Getting to Know You: A Blogger Visitor

Here's the scenario this week. Imagine you've made a connection with another blogger who lives in a completely different part of the world than you do. This blogger is about to take a trip and the connection you've made is so strong that she is going to make your house one stop on her trip. (Yay!) Unfortunately she can only stay at your place for 24 hours (boo!), but she'd like to see some nearby sights while visiting with you.
Keeping in mind that time is quite limited, so you have to stick pretty close to home (although not necessarily right IN your town - just anyplace you could go as a day trip), try looking around you with the eyes of someone who has never seen your area and tell us some things you'd share with...A Visitor to Your Hometown


Firstly, she would just HAVE to stay for two days, because Australia is so spread out.
1. Your visitor wants to see something historical. Where would you take her and why?
Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill (1/2 drive from where I live) because it’s an outdoor museum replicating the hustle and bustle of the 1850s. You can pan for gold or visit the blacksmith shop, candle maker or other shops there. Mind you, you need to watch out for the horse-drawn vehicles. After that, whilst not historical, I would take my visitors to the Ballarat Wildlife and Reptile Park to experience numerous Aussie creatures, come in close contact with koalas, emus and other native animals. For lunch, there are many scrumptious places to choose from. In the afternoon I would suggest we visit an art gallery to view the original Eureka Flag and Australian art.
2. She wants to see something hysterical...well, mildly amusing anyway. She'd even go for cute, quirky, odd, or unique. Where would you take her and why?
We would hop along to a Circus Oz show. The performers presents audiences with a circus that is also a playful theatrical subversion of the idea of 'circus'. Not your average circus.
3. She wants to take some beautiful and/or interesting photos to fill her albums when she gets home. Where would you take her?
We would take a day drive along the Great Ocean Road, a breath-taking drive along the South-West Coast of Victoria. We would stop to look at the beach, waterfalls and parks. We would stop at coastal towns including Torquay, Warrnambool, and the historical villages of Queenscliff and Port Fairy.
4. She'd like to buy a souvenir that will remind her of your area every time she sees it. What would you suggest and where would you go to get it?
I would not recommend buying something but rather finding a seashell, some driftwood and maybe seaglass from one of the many beaches we would visit. However I would suggest taking only one shell, we must leave shells for others to enjoy.
5. Wow, it's been a long day and you're both ready for a snack, or maybe even a meal. Where would you take her to really get the flavor of your area?
There are many wineries to visit, and I would recommend Witchmount Estate to sample some local wine and Italian menu.

Here I was worrying about doing no craft on the weekend, I must re-evaluate my life.

I went to the ocean today and, just when you think nothing will amaze you, on two separate occasions there were seals on the beach! You obviously couldn't touch them (although I was very tempted), but they were gorgeous, which such lovely sad eyes. I was about two feet away from the seals! One was frolicking, rolling in the sand, almost pleading for a belly rub!

OMG, what an experience. Being so close to wildlife! Talk about a natural high.

No Art Today....

Today I am going to Barwon Heads with the family for a weekend. We are staying with our ex-neighbours who are absolutely gorgeous. I am so looking forward to catching up with them. They moved a few years ago to Barwon Heads, a coastal town.

On a down side, I am a bit sad because I won't be able to do any drawing/art/craft this weekend, one just can't do it when visiting people. I don't think I have had a break for a few weeks so I will be very edgy.

Anyway, off we go....

Fleur's ACEO

Today I received a beautiful watercolour ACEO from WC's "Fleur". The gentle colours make this card stunning. Thank you Fleur.

Getting to Know You: The Best and Worst.

Getting to know you by answering the following questions:

1. What's the best place you ever lived? the worst?
Kew, inner Melbourne, for the closeness to the City and public transport. The shops were fantastic too. I am however very biased to Cheltenham - I grew up here, and loved it for proximity to the beach, city and shops. Oh how I dream of being back at Cheltenham. I do not think I have disliked anywhere I have lived.

2. What's the best place you ever visited on holiday/vacation? the worst?
My fondest memories are on holiday at Eden, NSW. It is a coastal/fishing spot where one can be so close to nature, relax anywhere, and not too far from the hustle/bustle of a town. We nearly purchased a house at Eden, with the intention to relocate there, however it was sold before we could organize finances. Just not meant to be. Ah, but we can still visit there for holidays. I don’t think I have had a horribly holiday – any holiday is a bonus for me because they are so scarce.

3. What's the best job you ever had? the worst?
I have enjoyed all my roles in HR (Human Resources). I find it very challenging and enjoy the people contact. The worst position I had was a Sales Rep whereby we were basically told anything goes to get a sale (before EEO and AA legislation); it was a very small business and the owner was ….(sorry can’t describe what I thought of him here).

4. What's your best talent or ability? your worst?
Definitely time management/organizational skills. I am always punctual, on time and reliable. My worst ability is I am gullible and believe everything everyone tells me!

5. What's the best decision you ever made? the worst?
The best decision was to have children (I have four). Whilst it’s not an easy role and doesn’t come with training, when they give you a kiss or a hug it makes it all worthwhile. I don’t think I have made a “worst” decision because I don’t dwell on that, I use the outcome as part of life’s learning curve.

Bonus (so we can end on a positive note!): What's one good thing about you that isn't covered in the questions above, but that you'd like to share with the world?
I love making new friends – will you be my new friend?

Sharing Artwork

I saw this idea on another blog and thought I'd give it a try. I have five pieces of artwork (ATCs) which I am giving away to the first five interested people PROVIDING they also share five free pieces of their artwork to whoever is interested, via via their blog.

If you are interested in receiving an ATC please give me your details and link to your blog so I can check you have offered to share your artwork to others.

Getting to Know You - Dinner Party

Imagine you're going to organize a dinner party for yourself and seven guests. You can invite anyone who ever lived, whether they're world-famous or someone whose name only you would recognize. If you choose someone from the past, they will be magically alive and present for this one day. But here's the twist - in order for the magic to work, each chair will only hold a guest who fits into a certain category. Tell us who you would invite and, if you like, tell us a little about why. What do you admire about that person or what would you like to learn from him or her?

A lot of these people who interest me are Australian and probably will not be known to those from overseas.

1. Guest one must be someone who is/was creative with words - a novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, journalist, etc. Who would you invite?
Probably Shakespeare, to have explain to me what his writings were about (never did understand it but would like to).

2. Guest two must be someone who is/was creative with images - a painter, photographer, sculptor, fabric artist, collage artist, etc. Who would you invite?
I’m thinking of doing a Frida Kahlo swap at the moment, she definitely would be invited to my dinner party. To me, she was very radical for her day.

3. Guest three must be someone who is/was a performer – an actor, singer, musician, comedian, acrobat, etc. Who would you invite?
Steve Gilpin, lead singer from Mi-Sex who died horribly in a car accident. The band was my all time favourite (1970s/1980s) and I would love to have conversation with him about his music and anything else.

4. Guest four must be someone who is charting/charted new territory – either in the physical sense, like an explorer, adventurer, or astronaut, or someone like a groundbreaking scientist or inventor. Who would you invite?
Ben Kozel, author of “Three Men in a Raft” and “Five Men in a Leaky Boat”. It would be fascinating listening to him discuss his journey down the Amazon and Yenisey River.

5. Guest five must be someone who is/was a leader of other people – perhaps in the area of politics, like the literal leader of a country, or perhaps a leader in the area of religion, military, business, or even a great philosopher or teacher, or an inspiring athlete. Who would you invite?
Peter Garrett Former President Australian Conservation Foundation, activist, former member Australian group Midnight Oil, Labor Candidate for Kingsford Smith. He received the Australian Humanitarian Foundation Award in the Environment category in 2000 and in 2003 the Order of Australia (Member General Division), for his contribution to environment and the music industry. He is a prolific man who would hold great interest in discussion. His expertise ranges from music to the environment.

6. Guest six must be someone from any field who you believe is/was underrated and under-appreciated by most people, but whom you admire. Who would you invite?
This man would fit into a number of categories. Without any doubt, the Dalai Lama would be the most respected and influential person at my table. He is truly a man of wisdom and peace. I'm looking forward to seeing him when he comes to Oz this year.

7. Guest seven is a wild card – your choice! Is there someone you’d like to invite who didn’t seem to quite fit into any category, or was there a category where you’d have really liked to invite two different people? Then this is your chance to add the person you missed to the table. Who would you invite?
Mark Brandon, Chopper Read, is a former standover man who’s boasted of maiming and killing other crime figures. Actually, he was cleared of his only murder charge. He has some interesting ideas on criminal life, has written books etc. He would add spice to the conversation.

Bonus: Uh Oh! The dinner party is just about to end, and all your guests are about to disappear, and you realize that you’ve forgotten to ask one important question of one of your guests. You just barely have time to squeeze in that last question, so quick! – what was the question and who did you ask?
A simple question – “What is your New Year’s Resolution and why”

Fairy

I bought a new book the other day, step-by-step instructions on how to draw fairies. I am inspired by Froud's faeries and whilst this book isn't by Froud, the fairies in this book are not your everyday "pretty" fairies. Here's my first drawing (naturally she has glitter around her eyes, but it's not visible in the scan).

MY 2007 ART PLAN

I'm a member of a group which talks about a "2007 Art Plan" - here's mine.

1.Attempt Portraits - something I have avoided because I think this is beyond my capability. However this is the year I am going to challenge myself and paint/draw a few. Keep posted for the results (although I have 12 months to do this).

2. Use Colour - I want to add a lot more colour to my work, rather than sticking with the safe earthy colours. I don't think this will be a massive problem for me, as I do light "brightness".

3. Plein Air - go outdoors and paint what I see (of course this impacts on "me time").

4. Not feel bombarded -attempt to do too many projects so I lose sight of the enjoyment of art.