{ kass } an artistic journey

for sale

I created an ETSY store a few weeks back. I figure if I am going to be an artist, I have to sell my work and get my name out there, and at 20c per listing it's a great way to see how I go.

My etsy store is at http://kassjane.etsy.com

I have just added 2 items.

When I have items, I plan on loading them here too. If you're in Australia, you can purchase it at the same listed price but in Australian dollars, which will save you around 20% at today's exchange rates. So, if something is listed on etsy as $40 USD, you can purchase it via email directly from me for $40 AUD.

THROW PILLOW - BUTTONS
$40
Listing

GREEN VINYL PILLOW
$20
Listing

all good things...

1. I finished uni yesterday. So glad to have that semester under my belt and finished. It's been a tough few months but I made it...

3. After work tonight, I went to Young and Jackson to see Michael and Andrew (his brother - my brother-in-law) who is down from Sydney. They're at the footy. Just before they left I saw a dear friend who I haven't seen in years but I was so happy to see - Paul. Paulie and I caught the school bus together, worked at Maccas and Myer together, used to party together and someone who I absolutely love. It was so random and I was SO HAPPY to see him and meet his partner Joel. It made my day to see them and reminded me of all the awesome fun times we had together as young ones. He also mentioned he reads my blog so HI PAULIE AND JOEL and happy 7th anniversary for NEXT WEEK!!

On the train home I called my Mum and told her I'd seen Paul and she laughed and said "yes I remember Paul well". You see, when I was finishing up Year 12, I basically announced to the after school bus gang (most of whom I knew) that they were all invited to my 18th the following January (I was giving them about 4 months notice!). They took me at my word and about 6 guys from St Bernard's turned up spot on 2pm with slabs under their arms. They were still drinking on my pool deck at 1am the next morning, well after I'd left my own party to go to the city! Mum always thought they were hysterical and remembers Paul in particular. It's my favourite memory of Paulie, and trust me, there are several which for now I will keep secret!!

Wow, I am still so happy and still smiling at such a random and welcome reunion.

flat out

the finished toothpick bird. Took ages but I have kind of taken a shine to it...

Have an essay to write so I am heading inside (where its WARMER) to read.

3 weeks today and I will be somewhere over the Pacific.

I've felt better, a bit more energetic today than I have in a long while. Hope it keeps up....

woodcarving

I've mentioned before my bird project for Uni. It's due for installation tomorrow. I wouldn't say it has gone as I had planned or envisioned, but nonetheless I have worked hard to come up with different materials to create the birds and express the message. On Friday night I had this *brilliant* idea to stick together coloured toothpicks/matchsticks and carve a bird from it. How hard could it be?

Well, it's not HARD but it is TIME consuming - both relaxing and frustrating all at once. I can now see the appeal of woodcarving but I am not sure I have the patience in general to pursue it! That said....it IS kind of relaxing in a way (splinters and cuts aside).

These are my birds so far:

clay bird

felt bird

plastic birds

toothpick bird

this is all the toothpicks stuck together, I had to wait til they had totally dried overnight before i could start on it with the knife.

so far:

i love the effect the carving is having, I didn't think about what the inside of the toothpicks might look like so it was a pleasant surprise and adds some interest. Man it is taking forever to finish - I'll post it later when it's done.

my message to you on a friday night

as my camera is being fixed (thanks to Sunny's obsession with pulling stuff off tables that are within leaping reach), I needed to use my old camera to record some Uni work. This is now Jakob's camera - he loves taking photos and occasionally gets some good ones. So we were going through what was on the memory card earlier and he'd taken one of my Mum leaning over, running him a bath. Let's just say it was not flattering!! So she decided to take one of his bum as well, and when I uploaded it just now, it kinda summer up my thoughts and feelings at the end of the week:

on a different note, I noticed on the USA Today Show site that on the Tuesday morning I am in New York, Bon Jovi are playing their summer concert series. Starts at 7am. I ask you, is Jon Bon Jovi worth a 6am wake-up call? You bet.

Have a nice day :)

dont stop now

http://www.crowdedhouse.com/news.php

so the new Crowdies song is up to listen to at the above website. Have a listen, it freakin rocks.

Things still busy, I am one week exactly from end of what's been a tough semester, one I am grateful to get through and pass. I've started on a new, stronger drug today which will hopefully start making me feel a little more human again. Big thumbs up to that hope.

'Nother weekend "off" work....so footy again and lots of finishing assignments and sleep.

im still here

busy times, I am going into the last 2 weeks of semester so I have an essay to write and projects to get finished. Busy times. I will try to update my blog and add photos of what I am doing.

had a really nice dinner on Thursday with Nat, Karen and Jodi which was nice. Haven't seen any of them in months - probably a couple of years with Karen.

Last night I went to the footy with Dad, we went to see Essendon and the Kangaroos, of course the Bombers lost but North played well and I mostly was just enjoying spending time with my Dad.

not much else to tell, I am just getting through each day the best I can, trying to keep my head above water with uni and life and enjoying this weekend off work.

I really appreciate the emails, comments and phone calls I have had in recent weeks from some of you. Though I might not be myself right now, I am grateful for the care and concern you've shown and the support I've had. Please know I am thankful.

for sale

this painting is for sale on my new ETSY store.

The price is $249.00 US DOLLARS but if bought privately in Australia I will take $249.00 AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS plus freight costs.

The painting is 36" x 24" and is acryclic paint with impasto and texture paste. It is an original and would look great on a feature wall.

Email me if you are interested (link in side column).

sydney days

its hard to know where to start, so I'll go with the start and illustrate with photos where I can....

Michael and I left for Sydney and arrived just before lunch. We checked into our hotel, the InterContinental Hotel and this was our room -


the 'Inter' is a 6 star hotel and one of the most beautiful I've seen in the world. I used to run conferences there when I worked in Canberra and always wanted to stay there so doing so (and at no expense to us!) was so exciting!

Michael and I spent the afternoon at the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay, then walked around to the Rocks. Exciting moment there, we ran into Marcus Graham
who I first met in 1990, when I was in the RCH. He came to visit me one day and I was particularly sick and the doctors had, infact, told my parents they didn't think I'd see out the day. Marcus came to visit and - surprise - some life came back into me and I am here to tell the story! So I stopped and introduced myself and told him the story and he was SO THRILLED that I stopped. I didn't get a photo (and yes I am kicking myself now!) but he was so lovely and so touched when I told him he "saved my life". LOL I tell you, he is still one VERY sexy man....

Wendesday night, we went to the Josh Groban showcase at the Sydney Opera House. It was amazing. It was an invitation only showcase and some faces I recognised were Alan Jones, the Veronicas and Sami Lukas. But for me the thrill was to meet Adam Harvey, who is a well known country singer and winner of several Golden Guitars. When he was a young up and comer, he use to do Country Music Days raising money for the RCH and my Mum was involved and used to rave about him (this was mid 1990s) so she has always really loved him. So meeting him was a thrill and it was especially lovely when I asked him if he remembered those days and he remembered Mum by name and said how much he liked her and sent his love. Mum was rapt about that and meeting him and his gorgeous wife Kathy was so wonderful. Here we are:

Then JOSH came on stage and sang 8 songs - it was extraordinary. Let me tell you, he deserves to be a SUPER STAR in this country and I think he will be. He was the original recording artist of 'You Raise Me Up' which was last year covered by Westlife. Josh's version is far superior. He sang several songs from the new album 'AWAKE'. His voice is flawless, absolutely stunning. I was so impressed. And he seems so humble and nice - a really genuine young man. It was just wonderful and I loved it. Believe me, when he tours in October, it will be money well spent to go.

so as you can see I got pretty close (I forgot to take my zoom lens!) and it was incredible.

And finally, a self portrait of my hot date and I on our way to the Rocks for dinner after the show...

It was an incredible night!

We spent yesterday at Taronga Zoo which was just gorgeous, really warm and lovely. You dont want to see photos of elephants and giraffes though, I think we all know what THEY look like!

So that was our special trip, we were treated like rock stars and we had a wonderful time together, talking and reconnecting. It was awesome!