happy birthday....

happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear me, happy birthday to me! hip-hip hooray! hip-hip hooray!

i am having a fantastic day - woken up by my gorgeous boy to the sounds of happy birthday, three amazing presents - gorgeous new coloured pencils, a big canvas to inspire my painting and the new sarah blasko album - then driven to work and breakfast in smith street! what a great birthday!

wednesday....

today has been a very good day - i had birthday cake at work! and it was a delicious lemon tart! so wicked! this is a sketch that i did a couple of weeks ago based on a wallpaper from the 1800's i think - i can't find the original picture anywhere. but, the original was very flowery with a lot of embellishments. i have scaled this back in my own version and made it much simpler. my drawing was in an orange pencil but then i started fiddling with it in photoshop and i really liked this purple version instead!! i think that this would make a fabulous fabric or even a wrapping paper! i could see it in lovely bold colours, or even muted earthy tones.....the possibilities are endless....

tuesday....

i am sticking to my goal of one drawing per day! i had done some sketches of owls weeks ago and my gorgeous friend called me up and ask me to come over and spend the day crafting with her. this is the outcome - a kooky little owl all of my own! i have created him out of all recycled materials which is an added bonus!

it is my birthday on thursday and i got an early birthday present last night from my boy's aunt and uncle - a divine book called the art of ornament and it is a historical timeline of trimmings and patterns from around the world - ancient greece, persia, india, china and the list goes on. i am so excited!

monday mornings....

a monday morning is the perfect time for some beautiful patterns! these ones are created by an artist called sandra isacsson and i just love them! i spoke with rmit university last week about the studio textile and design diploma and it is being offered part time in 2007 and the classes are in the evening! i am so excited about that! i have to prepare the application form this week and post it off and then i will have to attend an information session where the tutors will check out my folios from this year. i can't wait!! i am torn though between starting in february or waiting until june and then the wedding and honeymoon are behind me and i will have nothing major on my plate.....decisions, decisions, decisions! i can't believe that i am going to go back to school - again!

my goal for this week is to post one of my own drawings each night. i am hoping that by giving myself a goal it will help me to actually complete some of my own work. even though i love looking at what other artists are creating i want to imporve my own creations!

wish me luck....

linn olofsdotter....

linn olofsdotter is a swedish artist. she has worked in europe, the us and brazil. she now works independently creating artwork for fashion, advertising and editorial fields. these are some of her illustrations that she created for an advertising catalogue for a brand called flor.

canadian textile design....

virginia johnson is an interesting canadian textile designer. she creates her designs with watercolours on paper before transferring to fabrics. her inspiration comes from her travels - both at home in toronto and abroad in places like new zealand, india, mexico and france, with nature providing the imagery - rain-drops, pebbles, birds, water, trees, flowers and animals.

let there be music....

what an amazing night - the u2 concert was so great that i can't even think of an adjective good enough to describe it! the visual aspects of the show were huge - there was a massive wall of lights from the floor to the top of the stadium and they were able to project live video footage on it as well as other footage and lighting sequences. it was amazing.

and bono......

i am finding it difficult to concentrate this morning because i am still on the arena feeling the music pulsate in my chest. by far the best concert i have ever been too....a big call but, 'wow'!!!

hiromi kishi....

some gorgeous illustrations by japanese illustrator hiromi kishi to round off the weekend (well there is still the U2 concert tonight!)....

a wee vent....

i have had suych sporadic posting over the last couple of weeks and i had put it down to the fact that there was so much going on with the new job, an international student moving into our home and spring racing - now all of that has settled down i had hoped that i would be able to settle into a more calm period. but it seems that the gods are against me and now things are going through some serious change at work. it does appear that all of the pieces of your life can not be calm and peaceful at the same time! A good friend just emailed me with a great saying actually - remember, that without change there would be no butterflies - and i think that this is a great little mantra perhaps to get me through the next couple of weeks.

Phew! Well after my little vent I do have some gorgeous pictures to i nclude today!

All of these images are by an artist named Heather Moore - I can't find the web site anywhere - but when I do I will post it here and you have to check it out - some great pieces!

australian art....

the day has come and gone and i have this feeling of not having done a lot again. it was just so cold today that my lunchtime walk only lasted about 15 minuites! and then i got home, cooked dinner, tidied up and then it was already 9pm. i wish that i could squeeze more into each day. there is always tomorrow though and i already have plans for what i want to do!

i have done some more work on my wedding invites and slowly but surely it is starting to come together. my first attempt was "unconnected" to the wedding so i have been sent back to the drawing board by my gorgeous friend! i can already see a big improvement though, and i am only drafting the idea so i can't wait to see the finished sketch.

while i was in adelaide i visted the gallery and i purchased a couple of postcards from the shop. unfortunately there wasn't anything available from the gorgeous tiwi art exhibition but these are four pieces that i really enjoyed viewing while i was there. they are all a little different....

l: billy yalwanga, australia; yams, 1986 r: clifford possum tjapaltjarri, australia; honey ant ceremony (detail), 1972

i love the patterns in indigenous art and the way that they used to represent different aspects of nature. some of the work that i saw in the gallery while in adelaide were amazing - painted directly onto bark, board, tree stumps, metal - with the most gorgeous textures. there is more to australian indigenous art then just dot paintings and i got to see some of this amazing art! i want to see more now!

fred williams, australia; you yangs pond, 1963

fred williams is one of my favourite australian artists. i love the way that he portrays the australian landscape with such beautiful colours, textures and perspectives.

dusan marek, australia; equator, 1948

dusan marek is an artist that i had not heard of before visiting adelaide and although this is a rather unusual piece i couldn't resist including it here. the artist apparently painted it on the ship he travelled to australia on and when the got here they took this part of the wall down so he could keep it! it is double sided - painting on one side and a mirror or something on the other (only one side was on display). i love the way the everyday objects have been distorted so you have to look twice at it! unusual, but beautiful!

mornings in melbourne....

i may have jinxed myself! after telling you all that the weather was improving in melbourne i have woken up to a miserable old day. the sky is full of dark clouds and it is cold. definitely not a day for drawing in the park. i think that i may (heaven forbid) eat my lunch at my desk this afternoon and check out some of my favourite blogs....i think that could be a good way to spend an hour! plus kashy made me a beautiful turkish bread pocket for lunch today filled with ham, tomatoe, cheese, carrot and cucumber. it is already calling me and it is only 10am!! i better get back to work....

at last....

this is my second attempt this evening to post....i officially hate my pc! i am going to write a letter to santa claus tonight and ask for an imac for chirsitmas....fingers crossed! i have been flat out over the last couple of weeks with the new job. i wrote a couple of weeks back that i went to sydney and i have just been to adelaide as well. i had an opportunity to visit the art gallery in adelaide too which was great. there was a rodin and a tiwi island art exhibits on and they were both fantastic. i loved the repetitive patterns in the tiwi art and the subtle colours. there was one amazing etching of two penguins that i just can't get out of my head!

i am finally posting the pics of my new book - swatches - here they are...

these are a couple of the patterns in the book that i caught my attention. some of them are divine and others a a bit boring really. but there are enough goodies in this one to keep the inspiration rolling for a while!

with the weather improving now i have been taking my notebook and heading down to the fitzroy gardens on my lunch breaks and doing quite a bit of drawing and doodling. it is such a nice way to spend lunch - laying in the sunshine and drawing whats around you. i am working on a couple of patterns at the moment and i hope that some will be ready for posting soon.

grrrrr.......

i have been fighting with my bad pc for the last three days! i have been trying to get some photos through photoshop to post on here and it keeps dying! so this is just a quick note to let you know that i am going to post some pics of my new books - hopefully sooner rather than later!

i have my final exam tomorrow. i don't think that i have done enough study really but i feel that i have reached capacity! wish me luck for tomorrow!

sydney....

another three days have passed without me posting - so slack! i have been in sydney for some more induction and to see a program launch for my new job. it was great but i am exhusted so this is a quick note to say that i will be back to tomorrow! i want to take some pics of my new book and post them for you to see because it is beautiful......tomorrow then.

the owl and the pussycat...

i discovered these gorgeous creatures in degraves street, melbourne, and i couldn't resist taking some photos.....i was reminded of a story book that i had as a child, the owl and the pussycat, though these ones are little more funky! i love the amount of detail in this artist's work and the gorgeous patterns! i hope you like them too!

work in progress....

this is a cross stitch that i have been working on for the longest time and it always get put aside for something else. but i have now made a committment to my poor cross stitch to have it finished in the next week or two! i love repeatitive patterns in general and the idea of geometric patterns really appealed. i'll pop a picture of the finished stitches up soon.

what just happened....

i can't believe that it has been so long since i last posted! i started my new job this week and it went really well (thank goodness!) and we have had an international student move in with us from china this week too. so things have been a little crazy here the last week or so!

i am almost finished my classes - only one more class and then the exam. i have been cramming in at least one technical drawing per day in preparation for the exam but i just hate them! they have to be so perfect and there are a million rules about what you can and can't do and it drives me crazy! but, patience is a virtue i am told, so i am practicing and hoping for the best.

i finally have my sewing machine up and running so once my exam is over i am hoping to get into some small projects - like making my owl! he has been cut out and pinned for the last couple of weeks and i have been dying to sew him up but i am keeping him as a reward for finishing my class. i can't wait!

I have also been working on a cross stitch - i will have to post a picture of it tomorrow hopefully. it drives me crazy too becuase it is so perfect but i love the colours, the geometric shapes and the repetitive pattern. i bought myself a new book this week called 'swatches' and it is 600 full colour pictures of the most divine fabrics - again - i will post some pics tomorrow.

'til tomorrow then.....

black and white....

so much has happened in the last couple of days that i haven't even had a chance to get onto the computer! we had friends visit from mackay and it was so great to catch up with them and we went out for dinner and ate fabulous chocolate at koko black! this may be my favourite place in the whole world!

i had a second interview on friday and i was successful and i start the new job next week! i am so happy about that and i can't wait to get started. i'm sure i will have more to tell next week. and then we just had the busiest weekend - bridesmaid dress shopping, family over for lunch and dinner and just some veging out on the couch! phew!

but anyway - here are some gorgeous black and white pics......

it's all happening now....

i got the call back late yesterday and i have a second interview on friday! so exciting! then tonight i had my first practice exam and i thought that i was doing ok until we went over the paper and i totally bombed! i have some serious study ahead of me over the next couple of weeks!

this gorgeous image is from mocchi mocchi and its all great! i love the simple shapes and the natural colours. i have really gotten back into my own drawing since i handed in my folio. i am attempting to complete at least one drawing every day to help develop my drawing skills. we'll see how that goes!

i also went to buttonmania today in the nicholson building - i so love this store - and the lady there was helping me to find some buttons for my owl. oh - i am making an owl by the way! i have found some gorgeous fabric that looks like feathers for his back and i needed something special for his eyes.....haven't found it yet but i am taking the completed owl back on monday for another look!

everything is happening now and it is so exciting!

flying high...

today has been a fantastic day! i had a great job interview (which i will hear back about tomorrow) and i was flying high afterwards! so to celebrate this great feeling i have decided that today's post will be all about our feathered friends....

this great piece is by an artist named alice stevenson. she has some amazing work on her website and i am sure that more of her work will make its way here!

these are the most divine birds! i would love to have these wee badges on my bag! these little ones can be found on the boy girl party website.

this is by a japanese artist named etsuko furuya. i can't seem to find alot of information about her in english and my japanese is not good enough to translate all the info so if anyone knows something interesting let me know. her textile designs are just gorgeous, i love every single one!

this is a great decoupage plate by john derian who i mentioned on sunday. i really love this piece, the swallow is just so gorgeous. we have these birds at our local lake and the dip and dive through the bull-rushes!

i am heading back out into the sun now to do some drawing of my own....

springtime...

(image: rosehip)

the smell of freshly cut grass
laughing kookaburras
the sun's kiss on your face
beautiful blooms along the edge of the road
trees bursting into bud
lounging on the verandah
reading the newspaper in the sun

i heart patterns....

i may not have mentioned it before but i love patterns - my folio that i just handed in was a textile design and i had so much fun. so i thought that i would start my inspiration with some gorgeous patterns (this could keep me amused for days and days and days!) so here we go....

this is from rosehip in the uk....anything with birds is going to catch my attention, but i particularly love the use of silohuettes agaisnt beautiful, detailed backgrounds.

this is gorgeous! i love everything about this! it is by an artist called john derian and he has loads of great stuff which i am sure i will make it on here at some stage!

this is some stationary that i recently purchsed from kikki k by artist jill bliss. it is so beautiful! i like how the grpahic backgrounds have been used behind these beautiful drawings. these are so unique!

and the last one for today is by rachel kelly. you can check out the full range at the interactive wallpaper website. i really love lino cutting and woodblock printing and this is why this work appeals to me. i love the stamp like quality if the flowers and the soft backgrounds.

i am about to head out to the kitten club to check out a new band....but i am already looking forward to adding more inspiration tomorrow!

inspiring....

i can't believe a whole week has passed since i last posted! i finished up at work last friday which was a joke - so unprofessional but i had other things to focus on. i handed in my final folio on tuesday morning at 9am. it was such a huge relief to finally have it finished and out of my hands. it has taken me three days to get myself back together though! i have had my folio strewn from one end of the house to the other, i had house work (so boring) and just catching up with friends. but considering i now have no formal projects on i am deeming this coming week one of inspiration. i want to put together lots of beautiful things that will inspire me to start my next project and i will post many of these little bits and pieces here, as well as listing any interesting websites that i come across. i am really looking forward to doing this just for me - not a project deadline!! so keep an eye out for lots of interesting things over the next week!

one more thing, i received a gorgeous package in the mail this week thanks to georgie love - an online store for independent melbourne artists. i purchased a '(mostly) old paper' pack by applehead - and it is just fantastic. there is old sheet music, vintage playing cards and stamps, beautiful wallpaper, pages from old picture books and even an old negative! i can't wait to start creating something beautiful with these papers! thanks sally!

gimme your stuff!!

i have been reading through some great blogs lately (and i will include the links soon!) and keep hearing about these "swaps"....and i thought - i want to get involved with this!! so yesterday i came across a cultural swap blog called gimme your stuff and i would love to get involved!!

the only packages or letters that i ever get in the mail these days are bills! so it would be great to receive exciting packages in the mail!

being in melbourne i can send you street press, design magazines, the catalougues from exhibitions that i go to in the city, australian sweets & food or tourist-type things, some crafty stuff like ribbons, buttons, and so on, hair clips, some of my own gift cards and badges and cool avanti postcards. if there is something that you want in particular let me know and i will see what i can do.

I'm really interested in....

• retro, vintage, cute fabric, ribbons, felt, buttons and things like that
• vintage - anything! postcards, old photos, old magazines, fabric, paper dolls, stamps and so on
• anything with birds - like old illustrations, postcards, old playing cards, fabric, buttons and so on especially owls, blue birds, sparrows
• interesting craft materials, anything japanese, cool papers, stamps
• japanese craft books or magazines
• cute stationary, stickers or badges
• something that you have designed!!
• design magazines or cool street press (i am such a magazine junky!)
• and anything else that is a bit interesting!

comment and/or email me kara_macleod23(at)hotmail(dot)com if you would like to gimme your stuff!!

rings of saturn....

this is a crazy little doodle that i did while working on my folio and kashy has named it 'rings of saturn' for what ever reason! i love it though!! on the actual drawing i created texture by buiilding up dots of liquid paper - becuase texture is a must!! Hahaha! it is late and i need to sleep - good night!

blue chair....

this is one of my own photos and probably one of my favourite pictures. i used to be part of a photogrpahy club but all those nanas got too political for me! this was taken at monsalvat, out near eltham in victoria. it is a gorgeous historic homestead and i took this photo in the main hall. i love experimenting with my digital camera, it is just so different to my old slr. i achieved this 'blue' effect but playing with the white balance settings on the camera, each setting achieved a different photo but this one was the most interesting.

change....

i found this pictue stored on my computer and I have no idea where it came from but i just love it! i have always enjoyed collage and i like the way that the picture is combined with stitched outlines and especially love the layers which create subtle highlights in the picture. i have had my final pieces mounted today so i just need to finalise my visual diary now. i need to do all of the annotations which is very tedious but hopefully it wont take too long.

we planted nine new trees in the garden today which look gorgeous!! i love having trees in my front garden and i can't wait to get the rest of the plants in too.

new trees....

the weather was perfect today - the sun shone all afternoon. i spent much of the day working on my folio but i did get a small opportunity to go to the nursery to purchase some new trees for our front garden. it is so exciting buying new trees so i was inspired to include this little sketch today. there are no plants in our front garden at the moment so i can not wait to plant all of the new trees.

i love being outdoors and it provides you with never ending inspiration - be it gorgeous little birds and dragon flies, or beautiful colours in a sunset.

i hope that the sun continues to shine tomorrow!

fly away peter....

these gorgeous little creatures have been my friday night fun! while watching a truly terrible movie on tv i doodled in my sketch book and ended up with these two. i think that there is a lot of potential with these wee creatures - i can already see them appearing regularly in my doodles over the next couple of weeks....

i would love to see these two turned into little stamps or stencils and plastered all over the place! Maybe they could do with a little refining first and then they can take over the city!

what do you think?

spring time...

i didn't make it here yesterday either - i am so sad about that. i had to hand in my final pieces yesterday for visual communication and when i got there with my mounts my teacher sent me packing to make more changes and additions. but - the pieces will be finished this weekend and then i can focus on finishing the workbook and then and then i will be free to have fun!

i have so many little projects that i want to try my hand at - i have my wedding invites (ek!), i am making these gorgeous little beetles out of kimono fabric, i want to make a pinhole camera, a friend wants me to make her some invites and a million other things! i would really love to get my hands on a print gocco gadget and have a go at that too! big plans - and a new motto - ban procrastination!

i am going to have a great spring spending time in the garden and having fun with my art!

ps. i have placed some new links too.... the piece above is by this great guy called brian cronin....definetly check out his link!

finding your muse....

i didn't have a chance to post anything yesterday - it was such a strange day. i resigned from my job and then listened to the chairman insult me while trying to convince me to change my mind. it has confirmed for me that these are not people that i want to work for.

but what it has bought to the front for me is 'what do i want to do with my life?'

on the surface this seems like a simple question but in reality this is one of the most difficult questions that i have encountered. when i was in school i wanted to pursue photography at university but my dad had other plans and put me on the 'straight and narrow' and so for the last eight years i have studied business and worked in the corporate world. then last year i went back to study visual communication and design and rediscovered how much i enjoy being creative.

the challenging thing for me has been to seperate that corporate mentality from creativity and just create art for the sake of creating rather than being financially driven.

i also have fear....fear that my work wont be as good as others, causing me to focus so strongly on making every piece amazing. it is taking the fun out of the process, making it difficult for me to see the process through and leaving my 'big plans' as just that, plans.

i found an inspiring post on emma laiho's blog, crayon, and i thought that i might include the final note here... "do the little things, one drawing, one page at a time, make it work for you, not the other way round. find your muse and catalysts, whatever works is not cheating. it's real work, but remember to have fun..."

so perhaps i have not answered the big question about what i want to do with my life but i am going to make a promise to myself to relax, enjoy the process and most of all, have fun.

kingyo....

this is another one of my drawings...i found a gorgeous book called kingyo which is all about japanese goldfish art. some of the art was amazing- beautiful illustrations, woodblock prints, paintings and ceramics. i was absorbed in this book for weeks and this is one of the drawings that i did afterwards....

i loved that the japanese bred these tiny fish to have particular colours and patterns - generations of fish! the soft flowing tails and fins are intriguing, and i love the colours and random patterns on their scales. there could be a whole series of drawings on these fish!