Enchanted Gardens

 
Sometimes inspirations ....

.....comes in every shade purple and intricate shapes

Pretty Ugly

I have a thing for scaffolding- which is by now public knowledge- and pretty ugly things. You know when its so ugly its cool again? Especially if it's architecture. I kinda love these two buildings - their total lack of beauty make me wonder what was the architect thinking... But the utter ugly structure transforms into a really pretty pattern... which I kinda dig. Guess that makes me kinda weird? Or I unwittingly got what the architecture was trying to achieve?
Nah, I rather stick with being kinda weird


Happy weekend!




PS: I got tons of photos I haven't shared during my long absence... so be prepared for an overload of my photography 

Spring!

It's Daisy time in the Western Cape, also known as spring in other areas of the world.
So I am snapping and sketching the living carpets of colour and gorgeousness as often as I manage to. (oh and yes: this is a warning! lots of flowers are gonna make its way round here in the next couple of weeks)

My Creative Space

For the next month I am concentrating on my porcelain project. So, many more wonky bowl and plant paintings will be featuring round here in the near future. It also means more broke pieces, endless hours of painting, more research into glazes and oxides and more experimenting. I am really excited to go on with my porcelain discovery journey.

For more creative space visit here

Thinking of....

summer flowers in Europe....

...now that I am back in the depth of African winter

Inspiration

Ginkgo

I have been spending a lot of time watching, photographing and reflecting on my favorite tree this week... I think it is one of the most elegant and beautiful plants on this earth. Love the way the leaves bend and move in the wind., the shape of the leaves and always thing of Goethe when spend time admiring a Ginkgo.
I want to in-cooperate it into my designs at the moment- so been sketching leaves (trying to sketch is more accurate actually)
Oh, and do you see the fading and small yellow dots? Well, looks like autumn is slowly making its entry into the cape...

Studio

I am currently inspired by these Angelwings I found in Company Gardens. First sketches are done, lots of ideas are floating round my head... the experiments will begin tomorrow...

for more creative spaces visit here

Photography

pinks and greens in Company Gardens

Lavender

First Lavender Blossoms

I heart everything about Lavender- the colours, the smell, the taste... the way they are so spiky and messy but so delicate and pretty. The way lavender sways in the wind and it's scent comes to greet you from a far. But most of all I appreciate the first flowers that tell you summer is finally here!

Colourful

Winter Whites

The photos were taken a few weeks ago on one of my walks in Fernwood. The place was covered with a sea of white flowers and the air was laden with the scent of them.
As I looked at this incredible show of winter blooms , it struck me how different the winters here are to my native country Switzerland. The thing they have in common... they have both white winters, well I guess they are a slightly different kind of white.....
Happy Weekend
xo

Colourful

Magnolias

The colours of the blooming magnolia trees have caught my eye this week! Just a magical colour treat especially during the winter months

Enchanted Gardens

Every year late spring/ early summer I get enchanted by these

They are known as Gladiolus, wild Gladiolas and also as Sword lilies. A incredible 250 species are native to South Africa. They are so elegant, so delicate and incredibly colourful, even some of the more delicate hued ones. I have been admiring them everywhere, from the city centre to nature reserves, on the mountain and even o the side of the highway. (shhh don't tell anybody i made a photo there!)
I honestly prefer the wild ones to the more sumptuous carefully bread ones.
Guess what my sketch book will be filled with...

Finding time for my art

inside my moleskin

These days I am trying to sketch daily. I am exploring Wisterias at the moment. I am just sketching as it comes, will see where these sketches will take me. The last sketch is today's, its not finished yet, I am not sure where I want to go with it, so will finish it tomorrow. Even if I just glue photo mosaics into my moleskin or visit the Clay Cafe - I managed to fit a little time for my 'art' in every day for the last week. Journaling in someway is a great way to get one going. Being in the swing of it, makes it easier for me to simply get going the next day again.
On days when I think I won't have time or I am not really inspired I visit Aimee. She is doing Art Every Day Month. Each day she amazes me, makes me laugh and think. But most importantly I get myself to find time for my art - her take on this... Inspiring isn't it? Someone around blogland said, she thinks that, Aimee is a secret super hero - I think maybe, it ain't so secret anymore....

So find time for your art- you never know what you will discover!
xo

Reflections on a sunny Sunday

On Sunday I went with a friend for to visit Stellenberg Gardens. It is only open for one weekend of the year, and I try not to miss it. So we wandered the gorgeous gardens, enjoyed the sun, admired the incredible details of the plants, talked about gardening, were amazed by the design and gardening techniques, had tea and cake, met the gardeners, bought a few plants and took photos.

Well, I took lots and lots of photos, only to discover I am not very good at taking photos while talking allot and making others wait. Mr.O is so used to my camera antics now that he just sits down on a bench until I am done or keeps himself busy in some (honestly) to me unknown way. As I was editing the photos- well, most of them just went straight to the bin - I was astonished how many bad photos I took, how many were ok, but just that little bit off, they could have been nice, but I missed it somehow. Simply by not concentrating enough.

Photography relaxes me, it helps me focus and discover beauty and interestingness around me. It has always been a very private thing though, a moment of how I see the world, an attempt to capture that moment at least. And I often do it alone, always quietly. When I take photos its just what I see and feel, nothing else. That moment, the light, the smells, the colours - the miracle of that moment.


Hope your weekend was sunny, too!
xo