Bleurgh!

Life hasn't been running like the beautiful machine I know it can do of late. Illness struck the household and amongst a few other niggly things, well it's been a bit bleurgh quite frankly.  Still, we have a huge amount to be grateful for so I shall shut up the whinge box and move on...

A few weeks ago I was approached by a gorgeous lady with regards to creating her a piece of artwork that could be printed off as 'thank you' postcards for her customers over at Lusciously Loopy.  I was really happy to be working with her but scared at the same time - I'm still lacking in the confidence department at times, but I'm getting there!  I was given the brief of  'a sheep' and a quote to work to, the rest was up to me.  *Gulp* I've never painted a sheep before!  A couple of sketches proved it wasn't above my ability thank goodness and I now have permission to share the finished result!

Lynn is really wanting to work with other small businesses which is a fabulous ethos. She has started a series of 'meet the owner' blog posts and I'm the first! You can read what was written over here :  Meet Julia.  I am so grateful that Lynn offered me that platform to speak a little, and very much look forward to working with Lynn in some way in the future.

In other news, I have been working on a couple of other commissions. One I can't yet share, but the other I can share in all her glory :)  I was asked to come up with a piece as a Mothers Day gift, from two young sons for their wonderful mama.  This was the finished piece...

I am extremely pleased to say it was much liked - it was important to me to get it right!

I have also created a few pieces which are up for sale via Facebook (website will be coming soon!) here Joyicity Art

This one has been sold already and will be winging her way to her new home on Saturday :)

That makes my heart sing!

I think it is amazingly awesome to create something that somebody wants in their home - it makes me smile rather big smiles!

Away from the studio, life has been trundling on.  Our goats, Poppy, Hettie and Winston have been enjoying the slightly drier days and feasting on the nettles sprouting out of the ground at last.  Our chicken ladies are feeling in fine fettle and we are receiving 7 eggs from the 9 girlies.  2 girlies are still slightly too young to lay right now so the figures add up :)  Our duck girls are doing us proud - 3 eggs from 3 - perfick.

The rest of my day is going to be spent cleaning, tidying, animal and children duties, and hopefully with a bit of studio creativity time squeezed in.  We shall see....

Have a good one lovely peoples xx

Busy busy busy...

My apologies for my absence but I've been a busy little bee, both inside the studio and out in the big wide world.

For starters, I've had  a few of my arty girls to wrap up and post off to their new homes.  I can't begin to put into words the pleasure typing that brings me.  To think that others like my work enough to want it in their own homes or to give as a gift to someone they love truly makes my heart sing.  I gladly make the near-on 6 mile round trip to the village post office on foot, admiring the countryside scenery as I stroll, making note of signs of seasonal change and listening to the excited chatterings of whichever small person has chosen to grace me with their presence.   This week so far I've made the trip twice - which is good as I need to lose weight!  The second time I was accompanied by 3 year old Taisia, she walked the whole way there and home again without a single murmur of complaint, bless her.  Instead we found animal prints in the mud, gathered up feathers, searched for snails, watched aeroplanes, looked for pictures within the clouds and sang songs.  After a trip to the newly found playground, our trip home encompassed a dinosaur hunt.  Potholes in the road are clearly dinosaur footprints and the small landslides at the lane side were the dinosaur escape routes!

Our imaginations hold no bounds, it was rather fun.

As well as the usual mundane day to day routine, I have managed to find a bit of time to have fun in the studio.  I have created a piece of artwork for a lovely lady.  It was requested that I create a piece that she can have printed out as thank-you's for her customers.  I hope to share it in the future but will wait until it has been blogged about by the good lady herself first, it's only right as it belongs to her now :)

For now, here are the latest creations...

A commission piece.

This piece sold immediately it was listed!

{{Be Okay}}

and today's make...

{{No words needed}}

At the time of typing {{No words needed}} was available to purchase over at my Facebook page here.

I am also working on a couple of commissions which I shall share with you over the next few days.

Here is a picture of a couple of things I'm working on...

I am going to be selling the cards in packs of 3 and 5, and all will feature a piece of small original artwork.   I'm putting together a few packs to get started and they will be offered for sale shortly.

The ladies at the bottom of the picture are works in progress and incomplete. I wonder what they will evolve into?  I get curious to see how things develop as I work without the hinder of a plan or idea.  I just travel along the path that my creative soul wishes to take me on which means a lot of spontaneity, trust and love goes into every movement of my hand.

I will be in the studio busying myself with commissions over the next couple of days but I am hoping to find time to film a tutorial or two over the weekend.  I know how much I enjoy learning from others and I'm hoping that I can offer that feeling of enjoyment to others in return.

{{My Little Girl}}

It's been a funny ol' day here at the Tannery.  Lots of silly not the norm little things going on that needed seeing to such as a goat with a bucket stuck on her head and a limping cat *sigh*.  Still, I should be very grateful that nothing was serious, and indeed I am.

My morning was spent tootling around with the children.  After all of the animal chores were completed, we read together, sat and did a few puzzles, researched World War 1, looked at life in ancient Egypt, and watched a documentary on the solar system.  That took us to just after lunchtime and so we ate and chatted about what to do for the afternoon.  Art (yay!) was requested, as was Jewellery making and wii playing.

Whilst everyone else unleashed their creative spirit, I had a bit of play with mine.  With Mother's Day coming up I was reminded of what I repeatedly say to my 3 year old daughter Taisia.  "You will always be my little girl."  When expecting our 6th (and final!) baby, I was very conscious of how life would change for Taisia.  She was very much used to being centre of attention and and she was the one I was a little worried about regarding adapting to having a younger sibling.  As it happens, I needn't have worried at all.  Taisia adores her baby sister Amara, and loves playing the role of  big helpful sister.  Whenever I hold her close and say 'my baby', she replies with an almost disgruntled 'I'm a big girl!  She is growing fast and she changes seemingly daily, but she will always be my little girl. I say the exact same thing to Chelsea, my eldest daughter.  She is 18 but will always be my little girl.  It's a mama thing.

{{Shine}} and more...

Hello beautiful souls, I hope you have had an amazing Tuesday.  Here in Devon we have had some of the wet stuff!  I couldn't believe it when I popped out to do the morning animal chores and felt the rain falling upon my head.  The weather report had promised it would be dry until Thursday. Huff and puff!

Apart from that, today has been a good day.  Our new chicken girlies are settling in really well and have been accepted by the oldies.  They are yet to find their space on the evening perches but that will come in time, for now they are happy together on the floor, bless 'em.   They are as yet un-named and un-photographed!  Must put that right rather sharpish.

I have managed to grab a little bit of studio time today which I'm extremely grateful for.  Being a mama of 6 and home-educating  means very little 'spare' time.  I am trying to find a routine that ensures all the plates I am juggling are given at least a little time each day. Obviously the most important plate is the mama one, followed very closely by the home-ed - for the majority of the time these two intertwine but I'm always aware of the educational choice we have made and I take that responsibility seriously.  I'm conscious that the buck truly does stop with me and sadly many eyes are watching and awaiting failure.  Other things on my many plates include housekeeping, smallholder (animals and vegetable growth), and the newest one - small business owner wannabe.  I need to find time throughout the day for a snippet of all of those things without having to stay up until some ungodly hour.  I also need to take care of me and sleep!

Here is what I have managed to create today during studio time...

{{Shine}}

{{Breathe}}

I also completed this one...
{{Trust}}

In the future I will be showing my sketches in a 'tales from the sketchbook' series but for today I'll just share them within this posting. I grabbed a few spare minutes this evening to quickly sketch a few outlines. Some of these will progress to to be copied and painted in detail onto canvas within the next few weeks.

and finally, this is a sneaky peek of my current work in progress...

Thank you for reading and I hope you like what you see.  Please consider becoming a blog follower and seek me out on Facebook by clicking the link below for regular studio updates and more.

Joyicity on Facebook

{{Be Yourself}}

Good afternoon m'lovely friends.  I hope you are all having a truly wonderful Saturday and you too have been basking in the yellow stuff.  Here in Devon the sun has been shining and we have very much enjoyed it being dry!  We welcomed four new additions to the Pollard brood today in the form of two guinea pigs (photos below) and two chicken girlies (photos to come). 

Nibbles...

and Topper...

I have been fortunate enough to have gotten some studio time and created this little beauty called {Be Yourself}.

Original Mixed Media artwork, created on 7" x 5" canvas board.

A one off-unique piece.

Materials used:

• Acrylic paints.

• Inktense pencils.

• Watercolour pencils.

• Prismacolor Pencils.

• Scrapbooking papers.

• Ink and stamps.

• White gel pen.

• Canvas board as a base.

Ready for leaning on a shelf or mantelpiece, or hooks or holes could be added for hanging.

{{Fly}}

Hello m'lovelies, how are all you beautiful people today?

I've been enjoying the gorgeous sunshine that has been (finally!) bestowed upon us.  Our goat family have been basking in the warmth glory, looking very contented and relieved that we are having a dry spell at last.  The chicken ladies are enjoying foraging for grubs as they free-range around our land, and the ducks seem equally as happy bathing in the yellow stuff as they do when it is pouring with the wet stuff.

I've been taking time out in the studio and came up with this boot-i-ful lady reminding us all of just what needs to be done.

{Fly}

Original Mixed Media artwork, created on a 7" x 5" canvas.

A one off-unique piece.

Materials used:

• Acrylic paints.
• Inktense pencils.
• Watercolour pencils.
• Prismacolor Pencils.
• Scrapbooking papers.
• Ink and stamps.
• White gel pen.
• Canvas as the base.

Ready for hanging or would look gorgeous resting on a shelf or mantelpiece. 

The New Girl on the Block

So, here I am, perhaps standing before you a little awkwardly, but full of love and with a huge amount of butterfly inducing excitement and anticipation bubbling hysterically inside.

This is a fresh beginning for me.

At last I feel as if I am at peace with myself and the battle is over.  I feel as if I have finally found the path on which I am meant to tread.  I can be myself, speak my own thoughts, create as I desire and unleash the person who has been hidden for so long.

I am going back to my roots. In short I feel like I am returning home.

My passion for arts and crafts has been re-ignited and wow, the inferno that is building is hot hot hot.

I have allowed life to get in the way and put others first for far too long and changes have now been made.  I don't mean that in a selfish way, I'm always willing to help and support anyone, but when it envelopes you until you no longer know who your true self is, well, it's time to step back and take stock on what your life is becoming.

Now is my time to shine and be who I want to be, as it is yours.

Now my writings can be by me, from my heart, as me.

Joyicity is my vehicle to show my true self, hippety-hoppety being and all.

Welcome to my world.  I can't wait to get to know you.