Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

One of the things I like to do when I have a bit of spare time is play with photos I've taken ... today, when I didn't have spare time, I played nevertheless .  Having printed out black and white copies, I very quickly and roughly applied watercolours to the prints, and further cropped to make some interesting Facebook cover images. 

Continuing  the series of collages for my October challenge... Collage #65 was taken from a photo taken in Kritipur in Nepal at a temple. I was immediately attracted by the splash of orange-red colour of the tikka on the statue in the image. I cropped the photo  to make that the focal point  and intensified the colour to give me some more defined shapes to abstract. Here is the result with torn paper and small scraps of cotton fabric which happened to be similar to the colour.  This is a short  ( 4 minutes) video of an artist  creating an abstract design from realistic drawing . I think it shows a great way of creating lines in an abstract design. 

And so ends this year's Advent blog series of Christmas Firsts - a first Christmas 'selfie' for us and with it, very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. 

My cousin alerted me to this Instagram challenge called  #everydaycreativeatoz hosted by artist, Jennifer Cockcroft . Here is  a summary of what Jennifer says about this challenge in her blog  " Everyday Creative A to Z challenge! This really is as simple as it sounds - every day the prompt will be a letter of the alphabet (we'll work through them in order so nobody gets confused!), and all you have to do is post something related to that letter. I want you to really let your imagination run free with this and post whatever you like! I know we're in the lead up to Christmas, but there's absolutely no requirement for you to post festive images if that's not your thing - or if you're a total Christmas freak then please go right ahead! You could stick to a theme in your posts, or mix and match each day depending on your inspiration.....  You get the idea - there really are no rules with this, and if you like you can switch and change and post so...

Walter and Rose Sophia Jones with their son, James Alfred  Meet the Jones family.... The photo is of Walter Jones, his wife Rose Sophia ( nee Redrup) and their son, James Alfred, of  Birmingham, County of Warwick, England. Walter was born on 3 March, 1865 and Sophia on 1 January 1867.  They married in February,1929, many years after the birth of their son, James (1903). It can be speculated that they married, aged  64 and 62 respectively, because by that time, Walter was suffering badly from work related emphysema and chronic bronchitis  and in 1925, legislation was passed which granted "widows"  government support. This is, of course, retrospective conjecture! Walter appeared on the 1891 census as a 'spade maker', and when his son was born, his occupation was recorded as a 'garden fork drawer and later in this life, his illness affected his capacity to work - in 1911, records show that Walter was working as a bricklayer's labourer.Walter's death ce...

 August  Instagram Photo Challenge - a photo a day challenge as a daily reminder to be well in Winter  #bewellinwinter.  left to right, top row to bottom row.  1. Stockpile - my stockpile of used tea bags, ready for art  projects.  2. Blankets - tidied up the spare bedroom - don't the blankets look great so neatly folded?  3. Animal - there's a bear in there!  4. Soup - my favourite soup recipes are from a very old recipe booklet  5. Social -  the Flying Free project is as much a social activity as a creative one.  6. Strength - my tai chi teacher demonstrating that there is nothing stronger than gentleness.  7. Refresh - the instructions said 'refresh your browser' .... so I did.  8. Flowers - woolly flowers on my friend's hat 9. To do list - "put the suitcase in the boot of the car" - only one thing on my husband's to do  list today - yes, it was done!  10. Fire - smoke alarms are ma...

Day 26 : Grounding - a beautiful sunrise , Dungog NSW End of July already and the last day  this month of the "Be Well in Winter"  Photo a Day Challenge - an exercise in staying focussed on wellness. I enjoyed this so much I will also be participating in the August "Be Well in Winter "photo challenge ....  Day 21 - Work ( Newspaper story about my workshop in Hervey Bay; Day 22 - Winter ( my winter woolies)  Day 23 - Essential Oil ( Camellia oil)  Day 24-  Gratitude ( beautiful thank you gifts from a friend)  Day 25 - My treat ( staying with a friend in her beautiful home)  Day 26 - Grounding ( large photo above )  Day 27 - Breath ( a breath to blow out a candle)  Day 28 - Pamper ( bath pamper essentials)  Day 29 - Role Model ( my mum)  Day 30 - Sun ( another sunrise -large photo below)  Day 31 - Lesson ( lesson notes for a Drama class I taught in 1988!)  Day 30 - Sun ( another sunr...

And time flies when you're having fun... so far, I've managed to post a photo a day on Instagram for the "Be Well in Winter " photo challenge, interpreting the daily themes.   Days 12-20 :  12. Lunchtime - Lamb and salad in a gluten free wrap, with a special treat of  a dollop of lactose free cream cheese  13. Self Love - Ugg boots and a blanket- watching TV show, Masterchef.  14. Sleep - Not a fan of Masterchef!  15. In the pantry - home made tomato relish  16. Affirmation - How do you define beauty?  17. Create - Unfinished projects on my work table.  18. Comfort - Little wheat bags - perfect size to warm cold hands  19. Journal - my workshop journal - preparation and teaching notes for the next day's workshop.  20. On my plate - gluten free spiral pasta, fresh vegetables and a spoonful of that home made relish. 

L Up to Day 11 already  in the "Be Well In Winter" photo challenge - where each day, I am challenged to take and share a photo according to the theme.  Day 6 : Inspirational Quote . Each Monday, I usually  post an inspirational quote with an item of my art work... so this one was easy. Day 7 - Nature's Best - Nature's best food - fresh vegetables! Perhaps not the favourite of children, but hopefully, as you get older, you appreciate the taste as well as the benefits. Day 8 - Eat your Greens . In this case, it is not healthy to eat the green part - leeks, being prepared for leek and potato soup - yum!  Day 9 - Caffeine Alternative ... Very boring, but a glass of water is a good "pick me up"  Day 10 : Prana - I thought this theme would beat me, but just remembering what my tai chi teacher  says about the life force between your hands, I happened to hold my hands up with my iPad on the kitchen bench and with the overh...

This is the Willow Pattern we are most familiar with - a traditional  chinaware design  by Thomas Minton in 1790, popularised for at least the next 200 years. Thinking back to the old poem about the Willow Pattern,  Two birds flying high, A Chinese vessel, sailing by. A bridge with three men, sometimes four, A willow tree, hanging o'er. A Chinese temple, there it stands, Built upon the river sands. An apple tree, with apples on, A crooked fence to end my song I discovered that some of my photos taken recently in China reminded me of  a contemporary Willow Pattern scene. As I am not a skilled photographer by any stretch of the imagination, I have tried to turn two very rather ordinary photos into modern versions of the Willow Pattern - well at least, elements of the Willow Pattern.  1. Original Image - Wild Goose Pagoda , Xian , China   2. Sepia tint   3. Blue tint   4. Blue tint  w...