life and other side projects- hair

oh hello. just came back from the studio looking up at the roof tops drawing birds while talking on the phone. nice. can't wait to share with you what i've been drawing.

in the mean time here is a bit over over sharing which i inevitably always do...in the form of my maeve column 'life and other side projects'. this one is titled 'hair'. i love the psychology of hair. i think it can be a bit of a symbol of emotion, particularly female emotion...think pj harvey songs.

maeve is looking beautiful, by the way, there is an enchanting vimeo which sets the mood nicely xx

hope you've had a great weekend!

rachel xx

women's work...uh hem

i've been watching nigella on iview lately. i find her curvacious (onscreen) presence very reassuring. as i myself am a woman not in any particular hurry to get rid of the 'post baby body' (gasp!). i'm rather fond of my new body and all it's history.


so, i cooked nigella's roast ribs and chicken recipie tonight. wasn't quite ready in time for jasper's dinner so earl and i enjoyed this warming meal together, surrounded by lovely mess left over from a happy day.


i am learning to chill out. something has shifted in me. i've realised that it just can't all get done. it will never be d o n e . the house work is a cycle. just like everything else.


i've had a few nice chats with some lovely women lately and i think that's why i'm feeling the way i am. i even cried in front of one while she fed me tea and pizza sitting by an open fire. another imparted some motherly wisdom about baby led weaning which is really just letting the baby eat soft finger food rather than spoon feeding. good messy fun!


so, thank you women! i'm about to go to bed with a mountain of laundry partially obstructing the kitchen door way, toys all over the rug and dishes dirty. hey, it's a big deal for me! i've been a bit of a neat freak lately, which is no fun for anyone. i'm just about ready to hang a 'bless this mess' sign. x


rachel xx

i can't think of a title for this blog post.

okay. it's winter. i'm in a bit of a daze. breast feeding. doing washing. watching bad tv. ugh. it's a phase. i need some nice words because my house is a mess. 

Motherhood has a very humanizing effect.  Everything gets reduced to essentials.  ~Meryl Streep


Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion, and sorrow too. Nothing else ever will make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop his own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own. -Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons


I looked on child-rearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring it.-Rose Kennedy


oh that's a little better. again, wisdom via google. thank you internet. is the internet the new religion? maybe i should've put that on my sensus form. 


rachel xx

a collection, she whispered.

psst...i have been doing this e course and consequently my head is no longer such a messy place! i'm working on a collection of lovely things... original art, cards and fabric patches... and my next picture book. yes a picture book!... a fabric picture book. i'm so excited.

the book is for babies, children and for, well you know... those of us who havn't quite grown up yet. i'm completely excited. so much so that i feel like i'm writing in whispers. hehe ok lets not get carried away!

at the moment i'm collecting inspiration and most importantly i have a plan. x

rachel xx

butterfly sandwich

i asked jasper what sort of sandwich he wanted the other day...he said he wanted a butterfly one! so i obligingly made one! i'll do anything to get him to actually sit down and eat these days. he's just always on the go. i feel like a big italian mother most of the time saying 'eat! eat!'...

here are the ingredients... 

butterfly body= a leftover cold sausage, but you could also use a carrot for a veg option.

wings= honey sandwich with wholemeal bread (of course you could use any sort of bread and any sort of filling!) cut in half and then cut into wing shapes.

antennas= thinly sliced carrot. but you could also use sprouts or thinly sliced celery.

yum! 

rachel xx

hey lady

hey, good news. i came runner up in the small works prize! and my drawing sold, so i was one very happy lady. thanks to steph and marce for hosting such a great event. if you are in ballarat have a look at the 90 or small works at red brick gallery and emporium 218a skipton steet.


i'm working on a series of little people and birds in boats. i'm drawing on a beautiful reconstituted stone surface framed in reclaimed timber. here are some works in progress or works in watching (i like to sit with them for a bit before i decide if they are finished!)

oh and did i mention that i have a studio space! yes. a beautiful square of ballarat to fill with little pictures eat people things. i'm sooooo excited! i love the lead light windows looking out to the roof tops and pigeons. i feel very happy and productive in this space...hehe!

and finally, here are some pictures of my little rosie! her first tooth came through today!

you can't really tell, it's just cut through! and, because i can't resist here are some more pics...

why not go all out and be an unashamedly proud muma...here are some earlier pics! okay, that should do it!

rachel xx

oh i must blog about that

oh i have been so busy! i love being a mum of two gorgeous kids... but just so you know, things like blogging (and often showering) get moved down the list of things to do. so i have had numerous...oh i must blog about that... moments but i probably chose to shower instead! so now i have rosie on my lap and am typing one handed so i don't drop her. yes. i will post photos of her!! xx

any how before i settle down to feed this hungry (and refluxy!) girl i wanted to show you what my gloriously talented husband has been working... sorry about the glorious... it's a bit over the top but that's how i feel about him... anyway you decide! have a listen...

ps. my favourite song is 'if you want to use the slide'...which is yours?

pps. and we really do have a cat called nina.

rachel xx

 

small tiny little

it's all about the little for me. i work from my kitchen table and have to pack up my art stuff like a good little mumma before dinner. i sometimes wash my hands too.

i keep my drawings in a couple of little boxes which fit nicely into a little cabinet.

so, i am entering a small works competition becasuse, well, it fits into my life.

there is also going to be an accompanying exhibition of all of the small works at red brick gallery in ballarat. i'm really looking forward to being a part of a something so lovely.

rachel xx

when i open my eyes...

after i sharing a draft of my book 'when i close my eyes...' to my good little mate sarah she told me that next i will have to write a story called 'when i open my eyes...' well, this isn't quite a story sarah i think it might be more of a poem. but thanks for the suggestion. i wrote this remembering what it was like waking up as a little kid. my childhood memories have never been stronger since having children of my own...he he, children. i'm just getting used to the plural! xx

so i guess this grown up photo might not be quite fitting but i just love it. x

when i open my eyes...

i blink at the light and wait for my eyes to catch up with the rest of the world

my throat is dry, 

i drink my bedside water 

and it tastes like a river.

when i open my eyes...

the smell of toast

and the sound of dad’s radio station

reach my bedroom;

it’s the home part of house. 

when i open my eyes...

i roll over and day dream

i have a thought...

today is the first today

there has never been one before.


rachel xx

life and other side projects- dirt

the lovely maeve is out again with some beautiful reading and looking assured. have a peek at my column if you feel like reading about our family adventures in the desert. i do so love that red dirt! we had such a great time that i think it will become an annual thing for us...we want to migrate north when the southerly ballarat winter sets in! although there is something lovely in cooking stews and soups and staying in... rugging up and seeing your breath when you do venture out. 


rachel xx

the poetry of three year olds.

i found this interview on the dumbo feather website. i love the way children think!

Harrell: What did you have for lunch today?

Beatrice: Chocolate milk with chocolate cheese and chocolate daisies. (Taking the I-phone away from me that I use for recording our conversations and sticking it in my face) why don’t you tell me how dogs eat?

H: uh, with their mouths, and their teeth and tongues. (Recovering the I-phone) What do you like about ice cream?

B: Colors.

H: What did you see at the beach today?

B: Colors.

H: What happened last night when you called for me when you were in your bed trying to go to sleep?

B: It was too noisy in my room.

H: What was the sound that you heard?

B: My heart beating blood through my body.

H: You could hear your own heart beating? What did it sound like?

B: Marching bands.

H: Did you like that sound?

B: No.

H: How do you know when a dog is healthy?

B: When them have happy eyes. Huuleesh (our Rat Terrier) has happy eyes, but Hazel (our Shepard/Husky mix) has sad eyes.

H: Does that mean Hazel is sick?

B: No, because I don’t hear her coughing.

H: What happens when you go to sleep?

B: Bats.

H: What happens when you wake up?

B: Bats.

H: Bea, you have to answer my questions, I’m interviewing you.

B: Bats, bats, bats.

mother's milk

whoa. my world my world has turned into a little cycle of feeding, burping, changing, rocking, goooing and gaaring and finally sleeping. my little rosie sure is a hungry girl!! my milk supply can barely keep up, so i did an internet search and found this great site which has a homemade mother's milk tea recipe. i haven't sourced all the herbs yet but i had a few in my pantry already such as raspberry leaf, fennel seeds, cinnamon and honey. and just brewing up these few ingredients really helped. who would've thought...age old remedies being delivered to me in an instant via a screen of light. sounds almost religious!

rachel xx  

my darling

my darling rosie. you came into this world listening to the blues. you were bloody and hungry and hairy. a beautiful mess, all slippery and happy to be out. finally out, after all our hard work. i love you dear girl.

drifting

i'm a week and a day past my due date. been drawing to pass the time. pregnancy is a funny thing, much of it is out of your control. i think it's about submitting your body to the journey. so i'm just drifting along...waiting, waiting. and in the mean time revelling in the beauty of pencil. finding pleasure in the rhythm of making marks.

rachel xx

belly, heart and home

i'm really ready to have this baby. i'm ready in my belly, my heart and my home. i was feeling a little nervous about labour, but now something has shifted and i just have faith in my body. i can't wait to meet this new little person!

happy christmas everyone.

rachel xx

a landscape of gentle privacy

looking through old note books i found some words...maybe it's a poem:

she lay on her bed and watched the shadows

everyone was sleeping and she listened to her gentle privacy

through the flyscreen she could smell the hour

she could hear the memory of music travelling across the paddocks

all tomorrow's lawn mowers were waiting for their owners

she let that big feeling of nothingness get inside her. 

i wrote this remembering the feeling of summer nights in suburbia when i was growing up. well, it wasn't quite suburbia. it was a strange kind of half developed estate with empty paddocks and lots of space. the dirt was red and it was a bit like living in no man's land in between the city and the western suburbs. i liked it. there was a train line that ran right behind my house. when i got on the train to go to the city at the deserted station i felt like i was coming in from mars. everyone looked at me as if to say 'you live here?'

i think this landscape has really stayed with me.

rachel xx

speaking of buns

oooh i am sooo pregnant! i definately have a bun in the oven. speaking of buns, i wrote some words on baking and happiness to go into the lovely maeve, also a bit about how houses can swallow us! 

i do think maeve is the radest thing since sliced bread; a bright, inspirational and free online magazine...i do so love her. thank you lou and kate for making me a part of the sweetness!

there is also a great article for all the business ladieez out there by alison and an insight into the alchemy of craig's hot chocolate.

happy spring!

rachel xx  

desert sun

well we've just come back from alice springs. fresh and happy, seeing our world anew. full of ideas and plans. 

we stayed at a caravan park just outside of town...i tracked down a second hand bike for earl so he could ride to his kids gigs. i also found a pram for jasper so we could walk around this desert town. it was covered in red dirt so i scrubbed it down and let it dry in the desert sun. it dried a beautiful matt faded dust colour and i became quite fond of this pram. we almost ran over a hilarious running lizard with it. you know the one's that run standing up on their back legs?

i also wanted to show you a most special place that i fell in love with. 

it's an aboriginal run art centre called tjampi desert weavers. all of the objects in this gallery are made by aboriginal women living on communities (out bush) and made from dried grasses collected from their country. while they're out collecting grass for sculptures they might also visit their sacred sites, find some food and perform ceremonies. they pack the car up full of kids and women and off they go! it really is an art practice that strengthens culture. walking into the alice springs gallery i could really feel all of this. i just walked around beaming. looking at grass sculptures depicting animals, people and beautifully shaped baskets, there is just such a vibrancy in each piece. i just wanted to collect it all! i came home with a tea spoon sculptured out of dried grass.

after seeing this place i'm so inspired to make something lovely and tactile...lucky that i'm working on a special wedding commission for some talented friends who make hot chocolate. so excited about this project, because i just love it when cool folk declare their love for each other! will be sure to share when i'm finished.


ooh and i forgot to mention that i have a new stockist...nook in queensland. possibly the most lovely name for a shop. might have to go and visit them some day!


i also found a very cute shop in alice springs called novita to stock when i close my eyes... although travelling lightly i only brought two books with me. and they have already sold out! so i will post some more books up to that red town soon.


busy busy days x


rachel xx