The tweaks finally sorted. It's taken about 20 experimental pages to finally get the look I want. And another 20 to achieve results I'm happy with. Thank goodness for the Warehouse's cheap paper supplies. I have a very 'Heath Robinson'…
White fright! After a very tentative start, staring at the pristine white paper, I am happy with my watercolour painting of the misty gullies in the deep silent valleys of Doubtful Sound in Fiordland. Lots of water and paint. It…
Can I still paint in watercolours? My illustrations for 'The Prince and the Dragon" Trilogy were done 8 months ago and I'm feeling very nervous about picking up my brushes again. Would I still remember the creative touch that brings…
"Do you think the ghost will ever come?" Matilda is sitting up in bed staring glumly at Flospy and Mopsy, her bunny slippers and Brave Bear, a very dilapidated teddy bear. They are calmly waiting for the ghost to arrive…
In the lull before I start imagining my next book. Printing in its many creative forms is always an exciting occupation. You never know in what surprising ways, what you've carved, scratched, applied torn pieces of paper, scattered dried flowers…
8 years of anticipation, and now I can explore the world of wood block printing. I bought my printing press shortly after we moved to Mapua. But I got so caught up in the possibilities of turning my adult fairy…
Only missed out on one market. The best run of markets ever. Only one was rained off - unfortunately the very last Nelson market before Christmas. The Hanmer market had all the customers blown away after midday by a vicious…
The first - The Great Christmas Market. This market is held in the wonderful Founders Heritage Park. The weather was perfect. The many visiting shoppers enjoyed a satisfying day choosing from an impressive selection of hand-crafted gifts. The friendly marketeers…
Local paper 'The Guardian', by sheer fluke, published their article (https://topsouthmedia.co.nz/guardian-motueka-golden-bay if you want to read it - a few errors!) about my third book last Thursday 14th November. The local Mapua's Makers' Market (https://www.found.org.nz/directory/the-mapua-market/) was held on Sunday 17th…
I worried about rain in Hanmer. But in the end it was the wind that blew all the visitors away. Around lunch-time a few gusts warned us of what was coming. Within the hour strong gusts swept in lifting loose…