Hippie Cat No 2

I hugged the fireplace nearly all day yesterday as it was so bitterly cold but it meant I finished another small painting. This is another in my Hippie cat series. It measures 4"x4" on gallery wrapped canvas and can be hung right away without any framing. I have done it for an exhibition in August but decided to put it up for sale anyway at US $40.00

Portrait

The bad weather has finally arrived and it's freezing here. Good time to be stuck inside painting though. I have nearly completed another in my Hippie Cat series and am also doing more work on my TLC course. This is a pencil portrait I completed using the grid system. It certainly makes for a more accurate likeness. The hair drove me crazy.......

Menagerie Gets Massive Hits

Been getting major hits on The Menagerie and found they were coming from a blog entry on whipup.net and that the link was sent in by one of my online friends on zenafterhours It's amazing how kind people are with trying to help you out. Just pleased that I have revamped the site so it's easier to negotiate.

Finished another pendant yesterday which I am trying out on Trademe. Still stuck inside with the terrible gales (fourth day). The farmers in Hawkes Bay are now really suffering with the drought and this wind is just putting the icing on the cake as they have to watch dirt being blown into to the heavens. Most paddocks are empty of animals as they're sent to the freezing works as there is no feed for them to eat. Even if rain comes now it's too chilly for the grass to grow so it looks like being a meagre spring.

Site Revamp

Stuck inside as we're getting gusts of 130kms here- how the sheds are not taking off into the wild blue yonder is any one's guess.

I've done a major revamp of The Menagerie site after a friend told me it was too difficult to find anything. As I am selling all the books off I have followed her advice and put them all onto one page instead of divided into subject matter. The site is now half the size it was but hopefully I'll get twice the sales.

Finishing off some jewellery to put on Trademe to bring in some quick cash for vet bills. Was intending to do a craft fair tomorrow but still feeling under the weather so will have to leave it till next month yet again. I've hardly done any work in the past two weeks due to back pain which I think may be coming from my kidneys so looks like a trip to the doctor next week.

Otane Arts and Crafts Exhibition

It's been a tough week with one thing after another happening, especially with my cat Piper. Thursday after another trip to the vet my lift decided to hop along to the Otane Arts and Crafts as they were setting up for their four day exhibition over Queen's Birthday weekend. There are four clubs that share the building (an old school over 100 years old) including gardeners, painters, quilters and spinners. Maxine my driver belongs to the gardening club and introduced me to a couple of ladies who were setting up their sales tables in one of the four rooms being used for the exhibition. Amazing items for sale including intricate tiny leather bags as well as the more usual plants, lemon honey etc. The gardening room was also used to display the featured artists which included a sculptor, quilter and Richard Moorhead the painter.

Maxine made me a cup of tea and then took me across the hall to meet the lady who runs the painting club. Funnily enough she knew my name and it turned out she'd seen my work on the net. It truly is a small world. A great range of paintings displayed with landscapes and florals being very popular and the standard was high. Marie then opened a pair of french doors so I was able to get through to a room at the back displaying all the quilters' work. Amazing creations, especially a massive wildlife quilt in shades of brown and green with zebras and tigers. There were also plenty of country themed items for sale and all at reasonable prices. I wish I could sew properly!

The spinners and knitters room had a combination of yarn, knitted items and roving for sale. Recognised a few names including Waddle Inn which stocks my "stuff". Alpaca is really in at the moment and there were many scarves, jerseys and hats made of this. It does knit up beautifully. I felt quite inadequate after looking at all that work although my sister's knitting would hold its own there.

As we left more members were arriving for a 2pm official opening by the guy who runs the Electra Gallery. I felt very lucky I got to see everything without the crowds. The exhibition runs from 1 June- 4 June 2007.