i think i am painting in my sleep !!!!

hi all

i have just got to share you a few quick snaps today of two canvases i am working on at the moment inspired by nature...more to come, once i have put the next layer on top ;) 

have a super duper fabulous weekend xo

hello ... long overdue blog post ♥

hello to all of my blog friends out there.

it has been far too long since i blogged here and for that i sincerely apologise.

so much has happened over the past couple of months my head is spinning.....and therefore you are in for a seriously LONG blog post. lots of "show and tell" to get through !!!

ready...

• one....Balingup Small Farm Field Day market stall
• two....prioritising one's health 
• three....Denmark Art Markets on the Easter Weekend
• four....Walpole Market with the Peaceful Bay Beanie Co.
• five...Easter with friends and family at home
• six....enjoying being a Mum to my teenage boys while they are home from school/uni.
• seven....soldering art charms for orders
• eight....Basketball Road Trip to Perth
• nine....making more greeting cards for "le papier"
• ten....countdown to our Bali break
• eleven....painting "Flora Style" in studio
• twelve....family time, via skype:) and a splash of paint
• thirteen....my baby girl has Bieber Fever!!
• fourteen....road trip on Mothers Day (taking myself to the children !!!)
• fifteen....packing my holiday bags and squeeze in a bit of painting
• sixteen....my lucky number...off to Bali now......
• seventeen....home sweet home full of inspiration (and dexter dvd's)
• eighteen....painting overload and joint exhibition??...whoop whoop!!

had enough yet ????? 

don't worry...i will try not to RAMBLE...

ONE

i headed off to the Balingup Small Farm Field Day feeling very unwell, but decided to push myself to honour the commitments i have made to myself as part of my new creative business journey. a dear friend from Walpole accompanied me and without her i probably would have "pulled the pin". what seemed like a big weekend became far easier to deal with once i was surrounded by good friends and lots of support. fun was had setting up the gazebo for my stall on Friday night using the headlights of my car to see !! there were some fantastic exhibitors from the great garden sculptures, the french bakery, local artisians to the children's toys and gifts on Saturday and I met up with the lovely ladies from Henry and Hope with whom i shared some great conversation. it was sooo great to connect with MORE like -minded creative people.....topped off by an amazing steak and chips at the local pub on Saturday night for dinner and my friend sharing the long drive home...the weekend was all good. a great kick start to the market stall success i am hoping for.

TWO

so, i have mentioned that since blogging last i have been unwell. everything has caught up with me. my iron levels have bottomed out, i have had Ross River Virus and i have been struggling with "letting go" of my beautiful teenage sons as they venture from home and into the big wide world. it has been very hard to remain positive when at times i have not even had the energy to get out of bed in the morning. but with the help of my husband, my doctor and a very supportive group of family and friends i have tried to remain positive. i kept reminding myself that so many people in the world have much bigger issues to deal with on a daily basis. i told myself to be kind to myself and gently accept that i would have to pace myself through the tasks in front of me and that rather than not honour the commitments i had made to my business, myself and my children, i needed to move forward....but SLOWLY.

THREE

it was with great trepidation that i took part in the Denmark Art Markets. once again i was accompanied by a very close friend who helped me set up and hung out with me for moral support. this market draws a huge crowd and i was nervous about "exposing myself" to a wider audience. i am SO GLAD that i did. all the questions i had lurking in my mind like "will anyone buy my goods?" " will people like the products i am selling?" etc. etc. were silenced when i was surrounded with support for my wares and lots of positive feedback 

(oh, and lots of sales too!!) JOY......was found.

FOUR

the very next day i had a stall at the Walpole Easter Market with my gorgeous friend Jo from the Peaceful bay Beanie Co. spending this day chatting and hanging out with her made me realise just how much i have missed her since she moved from Nornalup to now reside close to the "big city" lights of Perth. 

i miss you Jo xo

FIVE

 at the end of those two busy days on the Easter weekend i was so very grateful to come home to family and friends who were staying with us for the holiday. 10 adults and 6 kids hung out over the weekend and our home was filled with laughter, good food, music, great coffee, possums, wine and sharing of stories :) thank you universe for the best family and friends a girl could ask for.

our home where we hung out together at Easter time :)

SIX

having my two boys home over the holiday break was a "warm and fuzzy" time for me. my boys give the best hugs, make a mean basil and tomato bruschetta and never cease to amaze me. their constant laughter, love for each other and devotion to their "little sister" is such a joy.

 truly special times xo

SEVEN

soldering art charms is so much fun, especially with my NEW soldering iron. my lovely husband has made me a stand for my tweezers so that now when i solder on the jump rings to complete the necklaces i can work alone.....i am really not sure if this was to help me or ensure he gets out of having to juggle tiny jump rings in his big man hands whilst i repeatedly say " it's not in the middle...you moved it again...can you help me with the jump rings today ????" 

what do you think.....helping me out or helping himself ??? 

i say the latter...what a patient man he has been !!!!

EIGHT

i accompanied my youngest son as his team manager for a weekend Basketball trip/competition in Perth. it was SO MUCH FUN. i was Mum to a whole gaggle of teens and they were a constant source of entertainment. they played well. they slept well. they sang on the bus trip and they enjoyed having each other to hang out with. so blessed to spend the weekend with some amazing kids and adults..thanks guys.

NINE

greeting card overload. after almost selling out at the recent markets it was time to print, stick, ink, tape and package greeting cards to bring my stock levels back up. take a peek at the photo below that shows some of the studio chaos during this time....

TEN

organising kids itineraries, travel documents, food shopping, medical needs, travel insurance, changing money, sun screen, ear plugs, digging to the back of the cupboard for the swimming togs, getting someone to cover my netball coaching role and tidying up the house in readiness for a holiday "break away" with my husband and four great friends to Bali soon....counting down the sleeps.

ELEVEN

because my head has been so full of business and obligations lately i decided to take a slice of "creative time out". i have just made a few backgrounds ready to layer up all "flora" style once i am home from my holiday...i cranked up the stereo and got messy...yay.

TWELVE

our family has finally discovered skype. what a revolution. now when we chat to the boys (one at boarding school for year eleven and twelve and one away at university) we can see their smiling faces...makes it easier to handle; seeing them smiling :)

i also managed to splash just a little more paint on canvas as i walked past them in the studio each day.

you smile=i smile

THIRTEEN

it's official. my 12 year old daughter has BIEBER FEVER. she is off on a 5 hour road trip with two of her besties and one dedicated mum to his concert in Perth.

purple jeans. check. justin bieber t-shirt. check. pre-teen innocence. check.

please don't change too much :)

FOURTEEN

i awoke on Mothers Day to no children. for the first time in 18 years. one guy 5 hours away at university. one guy 1.5 hours away playing football. on girl recovering (5 hours away) from her first music concert - the Bieberfest!!!

decided to take myself to the closest child. in the car and off we go to the football. i need a hug from at least one of them...it was the best hug i have had in a long time and he played a fantastic game of football that day!! i also enjoyed long distance phone conversations and laughter with them all.

i am learning that being a great Mum can mean letting go. 

allowing your children as young adults to find their own voice. 

i have given them two gifts in this lifetime, the first is roots and the second is wings.

FIFTEEN

everything is packed for our holiday...

i will just add a little bit of paint to that canvas as i pass the studio.....there, that feels GOOD. 

SIXTEEN

my favourite number.

on a plane to Bali. 7 days of banana pancakes, beautiful locals, massages poolside, sharing with friends, temples, cocktails, nasi goreng, coastal road trips, sunsets, markets, beach walks, pool bars, bartering, scooters, day spa indulgence at 

prana spa 

i ♥ bali

SEVENTEEN

home sweet home and full of inspiration. so much culture, ritual, colour on the island of bali. below are some photos i share with you from our trip...

 EIGHTEEN

so, since i have been home from holidays i have encountered an inspiration overload.

the colours, textures and sights of bali have definitely fed my creative soul. below are some examples of the layers i have been building up on my canvases this week. i am going to stop for a while and look at them before i add the next layer...i wonder what mystery awaits. i am looking forward to getting out the paint for the next layer already !!! i must learn to be patient.....with time comes a little more perspective. i suppose that could be said about many things hey. life. painting. love. friendship. growth.

i hope you enjoy these images. stay tuned to see how they evolve ...

and finally...i am looking at taking part in my very first joint exhibition in October...details to follow soon xo

i know i felt more than a tad overwhelmed over the last couple of months, but i have also began to see things a little clearer over this past week of "slow down" time and reflected on the lessons i have learnt over this time.....

• trust your inner voice.
• know your limits.
• spend time with those you love.
• eat well.
• immerse youself in goodness.
• let yourself be scared.
• embrace positive thoughts.
• bake cakes.
• set those you love free.
• be yourself.
• dream big.
• trust.
• eat chocolate chip biscuts and banana pancakes.
• listen.
• be grateful.

love from leanne ♥

bad blogger ...

hi all
i am sorry i have been such a bad blogger.
i have been quite unwell for a few weeks, then jumped on a plane to bali and just got back home yesterday.
i promise i will be blogging again by the end of the weekend.
stay tuned xo

off to balingup ... "le papier" market stall

hi all

i have just finished packing up the car to head to the 

Balingup Small Farm Field Day with my "le papier" stall. 

i am super excited about this one as it will be a big day out and i am taking a friend along with me to share the experience. i also have other friends from the Peaceful Bay Beanie Co. exhibiting there so it will be awesome to catch up with them. we are all staying together in a little cottage on the outskirts of town....can't wait.

i have posted some photos that show you some of the new art charms i made this week in their groovy packaging. i have been using the scraps of collage/scrapbooking papers left over from card making, collage and scrappin' to make up these little packages to put my art charms in ready for sale, then running them through my little mini sewing machine with a nice piece of contrasting paper to add a little contrast.

i am looking forward to telling you all about it upon my return. 

then begins the countdown the the great BIG 

Denmark Art's Easter Market 

on Saturday 23rd April 2011.....yippee.

"bloom true" with flora bowley ...

ok, so it has taken me a week or so to come down from the natural high i was on after attending the recent "bloom true" intuitive painting adventure in the Dwellingup bush camp know as Nanga Brook. this workshop was led by the one and only flora bowley from Portland, Oregon in the US. i suggest you pop over to her website to check out her bio. and inspiring work at www.florasbowley.com 

flora is a well known artist who has been painting for 16 years and has only recently started teaching classes....what can i say except that i am pretty darn sure she has found her "true" calling. it was such a gift getting to spend three glorious days under her gentle guidance (both in painting and simple yoga practice) and a complete bonus getting to spend time with her and the other 8 ladies in attendance. i managed to make some great new friends who, like me, are driven by creativity.  a special thanks needs to go out to the amazing donna from "donna heart" who invited flora to australia and facilitated this workshop. she is one woman who truly believes in the power of "ask and you shall receive"..... 

sue, flora, jayne, me, dixie, michelle, sarmarie, debbi and donna
pictured with flora's two completed works...we actually all match !!

in flora's workshop she encourages her students to let go of expectations and accept that there are no mistakes! nice one hey. her philosophy is very much focused on the "process" instead of the final product ... sooooo liberating. what could be better than listening to some groovy music and just gettin' messy with the paint right !!! ABSOLUTELY. she encourages us to build up colour value and volume by working in layers on our canvases, letting each layer dry off before adding another. i have posted below one of my paintings showing how the work evolved over the three days. looking back it this now i realise how much i learnt from my three days in "the bush" and from the wonderful flora - 

have i already mentioned how serene yet funky this amazing american chickie was? 

ok, enough with the ranting, i think you get the picture ;)

the four stages of "wonder"

and here is a picture of the finished piece i created entitled "wonder" 

(as shown smaller above)

wonder

and here are some amazing pictures taken during our workshop showing just how awesome the setting was and how many different ideas came from the power of just "going with the flow" and letting ourselves spill out onto the canvas by exploring with colour, volume and pattern ...

sarmarie

michelle

sue

donna

me :)

debbi

dixie

jayne

flora

as you can see, it was a truly awesome weekend...

i am so very grateful for all that we shared...

truly inspirational...

thank you to the amazing flora bowley and her generous spirit...

and to the fabulous and fantastic "nanga 8" - as we now call ourselves - you rock xo

cards, cards and more cards ...

hi all.
i have had a fantastic weekend getting the production line happening and creating another 90 cards ready for the three markets i am attending in april (see post dated 27th Feb. 2011 for details of these markets) ... i had so much fun printing/sticking, labelling and packaging. most of the designs are the "old favourites" but i have created three new designs using my camelia photographs taken back last year when i was doing the blogging your way online class with the amazing holly becker and lesley shewring (see post dated 1st Oct. 2010)

i have taken these photos and hand stamped a couple of beautiful images/words over them to create some pretty sweet looking cards ... let's hope the customers like them as much as i do !! let me know what you think ... 

necklace heaven ...

well ... i have been really busy soldering away. 

over the last 10 days i have managed to pump out several new designs for my art charms that i will be selling at the markets in Denmark, Walpole and Balingup between now 

and the end of April. 

i have made the charms in three different sizes 

(1" square, 1.5" square and 1" wide x 3" long) 

so there should be something to suit everyone !!! 

1" square art charms

all of the art charms feature scanned images of my original collage work and in fact some of them even have tiny little original collages going on inside them ... 

the inspiration just kept coming.

 if anyone would like to order an art charm please 
feel free to e-mail me. 

the 1" square are $14 each, 

the 1.5" square are $18 each 

the 1" x 3" are $18 each  

(you can identify them by telling me where they are located 

on the grid pictured)