A lovely clean house.....and 'beauty' alive and well!

The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind of work, deadlines, school camps, family mystery and drama, friend visits, birthdays, road-trip planning and my eldest daughter holidaying overseas for the first time. In the midst of this has been some beautiful spring weather which inspired, as it does every year, a major spring-clean. As a task, this does not fill me with joy but, I love the end result. I've moved my studio downstairs into the small entrance room that I was using as a gallery space. This is working out beautifully as it is much less of a thoroughfare and I can leave it at the end of the day and don't have to look at it every time I walk through the house. Even better, the space upstairs is now a 'coffee lounge' and reading room, so a really nice place to sit and catch up with my husband when he gets home from work.....while drinking excellent coffee! It has actually become one of the most popular spaces in the house, with the kids often forsaking the telly to sit and chat, play boardgames or read. Nice!

In my last post I was lamenting the lack of 'beautiful' and inspiring Art, at least in my humble opinion. Since then I have visited some wonderful exhibitions overflowing with ideas, talent and yes, beauty. First and foremost is the exhibition 'Spectacular Tree Stories' being held at Carrick Hill. The main gallery comprises photographic work which is interesting and quite lovely, but the 'spectacular' part is found just down the hall in a room filled with Linda Catchlove's extraordinary botanical watercolours. The superbly meticulous depiction of various plants, many found on the grounds at Carrick Hill, is delightfully enhanced by the inclusion of the most gorgeous 'naturalist' faeries you will ever see. This exhibition runs until the 13th of November and if you are able, I urge you to visit.

Two other exhibitions are well worth mentioning: the Doug Moran Portrait Prize (sadly now closed) was an absolute delight and also White Rabbit - Contemporary Chinese Art Collection at the Samstag Museum. I visited this exhibition twice and enjoyed it immensely. For me it encompassed everything that makes Art wonderful - skill, humour, inventiveness, and poignancy. Even though I am of a completely different culture, I found myself fully engaged with these incredible artworks. This exhibition runs until the end of September.

Also, my piece for the show in the UK in October is now finished and I'll be posting pictures and info soon.

Till next time.