August to September in New Zealand

Spring is coming. It felt like it suddenly arrived yesterday (the 1st) with a stunning day of sunshine but the official date for Equinox is 23 September so it may continue to be a bit unsettled with some wintery reminders until then... My magnolia tree is in full bloom ready for the winds that always come to spread the petals around! I love the colours and the abundance. I am grateful for this sign of warmer seasonal change as I navigate the challenges of change in my own life cycle whilst also doing my best to support others my family love in their own times of change and personal need. I'm still present over here, doing something creative most days, although scarce on the blog these past couple of weeks cos of *reasons*. 

The photo above is of the art I completed in August. I am feeling happy that I am creating pieces I love at a pace that fits with my other priorities. I haven't shared the cards yet on the blog, but you can see the process photos of the art journal spreads HERE and HERE. I still take #arteveryday photos - the desire to keep up that ritual reminds me to try to create a little every day....sometimes the photos are ''every couple of days" and when I look at what else I do in my week, that's perfectly okay. I did quite well last week : Monday - Sunday

I continue to take a neonatal quilt making elective at school - as you can see above that takes up quite a bit of time at home helping them by preparing their next steps. 
I also taught a 2-hour class on Art Journal construction at the beginning of the month. I am really proud of that class. I did lots of preparation and I've shared a very detailed blog post with a ton of links from that class HERE. It's a wonderful resource of all sorts of ways to create different book forms. 

New supplies this month : I was very blessed that a friend from my quilt group was having a clean out and gifted me these! 

I have owned and loved lumiere paints for a while now, but have never owned soft pastels. I need to do some research about how to use them - they are chalky. Apart from knowing they will need to be sealed with workable fixative, I need some time to play and experiment so any tips you can give and links to tutorials would be great. Do you think I could find info on pan pastels and use them similarly? Look forward to reading your comments.
As suspected, I have finished my Inner Work Journal to coincide with the end of the month.

August was much more focused on intentions of being present and thinking about "what really matters?" instead of having a check list of things to achieve. I think I will continue that focus for September. I'll be preparing a new journal for my writing practice for the new month ahead. I purchased a plain blue book this time and picked up a lovely mandala stencil at the same time...I'll share how they combine

I was VERY disappointed that Tam's new book didn't arrive for me in August - preordered so something's gone wrong. Hopefully can share with you in September. 
In other news for September, I am starting with a VERY social week (2 x dinners and 2 x afternoon coffee with close friends) and this will culminate in traveling away on Friday to our annual "Girls' Weekend" - 8 women at Raumati beach - we shop, eat, drink, laugh, share and relax. Most of us had our first babies together 19 years ago!

I ♥ stencils and I'll be sharing techniques next week in a 2-hour class - of course I'll share useful links with you again after the event as I always do when I teach

Really happy that I was able to complete a piece of art yesterday 

- great start to the month and I am looking forward to finishing this work in progress very soon : 

I also made these card bases during the last month so hope can make something of them 

I love Spring and am looking forward to hopefully warmer temperatures and some switching out in my wardrobe from merino and jerseys to lighter pretty tops and sneakers. Also looking forward to sharing art and other inspirations with you this month. Talk again soon.