Friday Love

Today I am grateful for...

*Storytime at the library
*The exercise running to get there on time, pushing over 30 kilos worth of kids up a hill!
*Red Radish cafe... One of the only cafes I have ever been to that has a huge play area for kids and I am not worried about the kids getting bored which means fun for kids and relax for Mum!
*Cute kids to play with. Angus had heaps of fun playing peek-a-boo behind the bean bags with a 3 year old boy we met. (He is growing up so quick)
*Such happy kids
*Clay
*Couscous
*Guinea pigs
*Chalk for drawing roads and zebra crossings on concrete. Bike circuits rock.
*Togetherness (even if I had to lock myself in a cupboard at one point for some personal space)

Right Brain Exercise and Encouragement

I loved this idea to protect chalk pastels and so I did this with mine at home. 

Last weekend, I took an art class run by a local Gold Coast artist at her cafe Canvas. It was so much fun. I had been trying for quite a while now to delve into my art but every attempt I made, felt like failure. Like most artists, I am my own worst enemy. What I struggled with was my desired visual outcome. What I achieved was never quite good enough. In life I have been learning that the outcome is not always the most enjoyable part, in fact, it is, in most cases if you let it, the process of doing/creating. Most of you reading may already know this but for me it has only just sunk in and it has significantly changed the way I look at the world around me. Instead of being discouraged by the failure to meet a desired result, I am now only seeking the joy in the process! I don't know why I let this  result based thinking rob me of this joy.

Blind continuous line drawings of my teacher in pencil

We did some right brain exercises which involved drawing in continuous lines without looking at our drawings, drawing with eyes shut, drawing from memory. These exercises allow the right brain to be active without the left brain, (the reasoning) to kick in. I got so much out of this, it helped to shut out all those thoughts that occur (which for me are usually negative). Instead, I was able to clearly focus on my subject or object and notice all the details within. I really improved on my observational skills.

A pear in chalk pastel

 After indulging myself in an art session and a nice cup of coffee I felt so encouraged and rejuvenated. I didn't care what was on my page at the end of the day, I just enjoyed the experience of creating.
Are you a right brain exerciser?

Friday Love

Today I am grateful for...

*A fantastic holiday in Boonah, full to the brim with Easter craft, playing with cousins, exploring the farm, reconnecting with family, learning from wise friends, performing at 'Variety Night' (and laughing our heads off), eating chocolate, making chocolate, avoiding chocolate, experiencing the epic Easter Story at Lake Moogerah, all the help at hand in a large group with kids (if only I had a village like this everyday)
*A home to return to
*A great book I can't put down, "Unschooling Rules"
*Friends who put up with it all and can laugh at most things
*Children who teach me things everyday
*Drive through Coffee Shop
*My True Love who brings flowers home for not only me but for my girls too (Lord please bless them with a love such as this)
*For the generosity of those around me
*Reconnecting with old friends who in 10 years have changed but somehow stayed the same (and multiplied)