FEEL GOOD FRIDAY

Welcome to another FEEL GOOD FRIDAY

7 things that made me smile this week.

1. Finishing a painting and having a great time doing it.

2. Allowing the cat to live another day, despite his wild behaviour and squashing all my freshly planted veggie seedlings. Not to mention his early rising. See post here I think it is the weather!?!

3.Discovering some new blog posts of interest in I Love Indie.

4.Cleaning up my work room to create more room for some great new ideas.

5. Watching Poss perfect the dolphin kick at swimming lessons this week.

6. Sunshine on my face.

7. The garden is alive with colour (the roses are just fabulous) and the new plants on my balcony haven't died in the heat.

Looking forward to the Brunswick North West Primary Fair. 13th November

If you would like to have a stall follow this link to Squirt Baby and Fiona will set you up.

Davia

In The Studio Today- Layering

Today I play with Layering. This is painting I am currently working on with some charcoal drawings over layed. I think it makes for an interesting effect. Today is all about fun! Not about finished products just fun. Some designs work, some don't but the only way to discover which is to try them out. Have a great day!

Davia

Choose Day - How about an injection of POSSITIVITY?

I battle with Tuesdays. I don't know why. Monday I feel fresh, but Tuesday seems laden with pressure.

Sure I had fun on Monday, but now the serious work must be done and the end of the working week is both so near and so far. Tuesday is Choose Day, which means that I am investigating the possibility of changing my attitude and going with the flow happily instead of fighting the day and circumstances right till the end.

We all know the 'got out of bed on the wrong side' story don't we. I sure do!

Strange thing is, it has been happening quite a lot lately and it is really taking something for me to turn everyday into a positive one, and not to let my 'grumpy wake up feelings' rule the day. I feel tired all the time, I suspect it is this time of year for me, as it is a familiar story, I think I felt like this last year too. Surely I can't blame jet lag any longer????

The cat (good old JACK) is lucky to be alive this morning. He hasn't caught on to the fact we have day light saving yet and is appearing at the foot of the bed a full hour EARLY every morning, where he insists on playing with the flounce and clawing the underside of the bed. This makes a great noise that echos right through the mattress. If he is not careful he is going to spend every night locked in the laundry.

So today I CHOOSE my cat just as he is, annoying! He will live to see another day.

And I CHOOSE to work with my tiredness and get on with the job. I also CHOOSE sewing, not my favorite task, but something a designer has to do when she wants to create something new.

I would rather be painting, so I have promised myself that tomorrow is the day for that. I have something to look forward to as a reward.

Till then, Choose whatever it is you have to do today. And enjoy it. Good luck, let me know how you go.

Davia 

Monday Medicine

This weekend I attended the Spring Fling in North Melbourne. There was a great atmosphere and lots of yummy food. There were people everywhere and lots of fun things to look at and do.
 One of the most uplifting moments was watching this giant elephant Snuff Puppet almost sit on some kids ( all part of the plan of course) There are four people inside this beast and the way it shuffled its way around the  festival was very entertaining. I had a lovely afternoon in the sun.

Running in conjunction with the Spring Fling was the Thread Den North Melbourne Market. There I met a beautiful, bouncy and engaging woman. Her name is Zorza and she is a milliner.Her Business is Taboo Millinery Melbourne.

 I bought a gorgeous silk Rose from her which I am hoping to wear in my hair to the cup next week. You can check out her face book page here.

Davia

Welcome to FEEL GOOD FRIDAY

Good intentions. Lets give it a crack.

This week I am trying something new. I'm trying to be more organised about this blog. I am a classic procrastinator, so I work better with structure and setting myself deadlines. There will be changes to this pattern I am trying to establish and hick ups along the way, I am sure. I am only human after all. But I am going to give it a dammed good crack.  I have begun with:

Monday Medicine - Monday (obviously). On Mondays I look for inspiration. I am looking for things that make me smile, laugh, cry, you name it. I want to be moved and feel enlivened by the world around me. It may be a joke or a photo or a story, I don't care which (but I want to care). Have you got a joke, a photo, a feel good story or something wonderful you want to promote. Email me. follow the contact links.

(Monday medicine is early this week because it is something I forgot to tell you last week, boy am I off to a good start)
This weekend, Don't miss the North Melbourne SPRING FLING. Sun 24th Oct. Check out the excitement here NOW.

Choose Day - Tuesday. On Tuesdays (normally my most unpleasant/dreaded day of the week) I will actively choose the day the way it is and everything the day brings. This is an experiment in acceptance and the pursuit of happiness. I have a theory that if you actually choose things the way they are, and choose the things you have to do, you can actually enjoy them (this week I tested it with the shopping, with a pretty good result). Visit me each Choose Day and we will see how this goes. I would like to invite you to play along too. Please leave a comment or a link to your own blog page that relates to a choice you are making.

In the studio -Wednesday. This is your chance to see what's going down around here. And my chance to share some of the wonderful things that I am experiencing/seeing/doing. This is also a good time to share what is going on in your studio/life/creative world. If you would like to guest post send me an email and I will let you know how.

Thirst Day- Thursday. As it is nearing the end of the working week for most, it is probably time to reflect on the things that made us smile. It is timely as it gives us that extra energy to see the week through. I will list things that have made me smile this week. Believe it or not it does make a difference. You can PLAY ALONG. Leave a comment or a link to your own smiley page.

Feel Good Friday- ( Friday.... naturally) In the pursuit of happiness and personal fulfilment (isn't that what we are all after?) I will explore different ways of looking at life, question the way we see things and try on (like a new dress) different ways of being. Trying something on yourself? 

Well...... lets see how that goes????
Davia

ThirstDay - 5 Things That Have Made Me Smile This Week

1. Poss (my youngest) and Holly (my constant companion, Yes, really, she follows me everywhere!)

2. Roast Rib of Beef and good old Yorkshire Pudding served with a Red Wine Reduction and roast veggies.

 Of course the rest of the bottle to compliment. - cooked by The MC - YUM YUM

3. Having a job that allowed me to be there when my son hurt himself at school.

4. Sharing time and space in my studio with my good friend and fellow artist Lilli.

5. Getting back to the easel and getting my fingers and clothes covered in paint.

Davia

In The Studio Today

My garden is growing wild and is out of control, but it is alive with colour.

The garden is in Bloom and the colours are Rich and Vibrant. This is good inspiration for the paintings currently on the go in the studio.

The secret to good roses according to The MC is "take no mercy". Which translates in Davia language to "cut them back like you mean to kill them." The MC prides himself on his prunning abilities. I have to admit he does a good job.

In southern parts of Australia the best time to prune your roses for a great rush of flowers is somewhere near the end of june. We left it a bit late this year, but it doesn't seem to matter they are looking wonderful.

This is a Double Delight (according to my mum).
It used to live in my mum's garden in a pot, but it has transfered into mine quite successfully.

Davia

Choose Day

 Hands up if you are over grocery shopping!

I am! Love eating, don't mind cooking, and will even smile while doing the washing, but I am totally over going to the supermarket.

Why choose day? Because some days there are things that just have to be done. Like it or not, they are a function of life. So I say "Choose it". That way you can be happy about it instead of walking around with a long face, perhaps paying out on others. Today I chose the shopping. And now its done and I can look forward to something more relaxing.

However there is some shopping that can turn out great when you choose to do it. And  I did buy something great on the weekend at BUNNINGS. Yes that great super store for the DIY. Or should that be DYI (do yourself in)? That place is huge, you can get totally lost in there. Luckily I have been a regular for years, as a mosaic artist and garden art designer it is a very useful place to know your way around.


This week I went looking for new taps for the bathroom and came home with this.....I just couldn't resist. :)

My new hammock- in the shade of the plum tree. Mosaic in the back ground by ME.

Now I am all set for summer,  just need a good book. Any recommendations?

Davia

The Palau De La Musica Catalana

Monday Medicine

Well Monday comes around and I have successfully managed to avoid working all weekend. Yeah!

Well why wouldn't I, it was the WEEKEND after all!?!  But here lies the problem of working from home. When you have had a bit of a slack week, the guilt is likely to haunt you on the weekends and 'work' being  in a room in your house means it is very hard to avoid. Hence I spent a fair bit of the weekend out of the house. 

The ticket office is closed

The Ticket office has been closed I'm afraid. Re-opening now!

I have had some degree of trouble re-adjusting to life since returning from overseas. I really didn't expect this, so it has all been a bit baffling to me. I think I am missing my holiday.



I feel a hunger for something that I just can't put my finger on. Have you ever experienced a hunger that can't be satisfied because you don't know what it is? Food, Alcohol, Love, Passion,..... Inspiration?

Yes, that's it for me, INSPIRATION, and I don't mean beautiful art (I have seen a truckload of this lately), I means stories that move me. Stories that really inspire the heart. I am over TV, the news is full of moving, but also depressing stories, NO, I want stories of triumph and hope, love and passion.  I am searching aimlessly at the moment but continue in hope....

This leads me to think of a most wonderful building I visited whilst in Barcelona. The Palau De La Musica. Which loosely translates as the Music Palace. It is a privately owned building and home to a magnificent world of music and art.

The original choir, which still survives today, consisted of people who lived and worked in the area. Which is why such an amazing building is tucked away in amongst many other buildings, it was where the people were and it made the music accessible to the people.This is a wonderful story and this building has been a great inspiration to me as a mosaic artist for many years. Although until now I have been working from pictures that my dad bought back many years ago. It was wonderful to see the real thing. It uses natural light in extraordinary ways and is true inspiration.

Davia

Choose day

Welcome to Choose day.

Since I got back from my trip I have had a little trouble getting back into the swing of things. I feel as though there is heaps to do and really I don't know where to start. Business has stalled for a while and I know that I "SHOULD" be producing things for the summer/Christmas period and attacking my work as I had planned. But words like "SHOULD" totally kill creativity.

Italy and Spain provided me with inspiration overload. I saw so much colour and art that the mind boggles. 'Wow.... I could do this' and 'I could do that', but what to do first that is the question. Just like this lollie stall at the market in Barcelona there is SOoooooo.... much choice.

So I will start today by being HAPPY and see where I go from there. I am CHOOSING the day just as it is and everything that comes into being today will be perfect.

Yes even a day full of SHOULDS can turn into something colourful and yummy.

Also below is a little photo The MC took of me at the Barcelona Market. I am not a big fruit eater, but I do like it when someone else cuts it up and hands it to me on a plate. I know I am lazy like that, and a whole fruit just doesn't do it for me. I only have a little mouth (some may disagree). This stall made fruit hard to resist.

Oh La!

Davia

Lost in Florence



Standing on the Ponte Vecchio on the river Arno



I got lost in Florence. Not geographically....No, I have an inbuilt GPS and never get physically lost...but.....personally yes! I really lost myself, and to tell you the truth I haven't been able to find myself since I got back 4 days ago.

Maybe I dropped me somewhere in the "tourista" crowded streets in Roma, or on the festive La Rambla in Barcelona. Perhaps I left her on a plane still sitting in one of the 500 different seating positions I managed to create while trying to sleep, no luck there. I digress.

I realised that I was missing somewhere around the 24th Sept in Florence. I said to The MC "I just don't know who I am today." He replied "That's understandable." But is it? Is this feeling normal? I have often been confused about what I might do next or what my life is all about. (That's what the Whole Cat and Bird story is all about) but never this...this feeling of being a completely clean slate... this feeling that anything might be possible.

I think this amazing phenomenon has arisen out of being away from every aspect of my daily life and routine. Work, the washing, cooking, getting kids off to school...blah...blah...blah. I quite honestly didn't know myself.

This was my first trip overseas as an adult and the first time The MC and I have spent time away (together) from all 3 children (for more than 24hrs) in over 14 years. Suddenly I was without responsibility or commitment or expectations. I am not sure I have ever felt like this before, perhaps when I was a kid? I'm not sure.

Ponte Vecchio

I will endeavour to share the highlights of my trip with you over the coming days and weeks as I slowly come back to earth and reality.

x Davia