Following the i ching

i'm trusting in the wisdom of the i ching and being creative whenever i can...a new term starts today though so time for this will be reduced to slithers. i've probably got my priorities wrong, but i'm just trying to survive. thieves stole my number plates and they are going to clone a car and do bank jobs and i'm going to get millions of parking and speeding fines (or worse).

these pictures aren't finished...i'm not good at finishing....i've finished my entry for seth's call for work....but i'm not good at posting either....i hope it will get there...otherwise it will have to go and sit in the drawer with the sketchbooks from last year's sketchbook project

which never got done.

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This girl blew my head off tonight

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i get to watch 'the voice' every week when i am visiting dad in hospital and i'm totally hooked. if you like mega voices and in your face style then check out tonight's performance by Ruth Brown. she is my new hero.

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what the I Ching told me

my sis has an I Ching book and sometimes we open it and throw the coins. I'm not sure about the fortune telling properties of it (in fact i don't know much about it at all) but occasionally it has been remarkably accurate. Never more so than when my Dad took part just before his cancer diagnosis and his readings were all about coming to the winter of his life and letting go of life. We were a bit taken aback at the time and I don't know about everyone else in the room but it brought a massive lump to my throat.

Anyway, for a while now (well, since January to be precise), each day I have been doing a tiny drawing in a small diary I carry around with me...it's true what they say about doing something daily for more than 21 days...it becomes a habit. It's become a little ritual, even on days that I don't feel like making art or on days when I don't have time to make art. Each space or day is only about 7cm x 4cm so it doesn't take much to fill it. I think it's a good way to be creative even when you're on the move and it's a nice record of days.

Here's a pic I took of the diary last week and a little picture of some figs that I drew on Friday.

Recently, I did another I Ching reading and I asked the I Ching how I can get through the challenges I currently face. Sometimes, it all seems overwhelming with so many problems colliding and sometimes it feels like I won't get through it. The I Ching told me loud and clear that creativity is the way. I was quite cynical when i first read the readings because I felt that art had become trivial and meaningless. Now I've had a few days off work and a chance to splat some paint about it does feel like it is a way through.

Thanks to everyone for the supportive messages on my last post and to Celestehttp://celestebergin.blogspot.com/ for encouraging me to blog. I'm not sure what the next months and years have in store for me but I will do my best to be here and at yours and to keep being creative whenever I can.

Long Time No Blog

I can't believe it's nearly three months since i last said something here. A day after my last post and the luscious croissants, my precious Dad was rushed into hospital for emergency surgery (as if having terminal cancer wasn't enough). He underwent four major operations in three days and spent a week wired up to machines in the critical care unit. He pulled through and has been recovering in hospital since then. It's been a horrendously difficult time, juggling work and as much visiting as we can every day and seeing someone we love suffer. Soon he will be discharged from hospital and he'll need 24/7 care. I don't know how on earth we will cope.

How people survive more stressful situations than this is remarkable and my thoughts are with people around the world dealing with oppression, war, torture, violence and starvation. If I survive this ordeal, I mustn't forget how unbearably difficult life can be and I must help people who are finding life difficult.

This picture was taken by a friend in her living room...hopefully she won't mind me putting it here.

Give-away time-up

I had a lovely morning yesterday. some time to wander around the city centre

and treat myself to a few non essentials
Neal's yard products aren't cheap
but they are fabulously wonderful

These giant chocolate croissants were

completely over the top but a special treat

I couldn't resist this ribbon

or this !

and now for the winner of the teeny weeny zig-zag book..

Thank you all for commenting.

I loved everyone's ideas...they are all very inspiring

i now feel highly embarrassed that the prize is so measly

just a tiny little book that has been (not very well) made by me!

Anyway Rosie is the winner because she's going to take

the book on a journey....and who can resist a journey.

Can you email me your address Rosie and I'll get to the post office asap.

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cosy

This winter seems long, dark and cold.

Nights are spent by the fire ripping up old clothes

and crocheting them into weird floppy baskets.

i salvaged this from the bin at work

an interesting technique

has anyone seen it before?

you kind of over sew in different colours

then clip the yarn so it makes

sort of a rag rug but with wool

small things

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it's nice to work big when space allows for it

it can be liberating

and bold

and a good way of using up lots of materials

that need using up.

but working small is good too

you can find beauty in tiny scraps of materials

and focus on small buttons

and titchy found precious stuff.

I've been making teeny-tiny zig-zag books

they fit in pockets and purses easily

handy for hospital visits.

they measure about 3cmX4cm

and, because they are so small,

maybe I should be selective about what goes in them.

I have this one to give-away.

To win it just leave a comment saying what

you would use a book this small for.

I'll pick a winner at the end of the week.

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