Sunday, April 22, 2012

A week of gardening, art and majick

Hard to believe it, but another week has passed by.  Whilst it may have seemed slow paced by times, in fact, a lot happened and somehow, I found myself running to get certain tasks completed on time. Usually, just in time.  Hard to fathom how I could run behind when I really do not have a schedule that is engraved in stone.  But, I too frequently found myself lost in the art of painting, gardening or spending some quality time reading.  These activities, along with tending to a furry flat mate who was not shy about letting me know that it was time to play, seemed of more importance than pushing through another load of laundry or sorting out cupboards to make a shopping list.  I frequently looked up from what I was doing to find that three, four, or even five hours has elapsed.  Mind boggling how that can happen!

You see, some days I find my concentration level lacking in quality and my mind flits from one thought to another without pause.  I can be loading up my paint tray with acrylics only to find that what I would really rather be doing would be to pour yet another cup of coffee and sit down to read with a wee furry kitten settled down for a nap on my lap.  Molly gets a tad annoyed when I reach out to grab the largish mug of coffee as it unsettles her from her preferred pose whilst dozing.  This week was one where my attention span was relentlessly focused and I somehow managed to paint, read, garden and then some when it came to activities close to my heart.  It was definitely a week of pure majick!

My little garden is progressing nicely with several pots already out on the balcony allowing the newly sprouted seedlings to toughen up and get ready to stay outside.  I have planted the seedlings up into larger pots and hope that these will provide sufficient room for them to grow over the next while.  The little greenhouse contraptions have been suited up again to house newly planted seeds which will provide more basil, some godetia, sage, and cilantro.  Once these seeds take root and start sending up some greenery, I plant to plant up a few more seeds allowing for more basil, some pansies, and a few other plants that catch my fancy over the next week or two.  I have set some basil, parsley and cilantro seeds aside to get another crop growing inside to keep me in fresh herbs over the fall and winter.  At least, that is the plan for the moment.  This could change should my harvest of herbs provide more than I can reasonably expect to use even with freezing some of the bounty.  My little Garden of Eden is proving to be an interesting experience and keeping me busy with all the misting, potting up and keeping a watchful eye over it to ensure that all seedlings are happy for the moment.

When I was not tending to my garden, I was in the studio staring at blank canvases that somehow ended up being completed for the most part, in one sitting.  Consequently, there are three new snaps of completed acrylic paintings that have touches of acrylic paints, not that you would really notice these little touches.  I know they are there only because that is how I added accents of colour here and there.  But, truthfully, these could have been accomplished with washes of acrylic paints thinned out with a bit of water.  That would not have allowed for me to experiment with the inks to see what all could be accomplished with them.  I still aim to work with the inks exclusively to see how far I can push their capabilities.  You never know what you can do until you try a few things out on test canvases.  But, I can tell you that it is easier to work on larger pieces than it is to try to push detail onto smaller pieces such as ones in the 4 by 6 inch pieces that I have been experimenting with lately. 

I am trying to paint the same subject in three or four different ways, seasons if you will.  I have done up one canvas, a landscape, primarily in blue, a second, another landscape, blue with purple, and the third, a floral, in yellows, oranges, citrus like tones with some deeper red tones.  This week, I hope to push the envelope and try a similar scenes, but done in blacks, greys with the possible inclusion of  smokey blues.  Something very dark that would beg someone to ask what I might have been thinking about whilst painting such a dire scene.  The truth is that when I am painting, my mind goes all over the place whilst still concentrating on what is unfolding in front of me.  I lose complete track of time unless the telephone jars me to consciousness and forces me to reach over to grab the handset.  Luckily, I have two handsets in the studio.  One is cordless, the other plugged into a telephone jack in the wall opposite to my preferred perch when painting.  So, the cordless pretty much follows me around allowing me to keep in touch with the outside world or talk with the postal delivery should there be a parcel requiring my signature.  Very handy, as it turns out I had two such deliveries last week.

Now, on top of gardening and painting, I spent some quality hours with another book loaded on to my e-reader.  "Twixt" is a book that I learned about when Donna J Reed (@TWIXTbook) started to follow me on Twitter.  I look at the bio of each person who decides to follow me and I was intrigued to see that Donna was the author of a book.  I then went to a book site to read about "Twixt" and knew that it was one that I needed to read starting immediately if not sooner.  I do not want to spoil the story for anyone, but "Twixt" is definitely a majickal read, one that will capture your attention as well as your heart.  The love of a mother for her daughter who seems to be trapped within her body and is unable to respond will without a doubt have you anxious for her safety and for her own spirit and soul to return to the little one's body.  A stranger, who rescued the mother and child in one instance, returns to once again save the child from another terror ridden incident where she has wandered away from home in the dark of night.  This mysterious man weaves himself in and out of life deftly.  But sadly, he appears unaware of his importance in their lives.  Whilst I still have a few chapters left to read, I can highly recommend this book and give it a five star rating.  How can a grown woman become so addicted to a book?  I love anything that is suspenseful, especially if it involves characters from the outside the realm of our day to day lives.  We all need a little majick and yes, I realize that this spelling is not the conventional one typically found in most dictionaries.  But then, this type of majick is not the oft depicted pulling of a rabbit from a hat.  There is a huge distinction between the two of these spellings and you need to look into your heart to see the difference.

This week looks like another busy week!  It appears that I am in sync with my inner muse and can hope to accomplish or at least spend some quality time in the studio.  It seems that my mind is working overtime and wants to paint as much as humanly possible whilst still spending time with all other artistic or creative endeavours.  Books are definitely at the top of my list with fiction, artistic technique and jewelery the subjects I am drawn towards.  I found an article about a Japanese braiding technique known as "kumihimo."    Pursuing this art form is at the top of my list since any and all Japanese arts are of interest to me.  Painting on rice paper also intrigues me and will likely be something that I try out in the future.  But, for some reason, jewelry is part of my dreams and I seem to focus on the types of bracelet, brooches or necklaces being shown in magazines and in jewelry shoppe showcases.  Knowing that buying some of these pieces would involve some serious money, I would rather learn on my own how to make some interesting techniques that could lead to either wearable art or become part of a piece destined to hang on a wall at some point.  I will keep you posted as to how this learning adventure progresses and where it takes me.

Meanwhile, I am planning a little trip to a store carrying art supplies hoping to find some glue and a few other items that I need in order to proceed on my journey.  Having a look at some beading supplies is something I anticipate doing soon.  Whilst I do not have a firm plan as to how beads will work their way into what I am doing, I am equally sure that the many patterns, colours and variety of beads will come to play and influence the colours that I choose over the next while.  My little garden will take up a certain amount of time between the tending and planting of seeds.  Truthfully, I cannot wait to see the plants grow and become more than just little bits of greenery sprouting on the top of the soil laden pots. 

I would love to hear about what you are up to whether it is gardening, reading or creating artistically.  It is always fun to hear about what others are doing and perhaps get inspired to try growing a particular plant or or embrace another type of Japanese braiding.  Time spent learning something new is time well spent.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,   Rutheemac

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