Photography for the week

My gorgeous family

I captured these photos as my daughter was leaving to go back to university.  I want to say a big thank you to my beautiful family for always being there for me and being such a great bunch of people.

Pouches

I am making pouches from quilted fabric that I love but wasn't successful as an art quilt for the wall.  It is one way to reuse and repurpose something that is beautiful but can't be used for it's original purpose.

These little pouches are simple to make, gorgeous and very practical.  I have used them for women's feminine products, technology (ie phones,  MP4 players, IPods) Lipstick/makeup holders for your purse, jewellry pouches and hair tie/clip containers.

They are soft and slip into your handbag really easily.

They are fully lined and have a velcro fastening which keep all your belongings intact..

You can make them what ever colour you like.....

With any type of lining......

In any colour.......

And with any texture on them......

They make stunning gifts........

And are only limited by your imagination.

Stay tuned for next week when I will 

post a blog on how you make them.  

My quilting studio

My studio was beginning to resemble the local dump or refuse station.  It seems to be the place where everything goes with no home or  things that are needed later that can't fit in the house.  I have in there at the moment carpet, 2 spare beds, the recycling,  some old bottles my boys found under the house,  the cat cage, a desk I had been waiting for someone to help me put up and lots of bits bobs and pieces.

This week I have had enough!!! I spent a few day cleaning it out and reorganising the furniture so it works more efficiently.  It is really important to set up your space to work for you.  Everyone works so differently and can work in quite mediums so it would mean everyone's studios work differntly.

I work in separate work areas wet, dry, reading and sketching  and book work.  I also have to have a rest each day since I have a large family and would burn out too quickly if I didn't.  So Some of my needs in my studio are a rest area, somewhere to read and sketch, a paint area,  a quilting area and a desk.

I have had a desk that I wanted to use but I had never put up before.  I had asked both people in the house who had put it before to help me but they said they couldn't possibly remember.  I gave up after asking them 5 times and figured it out on my own.  It took a while but it is done.

It feels great to have a tidy space again and one that isn't filled up with junk zappy energy.  I think this has been one reason that my creative flow has been zapped a little lately by the mess.  It has much better flow and the areas I need a much better defined.

I have made a little reading, sketchbook and hand work nook by the door.  As we go into summer I will have a nice cool area to sit and work in in the afternoons.

I have opened the space up a bit and made it easier to get around furniture.

I have put all my art sketchbook supplies in one corner so I am not walking backwards and forward to much to other areas of the room.  I have also made up the bed that has been stored in here so I can use it when I have sickies or when I need an afternoon cat nap :)

So I think I will celebrate my achievements this week with a well earned play with paint and texture!!  

Have a great day!!!!!  I will be :)

New pages

As many of you might of noticed my gallery board and other photography pages aren't on my blog at the moment.  I have removed them temporarily to do some more work on them.  

http://wendysueanderson.blogspot.co.nz/2007/01/crazy-hair-and-sweet-sweet-mail_09.html

They were seriously out dated and needed some drastic work.

  

http://manvscredit.com/credit-repair-guide/how-to-remove-outdated-negative-information/

I unfortunately chose to remove them when I got the chicken pox so 

it has taken longer to sort them out than initially thought.

 So keep posted (pardon the pun)  and they should be back soon.

http://www.centerenterprises.com/to_keep_you_posted_stamp-p-54588.html

Photography this week

Magnolias

In all our world around us there is beauty that can only be seen when we look closely and carefully at the fine details. 

What fine details can you see today?

Re-working an art quilt

This week in my studio I have been re working some older pieces of work.  Work that still is relevant to me as an artist but needs more depth.

Some pieces of work no longer fit into my relevant work.  These I have taken off the canvas and cut up and made into small purses/pouches,  given as presents, made into book covers or sliced into thin strips to be remade into something else.

One piece that I love but wasn't quite working is "shell we sea".  "Shell we sea" is a art quilt based on New Zealand shells.  I like the design but the strong black lines and washed out colours weren't working for me any more.

I felt the colours were to wishy washy and to restricted in pallette.  When I looked at a shell more closely I noticed far more colours that I had originally used

I added with paint sticks a lot more colour.  Purples, yellows, pinks, greens and more varieties of blues.  I also tone the black down by adding navy and bright blue over the lines and blending the lines more into the work.  I am really pleased with the added richness this has brought to this piece.

So what your thoughts?  Is there anything else you could suggest to add more depth to this quilt?  i would love to hear from you for any further suggestions.  

Success

What is success?  In our society success is often measure by how much money you earn, how many belongings you have accumulated and how busy you are. This has never worked for me. The more I have tried to earn more and get more things the less successful I have felt. The busier I become the more selfish, tired, grumpy and less successful I feel. The more I serve others, take time to smell the roses,  have time for people and just be, the more successful I feel.

Success is Knowing............

• People come before things or programmes or functions.  
• My children love me 
• My family is happy and fulfilled
• My talents are being used to bless others
• I am a better person than I was yesterday
• I can rise above negative situations
• I can give my best no matter what the outcome
• Someones day was better because of me
• I can learn from my mistakes
• That failure is success when we learn from it and not let it defeat us
• I am wonderful even when others think I'm not
• creating something new that wasn't there before
• That little daily occurrences make success. Like learning to ride a bike
• That it is O.K. to have bad days because we can't recognise the good without the bad

• 

Success should be measure by the values we live and the people we love and the way we live.