Calm Seas and a Boat Canvas

 I am a 'river' girl at heart. From a young age my family and I have holidayed on the Murray River and as a result I have grown to respect the river, learn about it and appreciate the area. Time away in this area thoroughly relaxes me. For a week I feel like I am away from the 'real' world.

Occasionally, we travel from our home to Adelaide and as a result we cross over the Murray River. If it is a while since we have spent time away on the river, I look at the river longingly as we cross over it and mention to my husband that we should organise some time away on it.

For some people, the sea is their desired place to dwell in, near or around. They enjoy the sound of the waves flowing into shore and the smell of the salty air. Mind you, it is also the ocean and the air around it that can spawn ferocious storms. The place of relaxation and peace can quickly transform to a place of fear as mighty winds, rain and waves are created and strength is required to bear the brunt of the storm until it passes. Isn't that similar to life? One minute there is celebration and comfort in the everyday and then troublesome times brew and swamp us. They eventually blow over and life returns to its calm self. The refreshment of being able to totally relax in a favoured area (such as by the river or by the sea) helps to rejuvenate energy to cope with the everyday pace of life and troublesome times.

This sailing boat has been created using fabric that is adhered over thin pieces of wood to make the sails. The mast is a rolled up book page and the bottom of the boat is a shape cut out of a book page that have been painted. The words that are adhered on the canvas are "May calm provide strength for stormy seas". All of this is then adhered onto a backgroud that uses various painting techniques. This canvas is part of the chocolate brown and light blue hue range.

Wishing you all smooth sailing!

~ Jen.

'Not a Worry' and a Princess Canvas

Have I mentioned that left to my own devices, I worry and stress? It seems to be getting worse as I age. As a teacher, I worry and stress about certain children, their learning environment and what parents must think.

Now as a mum I worry about my boys. This was my latest... We planned a spur of the moment holiday to Melbourne for a couple of days. I started to worry about losing them in the crowds, their safety, their behaviour around others and in a confined space like a train or hotel room... but that is me. If truth be told, parenting is unpredictable and we all have trying moments. It turns out that everything went smoothly and the boys were very good considering the circumstances.

When I stress and worry, I love feeling the flood of relief that everything is OK. For me, personally, my faith helps me tremendously as I can give these cares and worries over and release them. When worries and stresses are taken over, it is not only relief, but peace resides.

One of my latest canvases has the words "Peace fills her heart and gives her strength". This sweet girl faces the world without cares and boldly marches on. A peace and relief fills her and her worries are banished. She looks carefree with her ruffled, party dress and her short, wispy hair embellished with a simple hairband.

Hold your head high, princess...

To see if this canvas is available and to view others, please click here.

Thanks for viewing

~ Jen.

Chocolate Brown and Light Blue

Since December last year, I have been a mother. My husband and I went through years of preparation and seminars as we journeyed through the adoption process. We learnt about how traumatic experiences effect the brain, how we can best manage children from traumatised backgrounds and generally prepared our living space for little people. Even though we both knew that eventually we would meet our children, nothing essentially prepares you for motherhood like having two little ones with you.

I must say, we are extremely blessed, not only to have two beautiful boys join our family, but have two beautiful boys that have slotted into life here and with us so well. It is definitely a credit to all involved in the process..

...However, as any parent knows, it is not all smooth sailing. There are days where dealing with tantrums and tears proves to be a challenge. They are the days when the children are all snuggled in bed that my husband and I relish breaking open some chocolate. Somehow the tasty, sweet treat makes a lot of the woes of the day seem much better. As I type this, I am smiling as yesterday was just 'one of those days'. As I snuggled into the recliner after all the cleaning up was finished, my husband broke off a little extra chocolate and stated that 'you probably need this after your day today'. Ah... he knows me well.

To me, the colour of chocolate evokes calmness, strength, stillness and peace. My newest colour scheme involves a range of chocolate brown hues teamed with a splash of light blue to lighten up the richness of the brown.

As you can see, I have already have used this colour combination for a range of pendants and earrings and I am about half way through a production line of cards. I have some ideas of using a teddy bear motif for one of my canvasses, a dog motif for another and a curly, short haired girl for my princess canvas. I can't wait to put all of these ideas into fruition. I would love to hear about your ideas, either by commenting on this blogpost, on the Facebook page or via email.

To see more items using this colour scheme, please click here.

~ Jen.