oops

Ok - I know I have abandoned my blog ........but time flies - or thats what the proverbial says ;-)

Also I have been very busy ..........with dragons ! Next week is half term and I am doing a workshop with 125 children making paper dragon puppets and thats an awful lot of cutting out - believe me!

So here is the idea - the concertina bit in the middle was not my idea - but it works great - but the head and tail and thready stuff are my own, and free drawn !!

Will report back on progress with the 125 little darlings

zaz ;-)

re-assessing and acknowldeging the parentage

every once in a while something happens that makes one stop short and restock! It can be a happening, a book, a show, a song ...........anything!

Recently it happened to me - I have been reading a book called The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Habit-Learn-Use-Life/dp/0743235274/sr=8-1/qid=1160424580/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-3987620-6908765?ie=UTF8&s=books A book that is outstanding in its interpretation of creativity and how we approach it.

In this book Ms Tharp addresses the subject of childrens photos - she laughs out loud at being presented with other peoples childrens and baby photos - what resemblance? what about grandads nose??? '' Frankly'' she says '' I just dont get it''. She then goes on to describe in such beautiful detail a picture of herself as a child ..........................and the interpretation.

I feel the same - I hate to see other peoples baby photos ..............but this one of me speaks a thousand words.

What do I see?

I see a little girl keen to learn , hence the book, but with one eye looking over her shoulder for the next challenge to appear. I see a little girl with a glint in her eyes - a mischieveous love of life and a ability to be happy and consider herself lucky in this life.

I see a girl who loves to be outside , not a natural country child, note the cushion, but none the less loves to be outside .............providing the comfort zone is intact!

I see a little girl ready to take her place in the w0rld - confident on her own, but perhaps looking for that little reassurance that we all need along the way. I see a child who loves to pose, to dress up but actually reveals a shyness that clearly needs the nod of approval.

I see a girl whos dress sense leave a lot to be desired but who is unafraid to experiment with the textures of a pattern dress, grey woolly socks and leather sandals. A feminine tomboy? - even at this young age.

I see a dancer, an artist, a learner, a poser, a cheeky person ............these things are the imprint of me . This picture may have been taken more years ago than I care to think about, but it is me - and I am all there in that picture.

Thanks Mum and Dad for providing me with this huge, wonderful, amazing gift of life - I salute and love you both.

Zaz;-)

watching me watching you

since moving to my little house on my magic island (thanks for that title Nadine ) I have become a computer nerd!

I know you might find this unbelievable but I spend more or less every waking hour staring at the screen.

The reason? I have become involved in a second passion that I have ...............on line training! I am totally totally fascinated by it and have been for the last 10 years - ever since I took an online trainers certificate with the Constabulary in Cheltenham.

So in my magic house I now have web camera that i use for 'on line meetings' and it sits on top of the pc looking down at me whilst I study away , investigate , and spend hours pouring over academic websites.

Of course I haven't abandoned my art - far from it ! i have recently set up two large exhibitions and one small display ......and am off tomorrow to make contact with another gallery for an exhibition next year.

This verý interesting package arrived from Workshop on the Web this week ........waiting for me to stop staring at the screen and do something creative !

so I will ........and will post the results when I have completed them.

In the meantime this is a book that is top of my reading list at the moment ......thoroughly recommended!

Zaz;-)