Here I am… a day after the end of THE 30 days. Yesterday… when it was the 'finale' day.. i spent much of my day on the phone and no time at all creating … today.. not a whole lot more… except this lady here. Since the Gypsy theme is on my mind.. for the upcoming retreaty/workshop at the end of July I have been wanting to do some playing around with this theme… I wasn't quite prepared for this sorrowful gaze… so I let the pencil tell me something . . . "It's not so easy being a Gypsy you know" my pencil wrote automatically . . . "yes we can feel wild and free, and without rules but all of us feel pain, sadness and loss - there is no escaping these human feelings. But, coming back to yourself and lovingly treating yourself kindly, you'll be ok." … this challenge has been a great reminder to just keep showing up.
so… now we are in July… and another 31 days are piled up like boxes on my calender… let's just keep going.. shall we? bye for now, love Denise. 
 Well.. felt like quiting this challenge this morning, allergies to who knows what, probably the washing powder am thinking at this point have me going mad with itchy eyes, nose and throat instead of sleeping. So I took my sorry self down to the beach for a gorgeous dose of sunshine … This is a piece I said I started yesterday.., is on water colour paper.. I put some kind of white wash over it today (in progress still) and then . . . turned my attention to a very coloured square canvas that was begging for something on it. It's not quite finished.. but my time in the studio is pretty much done til Monday … I'll take a notebook and pen or something to keep 'something' creative being done each day… gawd.. I've come this far I HAVE to complete this challenge for my own self satisfaction! 
… Just How Tall Are Those Effen Poppies? is my current working title for this one. I've had one hellova battle today getting myself out of a funk… so this freakin well saved my life with it's ENERGY that came through only after hours and hours of NOT. so.. that. is. all. for today.
love Denise x 
As some of you know.. SARK is one of my favourite inspiring people in the world… and I listended to an 'unplugged' interview she shared this week, I've listened to it twice already I loved it so much and there was so much upliftment to be gathered. (I'm doing some stencil work as part of a commission and my inner perfectionist critic would have me get all flustered if I let it.. so I distract her with great talks on podcast, or interviews like this one.) I was particularly taken with a gorgeous notion she shared … when she said "What I enjoy, are Rituals that are born out of the Moment." that alone was so comforting to me. I transcribed as much as possible word for word… I didn't want to leave anything out… earlier in her chat she had shared that she is scared about lots of things, but doesn't let that stop her from doing what she wants/needs to do. One of which was being audited by the tax dept (which actually happened) she gave a FABULOUS account of how that went, including reference to her Wise Self, and the Wise Self of the IRS agent. So, I go walking with my partner John on the beach almost everyday . . . and we will get into subjects sometimes that start being less than;… nourishing, let's put it that way, we're repetiviely talking, or we're getting into scarcity, or we're going into fear … whatever, one of both of us are, and so we started this Spontaneous Ritual … I tried it this morning with a piece of pumice at Pt Cartwright beach... it helped me shift my focus, and on our walk yesterday afternoon I told my husband about it .. and he's a love… he tried it out too, with a stray leaf on the path in front of him.
that's it for now.. I just really wanted to share that simple, yet powerful idea with you.. in case.. you might need help sometime to shift your focus…. and like me… you enjoy fun.. unusual.. yet simple ways of doing so. love Denise xo p.s. if you'd reeeeaaaallly like to hear that interview.. email me and I can forward you the link, it's inside an email. It could also be available on her fb page, I'm not sure. Hi friends, well… it's quite interesting my 'no facebook January' … I'd have usually shared pics on there so today I've gathered some snaps to share about my week at Woodford. I spent some time just taking in the sights and the feeling of fun and freedom that pervades woodford, 11.30pm was magical … 3 minutes silence outside with hundreds of people each holding a little candle and thinking of our loved ones and those not there… I didn't catch a photo of it… I chose to 'be' there instead. on News Years eve at midnight I was on my own biting into a giant byron bay doughnut… listening to a tribal kind of band… New Year's Eve's are charged times… so much energy about the place… I felt ok to be alone.. alone in a sea of lovely people, I didn't feel lonely. here's some pics to give you a glimpse into my week.       Oh… I visited this place several times and sat to write a letter… it was DIVINE… the art of letter writing was revived with a delightful twist at woodford this year… that gorgeous posty girl… would collect the letters people had written for stangers.. perhaps only describing them by an item of clothing, or a gender and age range… and sent a letter off to them for the fun of it, to brighten their day perhaps. If we wanted to send a letter to a friend at the festival all we needed to do was write their phone number and name on the envelope and they did the rest. I LOVED THIS SOOOO MUCH.
I hope you're enjoying the start of a whole new shiny year… bye for now, love Denise xo 
This was the scene in the spare room of my parents home this time last year... I set this up to be like an alter right next to where I'd be art journaling for the month.. Mum had one of my prints hanging on the wall... and a picture of Mary.. or more than one in every room actually. I felt somewhat comforted by this Mary picture with her bunch of angels hanging out... so I gave her pride of place overlooking my artful adventure... little did I know... I would be joining the likes of Shiloh Sophia McCloud and Jenafer Joy, and Stella Mac and Effy Wild... and be part of a wild and wonderful bunch called the Cosmic Cowgirls ... and just over one year later I will be meeting many of them in California! and Helllloooo... running a "Paint Mary with me" retreat/workshop this month too 
Today... my Muse must have been with me.. along with my daughter.. I found this gorgeous luggage tag that has so many visual messages that have meaning for me... The colour 'limoncello' is a favourite of my dear mentor/teacher/inspirer Shiloh... I feel like I'm flying from a cage... that's metaphorical.. I did a mixed media piece a couple of years ago..and it's been profound the many layers of crappola I've been leaving behind sometimes daily.. but you know.. on the whole.. I'm in a much better place :)... and the crown!!! well Sovereign.. and I painted Queen of My Own Heart this year.. so that's a gorgeous little addition... this trip is an adventure... a loooong adventure.. and the crossing of the San Francisco... Golden Gate Bridge is part of it too. That's about it..a short sweet post for tonight.. there are only 2 spaces left for the Paint Mary with Me retreat.. so if you are wanting to come... register at your earliest convenience. bye for now, love Denise.. 
find out more about my Paint Mary with me retreat xo
Yesterday I made my first little video... I had a bunch of photo's from my second solo show back in 2008, that were waiting for me to get to them. As I worked my way through it's creation I was moved by the smiles on the faces of my family and friends and visitors to the opening, it was an incredibly celebratory day for me, and the gallery in which my work is represented shines beautifully thoughout the pictures. On a more personal note... I felt like I was making a movie about someone else... someone I actually love and admire, but have not been so in tune with for the last 18 months or more, with the global financial crisis in late 2009 came a bit of a jolt and a personal artist/life crisis as well. Various things have contributed to bouts of depression and the fact I had allowed myself to become anemic once again, have brought me to a big check point where I am taking a long hard look at my life and health and wanting very much to clear out the rubbish and embrace my true self once again... with renewed strength and clarity. I’m not quite there... I’m somewhat confused about my work... but more ok about that lately than I have been these last months... after all, beating up on myself for not doing enough, not being enough, and not having enough is really the most unhelpful I can be for any kind of progress to come out of that same scenario. This little video actually made me feel genuinely happy, the music by Frou Frou is such a gorgeous accompaniment to the feeling I had for the artwork. It is my pleasure to bring something joyful into the world. Love Denise xo  |
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