A gentle change and Happiness

Another month has flown by in the Monthly Painters Challenge and though some of our southern hemisphere members seem to have been laid low with winter bugs this month , the work that has been submitted has been has all reflected the theme of Happiness. Of course my wonderful husband and amazing daughter bring me great armloads of happiness, but I wanted to explore it on another level and once I got past thinking of them it became obvious!

I actually found this the easiest topic as I immediately thought of baking and my prized blue Kitchenaide mixer, which was a birthday present from Phoebe and Matt. I love that mixer so much and I had such fun including so many baking things that I love and making treats for us to share as a family. I love the sound of the whirring, and the smells of baking in the oven, and it just fills me with a sense of peace and that all is right in the world.  It was a bit tricky getting the drawing of the mixer how I wanted it because I wanted it as it appears on my kitchen bench, but it slightly foreshortened which is definitely not my favourite angle to draw!

I also snuck in my favourite Powderfinger song My Happiness which never fails to make me lift my spirits, along with Waiting for the Sun. Odyssey Number 5 is just such a great CD and always makes me think of summer and long lazy days, which is a real lift when the weather is a bit wintery and bleak as it was over the two days I was working on this collage. 

I also wanted to use the packaging of the Lighthouse Flour, which hasn't been in Australia for so long, but is the flour I used to buy when we were living in Florida, so it has all sorts of sunny associations for me. Of course Donna Hay had to get in there because baking and cooking from her books brings me happiness, but just sitting and reading them is such a pleasure that I needed to include it in there.

As to the lemon... I love anything lemon flavoured. I love the smell of them, the colour and the texture of the skin and I love the instant hit of summer that comes from them. Winter has been so mild this year, and I,m not complaining but as Spring approaches we are just getting those stunning days that remind us that long afternoons in the pool and going to sleep to a chorus of cicadas are just around the corner.

So another month covered and I enjoyed it immensely and as I find myself delving more and more into expanding my practise back to collage as well as Botanicals I thought it only appropriate to update the name of the blog to reflect what I am doing. Exciting times!!