We have arrived in Sydney safe and sound... we have had a yummy breakfast down at Coogee beach with friends and think we must now finally be ready to set up at Finders Keepers.
Pop in and say hi :: Carriage Works in Eveleigh, 245 Wilson Street
Friday night 6pm -10pm and Saturday 10am -8pm
We are in the big foyer a couple of aisles down from the stage... see you there
Well actually we are not really sure if it was Henny or Penny who laid the first weensy little (teenager) egg, but it was very exciting indeed. And I am just as excited to finally figure out who is who, Henny has the brighter orange feathers around her neck and Penny's are much darker. I have also decided on the perfect Christmas present for the whole family ... gumboots... I keep forgeting about the poop when I do a dash outside to get the washing or get the mail in my bare feet...
That up there is Henny and Penny's nesting box where Lily found the first egg.... we were told by the lady who we bought the chickens from that they won't be laying until Christmas... I am going to put it down to happy chickens roaming around the garden, as the reason for our early Christmas present. I think Lily is going to be spoilt this month ..chocolate from the advent calendar and fresh eggs for breakfast.... I wonder how often they will lay?
It appears that Penny is a bit camera shy .. I think all of those shots are of Henny... what a show off!
And just to prove that we're not all as giddy to have chickens roaming free... here is Olive screaming in fear as the chickens invade her cubby house and follow her around the garden... poor thing, they must look like gigantic monster birds from where she is standing.
QUICK!! go see over here, a very nice giveaway is to be had over at SouleMama
CONGRATULATIONS JULIA!
Amy and I are away most of next week, either at Finders Keepers or getting ready for it, I will try and post some pics while we're there??? we have been forwarned that Finder Keepers is super busy so I'll do my best.
And that lovely picture up there is a bit of 'Studio Late Monday Night' as opposed to Friday, shooting pics of our new Modular kit
One thing I love even more than coffee in the heat waves of summer (ahem.. I mean spring??!) is iced tea. I make mine up the night before and sweeten it with a little bit of apple juice and then leave lemon or lime slices in ... and mint leaves from our over grown wild garden path mint.... and I like to mix it up a bit by using green tea too... then pop it all in the fridge to chill.
And just to add a bit of Studio Friday into the mix, the teapots you see there have just been popped into the shop. Amy hand draws all her woodcut brooches, infact I think she has been making her hand drawn pieces since before Umbrella Prints.... so many gorgeous fabric ideas in every pot!
Thanks to all of you who shared your favourite UP colour too!
ONLY READ ON IF ...... you like organising your coloured pencils in colour order!! other wise I'm afraid I might bore you to death with colours that seamingly look very kind of the same but are not...
Look at all of those yummy colours, I can hardly believe it myself but they are all our Umbrella Prints colours.. (minus a couple) and.... guess what... we are going to have some of these available as solid hemp/cotton and linen cotton in 2010! Yep, Amy and I have been working on a pure colour range that will perfectly (well except for normal print run variations) match our current range...
So now I am hoping you can help me choose... because we can't do them all at once... what is your favourite? (starting from the top left...)
Turtledove on hemp/cotton, Bambi on hemp/cotton, Stormboy blue on hemp/cotton, Nutbrown (hare) on linen/cotton(NEW) and Sumi black on linen/cotton.
Starfruit on hemp/cotton (semi-bleach), Nutbrown (hare) on hemp/cotton(NEW), Silky Oak on hemp/cotton, Lady Grey on hemp/cotton (NEW), Turtledove on linen/cotton
Olive on latte linen/cotton, Persimmon on hemp/cotton, Seaglass on hemp/cotton, Seaglass on latte linen/cotton, Stormboy blue on latte linen/cotton.
Lady Grey on linen/cotton (NEW), Starfruit on natural hemp/cotton, Olive on hemp/cotton, Kimono red on hemp/cotton, Smokey black (NEW) on linen/cotton
Nothing could be more fun in a scorching 38 degree heat wave, than nudey runs through the sprinkler (except maybe a splash down at the beach... which I hope to do tomorrow ... along with every other Adelaidian i'm sure.)
One of the party games we played last weekend ... pin the silly face on Lily. I photocopied a black and white print up of Lily up to A2 by gluing together four A4 sections together and then we had fun making a silly nose, lips, hat and glasses out of thick paper... and we cut out crepe paper dollies.
This is the sweet flower that Lily painted onto canvas at her party... all the children went home with the paintings they had fun creating... they were all encouraged to create their own unique colours having been only given red, yellow, blue and white.
And here are a few random photos of printmaking from last week end too
We read the story 'Too Many Monkeys' by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Sally Rippin
Lots of yummy photos from the studio/shop this week ::
> New Umbrella Prints resin beads and skirts!! (Skirts in store today)
> Good Gracie children's clothes (too cute! thank you Gina)
> New colours for Umbrella Prints and delicious linen samples, can't wait to print on that.
> Umbrella Prints fabric set in resin beads
> New postcard photo taken in the studio today ... we will have 4 postcards for you to collect at The Finders Keepers design market
> Happy snap of a corner in the children's art room (that is one of my favourite paintings created about 3 years ago by a group of my four year olds... they painted the city scene as a backdrop for a claymation)
> More of Geninnes beautiful birds
> And just because I could never tire of them ... a Geninne bird print with a Good Gracie pinny & purse
HOPE “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." Martin Luther
I thought I might share a little bit of work I did last year that has just been released. Early last year I was approached by the inspirational owner of One Seed, Liz Cooke, to design the branding and packaging for her new parfum range. I remember now, working with her right up until Olive was born ... and then another design group kindly took my artwork and finished off the project while I was on maternity leave. I am pretty stoked with how it turned out... and also excited to announce that the organic focused range will be available at Nest very shortly. YUMMY! I had a lot of fun drawing the botanicals and designing the magnolia pattern (seen at the top of the box), it is always a dream having a client who loves what you do and asks you do design what you would love.
Here is a little bit about the actual parfum :: One Seed fragrances are always ::
100% botanical, nothing synthetic
Organic-focused and GMO-free
Using recyclable and sustainable packaging
Handcrafted in small, artisan batches
Against animal cruelty
Australian made
FREEDOM "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song”
Maya Angelou
And One Seed's other fragrance COURAGE “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Amy and I are madly collecting all our lovely Umbrella Prints things up in our suitcases to share with the folk in Sydney for The Finders Keepers Independent Art & Design Market... December 4 & 5 at the Carriageworks
We also have done a little shop update ...
The Grand Fanflower and new colours are now available on etsy
On a different note... it was Lily's 6th birthday this weekend and I have ZERO photos... I was so rushed off my feet organising things (her family bbq and her school friends arty party) with both my mother and mother inlaw away on holiday... I clean forgot to get the camera ready... no charged batteries or empty image card... I am one of those psycho people who when this sort of thing happens I feel like doing the whole thing over again just so I can get the camera out...
but it wouldn't be the same... her sleepy head waking up at 6am (2 hours earlier than usual) with squinty eyes and tussled hair, huge smile..."morning Mummy, it's my birthday today!" and then the frantic ripping of presents wrapped at 12am the same morning. Chris has never understood my obsession with making sure all her presents are wrapped and layed out in a special place with balloons and decorations... I suppose I just can't get enough of those 'it's my birthday' smiles... they're so honest, pure, nothing is held back or put on.
Her birthday fell on my work day but luckily she comes to work for a couple of hours with me on Saturdays anyway.. it's her art class day. Then we tootled off home to greet family for a birthday bbq... then as the sun went down and birthday cake was demolished we packed up and Lily and I set to work on thankyou party bags and decorations for her party the next day.... I plopped into bed at 12am and realised with a sinking feeling that I had taken not one single photo...
oh well we will have make up for it today, she is of course still only 6 and 2 days old... be forwarned ... more family photos than you care to see are on there way.
In the Park by Olga
Kokeshi by Caitlin
The sculptures created back in term 2 have finally arrived back at the studio, the children have been patiently waiting whilst they got bisque fired and then glaze fired.... The move across town delayed this process some what... but they were worth the wait! Check out more of them over here... (not that it matters very much, but for interests sake only .. the children who created these delightful sculptures range from age 3 - 12)
Family of Tomatos by Sandra
