Creativity for the past ten days..lots to report...watch this space...

For my 50th birthday Graham took me away to Ohiwa Harbour camping ground where he  rented us a cabin for nine fantastic days.

It was the best birthday I could have wished for.
 Harmonious, peaceful, fun and creative, lots of art making, photography and poetry writing.
Beautiful scenery, peace and quiet amongst birds and wilderness, lots of exercise, pure air, amazing food, sea swims, hot temperatures, tons of native and sea birds, fresh air.
The camping ground was very quiet, which made the whole experience just perfect.
Yet it is located within a half an hours drive of Opotiki and Whakatane which means that you are near to great cafes and shopping if you want to have a  break from the tranqulity.
The people in Opotiki and this area are very friendly and laid back.
 I am visualising that in the future I get to live in a sea side location like this with  no neighbours; it would be wonderful.
 My idea of bliss.

Kingfisher on a sign near the estuary just outside the entrance to the Ohiwa Harbour Camping Ground.

For my birthday which was on the 11th we travelled to Tauranga from Ohiwa, walked halfway around the Mount and had a hot swim in the Mount pools.

Toitoi on the track around the mount.

I have a bit of a Toitoi obsession that has been with me since childhood. Aren't they gorgeous? This is the scene from halfway up the hill that is behind  our cabin.

 Graham took me out to lunch, bought me some really lovely presents including a painting, a spare hard drive for all my photos, two art books, accessories for my camera and software for making Audio Visuals.
 I was really spoilt and am grateful that he made it so memorable for me.
 I have decided to carry on celebrating my birthday for the rest of the month, so will be going on some outings with friends back in Rotorua.

 I set myself a goal of making nine illustrations for my visual art diary when I was away.
These are two I completed before I left and are still focusing on experimenting with melted bees wax

Materials: old keys, buttons, fabric flowers, oil paint, wax photocopies and serviette bird images.

 Collage with En caustic (melted beeswax) using photocopies of old paintings on tracing paper, fabric flowers, oil paint and melted bees wax.

Photocopies, stickers, butterfly serviettes, gouache and water colour paint, thin marker pen, old book pages, decorative paper, modge podge.

I made a  series of collages based on the mixed media techniques found in Claudine Hellmuth's  book Collage Discovery Workshop.

To be continued on the next post.

Creativity quotes of the day
" Here's a time when you have to separate yourself from what other people expect of you, and do what you love. Because if you find yourself 50 years old and you aren't doing what you love, then what's the point?"  Jim Carrey

I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming... suddenly you find - at the age of 50, say - that a whole new life has opened before you.  Agatha Christie