Announcement!

Introducing to you a little mini version of Jimbo and me! The time has come for the "public" announcement, even though most of my family, friends and pets and their families and friends and pets know about it. I found it hard to keep my mouth shut about such a huge thing so I basically blabbed the news to many people!
We have hit the 12 week mark and the little munchkin is due on the 9th of November.
A big fat congratulations to Sally from Georgie Love too for her news and can you believe it, we are due at the same time!!? Plus, I even bought this tile that she wants, I thought that was an extra funny little coincidence! (It's awesome in real life, by the way- and from misterrob.)


Back to the baby news!! We had our ultrasound yesterday and I giggled through the whole thing. We've got a dvd of it and so far I have watched it numerous times. Every time I woke up last night I thought about how bizarre it was that I have this little thing living and kicking around inside me! It truly is going to take a while for my brain to wrap it's self around this fact. And you know when you find a new hobby or something you really had fun doing and you wake up the next day and think, yes, I'm going to do that again today and you're all excited? Well, that's how I felt about watching the dvd again.

So this is why I've moved back to the country, and also why I have made up my mind to really focus on my own art and craftiness for the next 6 months instead of doing heaps of illustration work. I am so excited about taking some time to really find my own inspiration again and follow through my artistic urges (which are taken over at the moment by illustration work) and also make some baby clothes, toys and quilts. Not to mention the fact that I'm dying to get into the garden and grow some veggies but I just haven't had the time.

And blogging! More blogging!

Links and Tagging

Before I start this post I'd like to apologise once again for being a very slack blogger. My plan is to finish up all the crazy amount of illustration work I have on at the moment then really get back into my blog and etsy shop. (Illustration work will be tying up at the end of May.) I have not had time to do much personal arty stuff at all. But here is something I made recently for my mate's 30th birthday. When she opened the present I told her she had to name it, and she said "Oh-Clinkett!" It was such a funny response as it was so quick, it was like she didn't even have to think of a name. It just came out. She is a funny girl.
So here is "Clinkett":



Following are some links that I meant to post a while ago, but better late than never.

The first one for you to look at if you're interested includes a snippet of my own work! Indie Art & Design has written a fab article about the awesome magical pink world that is In.cube8r Gallery. And look, whoa, there's my stuff! And just look at that colourful necklace at the end of the post with the white hand holding it up. I can't take my eyes off it. It's beautiful.

A good link you might want to add to add to your bookmarks list is the list of 100 great Etsy artists. A Thing of Beauty has compiled a list of 100 artists that all sell through Etsy. I'm thrilled and humbled to be a part of this great list. The post explains the aim of the list and promises more lists to come focussing on different areas of creativeness. (This list is of painters & illustrators, in other words the 2D kind of art.)

I can't get over the amount of great stuff out there! I know I say that all the time, but heck, it just blows me away every time I do a little browsing around on the net. I really feel out of the loop with what's going on because of the lack of internet browsing time I've had lately.

So, on to the tagging. I got tagged by Georgie Love AND Kim Bagwill. Extra pressure to do the task!

The Rules:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

I know I have done this before, maybe more than once, so I hope I don't repeat myself which I have a tendency to do. I'm too lazy to go back and check my previous answers!

Ok.

1. I am totally against spray air fresheners of any sort. Probably the worst would be those plug into your wall types. Not only have I recently heard that air fresheners can cause house fires, but I hate the thought of breathing in all that chemically crap that goes in to making these things.

2. This one is not about myself, but my Dad. You know when you get a loaf of bread in a plastic bag and after you take out what you need and go to tie the bag back up again you get air trapped in there? Well, my Dad puts his mouth to this opening and sucks the air out. It really is quite amusing if you see him do it for the first time as it's totally unexpected.


3. Celebrity magazines annoy me. I don't understand the fascination with wanting to read about these people where all the stories are probably either made up or embellished and exaggerated. I also don't understand why the magazines pretend that they really admire the celebrities and pretend to be affiliated with them in some kind of friendly way but then make all this fake stuff up about them and talk badly about them when it suits. Not that I loose sleep over celebrities and their problems, but anyway, just thought I'd give you my point of view on these. (Which doesn't mean to say I don't occasionally flick through them when I'm at my Mum's house and catch up on what seems to be going on with Tom and Katie..)

4. I love watching Dr Phil. I always have my lunch ready by 12 noon for when it comes on and use that as a timer for my lunch break. Sometimes I really get into it and even explain episodes to Jim when he gets home. (I'm sure he is grateful of this!!) I think some of the stuff he says makes a lot of sense. I especially love it when he comes down hard on drink drivers. Go Dr Phil! I'm NOT going to be embarrassed of this!

Hmmm. Seven is a lot isn't it?

5. Today I didn't get out of my pyjamas until about 1.30pm. I started work at 7.30am but just got too busy and getting dressed just kept getting put aside. I'm happy that I'm clothed now. Even if it is only in extra daggy tracksuit pants.


6. I have lived in 14 different houses in my life. You may remember I moved closer to the city? Well, it didn't last. I am back in the country again. I will take some photos and explain my crazy self very soon!

7. Last one! Ummmm. I am struggling! I hate the wind! It sucks big time! I would rather snow rain or hail than wind. It blows my cobwebby hair in my face and annoys me! It messes things up and blows rubbish around. I'm sure it has it's benefits and I wouldn't get rid of it if I had super powers, but I dislike it all the same. What a lame seventh answer!

Now I am tagging Lollie b chie, My Folk Lover, Lino Forest and Two Little Banshees. Four will do wont it?

The Rotten Possum

"Pwoooahhh, what's that smell?" Jim says whilst we were sitting out in the backyard enjoying a nice sunny day. "Smells like a dead animal!"
"No idea" I reply. I have a quick look around the area, to no avail. "Can't see anything."

A couple of days pass and my Mum comes over to visit. Strolling around the backyard she announces to me, "do you realise you've got a rotten possum over here?"

"Eeeeeewwww!" I say. "The dogs obviously aren't interested in it otherwise they would have got to it by now." I cover it up with a thin layer of sawdust to try and lock away the smell.

Later that night whilst working on an illustration job with a tight deadline one of the dogs comes in my studio to say hello. Uuuurrgh!!! The smell!!! What the hell is that smell!!?? "Urgh! You guys STINK!!!!"

Dogs get locked in a room for the night to lock away the stink. The next morning it's dog bath time, dog bed washing time, and picking up pieces of dead rotten possum with a shovel from every corner of the backyard. Dead possum goes in box.

Box goes on fire.


Possum burns.


A job well done Jimmy.


"I wish I was still chewing on rotten possum jaw bone."


"Don't my master's know that dead possum makes a waaaay better perfume than dog shampoo? I spent so much time just getting the right amount of aroma on my fur."



A few days later, the dogs locate another dead leathery mummified animal on Jimmy's farm....

-----------------
Good work mutt-bags!

So there's my little story of the rotten possum. So sorry I have seemed to have fallen off the face of the Earth recently with an unannounced blogging break! I have been thinking of you, my blog readers and have been meaning to write. Lots of illustration work going on and other projects that I'm working on that probably can't get much of a mention until certain books get published. So general life stuff & happenings for now it is.

I promise I've got news coming up. It's been an exciting year so far, even if it seems I've been quiet and unproductive.

I'll be back soon :)

New Print, New Blog & Death By Chocolate

Geez! It's been a while since I added a new print to the shop! Anyway, this print is from an artwork by me that I call "Falling".

This is part of the description that I wrote for it in it's listing:

"I hope you get some sort of nice feeling as I do when I look at this picture. It's got a carefree, fun and blissful feel to it I think. When I made this artwork I was trying to capture a feeling of enjoying the simple things in life, such as fun, love, the beauty of nature... you know, all those things we sometimes need to tune into in a childlike way and forget our day-to-day responsibilities for a while. "

This can be found here in my shop.

Need some more arty internet goodness? Head on over to the new art and illustration blog Pikaland for some eye pleasing images. This new blog really looks promising and is a portal to the huge world of modern art and illustration that's going on out there. Amy, the lady behind it has already been digging up some really nice stuff. I see some old friends in there already and some new stuff that I haven't seen before but am excited to discover.

Thank you Amy, I'll be enjoying that one.

Off to stuff my gob with Mexican food tonight with my brothers and Bell (my brother Russell's girlfriend). It's Valentine's day today, so happy Valentine's day to all of you. Who celebrate it. Jim didn't even know it was Valentine's day today, the old hopeless romantic. We never do anything for it really. So I'm going to go out with my brothers and maybe just because it is a chocolatey indulgent kind of day I'll have to order the "death by chocolate" for dessert...? I really can't see that I have any other option. I'll try to remember to take the camera along for some photos to tease you all with the food. I LOVE Mexican food. Can't wait.

Wednesday Art

I think it's been a while since I've shown any drawings or paintings just for the heck of it here on my blog. So here's one today. My Mum likes this one because she reckons she says that all the time. A common phrase for me would be, "Oh for f&*^s sake!" I can't help it, I'm addicted to it. Naughty words. I'm a bit of a swearer I'm afraid to admit!
Anyway, this pic is on smooth water colour paper, my absolute favourite of water colour papers. I get annoyed with texture on papers, boards & canvasses and much prefer to make my own texture using paints. So I used paints, a bit of coloured pencil and some pen. The pen ink seeped just a tad into the paper which was a happy surprise as it gave it an aged look which I liked.

I am working on some special top secret projects at the moment, which will involve some of my craft & art work being in books. I'm quite excited about this, as normally I do illustrations for publications to what other people specify; I can't remember having much of my own personal work in publications. Especially my craft work, so that will be a first. My lips are sealed tightly at the moment, though don't hold your breath! I'm not sure when these things will eventuate, but when they do, I'll be sure to blog about them here.

So now I'm off to do some more crafting for these projects... I'm in a positive motivated frame of mind today which must be taken advantage of!

Tuesday Ramblings

These little buggers are driving me crazy. My new house has a possum problem!! They don't make much noise- the problem is my dogs barking at them. My dogs are usually well behaved- but I have never lived in a house with possums before. I did some research about getting rid of them, but came to the conclusion that I can't do anything about them. Apparently catching them and relocating them is a no-no as research has found that they do not survive in a new environment. The tip is to make sure all gaps in your roof are blocked and to put up possum boxes in the trees for them to live in. Well, that ain't going to stop my dogs from barking.
One of my neighbours has informed me that my dogs are barking quite a lot when I'm not at home, which is causing great stress and concern for me!
My neighbour also mentioned that she hates possums, as she sees them as a pest. This has got me thinking (again- not the first time I have thought about this subject) about what we really consider pests to be. The possum is a native animal and rightly so is protected. We are the ones who have moved into and destroyed their habitats, and yet we are the ones projecting hate onto these creatures. The same goes for kangaroos (considered a pest by farmers) and wombats (I often hear people talk about people shooting wombats because of the damage they cause to their houses). I don't know or understand why the common wombat is not protected.
I agree with the philosophy of The Australian Conservation Foundation that "Wildlife populations have rights of their own to exist and flourish independently of human needs".
I'll also extend this outlook to the much hated snake. It just doesn't sit well with me that we can destroy native animals habitats, use the land for our own purposes and then label the animals as pests when they disrupt our lives.

Looks like I'll be having some more nights of broken sleep with dogs running around the house whining and barking. I think I'd like to look into some other possible alternatives such as training them not to bark at the possums. Or just not go out at night when they're here with me and not with Jim.

Any suggestions!?


Here, my lovely bloggy readers, are some new necklaces that I have dubbed the "Sweet Home" range. There's one each available in the shop as of now. I think they are sweet and homely. I took these photos outside because my light box was one of the casualties of moving. I think I might set up a corner somewhere in the house especially for taking photos. Better add it to my ever growing and non relenting list of things to do!

Sea Change

A sea change... to the city!
I recently moved from Warragul to be closer to my friends and family, and all the action the city has to offer. I've moved into a really old house with a huge backyard, by suburban standards. My Dad seemed to think upon inspection that the house was a bit of a "dump", though I am quite fond of it and think it holds a lot of character and personality. Perfect for creating artwork in! I find brand new houses to be devoid of any life. Their walls know no history, and they, alot of the time, haven't had the same efforts put into their construction. Ornate ceilings and hardwood trimmings and shelves... that kind of thing.
Anyway, with a new house comes new favourite areas. Things you see that make you happy. I'll share some of these things with you now.
Some have nothing really to do with the new house; they are just items of mine that I feel fit in quite nicely. I especially am fond of the old peeling-away-in-parts green textured wallpaper. It matches so well with hanging pictures. When I'm painting I like to really texture & grunge up backgrounds and subject matter. Same as with old & grungy houses, I think it gives them age and character.
So lets start at the front door. The first small favourite of mine.


Then we venture into the loungeroom to find some extra daggy and almost kitch wallpaper, with a perfect little wall-nook for some of my softies.


A corner of the loungeroom that I set up. I was quite pleased with my efforts, and although it's not a great photo hopefully you still appreciate my design efforts! Now you may be wanting a close-up of a couple of pearls in this photo... yes?


This I thought was quite a find at a local (to Warragul) antique store for $18 smackers. I'm not sure how much it's really worth (the antique shop is usually pricey) but I just love it. I bought it as a home warming present to myself that I wasn't allowed to open from the protective packaging until I moved.


And this! This is such a happy little bonus that I get in this house! There are 3 of these here, they are the air vents. Gorgeous!! I love them with as much bird-love there is to be had. And isn't there alot of that around lately?


I think that was the highlight, and smart people usually finish with the highlights, but not me. So what am I saying? That I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed? Sometimes I think that's the case!
This is a Christmas card I got from a mate this year that was so damn cute I just had to frame it. I like the way it clashes against the cheesy wallpaper in my room.


And check out these tiles in the bathroom cupboard. Possibly my favourite colour at the moment. And what a bonus! The job is possibly one of the crappiest tiling efforts I have seen for a while. There are quite a few, ok, stacks of things in this house that have been bunged together in a hurry or not having the right tools or supplies available. They are, at the least, good conversation topics when people come over and amuse themselves by bagging out certain areas that could've done with a bit more tlc. Laugh away visitors, laugh away!


So there you go. A sneak peak preview of my place. Not that you really know what it looks like as I've only provided little bits here and there.

Now, can someone tell me why I'm not doing the work I should be? It's taken a while to get started today. It seems whenever I start something, something else pops up first that needs to be taken care of. Can you believe, when I was trying to get my printer to work (my everyday invoice printing printer) that not only was this setting me back and I was performing numerous head cleans and print tests... that the curtains just fell down right behind me. So then I spent the next hour or so fixing the curtain rail.

Ok, so my house is old and there are many half-arsed rush jobs. You have my permission to laugh at that one.

Bits n Bobs

Happy New Year!

I hope we've all had a good break? I enjoyed mine. Lots of food, drink, friends and family. I've got some happy snaps to share! The first one is Gazz, myself and Russ. The three siblings hanging out at St Andrews pub. The next photo is Russ' girlfriend Bell and me. This was actually on Jimbo's birthday. I think he was inside whilst we were taking these. Oops.



This is Dad in his shed on Christmas day. I was liking all of the colours of the number plates and the fridge. A real Aussie bloke in his shed. This one might just be a framer. Although I'm not very happy about the squirty bottle on top of the fridge. Ah well, what can you do? I am no photographer!


Next we have Jimbo and Gazz in the shed, still on xmas day.


Now for the first crafty goodness for the year. This is a one off original purse titled "Displaced". It's more pricey than my usual purses, but that is because it's an original and a lot more work has gone into it. Not too thrilled about the photo, the light was doing tricky things on that day, plus my camera was going flat so it was a bit of a rush job. This purse is now sitting in my cube at Incube8r Gallery. With the start of the year I have decided to take out extra space in the form of a partition in the gallery from which I am able to sell some art and prints. Check out my board layout that I set up on Saturday. I already made a sale before I had completed setting it up! I hope that's a sign of things to come.
A little birdie tells me that there are a few vacancies at the moment within the gallery. You can check the website to get all the info on how this funky little place works.



I've got plans for new art and prints and necklace designs. You may be familiar with the prints and art here on show, so I think it's time to really get to work and come up with some fresh new stuff. I'm hoping this to be one extremely productive and creative year. I have a bit more time on my hands this year so let's hope I don't spend it all partying. Maybe just a bit of partying and the rest creating.

Merry Christmas and all that..

I have decided to lighten my load for a while over the festive period and give myself a little break. I've got a few illustration jobs to tie up, and then hopefully I can have a little bit of a holiday. After all, everyone else seems to be doing it! So, I probably wont be blogging here until the new year, and I just wanted to pop in here and wish all my blog readers a merry and safe Christmas.
I've got lots of crafty and arty plans for 2008 and I hope you'll be here to share them with me. I feel it's going to be a good year for creating.
So, see you soon in a fresh new year!

Welcome, Stella

A new baby girl has arrived in the world named Stella. She is my niece! I have only seen her for a little bit but cannot wait to visit her at home and play with her. It's such a happy time for my sister-in-law Chantelle and her other half Dave and the whole family. She'll make a great Mum.

I bought this little organic cotton hat and stitched a lil elephant blowing coloured bubbles onto it for her. And me being not too familiar with babies had no idea that she's not going to grow into this till she's about 50. Well, maybe not that long, but her little head is too small for it now. But that's ok, it's summer here. I was too scared to hold her (I thought I might break her.) I'm planning on using her to get over my fear of babies. Once that fear is over I'm sure I'll be holding all the babies offered to me for a cuddle!


Just a quick photograph addition to end this post. I was requested to show what the latest necklace looks like on. This was just a quick shot I took of myself. It's quite hard to take photos of yourself and show what you need to show. I tried taking a photo the other day of myself with one of my bags and necklaces and thought it turned out ok, only to see a skanky old dog bone lying next to me on the grass. I am such a rush-head that I sometimes forget the little details.

Anyway, this'll do for now. Rock on.