Exciting news...

Tiny Bags of Love

Last year, my sweet friend Ivy Newport asked me if I would consider teaching with her and without thinking too much about it, I said YES.  I said I would say that much more this year but putting that into practice, is more difficult than you think.

So I had said YES - but I had no idea what I was going to teach.  At all.  I wanted it to be true to me and make perfect sense to who I am.  And what could be more so than my beloved TeaBagGirls.  They are a very big part of my life this year and have been an ongoing journey for me.

A friend of mine wrote to me earlier in the year and said she thinks I should consider doing a class about my TeaBagGirls and I guess that planted a seed... and so when Ivy asked me again, I suggested this and it was an "of course" moment for both of us.

I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous but I'm uber excited!  I have lots of work ahead of me... but I can't wait.

I hope you will join me in this sweet little adventure,

as we discover painting tiny emotional portraits on the sweetest..

Tiny Bags of Love.

TinyBagsofLove from JeanneMarie/Flowrs on Vimeo.

The Life of Riley

Literally and seriously...

Could you get a more lucky dog!

Riley is one loved little boy!

Painting big...

I have been doing some research for a new body of works for a project I'm involved with and I've been inspired off the charts... by some very powerful images by one particular artist.   I'll share more about it soon.  When I finally arrived home yesterday I started drawing over the flowers and started painting her so I could see her.  The minute her face came through I knew I was going to love her... she just felt so powerful to me.

In one of Misty's classes I painted this board as part of one my portfolio covers... it was just flowers.

It has been lying #inmystudio for ages as I wanted to breath new life into it.

I wasn't sure I was going to loose the flowers completely but I ended up taking them all away.

I wish I could tell you I knew how I was going to move with this piece but she just seems to keep evolving... and taking me on her own journey.   We still aren't done yet but I look forward to finishing our journey together...

I'm totally besotted with her eyes.  They seems to be beckoning me.

Like she has a story to tell me... and I want to listen.

InstantLove

Photo Credit : Kitty

My Fuji Instax Instamatic was my first Lomogoraphy camera.

I wanted a polaroid for the longest time but the film stock became obsolete in this country so when the Instamatics came out, I was over the moon.  I love each memory we have made with this incredible camera and the instant gratification I get with it... love.

There is still such expectancy with each shot, because each one is quite pricy so I find I'm still holding my breath as I wait for it to develop.  But on the right day - it's InstantLove all the way.

The images are moody, milky and to me... it's storytelling at it's finest.

Don't forget to click on my tabs above to follow my journey on CameraCraft or if your interest is piqued to join in the class...
sign up on the right.

Epic week, creatively and then some...

I spend many hours in my car - my other home.  Last Saturday was gruelling - 4 hours, no kidding.  That being said - I'm still grateful I get to be there for my darlings and do the lifting and carrying.  I usually catch up with admin while I wait, edit pictures or blog, listen to audiobooks to help me past the time.

This week started with me in the dentist chair and Thursday another long session which felt particularly traumatic - but I survived.  I spent most of the week running... from packaging parcels, postoffice run, art scanners, art printers, framers, developing film, ClayPlay to early school pick ups.

It's been full on and no kidding, I lived out of my bag and car.  In terms of living an artful life - I did that full-time this week.  Everyday was filled to the brim with my beautiful art love and that made my heart so happy.

Although my days were filled with running - the evenings were filled with painting...
I managed to finish one spread for journal swap that went out this week... and of course #TeaBagGirls.  Plus my next 40 frames arrived home so now I have 80 finished and ready for exhibition.  I'm totally in love with them.

Best day ever...

We had the best afternoon today, one I will remember for a long time.  The girls are writing exams at the moment, which means they finished school early.  But it is literally the first time in absolute ages that we all had an free afternoon at the same time.  We dropped off my painting for scanning first and then headed out for our photo shoot.  With their schedules being so busy - getting them to come along with me has been a challenge.  I literally had to pay them to come with me today.  Nothing like a little extra pocket money to sweeten the deal.  My girls are my favourite subjects to film and they are both amazing on camera, their photographic skills are quite on point too.  Taking them with me is always such a treat.

We weren't quite sure what we were going to do exactly.  We arrived at our destination and just started walking... we had glorious sun and we ended up stopping next to the train tracks, with the ocean on the one side... it was visually stunning.  We whipped out our cameras and just like that our photographic energies were ignited.  We spent about 2 hours just playing... with all the film cameras, the video camera and iphonography.

The train lashed passed us several times which was scary and exciting and that together with the train tracks, sea and beautiful girls made for some stunning moments.

My Instamatic images are breathtakingly beautiful and most of all they tell a story, our story.   Now the hard part is having to wait until Tuesday to get my film stock back from development - the hope and expectation is off the charts.  I'm literally holding my breath.... So grateful for today.

Ciao Bella...

So I started this piece in Orvieto, Italy.  In Misty's Class and this was our final piece.  

I just didn't know how to move forward or if I wanted to.  I had promised Anne in class at the time, that I wouldn't change her face when I got home and I must admit that kind of stumped me and my process.  Courteney said the same when I got home.

So I just hid her away.

You can read my post about her on my ItalyBlog.

Everything we did in that week in Orvieto was to lead us to this final Iconic piece.  The toned background, elements we captured and had drawn on our walks.  Ephemera that Misty had given us.  I was too overwhelmed at the time to bring it together in a meaningful way.  Maybe it was information overload.  But I know now when I look back, how it all tied together.

Sometimes I get frustrated that it takes me so long to get there and other times I'm so grateful that it did take me so long because I might not have done her justice at the time... and I feel letting the lessons and concepts marinate, finally brought out something precious to me.

Maybe it just making peace with the fact that everything happens exactly when it is meant to.

The door knocker hand held such deep meaning and symbolism for me.

She captivated my whole heart and mind all of Sunday. 

And I managed to keep my promise to Anne and Courteney.

My heart is so overflowing today, for sure.

It's been way too long...

Its been so long since I painted something big and beautiful.

I've been limited to teabag size, clay and photography lately.  Don't get me wrong - that's made me so happy.  And to me there is something so precious about creative play.  In fact, I think it's vital to me.

But oh my word - to pull out this BIG canvas and to start was so lovely.

I used a reference and was completely inspired by Eduardo Flores - particularly for his hand work.  I did intuitively go my own way but I'm already in love and I can't wait to start painting.

Long may we journey together.

TeaBagJournal...

I have wanted to try this for the longest time.  And I've been seeing glimpses online how to do it and I've been playing on Pinterest - looking for ideas and inspiration on how to continue playing with these beautiful TeaBags....

I'm so excited about this little one...

TeaBagJournal from JeanneMarie/Flowrs on Vimeo.

Friday, Studio day...

My day started off with a bit of admin but I didn't want to get to distracted for too long - I had a long day to myself and I wanted to make the most of it.  And I did.  Maxing out the day was definitely in order.

So most of you know I haven't done much painting lately.

In fact, the last time I did something big was with Annie in her studio.

I've been doing a bunch of other things #InMyStudio and was quite enjoying the no pressure and no agenda.  Sometimes creative play is just as important to me as anything else.

That being said, sometimes when I don't paint for a while - I get scared that I won't be able to paint again or I wonder if my abilities have regressed?  What if I have to go back to basis. etc.  I know it's fear based.  And nothing like fear based procrastination to side track you.  And I've been side tracked for a while.

But starting was all I had to do... and I was pretty blown away... I love who showed up.

For both these pieces I had references to guild me and I love how it always delivers so much more.

Once again, just like that, I'm ready to start painting again.

Beautiful old books, some damaged, some perfect.

But mostly for altered books and to cut up into TeaBag Journals.

Looking at some extra ways to play with TeaBags.

I made my first teabag journal tonight.  And I'm utterly in love.

In the week I agreed to participate in an online auction with other incredible artists for 3 of my pieces.  The Artists Gallery Nouveau auction on FaceBook.  At first I was hesitant because I'm so aware of putting myself under unnecessary pressure.  But through much discussing - I knew this would be okay.

So I said yes!!! But I can get quite stressed - no one said putting yourself out there is easy.

But we are called to Courage, daily.  And I do know this.

~ ~ ~

I can't remember when last I had such a glorious StudioDay.

I picked Digz up at 10pm from the airport after a week long trip in the mountains, with his bike.

It was an awesome end to a long and busy week... going to bed with a happy heart.

Excited for the weekend.

To teach or not to teach...

Why now...  

I get asked to teach all the time and it's something I've always said a resounding {NO} to.  My introvertness, coupled with fear and shyness, has kept me saying "no" with ease...  I am always left feeling torn between feeling ungenerous/ungiving in sharing the things I've learnt and feeling like I really don't have anything new to share in the world of incredible online teachers already available to us.  Many I've learnt and grown from through the years and through their own levels of generosity.

Click on the image to sign up :-)

My heart is definitely not ungenerous and I would willingly share anything with anyone.  I'm trying to be brave and say yes to more things this year that are completely out of my comfort zones...

This being one of them.

So why did I say yes to contributing in Camera Craft - well, it had to do with a growing connection I've been having with Galia the past while and loving what she's about.  That together with discovering this incredibly cute little Lubitel 166 {Russian Camera} by accident and teaching myself how to use it and my fascination and love for Lomography and old film cameras (that I feel is once again a growing art form}.  I would love to share that with anyone who is willing to learn.   I am passionate about playing it forward and sharing what we know especially new delightful discoveries... it's part of community.  And I just love that.

I think if you are anything like me, the technical side of photography is a little daunting and overwhelming but I've discovered something in this cute little camera that I think can bring much joy with quite simple ease, which is completely available to all of us and that is beautifully share-worthy.

Well that and I guess even though I'm sharing something... at last.  I still kind of get to hide behind the camera.  I hope you will join me together with these incredibly creative ladies and learn much about something which is equally creative as it is beautiful.

I will be spending the month of May putting my segment together.

Playing with my cameras and going on photographic play dates.

Looking forward to sharing the journey with you.

Weight of the World...

I felt pretty emotional yesterday as I was working with this piece.

It felt weighted and heavy and hard as I moulded each building into place.

I know I'm sensitive and I tend to feel things quite deeply.

And one of the things I do is feel people's pain.

I hate seeing people I care about struggling with the harshness of life.

The stories I have been hearing and experiencing the past month, has been quite painful.

Sometimes I don't fully understand, why.  I know it's life.

It takes courage to know and believe that maybe it will be okay,

different but okay, maybe even better.  But until you get there - it's heavy.

I wanted each building to be 3d and visible from any angle.

To be able to see between them, around them and over them.

I wanted the world on her back, her head and deeply in her heart.

I wanted it to be visible no matter where you were looking.

She's a wonderful symbol of weightiness and is top heavy when you pick her up.

We journeyed together today and she feels deeply special.

She's serious but then sometimes life just is.

I look forward to painting her and completing her story.

Chop Chop...

Remember I said I'm not a Salon type of gal...

Well I relinquished and took Kitty for her first Salon Cut this week.

She bugged me all month to go shorter and shorter and I had already cut her hair twice this month and I just felt that to go as short as she wanted - I needed it to be done professionally.

I love my girl's long hair.  I have short hair issues (can you tell).  Hahaha - it's a long story.  But I find it very hard to let the girls go short but I guess it's part of letting go.  And I guess now more than ever - I'm learning to do this more this year.

That being said, I have to say I was wrong because it has honestly been the best decision we have ever made concerning her hair.  The cut totally suits her and I think she looks utterly incredible and rather stylish.  She researched it for months, drove us nuts about it for months.

I've never seen her happier and look and feel more beautiful.

Good move, Little One.

Racing has begun again...

Credit - Official Event Photo

The racing has begun again.

It means busy Saturdays for all of us.

It's not always easy but we are all pretty excited about it.

After a two month or so break from racing it has been hard to figure out where she was at physically but I'm so stoked to say she had a super race yesterday and placed 1st in her category and 2nd woman overall.  I love this series because the distance and style of riding best suits her.  So proud of this girl of mine.

We are in for a busy few months.

Holding my breath as the days are marching on at a pace that leaves me breathless.

Happy Post Day... at last I'm receiving mail again...

Look what I received in the mail today...

When I saw Caro share this in class... I was immediately in love.

An abstract homework assignment that she executed beautifully and it was without a doubt love at first sight.  I love feathers and the red and yellow here - swoon.  Journeying with fellow artists and seeing them come into their own is something I will treasure and value every step of this incredible journey that we share together.

This beautiful piece is going to be framed soon and I'm stoked to have this #InMyStudio.

Thank you for the extra love that came with this piece, my handpainted card, the ceramic piece and the leather pouch from Bali.  Always such kindness.

Much love, always!

Coming down...

After a full and glorious week with my beautiful parents in town and a full weekend.

And the excitement of the Camera Craft Announcement.

We were grateful to have Monday off - it was a holiday.

A total spoil.

We switched off all the alarms and we planned to take it gloriously slow.

Long cuddles, slow game of scrabble and much time in front of the fire.

A perfect day of rest.

TeaBagGirls... the journey continues

It was a big weekend.

Filled with lots of news, creativity and lots of catching up with life.

After my parents left - I had much to do to get back on track, around the home and #InMyStudio.

I sooo loved our visit - it was the highlight of my week, for sure.

It was good to have a long weekend off.

I can't believe that we are through April already with my TeaBagGirls Journey.

All my mini canvases are prepped and ready for May and I'm happy to say I'm back on track with my TeaBagGirls Blog, Twitter and Instgram and almost there with my paintings too.

I have also pulled out my 120 frames to take with me tomorrow to the framers.

Hoping to finally make a start on the framing process.

At last I can share this news...

I'm so excited to share that I will be one of the Guest Contributors for the Camera Craft Collective class this year.  A photography class to help you express yourself more beautifully with your camera.  I'll be sharing and focusing my segment on Lomography and Film Photography.

I am completely in love with it and how it has taken me down a new avenue of creative play.  I'm captivated by the old world feel these camera's offer me and I'm excited and delighted to be sharing something I'm so in love with, with you.

Please click on the image or here to sign up and I hope you will come play along.

Exciting news... coming soon.

I have some exciting news to share with you...

I'm a guest contributor in a new online class.

I'm just waiting for the links and final information and hoping to share more later tonight.

But I'm sooo excited and delighted to be sharing something I'm so in love with, with you.

This is new ground for me and I'm nervous excited.