my past few weeks have been distracted and domestic. i cant seem to get it together and start the year. just when i think things are starting to flow, i have a sudden urgency to hang out the washing or plan for dinner (even though its only lunchtime).
it’s also my first experience of having to amuse/distract tyke during what seems like eternal school summer holidays. we have been on a lot of outings, but i still have work to get done. i feel like i am constantly explaining to him that if i am going to work at home, it means i get to hang out with him more, but also means that sometimes he has to amuse himself (sans tv/computer/ds). he claims to understand and agree, but generally 10 minutes later will return to loitering around my studio with chants of ”i’m bored”. most of the time its easier to stop work and play rather than go through the increasingly tense conversation once again. i am loving spending all the extra time with him, but it doesn’t make for a very productive work practice.
here are some of the domestic things that we have been doing -
tending to my vegie patch - in august my dad transformed our small garden from a dirt patch with a concrete path to a very cute and much more user-friendly space complete with cubby house, sandpit, decking, grass and 2 raised vegie patches. my winter veg did great but our summer crop is even better. we have had zucchini’s (green and lebanese), beans (runner and butter), cucumbers (apple and lebanese) a-plently and are about to start picking corn and have some small pumpkins appearing on our massive pumpkin vine.
cooking – raph gave me the kitchen garden companion for christmas, which has inspired me to try lots of new recipes. my favs so far have been chicken curry with mint (from afor mentioned book), lamb cutlets with basil pea sauce (an old recipe from good weekend) and cabbage, mushroom and herb salad (from karen martini). both our digi camera’s are currently broken so unfortunately no photos of my culinary achievements. here is one from the kitchen garden companion of the chicken curry.
re-arranging – i am quite happy with this little corner in our studio.
the two new succulents and polka dot pot are from the amazing collectors corner, which was introduced to me by shauna. if you like succulents and would also like to buy some crystals, bonsai,fossils and possibly a dream-catcher at the same time, this is the place for you. its def worthy of a whole blog post in the near future.
dreaming of a renovation - so much so that i booked a first meeting with an architect friend to talk about possibilities. what we want to do is quite major (extra room upstairs, new kitchen/laundry/bathroom/living area downstairs) and i am not even sure that we can afford it, and if we can it wont happen for a few years… but having my dad helps the cause (he’s a builder) and i want to get the ball rolling so we stay inspired. here is one of the pictures i always go back to in the hope of one day having a functional, open plan, light-filled kitchen.
despite my complaining i have been getting some work done. this week i finished 2 prints for an upcoming jacky winter group show at lamington drive (details soon) and also here is a sneak peek at a paper collage i made for inside out’s 10th birthday issue.
still another 2 and a bit weeks until that school bell rings – anyone who has some home-office kid-amusing tips please let me know.
Tags: artwork, exhibitions, family, jacky winter, our house
Kidzui web browser for kids has saved our family this holidays! T might be too old for it now – but keep it in mind for Ari-man when he gets bigger. L is allowed 20 minutes on it every now and then – perfect for a quick work email binge x
well. I loved reading that. so cute. I loved that I could hear your voice. wow. that sounds SUPER creepy. but hopefully you know what I mean.
I love being domestic, I get so caught up in it. sometimes I feel it helps get the creativeness going. but it is also hard to get into work when you know that something “needs doing” in the other room.
sigh. well you inside out thingo looks awesome and I am so excited you are going to be in the issue. I am reading the latest issue and dying with love.
xx
I remember when I was little my mum made me create a set of “When I’m bored” cards! I had the same problem coming up and annoying her with “I’m bored”… so she sat me down and made me come up with a huge range of different activities I might like to do – each activity on a seperate card. So then I had no excuse to complain to her but had to go to the cards instead and forced to pick something to do! They were just simple things like paint a picture, write a letter to my grandma, or even bird watching!! (Which I may have ended up doing once!)
But creating the cards was a great activity in itself.
Why not even look at making sure you’ve got his own set of art supplies etc on hand in the studio – with a list of crafty activities that he can do himself – so when you’re creating, he can do the same alongside you
OOh i wondered how you managed work with 2 kiddlets! Glad to hear i’m not the only one struggling! Although I only have one at the moment, and another bun is baking in the oven as i speak, so i will have to be prepared and organised, or else nothing will get done!
I love the idea that Rochelle suggested about the cards. I also had thought that when Tyler was old enough, i could sit him down with artsy activities and make out that he’s ‘helping’ me with this project… although you run the risk of getting hassled every 5 minutes to help them!
When you find the secret… please share! xox
p.s loove that kitchen too!!!
such a great suggestion! tyke liked the idea too – so thanks. he has numerous of his own craft/art supplies to use whenever he wishes (i have even given his illustrator lessons!), unfortunately he is more action-type boy than sit-still-activities type boy at the moment.
Working at home with small children is not an easy gig!
I totally get where you are coming from. Why is it though at bedtime small children can suddenly get really interested in a solitary activity like building Duplo but during the daytime they just want Mama to play with them!
[...] sick. ah kids… gotta love ‘em. but despite this i have been thrown out of my previous starting-the-year-doldrums and into full working action by a new project that we will be working on for the next two months. [...]