I have painted...ummm....made some....errr...made some cards.

I have just had a rather tight architecture deadline which is why I haven't posted for a while. Periodically I need to go into lock-down otherwise I know I will 'art' in preference to anything else. But it is completed for the moment and I can go back to working on the ten or so art projects that I have half done, almost, I have a couple of other things to sort out first, and a busy weekend.

Next week. Next week. I will get back on the art horse next week....

This time of year is always frustrating as I have actually done a few other exciting things but I can't mention them as they are either surprises or presents. I am sure I am going to stick my foot in it soon and accidentally utter something I shouldn't.

Did you know I have, err.... I've been working on....um you know that... RAH!

One thing I can mention is some cards I have had printed. There was a special offer on photobox so I jumped at the chance to get 6 of my paintings made into shiny A5 cards. They are currently on sale for the prices indicated below (you can also message me here for details). I am also in the process of making some handmade cards and there are about 30 or so different designs so keep an eye out for them in the next week or so. I am hoping to get them put in a shop in town.....if I ever get organised enough!

Money or Magic Beans

It seems as though the break from social media and the chance to catch up with some long delayed art schemes (cards, magnets, painting, updating, gallery checking...) has managed to restore my soul. Calmness has returned, satisfaction has returned, life seems as it should be. I know where I am going, what I need to do and when by. That is the one advantage of having two flexible jobs - when the architecture one dies down (as it frequently does in Winter) I can focus on some art. If only the pay grade between the two was similar;

Architecture work = Money

Art Work = Magic Beans

But between the two of them I can get by (if you don't look too closely and ignore the big hole appearing in my winter coat). Ah money, you are not everything but I sure wouldn't object to having some more of you!

WiFi Free Day

I was feeling overloaded yesterday so I put my phone on silent and hid it in another room, turned off my emails, blocked Facebook and decided to visit no websites except the one I was updating.

I got rather a shocking amount done. I can see why developers have created software such as Freedom and Stay Focusd, the temptation to procrastinate with social media is just ridiculous. I am going to try and keep this abstinence up and only check things if they need a response, or only look once a day. Motivation when  you are working from home is hard enough without these obsessive distractions!

I need to be more disciplined.

Maybe Tuesday will have to not only be cheap night at the cinema, but also WiFi free day.

Back in a jiffy

After yesterday I am trying to be productive and reduce the list of things I have been meaning to do for ages. So far I have done 2 things, they were small things, and this isn't an achievement. I am hoping by the time I give up for the day and head to yoga I will have done 3 or 4 larger things. In fairness some of the things are fun things that I can do as and when - like painting the table. I tend to write everything down so that I a) don't forget it b) plan ahead and c) have a selection of things to pick from when I have some spare time.

Speaking of planning ahead I have been collecting cardboard and packaging materials just in case I need to quickly ship off some paintings. This collecting has also progressed to collecting jiffy bags in case I have a big order of cards or magnets. This big order hasn't culminated yet and I have somehow managed to accrue 48 jiffy bags. I will let you know when my TV debut on Hoarders is.......

One of the things on my list is to make some more cards, so maybe I will have to make some cards and give them away with a free jiffy bag or ten.....

The Domino Effect

Today is one of those days where you look at your to do list and you think 'Oh God,' you step backwards and tread on a canvas, turn to the right and fall over two more, stumble to your left and domino over 8 more paintings culminating in a crash into your cupboard and setting a couple of frames teetering on the edge.

Don't fall, don't fall.

And they don't.... if you are lucky.

Whilst none of this actually happened it doesn't stop me carefully closing the door on my study/studio, and pretending behind the door is structured order and not impending chaos.

It has been a productive weekend - one painting already done and hopefully one more on the way, but that just makes more work, more tidying up, more space to find, wrapping to do, a post office to visit, a website to update, a to do list to update.

Sometimes, self motivation is hard.

All work and no play makes me need a drink, or at least a damned big piece of cake.

 

Tallinn

So in the end it seemed as though the potency of St Jude was exaggerated, and the flights on Monday morning were all fine and running to time. A pity the same can't be said for the storm that has just bashed the Philippines.

So...Estonia and more specifically Tallinn were pretty chilly and pretty wet but also pretty interesting. I liked the mix of old and new and the mix of medieval European architecture and communist Russian squares and monuments. Definitely a place of diversity both in terms of heritage, history, culture and design. I visited the best design museum whilst I was there, specialising in displaying fashion, pin badges, jewellery, textiles, fabric patterns and leather-works. It was a place I could visit every week for inspiration. Tallinn also has some of the nicest cheap places to eat, a lot of towers to climb and is best visited off season, especially if you want to have your own personal tour of the city as no one else turned up for it!

The highlights were - a day trip to Helsinki, bizarrely the weather as it made for some spectacular grey and cold skies, the design museum, the fruit teas, the sugary cardamom buns, the amount to do, the Tallinn card as it made all the sites super cheap, Lido (a Latvian restaurant), getting told off in the Seaplane Museum, going on a submarine and pretty much just being able to do nothing for a week except be entertained, go out, and eat cake.

Can I go on holiday again please?