September Reading

September Books

I am very grateful this month for the solace and escape of books, I do not think I could have coped without them

Books that are helping me cope with loss

The Afterlife of Billy Fingers: Annie Kagan (Kindle)  ebook or book

The Happiness Project: Gretchen Rubin (Library) ebook or book

The Life You Were Born to Live: Dan Millman (Kindle) ebook or book

The Laws of Spirit: Dan Millman (Kindle) ebook or book

The Four Purposes of Life: Dan Millman (Kindle) ebook or book

Your Soul Plan: Robert Schwartz (Kindle) ebook or book

Becoming Magic: Genevieve Davis (Kindle) ebook or book

Non- Fiction

Eat For Health: Joel Fuhrman (Kindle) ebook 

Survival Lessons: Alice Hoffman (Library) book

Paradise in Plain Sight: Karen Maezen Miller (Kindle) ebook or book

The Kitchen Diaries: Nigel Slater (Library) ebook or book

Fiction

Some Kind Of Fairy Tale: Graham Joyce (Kindle) ebook or book

Disclaimer: The (book) links go to the Book Depository with whom I have an Affiliated Link  and so get 10% of the price you pay if you purchase through that link. 

(ebook) goes to Amazon kindle with whom I do not yet have a link.

Where the book is currently no longer  available there the links go to booko.com.au which is a favourite site that will show you where books are available and at what price. I do not get anything from here.

The Autumn Gift

Kathryn Polanski 

25/5/79  - 7/9/14

I've been away form here for a while. Some of you may be aware through FB that I have recently had to deal with something really really difficult, probably the hardest thing in my life so far.
At 16 I had a beautiful baby girl who I gave up for adoption, seventeen years later I met her and we spent time together when we could but life got in the way as it does, so I never got to spend as much time as I would have liked.
On September 7th she lost her battle with depression and took her own life.
I did not even know she was struggling with depression. No one let me know.
The loss of the future time we could have spent together is overwhelming.
and no matter how I curse and swear and look at what I maybe could have done this is something that I cannot change and that is the saddest thing of all.

She was the Autumn Gift (from Charles de Lints Spirit Walk ) but I did not realise it until it was too late. So many people felt better for having her in their lives but she still felt like she wasn't special and had nothing to offer.

I have always wanted to emulate Esmerelda Foylan The Westlin' Wind ( again from Spirit Walk)and help people to find their way. I had hoped to be able to do Martha Beck's training course but the money was just not forthcoming at this time, but next time or sometime I will do it, I also plan to do the Art Therapy course through Phoenix and somehow make a difference. I have wanted to do this for a long time but I am hoping to use this as a catalyst to push me forward.

All I can take from this it to make sure my life is the best damn life I can live, not to take things for granted.

The best people possess a feeling for beauty

the courage to take risks

the discipline to tell the truth

the capacity for sacrifice

Ironically their virtues make them vulnerable

they are often wounded

sometimes destroyed

Ernest Hemingway

Goodbye beautiful girl

x te

New Work off to WA

4 of 9 new small works hot wax on paper 

with hand made oil paint

They will be in an exhibition

at Moombaki

a very nice winery 

just around the corner from home

as part of 

The Great Southern Art and Craft Trail

running from September 27th

to October 12th

x te

More Paint Rag Books

Raw Sienna

available here

Natural Indigo

available here

I am now working on some wax books

x te

New Book on Etsy

a small 10 x 10 cm book

made of recycled paint rags

The front and back covers 

are coated in encaustic medium

and home made natural indigo oil paint

inside each of the pages 

is coated in traditional rabbit skin glue gesso

enough to make a nice surface

but not so as to completely obscure the marks

Available here

SOLD

x te

In the Studio

I have been covering paint rags with

tradtional glue gesso

to use as pages 

in some new 

fabric books

I am planning

This is a small piece 

on wood

encaustic, xanthorrhoea resin, nacre, indigo

and this is the place on my floor

 where the pieces 

I think are finished 

live for a while 

until I am sure

a mix of cold and hot wax

Unfortunately they are too fat 

for cost effective overseas postage

But I might put them in the etsy shop

for Ozzie buyers

Or I may take them

travelling with me

only time will tell

x te

Workshops in Melbourne

Workshops at Open Drawer

1158 Toorak Road
Camberwell (Hartwell Village) 3124

Natural Dyeing

Tutor: Trace Willans

Date: Wednesday November 5th & Thursday November 6th

Time: 9.30 – 3.30pm

Cost: $295.00 

Spend 2 days learning to dye using plant material gathered from your home and local environment. Whether that is from the leftovers from last night’s dinner, leaves and flowers growing in your garden or those gathered from your street or local park, never purchase dye again. Create cloth and paper which is truly local and seasonal.

We will be using a bundling technique with boiling and steaming which prints the actual plants onto the fabric, giving excellent detail.

Expect to go home with many individual pieces of fabric to incorporate into your work.

You will also have the option of dyeing your thread/wool in the pots or in your bundles for great variegated thread or you can spend some time stitching into your cloth before dyeing for a wonderful integrated look.

There will also be the opportunity to lay some papers out for rusting and I will set up a small indigo pot to play with.

 More info here

Making Simple Paint and Tape Bound Book

Tutor: Trace Willans

Date: Friday November 7th

Time: 9.30-3.30pm

Cost: $165

Begin the day by learning to make two simple paints from milk, flour, sugar and natural pigments.Then use them to paint a large sheet of watercolour paper on one side. While this is drying make a small sample tape bound book in preparation for tearing your painting into smaller pieces to make a one of a kind artist’s book which you will work back into using encaustic techniques.

More info here