Back to school

Photo 26September is always busy for those of us with anything to do with school. I'm feeling really good about work at the moment, not something I normally talk about here.

I've been trying to clear the decks at home, finishing projects, decluttering nooks and crannies, revitalising my studio and getting prepared and open for whatever's next.

After the amount of work for my art foundation course last year, I've been particularly keen to keep the creativity flowing. It's so easy for such a fragile, ephemeral entity to be squashed by academia. Sometimes it juices you up and sometimes it dries you up - I'm trying to learn how different situations affect me and ride the waves instead of floundering.

The internet is such a gift for the isolated and the introverted. I've been playing over at The Land of Lost Luggage, making gorgeous rich journals, and now we're starting to fill them up. I'm also looking forward to some photography and reflection on Unravelling in a couple of weeks. 

I'm also getting out there and meeting new people. I really crave a creative community, made up of friends from my life, online friends and all the busy little corners of London where people are already meeting to draw, knit, create and connect. 

All that and a little bit of knitting. This is a practice hat, because the postal strike has eaten my wool for the real version. I like it though! What are you working on?

A little later, I've been very excited about the launch of ella publishing - small business, great design, green premise, inspirational eye candy, what's not to love? Click on the button to read more about it

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Inspiration: Andy Goldsworthy

The work of Andy Goldsworthy just holds me breathless with awe every time.

There are some lovely examples in this man's flickr album of a look around Andy Goldsworthy's house.

The pieces that lift my heart though are the leaf pieces... 1577378641_f7afd3c80d_o

I got this image from Flickr where it was repeated on several people's pages. I can only assume that the original image is copyright Andy Goldsworthy.

His work speaks to me so strongly because it illustrates so clearly how I want to live. Complete in the moment. Embracing change wholeheartedly as an integral part of existence. Beauty found in the true essence of things. Creation for creation's sake.

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Playing with dolls

Seeking inspiration for my summer art project - we need to bring it in on the first day of the Foundation Year - I collected natural material from our little corner of Nova Scotia. Play is so often the best way to bring on the muses, so I just fiddled around with some of the bits and pieces I had collected, along with the beautiful wool I've been using for the afghan. These little totems took shape in a few sessions over the course of a week. Who appeals to you?

TotemTotem hunterTotem dryad
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