What's on my design wall?

Something green/blue/yellow with triangles

For this work, I am returning to a method I haven't used for a long time - the design wall

1. select the materials
2. cut some/all of it up into whatever shapes 
3. arrange the pieces on a design surface until pleased
4. sew it all together

This is unusual for me - to know how the finished work will look before I even start sewing. It's a great method for a planned effect, and I have a strong vision for this work, so the design wall is the way to get me there. I do need a bigger design surface. Getting a big enough sheet of polystyrene home is the trick. And finding a place to store it...

The fabrics are GREAT! a few commercial prints, but most of this amazing stuff is from the fabulous women at Distressed Threads - my favourite source of unique artisan fabrics.

Here is what I think will be one-third of the finished work.

 Next time you see it, it will look completely different. Rearranging is the fun part!

Change of style...change of everything!

May was the month when it seemed like everything changed.

I stopped working for local government - and started working for a foreign company.

I said goodbye to a fantastic group of people I've waved to, hugged, eaten lunch with, co-authored documents with, backed up and been bailed out by for over a year. That was hard.  In balance, I'm slowly meeting by email and teleconference my new colleagues, who are mostly warm and welcoming.

And finally, as a change from going to the same old office every day, of the 23 working days of May, I spent 13 days at work in Australia.

The other days I worked at home in my re-purposed studio - now Studio/Office.

More on this in later posts.

finding the beat

Between singing lessons and vocal coaching at choir, I think I'm on the path to bettering that part of my musicianship.

There's plenty of other room for improvement. I'm a woeful time-keeper, especially with offbeat rhythms, and through long rests.

Just as I decide I need to do something about this, along comes the opportunity to participate in a 3-day workshop of the TaKeTiNa rhythm learning process. More about the method in this youtube video

Having had a taste of the method a while ago, I had little hesitation in signing up. Even managed to convince the guitarist in the household to come along too.

I'm very glad I did. It was the first time I've got comfortable with off-beat, 5-beat, 9-beat, 3-in-4 rhythms to the point of real pleasure and confidence.  Much more importantly, I also experienced falling out of those rhythms with humour and recovering them with grace.

That's a little bit less fear to carry around, a bit more joy to offer back.

Good news for Kiwis - there will be another TaKeTiNa workshop in Auckland early next year. Contact http://www.newworldrhythm.com for more information and tell them I sent you

learning to sing at last

so... singing lessons.

After all that angst, lessons didn't start for another month, because the teacher was too busy to fit me in! By the time we got our schedules aligned, I was used to the idea and walked in to my first lesson only slightly nervous.

It was all much more enjoyable and satisfying than I had imagined.

Several weeks later, I am happy to report that I have a good sense of where I'm going and how to get there. Some aspects of my voice are slowly improving. In other areas it's all challenge. But that's OK.

Of course I am doing more practice than I used to...which is delivering a real improvement in my performance in Auckland Choral. Singing our current Bach, Haydn, Tavener and McMillan fearlessly and fairly accurately. Even with some interpretation and feeling! Who would have guessed that practice would help?