Friday Feeling....Out and about

Well hello, It has been a lovely day weather wise,  and I am really enjoying my time both in the studio, hot though it is at times, the sunny weather always seems to bring out an increase in ideas and techniques to try I will show you a few images later.  Equally I have been spending time enjoying the garden without having to dig up anything or weeding.

Honeysuckle plant

The colours are coming together in the garden, I went for pinks, purples, lilacs, 

Lavender

The lavender not only gave a lovely scent when you touched them, but the colour was very pretty as well

Lavatera

My lavatera has grown into a tree, it has a tendency of growing a bit wild, but I made sure that after the last winter I cut it back a third, this helped it and the flowers are out in abundance, attracting bees and butterflies,  it is a shame that it doesn't have a scent as well

Sweetpea

 The sweetpea come out year after year, and I haven't yet trained this plant to grow along the fence so they tumble down around the other plants.

Daisy

 The giant daisy is another one that comes up each year and is spreading, I might have to dig some of the clumps up and plant in other parts of the garden to break up the purples and pinks

Bindweed - flowers are lovely

 Another plant that while is a nuisance, has some very pretty flowers, and this is the bindweed, it wraps it self around other plants and can be difficult to separate, but I like the trumpet shaped flowers that it produces

 ......and so I allow them to grow and then remove in places where I want to keep it free from the bindweed.

Plums are also something we get to enjoy from the garden, and the fruit are beginning to turn purple, so over the next few weeks they should be ripe to pick.  I will have to think about some recipes to make with the plums as well as hand some out to the neighbours.

I appreciate having the outdoor space that enables me to get away from it all and stop and think about the life that continues to happen without my input.  Things grow and die down, they change and adapt, and I allow myself to reflect on my life, my relationships that are so important.

We want like the blooms and the plums to be fruitful in our own lives, to be a blessing, and encouragement and support to someone else and we need to make sure that we invest in ourselves.  This could take the form of exercise, eating the right food and spending time being creative.  That said, I did a couple of new pieces, and will have more to share over the next few weeks.

I made a decision to get more work complete before I go onto the next idea.  It is always a joy to see the ideas grow, and what was a splodge on the paper, grows into something totally different.

 In this painting, I was imagining myself on a boat, and the feeling you get as you know you are going forward, but you have your eyes closed and you can feel the sea breeze on your skin, and the feeling of freedom as you imagine yourself flying or spreading out your arms like Kate Winslet on the film Titanic

The hat was the first thing that was formed in this painting, and I was thinking about someone is a rice field, - then the staff appeared in the painting and it brought back memories of the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and there is a particular scene where they are chasing each other through the trees, it is beautifully shot, and I recommend it if you get a chance to see it.

Next Friday will see the return of Gratitude's and Celebration, and I will continue to use it as a reminder of all the things we should be thankful for, as I spend time creating a journal page.

Hope you have a great weekend.  Tomorrow I will be sharing a recycled project, so remember to pass on back this way.

Blessings!

Reflection.....Scars

Last week came and went very quickly and while I plan my course of action for this week I think its important for us to think about what we achived with our time looking back on the week that was.  I have been getting up very early to not only spend some time praying and talking God but also tapping into my creativity while the house is still and all are sleeping. It's a wonderful time and on some days I can catch the sun in the garden and hear the birds as they fight over the fat balls and sunflower seeds left for them.

At the beginning of last the week with all the rain brought in the spiders, this one I promise you was massive, and seem to have a weird shaped body!

They seem to gravitate over my creative space in the corner of my kitchen....was this the unexpected I that was coming my way..... a small part, I realised I no longer scream as loud when I see these spiders anymore!

I also managed to visit a garden centre near my mothers in North London,

It is deceptive in size, and houses some beautiful plants, it has a lovely feel and at the back it has a mini pond with fish and water loving plants, it's an oasis and the staff are lovely!

On the way home were the guys prunning the trees back, not sure why they do it in June but I guess they grow quite fast and will be springing back come September.

Or perhaps they forgot to do it in spring and trying to catch up with themselves, I do love trees their welcomed shade in the scorching sun, and hearing the rustling of the leaves in the cool breeze..... What areas of your life still need pruning in order to make room for new growth?

Went on my usual walk, did 2 laps which is 1.54 miles, taking it steady, and increase my efforts this week to 3.08 miles.  They have finally placed the boarders with flowers and they are looking really pretty, as they establish and grow out a bit they will start to fill out the spaces.

Still not eating wheat, feeling so much better, though my son still loves pancakes - the American style ones,  so made a batch one morning.

In trying to get more organised, there are many things that have to change and some things that have to go altogether.  I am trying to look at everything with fresh eyes and ask myself, 'do I really need this or can it go to a better home'?.  What usually comes back is 'ooh you can make something really neat with that, or that would look good in assemblage art', and now everything has potential in being used in mixed media art in some form.  As much as I love trying new things there has to be a limit and you have to be tough on yourself, and maybe ask yourself the reasons you are holding on to stuff (unless of course I can get me a studio and all my supplies can go in there!).  This got me thinking about the things that we hold on to that come from pain, that hurt is usually a scar, we can have many different type of scars. 

When I was 6 years old  I use to walk along the wall in the picture, minus the hedge.  The wall seemed massive to me and I was proud of myself for conquering it -  when your smaller things look bigger. One day I was happilly walking on it as usual and I fell and cut my shin on my left leg in two places.  I cried, felt angry and slightly scared that it would happen everytime I walked on the wall.  The wound on my leg healed, but the scar to this day, over 30 years later still remains.

There are so many experiences that we have as children that we carry as constant reminders, something someone said, or an incident and they can often be carried into adult life and impact how we view the world.  

The experience on the wall didn't stop me from climbing on walls and I never went round with the attitude that all walls are bad, but it did remind me that sometimes we hold on to the emotion of the experience and the way the 6 year old Amanda dealt with it then is very different to the way the adult Amanda needs to deal with situations, it is no longer a huge wall anymore, it is the little wall it is now, holding no power over my future decisions. 

Think about the things that you have been holding on to from way back, that impact on your today, think about the lesson that you can learn and what you can decide to let go of and finally and clear out.

Friday Feeling - Expect the Unexpected

My motto for next week is - Expect the Unexpected!  I took a moment out to reflect on the week,  quite a few things happened and it's funny that once you start writing about it you realise how much you actually got done.  I was able to take some much needed time out today do some writing, stopped for a cappuccino and this is what I got a giant cup that you had to hold with both hands.... Massimo! 

I saw an unexpected sight around 40 horses being led trotting though a street in Hampstead, we had to pull our cars over and by the time I realised what was happening, thought to myself this would make a great picture and got out my camera, they were passing me and I only caught the backside of them.

This is the third week that I have been posting the 365 days of colour (here is an extra one for you today). Some of my assumptions I had about the project were proved wrong, but it is interesting how we can allow negative thoughts to sway our decisions and our creative outputs.
 

After the first week I had some doubts about what I thought I was doing....  I had few responses to what I was posting and I felt the doubt creeping in - that perhaps I should have made it something else, thoughts raced through my mind....(challenges usually involved other people and if no one was commenting, no one was interested).  As the week went on I started to get a few responses from fellow bloggers, it was a blessing to read their comments of encouragement. 

I had momentarily loss sight of the real reason I started and it was to share my love for colour and flowers, and some of the wonderful quotes and scriptures that have blessed me, if other people commented that was an added blessing.  It was supposed to be about giving and the knowledge that in 365 days someone somewhere around the world will have been touched by an image they have seen or a quote/scripture they have read.  The added benefits are that there will be growth, just as in the many challenges we take part in we hope that part of us takes some learning from it.  I can definitely say that the challenges I have done so far have made an impact on my work and  I look forward to seeing how this personal challenge will impact on me, if only one person is blessed it's worth it.  I will create a badge and your welcome to add it to your site and start sharing some of your flower photographs and if you want to share your favorite quotes and scriptures please do.

I also gave a talk on my experience as a carer to a group doing their MA in social work.  I was also able to show some of the creative tools I use in my work and how simple things like a journal made from recycled materials can enable a carer to start expressing their experience and impact on their health and well-being.

 
If you are interested in further information about art and health I manage a Arts in Health NHS network of resource information and regularly update it with information and events that I come across that relates to this area.

Alan's book launch was a success, It is his second book called EKidz in Cyberspace, published and available from Tate Publishing and Amazon

 
There were lots of interesting questions asked about the process of writing the book.  The message of Internet safety for young people is an important one that Alan tackles.  I will be interviewing him to find out about his motivation and passion for writing and hopefully have a competition to win a copy of his book, in the meantime check out his website

Sekani, our son played piano with a friend called Steve Green a very talented musician but who also designs bespoke jewellery and this is just a small fraction of his talent.  He will be working on his website and you'll be able to see some of his work soon. 
 

We're hoping that Sekani will finish the rest of his songs and make an album here is a snippet of Sekani and Steve playing while there was a refreshment break, (please forgive the zooming in and out and the shaking by yours truly, it gets better half way through)!

My mother enjoyed the event, there were lots of helpful young men who kept mum occupied while I took some of the photographs, this is us on the way back home, Alan is driving!
 

. 
Sekani  finished his exams this week (Yay), he's been doing his GCSEs, like a lot of young people at the moment.  It has been quite a stressful month now we just wait for the exam results - he will be 16 years old this year (doesn't time fly, I still keep thinking back to when he was a cute, hold your hand and smother you with kisses and hugs little boy (he was 3 in this picture and I used to wear my hair short then..... am I getting old!))

This was taken in Barbados

Managed to get a couple of walks in, another one of our local parks which is lovely, there are so many other walkers and joggers, I managed to do 1.4 miles - 2 laps, which I will increase next week... small steps to a fitter me!.
 

 I did the outer route

In closing, as I  reflect on the week I have a strong desire to get things finished, a few things in the air and there needs to be closure in order to move on to the next experience, opportunity and adventure.  Perhaps it's time to have a clear out... you never know when something totally unexpected will happen.  Stay blessed!

Friday Feeling...

I have been thinking back over the past few weeks at what I've managed to do creatively, I seem to be in that in-between stage of deciding what the direction should be for a number of things....  I'm sure as I dwell and reflect and pray the answers will come.

I have continued to sketch and journal, as doing something every day is essential to your health and wellbeing! I met up with a friend and we spent a couple of hours painting, it was great to work in the same room as someone else as I usually work on my own.  We are going to try and make this a regular feature to our week.....

I spent a lot of time at the computer connecting with other artists, there is always something interesting to see creatively online by all the talented artists out there.  This week I was inspired by Karenika, she seems to fit an amazing amount of creativity into her day - very inspiring!

Drove up to Bedford to the The Birds of Prey Centre with Alan and Sekani (I had given them a flying and handling experience for Christmas)  It was lovely to get out of London for a few hours and see some of those beautiful birds.

I managed to miss the deadline for the sketchbook challenge on my Art blog, but I will still write up what I did for the post, and then start this months suggestion.  I have also been preparing for a series of talks for Social Workers which look at the experience of the carer.  Whillst my mother continues to deteriorate with the dementia, she is holding on to her humour, laughter and zest for life!  To help me cope with the role I developed a memory book and other tools which look at different aspects of her life and means that whatever setting she is in others are able to interact and  help her talk about her memories and things that she has done with the family over the years.  I am still putting them together and will be sharing these over the next few weeks.

The 365 days of colour that you have been seeing posted is primarily to enable me to share the images of some of the wonderful flowers I had photographed that I see on my travels or plant in the garden, I also come across a number of quotes and scriptures that inspire me, I hope they do the same for you. Honeysuckle and Jasmine are two of my favorite plants and I finally got round to buying a couple, they are steadily establishing themselves in the garden. 

I also managed to get out the last of the seeds that I had in my collection which will hopefully produce some pretty flowers mid August/September.

With the wet weather we have been having it has brought an increase in the slugs and snail population, these ones here are the prettiest in the garden, making acquaintances!

and the spiders seem to be trying to find refuge in the house!

....this one was massive (honest).... the picture doesn't do it justice!

As I have also been trying to get more exercise, I started walking again with a group of women once a week, it helped me motivate myself knowing that there were going to be others taking part, and that this time was just for me! I managed to do 6 laps round the field, and planning to increase the amount each week:) This morning I went to my local park and walked 1.4 miles!  It's been a fine morning and it's amazing how many other people young and old were doing exactly the same thing (some were moving quite bit faster than I was and these were the elderly ones!)

Tomorrow, Saturday 11th June  is the launch of Alan's book eKidz in Cyberspace, The address is EEC Centre, 9 - 23 Marsham Street, Westminster, WC1P 3DW UK if your anywhere near your most welcome to come along.  It starts at 6.30pm until 9.30pm.  There will be refeshments served at the start of the event.

Finally, I have been messing around with photoshop and have managed to teach myself some new techniques.  I wanted to be able to incorporate some of my photographs with my art work, and I am getting the hang of things.  I've got Susan Tuttles book which is handy as the techniques use photoshop elements.  I am quite pleased with my attempt, and know that with practice I will get better at using all the functions.  Hope you have a blessed weekend, and looking forward to seeing and hearing what you will be getting upto for next week!