Holy goddess of all that is salty and blue! Today there are officially 33 days until Christmas and I'm excited! I'm going to tell you something but before I do I want you to know that this is totally uncharacteristic of me - this morning I completed my Christmas gift gathering! Whhhaaaaat? Yes, I completed all my Christmas present gathering a whole 33 days before Christmas. It's inconceivable that this has happened. I can scarcely believe it! I am usually the person rushing around at the last minute trying to work out how I forgot three people and making mad dashes to the shops. But not this year. This year I am winning at the Christmas game, yes! I'll tell you why though. As well as listening to the constant warnings about shipping delays this year, I really, really wanted to gift things that the recipient will have for a long time. I swore to myself that I wouldn't purchase fluff and that I would focus on quality over trendy. Some things I have made, some things I have bought from other makers and some things I have gathered from online stores that stock Australian goods. Anyway, I'm happy and I can tell you that I already feel like I'm heading into the season with a whole lot of pressure taken off my shoulders!
So, now I'm done bragging about how exceptionally organised I am (haha, don't open my linen closet!), here's a little recap on the past week or so in the studio and beyond. It's been a lovely couple of weeks, with intermittent rain and a few humid summer days thrown in to knock one about. I had my first proper swim in the pool since last summer and it was magnificent. My plan is to get up every morning and do laps, but that is my plan every year so we'll see how that pans out. We've taken long drives in the country, attended some pre-festive season gatherings, caught up with family, spent hours trying to tame the mad jungle that is my garden and witnessed the beautiful eclipse. Here are some snapshots from the past couple of weeks:
With all of that action I haven't really spent a lot of time in the studio - just a few hours a day. I finished one new piece which I've already uploaded to my store and last week I mostly worked on a fun commission. I've a few pieces still in progress but things are definitely slowing down for the year in my studio. I really want to take this quieter time to finish working on my garden critters journal, as in the new year I'd like to launch a new poster using the illustrations I've painted inside of it. I'm so pleased with how they have turned out and it would be a shame to keep them locked up inside a personal journal!
So, that's a little rundown of things lately. It seems I'm getting more regular at blogging and I'm very happy about that as I love having this record of my creative pursuits beyond social media. I'd very much like to continue making time for these studio updates into the New Year. Oh goodness, it can't be a little over a month until it's 2022 can it? I can hardly recall where the last two years have gone? It's been such a weird time hasn't it? It's definitely time for the trajectory to start heading in the direction of hope and happiness for the world. I'm going to meditate on that whilst I finish off another whale painting this afternoon. Be salty and swell ocean lovers! Whaley hugs!