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Love Monster

2012-02-14T10:28:00.001+13:00

Or maybe it's loveless monster - sad that he hasn't received a shiny purple balloon and cellophane-wrapped rose on Valentine's Day. Have you?

Tuesday Morning Monster

2012-02-07T12:05:00.001+13:00

For Creature Mag's one minute monster project. This attractive creature took 65 seconds and looks a little like the way I feel this morning (except I'm not wearing polka dot shorts).

Small Summer Adventures

2012-02-02T22:38:00.000+13:00

School's back after six weeks of flaky summer weather, small excursions around Auckland (we never managed to leave), tents built from chairs and sheets in bedrooms, new scooters and many falls, secret children's spy games with the girl next door and always, always longing for some real summer sun. In amongst all that I've tried to get my act together and plan for 2012, but it's just been so hard. I've lost my way but now a little bit of routine has returned, I'm planning on a new start. It's far too easy to drift, and I've decided that this is the Year of No Drifting, Wafting or Procrastinating. You can hassle me about that, if you like.

Weeds

2012-01-24T13:20:00.001+13:00

Poor blog. Lonely and neglected, like my garden, overrun by a forest of summer weeds. Although I've pretended not to make any New Year's resolutions, of course I have - I can't help it. They include: weed the garden at least once before winter, and post a little bit more often, because I do enjoy it, honestly. It's that time of year when sometimes things feel a little stuck. For the past couple of years I've taken part in the Thing-a-Day project, which has been great for giving any gone-to-seed creativity a kick in the bottom. This year it's The Sketchbook Project, which closes in eight days. My theme is 'The Companion Book.' This page is about my weed-like thoughts (theme of the moment). It's a nice change to work in pen and coloured pencil (no digital tinkering), in book form. At the end of this month it will be flying on its way to New York to become part of the Brooklyn Art Library's permanent collection. How exciting is that!

Steve

2012-01-07T12:30:00.000+13:00

A brand new year, and a brand new baby nephew, born just before Christmas. He's not really called Steve. We called him that as a joke way back at the beginning, and now it's stuck - at least until he gets a real name. Welcome to the world, little Steve. Your eyes are a bit crusty and you have to wear mittens because you keep stuffing your hands in your mouth and chewing furiously on your fingers. You have tiny little legs like a chicken, and your socks and hats are too big for you and you snuffle like a baby wombat, but you are lovely in every way.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T20:40:00.000+13:00

Christmas Eve, picnic on the beach, a new moon, a pink sunset, listening to the radio which is as usual playing Bing Crosby, just like every other year. A little soothing Bing is just what's needed. It's been a big crazy week, the beginning of school holidays, the birth of my first nephew, two frightening new earthquakes in Christchurch. I don't have any words left in my empty head, so I will just wish you a very merry and calm-filled Christmas instead. See you in 2012!

Christmas Cards

2011-12-11T22:08:00.001+13:00

Late as usual, but finally pulled out the Gocco from its hiding place and set to work on making Christmas cards. I love my Gocco, but use it so rarely that I lose all memory of what to do with it and end up wasting bulbs, putting ink on the wrong side of the screen and generally end up swearing and making a huge mess. This time I painted a background in acrylic, waited for it to dry and printed the drawing on top. All done. Phew.

Round

2011-11-29T23:07:00.000+13:00

I often over-think these Illustration Friday prompts, and then end up doing nothing because I've dithered about it for so long. This week I've been back in rehearsal for a new show. At the end of a full-on day, all I want to do is a bit of aimless doodling, and that's what happened. Small round thing, square other things... possibly deep and meaningful but probably not.

Pictures from Sydney

2011-11-20T21:26:00.001+13:00

Three weekends ago I was in Sydney, very briefly and over-excited about being caught up in a whirlwind of wine drinking with old friends I hadn't seen for years. It only took a few hours of being back home again to feel as if I had never been away at all. Sigh.

I always think of Sydney as brown. The reddish brown of thousands of apartment buildings, brick houses and tiled roofs. The golden brown of sandstone, which much of the city is built from, and even on. I lived there once, for a year. I didn't love it the way I loved Melbourne - it was too hot and busy and smelly, and I was lonely, straight out of design school and missing my family back home. All the brown and dust got me down. I remember calling Mum from a phone box, crying after I had just walked straight into a giant hairy spider hanging from an innocent-looking suburban tree.

Going back to visit after all that time was different. We ate gelato on Bondi, watching kids do handstands on the beach. It felt as if summer was already well underway, earlier than in NZ where it's still chilly at night and weirdly windy. I appreciate travel overseas so much more because it doesn't happen very often these days. I don't take it for granted the way I once did, that's for sure.

Stripes

2011-11-07T19:57:00.000+13:00

Haven't done an Illustration Friday drawing for ages, but here's this week's theme: stripes. The bunny must have done something dire to end up alone in a room with just his telly and a barred window. Or maybe he's just hiding from the fireworks, which are still banging away here two days after Guy Fawkes night.

Nearly Over

2011-10-23T10:36:00.000+13:00

Six weeks of rugby mania is nearly over, with the final game tonight between New Zealand and France. Not wanting to be labelled Ms No-Fun Anti-Rugby Grinch forever, I gritted my teeth and watched the semi-finals last week. No, I haven't really been converted. They stop too much and there was an awful lot of blood. But the bits I do like are the occasional athletic, skilful bits - the running and sliding, massive kicks, the cool overhead camera shots at the beginning of a scrum. I also like the haka and the national anthem, which usually makes me cry on any occasion (especially when sung by small children). This image comes from a short dance film I made a few years ago for the annual Trash to Fashion awards in Auckland (hence the rubbish dump in the background). I liked the fact that the girls were happy to wear uncomfortable old rugby boots, run through stinky mud and bash into each other like real rugby players. They somehow managed to make this all look graceful, with not a drop of blood or cauliflower ear in sight...

Lovely Weekend

2011-10-18T13:26:00.000+13:00

Delightful things this weekend included a road trip, sunshine, wine, lunch in an orange grove, cheese and walks on beaches. I took photos of the food we ate, but sadly forgot to snap the giant pavlova with berries and lashings of whipped cream. Now it's back to normality, spring storms and blustery grey skies. I'm drawing cats and robots, tackling my enormous to-do list, and daydreaming about more lovely weekends away.

Pink

2011-10-05T10:45:00.001+13:00

The outside world is full of spring blossom at the moment, from the palest delicate cherry pink to the deep rose-red of budding magnolias. At one point we were walking along the street, completely surrounded by a swirling snowfall of petals carried by the wind. "I call moments like this food for my soul," said Mum, who we were visiting for the weekend. A Saturday spent op-shopping revealed more pinky treasures - a wool blanket edged with immaculate pink stitching, a blancmange mould (have you ever made a blancmange? I haven't), and a set of little flowery tumblers. Doesn't take much to make me happy!

Ferocious

2011-09-26T22:29:00.001+13:00

'Ferocious,' quickly done for this week's Illustration Friday's prompt. What that thing is I do not know. It looks like a floating peanut, and the kid doesn't look very scared. Not as scared as I am today, in the messy middle of doing my overdue tax return. Aaargghhh...

Spring Stuff

2011-09-22T13:38:00.000+12:00

I don't write much here about my online shops - not sure why, because it's a big part of what I've been doing for a year or so. Maybe it's because I wanted to keep this blog separate from all the promotion and social networking and hoo-ha that goes hand in hand with selling online. A kind of quieter place, where I could get away from posting about the latest greatest or not-so-greatest thing I've designed. Except for today - today I wanted to show a little bit of the other stuff I've been doing. This pattern was inspired by a bed sheet from the 1970's, found in a Tauranga opshop and taken home to live in the hall cupboard with the other residents of my ever-growing fabric collection. I usually draw everything by hand and colour it digitally - this time I did everything in Illustrator and played with offsetting three different layers to give the look of block printing. And speaking of printing, the onset of spring is making me want to go and learn some new things. Like printmaking, or painting. Something different and hands-on and a bit messy, for a change.

Boundaries

2011-09-13T11:03:00.000+12:00

Illustration Friday theme this week: boundaries. Hmmm. We are having lots of pushed-to-the-limit boundaries at the moment. Smarty pants talking back and statements like 'You're not in charge, I am.' These days it's all about time-outs and consequences and half-hearted attempts at star charts. I suppose no rules seem particularly fair when you're seven, and will always be challenged. I remember constantly pushing the boundaries. I pushed as hard as I can, to see who would explode first, and then when I got a smack and sent to my room for eternity, I could suffer with the terrible unfairness of it all. So now when L says things like "You're too mean to be my mother and you're never nice to me and I'm going to run away forever and never live with you again," I know exactly what's going on!

The R Word

2011-09-06T21:10:00.000+12:00

Photo: William Hall Raine / National Library of NZ on the Commons

I don't like rugby and I'm not in the slightest bit excited about the Rugby World Cup. It starts on Friday, and media frenzy is escalating by the hour. Every time you turn on the telly there's another glistening All Black striding towards the camera in slow motion. If I could be airlifted out of Auckland for the next six weeks, I'd be off in a jiffy, but as that's unlikely, I'm trying to look on the bright side. Is there a bright side? Well, the city's been tidied up in lots of nice ways. Shiny new art galleries, theatres and public waterfront areas have opened. All road works are banned while the Cup's on, and three and a half tonnes of kiwi, kowhai and pohutukawa-inspired fireworks will be lighting up the city on opening night. I discovered this photo today - it's a shot from the 1930s of rugby jerseys drying on a Wellington washing line. Seems like nothing much has changed, really!

Disguise

2011-08-29T21:58:00.002+12:00

A quick doodle for Illustration Friday, just so I don't get out of the habit (it's easy to do). The theme this week is 'disguise', and this is an animal disguised as a snowboarder - he's hoping his outfit will do the trick, I imagine. There's no more snow in Auckland, by the way. Spring is creeping a little closer, the days are becoming a tiny bit warmer, and there are lots of duck couples waddling round the neighbourhood, looking (I think) for places to lay their nests.

Seven

2011-08-24T22:27:00.000+12:00

Suddenly seven. How did that happen? Enormous amounts of showing off, shouting and cheeky answering back are interspersed with whispering sweet nothings into Neil the cat's ear and making little houses for his toy koala. I'm trying not to get all soppy (too late), but sometimes it really is like watching the gradual slow-motion fading of childhood innocence into the fight to be tougher, harder, bigger, faster, better than anyone else. Help! I think I need a stern talking-to.

Sort of Snowing

2011-08-15T19:41:00.005+12:00

Snow in central Auckland? Not since 1939, apparently. It's a shame it didn't last long enough to make even a tiny snowman, but it's given everyone something to talk about. The country's being swept by an Extreme Polar Blast (I like the capital letters, it sounds more dramatic), surging up from Scott Base. Places like Wellington, where I grew up and never ever saw one snowflake, are covered in snow, even down to beach level, with photos of suburban houses looking like cosy little lamplit cottages in the wintry English countryside. Staying inside, wrapped up in fluffy blankets and eating soup, seems like a good idea at the moment. It's not just the cold, but all the news of erupting worldwide chaos over the past week or so - in fact, it's been a year of chaos; things cracking up, the unexpected shattering of normality. Sometimes the simplicity of home makes it the very best place to be.

Obsession

2011-08-02T20:17:00.004+12:00

'Cure for an obsession - get another one.' Mason Cooley

I can definitely relate to this week's Illustration Friday theme! L's current obsessions: volcanoes (are there any about to explode in Auckland), guns, Jackie Chan, wobbly teeth, money. Mine: MasterChef, hot baths, the smell of jasmine, other people's haircuts (haven't had one for months because I'm trying to grow it). Very tame. Once upon a time my past obsessions were once much more exciting and emotionally draining; usually involving unattainable men and running away to live in foreign countries, although if I start thinking about it I could get obsessed with living-in-Paris-or-New-York fantasies once again...

Caravans & Baches

2011-07-27T15:13:00.001+12:00

What's needed in a gluggy, gloomy winter is a getaway, preferably by the sea. Three of us drove down to Cook's Beach, escaping a muddy Auckland to clear blue skies and a blissful weekend of childless decadence, which basically meant lying around in pyjamas by the fire, red wine, reading rubbishy magazines and constant grazing from little bowls filled with snacks. I spent time trotting around the nearly deserted neighbourhood taking snaps for my collection of bach and caravan photos, and as usual had fantasies of running away to live by the beach. One day, maybe (just need a spare half million or so, sigh)...

Gesture

2011-07-18T10:06:00.000+12:00

A small offering for this week's Illustration Friday theme of 'gesture'. We had a few moments of this last night when L began to have a panic attack about the first and unknown day of his upcoming school holiday programme. 'What if there's millions of people there? What if they all look at me?' I told him that he would be one of the biggest and wisest six year olds in the group. That seemed to cheer him up, and he trotted off this morning with no tears. Phew.

Winter Beach

2011-07-17T21:07:00.002+12:00

Slump

2011-06-29T14:36:00.000+12:00

I really need to get over my dislike of winter rain. It sends me into a slump, like today. Gumboots are needed just to walk outside to the letterbox. Huge giant muddy holes have been gouged out of the grass by the lawnmower man. My shoes leak. I'm a grumpy pants. There is a tiny ray of hope, however, in the form of a little shining golden sun on Metservice's weather forecast. Please sun, come out and lighten my muddy mood!

Transport City

2011-06-23T13:12:00.001+12:00

This is the second of my RedBubble tees that I've received - it's a gift for a friend of mine who recently had a baby boy. He's not grown up yet like this exceptionally compliant cute model, loaned to me by his kind mum. The colours look far better than they do in the preview image, and I really think RedBubble should do something about that - their previews don't do the real T shirts justice. 'Transport City' was one of the very first designs I created at RedBubble - I've always been quite partial to doodling detailed little cities and seeing this in real life has inspired me to make more.

Diaries

2011-06-19T20:54:00.000+12:00

This weekend I've been looking at some of my old diaries, which sit piled up in a dusty box in a dark cupboard. I go through stages of wanting to chuck them all away, as they are filled with cringe-worthy awfulness, usually about unrequited love - and that particular habit goes right back to my very first real diary written at the very innocent age of 15. All that wasted time pining, all those broken hearts! What I also notice is the long detailed lists (and goals) and how, to my horror, they haven't really changed much at all. It's the never-ending list, with the same 3kg to lose and the imaginary amazing peak of fitness that I will definitely achieve by the end of every year. What would happen if I gave up my lists? Or threw away my diaries? The thing is, I can't bring myself to do it. When I read them I remember past lives I had forgotten. I would never remember that kind of detail without them. So they are here to stay, for the meantime at least, and as a reminder to keep writing, so I don't forget.

Drawing Day

2011-06-06T15:03:00.000+12:00

Saturday, June 4 was Drawing Day 2011, an online event encouraging people to drop everything and draw on one day. Their aim was also to get a million drawings uploaded to their site and other participating ones such as RedBubble. I was quite happy to sit inside and draw for the afternoon, as it was a vile day outside and not something to be ventured out in. Today however, is like spring, and there are reports of daffodils blooming and ducklings being born. Weird weather, everywhere.

Asleep

2011-06-01T14:09:00.003+12:00

Illustration Friday: Asleep. Hmmm. Not sure what I think about this one. Dithered lots. But it's one of my favourite themes - what really goes on in some children's heads. I say 'some' because of course they are not all the same. I only know certain ones in my vicinity, and what they think and obsess about is not flowers and fluffy bunnies. A lot of their gory obsessions come out in nightmares about giant robots, vampires, killer dogs and evil witches. I also remember my own childhood and getting in big trouble for doing unsavoury drawings of axe murderers and naked people. Not only did I draw them but I convinced my cousin to help me, in a kind of naughty drawing production line. Then we went around the neighbourhood and put them in people's letterboxes. Not that I would ever tell L that, of course...

Sunday Walk

2011-05-29T21:42:00.000+12:00

There has been a lot of drawing, promoting, challenge-entering, emailing, Photoshopping and an occasional bit of blogging going on recently. I'm starting to get more serious about turning my growing illustration habit into a real thing, something that I can call a career, or maybe a second kind of career that can go alongside my other more sporadic theatre work. The downside of this is way too much time spent slouching in front of the computer, which I can do quite happily for hours on end. Getting out into the world is important, and that's what we did today. Noticing new little things around the neighbourhood - curly fences and strange letterboxes, the smells of wood smoke and people's Sunday roasts, bike riding and kite flying and all the things that other people get up to on a late autumn weekend. We walked up a big hill and through a forest full of mushrooms, then came home for fish fingers and chips with tomato sauce. The Sunday walk - must make it more of a habit.

Soaked

2011-05-22T21:23:00.002+12:00

Illustration Friday theme this week: Soaked. Not a brand new drawing, but it seemed to fit! I've been feeling quite a lot like this over the past few weeks. Inundated and overwhelmed. Lots happening, lots of changes, both good and not so good, which has left me a bit like this cat - a bit gormless and staring vacantly into space.

I Love Autumn

2011-05-10T21:11:00.000+12:00

Especially the warm sunny one we've been having (mostly). I love the quality of the light, the intensity of colours in the early evening. I know the rain's going to set in soon, but for the moment I'm making believe that this golden loveliness is going to last well into winter.

Don't Pick Your Nose

2011-05-02T22:04:00.000+12:00

Illustration Friday weekly theme: Lesson. Important life lessons and great words of wisdom as spoken by Mum – other favourites included: ’Don’t sit on concrete or you’ll get piles,’ ‘If you watch too much TV your eyes will turn square,’ and ’Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.’ Of course I now find myself spouting exactly the same nonsense to L (and enjoying every moment of it).

Lovely Melbourne

2011-04-30T12:30:00.001+12:00

Lovely Melbourne, golden in the warm autumn sunshine. I spent a lot of time looking up and taking photos of the tops of buildings! L thought that was very boring but I loved the clash of heritage and modern architecture, the shiny new bridges over the Yarra River, and the public art dotted throughout the city. It's not all great, but the fact that there's so much of it is exciting, and something I wish there was more of in our own slightly dull Auckland.

Journey

2011-04-20T22:39:00.000+12:00

Illustration Friday theme this week: journey. It's a tiny bit of a cheat because it's an old drawing, but it seemed just right for the journey we're about to embark on tomorrow to Melbourne, Australia...and I think I am just about as excited as this pig, even at the idea of going to the airport. And planes, and new cities, and different countries - I love every single little bit of it.

Bottled

2011-04-11T22:38:00.003+12:00

Illustration Friday theme this week: bottled. Sometimes it's safer to keep all those wayward thoughts (and maybe the kids) bottled up...

Zzzzzzz

2011-04-05T20:16:00.001+12:00

Since the Christchurch earthquake just over a month ago, my sleep has been rocky and disturbed and basically rubbish. I'm not sure why - I wasn't even in Christchurch, but maybe it's some kind of lurking deep disaster anxiety. My kind friends have been bringing me little sleep remedy samples and tips - I've tried the lot - valerian, hops, hot milk and warm baths before bed, passionflower, magnesium, even panadol. Short of a sleeping pill, nothing ever does the trick. I lie there, buzzing and thinking uselessly, for hours. But now I've discovered a new solution - the world of self-hypnosis podcasts. I'm on the search for the perfect sleep-inducing voice; no weird accents, creepy intonations or speech impediments (believe me there are many examples out there); and with a nice touch of comforting down-to-earthness. And so far, so good - I'm getting better at switching off my nattering brain and pretending I'm sinking into a vat of molasses (or something like that). But oh to sleep like a child...they don't know how lucky they are.

The Perfect Toy

2011-03-26T21:39:00.000+13:00

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is: toy. I asked L what kind of toy he would have if he could have anything in the world, and this is the result. It would be made of Lego, fully remote controlled, with several built in game consoles, and bristling with guns and rocket launchers. What ever happened to the good old days when children amused themselves with sticks and made wooden pegs into little dollies? (Not that I ever did, but it's a nice nostalgic thought).

My Fear of Threadless

2011-03-25T16:59:00.002+13:00

Not a lot of blog action going on recently! I haven't felt very inspired by my own meanderings, and have maybe been watching the news a little bit too much. But I have been drawing, pretty much every day, the way I used to do when I was about seven. Drawing also involves designing kids' tees like this one. I first looked at Threadless about a year ago - it's a T shirt site where people can submit designs, and also vote for the ones they deem worthy of being printed. I found it a bit scarily cool and intimidating, and still do - I'm also shy and uneasy about asking people to vote for me, me, me (that kind of relentless self-promotion isn't really my thing), and the community can be pretty harsh in their judgements. But they do have great tees in a wide range of colours, and when a friend of mine suggested I give it a go, I did, and submitted this design for a challenge supporting Earth Day. Found this interesting post at Escape from Illustration Island discussing the pros and cons of voting sites such as Threadless - I'm still undecided (and still hate something I've done being voted on, especially when they give you a score of one and say things like 'meh'!)

Design for Japan

2011-03-14T20:25:00.002+13:00

How do you deal with such an overwhelming sense of sadness and powerlessness? It has only been a few weeks since the shock of the most recent Christchurch earthquake, and now there is devastation on an unimaginable scale in Japan. I'm glad that Zazzle have set up an initiative to raise money for the disaster relief fund. They have released a T shirt of their own but also asked for community donations of designs. Today I made this flower heart design - it's available on T shirts, and a few other things. 100% of the royalties will go straight to the Japanese Red Cross. It may only be a tiny drop in the ocean, but it makes me feel as if I can contribute in some way. Visit the Japan Relief store to purchase items, or even to create and donate your own.

What I Did in February

2011-03-08T19:22:00.000+13:00

This is the end result of February's Thing-a-day challenge - a grand total of 21 out of 28 days; somewhat interrupted by earthquake happenings towards the end. Now I can see the series as a whole, I notice how dark the images became in the last week or so - you can see them all here. It was hard going at times - not the drawing bit so much, but the pressure of posting publicly when I wasn't always happy with the result. Good for me though, and it's a great practice, this daily drawing - so often I'm caught up with the idea of creating something finished and perfect (haha) that all spontaneity goes out the window. I see these little images as starting points for other things, but maybe some of them are 'finished' enough, and possibly portfolio-worthy - what do you think?

Safe

2011-03-04T20:40:00.001+13:00

There's a jittery feeling in the air, a nationwide obsession with staying safe, out of harm's way. Two smallish earthquakes have hit Wellington in the past two days and I can imagine how scary that must be; the feeling that you could be next. We worry about the chances of an earthquake in Auckland - not likely, but there's always the supposedly innocent dormant volcanoes that grace just about every suburb. We talk about what it would be like to move to Australia, but there are other things there, like floods, bush fires and crawly poisonous things. The forces of nature seem immense, inescapable, uncontrollable. Feeling safe at the moment is about the comfort of little rituals - Friday night pizza, the park every day after school, mundane telly and cups of tea. It has been a strange, sad and edgy few weeks. This drawing is one of the last from the Thing-a-day challenge - a grand total of 21 finished (out of 28)! In the last week the Christchurch earthquake happened and the drawings changed; influenced by what was going on down there and the endless avalanche of media reports and images.

Sad

2011-02-25T22:27:00.001+13:00

This photo was taken on Monday, down at Point Chevalier beach. The kids had a day off school and my friend and I took them down for a swim, but the weather was strange - misty, muggy and incredibly still - and there was a giant full tide, just after last week's full moon. The boys were acting like madmen; screeching, swearing and whacking each other with driftwood, so we decided they were under the moon's crazy influence and took them home before they killed each other. The next day, Christchurch was shattered by a violent earthquake, which was the beginning of another kind of craziness. Being so familiar, so close, so much part of our history, the scenes of destruction are surreal and still unbelievable. Those sedate English names of streets and suburbs - Shirley, St Albans, New Brighton, Manchester St, Cathedral Square - are so at odds with the never-ending images of flattened buildings and crushed cars. Then there are the people we know down there; friends and family, and the anxious wait to hear that they are safe. Mine are (some with lost homes), but the latest death toll stands at 113, with many people still unaccounted for. I keep deleting what I'm writing here, because I can't find the right words for such a big, horrible thing.

Layer

2011-02-21T22:47:00.000+13:00

This week's Illustration Friday theme (I haven't done this for ages) is 'layer'. This is something of an awkward layer; not feeling quite right in your own skin or giant pink coat. I've definitely felt like that at certain times in my life (although I am not a cat nor do I own a giant pink coat, thank goodness).

Mad Monster Friends

2011-02-17T22:56:00.002+13:00

So excited to see one of my designs on a real life T shirt - this one's from RedBubble. The monsters were the result of a doodle I did one night half-watching Coronation St! After bribery, blackmail, a million bad pseudo-gangster poses and silly faces I finally managed to get my unwilling model to crack a smile, which in his opinion is not at all cool. It's really good to see how the colours have printed, because up until now it's been a leap of faith - it's one thing to see something on the computer screen and another to see it translated to fabric. I'm happy!

The Invisible Anti-Whining Shield

2011-02-11T20:39:00.000+13:00

One of my Thing-a-Day drawings from this week, influenced by days of endless nagging and pleading. It just makes my invisible anti-whining shield even stronger (at least I like to think it does).

Panic

2011-02-05T11:39:00.000+13:00

Into my fourth drawing for Thing-a-Day. Changed my mind lots about themes, but for now it seems to be a mixture of what's caught my attention that day, and the ups and downs of the creative process. Here's a familiar subject - panic! Panic at the idea of not coming up with something, time running out, having no ideas, repeating myself endlessly - you know, all the usual stuff.

Calm Before the Storm

2011-01-27T21:41:00.000+13:00

It's very still out there in the garden. The mystery pianist a few doors down is playing 'Waltz of the Flowers,' and I went outside to have a better listen. There's a very small breeze, and both the sky and the camellias glow a soft blushing pink. Tropical cyclone Wilma is due to whip into the country tomorrow, but you'd never guess. All the weather is so upside down at the moment, you never quite know what to expect, but it sounds like we could be in for another blasting.

Back to Whiritoa

2011-01-23T15:11:00.000+13:00

And back from Whiritoa, reaching home just as the rain starts pouring down. Until then, we had two glorious sun-filled days of nothingness, apart from a spot of eating, drinking, swimming and some photo-taking for my growing collection of caravan, bach and beach umbrella shots, one day to be revealed in their full glory. I've forgotten all about any form of work but this amnesia can't last for much longer or I'll melt into a puddle of neverending slothfulness (quite tempting).

Hurray for Thing-a-Day

2011-01-17T18:16:00.001+13:00

'Thing-a-day is a yearly creative sprint where participants commit to create one new thing every day, every day of February and post it on the collective blog.'

This was my very first drawing for Thing-a-day 2010. It was most definitely the beginning of an adventure, but at the time I was filled with great angst about not only producing a piece of work a day, but the thought of anyone actually seeing it. Oh dear. I'm happy to say that I am now mostly over that particular anxiety and that the drawings I did that month were the very first building blocks of what I am doing now. Last year I created an alphabet, which fit neatly into the month-long challenge. It was useful to have a structure and now I'm tossing up ideas for a new theme. If anyone has any bright ones, please send them my way! Registrations open on January 21 and close February 1. It's fun, intense, often difficult, but very rewarding - a shot of creative rocket fuel, which is a good thing for the beginning of a new year.

Dancers Among Us

2011-01-12T21:48:00.003+13:00

One of my dreams is to go to New York. I don't mind what season it is, as long as I can go and see lots of dance and musicals and art galleries and museums, and walk around for hours through the streets I only know from films (mainly old ones) and television (usually the news). I love these photos from New York photographer Jordan Matter, and I love what he says about his reason for taking them. (You can see the entire gallery on his website).

'I’ve created these images for my two children, who are everything to me. There is so much I want for them. My hope is that they will live long and healthy lives, find loving partners and fulfilling careers, and experience the joys of parenthood. Most importantly, I want them to be free from self-consciousness, to discover the deep happiness of impassioned lives, and to find the serenity to be truly present. These photographs communicate my dreams for them more powerfully than words alone-relish moments large and small, recognize the beauty around you, and be alive.'

Dinners at the Beach

2011-01-05T22:39:00.001+13:00

I love this time after New Year, when everyone goes away, the roads are quiet and there are no traffic jams. We have been going to Point Chevalier Beach for dinner, when the tide's coming in and it's not so hot. We sit under the same tree every time (it's always miraculously free, just waiting for us) and eat bits and pieces out of the picnic basket. I also love the history of this beach. There was once a dance hall called the Dixieland Cabaret, which opened in 1925, and burned down ten years later. As well as a band and dancing, it had a skittle alley, bathing room facilities and special floodlights installed for night swimming to the two rafts anchored a hundred yards away from the shore. Sigh. I often think I was born in the wrong era. I never think of Auckland as a particularly romantic place, so my favourite stories are the ones that show it in a sweeter and more nostalgic light.

Happy Happy

2011-01-01T13:51:00.000+13:00

New Year's Day is quiet. Not at the races, not at the beach, not even recovering from New Year's Eve excess. I'm feeling like tidying things up, tying up loose ends, and as usual, making new lists. 2010 was a year of finding direction, and I like that feeling of instigating plans and projects, rather than drifting aimlessly and waiting for some magical amazingness to change my life. I'm more determined to change the things I keep grumbling about (the dull part-time job, the shaky finances, the stuck feeling that comes from not much travel), and do some of the things that appear on my lists every single year (travel more, draw more, earn more, learn more). Happy New Year!

Merry Merry

2010-12-24T22:37:00.002+13:00

It's Christmas Eve, and I've just finished wrapping presents (mainly Lego). I'm listening to Bing Crosby and eating chocolate truffles. Somewhere, a few doors down, someone is playing the piano. I've been hearing it often recently. It's wonderful and marvellous playing (and I can tell it's not a recording because it stops and starts). It often sounds like Bach. It's warm; 82% humidity, and very still. I love Christmas Eve. This dog is one of my Gocco experiments. To cover up a shoddy, panicked and messy printing job, I added a bit of acrylic shading. Have a very happy Christmas and New Year, wherever you may be.

Mad Children & Strawberries

2010-12-19T21:10:00.004+13:00

It has been a strange week, with the good, the bad and the downright ugly all mashed up together. Abominable child behaviour combined with high humidity saw L in time out at least fifteen times. In the heat he becomes a wild animal and on one particularly vile day ran away down the road in his underpants (he didn't want to do something compulsory like get dressed), weeping, swearing and laughing like a devil at the same time. He then locked himself into the bathroom and I had to climb through the window to rescue him because he couldn't get the door open again. The very next day, Neil did a big sloppy green poo right in the middle of the cream living room carpet. Give me strength. The good things are: a neverending supply of strawberries, the calming little lights on the Christmas tree (which didn't fall down this time as I wedged it into its bucket), nostalgic Christmas songs on the radio and the winding down of work. No scrabbling round malls for last-minute presents, no freaking out about unfinished cards... I like this new simpler way of doing things.

Phenomenon

2010-12-11T22:33:00.001+13:00

Illustration Friday's theme of the week. Phenomenon: 'That which strikes one as strange, unusual, or unaccountable' (among other meanings). Does three strange animals in a boat (and one fish) count?

Friday

2010-12-10T22:16:00.004+13:00

It's hot. Finished my Gocco-ed Christmas cards. Tomatoes, no rain, piles of drawings brought home from school, kids and water fights, dinner on a tray in a very dry bee-filled garden. Trying to avoid Christmas mania by staying away from shops and making things instead. Much better this way!

Lovely Day

2010-12-05T20:53:00.000+13:00

Thank you to my lovely friends and family for my equally lovely birthday, filled with flowers, food and frolicking. My real birthday day on Thursday found L and I both sick and sniveling with sore throats and grumpy moods. It rained all day, and sad images from the memorial for the Pike River miners filled the news. Birthday celebrations were delayed until Saturday. We went for dinner at Coco's Cantina and ate delicious food from enormous plates. A tiramasu with birthday candles came out and everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' while I pretended to be embarrassed. It was grand. A lovely day. Thank you!

Chocolate Fish

2010-12-01T14:18:00.004+13:00

Being a kid in New Zealand (and it's always summer in my memory) meant beaches just around the corner, bare feet, camping, icecreams, caravans and chocolate fish on Christmas Day. Marvellous. I did this drawing for a RedBubble T shirt challenge. You can see it here.

Sneaky

2010-11-22T20:06:00.000+13:00

Illustration Friday theme this week: sneaky. Fox? Dog? As usual, I'm not sure. Cat on wheels or a pig? You decide!

Garden Baby

2010-11-21T22:34:00.000+13:00

I've never been very skilled at certain things of a domestic and crafty persuasion - in other words, sewing, baking, and knitting of any kind. Although I can draw things on paper, it's the making of most other things in three-dimensional form that gives me grief. Gardening has also always fallen into the 'completely ignorant and not at all green-fingered' category, but over the last year or so I've been taking baby steps in the garden. Recently I've started trotting down to the local garden club on a Saturday morning to learn a bit more about the importance of mulching and how to stop my tomatoes from withering away. I do feel like a complete baby in the garden, especially as I come from a family of gardening fanatics. The sum total of my vege garden at home is four lettuces, four tomato plants, some rampant silverbeet and a dubious little patch of herbs...but it's only the beginning! I too will waft amongst the greenery (in a floaty white dress) on sunny summer evenings, nibbling at homegrown strawberries and whipping up sensational salads from my bed of organically grown lettuces. I can see it now...

Suddenly Summer

2010-11-17T22:05:00.001+13:00

Big bunches of basil, newly planted cherry tomatoes, strawberries and asparagus, the oak trees in the park giant and leafy... and it's suddenly hot. Looking back on my past year of blog posts, I can see how any hint of summer suddenly makes me want to write about it, endlessly. Skirts, jandals, after-school picnics at Point Chev beach, and the feeling that everyone is emerging from their little dark winter houses ready to have a party. I never used to be in love with summer the way I am now - it hasn't even officially started yet and I want it to go on forever.

Hello Gocco

2010-11-13T20:47:00.000+13:00

Today I cleaned up the laundry and made myself a (very small) printmaking space. It has been on my list for months. My box of supplies has been sadly languishing in a dark cupboard, and the Print Gocco set I bought a few years ago has sat there lonely and unused. It's good to get away from the computer and do something by hand. I had run out of the right frames and had to use the screen in a normal screenprinting way, making a shaky start on some Christmas cards in an effort to be early, organised and impeccably prepared. Haha. Despite the usual problems with registration and keeping myself clean, I was happy to produce a few passable cards and some test prints on fabric. Lots of great Gocco-ness to be found here on the Save Gocco blog, and here on the Flickr Gocco Group page.

Broken Bones

2010-11-07T17:17:00.001+13:00

It's been a funny week, full of unexpected accidents. Overheating ovens with dodgy old thermostats, cuts and bruises, and one very broken arm. L's always tripping over and crashing into things. It's like his speedometer is set a little too fast, most of the time. Hearing him cry loudly is nothing out of the ordinary, neither is a bit of screaming, but when I looked at the wiggly limp shape of his arm I knew there was something very wrong. Seven hours, several lollipops, a lot of waiting and one brand new plaster cast later, we finally got home to bed. There were some traumatic moments involving intravenous ketamine. I thought that was only used on ponies, or as an illicit club drug, but it's also used as short term sedation to pull the bones and set them in place for casting. Not a good thing to see your child going through, no matter how safely controlled it is. I'm glad it's over. What a week.

Happy Birthday, Scruff

2010-10-30T14:49:00.000+13:00

How did a year go by so fast? I started this blog this time last year. My first post was about the joys of spring (nothing has changed). I had no idea what blogging was about, really. I never liked the sound of the word. Blog. Like a bog, mixed with something slimy. I came to it by accident, while searching for tips on ways to use Photoshop in illustration. I came across Clare Robertson's blog Loobylu, and loved the way she wrote about her home, and her work, and her inspirations. I thought I would like to have a go. It would be a fun project, to create something that L could read one day, and to find a place for my images and little drawings. And so it was, but it has also been much more. It's been a focus for my wayward thoughts and daydreams about the future. Just like a journal, but infinitely more public. Since those first shaky beginnings I have: read hundreds of posts by inspiring people, decided I wanted to draw again, entered 26 illustration challenges, actually sold work online, and learned new skills in everything from CSS to Illustrator. I've stopped worrying about nobody reading it (and being too shy to tell anyone I was writing it), and I still get overexcited when anyone leaves a comment. It has been one of the best things I have ever done. I read this quote this morning (via Swissmiss), and it seemed like exactly the right thing on the right day, just as I was thinking about how far I've come in the last year.

Sometimes the little times you don’t think are anything while they’re happening turn out to be what marks a whole period of your life.
Andy Warhol

Racing

2010-10-26T20:31:00.001+13:00

Illustration Friday theme this week: racing. This manic zebra originally came from the Thing-a-Day challenge back at the start of the year. He has been spruced up a bit (from his former slightly scruffy self) in Illustrator.

Mrs Mop

2010-10-23T22:46:00.000+13:00

It's Labour Weekend; first long weekend since June, traditionally the time to plant out your tomatoes. I bought four cherry tomato plants from the local garden club where I had a cup of tea and chatted about poppies and coriander relish. I came home, opened all the windows and turned into Mrs Mop, cleaning lots of grubby surfaces and finding it very satisfying. I love that whole spring ritual thing. Clean sweeps, fresh starts, new beginnings. We ate dinner outside for the first time in months, sitting on the grass on a blanket. Lovely little things and very important, because these are the things to remember, the sunlit moments, the moments when nothing much happens but everything seems all right with the world.

Spooky

2010-10-18T21:56:00.003+13:00

This week's Illustration Friday's challenge - spooky. In honour of upcoming Halloween, I guess. I'll try not to show this to L, it will just freak him out. He doesn't like my pictures of ghosts or monsters, especially if they have sad faces. The idea of a small boy lost in a spooky forest might just tip him over the edge.

Goodnight Moon

2010-10-17T00:00:00.002+13:00

Found in a box of old books at the opshop - "Goodnight Moon," written in 1947 by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. I discovered it when L was little. I love it. He loved it. The rhythm of the words is so simple. Nothing much happens. A little rabbit goes to sleep as night falls, and we say goodnight to all the things in the room including a bowl of mush and a quiet old lady who is whispering 'hush.'

"Goodnight stars. Goodnight air. Goodnight noises everywhere." Zzzzzzzz....

Transportation

2010-10-10T14:17:00.001+13:00

This week's Illustration Friday theme is 'transportation'. I tried to do something with no orange in it - looking back at past work I can see my fondness for a particular combination of blue and orange. When I'm stuck in the land of predictable habits, I often use a colour scheme site like Adobe Kuler or Pictaculous. Kuler has hundreds of colour themes to try out and create. Pictaculous is great because you can create a colour theme based on one of your own photos. Sometimes I need all the help I can get!

Spring Whites

2010-10-07T22:57:00.000+13:00

Three spring-like finds on a sunny Monday opshopping adventure. Alfred Meakin plate (still trying to find out its name), giant linen tablecloth drying in the sun, laundry hamper. Lovely creamy whites and spring colours - I feel like repainting the whole house, pulling up the carpet (not allowed to), and purging my wardrobe of all things black and faded.

Strange Children

2010-10-03T23:13:00.000+13:00

Not my strange child, but a 1955 modern ballet called 'Strange Children' by a choreographer called Margaret Barr. I came across this image by accident when I was looking online for answers to my current parenting issues (as you do). My stars in the Sunday paper today said: 'Knowing yourself well as a parent is part of your cosmic snooker game this week. Small children are frankly loopy at the best of times, but they will excel themselves right now.' That's for sure. I've given up looking for answers and have been looking at old dance photos instead. Margaret Barr lived and taught in Auckland during World War II. I love this image. They look like they could be in a desert, but apparently they were on the sand dunes at Curl Curl Beach in Sydney. There are lots more to look at in this collection on Flickr. A lovely little diversion for a Sunday evening.

School Holidays

2010-09-30T15:55:00.000+13:00

I was listening to Nigel Latta on the radio this morning, talking about the school holidays. He's a great believer in stepping back and letting kids learn to entertain themselves some of the time, rather than be constantly entertained, supervised and chaperoned into worthy activities. I like him because he's down to earth and often says things that make me feel better about my often quite lazy parenting. He points out the guilt we often quietly flagellate ourselves with and how pointless it is. I sometimes think I should be organising many more crafty activities, doing more communal baking, and be setting off on exciting adventure trips that L will remember when he is old and sitting by the fire in his slippers. I also feel like this when I have been reading too many blogs where life with the kids seems perfect, artistic and conflict-free, or when someone asks me what I have planned for the holidays and I say (guiltily), "Nothing much." For the first few days, L wants to be attached to me like a limpet, and there's a constant litany of "What are we doing NOW." We then slowly descend into pyjama-wearing until lunchtime and letting the day (apart from work things) unfold. There are many Nigel Latta opponents, by the way. Here's a feisty discussion about him on Brian Edward's blog. Now it's time for afternoon tea and getting back into those pyjamas again...

Acrobat

2010-09-20T20:43:00.000+12:00

This week's Illustration Friday theme is 'acrobat'. I haven't done any of the challenges for the past few weeks and know that the longer I leave it the harder it is to get back into it. So getting back into it I am - once again!

Storm

2010-09-17T21:40:00.000+12:00

There's a wild storm out there tonight. Yesterday I overheard a woman talking to her friend at the mall. She said she was going down to the plastic shop to buy boxes for her Civil Defense emergency supplies. The storm was coming from Tasmania, she said, and it was 'the size of half of Australia.' I didn't believe it, but now I do, and I'm even a little bit scared. It's thrashing around the house and pushing its way in through all the cracks. There have been huge crashes of thunder, and the lights are flickering on and off. I can hear things smashing outside. Neil is cowering under my bed. Home is absolutely the best place to be, right at this very moment. I might go and cower under the bed too.

Let the Sunshine In

2010-09-15T20:01:00.005+12:00

“Sunlight is like a good champagne,” wrote Sir Henry Gauvain, an eminent British surgeon in the 1920s. He was a great believer in the use of fresh air and sunlight in medicine. And so am I. When the sun comes out, people start smiling again. Now sing along with me (preferably while wearing a little flowery apron and hanging the washing out in a happy spring-like way)...

So let the sun shine in

Face it with a grin

Smilers never lose

And frowners never win

So let the sun shine in

Face it with a grin

Open up your heart

And let the sun shine in.

Something Bright

2010-09-11T16:16:00.000+12:00

Something bright for this wet and windy Saturday, and because it's been a funny weird week, with earthquakes and incessant rain and flu bugs and more teeth falling out (not mine, thank goodness). Today is a day for appreciating the little things, like the bright pink miniature camellia flowers that have somehow migrated from their bush and are growing on the front lawn!

Aftershocks

2010-09-08T10:36:00.005+12:00

Fire on Worcester St by Mike Campbell

It's only now that the shock seems to be setting in, and filtering up to where we are at the top of the country. At first there was relief that nobody was killed. Now Christchurch is being rocked by violent aftershocks - there have been about 150 since Saturday, and one huge one early this morning. It must be nerve-wracking to be there and not know when it's going to happen again. My friend Jenny lives in Lyttleton, just outside Christchurch City. She said it has been terrifying, 'apocalyptic.' Vicious. L has seen bits and pieces about the earthquake; heard about it at school. He's worried that it will happen here. I'm keeping the news off when he's around; he worries about so many things these days, usually about disasters that might happen to people. Volcanoes, earthquakes and tidal waves are high on the list of worrying items, and he has started a sleepwalking habit that I'm sure is connected to his new disaster obsessions. At least the sun is out today - we have been covered in a blanket of rain for what seems like weeks, which has been making us all a bit gloomy.

Earthquake

2010-09-05T20:02:00.069+12:00

Earthquake, originally uploaded by digitalsadhu

A big earthquake hit Christchurch yesterday in the dark early hours of the morning. Nobody died, which is (as everyone is saying) amazing. There are so many brick buildings in Christchurch, and from the photos I've been looking at, lots of them are now rubble. Growing up in Wellington, earthquakes were a spooky and threatening reality. We did earthquake drills at school, jumping under our desks and giggling. The real thing was more scary. "It's earthquake weather," Mum would say, on any particularly still and warm day. She was often right - a strange silence before the earth began to jolt and shudder. I remember being at school the day after a big one, and seeing a giant crack in the concrete wall where the building had shifted several feet off its foundations. Wellington has always been the focus of earthquake attention. I never heard anyone mention the possibility of Christchurch. We get so used to the idea of what and where is safe, I suppose. I can't imagine Auckland being rocked by an earthquake, but you never know. Those precarious childhood memories never completely disappear, even if they seem illogical and unlikely.

First Sale Ever

2010-09-03T16:20:00.002+12:00

I am so excited to have sold this smiling bunny print on Zazzle - it's my first sale ever. Recently I've been wondering if all the work I've been doing would ever be worth it. You know, a few gloomy moments of silly self-pity and doubt. To know that someone out there likes my work enough to buy it - it's a pretty special feeling!

Little Signs of Spring

2010-08-30T19:08:00.000+12:00

There are some little signs of spring, even though it is still a muddy swamp out there and last night there was thunder so loud I thought a bomb had exploded. The jasmine is out. Pale yellow freesias are growing wild by the side of the road. The birds are sounding a lot happier. And I am starting to look around the house and seeing how grubby everything looks. When the urge for home decoration hits, I know that spring is on its way, and that is a marvellous thing.

Atmosphere

2010-08-26T22:03:00.000+12:00

Illustration Friday: Atmosphere. Now we all know what kind of atmosphere a moody person can create around them. Not that I'm ever like that, of course. Haha. This bad-tempered mouse was originally part of the Thing-a-day project earlier this year. I had fun reworking the drawing in Illustrator. Every challenge teaches me something new, and even if I don't always like the result, I'm getting better at enjoying the process for its own sake.

Six

2010-08-24T11:58:00.000+12:00

Newly six, and suddenly losing teeth. Objects of desire: a working lightsaber, infinite amounts of Lego, and a Zhu Zhu pet. For those of you lucky enough to not know what that is, it is a toy hamster that rolls around and makes little chirping, squeaking and even chicken noises. They have names like Fluffy, Stinker, Spotty and Yo-Yo. I snuck in two new Oliver Jeffers' books, because I think it's important to have beautiful books that aren't at all educational. I still have lots of books from my childhood and I treasure them, so I want L to have the same for himself one day. Happy birthday, Mr Six!

Semi Permanent

2010-08-22T21:28:00.003+12:00

It's been a busy weekend, rushed and inspiring and different. Semi Permanent, a sixth birthday party, and thirty two cupcakes! Semi Permanent (more about the party another day) is a design conference held each year in Australia and New Zealand. 'Conference' is kind of the wrong word - it's not that stuffy or formal. My third time, a great time, and a big thank you to my friend Anna who is producing it; if she hadn't told me about the event I would probably have never known it existed. Basically you, and two thousand other people, sit (for hours on end) in a dark auditorium and watch/listen to a series of presentations by a series of other people who are generally pretty passionate about what they do. There's a broad range to that thing called 'design,' so you get to hear about animation, illustration, film, sound design, graphics, product design, and more. I love it, and even if I do feel as if I have been whacked over the head with a big stick and that my eyes are falling out, it's in a good way. I thought I would write a few upcoming posts about some of my favourites. There are some short interviews you can see at Design Daily, and info about the event at the Semi Permanent site. And now I need to go and lie down.

Star Gazing

2010-08-17T09:33:00.000+12:00

Illustration Friday challenge this week: Star Gazing. Pen and ink, 4B pencil and mucked around with in Photoshop. How often do we actually go outside and look at the stars? Not very often, I've just realised.

Cornishware

2010-08-13T22:29:00.000+12:00

Spotted today through the door of the Red Cross shop and swooped upon like a starving seagull (me) - a set of Cornishware china, none of it matching but in splendidly shiny condition and reminding me of spring. I've collected Cornishware for years, not as a proper collector but picking up pieces one by one, when I've seen them hiding in opshops and markets. It was first produced in England in the 1920s and is still being made, but some pieces are highly sought after, like vintage named jars (the ones made for holding salt, spices and so on). Very rare, for example: Apricots, Borax, Curry, Dripping, Herbs, Lard, Margarine, Marjoram, Pimento Seeds, Table Salt and Washing Soda. You can usually date the pieces from the backstamp, and the set I found today is probably quite young, from around the 1980s. I love the fat little eggcup, and the big jug is now in charge of a basil plant. I was very excited to get it all home and put it in its rightful place!

Parent

2010-08-11T13:03:00.000+12:00

And on a similar note... I know I don't have three of them but sometimes it feels like it.

Almost Six

2010-08-08T13:56:00.000+12:00

L will be six in two weeks. He thought this would be a good photo for his party invite (a Michael Jackson dance party; gone are the days of Bob the Builder and Dora). New words have appeared in his vocabulary since starting school - awesome, ugly, BORING, cool, wassup, far out, dumb. Of great importance is 'looking cool', so I'm not sure why he would want such an uncool photo seen by any of his friends. There's no logic where these things are concerned, as I am beginning to realise (I'm a bit slow sometimes). Life with him is sometimes such an emotional rollercoaster - from completely barmy to hysterical to furious to desperately sorry. How can they shapeshift so quickly, from giggly standup comedians telling bum jokes, into hitting spitting kicking snakes? Sometimes it's as if a whirlwind lives in this house. I think I need a holiday.

Dear Rain

2010-08-05T09:14:00.001+12:00

Dear Rain. Please stop falling now. I am tired of muddy hems on my jeans, soggy shoes and feeling damp. Please stop so I can do some washing and put it out on the line to actually dry instead of hanging there in a sad sodden row for days on end. I know you are important for the plants and flowers and to keep up the image of a lovely green New Zealand, but enough is enough. Stop now, and I will be happy and grateful. Thank you, and goodbye.

Giles

2010-08-02T14:09:00.000+12:00

I just bought a pile of old Giles annuals off TradeMe (our Ebay). Carl Giles was a cartoonist for the Daily and Sunday Express newspapers in Britain for many years. Those books were part of my childhood, and though I wasn't supposed to read them I would sneak them into my room for a really good look. I liked the family the best, with the little kids and heaps of bald babies, and the naughty things that went on in the backgrounds. His eye for detail and character was incredible. I used to love the Englishness of it, and even though I had never lived there I thought I might quite like it - not sure why, because in a lot of the pictures it was always either raining or snowing and looked downright depressing. L likes them now too. I found him reading one yesterday. Of course he had managed to find the one page containing a picture of a bare bottom, and thought that was just great. Lots of links about Giles, with interesting info if you're that way inclined - here are some of them: A Celebration of Giles, the British Cartoon Archive, and the Giles Tribute Pages.

Double

2010-07-28T13:18:00.001+12:00

Illustration Friday theme this week is 'double'. When I was a kid, we used to say, "I'll double you," which meant two people on one bike. Usually on the back carrier but sometimes precariously balanced on the handlebars. I did a search for that expression but couldn't find anything... did anyone else say this or is it some weird archaic New Zealand thing?

Fabric Love

2010-07-26T18:07:00.004+12:00

Treasures from our Tauranga opshop adventures. Lots of fabric, and some plates. I've always loved patterned things, and my cupboards are full of fabric that is waiting for its final destiny as some incredible upholstery project which possibly will never happen. Here are some addictive little links that regularly feed my fabric love:

Retro Age Vintage Fabrics

Revival Fabrics

Print & Pattern

Spoonflower

Sad

2010-07-24T17:18:00.000+12:00

Two people I knew died this week. One was a family friend, part of the fabric of our childhood, growing up in Wellington. He had Parkinson's, and died suddenly. His name was John. The other person wasn't a close friend, but she was someone I often met in the theatre world. She was an actor and director. A person with presence and charisma, and kindness. She always asked how L was, even though she didn't really know him. It's hard to believe she was here, and now she is gone. It happened fast - she had problems with her vision, she went to see the doctor, she was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and two weeks later she is dead. Today I caught myself growling at L, and felt sad that so many moments are spent acting without thinking, when really they are so precious. Today I also came across a wonderful story, with photographs, on a site called 'Days With My Father'. Beautiful. Truthful. It's been a strange and unsettling few days.

Breakfast

2010-07-19T21:58:00.001+12:00

This week's Illustration Friday theme: Breakfast. I enjoyed doing this one because I gave it more time, and more thought, and less fretting.

Road Trip to Tauranga

2010-07-17T13:01:00.002+12:00

Holiday. Car stuffed with bags, duvets, extra pillows, and one small boy with huge excitement and an ability to eat a week's worth of food in two hours. Perfect golden driving weather, strangely warm. Stops for iceblocks, duck feeding and scenic photographs.

We stayed in a rambling old motel at the edge of the sea. We visited Mum, who brought us a gift basket of grapes, mini chocolate bars and magazines. A veteran opshop lover, she patiently carted us around to all her favourites and encouraged L's new opshop addiction by slipping him money when I wasn't looking. Back at home, he has now set up his very own personal bedroom shop with carefully priced armies of stuffed toys set up in rows and an 'Open' sign on the window. (And hopes of making vast quantities of money).

It felt calmer down there. Sedate. Or maybe it was because I was away. Going away always starts up the 'I wonder if I could live here?' fantasies. It doesn't really matter where I am. It's like trying on a place for size, like a pair of shoes. Tauranga, although warm and comfy, would get a bit tight around the edges, I think. But going away - I love it. Shakes things up a bit. I'm back feeling inspired to make some changes, dig myself out of a few more ruts, jump in a few more deep ends.

Snow is in the Air

2010-07-10T18:55:00.000+12:00

There's snow in the air, drifting up from Mt Ruapehu. It's freezing, but it doesn't snow. It doesn't snow in Auckland. Has it ever? I just had to look that up, and yes, it did snow once, on July 27, 1939. I would quite like it if it snowed again. It would be an historic occasion.

These are the colours that are part of our winter blanket supply. They are also the fabrics that remind me of when I was very little - candlewick, chenille, flannelette, wool. I love the labels on the woolen blankets, which are harder to find these days. They have become a bit trendy and are being made into cushions and soft toys. I have been collecting them for ages and like the sight of them piled up in the hallway cupboard in all their icecream-coloured glory.

Colouring In

2010-07-06T20:54:00.001+12:00

The weather gods heard me mention the words 'oasis' and 'spring'. They rubbed their gnarly grey hands together and cast another gloomy blanket of rain over the land. "Ho ho ho," they said, "That will show her."

It is the second day of the school holidays. The rain buckets down. This is our envelope for The Envelope Project. It was a collaborative effort between L and me. I would like to say that we spent a pleasant morning colouring in companionable silence, a pot of delicious soup bubbling away on the stove. No. The concentration lasted all of five minutes and then it was back to explosion noises, whacking hard surfaces with cushions and shooting aliens with gigantic rocket blasters. I did like digging out my old box of coloured pencils - now I have to decide what to put in the envelope! You can look at the entire project on its own Flickr page.

Winter Saturday

2010-07-03T22:37:00.001+12:00

Winter trees, frost on the car. Sometimes in the middle of winter there's a little oasis of blue sky and sunshine, and it feels as if spring could be just around the corner.

Cats & Other Animals

2010-06-28T21:39:00.002+12:00

In the last month or so I've been secretly playing with Zazzle. It's a print-on-demand site where you can set up a store and upload your own designs. If someone likes your work on various products, they can buy them online, directly from the site. I've read mixed reviews - it's big, it's unwieldy, there's a lot of rubbish in great quantities etc etc etc...but I have been having a great time creating designs from some of my old drawings and illustrations. For some reason I really really love putting things together into collections and seeing how they look. It has become a slightly obsessive hobby...but I'm having fun, even if I haven't sold a thing.

Road Trip to Hamilton

2010-06-25T21:55:00.001+12:00

Huntly Power Station, 8.15am. It's a cold winter morning and we're on our way to Hamilton for the day to teach a theatre workshop. The light is intense and glowing, but all colours disappear shortly afterwards under a grim blanket of rain. Pukeko trot around on the river bank. The air smells of dampness and smoke. We're going to work, but just being on the road feels like the start of a holiday. Roll on July!