customizing drawings

your image that blossoms a rose in the deeps of my heart.....
ink on tissue on vintage wallpaper
I am getting my work ready for exhibiting and its all coming together fairly spit spot as mary poppins would say ...only some of the drawings are not lending themselves to behaving in a disciplined way up on the wall . These are all the drawings that I made on tissue paper. Its so important to get the way you actually place the work on the wall right.
Ideally I would like to lay them all in a shallow box to be carefully looked through but in reality that is a little too risky.
.....Framing is too darn expensive ,so I will probs hang them from tiny bulldog clips that I am spraying white.
I was hoping to get this and a few other tweeks done in time for the full moon at around 7pm tonight but ,I'll just have to go into the next moon cycle (please excuse silliness over moon ...its just some of us have to enforce some kind of limitations or nothing would ever conclude um...um... well sort of conclude until the next stab at it.)

....you will fly with the birds (details of my new painting)

please excuse the not great photos ,the light is so all over the place today.....I will post better ones when I get a chance,just going into college to fill all the holes in the wall and repaint my exhibition area........excitement




details of peacock for dear nath
this is still a work in progress ,if you want to comment ,I'd love that :)...
gouache on gessoed board
...had a really lucky day yesterday and was able to work right through (highly unlikely here most days) and I thank god and all the beautiful birds that have been inspiring me , oh and my fave music of the moment Lifeline by Iris deMent , it is THE most rousing collection . It was inspired by her own mothers old gospel songs that she used to bash out on the piano (which was squashed in between some of the childrens beds upstairs.)
Any time Iris,s mother wanted peace ,up she'd go to her "piana", and with her head thrown back would completely loose herself in these raw and fantastical songs.........whenever Iris (who has seen many hard days herself) phones her mother in distress, her mother says, IRIS GET YOU TO YOUR PIANA !.... I like this , I like this a lot xx

a stream of flowers ,my best friend, sorting work out for next week and a lovely bear......

been really enjoying the unlikely irish sunshine , just at a school celebration, how cute is that bear ?,saw this steam of flowers on my way home on my best friend (my bike of course !) and have enjoyed re-visiting my older work.

the truth about goldfinches

you may have to click on this latest piece of wonderfulnessness (its actually true) to be able to read it

oh you know..I have lots of work to do for the finals but sure the blog is fairly important in the whole scheme of things for me.....

so much is happening all around me , a tree which was white is now pink and there are goldfinches everywhere.... I haven't much to post but here a few things taking up space in my mind right now......
first up is the first actual typewritten words I zelously typewrote out today after tracking down some ribbon (thanks dad),if you are in England you can get it in Rymans that wonderful stationers.I really hoped that I would be able to bring the lilliput back to life. It was only two euros ! and was never used much,its from 1975.I am going to have lots of fun with it and I have already got a project in mind ...yep you cant stop me .
next is this slightly spooky little doll I picked up at the latest carboot love fest ,it is v.v.v old and needed to be rescued ,its looking after my work in progress at the moment along with my rose quartz angel, they both feel full sure that this is going to be a break through painting (no lie )
a detail from said painting of the wren that actually flew down and sat in front of me outside the supermarket the other day , just staring up at me ,which I thought a little rude , but goodness aren't wrens too cute and perfect.
a packet of pegs ...well they are quite joyful and woodblocky and um....
this childrens animal costume pattern is the best ,I love it ,it isn't mine but I found it on a cool etsy site of ....patterns! its sold ! look you will have to do an old school copy and paste if you want to see their other dress patterns from 1920 up to 1970;s (www.lindentree.etsy.com) you know how busy I am right now !
I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer and are pleased to be able to revisit some old summer dress friends xx

I was walking just around my road and so many flowers were peeking up at me,the words are from the language of flowers ,a very old book from around 1853,that we recently refound in the house . Oh..... my book is nearly finished and I am so pleased with it......

new work is coming....

above images are my work of the last two days in extremely "rough (but I am so glad I got something down) form"
gouache on gessoed board
Thanks be to goodness, I am a great believer in the energies of the moon, and yes , the new moon came yesterday and with it some assistance with making a start on something new.
Oh Lordy , it can be tricky to make work when there is an outside pressure of an iminent last assesment looming.(not to mention hoopla stand of a graduation show OMG )
I want to continue with my work not just because I have completed a degree at long last in fine art ,but because I only know that I know nothing.

Below is a wonderful quote I read today and it sums up just how I feel.....

The goal is not to have a goal.
John Cage

I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it !

my new loves
..... ..my just this minute arrived clogs
......now I just can't decide which ones to wear !

seems like an important one somehow...

house tree
ink and collage on paper
2007
I made this drawing around three years ago and I still love it ,it just made itself and it feels very humble and honest (qualities that I admire),like a fairly inept hand tinted photograph.....I do think that these can be so moving ......

does work change over the years ?

all above work 2003-4
I wasn't looking at my work properly for a long time, I sort of peeked at it sometimes but mostly disowned it and kept moving on to the next thing to do. I must say that as I have started to see the work as a whole,like a map,a connected body of directions...... its easier to see what is working and what is just distraction,or temporary.
I have been looking back at my old work as I prepare for my iminent degree show ,and although I will not be including it ,as it is too removed from my current concerns,I do feel it has some interest in its subject matter. I may revisit some elements of this work ,I like drawing so much and I feel I have a lot more that I can say in this medium.
I have mixed feelings about studying for so long , the part-time aspect is extremely time consuming ,for me over 7 years omg ! ..and its frustrating because while I know that I am fully immersed in my work and it feels extremely real ,it remains largely hidden.
Art is a strange affliction, I cannot stop ,it has meaning for me, but maybe very little meaning outside of me (a fear at times ,at others an acceptance) I don't know ,I will keep on going until the wheels fall of the cart and try to get better at what it is I have chosen to do.

heres the thing... homemade show this friday....

http://www.syntheastwood.com/ (please excuse dumbness over links , I will be on to it v.v soon) photograph by Jeannie O'Brien
....... in the meantime copy and paste this , its worth it for the brilliant and rare video of Mr Homemade himself John Cage performing a very early piece of his music, live on stage using(amongst many other things) whisks, baths,egg timers and whatnots to the bafflement of the audience.(its under inspiration for submitting work to the homemade show)
Homemade is a great show happening up in Dublin this friday 15th may,,which is brought together by the music,art and technology collective Synth Eastwood.
I would love to go but sure, you know things to do ,places to go blahdey blah, but heres the thing, I have a drawing in it !! ,class , delighted I am...
All the drawings are going to be projected on the wall and theres homemade dolls houses,laptops,bands,chairs,animations,hobby horses, it all sounds brilliant.....

drawings on boxes 2008-2009

part two........(of the yay! day)

my sunny may day (yay!)

....Today was a beauuuuuutiful day ,and I have recorded it, the shadows were amazing ,it is very rare to have a day like this in the unpredictable (petulant) Irish climate , so records need to be procurred you see.....
what you see is my daily walk, (its around a lovely bogland over the road from where I live) but in mary poppins technicolour sunlight...yes !
oh ,if you are interested my dogs are called zara (beddlington terrier) and towser (whippet),when I got home, I am in the garden painting on some grounds for some soon to be fantastic paintings (true)
........um as usual I got a bit carried away with the shadows that kept appearing on my boards and then I got excited about how lovely the shapes were....well they are shapes that are magical because if the sun wasn,t there they wouldnt have appeared..........hope you are all getting out into the day wherever you are , we are blessed x

drawing and writings du jour

magdalena
ink and ribbon and carbon on board
click on the image below ,I know its v.hard to see it small (sorry !)

work in progress (all that connects us is our tears)
white ink and acrylic on tissue
I am using a lot of white ink at the mo , and I have to say it is a nightmare to photograph, I guess that might have something to do with using extremely light blue underneath.but I am happy with this image in the real world.Hope its nice and warm where you are , doesn,t it make you feel loved ,cozy and calmer? (it does me anyhow.)

studio love

in studio ,gazing around in near catatonic state , what if I can't ever make anymore work after I leave college ?, what if I can't make any work today , on and on it goes .... blahdey blah..at least the sun is shining .

front cover of my first zine /book......(a work in progress)

image on front cover of book is tiny kiss
ink on paper
I was never quite sure of what I thought of photoshop,like I have had it on my mac for years ,but never used it, (okay its an amazing tool ) I quite like this writing that I was able to do with the mouse , I,ll be thinking it over anyways I am posting it in a flurry of excitement , lots more work to do tho, ...(knowing me ,it ,ll probs be all different tommorow )
I am going to try and sell them on this blog ,so any pre-orders or general feedback on my work (the artist assures you that she ALREADY HAS 2 pre-orders,um... thanks guys ! xx ) will be very welcome.
There will be around 20 drawings , interspersed artistically (sort of in a deconstructed storybook way)........with hand drawn lettering transcribing found texts and my photographs (that have inspired the origins of my work )

more treasures ,right here ,right now ...

ceramic pieces from Victorian rubbish dumps

needlework magazines booty

needlewomen are rad !

the second part of this post features my find of the day for sure ,a collection of FIFTY beautifully cared for needlework magazines from the late 1940,s till the 1950,s , these came via a seller who came over from London,with local connections , they are full to the brim with the most amazing ideas , crazy schemes ,and really folkloric booty .I love them so much , that I cannot believe that I found them ,or maybe I cannot believe that they excite me so , there is absolutely no hope for me !...........
The china scraps are from the same man , who used to dig at the old recovered Victorian rubbish dumps , well this is the type of stuff he found. I do think they have a strong poetic resonance together. Once complete dolls, teasets etc.......