Silent No More

WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge – Silence

I have chosen two photos of outdoor sculptures to represent this week’s theme of ‘silence’.  I used a sculpture last week too.  When you’re onto a good thing, might as well stick to it.

The first photo is of Emile Bourdelle’s sculpture of Penelope.

penelope6
Penelope by Emile Bourdelle – National Gallery of Australia

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Birds of Tile & Feather

I might have suggested to a few people that I’ve done artworks (mosaics) of some Aussie birds and promised to post some photos of them.  Lately though, I have been concentrating on dog mosaics, but I find myself returning to birds time and again.  I have tremendous admiration for people who can photograph birds well, because I find it incredibly difficult to take a decent photo of my mosaics.  They glitter and sparkle at all angles, hence it is virtually impossible to take a photo without being blinded by reflection.   I love big bold colour, so I guess a little sparkle goes with the territory.  Read more

Something’s Cooking in Harden-Murrumburrah

There was movement in the household, for the word had passed around,
That our favourite cafe at Harden-Murrumburrah was open,
And waiting for the throng – it was worth the two hour drive to town,
So my love and I gathered to the fray.
Noted coffee aficionados – or so we liked to think –
Checked our wallets for some coinage and credit cards just in case.
For the coffee lovers love driving to where the coffee percolates,
And dreamt of coffee brewing and eating chocolate cake.

My husband and I love visiting Harden-Murrumburrah, a small country town situated on the Southwest Slopes of New South Wales (Australia).  Agriculture is the main industry in the region.  Redolent of history and with great coffee to boot, Harden-Murrumburrah is just about perfect in my opinion.  Read more

Keeping Up with the Jones – A Strange Thing Happened When I Found Art

There was a time when I was youngish and shallow, when I sort of lost perspective about the important things in life. I guess I was embarrassed and also so very tired. I was embarrassed about my weight, my strange and difficult children, my parenting skills, my lack of career progression, and most of all, I was embarrassed about the suburb I lived in and my shitty little house that was so untidy even my mother didn’t like to visit me (cue violins playing).  Read more

How I Found My Inner (Visual) Artist

I want to give hope to all those people out there, who, like me, have felt, and still feel, that they don’t have an artistic bone in their body.  As a kid, I used to like drawing.  I drew butterflies, dogs and horses.  They were all out of proportion and simple; just a kid’s drawings really. I wasn’t gifted but I had fun. When I reflect back on that time, half the fun was in day dreaming about my drawing, or starting with a blank page and just seeing where it would take me. Pencils were everywhere and anywhere, left lying around when the drawing was done. There was no packing up art supplies. There was no helicopter parent offering a critique or having special art time with me to foster my ‘creativity’, whatever that means.

Then I went to high school and I thought I would try art class as an elective. I know a lot of children thrive in art classes. But for me, it was torture. Read more