Taking some water with it...

Yes, small things please small minds and I am ridiculously happy to at last have water in the studio. "I am going to make lots of mess..." said boyfriend fixing me with a look as he started the plumbing in the middle of my hoovering/clearing up time on Sunday. "I don't care," I lied, "just do it please".  He made lots of mess, I went out for a bit. I tried not to moan when it became apparent that having all the house doors open (it was cold)  and the kitchen dismantled was necessary. But it was worth it, I have water, and the studio is officially FINISHED. Yay!

Now is the time that all the exhibitions get started, and in a mad rush I have been filling in forms and entering work I have not yet produced. Nothing new there then, and I must start producing work super fast, as all of my existing stuff is out on display. First up was a small flower painting I started on a course last year, finished with the addition of a few white flowers we were using for class last week. 

Talking of work on display, I have added a new venue...

Thanks to my student S putting a good word in, my work is now in the reception area of the lovely new physiotherapy clinic in Sudbury. Initially the handyman put the hanging rail about an inch from the top of the wall, obviously not quite understanding how they work, but alterations were made and all is now well.

Last month was super for sales, and in addition to the gate painting I also sold this snow scene to a friend:

It had been on display in his offices, and he had grown attached to it!

And literally days after I finished it I sold the heart mosaic:

I had taken it in to show my students and one of them said the blue matched his new bathroom perfectly and his wife would love it...

On the subject of art class, I must share the latest trend amongst my highly fashion conscious students...

Yes, it's the broken left arm. R did his snowboarding (no comment), and J took a tumble at her home, easily done. 

On the home front Gimlet has taken my pleas to stop hurting birds to heart, his latest exploit is a rabbit, not just dismantled on the lawn, but eaten with gusto, causing him to spend many hours afterwards sleeping belly up and stuffed. The gap down the side of the garage has been re-named the cave of death, bits of fur and feathers litter the base. When we chose our cute little cat we had no idea we were actually giving house room to a feline Hannibal Lector.

The teen meantime is nearing the end of brace wearing, meaning many more trips to Haverhill 45 mins drive away for adjustments at the orthodontist. The conversation in the car started with an overview of world religions (she is doing philosophy and ethics for A level next year), moved on to a discussion of faith versus science (also taking physics), and ended with her wanting explanations from me of the politics/ religous history of Ireland and the IRA, the conversion of Britain from a Catholic to Protestant nation and the situation concerning the Israeli occupied Palestine territories. 

By the end of it I was utterly drained! All I cared about at that age was Duran Duran's latest video and whether I could get away with blue nail varnish for a whole day at school.

Finally this week I notice in an interview that Tracy Emin says her subject starts with herself. It appears mine does too. I scratched my neck during painting and felt a strange dry flaky area... Toothpaste perhaps? Hair gel? Nope, further investigation revealed Cerulean Blue.