Category Archives: Screw Work Let’s Play

Apple rainbow, soup man and fabulous friends

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I am a little late posting tonight. I will miss my midnight deadline and missed posting yesterday as well. I am learning not to worry about the little things. I will do what I can when I can on this 30DC journey and remember why I embarked on the challenge in the first place… to bring the JOY of creativity back into my life. So… if it becomes anything less than a pleasure, I must stop.

Yesterday evening I had a good hour or so to focus on my art, but nothing was flowing, nothing became real. It was still fun, though slightly frustrating, so I just continued to play with no results to show, just a pile of images, arranged, rearranged and abandoned… put aside for the moment, to return to (or not) another day.

I no longer worry if I do not produce a finished piece at the end of each day, as long as I have made an effort to do something. This morning, smallest boy’s mind was thinking creatively as he sat with his healthy breakfast laid out on a plate in front of him. “Look Mum, it’s a rainbow,” he told me, looking at the way he had arranged the fruit in an arc on the edge of his plate.
The other food-related observation of the day came at lunch time when some of small son’s soup splattered onto the table. “Look Mum, it is a man and he has a bit of his arm missing.” I saw what he meant immediately. He is three. It made me smile and will be entered into my book of things my small son has done that made me smile“. I have such a book for my big son as well.
In downloading the photographs from my camera, I noticed that he had taken a sneaky photograph of me whilst I sat at the top of the stairs giving a friend advice on the phone about which art materials to buy for her son’s 8th Birthday, at the same time cooking up plans for future workshops in my head, the ideas flowing as we talked about easels and art boxes, brushes and paints.
I do love it when the boys pick up my camera and start snapping as I used to love doing with my own little camera as a kid. I love seeing things through their eyes, looking at the world from a different (usually lower) angle. I liked this picture as it captures the slightly chaotic, informal feel of our little home. I was pleased to see that he had taken a few pictures of his brother as well and tried his hand, once again, at self-portraiture.

This evening, three of my fabulous friends came over. We all have children of the same age, are all creative in our own separate ways, and once in a while find that getting together for a drink and a chat and a spot of making is just what we need. So tonight, the tea was flowing, the honey sweets and chocolates were consumed, the news was shared and the evening passed with each of us working on our own individual projects, inspiring each other to create and sharing life’s latest trials and triumphs. For me, this is one of the very best ways to spend an evening. Every artistic Mum should gather together a group of friends to share and create with… at least once a month. It is good for the art, good for the soul. There is no pressure. Sometimes one of us will make more tea than art or pass an hour of the evening flicking through a fascinating new craft magazine, but it does not matter… it is about being creative friends together, supporting and encouraging each other to do the things we love.

I was not sure what to do, so chose to play. Setting out with no outcome in mind seems to work better for me on some days than others. At times, when I have an idea in mind, know what I would like a piece to look like when completed, I feel disappointed by the result. The opposite can also be true… I can start out with no idea where I am going and end up producing something I had never envisaged and be pleased with the result.

Tonight, I played with cotton buds dipped in white ink, dancing them over black paper. After a couple of smaller patterned pieces, I worked on an A5 sheet, again drawing with white ink on a cotton bud, cutting wiggly lines from an old book, sticking them down, then drawing on top with a black wax crayon and adding some more wiggly lines of tissue paper to the piece. I was both surprised and happy with the result. It was like nothing I had ever created before, but I may one day attempt to make something similar again.

Pass that good feeling on

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A productive day at home today. All action and progress. It feels good.

As a mother of two young boys, life is sometimes hectic, often challenging, usually fun. Time away from the boys comes with a variety of emotions: relief at not being woken in the very early morning, blind opened by a little hand to reveal daylight to the cries of small boy announcing “It’s wake up time Mum!”; I feel guilt (for a whole host of reasons, try finding a Mum who doesn’t); a feeling of urgency to get a million and one things done in a relatively small window of time; then confusion about what is important, what is not and whether I should be doing chores, chilling out or having fun (probably all of the above, each in moderation, but the confusion combined with the urgency regularly leads an overdoing of one and neglecting another); and excitement at what can be achieved on my own when I put my mind to it. But really, when all is quiet here, without the little fellas running riot, I do miss them and usually have the radio on, talking in the background, keeping me company.

My intention today was to do some domestics (tick), complete a plan for a workshop to happen here at home (tick) and do a little bit of art (tick). I woke naturally at 8am and worked in my pjs until the postman knocked. I reached an arm around the door, popped my head out, thanked him, then dashed upstairs to get dressed. I cooked up a deliciously simple stir fry (broccoli, asparagus, carrots) for breakfast, put the washing on and engaged in some online chat and cheering on of fellow 30 Day Challengers. Planning the workshop was a pleasure and the feedback from the 30DC community helped enormously with the little question marks in my mind and spurred me on to commit to the first date. So, my first Life Collage workshop will be held on Wednesday May 30, 8-10pm.

The prospect of hosting an evening workshop here at home, sharing with other people an activity which I find both relaxing and deeply rewarding, is most exciting. Now, all that is needed is participants, so if this is something that may interest you too, please come and join me.

Today’s creation is a simple Life Collage, an example of what can be done with everyday materials and a little inspiration, and to map my feelings at this point in time, almost two thirds of the way through the 30DC. What began as an experiment, a challenge, a blog, is becoming a path, a journey, a way forward. I am becoming clearer and more focused on the things I enjoy, ways of applying these to my daily life and ideas for sharing them with others in a practical, accessible way. I am finding the things that make me feel good and I want to pass that good feeling on.

Friday night

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Invisible. Floating noisily from room to room. Walking, talking. Silent. One way, you. Another. Mirrored in glass of etching’s frame. Words spoken. Beautiful face. Silent. Invisible. A word. One more nothing. Hungry. Feed off conversations overheard.
Speed away.
Don’t look back. Only black.
Restless again.
Need light. Option flight.
Tonight.
Nothing stirred. Lines read remain on walls. Unabsorbed. Butterflies kept me. Safe.
The tide. Tied.
Free. One two three. Not me.
Hands full. Eyes tired. Breathe break. Strong enough. Strong. Enough.

Practice, patience and perseverance

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There was a good feeling in the air today. I do not know if it was the promise of sunshine rather than rain, or the fact that the kids got dressed and out the door on time without too many asks, or maybe it was just heading off into town to meet people I love spending time with, knowing I would return home inspired made me smile.

My morning was spent with Sue Kreitzman at Spitalfields Market in East London. Sue is one of the most colourful, creative characters I know. She is a prolific artist and is in fact a walking work of art, always dressed up like a glorious painting, you can see heads turn to take her in. She is also one of the most supportive and generous of friends and I find her one of the most uplifting people to hang out with. When we meet, our animated conversation always revolves around art, whether it is a project we are collaborating on, an exhibition we have seen or some other thing.

Sue lives, breathes, wakes and sleeps art. Her home is crowded with a rich combination of her own paintings and sculptures mixed in with those she has collected over a long period. An obsessive collector and compulsive creator, Sue has a style which is joyfully, playfully kitsch.

I have wanted to interview artists for a long time, but for some reason, have never quite got round to making it happen, so I took the opportunity today to speak to Sue about her art. It was fascinating to hear her talking about her transformation from cookery writer to artist and how, being so abundantly creative, she finds at times that it is difficult to turn off the inspiration and just be.

There is something very powerful about being in the presence of such a strong creative force and whilst some of us are struggling to find time in the day and space in the house to draw/paint/sculpt, it is encouraging to see what really is possible given time and space and with materials close at hand.

This afternoon, I met with Lynne at the Royal Festival Hall. Lynne and I have been working on the Step Up 3 research project at Pallant House Gallery for almost a year now. We usually meet at the gallery, working in the library or studio there, but chose a change of location for our meeting today. There is something very refreshing about working in a public place, getting away from your normal workspace and immersing yourself in the life of the city whilst you work. Lynne is putting together a workshop pack on Jean Dubuffet and we discussed in detail, some of his methods as well as those of the Art Brut artists whose work he collected. We excitedly explored the possibilities of a number of ideas for practical workshops, talking about how different artists have created great works of art without using any traditional art materials and how it really is possible to create all manner of wonderful art from found objects and untraditional materials. Sue herself, makes her memory jugs from found and collected items and gives new life to old objects and Lynne was bursting with ideas to try on her upcoming visit to the Lake District, where she intends to travel without her art kit and make fresh work from the things she finds there.

So, as I pursue this mission to be creative daily, posting my first ever video interview on YouTube as my achievement today, I realise that if creativity is important to us, we can/will/must make room for it in our lives. There are no excuses for not doing something as opportunities to create and engage with our environment are all around us and no matter how small an amount of time we dedicate to our art at the moment, there will come a time, with practice, patience and perseverance, that we will do more.