Last weekend was the Autumn Keswick Convention. I’ve been going to Keswick for as long as I can remember. Keswick is a Christian campsite and convention centre out at Orange Grove in WA and they have a full weekend convention twice a year. These days I don’t get to attend as much as I’d like because the kids are a bit young to keep out later than 7 or 8pm but that will slowly change. You can camp in for the weekend, something I haven’t braved doing just yet with kids but something we used to do regularly as teenagers.

I have so many memories attached to Keswick and the actual campsite. My earliest memories come from Brady teaching me how to whistle with a gum-leaf during the kids program as well as the fun we had on the metal slide. I went to school on the campsite for a while when one of my schools was building elsewhere and temporarily had classes there. I remember lots and lots of honkey nut games during recess! Then theres the fact that my Dad worked on the site. He was a founding member of Challenge Newspaper and they have a lease at one corner of the property so we spent a lot of time there for that too. On top of all this, my Mum ran the vacation Bible school program out of Keswick for about 7 years. Michael and I (and a lot of our friends) were involved in a variety of ways for that. She was actually the camp coordinator and ran other sorts of camps too which was a lot of fun. Other memories of Keswick are related to the actual conventions, visiting those who lived there (as in caretakers) or even attending a friend’s wedding there. When K was only 3 weeks old I ran an SIM program at Keswick called ‘Seize the Day’ and there was even the time when I ran a vacation Bible school program for Keswick myself, long after Mum had finished up. Ahhh memories!

Anyway, last weekend was the convention and I did get to go for some of the weekend. This was mainly due to my wonderful father in law. My Mum in law was sick so instead of canceling K’s visit with them for the Saturday, he came to our place instead. They had a ton of fun down at Freo and I got to go to the convention for the day!! Thank you. : )

There have been some fabulous speakers over the years, Charles Price is a standout (and I missed hearing him again last year due to being interstate at the time) but there have been others. I used to be able to take notes during the sessions but not these days, usually have a bub to nurse off to sleep or feed. How things have changed.

This was L’s first Keswick and K has been to several already. I hope that they can attach wonderful memories to the place too although I can’t see them being as varied as the ones I have. I would love to be involved with Keswick at a deeper level, maybe one day when the kids aren’t so little! Photos are below:

Miss L sitting up at Keswick, this is the closest she’s got so far to sitting.

We always set up our SIM display at Keswick

and here are some past photos of us at Keswick, this is K and I when K was about 7 months old:

Another time with our SIM display, notice the pram to the left.

This week I’ve learnt a new technique in clay. The theme for the May (as in the voting will be in May) PCAGOE (polymer clay artists guild of etsy) challenge was to use the Mica Shift technique so I did a bit of asking around and net surfing and discovered how to do it. This looks embossed but is actually flat. I have decided that I could get addicted to this technique because it allows me to create artwork without focusing on colour so much.

For this particular piece (this is my entry to the challenge, an ACEO – artist trading card, edition or original) I have used one of the stamps that has been carved using my own hand drawn design. Suki from tamptation did these a while ago for me. I have an idea to use a lot of my moleskine sketches for more of these and perhaps I could make larger artworks with this embossed look (ACEO’s are only 3.5 x 2.5 inches).

Anyway, nice to learn something new, watch this space for more experimenting!

ACEO and Challenge entry

I will add bails to these and they’ll morph into pendants

Showing how flat it is

These will become earrings

The whole stash from this lot, I used every bit of clay.

For a very long time I’ve had the strong view that art and craft are two different things. My logic and personal definition is that art is something which is unique, one off, original, done with a purpose that is not necessarily practical whereas craft is something you do by following instructions, a set of steps or a pattern. Art = something you MUST do, Craft = something you SIMPLY ENJOY doing. I don’t know whether everyone would agree with me on this but its how I divide it in my head.

The dictionary definition of the two are as follows (from here):

art

–noun
1. the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

craft

–noun
1. an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, esp. manual skill: the craft of a mason.

The main difference in those definitions is that one leans more towards something non physical, its aesthetic and related to personal expression. The other focuses on skill and includes craftsmanship. Craftsmanship is something which seems to sit comfortably in the middle of the two however when you look at it’s definition:

crafts?man

–noun, plural -men.
1. a person who practices or is highly skilled in a craft; artisan.
2. an artist.

Its very hard to define art or craft according to what a person is producing. For example, at one stage I would have happily placed (and I love to place things neatly in boxes) knitting, sewing, making tissue box covers, folk art and the like strongly in the craft category. I would have placed fine art, textile arts, printmaking and the like strongly in the art category.

The lines have become blurred more and more but I do lean very heavily towards the art side of this debate. I am frustrated by patterns, instructions and paint by numbers. I cannot see myself quilting, scrap-booking or cross stitching (although I have done that quite a few years ago) although I know that within each there is room for the uniqueness and originality that I see art as presenting itself as. I think I just find these too limiting.

Polymer clay is something that I find sits in the middle of it all, sometimes its craft (maybe when I’m learning a new technique) and most of the time for me its art (much of what I do is inspired from an outside source, is a one off and cannot be repeated).

I think this is a debate that has raged for a while in the deep dark art world. Those who consider themselves true artists can be quite snobbish towards those who are crafting for fun. There are those in the craft world who I think are artists but are happy to keep their crafty persona. Each to their own is what must be concluded. The line between the two is fine but I still think its there, even if its blurred.

So, to set the record straight. I do not enjoy craft. I enjoy art. I am not an art snob, I love to see people being creative and imaginative. I admire many craftsmen who create amazing things (we saw many artisans in Africa who were without so much and yet possessed skills that none of us will ever acquire) but prefer to sit on the artist side of the line. I have no idea whether I’m right about this but I’d love to hear some input so feel free to comment.

Quite a few people that I know have been having a difficult time lately. Whether its finding it difficult to accept a situation, settle or make a decision each person has struggled and some have made it through to the other side. Some have not, some are still feeling as if their feet are getting muddier and muddier and nothing is going their way. I am a person who tends to take on other people’s problems and make them my own. This isn’t something I see as a good thing, its one thing to be worried about someone and quite another to try to fix things for them. I did one of those on line tests once that told me that my ‘love language’ is giving gifts and I think this fits in with the way I try to solve people’s problems. Doing things for them, trying to sort out whats not working for them and if all else fails, give them something to cheer them up.

I have had to assess myself as to my intentions in this area. Is it that I really want to encourage them or do I want to come across as a caring person. Do I really care deep down? Sometimes I think the giving is about outer appearances sometimes however I think its a family trait. My Nanna (who I’ve mentioned before) was a big gift giver. She always had something tucked away in her wardrobe ready to give if an occasion came up that she forgot about. At Christmas everyone got a gift (or two or three), including the lawnmower man. There are parts of this that I have tried to emulate. Generosity and Hospitality are the two areas that she shone in and two areas I want to improve in. For me however the intention is important.

For those of my friends, family and acquaintances who have been feeling like they’ve lost their way lately this is for you (and my intention is only to make you feel better):

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” (The rest of it is here)

You might not be a person who considers yourself religious in any way but you just never know what you might discover if you go looking for God. I believe that he is there waiting to lift you out of your slimy pit and give you a nice solid place to put your feet, even if they are dirty.

K.C from OrganicOdysseys has nominated me for a blog award. This is the first time this has happened so its nice. K.C has a shop on Etsy(link above) which is worth a look. The name of the award is the sisterhood Award:

Here’s what she said:

Next is Amanda of Polyclarific.etsy.com . Amanda has a full life as a mother, a pastors wife and all around crafter and artist. She always has some amusing or interesting antidote to share about her life, ‘down under’ and inspires me with all she does. Stop in to her shop to see her varied and eclectic selection of all things Polymer and some of her textile art….

Thanks for considering me inspirational, not something that happens every day. : )

I now need to nominate 5 other people for this award and share with you why I have chosen them so here goes;

1. Em at EmmaRoseArt not only has a gorgeous looking blog, but what she manages to achieve with four young daughters is amazing. Little Honey (the newest bub) is just so sweet.

2. Kakka at Menopausalmumma is an old friend with a new blog. She is always honest in her writing and I enjoy reading her thoughts on life and family.

3. Sarah at Sedshed is another deep thinker who always seems to give a different perspective on many areas of life.

4. Kate at TwoLittleBanshees is another amazing Mum who is so clever. She knits, spins, sews and makes the most amazing soft toys! She’s also a Mum of twin Kindy aged girls and a baby girl.

5. Cindy at ChatsWithCindy is someone we met in Niger, West Africa back in 2000-2001. We taught her children (who are now grown up) at Sahel Academy. Cindy and her hubby are missionaries in one of the toughest parts of the world and I always find her blog a great read.

Thanks ladies, your blogs are fabulous and you five are amongst my favourites.

I have mentioned our little chickens in previous posts and the other day, to our surprise they actually did what chickens are meant to do and laid an egg!! What a shock, they did more than scratch, cluck and be chased by K!!

Here’s Michael showing off the egg compared with a jumbo shop bought egg.

I also mentioned previously that we acquired a shed from freecycle which ended up a lot bigger than we were told. Well, that shed lived in our front yard, with a great view of the passer’s by for about three months.

It turned out that it was so heavy, it would take about 5 strong men to lift it. It also turned out that we would have to take it over the fence via our neighbour’s place. Eventually Michael decided that the walls and roof had to come off in order to lighten it so while my parents were staying with us, Dad took all the sides off (thank you Dad!!).

The next day we had a visitor that had a nice strong back so the three of them were able to lift the frame over the neighbour’s fence into our chook yard and we can finally see past that corner of the front yard again!

Once it was positioned down the back, Dad put the walls and roof back on (Thank you Dad again!!):

Michael is now working on getting the chickens settled into their new home and setting it up before taking down the fence that divides half our backyard. As you can see, K loves the chickens and loves to chase them:

I seem to going into my yearly knitting phase and this time the need to do more than scarves and hats is emerging. For example I found myself checking out 5 knitting pattern and how to books from the library the other day and even bought a knitting magazine. I don’t think I’m at ’sock’ level yet but deciphering the language of yarn is slowly becoming easier.

Currently I’m working on an Afghan rug which at its current pace should be done right in time for summer;

I’ve done about 8 out of 20 inches on rectangle one, this took about 6 hours, hopefully I’ll speed up.

Then I’m attempting my first ever pattern cardigan for K, using up my scraps of white, cream, ecru etc;

So far so good, got past the shaping of armholes last night successfully.

If anyone has this book – The Knitters Handbook and they are happy to sell it to me at a used price, I’d love to hear from you. Otherwise I think it will go on my birthday list.

Any previous attempts at knitting did work out ok but I didn’t really use a pattern. For example, this interesting little vest I did when K was a baby (which I’ll be putting on L soon):

Anyway, there have been a myriad of little fuzzy hats and scarves and even the start of a blanket which I’ll try to finish but hopefully I can advance and one day…..be at sock level, something I consider really really hard. : )

I have had these little pinafore/jumper dresses cut out for a little while and finally this week I’ve been able to finish them. I chose the red corduroy and cream velvet ribbon especially for the pattern and decided that they needed a little embroidery to finish them off. Initially the size 4 didn’t fit over K’s head so I ended up putting in zips, not my best skill but I didn’t have any other option at the time. I’m pleased with the end result and I’m pretty sure that they’ll fit the girls for a while.

Anyway, the shots of them modeling the outfits are of them before I put the embroidery on (I know the one of L on her own is blurry but she’s smiling sweetly) but and the finished result is seen in the first shot.

I am part of the Polymer Clay Artists Guild Of Etsy and we are having a competition called the PCAGOE Spring Fling Scavenger Hunt!

The members of PCAGOE, are sponsoring a Spring Fling Scavenger Hunt from April 13 to 24, 2009. To participate, visit my shop during that time and search for the hidden Spring Fling image among my items. When you find it, send me a message through Etsy that includes the URL (address) of the listing where the image is hidden (or just click on “contact” from the item where the image is hidden, and the item info will automatically appear in the subject line.

My shop is here: Polyclarific

That’s it! You must be a registered Etsy user to qualify (free to do so and fast), so if you have not already registered, please take a moment to, and you can join in our fun!

On April 24, 2009, I will draw a winner at random using an online random number generator. I will notify the winner by return convo and make arrangements to issue you the prize. I will also post the winner’s name here on my blog. My prize is 20% off your order excluding postage (and I’ll throw in a little bonus too).

Here is a list of the other participating shops. Each member is offering a different prize! You can also visit our team website – http://pcagoe.com – for a complete list of participating shops and the prizes they are offering;

http://beetreebyme.etsy.com/
Prize:50% off any in stock item in shop or 20% off any custom item
——————————————
http://marciapalmer.etsy.com
prize :pendant
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http://www.polymerclaycreations.etsy.com
prize: 35% off any item in stock
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http://jkollmann.etsy.com
prize:http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9448968
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http://bijouxjardin.etsy.com
PRIZE: One Tree Focal of choice
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http://SilverGate.etsy.com
prize: free set of magnets (4-5) in winners choice of available colors.
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http://laurelsteven.etsy.com
Prize: 25% off any item in the store
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http://OrganicOdysseys.etsy.com
Prize : Special spring pendant
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http://jewelzodonnell.etsy.com
Prize: Bakers Dozen of buttons
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http://zoeowyn.etsy.com
Prize: Wee Beastie shaker egg
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http://utopiabeads.etsy.com
Prize: pendant
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shop- http://iamcr8ve.etsy.com
prize: Vinho Verde Cascada necklace
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shop: http://juliespace.etsy.com
prize: $10
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Shop http://nkdesigns.etsy.com
Prize: Winner picks any item in the store.
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Shop http://revonav.etsy.com
Prize: $50 gift certificate
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Shop: http://CreativeSpiritToo.etsy.com
Prize: $20 Gift Certificate
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Recently I made a batch of fawns for Liza over at Lettersforlilly. These are cake toppers and each one measures 2.5″ x 2″. You can see them being made below with a little help from the original fawn I did for Liza. Lots of work but I’m pleased with the end result.

Little fawn with the clay bodies and heads measured out.

These are now shaped.

With the legs.

With the ears and tails.

With one completed head.

Giving out legs.

Ready for baking.

Varnished.