Do What You Love

‘The Sea’: 12″X12″ acrylic on canvas I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,And a grey mist on the sea’s face andread more >>

Anyone else signed up for An Artful Journey in California in February next year?  For Jesse Reno’s class?  It is going to be awesome, I just know it.  More energising days of organised creative chaos in those beautiful mountains, in the shadow of that magical redwood forest, with old friends and new.  So exciting!  The Presentationread more >>

“Pick one room and make it yours. Go slowly through the house. Be polite, introduce yourself, so it can introduce itself to you.” (borrowing the words quoted by the lovely Louise Gale as a comment in response to this blog post) So that’s what I am going to do. Introduce myself, then introduce you, roomread more >>

Housewarming gifts and cards have been pouring in before we have even had the chance to send out our new address to most of our friends.  We have been overwhelmed by the kindness.  Here are a few of the things which have made my heart leap in the past couple of weeks, and which are indeedread more >>

So much going on at the moment.  Lots of exciting things in the pipeline, can’t wait to share.  Here’s a little hint for one of them: I have been buzzing about finding out… Check back soon to find out what I have been researching for! *** Trying to keep up with the August Break – checkread more >>

When you move somewhere new, you start each journey from a different place.  We only moved 10 minutes from where we lived before, but I have started to see things I never noticed before.  Like this gorgeous stretch of river. What have you discovered near your home recently? ***This month I am joining in Susannah Conway’sread more >>

Yvonne Carmichael is the curator of Art in Unusual Spaces, a scheme which opens up empty shop units in city centres for use by artist as project or exhibition spaces, inspiring and sometimes surprising busy shoppers. Artworks so far have ranged from miniature prams to giant robots and from den-making to really short artist films.read more >>

One of the best bits about unpacking and sorting boxes of stuff is rediscovering all the stuff you already have.  It’s like a shopping bonanza without spending any money.  However, it also slows down the task somewhat, as you think a little about each thing you pull out of the cardboard boxes. As you can see,read more >>

I love to travel yet I love to nest (especially right now!) I love to be surrounded by people yet I love to be alone I love extremes and excitement, yet I love calm I love to dive in, yet I love to sit back and watch I love crooked old houses, yet I love zenread more >>

Spent the day on the water today.  Taking a break from it all, getting caught up in the excitement of a yacht race, seeing the beauty of the land from the water, hearing the call of the gulls and clearing out the cobwebs as the sea breeze rushed through my hair.  I spent my childhood on theread more >>

Thinking about our new garden today, and realising how little I know about how to care for it. My gardening history to date has revolved around pots of basil and the odd tomato plant on many an apartment windowsill. Our house was empty for a few months before we moved in as the previous owners had emigrated to Australia. read more >>

How come the things which make us happiest often stress us most along the way?   I am exhausted from the move, from all the unpacking, from the decorating,  from trying to make it all perfect from day one.    But today, we just stopped, dropped the boxes, and shut the door.  We left the paintings unhung,read more >>