Hello almost Spring!

So it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and although I feel like some days I achieve nothing, looking back my photos tell me otherwise. It's nice to see some accomplishment within this busy life of being Mummy to 2 kids, working part time and looking forward to when my husband comes home next and when my parents return home from a 9 week overseas holiday in 5 days time!!! 

Going solo is hard work but I keep busy and keep telling myself "I can't do this but I'm doing it anyway". 

Today, the day before Spring the weather is glorious and this brings about a shift in my thinking and the promise of exciting events as the year starts to wind down slowly. 

Here's some more beloved photo grids of Mat painting her own canvas. I've been working on a big canvas lately and every time I paint she wants to as well (Can't really blame her!!) She made marks with stamps and collected objects like bottle tops then painted over the top of and around them. 

Most weekends we do painting on the easels and Jam always eats it and paints everywhere but they love it. I've been drawing mandalas inspired by another lady on instagram Emilylagore. Not really sure how to link to her but there's her name! Mat has a go of drawing and mainly likes to copy the "swirlies" as she calls them. 

I've also been working on some Love Laugh Collage work for people. Above are some birdies I made for a neighbour and I've also made a set of elephants, cars, more birds and a name canvas too! Check out my facebook page if you haven't already 

https://www.facebook.com/LoveLaughCollage

Last but not least my painting I'm working on. It's another reworking of an old one. I paint every few nights or when motivation strikes. I've actually added more since the last photo and don't think it's finished. 

I'm really into painting right now and am excited for the 22nd September. I've enrolled in a course by Chrissy C Foreman, you can find her here and see all her amazingly, delicious paintings and work

http://chrissyforemanc.com.au/

Can't wait to learn new techniques, spend a creative day with a friend plus meet some new arty people and PAINT!! Thanks Mum for taking the kids:) 

Another week down

Here's some of the things we've been doing over the past week. 

Got out the old high school cookbook to get some inspiration to make something different.....we made rice bubble slice, chocolate slice, scones until we ran out of margarine! 

We were going to make a gluten free cake for one on my Mum's friends who visits and Mat started to read the back of the  packet..."First we eggs, milk and cheese"...I think she means butter but I was impressed that she knew to read the back of the packet for the ingredients. 

 Messy Church was on this week at the local church. Messy Church is 2 hours of craft and activities for families followed by a meal. Mat and Jam were entertained for ages with GOOP!! YAY!! I had to totally change Jam and take off Mat's jumper which is still soaking. We then made some over the weekend at home and Mat was still highly entertained. I even used it as a bribe, "Clean up the books or we don't make goop" and it worked, she'll do anything for goop:) You can make it with cornflour but we used Lux soap flakes and boiled water. 

Our week is not complete without some painting or Jam eating paint!! He loves it!!! Weird I know!  Mat loves her water colours and they are less messy than acrylic paint. We painted recycled cereal boxes in the backyard which was another hit on a lovely sunny afternoon. 

This week in the art room had kids finishing off paper bag houses, stained glass windows, working on their mosaics, collaborative circle drawings and symbols of hope. I love teaching art and taking photos of their creativity. 

Mat and I painted some circles inspired by the link below. With my love for circles and experimenting with water colours and Mat's love for painting this was a great activity and very simple. She created the painting in the middle which I love!! Kids art is so carefree and colourful. 

http://smallforbig.com/2013/04/watercolor-painting-kids-art-diy-kandinsky.html

A bit of what's been happening

It feels like groundhog day around here a bit lately. My husband is still away and comes back when his work allows. The kids like the same things, Mat is still into painting, the sand pit, barbie dolls and their clothes. Jam loves trucks, fire trucks, monster trucks, the bin man and cement trucks. Anything with wheels really and has a cute voice when he says "monster trucks". 

When you're the sole parent doing the same things day in day out things can seem mundane and boring but looking back over some of these photos from the last couple of weeks makes me realise what great things happen in our lives. Things that make the ordinary, extraordinary! 

The kids were painting one Saturday morning and Mat asked for more paper. She pressed it up against her painting and told me she was "making a print"! I was so proud! This little girl watches everything I do, stores it in her brain and then either the same day or at later date uses these skills. She made her own print of her painting which I thought was pretty amazing and cool! This afternoon I was flicking paint off my brush and using my fingers to paint. I look up and she was trying these techniques too. 

Another thing she has learnt over this year is to wash her brush after each colour! This is a mantra at school each time I paint with a class. I was thrilled that a 3 year old can do this. Bless her little heart!

 Another afternoon we played with rice and soup mix in buckets. Mat was into it more than her brother but none the less it was fun. They fed animals and poured the rice mixture from one container to another. What fun you can have with such simple things.

  

One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to have a regular time to make for art making as well as start an art group. I have successfully achieved both of these goals and they are on going! Yay me!!  Above is some of my experimentation for my art journals or Artist Trading Cards. I meet up with friends from uni once a month and we swap ATC's based on a particular topic. By the end of the night we walk away with 8 new cards as well as new ideas, inspiration and for me an 'adult company' fun filled night. 

This is my latest painting. This canvas has been painted over about 4 times and the top left photo is not even the original painting from about 4 years ago. I have been inspired by many artists over the last few months- Flora Bowley, Kelly Rae Roberts and Chrissy Foreman C to name a few..... I read their blogs, look at their art work and have bought some of their books but that's about as far as it gets. Being winter I get lazy and just chill on the couch of a night time. I need to get back into painting and making art as I day dream about it  and have visions of images and ideas all the time! So just this very afternoon I started to paint and at first wasn't too impressed but went with it. I like the result so far but there could always be more to add. Welcome back painting, my old friend!