Rest ... And an award :-)

Well, things have calmed down a bit and I’ve enjoyed a warm relaxing Easterweekend with my family. Today school started again, and I’m working in the gallery all day.

The market on Friday went well. Sold a few rocks, a few minipaintings, a few magnets and wooden plaques, some notepads and some cards. So all in all it was okay.

Here’s a pic of me in my stall:

 

It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever had a market stall. The ocean behind me, on a grassy field with all kinds of festivities around me, live-music, dancers, stilt walkers, a sailboat race in the distance, and the most perfect weather.

Not sure whether it was worth all the stress though. I have a bit of a love-hate-relationship with markets. It’s a lot of hassle, getting things ready in time, making little price tags, make sure you have enough packing-material, practice your table-setting, packing everything and getting over there, unpacking everything, sitting there the whole day, hoping people will buy and then pack everything up again …. It’s pretty exhausting and at times verrrrry boring. Not this time though, because there was so much activity around us.

The nice thing about markets is that you get to see the people who buy your art. I had quite a few people come up to me to say they knew my work from the gallery and had bought things from me. That’s always nice, because usually I don’t know who buys my things.

The biggest advantage though is that I finally get my ass into action and start making things. When I don’t have a deadline I tend to procrastinate immensely. It really irritates me but I can’t seem to shake this habit. Now, thanks to the market, I have a whole bunch of new stuff to sell on Etsy or in the gallery.

These are some of the rocks, that I didn’t share a picture of yet. I’ll put all of them on my website soon. They are now for sale at the Seaside Artists Gallery in Redcliffe.

 this one (above) is sold

 this one is sold as well (above)

 Just to give you an idea of the size ...

My small doodle-painting sold, so I’m making some new ones. Because it’s all markers I can easily do them while sitting with my daughter on her bed every night. Still a bit frustrated by the small size though, maybe I should start making some bigger ones.

Looks a bit dark on here. My scanner seems to pick up things that you can't even see with the naked eye ...

Well, this post is getting pretty long, and I still have to answer my questions from the Liebster Award, that Karla from Poetic Postcards gave me. Thanks so much Karla, I always feel honoured when people think of my blog. It keeps me going :-)

These are the rules for the Liebster Award:

1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you.
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers.
4. Go to the blogs you nominated and notify them of your nomination.
5. Give your nominees 11 questions to answer.

 Here are the questions I had to answer:

1 - Who is your favourite writer and why?

I have several, but at the moment Linwood Barclay is becoming more and more my absolute favourite. I love his writing-style and dry humour, and his books are just unputdownable (if that even is a word). If you like thrillers without all the blood and gore, try him!

2 - What makes life beautiful?

Sun, sea and happy people, and having time to do what you like most

3 - What is your biggest fear?

Becoming blind. I wouldn’t be able to paint and read anymore, my two most favourite pastimes … And of course, when you have children, there’s always the fear something will happen to them.

4 - What's your favourite song and why?

Hmm, that’s hard. My favourite songs change depending on the mood I’m in. So I’ll just name some favourite singers: Heather Nova, Sarah MacLachlan, Loreena McKennitt, Jim Croce. And, oh yes, there’s one song I always love to hear: "For bitter or worse" from Anouk. So beautiful ….

5 - If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

In a wooden house on a sunny beach somewhere, far away from traffic, where I would always be able to hear the waves crashing on the shore.

6 - Are you where you hoped to be at this point in your life?

I tend to not really plan too much for the future and just take things as they come. And I guess at this moment I’m exactly where I was meant to be.

7 - Tell me something about your country that makes you proud.

Hmm, that’s a bit difficult, since I’m Belgian but living in Australia right now. We will be moving back to Belgium though, so I’ll answer this for Belgium. One thing I’m proud of is the progressive laws we have in Belgium, regarding euthanasia and gay marriage. We even have a gay prime minister and nobody’s bothered by that.

8 - If you had super powers, what would you like to change in the world?

Turn the hate between people to love, or at least acceptance of the other’s differences. Put an end to religious fanatism. Stop the destruction of the planet.

9 - What do you like doing in your free time?

Painting, reading and wandering through galleries.

10 - How important is your blog in your life?

Important but not all-consuming. I love getting in touch with like-minded people, sharing ideas and helping each other figure things out. The online art community has a big heart, and I love how supportive everyone always is. I would certainly miss it if I wasn’t part of that community anymore.

11 - What is Art in your opinion?

Art is anything that is made from the heart. Something that you put your heart and soul in. Something that you have to do because it’s in you and it needs to come out. I don’t like art that’s made to shock people. To me that’s not art, that’s just plain attention-seeking.

Wow, this is quite a long post. I’ve decided to change the rules of the Liebster award a little bit, I hope that’s okay. I’ll nominate 5 blogs and ask 5 questions. Because I know everyone is really busy and a lot of bloggers don’t even accept these awards anymore because it’s too much work.

The blogs I nominate here: please don’t feel like you have to accept the award, it’s totally okay  if you don’t. I’m not gonna bother with the number of followers either. Sorry, I’m not one to follow rules too closely, obviously …  ;-)

Moongirl: got to know her during the 29 faces-challenge and really like her drawing-style
Karin: love the bright and colourful cards she makes

Laila: just got to know her through PPF. Interesting and colourful work.

Lee: her posts always make me smile

Sarah: crazy and multi-talented
Ann: companion of Sarah, just as crazy and multi-talented ;-)

Okay, yes, that's 6 blogs .... Doesn't matter, they all deserve it (and so many more out there ....)

And the 5 questions are:

1. Which kind of art do you like and why?
2. Is there something you really want to do in your life that you haven’t done yet?
3. How would your best friend describe you in one word?
4. Do you do any kind of sports? (just want to see where I stand compared to other people ☺)
5. Do you sell your art, or would you like to?

Okay, time to end this very long post. Thanks for visiting, and don’t forget to come back on Friday, because I’ll be doing a give away! Yes! Celebrating the 200-followers mark and the almost 400 likers on Facebook. If you like me on Facebook, I might even get to 400 by Friday ;-)