It is October already and with most of our family birthdays celebrated we now look forward to the end of the year and more excitement with a family road trip to the Tankwa Karoo and some spare time on our hands.
Many students have been caught up in the Jewish holidays which start with Rosh Hashanah and end with Simchat Torah with many visits to schul, some fasting and the enjoyment of delicious food and good company.
Classes have been rather random with the holidays taking precedence of course. It seems that we will restart at the end of October and finish the 2024 sessions at the end of November. I've compiled some new classes with the view to re-look at creativity and boost letterform. Through 2024 most of us have consistently worked in A4 watercolour books to keep pace with the lessons presented. I encourage students to be brave and work directly into the workbook with just a few trials for colour and letter size before commencing with the work. While it can be daunting, the spontaneity of the piece outweighs deliberate working out. And of course, if all else fails, another piece can simply be pasted over the unwanted or unliked piece.
For me, working directly into the book removes the serious 'faffery' of over-worked art. I read that delightful word in a blog written by Lucy of Attic24. It describes the many times a person faffs around without achieving much. So I 'pinched' the word with many thanks and much admiration. Lucy is a wonderfully creative crochet designer, photographer and many-sock knitter. Bright and colourful, she is such an inspiration.
Stationery and art materials are not only essential to my 'well being' they are part of my life and I enjoy browsing for new papers and materials. I have found some beautiful 'Have-to-Haves' from Etchr at the ArtSavingsClub store which I've known for a long time online and they now have a store in Linden. An Aladdin's Cave of delights for creative people of all calibres and disciplines. My latest choices are a tin of A6 watercolour postcards and an A6 concertina watercolour book beautifully bound. Cannot wait to work on them. These will make wonderful gifts for the right people.
With November around the corner and new projects in the making I created this Lest we Forget piece for the 11 November which I shall post then. New projects to keep students interested are always a challenge and I really enjoy stretching myself to make lessons interesting and creative, especially at the end of the year.
And in between all that I have been reading some fascinating books in the past week or so: Tidelands by Patricia Gregory is an historical novel (Book 1 of a trilogy) with interesting historical details (Roundhead times in England) and great descriptive writing. Little Stories of your Life by Laura Pashby where the author encourages the reader to become more aware of the finer details of everyday life and to 'make notes' and record beautiful moments. And to end off winter: Nature Tales for Winter Nights edited by Nancy Campbell. Short stories and commentaries about winter. Some intriguing, others charming.
As October ends we still haven't heard the Piet-my-Vrou who usually greets me on by birthday in early October. I suppose the weather patterns have wrecked his flight path, or perhaps Piet doesn't need a 'Vrou' at the moment?
Here's to your happy place, whatever or wherever it may be...
