Milliande Art Blog

♥ drawing faces at Misty Mawn course

This week in Misty Mawn Painting Layers Online Course we are invited to just draw..
draw faces with pencil, draw faces with graphite .. draw in our own way BEFORE she shares her way of drawing ...
We are exploring how to use a smudge stick to get some blending effects and observe shadow and light

I do not have any smudge sticks just yet, but explored playing with cotton ear sticks ( sometimes know as baby cotton buds) and they work for some of the larger areas .. would love to have a small cotton sticks to get into the little areas of the drawings

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It is interesting how a small turn of a pencil can completely alter the emotional expression on a face, how a small highlight in the eye changes the character of the drawing


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♥ milliande

♥ 20 years of waiting

today is the day I have been waiting for over 20 years ...


I have an appointment with the optician ..giggle..I have been wanting a pair of spectacles ever since i was 19 and bought my first pair with window glass in it so I could look over the top of them and look intelligent ..grin ..

Finally I have started to notice ...a change in being able to red closeup things .. I wonder what my story my eyes will tell ♥

.. just got back from the optician Yep ..it is official :-) ..
I cannot see anything close up ... she called it the " Big 4 0 " .. longsighteness.. ohh now I have to wait for that cute pair of glasses for another week til my lenses are ready .. apparently one eye is a lot worse than the other.. and I thought the world had gone all wobbly .. grin .. now...

anyone make some wicked handmade spectacle straps ?
I am in the market for one ..
giggle



 


no

i did not choose any of these spectacles..giggle..
got to wait a couple of weeks until my lenses are ready .. will have a reveal then ...

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here a few shots caught on my travels today
some gorgeous vintage christmas decorations about

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 this rhythm and her voice stir my soul  

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♥ milliande

♥ collaging with Misty Mawn

Ohh the challenge... I do not enjoy collaging but somehow Misty Mawn seems to be totally in her element when she layers papers artfully on the page ..

This is the second week of Misty Mawn 's online art course .. " Painting Layers" and the focus is on collage ..

I am struggling with not finding images that appeal to me .. not enjoying the poor quality of magazine paper that result in too many airbubbles , too many rips .. to many ... well I am going with the flow as much as I can ..

So here a few images of how I have gotten on so far ..

After playing around with some images .. I had a turn around when I went to my own stash of images, photography and personal drawings and I slowly
began to find myself ..

 

I do enjoy transferring images, that quality of unpredictability suits my nature.. things just happen on the page when I can let go ... with collage there is that element of preplanning of finding a pleasing composition rather then letting it find me ..

I am still learning but enjoy seeing where my heart lies and what avenues I do not have to go chasing after....

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It is an interesting journey, playing outside of my comfort zone and seeing where it can take me ... tfor thew rest of the week we are meant to be drawing .. a pencil love here we come

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♥ milliande

♥ lifted

" Lifted"

♥

Now come

follow your Self through the gateway

lit up like a shining path before you

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Now come

to glimpse further after leaving the skin

that holds you so tightly behind

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Now come

and feel the breath of a new beginning

tease you like newborn child


~

Now come

to Be lifted you just a little higher


until you know

that you are

already here




♥ milliande

♥ autumn tales

The Winds have been howling for a week here in England, time for hibernation, locking up the hatches and watching trampolines being blown over the field... weather does curious things to my mood...

Yesterday Misty Mawns "Painting Layers" course started ..  with a 5 hour powercut and a chilly studio ... only a cosy hat, a warm snuggly jacket and perserverance could do :-)

♥

I find it actually quite hard taking a course with anyone ... my imagination usually runs riot .. our assignments were to make several mixed media backgrounds but how does one stop midflow ? ... I also find it hard restricting myself to a specific technique so as to follow with the teachers instructions...I see possibilities everywhere and feel like I am pulled back by the reigns ...

Sometimes I wish I did not know so much already... it would be nice to "follow" for a change...giggle... but I am trying my best, even though a few stencil spraying techniques found their way into my backgound papers I managed to complete 6 without deviating from the assignments too much :-)

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Today the sunshine has graced our little garden with some rare rays ... we managed to pop the trampoline back into place, repair a few things, and "the man" was happily finding more of his homegrown treasures in the garden

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I have not had a chance yet to look through Maya's birthday party photos, we had such a brilliant time even though my whole living room was invaded by a variety of moving and jumping creatures... 14 white mice on my dinner table with no cage...had to lock the cats away or they would have had an early dinner.... will post some photos soon .. in the meantime we are welcome 5 new family members...

Benjamin, Arrow, Ready Salted, Sacagawea ( sucker for short) and Marie the House snail

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As autumn evenings draw closer it makes us snuggle more, play puzzles more ...carry hefty logs for open fires as everyone feels a readyness for creative hibernation

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  the last few sunrays reminding me of a summer that has left its mark ..
a little tune that makes my toes tap,
fallen leaves that signal the inevitable

so off I go and play ....

♥ milliande

♥ journey - witness - trust

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As I walk the path of becoming

I notice my Self

being playful

with the need for no anticipation

~

The witness inside my castle

silences itself

to observe

undisturbed by expectation

~

There she curiously wanders

along a narrow edge

balanced

yet full of anthills in her womb

♥ milliande

♥ the wildest ones

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There is a certain smell that enters the wood at this time of the year, some inner stirring of a recognized scent ..and I cannot resit walking into the woods, where the moss meets just the right amount of grass, where fir trees spread their height and only a few silver birches mingle inbetween .. thats where the wildest edible mushrooms like to make their homes for the season

♥



I grew up gathering wild mushrooms with my father teaching me the way of the woods, how to orient myself to aways keep the way home in the small of my back each time i took a turn to a well-hidden fungi hidden in the bushes

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when peeking this close around natures floor.. the tiniest of creatures make themselves known

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and faries can be heard giggling high up underneath their little umbrellas ..

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caught out by the setting sun .. an afternoons harvest

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prepared with a little melted butter ..wild edible mushrooms friend with a hint of garlic and a sprinkling of naughty nutmeg

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served with scrambled egg and mashed potatoes...and a side helping of dilled peas ... hmmm memories of childhood wonders recaptured

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A harvest of homegrown pumpkins gathered in the moonlight

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all in all a perfect day ending in a perfectly beautiful night

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♥ milliande

♥ The Sketchbook Project - Art House

Hi Everyone ...

and a ray of happy  joyful vibes to you .... yes YOU ...catch :-)

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*** A brilliant idea has been initiated by the people of "Art House" called
The Sketchbook Project

The Ideas is to " Be one of the founding contributors to The Sketchbook Library by signing up to receive a sketchbook, filling it up with art, and sending it back.

Your sketchbook will be among thousands of others that were made by artists from all over the world.

Visitors will receive library cards and be able to view the books at exhibitions around the country.

The goal of the project is to create a giant collective of sketchbooks from around the globe and make it accessible to everyone.

Each Sketchbook will be given a "Theme " to which one is invited to create art to.


I am quite exited by this project and have just signed up to participate ...

I have received my theme... yeah ... and have opened a subthread in THE Art Journalers subgroup in our art community for women, so that those who wish to play too, can share, support and encourage each other along the way and offer inspirational ideas for their themes ..

You will also be able to upload your photos of your process journal pages there or discuss ideas on how to fill your journal to complement your theme ....

You can read more on how to particpate here.

http://milliande.ning.com/group/theartjournalers/forum/topics/art-house-the-sketchbook

looking forward to having a go and seeing everyone elses art journal pages for their themes .....

My Theme is " Past - Present - Future" .. so a bit of a challenge for me, but it feels good to stretch my creative muscles

♥ milliande

♥ to be loved

♥

gently I turn my head

just a little closer

as my skin

meets the touch

of love

♥

milliande

♥ sights and sounds

I had a great time last night, heading out to Richmond in the South of London to a local acoustic music venue where I went to support the upcoming singer /songwriter
Rachel Gittus

I have had the pleasure of being invited to work on several photo shoots for her second album cover art which is a brilliant project to get my creative juices flowing ... after spending several days photoshooting amongst the reeds of a beautiful pond, climbing trees and getting my bottom wet for the sake of art and the perfect shot ..I enjoyed the opportunity to watch her perform live.. 2 of my favourite tracks are "gloria saville " and " postcard " .

apart from one song I am officially in love with the whole album ... which is rare ... :-) here

I invited Julia from our ning community to come and join us and we had a fun evening ... giggle she brought along her received  RAAK ( Rand Art Act of Kindness) having just arrived this morning all the way from Texas ...A beautifully decorated Gourd from Gloria :-)

Our feets were juggling to the sound of a great variety of live musicians ... with lots of friendly giggles in between

♥ milliande

♥ stitched

I had a lovely indian summer like day  ...woke up to a very warm breeze this morning and decided to pack a picnic and head down to the the beach .. we are lucky to live within 40 minutes drving distance to a lovely stoney beach full of driftwood treasures ....

We sunbathed all day , with a lovely but icy dip in the sea.... gorgeous...

♥

That seemed funny given the fact that I finished knitting my autumn wrist warmers and learned how to make a hat from recycled curtain material at our community camp ...

♥

I just snuggled down to a warm sauna to finish the day , ate a bowl of leftover Thai Green currey ..yum and now off to have girly night ...

...getting ready for some chartreuse nail varnish ...

♥ milliande

♥ busy hands

 

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Building Dens in the Wood

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harvesting my herbs today and hanging them up to dry  .... a little bit of lovage, some delicious peppermint, some chickweed, some pungent chives and ohh soo lovely lavender ... and rolled up some rosemary and sage smudge sticks to dry

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made some lovely garlic and chillies oil ... and an infusion of sage, rosemary and thyme with a hint of peppermint ... can you smell it ? :-)

♥ milliande

♥ an autumnal walk

Just returned from an autumnal walk ... the blackberries tasted oh so sweet and the sun tickled our faces through the leaf canopy of our local wood

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We did not find any mushrooms yet, if the sun keeps the warmth in the air a little longer we might be in for a nice crop of edible fungi this year.. I still have some dried ones left over from last year and they are simply yummy in a nice mushroom gravy

Which reminds me of my childhood when my dad used to take us in the forest ... bit by bit introducing the edible ones and teaching us how to always remember our way back to were we started..

ohh how I am so much better finding my way around a wood then in the city chaos of london ....

♥

I am trying to learn more about our local trees this year... identifying species that grow near us as somehow this year for me is about looking closely at what surrounds me ... explore that which is right under my nose and really get to know my place on this land ..

I am fascinated by Hazel wood ...the long slender stems that have such an unusal bark ...   working with wood  ... whittling and carving away at a found piece of wood can easily absorb my attention ... without an outcome in mind ..

I feel a shift, changes that are making themselves known in such subtle yet unmissable ways ...

..hmm i might try a blackberry and rhubarb crumble tonight ...

♥ milliande

♥ a little bit of Jazz

I installed a new app to my iphone ... JAZZ FM ... and came across this song this morning that made my toes tap ... It feels a little bit strange to be back at home .. after 6 weeks flocking in a field with creative friends ... one of them reminded me just how "strange" stairs feel under your feet when they have been tickled by nothing but morning dew covered grass ... A little bit sad today too...my summer hairbraid came out... and then the sadness washes away as i welcome a new season that is making itself known... changes ... always revolving .... nothing can be held onto ...i want to play with new moments of life everyday ... I like to comb my hair ...like to eat something sweetsmelling from an oven .... like to wonder what today will bring .... like to let go of anticipation the minute I catch a glimpse of it .... like to be ... me... ♥ milliande

♥ milliande on facebook

~ I have been persuaded ;-) to give facebook another try ... so if you like to catch up on my daily happenings that don't make it to my blog, photos from my summer fun in a field , general creative chitchat , news and updates from our art community for women and events throughout the year then please feel free to friend me here

milliande on facebook

~ I got back from another wonderfilled 2 weeks in Wales .... now its time to get reaquainted with homelife... and settling down for the beginning of a new creative season ...

looking forward to catching up with all of you

♥ milliande

♥ video summer so far

a little sum-up video for all of those who have ask me what its like ...on my summerfield ... a little glimpse at our fun ...enjoy ♥ milliande

♥ art journaling summer

Sitting in a Field it is great to have the limitation of a few simle colours of ink , a pencil and a sketchbook / art journal

drawn in pencil, with drawing inl brushpen and black pen and ink marker

♥

I love the way the second drawing has come out ... I usually rarely have the patience to repeat something twice, but the goal this year for me is to improve my figure drawing skills ... pleased with myself for perservering :-)

drawn in pencil, with drawing inl brushpen and black pen and ink marker

♥

Now this sketch i did whilst looking at Maya ...whilst it looks nothing like her...it gives me nevertheless good practice in proportion skills ..I am at this point not after likeness but improving proportion for human faces :-)

drawn in pencil, with drawing inl brushpen and black pen and ink marker

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I love the way images that are "not really " there emerge when i look at something else. Often I observe a figure...only take the seating postion etc..and then actual images turns into something completly different ..with just a hint of the original spark of inspiration ...

I love the mysterious " emptiness" bwtween the hands that emerged
:-)

drawn in pencil, with drawing inl brushpen and black pen and ink marker

...milliande

♥ summer in a field

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♥ fabulous friends ♥

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♥ Drumming Workshop ♥



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... the summer sun is tickling our tastebuds ...

letting us drink in life to the full

♥

milliande

♥ a shared passion for art

Some of you may know that I used to own an art supply store for 10 years ... teaching workshops and spending lots and lots of time in creative pursuits ... then I become a mum , decided to homeschool my daughter and sold the store to my manageress ... who to this day keeps it running as a craft supply shop ....

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If I remember one person from those days... that could "match" me in my passion for art, my exitability for new products, my curiosity for new techniques and ability to just PLAY with a wide open heart to see what happens ...it was Julie ...

After selling my business we completely lost touch for 7 years ... and on a whim and a string of coincidences ..i decided to look her up last week ... and when we spoke on the phone it was like not a day had past... we giggled for an hour trying to stop each other from talking to fast in all the exitement ...

So we decided to hook up and have a day out .... which seemed to coincide being right the day after I met Julia ... having gotten home at midnight ..i was straight out of the door again at 9 am to "go play catchup with Julie ...

I suprised her by taking her to one of my favourite higgledy piggeldy little craft stores that reminded me soo much how our on little alladins cave of a store used to feel like ...

Would you like to take a peek ?




We drooled over colourful fibres, american magazines, beads and dyes, tempting templates and rows of fabulous books .... 2 hours later, overwhelmed but not yet finished ... we left our baskets in the store and took a lunch break in the courtyard of the adjacent coffee shop ...

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All day I struggled between calling her Julia ..having spend 12 hours with Julia the day before ..and now trying to get it right and calleing her HER name Julie ...:-) She was kind enough to invite me back to her home after our shopping spree where I got to view her amazing garden where a little river slowly meanders throught the undergrowth, the foxes come at dusk to get their food and the moonlight casts a special light onto her vegetable garden .... I felt really deeply joyful, glad to have connected with her again as we are truly "cut" out of the same wood ..as the saying goes ... As she cooked a delicious vegetarian stir fry dinner I happily sat in the garden creating a beaded bracelets with her stash of beautiful beads ... .... well i started off around 8 pm ... and many cups of tea , remembering anecdotes and sharings later ..i finally got home this morning at 1 am with a real big bellyful of happiness ...

♥ milliande

♥ meeting Julia from my art community

I had a lovely time driving up to a little place near Richmond Park, London called Petersham Nurseries .... a little garden/flower nursery place that had such a beautiful flair of the nostalgic olden days ... not that I got a chance to see that much off it ..giggle ..

Because I was here to meet Julia, who was teaching a watercolour beginner class, for a cup of coffee.

Julia has been a member of our Art Community for Women for a couple of month and we have gotten to know each other a little online and decided to hook up for a chat ...as it turned out a very LONG chat indeed .....

We had such a fabulous time , catching up as if we have been old friends for a long time ... I enjoyed watching her demonstrate some watercolour techniques to her group of women that had come to sit in the summer sunshine of this beautiful nursery to paint some wonderful shades of floral purples and pinks ...

~ whilst I was sipping my cappuccino and tasted some delicious homemade chocolate cake

The rest of the day was spend in giggles, pouring over art journals , sharing favourite books, ideas and feelings about our art community ,looking at her sketches , paintings ....moving from lunch , into more coffee at Julias house and finally to a beautiful Thai restaurant for dinner as our conversation was far from running dry ..giggle

It was nice to meet a kindred spirit in person ... much as i love the online aspect of our art community , to meet in person adds  the icing on the cake ...

and I have been hearing whispers that she will be sharing her watercolour "secrets" with our members soon ... so watch this space ;-)

What a lovely day ...lets do it again sometime

♥ milliande

♥ hair, handbags, homemade

SO here I am , all by myself .... maya and husband off on holiday in cyprus and time is a strange thing ... suddenly I become aware of all these little things I have been meaning to do

~~~ so first up ... had a new haircut and coloured it today ....

~~~ second up ... still holding on to a thread of patience trying to follow some sewing patterns . Having successfully PREWASHED lots and lots of fabric... then iron it with my new iron ( it took 4 hours) I felt ready to conquer my new handbag pattern ...

~ I got reminded of how I just dont do well with written instructions, there were barely any pictures and I struggled big time getting of the ground ...

~ It was quite an expensive pattern ( here in the uk) ...it had the full size print outs in them which was great ... but the instructions were just lines on lines of words with no step by step pictures etc ...i found it really hard to follow

~ I ended up using the main pattern pieces and then winging it when it came to assembling pockets and handles ... as I just could not make out the steps..nor find the pattern piece for the pocket

here are my altered  results

trying to make sense of the sewing pattern ... I wondered whehter I had chosen a project wich was a tad ambitious for me ... luckily ..with no one being home I could spread out on the floor, lay everything together and muddle my way through the handbag pattern pieces

I chose some japanese line fabric for the main background pieces ... I fell in love with this little linen with the delightful dots all over it and found a matching printed cotton with a flower meadow design on it

As I could not find the pattern piece or template for the inside pocket anywhere, I just used 2 recycled pieces of printed cotton that had been used for displaying fabric samples and I had picked it up in the fabric store's free basket ... they fitted perfectly

I lined the inside with a piece of brown linen I had found in a newly discovered fabric shop in Kingston ...

For this handbag pattern piece I used another japanese fabric linen ...this time with little strawberries on it ... and matched it with some vintage lace and a cotton flower print fabric

I was up until 1.30 am yesterday trying to assemble all the pieces together... giggle

~ In the end I am pleased with how it turned out, I loved the feel of it , glad that i did not add all the heavy canvas lining the pattern suggests as it would have made for a very heavy bag indeed ..

~ third up ... It looks really fabulous with my new tunic dress I made from my japanese pattern book ..

can you tell I am just a teeny weeny little bit
happily engaged with my sewing machine at the moment

~ giggle ~

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We have a new subgroup in our art community called
"What made you happy today "


~

and this made me happy today


~ taking a peek into our freezer being really hungry ... to find a little tub of homemade Tavas my husband had cooked for me before he left ... labelled Sunday ..so I would have something nice to eat whilst he and Maya are away on holiday
( there are a couple of more labled friday and wednesday .. giggle)


awwww ..I feel loved



♥ milliande

♥ Waving Goodbye

It is 7 am in the morning ... 1 hour into having waved a teary good bye to Maya who is off on a holiday to the island of Cyprus with her Dad .

This is the first time in 18 years I am going to be in the house on my own for 9 whole days.

This is the first time that they are going and I am staying at home, usually it is me travelling the world while they stay at home... the business of traveling usually keeps me from missing them too much ... but here at home ..... ohhh the heart strings a tucking ....

And Maya had a new haircut yesterday .... ahh a mums heart ....

~

as I am typing this the phone rings .... and my babe is calling me to tell me she loves me ..and is enjoying her breakfast at the airport ..

and texting me a photo



" I miss you mummy , but I am having sooo much fun ..."


~
taking a minute to cry
~



Love is ..... all that is




♥ milliande

♥ Pen and Ink

 

TABLE EMPTY
~

To choose
emptiness lies at the centre of all possibility

To choose
I imagine a circle filled with
reflections

To choose
I sink into the knowing of
an empty table






CHAIR TAKEN
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Am I made
so vast
that to stand up
and see myself
I curl into the
nothingness i came from




~

I Prayed til dawn
then I watched my Self
rising

~


♥ milliande

♥ Tapestry Print

My local Print Studio "Ochre's " took part in the Surrey Open Studios for the past 3 weeks.

As part of the activities we held a monoprinting taster session all visitors to the studio could partake in. Each person was given a small 10cm square piece of foamboard to engrave a design into ..then 3 colours of ink could be applyed with a brayer roller to create a unique image .

Last weekend the unveiling of the Tapestry print took place at the printmaking studios ..it is interesting how 2 common denominators ...size and color..could create such a unique print collaboration that ties all the diverse elements together into a unique whole ..

here a peek at some images of the tapestry print unveiling..

~ Members of Ochre Printmaking Studios ~




Julie ( on the right) the owner of Ochre Printmaking Studio - which is an open access studio where we all get to play

The lady in the middle runs the Lockwood Day Centre ... a centre for adults with learning disabilities that works in a co-joined partnership with the Lockwood arts Centre and Ochre Printmaking Studios





The Tapestry Print




It was funny ... Maya had attened the opening day of our exhibition and participated by making her own piece of the tapestry print . The Final Collaborative piece was assembled by several members...and when I took a peek ...Maya's and My Print were snuggled up right next to each other :-))


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I will be uploading a video tour of the printmaking exhibition and a little look at the making of the tapestry print tiles  a little later on today if you would like to take a peek


♥ milliande

♥ A Day in Motion

Over at our Art Community for Women we are running a photography prompt on MOTION

A Sunny Summer Afternoon yesterday and Maya is on the move .. she loves expending her energy through motion, is rarely still and imitates every animal she encounters in her wake ...

I love the way she smiles her way through the day ...experiencing everything the the fullest ability of her senses ...

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I stumbled across this musician, Marcio Local , today ... and was stitting on my computer chair with my bottom cheeks dancing to the samba rhythm ..

Music evokes motion .... evokes e-motion ...and a response from my senses ...i feel the beat, I feel the passion ...and my body responses ...

This made me think of the many little moments of happiness that a day can bring ..but that often escape with barely a glimpse given to acknowledge them ....

It is with a sense of gratitude ... that i open a new subgroup at our artcommunity for women ... the celebrates the little moments of happiness TODAY  ...

A Song ..
A Dessert
A Hug
A Smell
A Purchase
A Thought
A Touch
A Visual
A Phonecall
A ......

This is a place to share TODAY'S moment tiny moments, jump for joy moments and glimpses of happiness almost forgotten




What made YOU happy today ???






♥ milliande

♥ ILLO Friday - Drifting

I have always wanted to try the Illustration Friday Prompts ... so this week I have given it a go .. quick 10 minute sketch for this weeks
Illo Friday Topic " Drifting"

♥ milliande

♥ pochee no 7 - japanese sewing books

~ Japanese Sewing Books have such a beautiful aesthetic feel to them ... I love many of the free flowing designs... the way they are tailored to offer a loose , comfortable design , yet with little feminine touches like added lace and felting details

~ I am not very well versed in sewing to a pattern or following a design ... but I am hoping to learn a little more this year -- giggle and i am starting out with patterns that are written in japanese ...

~ However all the japanese craft books are beautifully illustrated, with lots of step by step details that make it easy to follow the instructions by visuals alone ...

~ For my first project I have decided to take a linen/cotton blend trouser ( pants) that I already own and alter the length to make it suit the style I like. I am adding a cotton lace edging trim for a delicate touch

~ i you like to take a look at the japanese sewing magazine pochee no 7 and how i altered my pants...

take a peek at the little video

♥ milliande

♥ dancing with light

.... Respond ...reflect ..... interact ....

... playing with my shadow
....playing with light that dances .....
unaware ...i move....

... awareness made visible in the breaking of white into colors of light .....


...what is it that i can see

... what is it that i can perceive

... what is IT ...

that permeates me ... the everything ...the all ...

REFLECTED ....


♥ milliande

♥ the "I" paints

♥ layers of perception
My latest art enquiries take me to places of communication, cosmic communications ... the interplay of microcosm and macrocosm ... where the circle begins and ends and never is anything but itself ...

♥ Microscopic cell structures ...going inside the cell.... seeing the building blocks that are energetically all the same...  we are all made up of the same stuff... a tree... a stool.. a breath ....

... the archetypal angel paints an Oak tree in its microscopic view ...

♥ going even deeper into the quantumphysical nature of the movement of a cell ..an electron .... observed it behaves completly opposite than in its unobserved state ... ahh who is the keeper of the truth ...can i lay my eyes on it at all ??

... the archetypal female ... senses that which is larger than herself .... feels the cellular awareness that belies the body's solid nature ....

♥ communication .... cellular communication ... cosmic communication ...

who is talking to whom when all there is is the "I" that paints .........

♥ milliande

♥ london love

ahhh i love the city ... living fairly rural most of the time ..stepping into the city is like entering a different world
"the lens" subgroup at our art community for women is holding a turquoise/orange photo prompt ... i had fun paying attention to color combinations whilst cruising through london yesterday..here are some of my favorite shots...

 

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shot out of the car whilst stuck in a traffic jam - view of st pauls cathedral london
- i love the way this shot turned out :->




***

london is easily walkable in many places but stunning views can also be had from its myriads of roofgardens
we are lucky that our apartment block has a large roofgarden that is especially fun to use in the summertime when the air is clear ...
here a peek at the view from the top



on the right in the distance one can spot the london eye wheel on a good day



a london walk





*** milliande

♥ dragonfly kisses

♥
dragonfly kisses


♥ sprinkler dances




♥ getting prepared for summery love :-)



it is on days like these,
when the sun shines soo brightly
when squiggley giggles peek through water droplets caught in the excitement
when laughter comes from deep in the belly

that live blooms to its fullest joy


♥ milliande

 

♥ sp minus tooth

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Self Portrait -- minus Tooth

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It has been a hard few days .... if I have one fear left ..its the dentist ... having had some treatment problems 10 years ago i still have an incredible fear installed in me when it comes to having to "open wide" and let someone yield spikey things in my mouth

...and now this ..

I have lost my front tooth ... due to an abscess in the rootcanal that has caused the bone to let go of the root in places

I had a gruelling 5 hour dentist appointment yesterday .. where they drilled away to their heart contents whilst my toes curled and my husband had to hold my hand just to stop me from fainting outright ....

♥

Letha suggested Gas and Air treatment to calm me down ...giggle... which reminded me of a time 9 years ago someone tried to do that during the time i gave birth to Maya ..and I passed out ..literally ...gas and air and my constitution are not particularly compatible




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♥

after the dentist i had to go and walk ..just walk it off so we went to a shopping centre and maya did her best to cheer me up ...:-)


♥

but now for the worst ... they have only managed to put a temporary filling into the hole as the abscess is too large

...i am having to take antibiotics to reduce the swelling of the abscess ,
...  i have to have 6 more sessions over the next 8 weeks trying to rebuild the rootcanal
... they are going to x-ray again next week to determine whehter that cause of action is possible
... if it does not return to a managable position,i will have to have an operation whereby they cut through my gum to restructure the toothhold from inside for a crown

♥

yikes

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i am breathing, and imagining the sound of the water drill to be waves at the ocean
i am focussing on my feet ...and their rootedness into the all that is
i am learning to observe my fear amidst the pain
i am hurting

but i am feeling stronger
and more able to witness and engage this body's fear

and i am wondering about the magnificent variety of possible experience life can throw at me...


.... or am i throwing it at my SELF :-)))

♥ milliande

♥ extending myself

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♥


there is a moment
when the heart recognizes itself
in another


there is a moment
when connections run deeper
than the naked eye


there is a moment
when all surrenders to itself
fully aware

♥




♥ milliande