An artist never stops ... I just stopped teaching.

An artist friend Trevor Platt wrote on my facebook after releasing my new site .. “Welcome back, an artist has no choice”. And that is sooo true .. whilst I sadly closed my business the ArTTable and have happily rebuilt my life here in Melbourne, I never stopped the art. I never stopped being creative, making things and designing things. I just stopped teaching, I was sad and it’s taken 4 years to get over that.

But now, with the help of the new phenomena ‘blogging’ I can start teaching again, online and during home time on week nights and weekends.

So what have I been creating over the past 4 years? Well here is a sneak peak of projects to come on my blog:

	Gawd awful cushion colors .. are or they? Revolting colours on their own but serving a purpose on my new outdoor patio for summer. This one deserves it’s own post later but the fabrics options are awesome at Fab Outdoor Fabrics.
	Kinglake bushfires .. Out of despair and emotion came inspiration and rebirth. We visited Kinglake to support the local business with trade several times. Each time photos captured the rawness and then the rebirth of this tragedy. You can see my creative inspiration in my gallery.
	Beads to sell! Beads to sell! Or use some-how … I still have left over from the ArTTable cartons of beads, what to do with them .. make bracelets of course. I have been selling them locally to friends but you can see more on my Etsy site: surreal designs.
	When in doubt .. copy another artist. So true, when I have been at my flattest creatively its usually the inspiration from another artist which gets me going. Thankyou Emma Hack for 2012! Thankyou Bronwyn Bancroft in 1990!
	The renovators delight? Or 10 years hard labour? Well there will be plenty of stories about this 1960 mid-century home we have just bought. It is creativity, design, renovate in true DIY budget style!
	What to do with bright green ugly beads? Give them away for Christmas! True! I made Christmas bracelets kits for my friends, total cost $1.50 each.
	Buy others artwork … I may be an artist but some other artist work really motivates me and is outside of what I can create myself. Try not to be predictable .. grab the unusual, it makes a good talking point. I find too many people decorate their homes with something that ‘matches’ rather than something which has it’s own presence.
	Small art that really counts. Sometimes the smallest additions make a huge difference to your surrounding and continues to grow you creatively. Check out this little fellow I stuck on an old tree root.
	Stone, tiles, paint, timber, bath tub, shutters. Where do I begin telling you about the new look bathroom … it all started with blue-stone and turned into the retreat.
	Build a fence yourself .. out of stone of course! Watch enough YouTube videos and YouToo will need to soak in the bath to recover every weekend. Lucky we got the new bathroom before the stone fence!
	More small art that counts … beaded sea urchins beaded sea forms origami birds buy a deer’s head make the deer a necklace Keep an eye out for unusual collectibles and then turn them into art, it’s a cheap way to decorate quickly.
	Landscaping Our renovator’s delight requires the full-monty .. fences, paths, landscaping, garden lights .. even lawn. Here is a sneak peek at the new front garden .. Japanese meets Australiana?