Getting into the spirit

I once started a book group. It was at work. I made some posters, sent out emails and got a fair few people signed up. I can't remember who chose the first book, but I suspect it was probably me - His Dark Materials by Philip Pulman. It was a cracking read. I arranged the first meeting and the grand total of one person, other than myself turned up, and she hadn't even read the book yet. That was the end of that book group.

Efforts since then have been considerably more successful. Last year saw my gleeful and enthusiastic participation in the Wreck this Journal Group run by Jamie Ridler. What incredible fun that was and who knew that it would be the start of such a wonderful creative journey and the introduction to some lovely new friends?

The Joy Diet followed, but like most diets, I fell of the wagon near the end. It was fun while it lasted though and in particular I just loved reading what everyone else felt and then jumping up and down with glee when they felt the same as me (in other words, I was pleased I wasn't alone in my strange attitudes!).

New Year means new books and, even better, new groups. I have to admit though that I have a whole cupboard full of books I haven't read yet. It's not that I don't read, in fact I've usually got several on the go at once, it's more that I just can't resist... Yesterday for instance I was walking past a charity shop and saw a sign in the window - ALL BOOKS 50P - well, how could I say no? It would have been rude and uncharitable not to (picked up a Barbara Erskine, Valerio Massimo Manfredi and a touring guide to Britain full of lovely maps which I suspect will be finding their way into my artwork sometime soon).

So, back to the Groups. I am now reading The Art Spirit by Robert Henri and hope to have submitted my application in time for another Jamie Ridler extravaganza - The Happy Book. The latter is a mailaround project with each participant having the book for just one week before passing it onto the next.

The Art Spirit is a bit like having a bona fide famous painter giving you lessons in the privacy of your own home. There's no pictures, no colour guides or step by step painting building. It is simply written advice and shared wisdom. Interestingly, there aren't any chapters or any form of index - it just sort of rambles and is really a collection of letters, essays and articles written by the great man. I find this slightly odd, but by the same token it does mean that this is a book that you can just dip in and out of at your leisure. I've only read the first few pages so no proper post on my thoughts or progress yet but watch this space...

I'll leave you with a quote from the book to have a ponder over.

"For an artist to be interesting to us, he must have been interesting to himself. He must have been capable of intense feeling, cand capable of profound contemplation.... Nature reveals to him, and , seeing and feeling intensely, he paints, and whether he wills it or not, each brush stroke is an exact record of such as he was at the exact moment the stroke was made."

Robert Henri

An expedition into new territory

Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday prompts us with the word 'explore'. What do I wish to explore? Well, this could be a long post... how long have you got?

Oh the joy of exploring a new place - especially when you arrive at a holiday destination. It doesn't matter how tired I might be from the journey, I just want to get out there...

I remember a short break in Nice with my husband as he was then. I'd booked us a ridiculously early flight out and had been so excited the night before that I don't recall actually sleeping. We arrived on fresh July morning greeted by the scents of baking croissants and hot coffee. What happened next is perhaps indicative of why he is now my ex-husband. While he slept behind blackout curtains I explored, ventured, tasted, tested, climbed, watched, drank, smelt and revelled! Best bit of the holiday for me - always that first explore! How can you possibly want to sleep when so many treasures await discovery outside? So, naturally it goes without saying that I wish to explore more places - from Italian cities to Maharajah palaces, Grand Canyons and wild mountainscapes and tropical paradises. Yup, they're all on the list...

Of course, I could just stop this post there, but where's the fun in that when the world and life offers up so much to us? How could I not but put passion to paper and dream of running amok amongst my creative potential. What alleys and vistas lie in wait for me there I wonder? What exactly is my potential anyway? Have I found it all yet? I don't believe I have, so frankly it's about time I got on and did don't you think?

There is a lot of me waiting to be discovered and unlocked. I fear I may not like all that I find (since it was me that hid it away so successfully and I no doubt had good reason for doing so) but since when was life ever easy? If there's one thing I've learnt over the years, it's that you really must face your problems head on. Locking them away under the floorboards doesn't help because sooner or later you'll need to open up that little 'treasure' chest and deal with its contents.

Finally, I'm rather looking forward to exploring the winter wonderland that greeted me this morning. A couple of inches of soft powder snow and more falling as I write!

I have been experiencing a great deal of coincidence this week (perhaps I should explore why this is so!). The latest is this (unfinished) piece (above) I've been working on just yesterday. I was trying to capture, would you believe, something of that wonderful feeling of holiday magic. It is by no means finished, but the background is trying to represent a sky blue shutter with the sun blistering back the layers of paint, I'm not sure where the picture is from but it looks like a Mediterranean resort, fragments of maps speak of journeys past and future. If I have time I'll try and finish today and repost it.

Postscript: finished version now on show and available for purchase in my Etsy shop!

Angels

When I respond to art challenges I always take it as a prompt for writing too, often allowing the image to illustrate my words and thought process. There is something so therapeutic in seeing both the flow of paint and letters and creating something unique and personal.

That saying, the more observant among you may notice that there is no paint in the image above - it is in fact a digital manipulation of a photo of a stone angel - but just employ a little dash of that thing called artistic licence if you would!

This angel for The Three Muses angelic theme is very serene and a little sad nursing her broken wing, so I bathed her in heavenly rays of light.

My thoughts turn now to guardian angels. Are they also your Muse I wonder or a separate entity that watches from afar and gently guides you through life's twists and turns? Or perhaps there's a little bit of them in those we love. Certainly there was some angelic presence in my son tonight. I took the little fella out for dinner as a reward for earning 'Star of the Week' at school. He is such a pleasant dining companion and spent the duration of the meal charming both table staff and diners alike. After polishing off every last scrap of his meal he then entertained the crowds with a spot of dancing - quite the little mover he is too, he even managed to entice his mother onto the 'dance floor' too. When I feel low he's certainly the best tonic there is - my little angel!

You might also like this angel I created for an Inspiration Avenue challenge just before Christmas.

Monkey Business

On Christmas Eve a most unusual guest arrived to stay with us for a few days over the festive season. We were most honoured to play host to the little fella for he's got a busy worldwide schedule ahead of him over the coming months and plans to have many adventures. In fact, so that everyone can keep in touch, he decided to start his own blog (a monkey after my own heart). So why not pop along and follow the tails (pun and typo intended) of Mr Sole Monkey as he visits bloggers across our mighty nations. If you ask nicely, he may even visit you too...

Something from nothing

I can't throw anything away, I'm such a hoarder. This annoying little trait is magnified when it comes to art supplies. I keep every little scrap of paper, ribbon, twine. I have boxes of the stuff overflowing across my lounge carpet as I write. My Mum despairs... but it comes from her side of the family - her Mother was just like me. The art comes from that side too.

Anyway, rambling aside, it was a wonderful moment when I discovered that the challenge for Mixed Media Monday this week was 'Leftovers'. What fun! I collaged a heap of scraps then made something from seemingly nothing.

Pic above is the final version. After the collage, I layered some acrylics then transferred the dreamy image and added the words as well as a little bit of this and that. Is she perhaps about to eat that leftover cupcake do you think?

Available to buy in my Etsy shop.

Budget cut slashes movie hopes

Something odd happens whenever I host the challenge at Inspiration Avenue... My Muse decides not to play.

A poor effort from me this week on the theme of At the Movies. Let me explain further. I was fresh from a blockbuster Christmas. I'd been wowed by Avatar and wooed by Mr Holmes. The natural beauty of Pandora was playing games with my imagination. I wanted to conjure a world of fantastical flora and fauna an leave a trail of wonder for great detectives to ponder over.

I assembled my cast and burnt the midnight oil with the script-writers. I argued with the director, fussed over the costume department and focused my attention on the art direction.

It was all coming together so nicely... but then... the actors went on strike, the budget was slashed and the location flooded. My thought processes were interrupted by other projects and I was constantly fighting off the attentions of male leads. So, we are left with this simple digital amalgamation of the two films I watched over the holidays. Shall we call it "Sherlock Holmes and the case of the missing Pandoran avatar"?

Both films are worth watching, even if Sherlock starts to resemble a Bruce Willis action caper on occasion. A little more decorum please - this is England old boy after all... I could quite happily watch Avatar with the sound off, it is a most beautiful creation. I wonder if they do weekend breaks?

Happy New Year!

A little bit of our celebration from yesterday! Best wishes to all my blogging friends, may 2010 be everything you wish for!

Simply take:

One long red pepper

Some goat's cheese or other soft cheese you like

Some herbs - basil or parsley

A small chilli

A small clove of garlic

A few small and sweet tomatoes

Some seasoning

A little extra virgin olive oil

Halve the peppers and remove the seeds. Mix all the remaining ingredients together then spoon into the peppers. If you happen to have just cut a crusty loaf and have a bread board strewn with crumbs then grab a few of those and sprinkle on top.

Bake for approx. 15 minutes in a moderate oven until the pepper is cooked and the mixture gently bubbling. Serve with love, bread and a drizzle of something tasty.