Leonard Cohen and some art

Some art I created yesterday with Stampscapes stamps...



Been playing Leonard Cohen and some buddhist music this morning. Feeling a little intoxicated at the moment. *sigh* I hope you enjoy this little clip.



The Faith - Leonard Cohen

Happy New Year

Hello... am i really blogging again? Has it really been 6 months?

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. I sincerely hope that this will be a great year for you all in many ways.

I can't really explain my absence except that one day picking up a paintbrush or stamp felt like a heart heavy with dread. I couldn't. I had to do nothing, express nothing.. I hadn't meant to withdraw myself so completely, it just happened that way.

I had my first play day in 6 months with Dawn today and I was surprised to find myself enjoying creating a stampscapes scene. Dawn brought some stampboards and we had a little play of miniture art... What we did was stamp some images and sponged on some inks, and then using a blade scratched the stampboard surface. This revealed the white underneath. I am totally sold by the whole concept and can't wait to get some larger stampboards for stampscapes scenery..

Dawn also made me the loveliest orange sparkly doll with wild hair... i would so like to post a picture of it here but as it is part of a swap she is doing, i think we will just have to wait until the time is right ;o) Thank you so much Dawnie.
.
When I am able, I shall..
when I am unable, what can I do
but wait
for me to return
to myself
.

Oil Painting this weekend

Nothing much to say lately.. have had an awful flu all week and thankfully it is on its way out the door..

i finished off my gothic arch pages for a swap today.. they will be in the mail tomorrow. And i painted my first oil painting, not my kind of subject but i have been determined to learn at least one brush skill each weekend and this weekend I learnt out create texture on these urns/vases using a brush... hmm I must say still life doesn't exactly excite me.. yet i guess this would be something i would hang up on a wall.... maybe...

Anyway, here it is.

The Urns

oil on canvas

'Wetlands'

acrylic on canvas

40.6 by 50.8 cm

Collage - Make a Wish

Make a Wish

Mixed media on watercolour paper

11.5 by 8.25 inches (A4 size)

Glass, soldering, fingerpainting and cards

It's been ages since i have made a card... and i made 2 today!!! Background on water colour paper was mostly layers of paint, some very messy finger painting, oil pastels, colour pencils.. stamping.. few bits of torn dictionary pages.. pen.. basically anything that was around my chaotic work space.

And some dodgy soldered pendants with the same painting techniques.. only miniature. The writing "To: Su Lea" in the background was part of an envelope i was using just to put the pendants in front of in case you were wondering... lol

I also learnt how to cut a large sheet of glass... let's just say it kinda did work and kinda didn't work out... i wanted to make a glass house and got as far as what you see below before i dropped the partly soldered house and cracked the glass at the front. Butter fingers. Great huh? LOL well won't be trying to make that again in a hurry. I think i might try something smaller next time. I have cut the glass panels for a smaller house. Just got to find the time. It is extremely time consuming.




And what you see below was going to be one of the roof panels. Oh well..

I wanted to paint a scenery this weekend with ghost gum trees but time just ran out on me. Now the weekend is over... i can't wait for next weekend. :o) Time for bed.............. night!

7 Random Things

I feel like it's been ages since i've actually surfed the net, let alone blogged... a couple of hectic weeks towards end of financial year and i've only just come out for air. I can't tell you what a relief it is! I hope to catch up with everyone soon.. just got to make it till the weekend.. i think i can .. i think i can... lol

okay, my friend Nat has tagged me to list 7 random things about me, so here goes, just whatever is popping into my mind.

1) i do art in my pyjamas and bathrobe which is covered in paint most of the time and i look like a mad scientist. Honest!!! i took a picture once but didn't dare post it... those of you who have seen my neat house.. i only clean before my guests arrive ROFL...

2) Give me sushi paper (nori), rice and avocado and I am as happy as a pig in mud... oh that and bubble tea (a kind of milkshake with sago balls and jelly)... and i love lipton chai lattes.

3) i have a sincere heartfelt wish everyone would feel okay about themselves. If people would just stop comparing, there would be no need for being greater or lesser.

4) i can't stop wearing brown clothes.. must be my safe colour... have a secret desire to wear skirts but i have fat legs haha

5) i have been vegetarian this week.. no i'm not a vegetarian, it just happened that way.

6) i feel like buying soldering supplies right now but i'm broke until pay day, so i am going to pretend shop later and empty the shopping cart LOL

7) I like to contemplate on the nature of being and what it means to be infinitely compassionate.

And............. I'ld like to tag (only if you want to play :) )... Carmel T and Dot C

Popping in to say hi...

Another weekend gone by... I hope everyone else has had a good weekend. I didn't have anything planned and thought i'ld just put some paint onto canvas and ended up painting a portrait. Usually, i draw with a pencil first but i was curious as to what would happen if i didn't draw first. I let water streaking over the background.. leaving a watermark effect.

i don't know... somehow i do like this, maybe because it's an unpretty painting.

Have a great week everyone! I know I will try to... :o)

love

Sulea

Painting - The Nameless and the Name

' The Nameless and the Name'
41 by 50 cm
Acrylic on canvas

I do not want to be

for when I am
a Thing - any thing
all other modes of you
are dormant in me

Not a Thing
Not even a thingless thing.

When I am a Thing, I become
a container of limitation.

When I am not be-coming any Thing
reciding in the silence
uncontrived
what more
to be said

StampCamp 2007

What a week it has been! Such a wonderful time we have had at Stamp camp last weekend. I have met and gotten to know so many new friends.
I sat right next to a very special, warm and down to earth lady called Chris Cairns at camp, whom I really enjoyed talking to. Chris was kind enough to give me a ride to camp and loan me a hot water bottle. It sure got cold at nights in Busselton. Thank you very much Chris :o)

I also got to meet the wonderful Julie H and the vibrant Dotee and also the lovely Jacky for the first time. It was really nice to spend some time chatting and sharing with Jacky and Julie. Throughout the weekend, there was so much Dotee art everywhere and Dotee's vibrant and enthusiastic personality was infectious. I was lucky enough to be spoilt with these wonderful gifts from Dotee. The little house was part of my mystery muse gift from Dotee. Julie was so generous in showing everyone the finer skills of jewellery making and her talent is just amazing and awe inspiring. You can see on her blog some more photos of camp and her gorgeous handmade jewellery.

Jane P totally blew me away by her fabric art. I couldn't believe how gorgeous the felt fabrics she had handmade were. You can see some gorgeous handmade hats on her blog which several people at camp were lucky to receive. Much to my amazement, Jane made me this bag at camp eventhough she was sick from the flu . It is currently one of my favourite items. How lucky am I!

And the gifts kept coming... I received 2 more lovely atcs, 'Goddess' (just love the stamp and background!) from the lovely Peta J who kept me company throughout camp and even drove a bunch of us girls on a spending frenzy at Makro and Bunnings. Ever seen a group of stampers go nuts over very cheap eyelets.. it is not a pretty sight. LOL I also received "Haunting Betrayal' atc from the very talented Kelsey who was giving demos on the soot technique, transfers and transparency atcs. A stunning atc using a transfer and water soluble crayons.

I am thankful for stamp camp 2007 and especially to the caring and kind hearted Dawn who really took the time to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves and sorting out pre-camp stuff.. and thanks to Sally G for making this year's camp so enjoyable for so many.

Am really looking forward to the next camp......... :o)

lots of love,

Sulea

Stamped scene

I did this scene for a scenery swap I'm in. Luckily we only swap copies because i don't think i'ld survive after 15 originals. The scene scanned darker than it actually is.

Painting - Giving up Good and Bad

' Giving up being good or bad'
acrylic on canvas
30.5 by 40.6 cm

I have spent most of my life wanting to be good, but always falling short of expectations. By desiring to be good, i found myself having an attachment to not wanting to be bad. In the quest to do good, was an endless array of things not done that i could have acted out in order to be good in my eyes. So all the time, all i succeeded in doing was proving how bad i was. How awful to be so incapable.

I am not a bad person, i just care too much, judge too harshly, forgive too quickly and see too much, often seeing things that don't exist at all. I have come to learn that even as one may be good, there is still room to be misunderstood. You can be liked and disliked by anyone at all for all kinds of reasons, that has nothing to do with being good or bad. Bad people have friends. But i also learn, that those bad people are not really bad. They too are going through the learning process of what it is, to be a person. So i learn to forgive when i am hurt, forgive them for not understanding. ignore the irrational and i learn not to have expectations.

I want to give up the attachment to being good or bad and live in the freedom of choice without listening to judgement from anyone. Peace of mind, validations good or bad does not exist here.