Don't be afraid to experiment ...

I'm sure I've said before that I've got a lovely new camera, but that I've been rather nervous about learning to use it.  In fact it was my birthday present way back in February, but I didn't really start to use it properly until we went on holiday in September and now I can't stop!

Now how did these gorgeous flowers go un-noticed?  They seemed to have arrived in our garden by magic!  There were so many of these lovely white irises/lillies? that I wanted to share them with you, so rushed off to get my camera.  I still don't know how to get photos to come out right in night-time shots but had a go anyway - obviously I got the settings totally wrong in the first shot - but it turned out to be very interesting visually anyway.

Then I fiddled about with the settings for a few moments and came up with the second shot, which is heading in the right direction.  Unfortunately, the battery power ran out before I could carry on experimenting but at least I know I'm on the right path and so I'll keep on going! 

And it's like that for creativity as well.  Don't wait to paint that picture or open that box of pastels until you're 'good enough'.  Have a go anyway!  You might create something totally unexpected - most of all it gives you the inspiration to go on when you realize what you can do now and what you can go on to create if you keep going.  It's never too late to make a start - start now!!

My Kalamunda Show ... and the 300th post!

What a lovely way to celebrate my 300th post!  These pictures show my prize winning doll Immogen (you saw her bloomers the other day!) who got first prize in her category.  I made her hair from embroidery floss - the ringlets are simply 15cm lengths of the floss twisted tightly, then folded in half - the threads then twist around each other.  I usually feel a bit anxious when making doll's hair, and come to think of it when creating the face.  Bad hair and a hard face can ruin a doll!  So much so that I'd hoped to make this doll for the last show I entered back in 2007, but I chickened out and only completed her on the morning I had to take my exhibits to the village hall last week!

But that's not all!  I also got 3 x second prizes and a third prize - quite a respective prize haul.  (The dress I made for my 40th party won second prize in its category - I was so pleased!).  All so unexpected, but I'm proud of my achievements as I worked really hard to complete everything on time plus it's a real confidence boost.  Also a lesson to us all not to hide our gifts/talents - if you introduce them to the world you  never know what might happen.  Go on and unearth that hidden creativity ... get out of your comfort zone.  Because yes, even on the way to the hall I was feeling nervous and could hear that voice of self-doubt saying 'what makes you think you're good enough to enter any competition?'  It's sobering to think that voice can stop you from doing something you love.  Don't let it!  ;)

Remember your self-care!

Today has been very busy, catching up on the final bookkeeping for the year, visiting a friend who not long ago had a baby (gorgeous, lots of cuddles!), swimming lessons, writing some of my Christmas cards (not handmade this year alas, I ran out of time) - interspersed with normal 'mum' type chores. I'm exhausted!

One of my little pleasures is buying UK magazines so that I still get my fix of the home country. This week my magazine of choice had a free 2010 calendar with it, pictured above. I was so pleased with my gift - lovely, simple, bright pictures which capture that quintessential English-ness I love. It will also make me remember when the British Mothering Sunday is! Mum will get her card on time next year.

I received an e-mail from the facilitator of the dolls course I'm undertaking - she was writing about the importance of self-care, especially valuable at this busy time of year. I suppose enjoying browsing through my magazines is one such activity, and when I thought about Barb's words I realized I haven't been doing anything very arty recently and I am indeed feeling somewhat 'empty' because of it. Tomorrow is my quiet creating day, so I'm hoping to sit and complete some art. I was also quite determined to write my blog today because my journalling on-line is also a form of self-care, I like getting those words out onto the page!

Tomorrow's blogpost is already half written - I was sitting around waiting for someone and had a flash of inspiration, got out my notebook and started writing. Usually I think I'll remember my thoughts, inevitably I forget and a brilliant piece of writing is lost forever! :) Actually such sensible behaviour is very uncharacteristic - maybe the hot summer weather is affecting my brain ...?

Rest and relaxation

I'm off to Margaret River for a couple of days for some much needed R&R, so may not be blogging for those two days - having too much fun! :)

Here's a little quote to give you something to think about:

"In the middle passage we are invited to find our passion. It is an imperative to find that which draws us so deeply into our life and our own nature that it hurts, for that experience transforms us."
J Hollis, 'The Midlife Passage: From Misery to Meaning at Midlife'.

What's your passion?

Revisiting my dim and distant past!

Hello there! How's your Halloween been? I bought some bags of sweets in case of trick or treaters as usual, no-one turned up as usual, so we ate all the sweets as usual. :) Yum. It's just an excuse for us all to pig out on lollies really ...

Anyway, today I've been thinking about how my creativity has developed as I've got older and remembered that I found some old drawings at my mum's when we visited the UK last summer. Here's one of my favourites - I think I was about 16 or 17 when I drew it! This piece of paper is over 20 years old! Yikes. Although the face is not in proportion and there are heaps of things 'wrong' with it technically, I like the overall feeling of light and vitality it exudes. And who wouldn't love luscious hair like that! It also sparked a history lesson, one of my children asked who Lucy was and when I replied it was one of the Beatles' songs was faced with a blank look. And ... they had no idea who John Lennon was! What are they teaching in schools these days? (Now I am sounding like my dad!!) It's great to keep a record of everything you create, in a journal, photos, sketches - interesting to see the development and the individual style you follow. Snippets of your life on paper ... I like the thought of that.

Just being ...

I've been having lots of fun catching up with mum and news of the UK. We haven't done much, just mooched around drinking lots of tea and chatting. Next week we'll start with the day trips as it's school holidays and we can go out with the whole family. Should get some good photos of the countryside to share :)

So for now I will simply share a quote with you from a book I've borrowed from the library called 'The Soul of Creativity' (edited by Tona Pearce Myers). Several creative people from artists to musicians share their beliefs about creativity; it's very inspiring. This morning I read about an artist called Michelle Cassou and I love her approach to art, believing that free expression is the ultimate aim. Of creativity Michelle said,

"Creation does not need anything added to it, no reward, no approval, no praise. Creation is a moment filled with spirit, a moment when the soul reaches far and brings back God's heart."

Amen to that.

Lost ...

I can't believe it - I've lost my blogging thingummy - 'mojo'. I'm at a loss as to what to write. Creative endeavours have been happening, but I don't feel like writing about them. I must have writer's block. :(

Well, I am painting at the studio tomorrow, and will hopefully have some work to share with you then. I feel better just for writing a few words; some creatives believe even if you feel you have the biggest block in the world, you still need to do 'something' to burst through it. That's what this little piece of prose is about - working through the block ... hope it works!!

Live life abundantly

We've just finished watching the film 'Seven Pounds' with Will Smith. It was a bit of a tear jerker, and a heart featured prominently which is why I felt like drawing one when I came to write the post. The character in the film also takes something remembered from his childhood that helps him on his chosen path as an adult. As a child I was always drawing hearts and am still using them as one of my main symbols in art. This one is in the form of a mandala, the spirals 'reaching out' to everyone surrounding them. It's only a tiny post, but definitely from the heart.

Oh and the title of the post is a quote from the film - it really caught my attention. I'm sure there's a painting in there somewhere ...

Releasing fear and moving on

Today I was just going to write up my quote, but then I found this pen called 'Tech-Riter' and I couldn't resist doodling with it! Decided to see what I could come up with in 5 minutes and this is the result - it probably means something at a subconscious level I'm sure!

Here in Australia we have this great holistic journal magazine called 'Nova', and in this month's issue I was reading about letting go of negative beliefs so that we can move forward. The article finished with this quote by Nelson Mandela, which is too wonderful not to share:

"As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates those around us." - Nelson Mandela

As I've been working on overcoming my fear of ... everything ... I thought this was a very powerful quote and a real encouragement to move forward into our true potential, which also benefits those around us - a win-win situation!

Being thankful ...

A brief post tonight. I've reworked the background that I used to showcase my stones which I will use for my guardian doll (posted Friday, 8th May). The Ancient Britons used to believe if you took something from nature you should repay her by leaving a gift. I guess this is my gift - saying thank you for the quartz, rock and clay with a piece of my art.

Rainy day musings ...

Today it's been raining! Yay! So I went outside this evening with my youngest and we planted our baby strawberry plants a friend had given us yesterday. Now the plants will all get watered by nature and hopefully last a bit longer!

When we went into the village today we saw that someone had been creative in the car park. The asphalt had broken up over the months in one place, so this clever creative had picked up some of the pieces and laid a path of stones and built a tiny village with the asphalt pieces. I was gutted that I didn't have my camera with me - it was definitely worthy of being posted on the net. Hopefully it will be left alone over night and I'll get a photo of it tomorrow.

I've been feeling a bit frustrated today. A friend has been encouraging me to 'step up to the mark' with my art and visions of having my own creative business, and just reach out and take it. The thing is, I don't know what to do first! I have lots of paintings to paint, lots of dolls to create and ideas for workshops, but don't have much sense of direction or focus. Is it time to put a business plan down on paper properly rather than keep it in my scruffy notebook and as ideas in my head? A business plan doesn't really feel that arty, but I guess we do have to live in the real world! And a sense of direction always helps you to get where you want to go!

Creativity abounds!

Yesterday was such a lovely day I just carried on right through and savoured all the gorgeousness of it, without sitting in our little office and shutting myself away to write my blog.

The best part is I am an aunty again! My sister had 2 little boys; it's always a reminder that whatever happens in our lives, life does keep going on anyway, always creating anew.

I've also had a couple of great art opportunities turn up - to run some creativity courses locally, details later, and an offer to become part of the Craft Corps Community set up by Vickie Howell. She's an awesome creative chick, who writes books and appears on TV, whilst finding the time to constantly be creative! As part of the community we will have our profiles on-line, linked to our website - or in my case, blog, but I will be getting a website sometime in the future.

One of the other great things that happened yesterday was I had a clear picture form in my mind of the importance of creativity to me personally. You know that feeling when you watch a small child jump without a care off a climbing frame, because they just KNOW that their parent is going to catch them in their awaiting arms? Well, I feel that I can take a step into the 'unknown' because my creativity is waiting there with open arms ready to support me. My creativity is blossoming as I practise more and more, and now I feel I can jump without fear and fall straight into the comfort of my art making. I think I may even paint the image, because words just don't convey how important this relationship between myself and creativity is. Now I didn't know I had that painting in me until I wrote this post - it's a bit like being on a live broadcast - you never know what will happen!

Something beautiful ...

Had a wonderfully arty day today, but I won't be showing what I created just yet, as it's part 1 of a 2-part project and I want to write about them together. It's another doll for the art doll challenge/healing medicine doll course, and that's all I'm prepared to tell you!

I have a book of inspirational messages which I dip into sometimes, and the one I chose today said that I would be given something beautiful and I was to watch out for it, and be thankful. This is what I love about life - the synchronicity of it all if you just wait and watch and be patient - all with an expectant heart. Well, we were in the park this afternoon having a fantastic time playing and hunting for acorns - looking for the very hard to find acorn with a hat! (But we managed it, just look at the photo). So that was beautiful in itself. But there were other gifts for us to receive. As we walked back to the car we found some feathers, one in particular was beautiful - purple in colour with dots on it - and some tidbits from the 'heART in the Park' event I wrote about yesterday. They're all on the plate in the picture, we found some felting wool (purple - my favourite) and the plate which we used to carry our treasures. The best of all though, was when my eldest called to me and said, "Mum, I found this and it's for you" - and there was a little stone that had been painted on the day and dropped in the grass, all alone. That was my something beautiful - my son holding out his hand, giving me this gorgeous stone. How lovely is that? I wonder who painted the stone? I'm glad they did, it has a new home here, and will go outside by my front door, where we're getting quite a collection of painted stones. One of which I painted when I was about 12, of a donkey I'd seen in Clovelly, Devon! To me it looks very childish, but my children are rather proud to have something painted by their mum as a child next to their creations.

Thank you for my lovely day and the beautiful something ...

Happy Valentine's Day!

We hear lots of bad things in the news, and bad things do happen in life that is true. But good things happen too, and today seems just as good a day as any to celebrate the good things in life. For example, the bushfires in Victoria were awful, but the spirit of the people in Australia has been amazing as people have donated clothes, household items and money to the bushfire appeal. Yesterday, the local supermarket donated all of Friday's profits to the appeal and it was absolutely packed with customers who'd held off shopping earlier in the week to spend their money on this particular day. People have been really moved to help, and this is all in the spirit of love and is worth recognizing. When it really matters, people pull together - awesome.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day - let's be good to one another!

Amongst the undergrowth

Last night before I went to bed I finished cutting out my 50 pieces of corrugated cardboard, and glued them together to make my Australian grass tree, which is going to be the body of an art doll. My husband thought it rather strange behaviour, and also could not believe my patience with all the cutting and gluing. I, however, see it as necessary activity in the pursuit of my art! The doll is supposed to resemble a woman with her arms thrown in the air, celebrating becoming whole - healed at last! It will all become clear when it's finished I promise you. As usual I like to give you a sneak peek into my creative process.

I am forever amazed at the art of film-making. Particularly the fantasy ones which need both a good storyline and fantastic costumes. Tonight we watched Hellboy 2, which is actually very good on both counts - full of weird and wonderful creatures, and very fairy tale like in its unfolding. I particularly like the God of the Forest, which when it is destroyed covers the streets of Manhatten in grass and ferns. From destruction also comes creation. You will have to watch it to see the other special effects - we were all spellbound!

Words of encouragement

No blogging yesterday as I was unwell, but I'm on the mend today and am not about to break the blogging habit, having worked so hard to create it! Being forced to slow down allowed me some time to contemplate, and I realized I'm a little scared about moving forward with my art enterprise. There I was joking about my Etsy store being empty the other day, but the fact is I need to produce items to sell in it - and I keep putting it off. And why? My old friend/enemy fear! I'm scared to do it, I might fail or even worse be so popular I can't keep up with demand!

Luckily I have my 'dream team' surrounding me :) That is to say the people who believe in me and encourage me to keep heading for my dream and not let go. What started all this train of thought yesterday was an e-mail from my dad who complimented my paintings and encouraged me to get my work 'out there'. (Thank you dad!). I started thinking about my dream again, and thought 'you know, you can do this!' I guess that's another thing that your dream team does, they pick you up, dust you off and send you on your way again. Thank goodness they do :) Hope I do the same for other people, I like life to be a two way affair ...

Musings on a hot country ...

This picture is a bit dark because I didn't use a flash, but I had to post it because just look at those shadows! Tomatoes in a pot, and tomatoes in silhouette - I love it! Anyway ... tomatoes may not be your idea of excitement, but in a country where everything is dry and shrivelled it warrants celebration when you have a harvest. And these are all just from today, and yes, I am excited about it! The doll in the centre was made by my daughter, and is the summer spirit doll. Isn't she lovely?

I've read with sadness that the death toll is rising for the bushfires. I feel so powerless to help over here in WA. I think it's affected me so deeply because it could so easily be us, as well as all the devastation it has caused to the communities. There have been pictures released of some of the families who have died, and it becomes even more real to those of us who weren't there. It's at times at these that I ask myself why is life not fair, I guess we'll never understand it. Still sending prayers of strength to all the people over there, victims, survivors and the emergency services but it all seems such a small thing to do. Just thinking over it all ...

What's in a name?

'Heading Towards the Light' (copyright Lara Geach)

Thought it was time to put in another photo of one of my paintings. It was painted quite a while ago, it was me trying to describe walking away from an old life to a new one a bit earlier in my journey of self-discovery. The book under the woman's arm is the book of her life. I like it because it's positive and I'm quite pleased how the light feathers out around her head like a halo! It was all accidental, I didn't have a small enough brush to paint right up to the edges of her hair - I'd painted a yellow undercoat on the whole canvas - but liked the effect so much I left it. It's all part of the creativity evolving moment by moment as I talked about a couple of posts ago.

I've also been musing about names today. I'm glad to say I love my name, (thank you mum and dad!) and am lucky enough to have two variations of it. Lara is the name I use everyday, but my 'real' name is Larissa, and only my gran used to call me that, so it's kind of special. However, I've been thinking recently that I would quite like to use Larissa as my artist name because it's just so lovely and I feel I should use it after almost 40 years! Part of me, however, thinks that is being a bit precious, so I'm going to ruminate on it further! I have created an on-line store on Etsy called Larissa Designs, and my mum liked it, which is always good! Don't go and look for wonderful art to buy though, because it's just a store with no merchandise at present! I will make a big announcement when there is something to sell!

OK, I have ruminated further, and think that it is my name, I love it and why shouldn't I use it! Will have to practise a bit though, as LMG is a lot easier to paint than Larissa, but what a nice problem to have!

A link for you ... and prayers ...

I've broken with my Sunday off of blogging because I forgot to post a link to the Gordon MacKenzie quote I posted yesterday. I've just read the article about him and his work as an artist in a corporate environment, Hallmark cards. It's really very interesting, and he views creativity as a necessity rather than a luxury, which is my way of thinking too. So have a read and enjoy!

Also thought it would be appropriate to spare a thought for the people of Victoria who've had to deal with the most horrendous and terrifying bush fires, many having lost homes and lives also lost. It seems such a small thing to do, but I think sending prayers of strength and love for them would be a good thing to do.

A day of celebration!

Flouncing about in our sega skirts - sunshine joining in!


The beautiful sunset viewed from our drive tonight

What a lovely birthday! I was brought breakfast in bed and opened presents from my family. It was a great start. My big treat was lunch out at a winery in the Bickley Valley, it is such a relaxing place.

Us girls decided to get into the party spirit and wore our sega skirts which were made for us when we were lucky enough to visit the divine isle of Mauritius on a stop off back from the UK. We felt very exotic! Then after dinner we all sat on our drive and watched the sunset. The kids said that it was a present just for me from God for my birthday. I thought that was quite special!

The other reason for celebrating today is that I have achieved my 100 days of blogging!!! Hurray!!! It's been so much fun, I'm definitely going to carry on. I know I don't always include something arty in each post, but just writing is a creative act, and it certainly has helped me with my art and creativity. I need to think about what I'm going to talk about, whether I want to produce something for the blog and it also helps me to focus my ideas. The amount of artworks I have produced since starting this at the end of September has certainly increased - we're beginning to wonder where we will find the room. So, yes, I'm here for a while. Thanks also to the people who have encouraged me with their comments, both here on the blog and personally. You're lovely and it means the world to me!