Bloody moths

Good news
Crawling on my hands and knees in the girls bedroom I found both my lovely grey footless tights and my wonderful mega expensive tweezers and amissing earring not a bad haul.
Bad news
Bloody moths I have spent the entire day sprinkling lavender around all my clothes bedding etc like it was fairy dust in the vague hope it will discourage breeding and encourage the packing of their bags. Every night, out they flutter I have been through everything but cannot find the breeding ground. I normally try to enforce a live and let live policy in the house but not when my beautiful jumpers are at stake. There is something rather pitiful at how fragmentary their composition is, they crush so easily like tissue paper. but their babies eat way too much. So the smell of lavender pervades the house and all is calm....

Van der Hurd

www.vanderhurdstudio.com

I'm starting to see a pattern here.

So bloody tired

On Friday a small nugget of a headache was tapping so I popped a couple of pills ( I hope my homeopath is not reading this!) Alpha male decided we should go out, the first time since we moved here last September, nothing too gastronomic I have only recently weaned Emin off the mono sodium hell that is Pizza Hut so one tiny step up we went to Pizza Express, a glass of crap wine later a full blown migraine had moved in and I felt very very tired. Sat am I popped 2 more pills just a little stronger than the last (sorry again) this time I was dragged to the Red Bull flying time trials. 5 mins awesome 15 mins boring, so shopping and bed. Back up at 7 and off to my sisters birthday bash, bloody pizza again.. back home, bed till gone 9. Where am I going with this boringly domestic diatribe? well Tom (there was NO excuse for that perfume) Ford was asked in a recent interview how he relaxed "I never relax its too exhausting" well he wasn't wrong there

Junichi Nakahara

http://www.artilino.com/ I love Japanese woodblock prints and these are some of the best I have seen by Junichi Nakahara

Annie Williams

I persuaded mum to buy one of her watercolours last year her work is even better in the flesh richly layered, pieces can sometimes be found at http://www.banksidegallery.com/ This gallery sits in the shadow of the Tate modern but has some lovely exhibitions.

Carl Fredrik Holtermann

My picture folder is chocker block so here are a few lovely pieces. First up these intricate paper cuts by Carl Fredrik Holtermann, better still look at the wonderful crisp graphics on his blog http://www.therapeuticpictionary.blogspot.com/

Spend Spend Spend

A recent post on the kingdom of style blog raises the age old issue of retail therapy, I shop therefore I am. I remember an experiment in Vogue a couple of years ago where the editor tried not to spend on anything other than necessities for a month she did not find it easy. but that's the industry she works in. 18 months ago I was financially struggling and I had to make some serious lifestyle changes that removed all unnecessary expenditure, at first it was agony but it has got easier I have removed triggers including wheels, no car, no credit cards, stay away from Ebay, work hard make sure you have no time to shop. Go to a shopping center with the most tight fisted miserable b***er you can find. But when life gets bad nothing can compare to a 5 hour shopping spree to assuage the misery's of life, call me shallow but.. On Friday I finally received next years timetable, 3 months late and with 1 day to absorb and sort out problems. The timetable was the professional equivalent of being sent to Siberia and came without warning or justification. At that point with more time I would have spent a months salary, but luckily I didn't 2 hours later the problem was resolved, danger was over but who can resist the sales? not me so off I toddled with Leyla to keep me in check, and what larks we had
1. Knitted cotton shift dress slate blue & dark moss scoop neck T shirt, Gap
2. Wool & cashmere hoodie, Jigsaw
3. Black wool scoop neck jumper, French Connection
4. Slate grey linen cardigan, Whistles
Not forgetting Bday pressie for Lucy and various stuff for Leyla
Daisy and Kitty hit the same shopping center next week help!

New Work

5 new pieces that were very satisfying to make using a mixture of paint and collage a technique i will work on when I return to work. I did start some collages last Friday but they have a long way to go yet and some recent painting need some serious adjustment add to this a pile of watercolours to paint I am getting quite productive. I am absolutely determined to setup my Etsy shop after this holiday I have grown in confidence selling on Ebay recent shipments to Thailand and Australia went without a hitch and having bought some lovely prints recently i now have a better concept of packaging so watch this space..

And hello to this..

Well soon enough.
Walking into my daughters bedroom last night I was confronted with enough flashing lights to bring a small light aircraft into land, 2x mobile phones charging, 2xDS charging and the electric toothbrush winking away. What did we used to do without this gadgetry? This time last year I faced an eight hour flight without these necessities eight long hours with just a packet of crayons and a puzzle book to entertain 3 needy children not much fun there and when we got to Egypt they were having a heatwave and lovely though the place was our constitution was severely lacking. So this year we are hitting Porthmear beach, 5 hours in a borrowed Toyota Yaris probably costing the same price as last year, but rain or no rain I cannot wait for a change of view. Poor mum is now stuck at work, she was offered refuge in the football stadium but graciously declined the offer for a bed in the university, soften by top table food but I don't think shes looking forward to the mess back home...

Its goodbye to this...

Eat your heart out Mr Pollock this is a view of a desk top in my room. I am strange because I like the build up of paint and so the students are positively discouraged from cleaning the tables..

lucy in the garden

lucy in the garden, originally uploaded by hens teeth.

Happy birthday Lucy

Far Far Away

Once again I find beautiful clothes from across the sea this time America www.cynthiaashby.com

Be creative

Last night I had one of those epiphany moments, I was watching a programme about the brain and how it functions and it started to answer a question that has been niggling me for the last 5 years.
Why it is that girls who are talented and creative at the age of 14 suddenly become, by the age of 16 wooden, stilted, anal artists unable to produce a cohesive composition, let alone use the materials in a flowing creative way?
In last nights programme Doctors analysis of the brain showed that if the left side of the brain, (the one controlling logical thinking) was allowed to dominate the right side of the brain (the one controlling creative thinking) then that unconscious ability to render and think out of the box is destroyed.
The way the government has pushed and pushed all its money into TECH bloody NOLOGY is sucking the creative life force out of our students, Vocation and ologys are dominating our lives when in fact we should be nurturing the right side of our brain.
My feeling of impotence makes me so angry, but I am vindicated and I will continue to make students look and draw and feel, not plan and design. And that goes for me too! Shove the handbook, I am painting this holiday..

Mothers and daughters

http://www.comptoirdescotonniers.com

"Mothers and daughters" this is a lovely web site with a great concept I wish they had a shop here in London but my pennies are safe or... check out Ebay.fr the very best stuff is here but the sizes are so bloody small don't the french have well dressed chunky monkeys like me? what made me smile is the seller of these beauties above lives in England but sell her goods on the french site!

If I was to nominate a shop that both my mother and I love it would have to be Jigsaw not gut wrenching convertible like Comptoir but lovely fabrics which forgive the odd lump and bump.

My poor mother is currently awaiting the waters to wash into her house she is sans car and has not procured the necessary sandbags. She spent all day Sunday filling carrier bags with soil from the garden and taking everything she can upstairs, she then managed to raise a dresser and a sofa onto boxes, now she is enduring the stress of waiting for the water to arrive and to decide whether to stay at home or move into work. She said she would always live on a hill in future which could prove tricky as she relocates to York next year!

Wish list

I love the clothes that Ghulam Sakina makes but sadly they are too expensive for me even now the sales are on, http://www.ghulamsakina.com/ is his short but sweet web site.

Holiday time

On Wednesday my sanity will pack its bags and leave for 5 weeks as the summer holiday arrives. Daisy will be a rare sight as she is now an independent Londoner out and about most days or curled up with a book. Leyla is just her usual low level irritant self, addicted to the television and me in equal quantities. But Kitty is a child just a rizler width away from being completely autistic, she will limp from one self induced miserable day to the next.

Today's one hour hysterical outburst was about socks a) wrong size b) wrong colour c) wrong length Nothing fits kitty, nothing matches, nothing looks right, no one likes her, its no fun being 12 but kitty will take down all within her wake.

I have just found out that Shirley Hughes has an exhibition at www.illustrationcupboard.com which finishes on 26th July. This woman saved my sanity when as a young mother I was hooked on lifestyle magazines and failed to cope with the chaos that arrived with 2 small children. My Country Living lifestyle was shattered and I felt inadequate that my home was not photo shoot friendly 24/7 Then I read books by Shirley Hughes to the children and I had an epiphany. Her illustrations portrayed homes that were untidy, children shared a room, washing up sat on tables, washing hung on lines, adults spent too long searching for lost toys and getting locked out. I owe this woman my sanity. With the Au Pair back in Turkey the house has slipped even beyond one of her illustrations so my first week at home will be spent moving piles of paper, washing and electronic crap from house to shed..The garden is so verdant I will need a scythe to trim it back and just as order will be restored the builders will arrive....

I seem to love birds!

http://www.newartdaily.blogspot.com/

I rewarded my self with a 30min break from collaging and found this lovely picture via etsy.

Swallow Print

Swallow Print, originally uploaded by Things are better with a Parrott.

The House Martins arrived 25th May and still make me smile

Rachel Ann Austin

These beautiful paintings are by http://www.rachelannaustin.com/ inspired by plants in her garden they have a wonderful luminescent quality she also has some lovely little collages on Etsy.

I need one of these now...

After a tiny taste of warmth more gale force wind and rain is forecast, oh to be wrapped up in one of these sublime knits from Nina Ricci

My perfect coat

Coat by Behnaz Sarafpour

Why oh why if shops are so good at copying runway fashion is this gorgeous coat not in the shops now?
It is my perfect coat.

Lifestyle envy

http://sanfrancisco.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/070907/atsf-blogger-tryouts/house-tour-john-and-arounnas-toronto-loft-026098

Do these people not have kids, messy partner, paperwork, leftover food, pets, pet hair, DRYING washing, clean washing that needs to be put away...laptops, bits of computer waiting to be fixed, wires everywhere, gym bags, school bags, shopping bags, where does it all go...

Prints to love

Both just too beautiful not to buy, both from Etsy. I have managed to sell enough on Ebay to treat myself to some prints. The first print brings back memories of Hawaii when we saw orchids hanging from trees in the forests I love all the work of the second artist and will buy more at a later date.

1. Yoo-ii

2. Azure Grackle

Loser goes 1st

Just lovely email losergoes1st@gmail.com or check the blog

Morning Blues

I finally decided to wear a dress I bought from Gap in April which at the time of purchase I thought looked lovely, I finally have the occasion to wear it and actually it has morphed into a night dress no matter what I tried the shroud look was all I could see. I just hope I can get away with it on the beach this summer, well I use the word summer in the loosest sense since we are holidaying in England.. Saturday was good we had a lovely meal at Arbutus and fuelled with good wine we hit COS sale. I love their clothes but sadly only the skirts fit as my athletic shoulders and back cannot squeeze into the narrow little tops they make. For me they are a realistic priced option to Marni the 2 skirts I bought are lovely http://www.cosstores.com/
needless to say I could not need a skirt less but I love skirts more than any other item of clothing
My list of what I love to buy in descending order

1. Skirts, I Love patterns, fabrics, textures, shapes.
2. Camisole tops, My big shoulders can pop out in style.
3. Trousers but only wide legged I am a secret Katherine Hepburn fan.
4. Cardigans easy because you don't have to do them up.
5. Tops/ Dresses I love them but they don't often love me
6. Tights, I love all kinds of tights, footless, wool,ribbed, lace.

My list of what I hate to buy

1. Shoes I ripped the ligaments on my left foot so now NOTHING fits except Birkenstocks what a life sentence!
2.Coats they never fit or look nice
3. Underwear I love the idea of a bra and matching knickers but I need control and underwear that does that just looks boring & dull no fun in that.
4. Handbags, most of them weigh a kilo before all my junk goes in and I can never afford the nice ones.
5. Swim wear, total humiliation.

Mezereem

http://www.mezereem.com/

Beautiful collages from this web site as well as some lovely examples of jewellery

I wish I was working on some collage but I am enduring 3 days of unmitigated hell as I teach 3 workshops a day for 3 days of Arts week. So far so good, the students are stencilling a save the rainforest's mural. I will photograph later.

Happy Birthday Daisy

Daisy is 15 today and she won the discus 15 meters+++ what a star!