Sunday 27 July 2008

AJ Class 2

Had the second Art Journal Class. This is really challenging me. More so than any other art I have done. I am a neat freak and perfectionist when it comes to my work. Colours need to match etc. There is a style I wish I could get into but just can't seem to manage it. I think I am going to find this class very frustrating but it will be good for me. I just hope that I have the time to play around this week before going back.

On the way to the class part of the freeway was closed. It was like peak hour at its worst. It wasn't just a lane it was a whole section. The Police diverted us off the freeway but there was nothing telling us where we could get back on or how far up it was blocked. The classes are in an area that I do not frequent so it was lucky that I turned onto all the right roads. At one stage I actually passed over the freeway and I could see all the cops and a lot of people below but I couldn't see any accident or anything so I thought maybe there was a body or something like that.

On the news tonight they showed the wreckage of a car. If it didn't have a wheel and a headlight I would have said it was just mangled metal. It was unrecognisable as a car. Apparently it had been racing another car and lost control in the wet weather. The driver is in hospital lucky to be alive (but probably wishing he wasn't) and his 16 year old girlfriend is dead. The reason why I couldn't see any of the carnage was because the car was up on the grassy side of the freeway in amongst the trees.

It is no wonder our parents cringe when we get into cars as a driver for the first time, or even in a car with a new driver. Even now we may travel along a wet freeway 10km over the speed limit thinking "she'll be right, I have control." We never think that each time we get behind that wheel we are putting our lives as well as the others around us on the line. Maybe if we thought about that each time there would be less carnage on the roads.

Saturday 26 July 2008

Surprise

This morning Tess insisted on going outside with a little more gusto than she normally does and I am glad she did. When I opened the door I saw a beautiful fog swirling around all lit up by the winter sun. Perth is low lying and the suburb I live in tends to get a lot of fog down by the river. In the 6 years I have lived here I have not seen the fog at my house. I grabbed the camera and went outside to take some shots.

This first photo is just a general shot of the back yard with the sun streaming through the fog.


This is a lovely shot of the fence. Yes the fog particles (I am sure there is a more scientific name) could be seen moving so I took the photo. The fence is only 2m from me.

We have chicken fencing up around a small section of the yard that really is supposed to be the vegie patch but we have decided to specialise in weeds instead. Anyway I couldn't resist this on the fence. I wish my macro was better.
Of course on the ground at my feet (bare feet too) was a lovely patch of clover. This photo really doesn't do it any justice as to how the dew shone.

My ultimate goal photography wise was to get pristine web (poor hungry spider somewhere) shining in the sun. Problem was that to get the shot it was hard to get to. I was using mums little pocket camera (you know the sort that has no eye hole to view but you can't see the screen because of the glare). I had the sun in my eyes and could not make out what I was taking. I also had my arm out with my hand shaking. What I thought would be a deletable photo ended up being my favourite one (actually I planned the while thing - right down to the fruit hanging in the right position). Can't see much of the web but I think that is the beauty of it. It makes you look harder.

As you can see I finally got in a position to get a good shot of the web.

On another note I have been having some more messy fun today in prep for my class tomorrow. I will be going and doing some more work on the album for Ruth this afternoon and possibly taking some photo's. She can't wait for Christmas she has to see it now! ;0)

Thursday 24 July 2008

Hmm

It has been a while since I logged onto my blog. Life has been continuing on as per usual. One of the highlights is that I am attending one of Viv's Art Journal Classes. They started last week and there are four more to go. I can't wait to learn the soldering. I have been wanting to know how to do that for years! Anyway this means that the dining room is full of paint and sprays and paper again.

My canvas creations are currently on hold because it is about time I started on the album for Ruth. Yes I have started! :) I have completed a couple of pages. It was originally going to be A4 size for something different but it has ended up being 12x12.

We have a leak in the roof at the moment. It is where the tiles peak and it is coming through the join of the ceiling slabs. God only knows what it is like in the roof itself. We had one guy come out and check it. He said he used to be a tiler and that the capstones on the tile peaks need to have holes drilled in them to let the water out. I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life. The caps are there to prevent water getting in!!! Consequently I am refusing to let him do the work around the house. He sounded a bit dodgy for everything (he was cheap to which meant short cuts galore to me).

It is 11pm here and I nearly fell asleep at work today. The Cpap is still working for me but I still feel exhausted all the time. All I want to do is sleep. Unfortunately I tend to wake up at this time of night. I think I was meant to be in a job that does night work. I would survive better I am sure.

Tomorrow is Friday (yay). It was a long time coming though. I woke up yesterday thinking "thank God it is Saturday and I can sleep in," then I realised I couldn't which then made the day go really slow.

Signing off now. Hopefully will find time in my busy weekend to blog some more.

Monday 7 July 2008

More canvas fun

It seems that my life is either that boring or that busy that I barely get a chance to blog lately. I seriously need to organise myself and do what Ruth does; one craft per night. That way I will have something to blog about as well as get stuff done.

This weekend Mandy and I decided to go to one of Vivian's classes. It was a smaller group this time and equally as fun. I met a couple of new ladies which is great. I think I have become a groupie to these classes. I will be doing an Art Journal class soon which I can't wait to do. It all depends though on if there is enough interest. Anyway below is the canvas I did plus some really close up shots of the texture. She had us doing huge ones this time. I learnt a new technique and really got creating a lot of texture rather than relying on the embellishments. I think I succeeded. Of course my own paint store is a little on the minimal side so I went to the Art Shed and bought up big time (bonuses just came through).





Tuesday 1 July 2008

The winner is ....

... You will have to wait a second.

I hopped on the scales this morning and saw that I now weigh more than I did a few months ago. My own fault - no exercise and too much yummy iced coffee. Being July 1 I figured that I should start again today. It is Tuesday and that means Jackie is coming for circuit training. Perfect time to start again. That is it was perfect until I was putting my stockings on this morning, twisted awkwardly and then could not move for the next 2 hours!!!

The devil really knows when to get you. Not only can I not exercise but I am bored have been picking all day and I have a huge push on at work and have 3 days of non stop training. I am sure Big A is not impressed at the moment.

Well Mr Devil, tomorrow is day one and I am starting my diet ... again! I don't care what plans you have. My Aunt has lost 14 kgs and now weighs less than me (I know she is secretly smiling to herself). My back is still sore but I can handle it. I'll just be a pain killer drug addict for the next couple of days. :)

OK so the winner for my free give away is Betty. Congratulations Betty. You will need to email me your address (yet again)!

Thank you to those who let a little note on my blog. It is fun receiving little messages. Hope you all have a great week and I will do another entry (crafty one) on the weekend.