Blog World: A maze of information

Today is ANZAC day(Tuesday 25th April 2006 in NZ). It has been raining all day - A good day to snuggle up in front of the fire with a good book. Instead I have spent most of the day meandering through the maze of blog sites. This is a world I was totally unaware of until recently when my colleague, Marica Sevelj (herself an ardent and passionate blogger), showed me the way.

When I first began my blog journey I was daunted by where to begin but with a little encouragement from Marica I soon got started and I began to enjoy myself. I was quite excited by the prospect of taking my first steps into blog world.

With my own blog set up, I began my first entry...OK...mmm...? What do I write about? Who will read it? Do I write for an unknown audience or do I write for me? Do I write an online journal or do I keep it impersonal and educational? Do I use it as a gallery for my paintings? So many questions.

With all these questions going round in my head I thought it would be a good idea to just have a go at getting something up there. So my first postings are a combination of journal and gallery - just to test the waters and get myself started. I ignored the questions.

This morning I logged on to add another posting and all the questions came flooding back and some. So where to from here? I went back to Marica's blog, made some comments on her last entry then followed some of her links. In and out of sites, following links, going back, changing direction, following more links on and on I went until 6hrs later here I am still glued to the computer with a numb bum and a wealth of freshly digested information that has liquified in my brain.

This maze of information is deceptive. It is not until you take your first steps that you realise how vast and varied it is. Like a rabbit stunned by headlights, there comes a moment on this journey when you stop in your tracks dazzled by all the options not knowing which way to go. That is when you look at the clock and realise just how long you have been lost in this maze.

I love mazes and puzzles. I always have ever since I was a young girl living in England. Instead of the English garden hedge mazes I have replaced them for the virtual maze of Blog World!

One last question: There is a restful quality about navigating hedge mazes, something to do with being at one with nature but will I find serenity in blog world?

Finding serentiy in creativity


There have been times in my life when I have found art the only way for me to find serenity. At these times I seem to give myself the time and the headspace to allow my creativity to flow. Unfortunately it seems to take a personal crisis for me allow myself this luxury. Like a volcano my creativity errupts with a burst of energy and beauty that is awesome and dramatic - a cry for help, release or even freedom coming from deep within my soul.








This picture is the first in a series of three pastel drawings I did at a time when my world was in turmoil. There is little colour in the first image and most of the face is hiding. I was feeling very depressed (though I didn't realise this until later). I was out of work at a time when mortgage rates were over 13% and I was looking after my sister who had experienced a nervous breakdown. Much later she was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The second image has a little more colour and more daring. I created these drawings 12 years ago when I attended an evening class with my sister to help her heal. I didn't realise it then but this art class helped me to heal too. Having these images to look back on helped me see the healing I went through during this time.

The third image, my favourite, is very bright and colourful and the face is open and smiling. Within weeks of completing this third image I received three job offers in as many days.

The healing power of creativity should never be underestimated. No matter what the finished product looks like or the medium used, it is the process, allowing the freeing of the soul, that does the healing. Creativity at these times becomes an outward expression of our inner most feelings, our deepest thoughts and our soul's desire - the freedom to be

If serentiy is so easy to find why do I find it so elusive?

Serenity is a place of inner peace and beauty - A place of quiet calm and peaceful tranquility. If it were a colour it would be blue like the ocean. If it were a place in my outer world it would be a point on the horizon where the sea meets the sky on a beautiful summer's day.