Drawings of Spring in New Zealand.

There is blossom on the trees in our garden, daffodils flowering and tulip heads opening up.

In New Zealand the native  Kowhai tree flowers in Spring as well.

The flowers are bright yellow and attract native birds like the Tui, Bellbird and the New Zealand pigeon Kereru.

When we became New Zealand citizens not long ago,we received a Kowhai tree as a gift.

We have two Kowhai trees in our garden and  they are in flower now.

I did a watercolour painting for a card of the Kohwai flower and a pencil sketch, what will became a painting as well.

I am part of Sunday Sketches

Little watercolour of the kowhai flowers

Pencil sketch for a new painting of the Kowhai flowers

the real Kowhai flowers

Water colour Art for children

This week was a full week of teaching art.

On Monday I taught an art class at the mental health center and on Tuesday afternoon it was the home school children's art workshop, I finished the week on Thursday teaching at the rest home.

I really enjoy teaching and thinking of new projects and different techniques for each group.

I research the internet and pinterest for inspiration and ideas, for the children's art workshop this week we painted butterflies with watercolour and used charcoal to draw a night sky.

For inspiration I made a sample and told the children a little story about a colourful butterfly fluttering in a dark night sky looking at the moon. There is always colour and light in our life even when things can look a bit gray and dark.

The children enjoyed the two different mediums to create one artwork.

                    

the sample

                                               

I am part of Sunday Sketches

Spring in the garden

Hellebores watercolour

On Saturday it was garden weeding day.

Hellebores from the garden

Henk was doing the hard work, chain sawing in the paddock the tree he felled last weekend and working on our new garden beds.

Only a few weeks away and we can plant the first seed potatoes and I can sow peas and carrots.

We still get heavy frosts some night, so I have to be patient sowing directly into the soil.

I have already started sowing under glass, mostly flowers for the summer garden.

This year I want to grow more cut flowers for my posies I sell at my plant stall outside the gate.

While I was weeding I noticed the Hellebores, each winter they flower very quietly under shrubs and their flower heads are tucked away between the leaves.

I love Hellebores, the colours are so delicate and I have purple and green Hellebores in my garden.
They don't last long in the vase inside, so I picked a few and painted a little watercolour to make into a card.

In the afternoon I took Ollie, my dog for a walk and I noticed the first Spring lambs in the paddocks and  I also took a photograph of Somerset Cob Cottage that was build around 1860 and it housed a family with 11 children!
Now it is a little museum.

Every Sunday I take part in Sunday Sketches.

Somerset Cob Cottage

Nearly Spring

Spring is not far away, only a month, but for now it feels far away.

Spring Birds nest

The South Island is in the grip of winter and it has been snowing in many places.

The top of the South Island were we live has a more tempered climate, so snow is not common,but frosts are and last night was one of the coldest nights we had this winter.

Oke, I find it cold, but minus 5 is for many places in the world a bit of a laugh, I know!

But in the garden the tops of Spring bulbs are appearing and the snow drops are flowering. 

I make up little Spring posies to sell at my plant stall and they sell well, I think a lot of my neighbours are waiting for the beginning of Spring just as much as I am.

I painted a little birdsnest with eggs to remind me that warmer weather is on its way.

Honor

Also I painted a little water colour portrait of Honor I send to Paul and Emma, as a memory keepsake for them.

A few weeks ago I taught a mixed medium workshop at a drop in center for people with mental health illness and we made collages with old magazines.

I was really impressed with the collages, not all the work is finished, but I post some examples.

Some collages took three sessions to finish, but we hope to work towards an exhibition in the near future.

Flowers in vase

All blacks Rugby player

Cup cake

I am part of bluechairdiary.blogspot.nl/2016/05/sunday-sketches-pocketful-of-memories.html

All about dogs

drawings of honor

What a week;it started with the sad news that Honor the dog from my son Paul and his fiancee Emma was very sick. Honor is the most beautiful and adoring Golden Retriever, she is funny, stubborn and extremely loving to everyone she meets.

This year Honor played the roll as Sandy the dog in the musical Annie in Queenstown and she was the star of the show.

Only two weeks ago Honor started to refuse food and water and she went down hill very fast, the vet put her on intravenous fluid, but after an ultrasound the vet found out Honor had severe kidney disease and her kidneys were failing.

For a whole week she stayed on the IV and  Honor went home to Paul and Emma on Monday.

Honor and Ollie swimming together

Beautiful Honor, we will remember her

But sadly Honor lasted only a few more days and then on Friday this week Honor was put to sleep.

We all feel very sad and especially this loss is very hard for Paul and Emma, because Honor was only four years old and they loved her to bits.

A few years ago I did a drawing of Honor and this was a Christmas present to Paul and Emma, I did another drawing today to send to them as a memory of Honor.

On Wednesday I went with Ollie, my dog to the rest home and hospital, Ollie was the happy therapy dog again and we visited the hospital, dementia ward and the rest home wing.

In the dementia ward Ollie helps to connect people with the world again, even if it is just for a moment.

The nurse took me into one of the residents rooms, Brian was asleep in his bed and dementia patients seem to sleep more and more. Ollie put his nose in his hand and just for a moment Brian reacted slightly, but not enough to wake him up. Ollie lies down next to his bed and just is there in the moment with Brian.

One of the other residents has hardly any facial expressions anymore and doesn't talk, but when he noticed Ollie he smiles, just a little.

Ollie has this gentle influence on people, they come up and like to stroke him.

Honor was the same, she made a difference in peoples life and we will remember this beautiful Goldie.

I am part of Sunday Sketches 

The way ahead

These last weeks I made myself busy with creative stuff to take my mind of things.

I made a grape vine wreath from the cuttings of our grape vine, I have been spinning and knitting finger less gloves for Rachel and painting my watercolour cards inspired by cup cakes this time.

I feel good when I am in my creative zone,my thoughts are in the process of making and I don't have to go to places were I don't want to go.

grape vine wreath

But time is ticking away and each day brings me closer to the day I have to go to Christchurch hospital for my cancer check up and now it is only two weeks away.
My scan will be in September, but this is my first appointment after coming home from treatment and I am dreading it. I don't want to go, but I have to go.

Hand spun and hand knitted finger less gloves.

Most days I feel really positive, but some days I am not and I ask myself if I will ever feel really happy again, like before I got this damn disease.

Watercolour cupcake cards

Then I go to my creative place and thank God for giving me this place to escape reality for a while.

Another watercolour cupcake card

My life is sweet,just eat cupcakes. Please don't tell me sugar will make cancer grow, I will still eat my cupcake and knit a little bit more!

My new little shop Marijkearty's on felt.co.nz

Blog land is an exiting place to be, I have found many creative and interesting blogs and I have put favourites on my blog list. I love to read about other artists and crafts people and what inspires them.

I admire the beautiful blogs I find and then feel I still have a lot to learn about blogging.

There are no courses available, as far as I know and I find it so much easier if someone shows me what to do instead of reading manuals on the internet.

Hand knitted cupcakes

In this time of my life I can't work because of the cancer treatment I had, so I am trying to find other ways of being creative at home and maybe earn a little extra.

So I found the website "felt.co.nz" on the internet and opened my own online shop called "marijke arty."

The website felt is similar to etsy and started in New Zealand.

Only handmade products are for sale on felt, so it is a makers only online marketplace. 

 I only started this week and selling hand painted watercolour cards and my knitted cupcakes, but more will follow.

My latest watercolour shell cards.

I would love you to visit my little shop on felt, see you there.