June already

These last couple of months have been so busy (I know I am not the only one!) and I can't believe we are half way through 2013 already. It is winter here in NZ so... sideways rain, crazy windy days and waterproofs are in and I am spending many days being creative which I just love to do in winter (with a cup of tea!). Recently we went on a long weekend away with friends to Ohakune and stayed in the most amazing Tuscan inspired home with fireplaces, a huge kitchen and lots of land. We cooked, cosied by the fire and went for walks and I did loads of drawing. Cheryl's kitchen was my favourite - utensils, plates and cups, lots of draw! I also spent a lot of time in her garden drawing all the lovely things that are to be found in a garden. I was particularly taken with her old copper kettles which were decorating her back garden:


I came back wonderfully inspired to start the course 'The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design" by Rachael Taylor. Module 1 has just finished and I am now taking Lilla Rogers' "Make Art that Sells" course. I can't believe the talent and enthusiasm of everyone on this course and feel so lucky to be studying amongst them. You can never stop learning and it has been so inspiring already. Our first assignment is to design a fabric design with a vintage kitchen theme so we have all been drawing pyrex dishes and mushrooms!

I have also been updating my website which was another one of those jobs I kept meaning to do. Now it is time to pop the kettle on...I hope you are all having an inspiring June x x x