STARTING ANEW IN NOVEMBER...

[Julia]

Hi there everyone - it's been quite a hiatus since I was here last-life has had its ups and downs, but I won't go into that here!

I have decided it is time to rediscover my creative self, let the kid out again-it's been a long drought, and I feel ill equipped for the journey right now, but as they say "The longest journey begins with the first step"-I am beginning to realize how I have let pain overcome my creative urges, but Spring is here, flowers are blooming everywhere, there is the fresh sweet smell of jasmine and honeysuckle, mingled with the wonderful essence of roses and lavender-my senses are satiated and delighted-I love the Spring!

This is my month for photography-walking, stopping to smell the roses and being enchanted by the changing faces of nature, the color of the seasons-the promise of a fresh life...

Here are a few playful snaps of my garden at the moment-more to follow when I get computer problems sorted out! Now that is aNOTHER STORY! lol

Been thinking of you all, and missing your company and wonderful feedback-yep Jules is alive again- watch out! hehe

Come Dance with Me :-)

Sun Dance...

Dance of Life...

[Wendy]

What gorgeous photographs here. They are simply **magical** Wishing you a wonderfully creative month and happy Spring!

[Julia]

Back again guys n gals-it's been a busy but pretty gratifying week, so in my abscence I haven't been totally immersed in last weeks mood swings and depression! Thanks for bearing with me, as you always have... hugs

I've been pretty productively creating in my garden this week. I have decided this is the year for herb pots, and lots of them! LOL-I never could do things by halves!

A girlfriend is picking me up and we are going to Bunnings shortly-that's a huge hardware, paint and plant store here-I believe we have the largest one in Australia, if not the Southern hemisphere, so have my walking shoes on ready for the big hike around! I'll just bet there's a sausage sizzle there as well, tempting me with the smell of onions and BBQ's! Yep, one on the way in-that's breakfast!-then another on the way out-that's lunch! hehe, that's how I see it anyway.

Getting back to DJ...sorry it's taken me so long to get back and reply to your question-do I do any drawing?- you sure got me pondering there girlfriend! I've given it some thought, and the reasons I avoid it are really quite pathetic! I guess I will always compare myself to my late dad-he made it look so damn easy! Then of course, he was a master at drawing, so that I never really have ever seen myself as 'good' at drawing-remember I grew up in the shadow of a great oak in artistry...

When I was at art school, age 50, a lot was expected of me because of who my father was-it was kind of the 'tall poppy syndrome' I guess-people were jealous, felt I must have had some advantage over them-it caused some grief at the time-one girl even sabotaged my black and white photography-jumbled up the order of things-I was laying them out David Hockney style-God, I was so angry-we had a big blue, but somehow ended up friend-once she could see that my dad had no hand in my works, she kinda wised up-yep, she's doing her own thing! LOL

The basis of it all is that I just don't have the same passion for drawing as my dad did-I was the writer, the musician, the mum, the nurse-I never thought of myself as an artist-I guess I still don't if the truth be known-I sort of feel like a Jill of all trades and master of none! Yep, I know you will all jump on me, and yes, I do know what Cameron says about shadow artists, inner child-but she is still there!!! -working on setting her free again

The strange part of it all is that I can teach people how to draw-you know, right brain stuff, negative spaces, composition, tone- and yet I still shirk from the 'doing' of it myself-does that make any sense?

I'll take some pics of some of the drawings I did at art school 15 years ago-you can see what you think-some I think are quite good, but what I'm saying is, it's a struggle-but if I push on through the first bit of structure, then I can get lost in it-I just need NO INTERRUPTIONS-Some people never understand that!

Having said that, I'll head to my studio before my friend Jules gets here-yep, another Jules!- and see what I can find from the old folio-buried out there somewhere hehe

For now, off to make myself look pretty-grin-it's very hot today-just LOVE the Spring, but this year is the hottest November we have had in over a century-phew, global warming for sure! Have a creative day, whatever it is you're doing :-)

[DJ]

Yes, Julia, growing up in your father's shadow must have been so nerve-racking for you...especially in art school. People pre-judging your motives and thought processes, watching for every little slip or not supporting a success. I can only imagine what the critique experiences were like...
And if you admitted/expressed your problem, you felt disloyal to your beloved father.
What a predicament to be in!

Here at CCS, we see you as a beautiful creative person, no matter what you undertake, or what the results might be.
You stand on your own merit.
I like your father's work, but would really enjoy seeing more of yours. YOU are what interests me; not anyone else in your family. Just you.
Julia has a beauty inside her that shines in eveything I've seen posted here. That beauty touches me in a way your father's work does not. Please share more of you. We like you just as you are.
No comparisons.
No prejudices.
Just sincere efforts,
just like the rest of us creative folk trying to find our way...
Since we've been there, too,
we'll hold your hand across the miles and cheer you on.

Love & Laughter,
DJ