Finding a balance

                                                 Here I am,
                                                 yes back finally,
                                                 after a busy few weeks.
                                                 Life has been so full that there has
                                                 been no room to blog.

                                                 It is hard to find a balance in life sometimes.

                                                The selfish artist side of me
                                                 longs to be a hermit in the studio,
                                                 quietly making art and listening to music and
                                                 feeling frustrated by any interruptions
                                                 from the outside world.

                                                 Fortunately I do have a less selfish
                                                 mother/ grand mother/ sister/ daughter in-law/ 
                                                 sister in-law/ aunt/ friend etc 
                                                 side to my personality.

                                                That side is always delighted to be
                                                 dragged away from my hermit hole
                                                 to be part of the rich tapestry of
                                                 an interesting family and social life.

                                                 When I manage to accept both sides
                                                  of myself I do find that delicate balance and
                                                  then my life hums. I would even go as far
                                                  as saying it sings exultantly.

                                                  I wish I could get it right all the time.

                                                 So here is a little photo log
                                                 (as a picture says a thousand words)
                                                 and it would take a lot of words to tell you
                                                 what I have been up to over the past
                                                 few weeks since my last blog post.
                                               
                                               

                                                    

                                                         Firstly as always there has been my
                                                         weekly visits to my dear son who
                                                          lives in hospital.

                                                          When I visit him I feel very much
                                                          appreciated and the sadness that surrounds
                                                          me as a mother looking at her son, who had
                                                          shown such intellectual and creative
                                                          potential as a teenager, is softened and I
                                                          appreciate him as he is now and the depth
                                                          he has added to my life.
                                                          It is good for us as humans to understand
                                                          the frailties of life.
                                                          So we all continue to struggle to make
                                                          the best of this difficult illness.

                                                          He puts life into perspective for me.
                                                          He has opened my mind and my heart
                                                          to the world of people who live their lives
                                                          with the difficulties of mental health.

                                                          Every moment of every day I am thankful
                                                          to be relatively healthy in body and mind.

                                                               

                                                           He loves our catch ups and always looks
                                                           forward to hearing family news.
                                                          A brief change of environment and company
                                                           does him the world of good.

                                                           But, I often need a good dose of
                                                           J.S.Bach, art/ clay and garden
                                                           to regain my happy-sad balance
                                                           after visiting him though.
                                                       

                                                                   a little shake out 
                                                                            and………

The first new chick of the season.

cactus flowers - more each morning

A family of Red Browed Finches feeding 

their babies on the morning chook food

Building wearable art 

-PLANE WINGS- 

with my grand daughter.

And a trip to the Australian Museum

………………………...

Then back to the studio

Making handles 

                                                     I have been potting like a mad woman
                                                     over these last couple of weeks.

                                                         The kiln will go on for a bisque
                                                          this Thursday evening.

                                   
                                             I am always nervous when I have
                                             favourite pieces in there.

                                            This load has my vinegar jar for
                                            my friend Beatrice in NZ.
                                            I SO want it to come out perfectly!
                                            Everything else is relatively small
                                            but the vinegar jar is big
                                            and I have put a lot of love into it.

                                            So PLEASE cross every thing for me on
                                            Thursday night :)

                                 

                                                            Some hand building.

I have also been working with

my paper and textile bits.

I find I can do this in the evenings at the 

dining room table while my daughter is doing 

           her homework and that way I can be sociable 

and still get some work done.

It's all about getting that balance!

…………………….

Then there was the launch of my sister Karin's book…..

well it is not really HER book ….

But it has taken up her heart and soul

and a large portion of her creative thoughts 

for the past 25 years that she has been 

working on it!

(the following 8 beautiful pics are by my brother Chris )

It is the story of the Keewong Mob.

It is a wonderful book and a very 

important resource for teaching 

Australian history.

                           
                                                    The launch was at Tranby in Glebe
                                                   

                                           We cooked up a storm and had a great celebration.




                                                                       ………………


                                         

                                            The following day my daughter was playing in a
                                           Paul Kelly tribute concert along with various
                                           note worthy artists at the opening of an exhibition
                                           of portraits of Paul Kelly along with a
                                          Ben Quilty exhibition.  'After Afganistan'
                                          at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre
                                       

                                                        Then she turned 16
                                                    and it was time to feast again :) xxx

                 
                                          Now she has her 'L' plates and can learn to drive!
                                                                          OH MY!


                                             This will be my last post on the Mud Colony
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