Well Christmas is very much under way in our house and I am feeling less panicky about getting everything ready for the festive season. The tree is up and  most of the pressies are bought.

If you find you have a bit of down time have a look at this amazing interactive animation by Trevor can Meter.

http://www.trevorvanmeter.com/flyguy/

Art Every Day Month/ Illustration Friday

Day 30


Round


The Christmas Countdown has begun. Mine always seems to start early - there are lots of pre-Christmas birthdays to buy presents for and overseas gifts to send. 


I seem to have hit  Christmas panic crescendo. Working at school there are all the displays, decorating the school the Christmas Nativity and carol service. At home Cards to write, costumes to find/make, presents to buy and wrap and post. Arrangements to make for family visits. Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas. But tonight, for a few minutes I hit a spot of blind panic - will I ever get it all done in time?! All seemed hopeless. I seem to be juggling too many Christmas baubles for one person. My head was spinning round and round. 


The worry, of course,  is pointless. It all gets done every year and we all have a great time. But here is an illustration of how I felt this evening and how I imagine a lot of people will be feeling during the run up to the festive season. Still, mustn't dwell on that, instead I'm going to concentrate on something positive, like how much I will be able to eat without feeling guilty!

Participating in Art Every Day Month has been really inspiring. It has given me the opportunity to experiment and explore. I am  sad that it has come to the end - but I hope that I will keep up the level of production because making and creating, quite simply, makes my life better. 

Art Every Day Month

Day 29


Birds at Dawn


I have been working on this piece for a few days. I am happy to say I'm really pleased with it. 

Participating in Art Every Day Month has been really helpful in finding my style. Don't think for a moment that I've worked out what it is yet but I think I'm getting closer. 


Quirkiness seems to be the key. I always seem to be happier with a piece of work if it has a playful quality, either through the expressions of the characters or through the use of colour. In this piece the birds seem to be preoccupied with the business of singing - barely noticing each other. 


Humour seem to crop up in my work from time to time. Recently I did a piece for Illustration Friday called " Vanity" and people commented that  the expressions on the faces were funny - to be honest, it was unintentional, but looking at it now I can see that was why I was pleased with the finished piece. 


Finding out what I like to create is a slow process but I think I am making some ground. The main thing I have learn't is to try to be true to myself and allow myself time to experiment. 


I think I will add this to my Etsy shop. I printed it off this evening and the acrylic paint reproduces really well.

Art Every Day Month

Day 26


London


Art in the form of a gallery visit and other stuff......




Yesterday I went to London with my family and met up with my sister (who was visiting from Dallas) and my mum. We very nearly missed the train, due to my two boys, who didn't want to turn off their favourite DVD "Outnumbered" Series One. 



They love this show - mainly because they are both rather like Ben - the one in the red t-shirt!  Stay with me on this - there is a reason I mentioned it!


Anyway, more of that later.........


We walked along the South Bank to the Tate Modern and on our way saw the sand sculptures at the Thames Beach. 

We spent a great morning in the Tate Modern. We enjoyed, "The Unilever Series" by film maker Tacita Dean which celebrates the moving image, and celebrates the masterful techniques of analogue film-making as opposed to digital.  We also enjoyed making our on "shadow" art on it too. Not sure what Ms Dean would have made of this?!

After spending the morning in the Tate. We took a leisurely walk over the "wobbly" bridge to St. Paul's passing this performance artist - spooky! 

Outside St. Paul's the protesters tents were lined up in orderly rows. They closed St. Paul's for a while because of a "threat to the public". But that certainly  wasn't how it appeared to us, quite the opposite. The camp was extremely well managed and ordered.  There were tents specifically for the preparation of food, first aid, women and children only, a job centre (to organise the running of the camp), a University tent giving lectures, a tent marked Legal and an Information tent. There is a strict policy of no drugs or alcohol and there were no open fires. The camp was friendly, quiet, extremely clean and tidy and very well organised. 

Wow, they even have a piano!

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To end with, some shots of the South Bank at night 

and then to top off a great day the boys met their heroes from "Outnumbered".  They just happened to be on the South Bank filming and  kindly took the time

 give us this photo. 

Thank you Daniel and Tyger, you really made it a day Sam and William will never forget.  

Art Every Day Month

Day 24 and 25


Christmas Nativity 




As you may know I work in a lovely primary school . I love my job. It is wonderful to work with children and I also have lots of opportunity to be creative. This week we have started to rehearse the Christmas Nativity and with that comes the making of the scenery. So I have spent the last two mornings trying to make something out of nothing. Its amazing what you can make from the contents of the stock cupboard, my re-cycling bin, the school skip and the caretakers office and it didn't cost a penny! It is about 7 ft high and made mainly out of old cardboard boxes stapled together. So this is my creative offering for the last two days.......I really love my job......

Art Every Day Month

Day 23


The Fly!


I took this photo in my garden - Mr Fly was most obliging and posed beautifully. 

Flies haven't got the best reputation have they ? It's not surprising really - we all know what sort of unsavoury places they like to hang around in. But they do have their beneficial side. They help control other insect pests. They act as scavengers and recylers when they feed on decaying waste such as dung and dead animals. Of course, they serve as food themselves for other insects and many birds. Flies are also great pollinators. Only bees and some wasps pollinate more plants and flowers than flies.



 Yes we all know the horrid stories - ugly dirty creatures - but thanks to my new macro lens  I can  see that this distasteful  creature really does have a  beautiful side. 

and some fly stuff to make you laugh..........


The Swedish photographer Magnas Muhr produces his art with some dead flies  and a few strokes of his pencil. 










How funny!

Art Every Day Month

Day 22


Still Life