Thursday, January 18, 2007

Thinking about my spare time...

Blogging has been one of the best things I've done with my spare time. It is not 'the best', but up there. It came initially as a response to Danny Gregory's Everyday Matters website, then books, then Yahoo group. All these things got me moving again. Moving led me on to blogging. Blogging led me to view the Internet in a whole new light.

Now I have filled my spare time to the brim! I'm the busiest and happiest I've been in a long time! I'm working 'full time' (my definition of full-time tends to differ from others - but it is full-time to me!) and studying full-time. I'm about to get a bit more real about that and cut back to 4 days a week work because my study has become so important to me.

So my spare time is practically non-existant. This is a reality I have always dreaded. I'm a 'spare time' freak. I must have it. I must be able to do, create, make, dabble in my spare time. I go nuts if I don't have it.

But I'm not nuts. I love it. My non-spare time is filled with things I love doing. I don't want to slow down. I want to speed up! I want more. I'm getting more. I'm doing more. I love more! I've always been a fervent upholder of what I've called 'the extraordinary found in the ordinary everyday'. Danny Gregory was right when he said every day matters.

Note:
For the purpose of acknowledging chronology, these blind contour drawings of Roly have been inserted in the order they were drawn, not the order they appear in my Moleskine.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Notebookism Notebookism NOTEBOOKISM!

They say "three times lucky". Well, an image from this blog is featured on Notebookism today - my third time! Check it out, and most importantly, check out Notebookism. It is a fabulous website where stationery lovers and the visually minded are constantly tantilised with images and ideas, paper and pens, and history and history-in-the-making. So in the Aussie vernacular - "Do yourself a favour!"

...and now for something completely different!


This is a version of a tattoo image I've been using lately in some prints. This one, however, has been drawn in The Scribbler. Stroll or click over there and enjoy a bit of fun. I'm going to add the link to my sidebar under 'frivolity'! I found this through Janey's Journey. (I hope you know Janey and have bought some of her brilliant work through her Etsy shop. Buy now! Before she is too famous for us to afford! - I did!)

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

'The Path to Rome' Part 4 - Roma!

Aah Roma! What a crazy place! Had an 'incident' (well not just one! but this bit is about one of them...) on a bus...















...but it all turned out well in the end.















My favourite thing in Rome was the trees. Those pines (what type of pines, does any one know???) are incredibly elegant. I saw the way the formed natural colonades and just KNEW where the ancient Romans got their inspiration for all those beautiful marble ones.














I drew this at the Forum. It is of 'Dominus ........' (don't you just hate that! You start typing and the words just won't come!) Dominus someoneus. It was beautiful!
Those trees! I love those trees!

Sunday, January 07, 2007

'The Path to Rome' Part 2 - Siena

Siena! Spent a couple of days there and really enjoyed it. The Duomo at Siena is famous for its inlaid marble floor. Because it is old and precious AND a floor, they keep it covered 11 months of the year. We were lucky enough to see it during our visit. Took some great photos of it, but you know, I never thought of drawing it, not once, until I started to type this. Oh well, another place I will just HAVE to go back to...














In the evenings we would go down to 'il campo' for a drink and some antipasta, just like everyone else! I drew as many of them as I could, but it was the end of a big day, and there was that cool wind, and I had to stop to drink something warming...















I love food anyway, but the food in Tuscany was amazing! It's hard to pick a favourite, but this is definitely one of them. A delicious regional salami with fennel seeds in it. Devine!

Friday, January 05, 2007

'The Path to Rome' Part 3 - San Gimignano

I'm having one of those post-holiday-blur moments. I started this post, and then realised San Gimignano should be Part 3, not Part 2 (as this post should have been titled)! I think I was just plain in a hurry to revisit such a beautiful place in my mind.

My guide book listed the name of the hotel that Cher, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and co. stayed in while in custody in San Gimignano in the movie "Tea With Mussolini". So we went straight there after arriving at the gates to the medieval town by bus.
"Would you like a room with a panoramic view?" "Yes, please."
"Would you like your view of the square or the countryside?" "The countryside!"

San Gimignano - beautiful inside and out. Wish we could have stayed longer. Aaahh, we'll just have to go back.












(Stay tuned for "The Path to Rome Part 2 - Siena")