Taking a long overdue break and other revelations.
Creating opportunities, Take 3
Taking breaks doesn’t come easy to most artists or writers—the guilt, doubts, and general lack of funds keep you trapped in place. You can’t take time off—you need to keep going, to push and hustle until you fall over.
There is one trip I can’t get around—visiting my ageing parents in Germany every three-ish years (talking about guilt). But worsening exchange rates, skyrocketing airfares, my insistence on becoming a starving artist, and the global political chaos all stacked against us. Hunkering down felt like the only prudent decision.
Unless we could turn it into an opportunity to have an actual break and soak in some Australian sunshine?
As it turns out, holidays in Australia now also come with a massive price tag.
We went anyway. And I am glad we did. I feel full of energy and generally invincible*.
—
*Until the Wellington winter creeps back into my bones.
Art
Meanwhile in the studio, my shelves are filling up with more strange creatures. New limited editions mingle with old favourites and new experiments.
The next limited edition is coming out next week—the green critters on the shelf. A name has been chosen—Hew—but their story still needs to be written. Ping me if something comes to mind!
Books and writing
The pace is picking up ever so slowly. I have officially started the first rough draft for Book Three, and three of the five part title illustrations for the local edition for Book Two are done.
More about my writing adventures can be found in the September Writing Update.
Renovations and the Forever House Project
My little cottage in Wellington is almost market-ready. One last push on repairs, and I should be fine. Famous last words. Probably.
It’s been two years since our last house hunt expedition up north. It feels like nothing and everything has changed in all that time. Some certainties turned out to be dream bubbles, but our wishlist largely remains the same.
So why not reach for the stars? Or the sun? Like Icarus.
In case you missed it …
… a few updates on my blog you might not have caught:
- How to make paper pulp balls for paper mache clay
- My aforementioned September Writing update,
- The August Shop Update bringing back some paper mache favourites.
Current Art Crush
- Have you seen Kristen Egan’s spirit masks? I love her use of organic materials to create her otherworldly creations.
Current Book Crush
- I loved Lives of Bitter Rain, by Adrian Tchaikovsk and I will definitely continue my journey through The Tyrant Philosophers Series.
Have an amazing rest of the month… and I am truly thankful to everybody who follows my creative adventures and signs up to my newsletter.
That’s about it for now (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡
#studiovisit #artistlife #artistinthestudio #artstudio #lifeupdate
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New here? I write adult fantasy that sits somewhere between dystopia, post-apocalyptic fiction, and science fiction—complex, a little dark, unapologetically nerdy.
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