A few years ago I’d sold a painting of fish on old slabs of timber to a friend. Fast forward a few years and someone who’d seen it wanted something similar.
Of course, its not so simple just ordering a painting on old timber, an old shutter or door. FIRST you have to FIND it. Which means looking at every rubbish pile you walk or drive by anywhere you go. Sorting through stacks of old wood wherever you see one, searching for something suitable.
Remember, I no longer have sheds where I can store every potential piece of rubbish wood I find…
Once you locate the right piece, you have to carry it home, then prepare it – wash and clean off dirt or whatever might have accumulated on it, sand off the worse weathering and layers of old paint, cut off any rotted or jagged bits it might have, mend where needed, and generally prepare the surface for painting.
Then paint it. Last finish with varnish and some method for hanging it.
Don’t get me wrong. This is right up my alley. I love doing this stuff. I just wish I had the luxury of the multiple sheds I had in Tasmania to store my stash of future projects. Back then I could pick up anything I thought would ‘come in handy one day’, so that when I had a commission (or an idea) I could just walk around the sheds looking for the right piece…
Those were the days…
Do you detect a note of nostalgia in my voice typing? Yes, you do. ‘Cause lately I’ve been thinking about Australia more and more and miss it more and more.
sigh.
Anyway. Enjoy some fish.
Here is the finished piece, sitting on my workbench outside cause I have no space to hang it.
This is the big fish I made for the exhibition last month. The gallery owner had asked me to make it and I thought it was a great idea. I love making things out of paper mache and any other materials I can get my hands on. And I love experimenting. And making something this size was a challenge.
I had made a life size bulldog a few years ago, but this is a totally different animal (haha). This is a link to the bulldog – unfortunately unfinished in this post…
Anyway, back to the fish. I’ll go through the process, which was all a bit hit and miss with a lot of learning in between. It took a while… not just the working but the drying…
I began with wire I’d gotten off old paper lanterns someone was throwing away. Recycling being the main aim.
I made the spine and ribs using the very hard wire, then wrapped it all in cardboard and masking tape. Lots and lots of masking tape.
I used cardboard to make the head and tail and moved on to paper mache using strips of newspaper, which is becoming a pretty scarce resource these days.
I had thought paper pulp would be the way to go so that the entire fish was recycled material, but the pulp was taking way too long to dry. And wouldn’t stick well either. Probably my own fault, I got the mix wrong… However, by the time I decided that it wasn’t going to work I’d already done the head and ribs on one side.
So I swapped to plaster. Using plaster bandages I coated the entire fish and that dried nice and fast and really hard, which was the most important part.
However the fish was getting really heavy and the spine was too flexible. Not good… I had to reinforce it somehow so that it would hold together well and not bend or crack.
I did what I always do: looked around me to see what I had that might work. I found an old piece of timber which was curved on one side. Perfect. I attached that to the fish going from the head all the way to the tail. I attached it using masking tape (the paper mache artists best friend!) and then plaster strips.
Of course I had to ‘blend’ the stick into the head and tail which I did using cardboard to create a curved look. And more tape and more plaster strips. It wasn’t totally realistic, but it did the trick.
In the end I wanted to give it a smooth finish (texture isn’t a good thing when something can collect dust) so I opted to finish the fish using air dry clay. I use air dry clay a lot to make small sculptures, and I knew i could make it work.
I love the way the fish turned out.
Would I do some things differently if I made one again? Yes, probably. I’d start with a stick for the spine and much harder material for the ribs… cut down bits of bamboo maybe, or dowel or whatever I can find. And attached using a drill and holes and glue… But not wire.
And yes, I will be making another. Soonish. It just takes time and I have so many other things I want to do, have to do, should do.
But I really enjoyed making it. Part of the work was done on my kitchen table when the weather was bad. Then when it got warmer I worked outdoors. The plaster work was all done outdoors. That stuff is MESSY.
Sorry about the pics that are vertical instead of landscape. Turns out WordPress won’t let me spin. I have to go back to the originals for that and I just want to get this posted. So there!
Its been almost a month since I painted these wings on No Forma, the shop where I had my exhibition. And I’m only now finally getting to sharing a post about them.
I’d never done a painting on glass before but it worked out great. I used acrylic paints which scrape off easily and had to use 2 layers of paint with most colours to make the wings opaque enough.
And then, Just because, here is another photo of me and Vincent enjoying the sunset.
And here is little Milly – just because she’s the cutest of my little customers and the look on her face is priceless!
Not a dog, but this is a little guy who visited my yard a few weeks ago. Vincent let me know he was there, stuck in a corner, unable to get out. I caught him and put him in a cardboard box with some leaves for him to hide in, then I called the wildlife rescue place here on Paros (https://alkioni.org/). They normally deal with birds, but they will take other wildlife if necessary. They kept the little guy for a couple of days to make sure he was healthy and eating, then set him free in the hills somewhere.
Turns out he must have been part of a litter who somehow ended up in my neighbour and mine’s courtyards. A few days later another one appeared. And I saw a dead on the road next to the supermarket next door too. Poor little guy.
We have high stone walls so the only way these 2 little guys could have gotten in is if they fell into the yard somehow, maybe trying to burrow into a wall and slipping down it into Adrian’s yard, and from there to mine.
Henry, the one who is living here now only spotted now and then in the evenings, is getting quality kitten food and fresh water and is welcome on both sides of the fence. I’ve already had an offer from a friend who will take him once he needs more space as she has a big safe garden.
While my brother was here I didn’t have the space to work on anything larger than would fit on the corner of the kitchen table. So, when he asked me to paint him a fish on marble as a gift for a friend, I got out some broken marble pieces I had, my watercolour pencils and watercolours and made this for him. Since he’s flying, he needed the marble to be thin and light so I used a broken marble tile piece I found.
Turns out I’m really good at doing fish… must be in the blood. My grandfather on mom’s side was a fisherman, my family on dad’s side and my brother are all in the fish/seafood business… That must be it.
You already know I’m a magpie, constantly picking up crap stuff I find anywhere and everywhere. So, I had this spare bit of marble that I decided to paint while I had my stuff out and the table was already occupied with it all. This time I decided to do something different. I rarely paint birds, but I saw this photo and loved the way they all seem to be gossiping.
You know what I love about painting watercolours on marble? Its the way the marble doesn’t soak up the paint – it allows it to sit there till it dries. It takes longer to finish a painting as I have to wait between stages, but sometimes the pooling of watery paint gives me the effects I want and allows me to bleed colours together in a way I can’t get on paper.
Anyway, here is a quick look at the bedroom made into a studio before mom and Peter arrived. That whole wall was my working space, with great light coming in through the window which faces east. The opposite wall is bookcases and storage.
Later on I added a shelf (I found tossed out on a scap pile) and an easy access way to store paint tubes using clip hangers I already had and didn’t really use. After mom and Peter arrived I had to shuffle things around as I needed to put up the blow up mattress to sleep on.
This is Peter bonding with Vincent.
And here is Vincent, looking gorgeous as ever at a beach bar.
Well, there you have it. Two posts in two days. Who knew!
I finally got around to painting the dutch door I made for french door into the courtyard. I made this door for a couple of reasons. I groom dogs and I do them out the back there. The courtyard is very safe and enclosed, but I would always have to close the french doors to keep them from escaping into the house, and greek french doors never have handles to open from the outside. The dutch doors allow me to keep the doors open with the flyscreen closed – and protected from little monsters running straight through it.
The other reason is that I was visited by a rat twice a few years ago.
Once was enough. Twice was beyond enough.
I like to keep the back door open all the time, flyscreen closed, to get fresh air. And rats chewed through the flyscreen. UGH.
Hence, a dutch door.
Here are the before and after pics. Before, boring old marine ply which didn’t improve with exposure to sun and rain.
And after… I gave it an undercoat of white, then an ombre blue background, finished by painting a mess of wildflowers on it and a coat of outdoor varnish. Both sides.
Pretty, ain’t it? I love it. Of course we’ll have to see how well it holds up to the weather and dogs scratching at it to escape being groomed…
For those curious about how it was done, I used brushes and house paint for the undercoat and background. Then I used acrylic paint for the flowers and grasses. For those I was very experimental. I collected various plants on my walk with Vincent that day and I used them to create the grass by dipping them in paint of various green shades and smashing them onto the wood.
I used leaves and flowers pressed into paint to create the leaves and flowers. That didn’t always work so well, so I used brushes, cardboard and anything I could think of to add more detail and shape.
In the end I think it came out very pretty. I’m sure the visiting dogs agree.
And now for the bad news.
Turns out my Australian Business Number (ABN) was cancelled due to the fact that I haven’t used it or filed any income tax since moving to Greece – since I work and pay tax in Greece. And now my junk4joy domain will be suspended till I can reinstate my ABN and upload it to my host again. Which I’m in the process of doing.
BUT… I have none of my information so its a long deep winding tunnel of frustration!
When I left Australia I left a box of documents (old tax returns etc) with my brother who put it in storage as he’s moved a couple of times so he’s unsure where it is. Plus he’s on his way Greece and had no time to go searching for it.
My old laptop corrupted a few years ago and I lost everything on it – including all that information.
So I’m kinda stuck. I’m working on it. But not in time to stop my junk4joy domain from being suspended for 30 days from May 25. I’ll be back once I have the info I need and re-link it all, but till then no more posts.
Not that you’ll miss them as I haven’t posted for over a month even with a working blog!
It’s been a very busy time since I got back from my 2 trips to Athens. Yes, you read it right. Two trips. I got back home and had to go back. Nothing bad… Just stud duties for my little man, Vincent. We wait in hope to hear if he’ll be expecting a new brood of puppies!
Meanwhile since I got back, I put a lot of time and energy into converting my bedroom into an art studio.
I’ve been sleeping on a single bed in the living room since mom was here this summer and I got used to it. I live alone, I don’t really need a QS bed taking up all the space in the only bedroom. My house is always a studio all the time anyway, at least with a dedicated room for it I can see my kitchen table and can usually cook without having to remove art projects from the stove top.
When mom comes back in summer I’ll add a single bed to the bedroom and work around it. At least I’ll still have a space to do stuff and not have to put everything away so mom can cook and we can eat.
I also streamlined my space and mind. Mainly my mind.
I decided that I’m way too scattered (aren’t all artists?) but I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t concentrate my energy on one, or maybe two things. Wishful thinking maybe, but by putting away a lot of my other craft stuff I can concentrate on painting. Acrylics and some mixed media. And maybe some watercolours or pastels.
I’ve kept my felting stuff at home but put it all away into a cupboard (my wardrobe really) and taken all my craft stuff to the container for safe keeping. I believethink hope that by doing this I won’t get sidetracked and I’ll finally be able to have that exhibition I’ve been wanting to have for such a long time.
And it’s not like I have forever. Once mom comes at the end of May, I’ll have to put away all large work and go back to things I can fit on my small desk in the bedroom.
We do what we can with the space we have…
Other than finally being able to paint, and FINALLY getting my mojo back, I’m starting Art from Trash workshops next month and trying very hard to encourage everyone to join in and create their own stuff to enter into our Art from Trash competition to be held in June.
Lots of work. But my main focus right now is my own work, which runs a close parallel to my art from trash interests… the series of paintings I’m working on is all about the trash people leave around the island.
I’ll share images soon. For now I’m just glad to be feeling it again.
You know. Before a trip, when you’re almost entirely ready, almost everything but the last minute things are packed, you have nothing to do really but wait till its time to go to bed and get up in the morning, do the last minute things, and go.
You can’t start anything new. Almost everything has been finished and put away, or thrown or given away. You can’t pack up the charger, the laptop, your toothbrush or Vincent’s toothbrush cause you’ll need them tonight and/or in the morning.
Its that wasting time time when you have time to think and maybe bore people.
So here I am, writing a post just cause I can’t think of anything else to do.
Its a nothing post and to be honest, I do wonder why I’m even bothering to keep posting in general. Its not like I have a ton of followers or I promote my Etsy shop enough to make it worthwhile.
I post for a few reasons. One reason is that recently a good friend told me that I have a style that’s obvious in my posts and that I need to keep that ‘voice’ when I write fiction.
So I need the practice.
Sometimes its to share stuff that might interest my friends, in one place, cause I’m too lazy to send out emails or, heaven forbid!, make a phone call. Gone are the days when I’d sit on the phone with friends for hours. Now when the phone rings I pick up in case its work, but I almost always groan inwardly thinking “leave me alone, I really don’t feel like talking to anyone now”.
(Except for you, you know who you are.)
How awful is that? Its not like back when I worked at the travel agency and spent 6 hours a day talking, talking, talking to everyone who walked in the door who wanted to buy a ferry ticket, or ask about activities on the island or where the closest public toilet was. Now, most of the day I talk to mom (and that can be so wearing, hearing the same stories over and over, and yes, I appreciate her and I know that one day I’d be giving anything to hear her stories one more time) or to a dog I might be grooming – which is very fulfilling in so many ways.
But I’m still too tired/bored/lazy to actually talk to someone on the phone.
How life has changed.
Years ago, when I first got Scooter and then Billybear, my ‘toyboys’ – two toy poodle pups, and moved into a house with Simon (the then boyfriend) we’d go out for a movie or dinner and all we wanted to do was get back home to the dogs!
I think that’s where I am right now. I’d rather be home with my Vincent. He and my art is all the company I need. Plus Netflix and audio books. I am content.
People say “aren’t you lonely?” “isn’t Paros too quiet in winter?” “how will you ever meet a man if you don’t go out and do things?”…
To them I say:
I am never lonely. I have Vincent. I have my craft and DIY projects. I have my computer and all the social life that lives in there. I have my art. It never crosses my mind to be lonely. And if I ever feel the need for company, I have good friends I can call or meet.
No, its not too quiet in winter. There is so much to do on Paros. In fact, sometimes there is TOO MUCH to do. If you have friends and have any modicum of a social circle, there is always something to do. In fact there have been times in winter when I’ve made excuses to NOT go out.
Well, I’m not that sure I want to meet a man. I’ve been alone too long now. I don’t know if a man will fit in my life. I tried the whole visualize and manifesting the man of my dreams, but I’m so ambivalent about it, its never going to work.
I love cooking what I want, when I want it. Snuggling on the couch with a hot chocolate on cold nights, with a warm blanket, woolly socks, comfy pants and a little poodle. I watch soppy Christmas movies or serial killer series and all sorts of things in between.
Saw this on Facebook the other day and its almost totally true.
I turn on my fairy lights and sometimes even sip a Baileys on ice. I love my quiet evenings at home, after a day spent painting or creating.
I also love Christmas, but living alone, I feel its silly to do the full on Christmas decorating thing. I would love to go all out one day, but for now, its the fairy lights inside and sometimes out, other times just in the window, which is a waste cause my window isn’t really visible to passersby, and a tiny table top Christmas tree… that’s about it. Kinda sad, but its home and its cozy. I think the fairy lights make it all better.
What is this post about?
I have no idea. I’m just writing things as they come to me. I’ve had dinner. Vincent and mom are fed. Mom is watching some crappy Greek TV and I’m at the kitchen table, watercolour pencils and brushes laid out next to me tempting me to start something new and I keep saying “No. there’s no time”…
I might go check on our bags. Make sure they are ready. Then again, I’ll be up early and I’ll have time to do that then. As well.
Ok. I’ll leave you be and see if the watercolours win out.
I started needle felting again about a year ago, and I have to confess I’m hooked. I love it. Its such a zen feeling to sit quietly at the kitchen table stabbing wool and shaping it into anything I want. Often with the clashing sounds of an audio book on my mobile phone and mom’s tv programs… sigh…
I especially love creating little creatures with personalities, giving them more character by adding accessories to tell a story. This little bunny, for instance, started his gift wrapping full of Christmas spirit, but found he needed a big glass of red wine to get through it.
This little guy is the first in a series I planned to make for my Etsy shop this Christmas… the idea is to make little critters who represent different parts of the season. Including the snowmen in my last post, but these critters are all needle felted by hand, not made based on felted dryer balls I’d bought as an experiment.
Of course, the whole tariff thing in the USA has not done my shop any good, cause I sold quite a few of my creations to people in the US. And right now, I have a box waiting to be shipped to Canada but can’t send it due to the postal strike… Its hard enough to sell online without all this.
I’m not very good at promoting my work…
Anyway, I figured that since I’ve been absent for so long, I may as well share some of the things I’m made over the last few months.
One thing that’s helped heaps in making these small creations, is the light I bought on Temu. This thing is amazing. Its made for nail professionals and has enough space under it for me to work my wool comfortably. Its USB powered, and since I don’t have easy access to a power point at the kitchen table (cords are not user friendly to old women (mom) who are unsteady on their feet) I use a fantastic strong and fast charger I also got on Temu.
Needless to say I’m addicted to Temu.
I’m not proud of myself… but I can get so many good and useful things there. And of course some totally useless things, but I won’t mention that here… Unless you’d like me to share the failures…
Yes, yes, yes. I know. I’ve been busy, I was abducted by aliens, the internet was playing up, the beach called, my suit didn’t get back from the cleaners, I was having an existential crisis and wondering whether I even wanted to keep blogging. Other things seemed more important.
Then for some strange reason, tonight, I had the urge to post again. Not that I have much of importance to say… just the usual rubbish I write about.
But for anyone out there in cyberland who may have been missing me, I am still here. Still alive. Mostly. Ok, I’m fine, I’m just being dramatic. Mom is fine. She’s been getting better all the time. I tell you, I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as my mom. In the best way. The doctors brought her back from the brink after she lost 2 of her sisters within a month of eachother (the youngest who dropped dead of a stroke without warning and the oldest who’d faded away over 6 years with dementia in a nursing home). The doctor and the physio visit to check up on mom regularly and she does whatever they tell her – she gets up every morning and does her exercises.
*I* don’t do exercises. Mom, at almost 94, does.
Ok, so I have been exercising. Before summer I finally decided that joining the gym (and actually attending) would be a good idea so I began pilates. Then soon as aqua aerobics started I switched to that. Let me tell you, nothing is as good as working out in the sea. No matter how awful or painful something might be, its better in the water.
Once aqua stopped mid September, a friend and I continue doing our own workouts. We meet at a convenient and protected beach and swim and work out with our leg and hand held ‘weights’ (of course they’re foam, not metal, we’re not suicidal!) So I’m keeping fit(ish).
I’ll be taking mom back to Athens soon, she insists, she’s getting better, I can’t refuse to let her go to her own home. And once I get back I’ll reinstate my gym membership and start doing some weights as well as pilates. And the plan is to keep swimming through winter. Its meant to be great for your immune system. Not to mention your skin.
I tell myself I’m going to swim in winter every year and soon as it gets cold I bundle up and pack away my swimmers. But with a partner in crime who actually swims in winter, I think I might be able to do it this year…
I have ordered a neoprene swim jacket. And a microbre hooded poncho I can wear and change under. That might help.
Stay tuned.
We’ve had a very busy summer. The entire family from Australia came to Greece this year. Everyone except for my brother and his partner. But my niece and nephew came, heaps of cousins came, my niece brought her partner and kids, my brother’s ex wife and her new partner. The place was hopping.
Its one reason mom bounced back. All those people to see. Especially the great grandchildren. So gorgeous. So cute. So loud…
On other fronts, work has been okay. Grooming dogs and doing workshops. All good.
Very little creative time. Too much happening to concentrate on creativity. But I have begun needle felting again, plenty of painting stones, some smaller stuff. You know… I have to do something or I go crazy.
I leave you with a photo of the most recent needle felted creations for Christmas… made by upcycling felt dryer balls by needle felting and adding accessories (bought and made).
Hopefully I’ll be back again soon, with catch up posts.
Lately it seems like all I want to do is curl up on the couch with my ‘work tray’ and coffee table and stab wool with sharp implements.
Maybe it’s because it’s been really cold and windy and not at all inviting out there…
Maybe its cause needle felting is a more immediate way to create sculptures – for instance, it’s so much quicker than papier mâché which needs to be done in stages with long periods of drying in between.
Plus, working with needle felting gives me the opportunity to make miniature stuff – something I’ve always had a passion for.
Whatever the reason, I’ve been working on these little figures most afternoons and evenings and listing them in my Etsy shop.
Here is baby boy mouse with his bunny and milk bottle.
And the baker mouse with her fresh loaves of bread and her baker’s cap.
A middle aged couple on the way to the beach with towels and soft drinks in hand.
A little gardening mouse in her ladybug boots.
A homeboy mouse with a hoodie, untied sneakers and snacks.
A ladylike mouse whipping up cream to top a pie.
And last but not least, the best Elvis impersonator of the mouse world, Elvis Mousely.
These little guys are so much fun to make. They’re done in a couple of days mostly, depending on the time I have to spend on them and the bits I need to make – like the shoes and any props I can’t buy. Sometimes I make my own clothes (like Elvis’ jacket and the aprons on the cook and gardener), or footwear which means I have to let the air dry clay I use in most cases dry. And any painting I need to do… But they’re quicker to make than the papier mâché dogs I had been making in the past. Not to say I won’t be making more of those!
My needle felting workshops are doing ok as well. Given this is a small island and a lot of people leave over winter and are too busy to do any crafts in summer, I never expected these workshops to take off, but they are great fun for those who do join in.
But I have to get back to painting and not spending all my time stabbing wool. I have 2 commissions and the series I’m working on waiting for me!
junk4joy 