m o r e b r i g h t s t u f f

bright spell

my bright spell is not new...

it's a while since I treated myself to this

bloomin gorgeous original drawing from Yummihouse on Etsy

but more bright things have been manifesting themselves recently.

like this painting by my sister (she'll kill me if she finds out I've put it here)

and this basket which I couldn't resist

then there's the bright collage that we started at a recent

workshop for adults with visual impairments



i'm enjoying my bright spell

tube of magic

in July i had a tiny bit of time and i attended an abstract art course taught by a guy who i wont mention incase he doesnt want his name splattered across the internet. his classes were recommended to me by a friend who really rates him. i wasnt disappointed. his teaching style is half art half comedy which is a fine balance. it got off to a good start when he stabbed our attendence into the register with a fork and i knew i was in the right place.

we spent six weeks making a cardboard sculptury type thing and created a large abstract drawing from it (silly me hasn't got any photographs of either) it was all based on Kurt Schwitters' work and ideas of Mertz (that might be spelt wrong). anyway i gave my drawing/paintingy type thing to a very dear friend (who might also like to remain nameless) and yesterday it arrived back in a tube. He'd added drawing, collage (i keep finding bits of things I've made and sent him in the past) and stitch to create a magical painting which i absolutely adore.

a collaboration i didn't even know i was part of

THANK YOU R

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last weeks of summer

sweet peas in my sister's garden, nice flowers, pretty flowers great tendrils. (i think this is the bigger image as requested by rose).

tangled

I'm hoping that these tangled lines and rustic surfaces will inspire some new paintings.

sunshine

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i still haven't found that potion..the one that makes more hours in the day and more days in the week but 2 days of spring sunshine reminds me that the end of the academic year is nearly upon us (well, we are 2/3 of the way through - so that's well on the downward slope) and soon I'll have time to make some art. Lucky me has enrolled on some courses here and here.



Recent arty finds are these delicious ceramics, Elaine Pamphilon's recent paintings this outrageously yummy yarn shop - they have an online store so you too can run up a rediculous credit card bill just like me. This is the stuff that i couldn't resist and how's this for summer?

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Y

I'm working on a potion to make extra hours in each day, extra days in the week and extra days in a year. When I succeed I'll be arting around so much I'll use up nearly all of my , some say, rediculous (but they don't know any better) collection of ephemera and art 'materials' and i'll have to go and hunt out some more. I'll be here more doing show and tell too. Until then here's some adorable badges that one of my learners with learning difficulties made this year.

Happy Valentine's Day

work in progress 2

I've started this so i might as well finish it. I've just added another layer and will do some more when i get back from my holiday. Woo woo!

the woman inside the machine

i found this old art college book buried under a mountain of sketchbooks. we had a project where we had to take an object and dismantle it.

i chose a typewriter

when i took the cartridge inside it to pieces and read the tape (backwards)

i realised there was a woman in the machine.

her cv and letters etc were on that tape. it seemed like the typewriter was her tomb.

i felt a bit voyeuristic but it was in the name of art and if people can chop up sharks then it must be ok to read someones accidental memoirs..........

it's funny where we leave traces.

i have three more typewriters......

if you are at a loose end this weekend.. i thoroughly recommend smashing something up to see what's inside

this reminds me of another textiles project i did. where we had to deconstruct something to find inspiration

i'll show you that another day when i have ventured deep enough into the landslide of abandoned and unfinished art projects to find it!

painting in progress

i don't usually mind that much what people say about my artwork

although i was very flattered once when someone who was wearing the

coolest shoes in the world bought a painting off me.

the truth is

the only person i am really trying to please

is

myself.

is that bad?

anyway. this effort doesn't really have much of

an effect on me at all. it's kind of

here

and

I'm doing it

and I'll probably

finish it.

i've been working on it in the living room,

on white sofas which might have a bit of

dark paint on them now.

it's been here for a week or so.

it's been interesting

observing people's reactions to it.

Most people look at it and ask

if i did it and then they just go ummmm!

A couple of people

said they liked it.

my reaction to their reaction?

indifference

is that bad?

wHat wOuLd yOu do wiTh thiS?

well this is what i did (i might do something else too) in my humble Paint programme. I've put a linky list over on the right somewhere so you can check out what everyone else does - so give me a nudge folks when you are done and i'll add u in.

Thanks for joining in :o)

wHat wOuLd yOu do wiTh thiS?

One of the things that most fascinates me about art is how you can have a group of about thirty people give them the same task and they all come up with something different. It's amazing.

This is a collage and paint background i created. I was about to work over it but then i wondered what other people would do with it. So if you have the time, download this image and work your magic with it. Just remember to show us what you do!

important information.

more digging

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I reckon Seth is the super hero of the blog-e-sphere.

Not only does he create awesome art and produce an impressive blog and Etsy shop (not forgetting the zine) but his powers stretch to getting us all together on a regular basis and inspiring

creative endeavours galore.

We should make him a super hero cape

(perhaps grrl can knit him one).

As part of his latest call for action - I've been digging around and found this image which I took last year in a quaint old street in northern England. I love the way the shoes have been carefully displayed - they remind me of lttle birds. I love old shops they make such a refreshing change from globalised high streets or, worse still, the out of town shopping centres that my friend calls 'non places'. You know the type of places she means... places that suck out your soul. Motorway services stations, large corporate office buildings, banks, fast food restaurants. We need grrl to cover these places in knit and save our souls.

Anyway visit here to see the little man that owns this shop checking on his window and some of the other shops in this street.

thanks to Anne for this award

and check out her blog for a chance

to win some stamps.

I'm convinced that

making books is

good for the soul.

To counteract

the bad karma from any

shopping malls you may have visited
check out Karin's brilliant video

here

There's a chance to win a lovely book too!

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evidence of an orderly person

It might be hard to believe it when you look at this but in my head I am convinced that I am an orderly person - I mean I can write lists. I'm surprised i don't even have lists of lists. Look at this one at the front of last year's holiday sketchbook. Can you see how neatly I have crossed everything off?

and look how neatly I packed everything

into my little art bag ready for the journey.

This is evidence of

extremely organised behaviour and a good reason

why my (for the time being nameless friend)

shouldn't have my number in her moble phone under

Ms Clutter.

Look, the sketchbook was even divided up
into sections surely proving that
i am a meticulously organised being.



On line courses seem to be the rage and I bet
you'll all be lining up for my lessons in how to
live a life like this.

digging around

there's been a lot of excavating for buried treasure going on around blogland recently and there's more to come soon. I've been doing some digging around of my own recently as my protracted house move (I won't bore you with the details) gradually nears it's conclusion. Anyway, I found this canvas that I did last year - it was one of four I did but I haven't found the others yet!

it's only small..here's some of the detail

and here's the finished piece

I've got to make room..it's going to etsy.

Buried Treasure

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Is there is anyone that doesn't know Seth and his call for buried treasure to be unearthed? I think not so I needn't explain anymore. I think he was one of (if not the) first person to find my blog and make comments. When we have the blog awards - i reckon he'll be first down the red carpet to pick up a well deserved award :o)

here's what i dug up
http://thisdisorderedlife.blogspot.com/2008/01/today.html


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pink graffiti

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i've been doing some stuff for a nine year old girl

and her granny

and, as my friend would say,

things around here have got a bit
gopping!

(i love that word)

so when the spray paint and stencils

came out to play

it was hardly surprising that

the graffiti

was

pink.

I'll be baking cupcakes next.

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where there was mess

it's great to have a tiny bit of time to get things done in what is turning out to be the longest house and studio move in the history of disordered artists - but don't let these pictures of ultra organisation fool you, there are plenty of piles of mess to be dealt with.