Collage, Circles, Cotton, and Cuddles

This week has gone by quickly. One highlight of the week was thrift shopping at the new Hospice Thrift Shop. I found all sorts of things for collage and assemblage work. This 4"x6" collage was made using my new finds from a couple of thrift shops: watercolour paper, brown paper bag, acrylic paint, paper from an art magazine, and a 4b pencil. 

4"x6" collage by Carole Reid 2012

 I continue to work in my Circle Journal (see Circle Journal at top of blog) which has surprised me and those who know me closely. It will be six months on June 1. Only six more months to go! I have noticed that each page opposite the other works well together, either by colour or topic. The longer I work on this the more possibilities I see. 2013 should be a good year for larger collage work!

May 12 & 13

The new Hospice Thrift Shop is bigger than the older one in another area of Nanaimo. It opened a few weeks ago and is STILL tidy, some might say Too tidy, but with more things coming in all the time I'm sure it will quickly become untidy!  I'll go back next week for another hunting session. Their prices are good and the staff are friendly. My kind of place!

25 cotton bags (4"x6") with draw strings for .25 each

The second highlight of the week was cuddling Arya for an hour while my daughter was at an appointment. Arya smiles and focuses on faces. She does cry, I know impossible to believe! 

almost 4 weeks old 

 

On Saturday I'll be posting my "Drawing Challenge: Shadows" hosted by the lovely Ariane of Rose .

 I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Drawing Challenges and have met some wonderful women from all over the world through it. Please drop by on Saturday/Sunday to see some lovely and amazing work. Until then.

Lazy Monday

The cracked windshield needed replacing so I dropped the Subi off at Speedy Glass. They offered me a ride but I opted to walk home along the harbour. This boat and its matching barge were in dry dock looking very much in need of some TLC. 

It might be hard for you to believe but we can grow certain types of palm trees here on the east coast of Vancouver Island. This one is looking particularly spectacular this year and worthy of a photo!

Later today I'll be photographing my Circle Journal pages for April and most of May. Until next time. Here's to a happy and fun loving Monday to you!

Look, Look, Carole is Looking.

Looking, looking, looking! There's so much to see. 

Instead of painting I've been standing at my basement studio window chatting with Mayo. She likes this new set up. She's close to me, can hear me humming or my music playing, and occasionally peaks inside to see what I'm up to.

We stopped to watch a crow rip apart the inside of some cedar bark. Slowly, methodically she tore a layer off and grabbed it in her mouth. Once her mouth was crammed full of bits she flew away to her nearby nest.

My arm is still sore but because I couldn't paint, garden, hold a book, or work on the computer I was forced to slow down enough to have a break from all things art. One lazy day while visiting my grand baby and her mom I thought how wonderful big old Coby would look with pink nails. He wouldn't be very dignified looking but I'd love to see the look on my son-in-law's face!

Can't Paint, Can't Draw, Can't Use The Computer

I injured my arm this weekend in the garden. It hurts when I hold a brush or a pencil. Pain shoots up to my shoulder when I'm working on the computer. I'm taking a few days off to help it heal. Have a good week everyone. I'll miss you!

Rodin 

A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book

Stretch, yawn, make a cup of strong coffee, find a comfy spot, and choose a good book. Sounds like a dream morning, right? Well, it is even more of a dream when the book is full of pages from you blog! Yes, it's true. I had always dreamed of creating a book. A few weeks ago I read about a company, Feed  Fabrik http://www.feedfabrik.com/, who will print your blog pages for you and "manufacture" a book out of it. It was easy but not cheap! I could only afford one copy!  I had quite a few pages.......

500 pages

pages 118 and 119 

table of contents and first page

book cover

over 200 posts and so many photos! It makes a great keepsake and back up (if Blogger ever goes bust or my computer explodes)! It's all very exciting! Have you dreamed of publishing a book?