lists....

confession time.

I am a list-maker...... worse - I am a COMPULSIVE and SLIGHTY MANIC list-maker.

the evidence?

I actually have whole books devoted to my lists..... in which my lists have sub-lists (lists for the lists!)

somewhat grotty looking book of lists from the late 1990s

Now I expect that there is a name for this condition (list-a-tosis? to-do-itis? resolutionamia?) whatever its name - it's a condition I know well (it's been with me since my teens) and one I embrace with both arms (come to me my beloved lists!)

Usually I keep most of my lists semi-private, they are scribbled in small little books, kept within easy reach (one never knows when one needs to tick off an item on the list, or add a little extra something, or make yet another 'mini' list!). My lists are ongoing affairs - with unchecked items carried forward to a new list - and they are not necessarily made as New Years resolutions (although I do generally look through the list at the end of each year - just to see how well I'm going on my quest!).

my current 'book of lists'.... it's small but deadly!

I have lists for all sorts of contingencies: there's my pragmatic and practical  'to-do' lists (sub-categories include 'around the yard', 'in the house'....which is of course broken up into room by room sub-lists...see what I mean by manic?); then I have my mini or events lists (like one I have going at the moment - preparing for my solo exhibition in February..... and I'll be starting another one shortly for EJ's Big Birthday Bash); and then I have my very esoteric, philosophical lists - that seemingly plot the course and basis of my life (at least they read like that in hindsight).

I find my lists reassuring; they pick me up when I feel down (nothing like looking at a big page of ticks against a 'to-do' list to make you feel all perky again); they keep me going when I'm unsure of the way forward ('now what was I meant to be doing?'); they help me remember to buy the cat food.

I like lists.

I'm presently reviewing my current lists and writing up my 'to-do' list for 2011 ..... and this time I'm going to post it as a note on my facebook page .... and heck - I think I'll share it here to! That way we can all come back at the end of 2011 and see how many ticks I might give myself! (I also happen to think, that by announcing your plans to the universe - well the universe just HAS to co-operate..... don't you think?)

see you on the flip side - with my new list...


**lifts glass**

cheers everyone!

round up.....

ahhhhhh the final days of 2010 are upon us all...

Ecinacea purpurea (purple coneflower - from the garden this week) 

Right now I'm into day three of a 'juice fast' ... yep three days of juice, juice, juice (and nothing but the juice). I don't know how much purging the great juice fast is doing for my body - but it's certainly setting my mind spinning (wheeeee!) and I've been thinking about the year that's almost gone and pondering the year ahead....

gosh this past year has been a time of transition for us here at Sams Creek..... goodbye old dairy, hello monster building site.... goodbye beef herd, hello dairy girls.... goodbye drought,  hello again my beloved sams creek!

Indeed the end of the drought was possibly the highlight of a rather 'challenging' year.... but my other  favourite moments include the two weeks spent undertaking my Permaculture Design Certificate (after so many years of wanting and waiting.... it was a very special treat and a life- affirming course) and of course receiving all those bookbinding goodies!

But the best times were small moments shared with family and friends (our two kidlins are growing up soooooo fast!) 

Next year is looking like a monster.....  all the expected kids stuff, garden stuff and farm stuff (there's that new dairy to get operational in a few weeks time... eek)...  then I've got a solo exhibition in February, Sculpture on the Edge stuff in March, oh and of course I'm still supposed to doing that MFA/PhD (oops I've been neglecting this!)....

Shortly I'll show you all the Very Big Project that I'm working on..... (hint - keep the first Saturday in May free on your calendar)

Right now I'm starting to spin-out on an overload of orange juice (wheeee!) and I can feel my typing is about to take a turn for the worst....

For all of you who have followed along here, I send a very big TARRRR! Your support and comments have been much appreciated (and a whole mess of fun too!). 

I hope that you all have a blazingly rip-roaringly, fantabulishous 2011!!!!!


cheers from the creek x

its beginning to look a lot like...

Every year since I was a teenager I've handmade all my Christmas cards..... this year I thought it was time to introduce our kidlins to the affair.... so this year our cards feature paper handmade by the three of us, Sass then created an individual drawing on the front of each card....

We all did a bit of simple binding 

and EJ penned (most of) the 'Merry Christmas'es inside

(it's a lot of hard work for a 5 year old!)

et voila!

(I like this rendition best! there's something very pagan about EJ's 'christas'.... )

for all my bloggy buddies (and random stragglers) out there 

I hope you have a fabulous festive season - 

filled with good friends and good cheer 

and a super-duper terrific new year!

.....

wordswork....

I just picked up my mail and look what was there...

'Wordswork'  is a book produced by the ASC showcasing calligraphy and lettering arts in Australia New Zealand 2009-2010 (all the work inside is from the last 18 months...) so the book is a real snap-shot of what's going on in the craft in this part of the world RIGHT NOW.....

and lookie - here on pages 8 - 9

its....

(look familiar? you've seen these works before in here.... it's good ole 'virtues' and 'vices')

In all there are about 70 calligraphers from Oz and NZ represented - with work ranging from traditional to contemporary - and from commercial to individually artistic.....

here'a sneaky peek of the work of my friend Nicol .....

yummy eh?


ooooo it's lovely to see a book of contemporary calligraphy (with so many long standing great mates included) printed and in my hands - hugestest biggestest hugs and kudos to my mates Julie-ann, Linda & Meg D who put in a MASSIVE effort to get this over the line!


p.s. the book will be available from ASC shortly - I'm told it will be $25 plus post and pack...... so for lovers of letterin' it's a cheeeep and delicious treat!


....

orbis floris finished....

Is there anywhere on the eastern seaboard of Oz where it hasn't been raining (and raining and raining) over the last week?

no....  I didn't think so.....

all the moist weather has made my current art-making quite tricky... I've finally finished the hinged lid box for 'orbis floris II'..... but it's taking a long time to completely dry..... I've snuck the piece out from under weights for this quick pic....

 orbis floris (box top... featuring ink, thread and collage network 'drawing')

(detail)

'orbis floris' (sans box!)

 

 

ooooo golly...  here comes another heavy downpour! (after ten years of drought I absolutely refuse to whine about too much rain!)

....

booky memes and me

 (up close and personal with 'orbis floris - world flower II'  ..... what goes around comes around....)

I've been bemused and befuddled (it doesn't take much) by the recent rounds of the BBC book list (you know the one that goes  'The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here....' and of course that's where the 100 books are then listed and peoples everywhere are frantic to prove that THEY score somewhere above average....) now here's the funny thing - this list goes around and around and around (I've seen this go around facebook twice now in about an 18 month period....) the list changes just a weeeee little bit as it goes (just like the game chinese whispers ) -  but no one ever links to an actual BBC site where you can find the original list.....

today I stumbled over this site that talked a little about how the BBC book meme supposedly operates.....

But still this doesn't stop me from wondering about what I might have read on the different listings.... or indeed on alternate book lists (like this one from TIME - its top 100 novels since 1923.... I score much the same here as with the 'BBC' mob and a whole lot better than I did with ampersand duckies oztralyan books list ) Anyway - I like reading about what everyone else has read (just as I like peeking at the library shelves at my friend's house..... or any house for that matter! Beware - I'm a shocking bookshelves snoop!)

And as I've filled in the lists (in my head mind you...) I noticed something so obvious I can't believe  that it hasn't registered until now....

I haven't read a 'new' (new to me that is) novel/ work of fiction in more than 15 years.... no wonder I was scratching my head trying to recall if I had read 'The Little Prince' or 'The Three Musketeers' etc.

Yet I'm an insanely booky girlie (I'm actually known by my uni as 'that lady with all the books'.... and they know nothing of my shed load of encyclopaedias!) I usually have about 20 books out on loan from them at any given moment.... and I'm usually reading about 5-9 books sorta simultaneously.

But

They're all Non-Fiction....

hrumpf! fancy that  - I haven't noticed this before....

And when I looked back (admittedly, mostly via my research bibliographies) I noticed that I read in clusters (does that happen to you too?)..... in the late 1990s I was mostly reading education theory (no surprises here - I was completing a Grad Dip Ed back then...) In recent times there's been my 'craft theory' cluster, 'sewing feminists' cluster, 'biblioclasm' cluster, 'new agriculture' cluster, and most importantly, my ongoing 'permaculture' cluster (actually this one has been a constant since the 1980s)

so I'm wondering - has anyone spied a 'non-fiction best-reads-of-all-time' list? (or something of that ilk)

Maybe I should create one.....

1. David Holmgren - 'Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability'

ummmmmmm......

phworrrrr soooo many to choose from!

this list-making is exhausting (and I've only put down one!)

maybe I'll leave it to someone else to make and then I'll get to criticise everything that I think is missing!




.....

orbis floris (world flower II)...

I was rushing around sooooo much this morning - trying desperately to get a booky piece finished (just enough) to manage a photo or two to add with the entry form to the SCU aquisitive book art award


I'm sure I noticed steam emerging from the paste brush.... such was my rush...

it's not COMPLETELY finished (yet) - but here's what I managed to get into a piccie to send off to SCU.....

it's another circular coptic bound 'orbis floris' (world flower II) - made from more of those collected atlases..... presented in a hinged box - not finished yet (shhhhhh don't tell anyone)  at least I managed to get the interior done! (phew!) and I could slip the whirly book inside for a photo opportunity

Fingers crossed that Australia Post breaks all sorts of land speed records and manages to deliver my express post to Lismore by Monday.......

yeah I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope either........ (one of these days I'm going to have things done well ahead of deadlines!)




....