Mid-Spring: thinking and doing

 Part 1: Mostly thinking

I've been managing an hour or so most days in the studio, and this allows me to keep things ticking over mentally, and a little practical progress to be made.

In contrast, I have occasionally cast my mind back to a happy time when I was preparing for my ceramics graduation exhibition, and I worked in part at the dining table in our open-plan unit. My clay buildings surrounded me, and were one of the first things I saw when I opened my eyes. The intensity of full immersion in the creative flow was such a pleasure, and I'm sure that the work benefited.

These days I am aiming for a different type of flow. I'm doing my best to appreciate what I do achieve (both in the studio and beyond) and the days do feel more spacious and less pressured (mostly!)

This year for the first time, I'm noticing the rhythm of my days and being more aware of how I structure my time. It's a schedule of sorts, but it has developed quite organically, rather than by my imposition.

As a result, I'm feeling more content despite not really having as much energy as I would like to have. The way I feel during the day "leads" me, and after observing this for a while, I can see that there is an internal pattern happening.

When I push to fit in more, whether in the studio or elsewhere, there is a tiny bit of give, but one step too far and I find myself in a crabby mood, my mind filled with negative thoughts and hopelessness lurking not far away.

The first iris of the year, and two frisky goldfish

Living in a subtropical city, it is quite possible for the seasons to cycle past with minimal impact. I've been trying to be more in step with the seasons over the last two or three years. Taking the time to pay more attention to the changes that do happen has surprised me with the amount of daily pleasure it gives.

I've started a project where each season I will gather some representative plant material and use it to make natural dyes and ecoprinted paper. This was kicked off by the pansies which my lovely house-sitting friend Louise planted for us, as a welcome home from our trip in winter. The dark purple pansies have been flowering madly and I have been snipping them off after a couple of days, and putting them to freeze until the plants are spent.

Meanwhile, I've been progressing with binding the wedding album I am making for a friend, and in my breaks from that, testing different materials and structures for my next BAO edition. So next post I'll share some of that.

Through the Blind

Spring plans

 

While bloggers on the other side of the planet have been writing about autumn ringing its changes, temperatures are slowly rising here.

It never seems as if much that is tangible changes in September in Brisbane, and yet without fail, I find myself longing for a holiday at the beach!

I rather like to remind myself that Spring is the real start of the year because it’s always so hot in January that I don’t feel very inspired. So this spring I have a few plans that will inspire me and hopefully set things up for a period of productivity.

---

Number 1:

That beach holiday I mentioned (albeit at St Kilda in mid-September, so there won’t be any swimming - brrrr!) followed by Impact7, the International Printmakers Conference.

I am really excited about attending the conference, because normally its not possible for me to make it to this sort of thing. Even one whole day is really too much, so travelling followed by a number of days in a row, for the price of registration, travel and accommodation – well, it just doesn’t add up. Fortunately, being in Melbourne (one of our favourite places) makes this trip an option as a holiday, so the conference fee is the only additional price to pay. As it is such a rare event, I made the decision to register for the whole four days with the expectation that I will pick and choose what I attend, and not allow myself to be pressured into trying to go to too much.

As well, there will be three other Book Art Object-ers at the conference, and this is my first time meeting them. I can’t wait!

Number 2:

I’ve enrolled in this four week online course on encaustic which starts in October. If you’ve been reading this blog a while you will know that I’ve dabbled with encaustic work on and off for a few years, but courses are hard to find locally. I’m so looking forward to this chance to learn from an expert and to be able to ask questions.

 

Number 3:

I am finally biting the bullet, investing in a wall bed for the spare room, which will allow me to maximize the functional space in my studio.

This is a shot from the door taken using a panorama app (Dermandar).

There’s a bit more I’d like to say about setting up the space most effectively and I’d really like your input and tips, so I’m going to save that for another post soon.

Have you made any plans for a shot of Spring Spritzer in your life?

Pigment prints on Hahnemuhle

You might remember that a few posts back it was my 200th post and a I gave away three prints to celebrate. Now that they have safely arrived in their new homes, I thought I would share them with you all.

They were pigment prints on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag using the imagery I developed for my book, "Judy and the Jacaranda". Although many of the components appear in the book, these prints are unique in bringing the imagery together on a single surface, rather than layering it on translucent vellum. These compositions also differ to a lesser or greater degree from the book.

 Spring 1, 2009

Autumn 1, 2009

 

Autumn 2, 2009

I’m planning to sell these as a limited edition, printed on A4 Hahnemuhle Photo Rag. I’m working on a new website with paypal facilities, but if you can’t wait, just email me at potsrme at hotmail dot com.