peony overload

I brought a bunch of peonies from a roadside stall last Thursday, as I wanted some colour for my open studio event on Sunday. I got lots of comments on them (and also some on my paintings! If you're interested have a look here) even although they were almost "past their best". Well by Tuesday they were definitely past it - but I spent a good half hour getting up close and personal with them.

I think I was channelling the wonderful photos of Emma Bass that are currently being exhibited at Red Gallery in Nelson. I have only seen the photos on Facebook, so I must get in and check them out before the exhibition is finished. Take a look, they are too die for (oops bad pun, they are also of flowers that are "past their best"!)

So if you don't like peonies look away now!

 I did warn you! And those are the best 19 of the 40! It's taken me longer to resize and cull them than it did to take the photos.

Thanks for your lovely comments on my last post. I will get back into more regular blogging once I have the Mapua Makers Market over with on Sunday, although I've also got two others booked for November and one for December. As they say I'm "making hay while the sun shines".

getting back on the horse

Joining in with {tinniegirl}{sunday snippets} is a good way to get back on the blogging horse, post holiday. I am busy with making things, and want to do the holiday justice when I have time, but by then it might be a distant memory...... 

The past week has involved trips to the beach, trips to town, enjoying sunrises again with daylight savings I'm awake in time, supermarket carparking, Friday night at port waiting for fish'n'chips and watching beans growing. Along with lots of other stuff I never took photos of! I find that instagram is an easy substitute for blogging.

There I did it, didn't want to go over a month without a post, phew! Now for the next one, getting back on the blogging horse isn't easy sometimes. Tell me how you get back on when you've slipped off.

departure time

Just rushing in to tap out a quick post. I should be packing! Today we drive to Christchurch which will take over 5 hours, plus stops! It's just me and the kids as the hubby has already gone across the ditch to Australia. On Friday we will get up very early and fly to Brisbane to join him for a week. There is much excitement ..... and a bit of trepidation on my part. Travel is a bit of a mixed bag for me, I love it when I'm there but the getting there I don't enjoy. It's the first time we have left the animals for such a long time, hopefully our new neighbours will cope!

There will be new sights and sounds, that's one of the joys of travel. I probably won't get a chance to blog while away, but will definitely be instagramming. If you want to follow along, pop over here.

deadlines

I definitely need deadlines to help get over the procrastination stage and into the productive stage. I've got two craft markets coming up in November, but before then I want to finish four paintings for the spring exhibition of the Nelson Suter Art Society, and I need to finish another work on paper for a new gallery.

So instead of knuckling down to it I made something that had been floating around in my head for a while. In my stash I had a couple of very small zips. I have loads of homemade felted wool. The buttons were no problem once I had located the storage bin loaded up with jars of buttons (another shameful secret of  mine!)

First came the fearsome gray cat, then the demented cerise rabbit.

I added a fluffy tail to the cerise rabbit. However, with hindsight it looks more like a hole than fluff, so I shall be removing the offending appendage!!

Due to the shortage of tiny zips at the op shops (and my ethos that I do not buy anything new to make anything) these will be a very limited product line for the upcoming markets. They do however make a change from my "normal" zippered pouches, two of which have already winged off to new homes (thanks to Facebook and a blog swap!)

So I need to spend some serious time in the studio next week. It's been hard to find time this week with orthodontic appointments (both of the kids), school sports trips, delivering art works, and trips to the post shop after a mammoth packing session. Yes I sold my first painting via my website!!! So soon one of my artworks titled "Forma 1" will be gracing a wall in Melbourne. The crazy thing is that postage across the Tasman is only a few dollars more expensive than across the Cook Strait to the North Island.

I have started some new paintings for the exhibition in October, I don't think the above one is quite finished yet.

So next week no more procrastination. As we are going on holiday the following week. It's the last week of  term, so while hubby is off to Australia for work we will go to Christchurch for a couple of days and stay with my sister. It will be the first time I've been to Christchurch since the earthquakes so I am trying to steel myself for the changes. Then we are off to Brisbane for 7 days, yipee!! If you're on instagram follow my adventures here.

Linking up with lots of clever people at My Creative Space.

spring

It's officially spring, and we've had the 6th wet Sunday in a row (well it took almost all day for the gray clouds to turn to rain) but apart from that we've had lots of sunny days, and even had a couple of nights when we haven't lit the fire.

 Mumabi and the alpacas are happy it's spring as there's fresh, green grass to eat.

 The netball season is over, and I managed to take these photos of Fiona Sutherland's sculpture at Saxton Field near the netball courts.

A Father's Day latte with pretty retro china, at the cafe at World of Wearable Art.

Three more weeks until the end of term 3 and then we are off to Brisbane for a week, yippee!! Any Brissie sightseeing and op-shopping tips gratefully received!

Linking up with {tinniegirl}

yesterday

Yesterday would have been my mother's 70th birthday. It was a bit of a struggle. A walk on the beach and the warm spring sunshine helped.

 Then I went to my studio and painted, which also helped. It has been 18 years without her (and 16 without my dad) but it's my mum I miss most.

This morning on the way back from walking to school I picked some violets. My mum loved plants, she had an amazing knowledge of plants, she knew so many by their Latin names, and she was a tireless gardener.

This afternoon I went and visited my parents gravestones. They do have a lovely view of the area, the farm where we spent most of our lives together is near here.

I picked a red camellia from the bush at the church. Someone else had recently placed a bunch of camellias on her grave, but they had died. And a wee clump of blue soldiers (muscari) were bravely growing in the stoney ground.

This is a blog post that I've been writing in my head for the last two days, and I'm still not sure whether I should hit publish. On one hand I tell myself if I'm going to keep up with this blogging thing I do need to move past the pretty photos and reveal a little more of myself. On the other I think why do it? Because it's very much part of me and I think its good for me to do so. Here goes .......