Monday 31 October 2011

Quilting on time restraints

My plan today was to have my haircut and spend the day quilting......sigh!!!  It didn't happen.  The haircut took longer than normal and then when I got home I found a bird that had hit the window of the house that needed medical attention so I had to turnaround and go back into town (30 min round trip) to take it to the vet.  So I didn't get back till lunchtime. 




Then family things took over. They were all good thing to do but it left me feeling discouraged that I still hadn't got into the studio today.

I am only able to snatch very small bits of time for my art and quilting at the moment.  I really value creativity in my life everyday. It helps me to refresh my soul and give me breathing space.   It is imperative for me to have this time every day but what happens when that space isn't there or when other people are snatching away my time?  Or there are bird emergencies ? Does this sound familiar?



I have come up with a few things that sometimes help me....

I find that
  • Making small spaces of time helps.  It is amazing what one can do in 5-10 minutes.
  • Getting up 1/2 hour before the rest of the house
  • Taking my lunch break in my studio and putting all the kids down for a rest for 1/2 with books.
  • Fine tuning house cleaning chores so they can be done faster and more efficiently
  • Making time for art.  Having that mental priority helps to get into the studio more
  • Taking small projects with me when I have to go out.
  • Having work to do while I am watching t.v with the kids
  • Having quilting reading material in the toilet :)  It takes a few days to get through a book but it is a good way to get something done
  • Let go of unnecessary obligations.  Do I really need to attend every Christmas party in December........
  • Celebrate what I can get done not what I can't achieve.  Making a list of what I have accomplished sometimes helps me to see this more clearly.
  • Have an area set up that can be used without having to worry about getting things out or putting them away.

I would love to know what helps you? So would you post a comment below of you have anything that works for you?  It might help me through this time or help someone else.

Maybe tomorrow I can get some times to quilt.

Saturday 29 October 2011

Photography this week

A few more photos of my wonderful break away. 
This week they are the birds I saw.
ENJOY!!!














Thursday 27 October 2011

Skechbook challenge: 7 days of drawing


My sketchbooking has not gone well this week.  Many things, most of which are out of my control, have prevented me from sketching everyday. I am going to make more effort this week to start drawing again because I really need to do it and becasue it is helping me so much.

I have done a few pictures but nothing amazing. 




Imaginary faces

My husband's baseball cap

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Quilting-Insipration

My violin quilt hasn't had any more progress on it this week.  I've had some unexpected happenings in my life and my quilting has been put to the side for a wee while.  I feel like I have had my right hand cut off but life it like this sometimes. It creeps up on you and hits you with a whammy. 

So today I am going to post some photos for your art inspiration that you can use for any of your art work. Feel free to copy and paste and design to your hearts content.  Just use my name with the photos please if needed.



















Choose a photos and challenge yourself to make a piece of artwork this week.  I would love to see any results.  Post a comment on this post with a link of your work.

Catherine xoxox


Saturday 22 October 2011

Photography this week

I had a lovely few days away with my hubby this week.  We went to Hamilton.  Hamilton is 1 1/2 hours away from where I live in the north island of  New Zealand. It was nice to talk in sentences and to be adults and not have any cares or responsibilities. 

While we were down there we spent a bit of time in the Hamilton gardens.  They were stunning and I had a lot of enjoyment walking through the gardens taking photos and enjoying the beautiful fragrances of flowers and trees.


Bud


Bud


Turtle pond


Dripping with wisteria


Duck on Turtle pond


Turtle pond


Raindrops on the water


Raindrops on the water
 

Bush area


Skechbook challenge: 7 days of drawing

Sorry I am a little late posting this week but I have been away...on my own.....with my hubby....I know how did I manage that?  It was one of those mini miracles that happen once every few years.  We had a wonderful time but I am glad to be back with my children again.

This week I have been doing a variety of sketches in coloured pencils and ink.  I'm not going to date them as they have been worked over the whole week again. 

So these are the pages I have done this week about the theme view.










Monday 17 October 2011

Quilting-Painting whole cloth quilts

This week has had many ups and down and a lot of time taken up with other pressing matters.  It is one of those moments in my life where I have had to put my art aside a bit and change my focus on other things.  I don't really enjoy doing this but I have alot of pressing things that need taking care of.  Life's like that sometimes :)

In the last couple of weeks I have had time to finish painting the top of my daughter on her violin.  I have enjoyed painting her and I was hoping to enter into a competition but I just plain ran out of time.  It has been a challenge but I love the results.


The skirt has been painted and stamped and stencilled.  I used homemade original designs for the stamping.  To add texture to the skirt I used different sizes of bubble wrap.

I added a dark line around her bust line to give more shape to her.

Next I added a paler shape around the back of her. 

I changed the photo into black and white to make sure I had enough tones on her.

I didn't like the background so I turned it into a full circle.  This really looked like the moon so I decided to make a night sky behind her. 

I will add more of the dimension to this piece with free machine quilting.

As I have painted this piece of work I am feeling closer to my daughter.  It has really helped my relationship with her grow and flourish.

Friday 14 October 2011

Photography this week



Photos from a beautiful Garden I went to.  I love cherry tree blossoms. Just stunning.















Thursday 13 October 2011

Skechbook challenge: 7 days of drawing


The theme for October is view.  I spent a bit of time gong through the dictionary finding out definitions of this word.  I decided to focus on small minute views of the human body.  I have started with parts of the face.  I have drawn more than one a day so I won't date these pages I will just load them as a collection of drawings over a week.  I have challenged myself to do them from different angles and form different models.





Eyes








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