put it up in the next post.

This weekend was a great weekend too and I just love getting together with friends and having a whole weekend just doing what I love without distractions.

Anyway, I just looked at the time and realise that I will be late for work today so back to the grindstone.

Ah well we have to come back to earth some time don't we, even it is just to earn enough money so we can indulge in our passions.  Till next post....

My little quote for today from Dr Wayne Dyer

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change"

Have a great day everyone
Namaste
Lee

Catch Up

Well time is just flying by this week but thought I would drop in and let you know what I have been up to. I am trying to catch up on looking at everyones posts so please forgive me if I am a bit late in commenting...

Last weekend I went to the Shabby Vintage Junk Extravaganza with my friend Anna. There was so much eye candy there and it also brought back a lot of fond memories of my gran and nan because as I walked around I realised I had a lot of the kitchen things that were there . I was lucky enough to inherit a lot of my gran's and nan's cooking things like cake tins, measuring cups and things. Whenever I cook with them I feel as if they are with me in the kitchen. It takes me back to being a little girl in their kitchens, the smells, the tastes and the the whole atmosphere of a carefree time for a young girl with her beloved gran and nan. I won't throw any of these things out even though there are shiny new ones available because I have so many good memories attached to them.

Do you have anything like that? - something that you have inherited that is meaningless to others but oh so precious to you that you wouldn't part with it for the world, something that brings back the sweetest of memories of days gone by.

I also met with a few lovely ladies - Andrea from the Pink Poodle and Alicia from Time Worn Style just to mention a few. I also bought a few goodies.......

Some lovely hand dyed doilies, a couple of interesting books, an old prayer book, some lovely lace and a gorgeous enameled butterfly box.










Here is a close up











Thanks go to Tamarah from Shabby Vintage Junk for organising this weekend.

On my way home I had a detour via Carnegie and spied an op shop that looked interesting. In there I found these little beauties

 The really big book about the Great Masters was a steal at $20 and the other books were between $2 and $5. There is a book about astrology, a book of tibetan poems, a poetry book by Henry Waldsworth Longfellow (actually this was bought at the SVJ fair - oops), and book with sayings about sisters. I can see a few journal prompts out of this lot. I also found a brand new handbag that my niece will love (I hope!) - it was $10.

I just love it when I find bargains and i had a great day catching up with a friend and meeting new ones.

I haven't been doing much in my journals because I am in a made rush to get ready for our True Blue Decorative Artists annual conference that I am teaching at in two weeks time. I am teaching two classes  -



This one which is acrylic underpainting in Atelier Interactive Paints then glazed in Archival oils

and this one which is painted in Atelier Interactives






and as usual I have left everything to the last minute and now have to prep pieces ready for students, type the pattern packets and make little gifts and things to sell on our champagne shopping night.

I did manage to doodle a mandala, it just needs to be coloured in.

I am also going up to Sydney next weekend for the HayHouse I Can Do It conference. There are 5 of my favourite authors there giving lectures and it is going to be a fantastic time. I have my books all ready to be autographed and I am packing my bag tonight so these next two weeks are going to be a bit of a whirlwind for me.

Sorry but I am still learning how to put the photos where I want them and it looks a bit disjointed. Will have to learn a bit more about blogging.

Anyway, I hope you are all taking your daily time for yourselves and living creatively.

Namaste
Lee

While the Cat's away.....

Hi everyone

I received a lovely email from my friend Anna today and then saw a nice surprise on the Chroma website. I made some cards recently using Chroma paints and mediums and they have put the cards and instructions on their website in the Paint Talk section. I just love creating all sorts of things and these cards were a lot of fun to do. I was also very honoured that Anna chose to paint my Buddha design out of the magazine that I wrote about in a previous post. Hop on over to Anna's blog to have a look at her wonderful work.

This week, my husband is away with work all week (hence the title of this post), so we all know what that means don't we? Quick easy meals for dinner, no housework, and lots and lots of ME time. Luckily my boys help me out cleaning up the kitchen every night after dinner so I have been doodling and painting this week.




This first page is my doodle that I did in my new moleskin-like journal right after a nice long meditation. I just used my coloured sharpies and I don't think I have finished yet but I have stopped for a while because usually I keep fiddling till it is too busy and overdone.






 The next group of photos are a double page in my art journal. I wanted to do a collage. Here are my stages. The first stage is stamping and stenciling on the background.




I found a plastic placemat in the bargain shop and used it as a stencil first with black ink and a makeup sponge.





Then I turn it over and used the brayer on it to use it as a stamp.






Here is the result.

Then i painted a wash of Ultramarine Blue Deep and Diox Purple over the stamped pattern. While it was wet I placed the placemat back over it and used the brayer again, lifting off to leave another pattern.






I then stuck on some paper towel that I had wiped my brush on with greens and iridescent colours.  This was actually the inspiration for the next couple of steps and the picture I found. I also stuck on some patterned serviette pieces







I had a piece of black cardstock that I had sponged red and gold iridescents on it. I tore it and stuck it over the patterned serviette.
I painted some thick irridescent green over the dark blue background and while it was wet I pressed the stamp in the picture to leave indentations of the stamp. Then I stamped this all over the page.





I punched out some butterflies and stuck the leftover piece on the page.

Then I found a photo I liked because of the iridescent beauty of her dress but also because of her confidence and her care-free and blissful mood I saw in her. I love the way her dress is floating all around her. I then stuck the punched butterflies around the girl. I cut out a butterfly in the same paper and doodled on it. I finished the pages with Opal Dust on her dress and on the butterflies.

Then I found the words that said what I saw in the photo.  They say 

"Beauty comes from deep within".  

The large caption says, 

"Although genes have a great impact on how we look, how well we wear them is up to us. Decide now to 'dress' yourself from the inside out to reflect the person you always knew you could be."

It looks like I have covered up most of the stamped background but in person you can see it there.

Anyway, sorry for such a long post. I thank everyone who has looked and commented on my blog. I really appreciate the feedback.

I hope you are all having a creative week
Lee:)

Rainy Day outside

Well, this is the view out my front door - cold and rainy outside today, the perfect day to stay inside and work on my art journal that has been sadly neglected this past week.

On Friday I caught up with a couple of friends for a leisurely breakfast and received a lovely present from my dear friend Anna. I had given Anna some pieces of material that I had all great intentions of doing something with but never got around to. This is the result, a beautiful  handbag. I just love it, Anna is so creative!!

Anna also gave me an ATC - I am so lucky to have such a wonderful thoughtful friend. Thank you Anna.

Every time this week that I thought that I would have some time to create, something else got in the way and I hadn't been able to touch a page till today. Hence the theme of my first page, having enough time to do what I want to do. It is a matter of choices and how I look at time - friend instead of foe.
I seem to be stuck on circles and swirls at the moment. I used anything I could find today to make circles, old cotton reels, the end of a sponge brush, bubble wrap and circle stamps.

I am also a big fan of Dr Wayne Dyer and Abraham-Hicks' teachings and the transfer is from an article about time.
The affirmation at the end is "I intend to make time for myself to live the life that I came here to live."

The next page was inspired by my astrology chart from yesterday. It started with the question - What would you do if you had the freedom to do anything?  It talked about the list of things that you wouldn't touch, things you love just as they are. It is a reminder to recognise these things and celebrate them and that being grateful for what you already have is the key to greater comfort.
 Here is stage 1 and 2.
I started with a pinky red with lilac background. i bubble wrapped into the wet paint, then mixed the red with white and stamped bubble wrap on top (can you tell I love the bubble wrap at the moment?)









I then stuck down pieces of a nice serviette, then painted sunflower yellow and aqua in places












 Then came the astrology article, flower stenciling, doodling, stamping and finally the finished page.







Hence, these are some of the things I am grateful for:-

I hope you are all safe an sound where-ever you are in the world and that you are grabbing those precious moments to create till your hearts desire and celebrate what you have right now, because in the end all that matters is now.

Love lee:)

Quilt and craft Show

Yesterday I was demonstrating at the Melbourne Quilt and craft Fair on a stall for our wholesale art supplier. I was demonstrating at the BFDA stand using Chroma paints with mediums and so all last week and late (1am) into Friday night I was prepping background papers and making cards and scrapbook pages with the papers I had created or the techniques I had used. When I got to the show I had about a square metre of space to set up and demonstrate in,  and the next 3 1/2 hours went in a busy and happy blur. I was so happy to be able to share ideas with customers and help them with their questions. I found that most interest was in texture so I mainly demonstrated stenciling with texture paste and paint.

I had all good intentions of taking a photo there but remembered on the drive home that I had neglected this little task. Anyway, here are the papers that I was demonstrating and had prepared earlier.....

 and a couple of scrapbook pages too...

I would have liked more time to really have a good look at all of the other stalls as this was the first time I had attended this Fair and it was a feast for the senses. I came came home with quilting material even though I don't quilt and some gemstone crystals to use in my beading as well as some art supplies. So many ideas, so little time to do them in....

Overall I really had a fun day and met some great people. If I have inspired just one person then I am a happy girl.... Now to put these papers to good use and do some more journal pages.

Hope you are having a creative day
Lee:)

Busy, busy, busy

Well I had a lovely surprise this week when I received the latest edition of the Australian Fine Art and Decorative Painting magazine. I submitted a triptych of buddhas last year and they have been published this month. Here is the cover and the first page of my spread.

It is a buzz to see your work in print and I am really proud of these. They currently hang in my family room.

I also painted another buddha this week for my local framer who wanted a sample to sell a framed canvas kit they are putting together. They said to only do something quick but that's not in me to do half hearted paintings so i made it quicker by using the same colours and technique as the ones in the magazine but with a different face. I hope they like it.

As for my papers for the show, they are still happening. I just have to sit and make them into cards for display and I will be ready to write instructions. Hopefully I can get it all finished in time. Nothing like running right down to the wire is there?

It is still so cold here in Melbourne, I had the heater on till late in the night and had an extra blanky last night on the bed as the temperature dropped to 3 deg C. Tomorrow doesn't look much better so I  think that I will be creating till I drop tomorrow night, barring no more interruptions and a much better, less-stressed day at work so I can concentrate. For tonight I might curl up in bed and get plenty of rest for the day ahead.

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 My mantra for tomorrow is 

"This is a new day. One that I have never lived before,

I stay in the Now and enjoy each and every moment"

 - Louise L Hay

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Good night to all and hope your day is creative
Lee:)

Back to Reality

Hi everyone
Well what a shock back into reality last week going back to work after a week off. Sometimes I wonder why I have time off when I have to work twice as long when I get back. Anyway it was good to recharge the batteries and get some art journalling in. I have definately had withdrawal symptoms this week without it.

I have also been a bit quiet on my blog this week because I am demonstrating at stand E18 at the quilt and craft fair on Saturday and have been prepping some background papers and cards for it. My good friends Anna and Rachel are demo-ing on Friday.
I did manage to do one page in my journal which is a simple mandala coloured in with watercolour pencils..

 
I havent had much practise in these but I love them and just found a book yesterday which should help. Hopefully I can get some time to try another one this week.
Meanwhile it is back to the prepping. I will post some pictures later in the week of what I have planned for the show.

Happy Creating everyone
Lee:)

Creative day

Well, I have certainly achieved a lot on my week off. After cleaning out my creative space I have completed two more journal pages today and have had 3 other things on the go. No stress, everything at my fingertips (well we will see how long that lasts!!) Anyway, the first page is about things I am passionate about. I used watercolour pencils for the background and then used various things like a CD, the end of a cardboard roll, the wrong end of a paintbrush and a heart shaped brush scrubber to try out stamping in white. I also had much more success today writing with my markers  because I was previously was trying to write straight on top of gesso which Janet said was my problem. Thanks Janet, you were right, it just needed a coat of paint or pencil to make them work. You are a lifesaver.

The second page doesnt have any journaling. I had a stamp that I liked the saying of and it sort of lead the way. I started with Pthalo Blue and Pthalo Green background, Spritzed with water and then ran a credit card down the page to make the background pattern. I stenciled the butterflies with a makeup sponge which gave them an almost ghostly look, like they were unseen or could be touched as the stamp says. I stuck on gold chiffon ribbon and white tissue paper and then stamped the saying randomly in white, stamped the saying on a piece of vellum and there you go. The finished page. I just love bright colours. I have a bit of trouble doing things that are pastel or soft (as if you couldn't tell) but I will try to do something a bit softer in the future.

Well my art journalling course with Kerryanne is in its last days. If you are interested in taking this wonderful course have a look at Kerryannes blog and see when her next class will be. It certainly helped me remove my creative block, to make ME time everyday and to create everyday.
Have a creative day everyone
Lee:)

The aftermath of cleaning out my creative space

Well I finally was able to clean out my creative space,which is actually my laundry. We had extra cupboards and bench space put into it when we designed our house thinking is would be enough for my painting etc but I have outgrown it and it is a constant battle keeping it tidy so I have enough clear space to create. I am a messy creator  because there is not enough bench space or shelving and therefore I have things spread out all over the place when I am in the zone. My husband just loves climbing over books, paints etc to get to the ironing board to iron his shirts so about twice a year I have a big clean out and rearrange. It took me all day but I was able to go in there this morning and create without moving anything. Yeah!

Here is the latest page I did on my newly cleaned and rediscovered bench top. It is using tea staining that Kerryanne taught us, crackle medium, wood stain glazes and I distressed a couple of photos with sandpaper after seeing Milliandes videos.It is about some of my favourite childhood memories.

This second page is a doodle about a colourful life and what colour can mean to me.

Hope everyone has a great day. It is a bit chilly still here in Melbourne but the sun is out so all is good.
Lee:)

Flying

Well, this is my first doodle on my own.I still think there are a lot of improvements in my doodling. I dont like the way the colours run when they touch the "permanent" black lines when I dont want them to run. Do you put the colours down first and then outline or do you spray the black lines with fixative before you colour in? I am a bit frustrated with this.

I saw Toy Story 3 with my husband and 18 year old son today. I love these movies. They take you back to your childhood, evoke strong emotions (yes I did cry at the end) and enliven all your senses. I have always loved animations and I love the way you feel when you have watched one of these fantastic expressions of creativity. It reminds us that our Inner Child is still inside each and every one of us regardless of our age today. It reminds us to make time to connect to our Inner child and enjoy the simple things in life, to laugh every day, to make time to play, and to just have fun living. I think in this world today we have forgotten to do this on a regular basis and it is why I love these movies so much.

So what have you done today with your Inner Child?

What a week

Well I have had one of the busiest weeks at work for me with the end of the financial year. My head is so full of numbers, payroll, tax and money that it has been really hard to do anything else each night other than chill out and sleep. Luckily tomorrow is the end of the working week for me and I have one week on holidays at home so I will be getting back into my art journalling course.

It has been a great journey for me creatively and internally. It has made me spend time each day on ME which, when you start doing that you realise how much you didn't do it enough before. It has made me ask questions about myself like what really makes me happy, what I think is positive about me and what are my favourite things. After getting over the first hurdle of the blank white page, I feel less afraid of marking it and cant wait to jump in and create each time I get it out. Now the challenge is getting it out every day.

Here are two more pages that I finished last night. The first is the 10 positive things about me.  The second is an indication of where my mind has been this week at work surrounded by numbers.

The course is almost finished now and Kerryanne has set her little chicks free to fly on their own. I must say that I feel a bit like its my first day at big school saying goodbye to Mum for the first time. I want to run back into her arms but I'm excited about being independent. I want to hold on to the security of what I know but know I have to spread my wings.

More art journalling

Firstly thankyou to everyone for your lovely comments. I really do appreciate the feedback. 

Well I have been immersed in art journalling this week. It has been such a great way to let go and try different things. I love it. I am hooked. Now I need to convince my boss that another day less at work, and therefore at home able to do more journalling, would be a good thing. LOL. Dont think that will go down well! Anyway here are a couple of pages from my journal

In this one we had to journal about what we are grateful for. I had fun with an onion bag and texture paste.

This one is about quotes that are inspiring to me. Those of you who are fans of Wayne Dyer, Colette-Baron Reid will understand why these are so inspiring.

This is one I completed today and it is about the best things in life. I chose to doodle and stamp about the best things in life that are free. I think I will do another page on more best things because how could you leave out chocolate and art supplies!!

I hope you had a great weekend savouring your best things in life and will be back later in the week with some more pages. I think I have a few zendoodles ready to come out onto the page after being inspired by a very creative woman, Janet, here is her page and I am looking forward to seeing what prompts Kerryanne has in store for us this week.

Namaste
Lee

Art Journalling

After being told I have a bulging disc last week, I have been unmotivated to do anything much in the way of creative expression, but I have come out of my self-pity party and have started my art journal as part of the Embracing the Passion online course being offered by Kerryanne at Shabby Art Boutique. It has really got my creative juices going and I have just completed my first journal page which is all about Me.

This weekend in Melbourne is looking like being cold and wet; the perfect weather to stay inside and create. Have a good one

this and that.

Its a rainy day here in Melbourne, the perfect weather to stay indoors and do something creative. I have couple of ideas running through my head at the moment and hope to get into them today.
I am working through The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron at the moment and it has been a great motivator to look at where I want this art to go in my life and to become more aware of who and what is really important to me and to pinpoint where I waste time and where I need to focus more. The questions are thought provoking and enlightening. I like it too because the book is structured in such a way that you can sit down and read a chapter and do an exercise in half an hour if that is all you have.

Chroma has asked all of their artists to send them scrapbooking and related ideas to them for publication so it has spurred me into doing something with some of those ideas that have running around in my head for the last couple of months. Also visited my local scrapbooking shop yesterday(very dangerous) and came out with a lot more ideas in this already crowded head (oh and an emptier wallet!). Ahh need a few more hours in the day I think....

Getting back intot the swing of things

Well I was inspired to have a go at blogging again after a long absence by my friend Anna. I dont know whether I can do it justice but we'll see. I hope it will be a way to connect more personally with friends and people who are interested in what I am. It may be a bit of a journal of my journey to get my creativity on paper, canvas, beads, etc. Also may be a bit of rambling.

Today I have been at home with sciatica and maybe a bulging disc so I am not the happiest of campers although it was the most glorious day in Melbourne today and it gave me chance to sit out in the sun and enjoy just being in the now. It also gave me a chance to begin doing some journaling which I have wanted to do for a while, using the Julia Cameron book Sound of Paper. I am then hoping to tackle the Artists Way although the Morning Pages sound a bit daunting. I have heard of so many people getting so much out of this book that it is definitely on my to do list. My other favourite author Sonia Choquette is a great friend of Julia"s and recommends her book to many people who call in on her radio show. I also find that when I am forced to rest I find that I have so many ideas running through my head and then cant do much about them except in 15 minutes blocks of standing or sitting. Very frustrated! I am trying to have a notebook or sketch book handy at these times so that even if I get the ideas in words on the paper I am halfway to creating something. I think I will have to learn to write while lying down.

I haven't been able to do much painting lately but have really got the bug in the last week so I have also gessoed some canvases ready for painting today. Hopefully I will get some time on the weekend to actually put paint to canvas. In the meantime here are some of my most recent creations.























The purple iris was sold at the recent Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show as is going to be taught as a workshop at the True Blue Conference in August. The small rose is also going to be taught a the conference.

This is another one I put in the flower show. I was playing with a tonal study and textured background.

Well, I have been sitting for long enough so will have to lie down to get this back right. Hope to catch up soon.....