The Day I Dyed and Went To Heaven

On arriving at  Chateau Dumas late Sunday evening turning into the drive I was met with the most spectacular scene of the Chateau ablaze with lights. I was so excited to be finally here and couldn’t wait for the morning to arrive and get started.

The rest of the group were settled and having dinner and I could hear that they were already having a good time. Lizzie (the owner of the Chateau) is such a warm and welcoming person you were instantly made to feel at home.

Last year I did the woad-dyeing course at the chateau and this was an experience that I want to do again and again. When I saw that Lizzie was running a course combining Reinventing French textiles run by Ros Badger and a day woad -dyeing well I just had to go. The course runs for a week but other commitments would only allow me three days, but they were filled to capacity.

9am Monday morning finally came, we all gathered in the studio which is large room with soft greys and white walls and a beautiful hand painted design on the floor, large skylights and the although the day was overcast (the rest of the week was glorious) the room was so light and airy.

A spectacular sight met us with piles of vintage textiles, trimmings, templates, embroidery threads, vintage craft books, a table full of samples made by Ros, and Lizzie, bags made from vintage linen tea towels, covered coat hangers, patchwork hearts to name a few and we all immediately pounced on the table where we could use anything we wanted as Lizzie had provided us with a massive range of vintage pieces to choose from.

I had a rough Idea of what I wanted to do but then my brain went into overdrive and I found my self hopping from one thing to the other, bliss pure bliss. Tuesday, hang on what happened to Monday? The group was producing lots of wonderful items and Ros seemed to flit with ease from person to person offering help and advice if needed, she has an amazing eye for colour combinations. I loved the fact that everyone in the group were also genuinely interested in what other people were making and hints and tips were flying through the room and made the atmosphere really special.

I wanted to make a bag from an old linen skirt and added a beautiful fabric trim to the bottom and decided to line it with the same fabric, I was fiddling about with it and Ros came over and said “ love this bag” I told her this was to be the lining, and with a flash off she went and came back with the most sumptuous piece of green silk and this was added to the top. Ok now I have two bags, but you can never have enough bags, right!!!

Ok Wednesday is here and Denise and Annette are setting up the vats for the woad-dyeing and we are all scurrying about sorting out what we wanted to dip first. She then gave us an interesting talk on the history of woad, which although I heard it last year it was delivered with humour and fascinating facts.

I had a bag at home with lace trimmings, shells, and a few other bits and was furious with myself, yes I had forgotten to bring it with me (well there is always next year) if I am lucky enough!!! So after beating myself up decided just to enjoy watching what everyone else was dyeing, between that and popping back into the studio to make up one or two other things that took my fancy. 6pm came far to fast in my opinion, which meant that my lift back home was due any minute. I bade farewell to my new friends who were still up in the fairy park dyeing with pleasure. I have selected a few pictures and I personally can’t wait to hear what they got up to for their last two days………

I for one had the most fabulous three days, met some lovely people, made a few things that I never knew I could and if your looking for a crafty holiday in the South West of France then I can’t recommend it enough.

http://www.chateaudumas.net/

http://www.bleu-de-lectoure.com/

http://rosbadger.blogspot.com/

And finally Ros will be offering one lucky person the chance to win her handmade book which will be personalised by her own fair hand coming soon on my blog in the next few weeks.

Beware Of Greek God Fitness Instructors:)

Wish I could say that I wrote this. Alas not, but I did add a few pics to  it and if it makes one person smile that's just fine by me.

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, my husband purchased a week of personal training at the local health club. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.



MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 am. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god - with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around.

This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!


TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop.

Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasal whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other shit too.

THURSDAY:
Asshole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes.

He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the toilet. He sent some skinny bitch to find me.

Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine - which I sank.

FRIDAY:

I hate that bastard Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.

Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a Mars Bar.
The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

SATURDAY:
Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..

SUNDAY
I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun - like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

On The Darkside by "Mimulux"

Avatar's  are powerful little creatures, and when I saw the one shown  above the other day on twitter I just had to find out just what laid behind it, one click and I was immediatley transported into this amazing lady's work and I want to share it with you. The following is minu's own words and so I will leave you to decide for yourself if you want to open the door into her wonderful world of the "Darkside"

I was born in the USA.. but grew up in europe and africa.. later on I lived in asia, returned to europe and here again lived in various countries. now I live in the south of hungary and love it!

I am ‘varied’… and so is my art. photomanipulation, digital paintings, fractals, photography.. I love it all.. I use it all… my main style of art.. or rather my recurring theme though is the dark side… the dark side of life.. of living.. of situations .. of people.. places.

I have lived through many dark moments… from having a very severe form of a phobia, nearly losing my life in a car accident, abuse both physical and mental., but I pulled through it all and came out a stronger person .. to me all these incidents were lessons to be learned, negative things that also have their positive sides from which I could benefit in my personal growth.

I am a happy person though.. I am optimistic, but also realistic. I love living.. I love people.. I love life.. perhaps because I have been given the gift to create art.. to re-create and thus rid myself of those dark and sinister moments in my life.

Music has also played a big role in my life, always has and always will. music is energy, medicine, living, breathing,

 
 



I highly recommend that you go and check out more of her amazing work here
http://mimulux.artistwebsites.com/

www.art-by-mimulux.com

Having experienced some terrifiying momentsin her life, she has not only survived but come through them and is stronger for it. I have exchanged emails with  Mimu and find her to be a very warm and caring person. I can only say Mimu I for one am delighted to have had the chance to discover your work. Thank you. xx

Feature with Mixed Media Artist Cathy Savels + Giveaway Value $28

“Nature is art, in absolute detail. A never ending paradox that tears me from reality. Everything has a spirit, a voice that needs to be listened to. Creativity is my passion. This was the journey of my childhood, as I watched my father create wonderful furniture in wood and observed my mother sewing beautiful garments with fabrics.

When I search for inspiration, I look over the vineyards surrounding my studio in south-west France and ideas engulf me. Dreams evolve into reality, midnight sketches become my driving force. Before my canvas, I see the world through a lens. I’m interested in what escapes me.”

Well if that does not get you hooked to find out more about Cathy’s work nothing will.



Cathy’s works combine the traditional medium of painting with the use of other materials such as string, paper and cloth to create beautiful textured works which are both striking and accessible for the viewer. The nature of the works invite viewers to touch and become involved on many sensory levels.

Cathy’s work was greatly influenced by both her father's cabinet makers skills and by watching her mother's work as a seamstress. She absorbed information about materials such as wood, fabrics, wool and paper, learning about their qualities, which has become a vital influence on her work today.

Her biggest inspiration is nature and organic structures. The textures, patterns and details created by nature are a driving force for her creativity. She remains fascinated by nature as art in absolute detail and strives to engage the viewer through the observation of nature's tiny details.

1.Was there anyone in particular who gave you inspiration?
My inspiration for starting to work with string and other textures came from an exhibition I went to see by Eva Hessa in Vienna, Austria. She didn't live a very long life due to a brain tumor but in the latter part of her life, she started to work with 3 dimensional shapes and forms. She used a lot of string as well as recycled materials. It dawned on me that here I was painting, and here I was making home decorations but if I was to combine all those skills and materials, I could have something truly unique.

My very first textured painting 'logs' was sold at Christies, London. Imagine how pleased I was since this has really just been an experiment. This painting was inspired by being stuck behind a logging truck. The ends of the logs were kind of mesmerizing and this painting just appeared in front of my eyes along that journey.

2.When did you discover your creative talents?

I've been creative really since I was born. Music and art have been my life. Alas it was not encouraged when I was younger so I never really believed I could do this for a living. It wasn't until I was hit by lightning in 2002 that it dawned on my that life really is too short and too fragile to not do what you feel passionate about.

3. Who are your favourite artists of all time?
It has to be Eva Hesse for inspiring me to find a way of working which is really unique and personal to me. O'Keefe also although I did not discover her works until I was already painting botanical subjects.

4. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
To not be such a perfectionist. I literally drive myself crazy and I'm never happy with any of my work. This means I lack confidence in showcasing my work and it really holds me back. I'm really trying to just go for it but it's not easy! Ha!

5. Describe yourself in 5 words!
This is quite a difficult question. I don't give myself that much thought. OK, here goes. Creative, musical, sociable, perfectionist, nurturing. I'm sure my partner could think of a few more!

6. What makes you laugh hard?
My partner. Him and I laugh a lot, mostly at the most ridiculous things you can imagine. I'm sure no one else would laugh. We have what we call a 'happy hour' most days, usually after lunch when we sit and chat and it general descends into total nonsense.

Early this year Cathy along with her partner Joe came up with the idea of creating a free platform for all artists. It has been a tremendous success story in a very short period of time and Totalartsoul (TAS) was born http://www.totalartsoul.com and continues to grow, with already 1454 registered members, and last month saw 97750 unique visitors to this site.

Their vision of the platform was to encourage artists to share and expose their works in a personal gallery. Members would have a personal blog space; a gallery to showcase their work, a chat room, a forum and a video upload function. The discussion boards would serve as active halls to grow in the creative process while networking and connecting to international like-minded artists.

Cathy and Joe have written some step-by-step tutorials on how anyone who has to market themselves online can achieve similar results. The tutorials are inexpensive and are also a way to keep Total Art Soul free for its members. You can find them here http://www.totalartsoul.com/

Cathy is offering a set of 5 off her beautiful note cards value $14, in addition the winner will recieve a $14 gift voucher  to spend in my shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/Krishenka

How to enter! it's easy, all you have to do is this (Leave your name and a contact address) and your almost done.......





1. Please follow my blog, it’s not mandatory but you know it makes me smile!

2. Please visit Cathy’s shop and drool for a few moments, all hearts are welcome.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cathysavelspaintings


3. Cathy is also offering a generous 10% discount on any item from her shop, so if you would like to make a purchase, just add Krish in the buyers message to her, and she will adjust the price.

4. You can enter as many times as you like.


6. This giveaway is open worldwide and will close on the 29th Oct.


Finally a huge thank you Cathy for sharing your beautiful work and along with everyone else wish you continued success and happiness.

Lastly I would like to apologise for a technical problem that caused all previous entries to be deleted and I do hope you come back and try again.