MONDAY PHOTO-A-WEEK - BUTTONS

I found the following description on Wikipedia at this link -
Buttons - In clothing and fashion design, a button is a small disc, typically round, object usually attached to an article of clothing in order to secure an opening, or for ornamentation. Functional buttons work by slipping the button through a fabric or thread loop, or by sliding the button through a reinforced slit called a buttonhole.

Buttons may be manufactured from an extremely wide range of materials, including natural materials such as antler, bone, horn, ivory, shell, vegetable ivory, and wood; or synthetics such as celluloid, glass, metal, bakelite and plastic.

Hard plastic is by far the most common material for newly manufactured buttons; the other materials tend to occur only in premium apparel.

There exists a phobia of buttons, called koumpounophobia.

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Who knew there is actually a phobia of buttons???!!!

Anywhoo, as I put my thoughts into the theme for this week, I got to thinking of buttons as a type of analogy.



How they hold things together which is similar to how we try to hold our lives together sometimes.



When a button breaks off we sew it back into place like we often pick up the pieces of our own lives and put them back into place.



When a button gets lost, we find another to sew in its place like when we feel loss in our own lives, we gradually heal and find closure. With time, our human nature helps us to find something else to love or take an interest in and we move on with our lives.



Sometimes, buttons get lost or broken and we don't bother to fix or replace them and the garment is not worn again.....put aside for a time when we choose to mend it. Some people never completely heal or find closure after loss and they go around with a part of their hearts not mended due to their deep sorrow.



I wish for those people to find peace and closure through love, light and the joy of living. May they reach out to others in their time of despair and may they allow others to help them through it.




Love, light and peace

Sketches and....A WEDDING DATE!!!

This is a sketch I did in my Nature and Animal journal of the injured crow we rescued on February 8th.

Watercolour, Pigma pen and coloured pencil in A4 sketchbook
Click on any image to enlarge

A quick sketch (below) in my Every Day Matters journal. Task #29 was to Draw something architectural. I had the opportunity last weekend to take some photos of a Buddhist Temple and Pagoda so used the Pagoda as my subject.

Pigma pen and coloured pencil in A5 sketchbook

Last Sunday, Michelle, Alex, Aaron and I went for a drive to check out a park that will be the setting for Michelle's and Alex's wedding ceremony....YES....you read right! A date has been set for their special day - October 2nd - which is during our Spring season. Excitement rules!

Just down the road from the park is a magnificent Buddhist temple so we went to check it out. The Chung Tian Buddhist temple lies inside this complex but, understandably, photographs were not allowed past these walls.

The gardens were beautifully manicured and landscaped





The statue below was one of two on each side of the entrance to the magnificent Pagoda.



.....and the Pagoda (below).....

It was huge and was quite impressive with its bright colours against the bushland backdrop.

I hope you have all been enjoying a wonderful week. It's been raining on and off here but there have still been some hot and humid days to deal with regardless. I'm quite excited because Reece arrives home from Thailand tomorrow!!!! YAY! He has been keeping in touch by email which has been great. Hopefully, he has taken lots of pics for me to show you all.

~ Have a wonderful weekend ~

Love, light and peace

MONDAY PHOTO-A-WEEK - I made this!

As the post title implies, our photo theme this week was to photograph something that I've made.

I've made many things over the years. In my early adult years, I would sew and knit clothes for my kids as well as my Mum, my sister and her kids. Then around 1994, I found art, and sewing and knitting quickly took a back seat in my life.

So, for today, I thought I'd share some of the Native American ceramics that I made between 1995 and 1997.

I would buy the greenware which is an already shaped clay piece which has been cast from a mould and air-dried. The greenware pieces have seam edges and flaws which need to be cleaned up with special scrapers and stiff brush tools. Greenware is very, VERY delicate and easily broken so must be handled with great care.

Some people hate cleaning greenware and see it as a chore but I used to love cleaning greenware. I found the process relaxing and quite therapeutic. The cleaning process required the gentle scraping away of all the rough seam edges and any surface flaws, then gently sanding the surface...then wiping it over gently with a small, damp sponge to bring it to a lovely smooth finish.

Once the greenware was cleaned up, I would take it back to the place I bought it from and they would fire it in their kiln. Greenware can be various shades of grey before firing but, after firing, it is white and much more sturdy. Fired greenware which hasn't been glazed is called 'bisque ceramic' and it's as fragile as any other breakable. The next stage is painting and finishing it.

In keeping with the Native American theme of this post, here is a pic of a counted cross-stitch I did back in 1996. The frame size is 17"x21". This was only my second cross-stitch and I was so pleased with the results. My first cross-stitch was a couple of Pandas and it now resides at my parents' place.

Counted cross-stitch is where you start off with blank material, no pre-stamped design, and then you count your way to the required spot. The count is determined by the holes between the weave. I used 18 count Aida cloth for this piece which means there are 18 holes to each linear inch.

I actually pulled all of the above pieces out of storage a couple of weeks ago in preparation for this week's photo theme and it sure brought back some wonderful memories. Aaron quickly grabbed a ceramic golden eagle for his room because he collects bird ornaments. I'm so happy that my kids enjoy my art too.

Love, light and peace