Pressie... for you?

As this will be my last post of 2009 I'd like to wish anyone reading this a very merry christmas and peaceful new year. As a little holiday gift and in honour of the fact that i've been blogging nearly a year i'm going to do a little prize giveaway ...here it is...
remember her from this post...just leave a comment that defines your dreams for 2010 and i will randomly select a name in the new year....due to the holiday period i'll accept comments up until January 9th 2010..that's also officially my first blog anniversary!!! The odds might be in your favour as I'm not sure i have too many visitors at the moment... so, if you fancy give it a go...if you are the only person to comment then she will be yours for sure!

Dolls, dolls and more dolls....

Lately, I have mostly been making dolls ... all presents - one of which has already been sent so i can not share her here, but here's the others....
First there is this one for my workfriend Teresa...to say goodbye... I work my last official day tomorrow (yikes!) ...she loves purple
This dinky one is for my work friend Heather....it's just under 4 inches tall...cute!
A christmas gift for my friend Debbie who is over visiting from LA
A christmas gift for someone else (in case they look here they shall remain nameless but hopefully hopeful)
and some one else
What dya think.. think they'll like 'em?

Paintings of Late

Memories

Angel's Blessings Shine on You

To Dream

New Paintings

Thought i'd share my most recent paintings that i've completed as part of the 'painting layers' course with Misty Mawn ...which i have loved....

Counting down now until i finish work...was clearing out all my drawers and files yesterday with some pangs of nostalgia ... but I am ready to move on in a new direction...the ideas are perculating of what i might do next... one thing i now know about myself is that i get bored easily...i like variety and challenge and learning new things all the time...so i know i am perhaps best suited to doing lots of 'little' jobs rather than one 'big' job - i have more chance to free myself from the monotiny of routine and predictable work, from being absorbed in detail..My plan is that each opportunity that might present itself is going to be measured on my scales of contentment! So....how much material value v how much soul value/ satisfaction will the work bring?...which one am i most in need of at that time?....I hope i always have the resources and courage to let the latter win and guide me every time...but i guess it's always about balance too... mundane things highlight the exciting things, the big the small, the practical and the ideological...One thing i am trying hardest to do is benchmark and direct my life by my needs, standards and desires and not those of societal pressure and the delusion of collusion...

My First Publication!

I am really excited to share that I have some of my artwork published in the Nov/Dec issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine!

It's a 'how to' article for making stuffed horse ornaments like Diego...

Why not have a go....

More dolls

Just thought i'd post a few more doll images. At last Sweetcheeks found her feet - hoping i find mine too soon...yawn! (Slight variable poor photography alert!)

And this cutie ....

and these pairAnd finally Peace, which i made for me!She sits in my spare room to watch over my guests as they sleep...here's where she sits...you can just about make her out on the left of the cabinet!!!
So, that's about it...hope peace is sitting with you x

Hare mind,tortoise heart

They say patience is a virtue and i used to practice this whenever i could/ remembered to...you know, trying not to get annoyed with the frail couple pottering along and blocking the pavement...listening to a person repeat the same story over and over with a kind and interested heart as i know it's important to them, and know i need to do this sometimes...trying to deal with annoying incidents without losing my cool... However, i feel like i am being challenged to endure...experience... a new kind of patience. I sit and wait and hope and trust that i will find my path in life. I have always felt a frustration, a desire to live an authentic life and, importantly, to be of service as i am meant to be...to reach my potentials and thrive. However, I feel like i am currently in a kind of suspension...no place to go, no direction, no drive. I have my thoughts about what i think my path might be, but there are subtle shifts and changes...and i am trying to wait, to trust and do all the things all the books i've read suggest. It goes against the grain however....the logical workings of my socially developed mind...how will anything emerge in the abscence of my doing...how will i get to where i want to be if i do not know how or where to begin? Maybe i should begin with x or y...maybe this...maybe that...and it's agitating. So, I am trying to practice patience...real deep patience where i let go of the reigns for a bit, where i just try and remain calm and hopeful. It makes me see that this kind of patience is alien to me....i think about something i want to do then i go about making it happen to the best of my ability...I act and do and pursue with my mind...for sure i can be lazy, and sitting around is not a problem to me, but it is sitting around as a conscious decision to wait and see what i feel...to make space...that's difficult. I am waiting to act and do with my heart...and it's not telling me anything. Sometimes i doubt it will ever tell me anything, but then i remind myself of this page i did a couple of weeks ago.

My mind seems to operate and talk to me at the speed of a hare but my heart seems to operate at that of a tortoise...there's just no rushing it...maybe it needs time to catch up as it's never been given much opportunity to work before - my mind was my king. Or maybe i need to slow down and realise there is another pace in life...a more relaxed, less urgent heart-felt way to be...