Forbidden fruit

 ...well, not really forbidden, although these pomellos were gifted to me from an 'unknown' source - hmmmmmm. 

We found pomellos in China 2 year ago - I fell in love with them, but they are hard to find in Australia.

Sorry I have not been into the bloggersphere for ages - I'm finding the posting a bit overwhelming  - where do I start and where do I finish??? Yes, so much creativity happening in my life these days - hahahahah, besides, my daughter gave me an ipad for my birthday in May, and I have become addicted to 'Words with Friends' [my sister is a doozie - have to try to beat her, and I thought I wasn't competetive] and I am also hooked on the jigsaw puzzles where you load your own photos - lots of delicious rusty iron pics to challenge my brain. I am amazed that my eyes have become attuned to the slightest variation in texture and tone - anyway, I'm sure you are more interested in what I have been doing creatively.

I hosted an Asian themed dinner party last week, assisted by my good friend Christine, and she made up a couple of gorgeous Ikebana arrangements for me.

Oh, yes, I mustn't forget the rather unforgettable Japanese desert thingy I made up - gelatine, rose water, strawberries, real gold leaf and slivered almonds, not bad for one who isn't keen on cooking!

...back to the Ikebana...

I love the simplicity of design needed for Ikebana - yes, more of the wabi sabi concept, so I am keen to create a few of my own.

Here are the new arrangements I made up today...

...rather fitting - winter fruits and all that [it's a mandarin]...

...and an azalea...

Still working with the citrus theme, we have created a lovely new window display in the 'Pop Up Gallery'. Lynn and I started with a bowl of lemons on a tray, then photographed the still life, then developed the image to suit each of our painting styles. I did some editing of the photo to create 2 very different compositions.

Original photo...

composition 1

composition 2

painting 1 on canvas

painting 2 on canvas

'sketch' paintings on paper

 

window display

We've had so many compliments - yellow is not a colour I normally use, but it sure does brighten up a winter's day.

I hope you are safe in whatever part of the world you call home - things are difficult in many areas, and I am grateful every day that I have found my little piece of paradise here in Maleny, Australia.