Milliande Blog

♥ 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 "


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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 ....

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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
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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




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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 :->




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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 ....

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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 ...:-)


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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

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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

♥ kissed by a sunray

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kissed by a sunray
i pay attention
to the warmth that it spreads
beneath my skin

warmth at times
i feel hiding
peeking out from a lattice woven
behind my knowing

resting in a moment
i catch awareness
l a soft whisper releasing itself
within the heart


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♥ colourful self

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colour is my a playground
she soothes this tired eye
on a dusty day
and like a windswept emotion
she catches her breath
and returns me to freedom


♥ milliande

♥ stencilry ~ lesson 2

~ so what is a girl to do ... she wakes up on a sunday morning after a rotten night riddled with flu but filled with dreams of stencil adventures....

~ she wakes up ... she coughs.... and it is dawning on her...that maybe just maybe ..a littl eouting would do her good ... wink wink .... so she persuades her husband to take her in the car for a little trip... for some "fresh air"  ...giggle...... all the while her brain goes round and round thinking where one might obtain spraypaint on a sunday morning .... AHA ...and off they drive to the CAR MERCHANT ...for some car spraypaint .....

~ when a girl got to art a girl got to art ..whatever it takes ...

~ that trip exhausted me ...phew.... little nap ....and off we go to burn some plastic ...

.... here are the results for Stencilry - lesson 2 .... playing with masks and a few photo's of my makeshift "spraystation " :-)

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~ I reclaimed and recycled
an old pallette from a builders merchant and propped it up on 2 wooden chairs to make a spray table ...
~ i quite like working at that height and the size is brilliant for keeping everything close at hand :-)

♥



♥ milliande

♥ stencilry ~ lesson 1

~ I caught a glimpse of Nona's message about the fab Stencilry class that Mary Ann Moss
is running ...

~ I have been waiting to take a face stencil cutting class with Gary Reef ... it has not happend yet .... registration was still open albeit i was one week late ...but hey ..i could catch up..... so I jumped at the opportunity

~ then it hit me ---said flu bug ..... yikes... i am sitting here ...teeth shattering , sweat dripping .... but i sooo  wanted to do this class...

~ so with no energy to go off to find supplies I had to make do with ...1 10 year old spraycan in burgundy, i spritzerbottle with black calligraphy ink , an old crochet doily, some lace and various acrylic paints ...

~ I cut some simple mask stencils ... and completed lesson 1 -- to make a portfolio that will hold our stencilry art journal pages... phew  ...back to bed .... sweating it out and dreaming up stencil ideas :)

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♥ milliande

♥ peeking at myself

♥
somewhere over the rainbow
the light kisses my forehead

blue birds fly
and dreams are dreams ...
nothing more, nothing less

you find me
right here
way up high

and the dreams i dare to dream
are mine
♥

♥ morris dancers

HOW TO TRANSLATE INSPIRATION - INTO A PIECE OF ART

 ~ There are lots of places that offer art challenges etc, but what I think is missing is the sharing of "In between Steps" ... not just the final image

~ Often the challenge is set ... art images and photos are shared but it is difficult to see how an artist got from inspiration to final artwork and one is left wondering

~  I would like to open an "Art Experimentation" group, setting art prompts with a twist....

~ Celebrating the Process --- before Finished Result ...

~ Sharing the Steps taken .. from the incurring of an idea...to the processes involved in creative thinking, honoring intuition and sourcing of techniques .... to move from inspiration to translate visual and emotional responses into a piece of ART~

~ Inspiration Outside of The BOX ( whatever box that is :-)

PROCESS - Taking a look at form, observation, movement, colour and shape ...


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Art Prompt ~~~~~~~~ ~ Take a look at the video

~ be on the look out for form, movement, color, shape and your emotional responses
~ share your first impressions

*** " I see ..."
*** " I feel ... "
*** " I imagine visuals like .."

~ share the moments that inspire a visual ( whether that be the final project or not ..lets observe and share our process ...

~ start making marks, lines , abstracts that respond to your first impressions ... share

~ develop a concept of how an artwork might be derived from this inspiration

~ Discussions and communal feedback are actively encouraged ...anything goes..this is like an artful brainstorming session ..so lets play

~ play and view the art gallery for this prompt here ..Morris Dancers Art Prompt Gallery

♥ milliande

♥ softness in my shoes

Self portrait experimentations

♥

there is softness in my shoes

shall I walk with gusto ...

shall i thread lightly ...

 I shall feel sensations

 when i take a step

in any direction

♥


milliande

♥ when i hold my breath

Self portrait experimentations

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when i hold my breath
i can see the bones of days gone by
~
when i hold my breath
i can capture a glimpse of becoming
~
when i hold my breath
i feel surrounded by particles of possibility
~
when i release my breath
... untied it circles



♥ milliande

you are invited
to share your self portrait experiments at THE LENS

♥ i am this

Self Portrait Experimentation




" I am This "

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" I play with Self Reflections "

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" I breathe and dance with my partner, the lens "

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" I find my Self in captured places "

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" I tease perceptions into being "

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" I meet I "






artful selfportrait experimentations ..
shared at "THE LENS"


♥ milliande

♥ garden mandala art

On a recent visit to the Prince of Wales organic garden in Ryton I came across some circular garden desgigns that reminded me of mandala art ... take a peek if you like

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♥ milliande

♥ duck egg blue

...stirring the pots

a little Easter Alchemy ... giggle

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duck egg blue


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an easter basket with naturally dyed duck eggs




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♥
easter basket ready for our easter egg hunt tomorrow ...

i wonder whether easter bunny is going to whisper tonight :-)





♥ milliande

♥ zentangle easter eggs

♥ Maya and I have been playing with Zendoodled Easter Eggs...
taking pebbles from a beach walk and adding zentangle style patterns ....

♥ We went to an organic farm and got some fresh duck eggs
... these were not safe from being zentangled either

♥ But oohhhhh so tasty  :-)

♥ I have drawn drew some egg templates -
printable egg templates so that i can zendoodle some easter eggs on paper or card
... feel free to download and print the egg templates here

♥ Maya went on an easter egg treasure hunt in the garden centre, she found all 10 eggs and got a treat and i got to doodle .... here is my zendoodle EGG


We are running a Zendoodle Easter Egg- Art prompt in the Creativity Club,
come and join us if you like
.. I would love to see your zendoodled eggs in the gallery
Zendoodle Easter Egg Art Prompt


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♥ milliande

♥ altered book art journal fun

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My Altered Book Art Journal
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~ taken an old book
~ taken several pages out of the book
~ glued other pages together in ( 3 pages glued together to make one strong one)
~ gesso'ed and fluid acrylic backgrounds prepared for journaling
~ spine strengthened on inside with strip of fabric glued in
~ front cover - piece of round wood and rope to support spine
~ altered lightswitchcover for front
~ piece of my art (face) on loose canvas behind gladd
~ texture on front cover with hard gel medium and ephemera


♥ milliande

♥ snug

~ ahh the spring sun rays are starting to warm up the soil and tickle my face...
time to give birth .... to a few seedlings ....

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~ closing down for the night ~

... maya and milliande

♥ my misty mawn painting

~ when I returned from my London visit I had a lovely surprise in my mailbox ... ♥ a gift from Misty Mawn ....

~ I am touched by the thoughtful wrapping that made opening the gift feel really special

~ I received a most delicate and wonderous mixed media painting that touched my heart on many levels ...

~ accompanying the package were some mini art prints of another painting and a cd of Misty Mawn's favourite music ... which captured her essence and spirit and transported it right into my kitchen where Maya and I are jiggling along to some cool tunes ...

~ Here a few glimpses of the painting I received ...

 â™¥

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♥

♥

~ thank you Misty ... for sharing a little bit of your Self with me


 â™¥ milliande

♥ art journal with a gluestick

Here are the rest of my art journal pages i made whilst being in London ... armed with a glue stick or two and a few crayons from maya's pencil box :-)

The March Artist Date Challenges are up at the Creativity Club
Take a peek here
Milliande Artist Date March 2009

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♥ milliande

♥ medieval life

a bit of medieval cooking .....

~ stir the cooking fire ...
~add a dash oh f this and a hint of that ....




~time for a well earned rest  ....
~~~
medieval wall

printable collage sheet .....




~ we had fun

♥ milliande

♥ art journaling in london

art journaling in my little crashpad in the center of London ... looking at collage materials from leaflets, brochures, scrap and ephemera that is around .... Just me and my gluestick ... and a raid on Mayas coloring pencils :-)))  ....

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I love the way my art journaling takes on such a spontaneous nature when I am in confined spaces with hardly any art materials at all ... I notice things..images on the cough syrup bottle, a leaflet in a shop corner, a torn out piece of cotton label from a garment , a color on a newsprint torn up , a fast food menu , a disco club flyer leftover on the floor from the night before ... a stash of childrens crayon drawings....  a vintage letter from a gallery expo ....

there is pattern, there is texture, there is potential everywhere....


♥ milliande
art journaling in London