Winter Guest Post by Tracey Fletcher King
December 16th, 2011
I was so thrilled to be asked to do a guest post for Creative Every Day... because I have just finished Art Every Day Month and it was a fabulous, amazing, exciting experience, and so coming off being just a touch high from all that I was feeling pretty special and cool... until the reality of the topic set in... wintering????
The elephant in the room is that it is the middle of summer here in Australia and to make it that bit more bizarre, I live in sub tropical Southern Queensland, which means we don’t really have a winter, and summer is not just hot, it is a stinking ball of humidity and violent afternoon storms that give you a few minutes reprieve, before the evening chorus of cicadas start. I don’t even associate winter with Christmas because we have a Christmas day that consists of bowls of iced shrimp and mangoes and smells of suntan lotion and watermelon, and ends with an evening swim and gin and tonics served in tall ice filled glasses spiked with lemon, while we swat mosquitoes that are the size of small planes... having said all that, here goes... wintering...
For me wintering is about being full of energy because there is none of the mind numbing heat, and it is about being productive and is simply the most creative time of the year... the light is just perfect and rich, and it takes on this amazing golden tone that makes everything look crisp, not bleached out by the heat. The other big plus is that there is no humidity which means my paper stays the shape the manufacturer made it, and both paints and paper actually dry without the use of a fan or hair dryer and it means that my studio is cool and quiet and I can work quite quickly, and I spend all day drawing, painting and take the opportunity to indulge in my love of baking....
Winter is a time of no huge demands so I have time to be creative in the studio and the kitchen and the house is filled with smells like cinnamon and lemons and all the magic of fresh cookies and brownies, and just smelling things like that sets my mind to productive time in the studio.... and of course I get to play with my favourite piece of machinery in the whole world... my blue kitchen aide mixer... just getting it out of the cupboard and setting it on the bench at the end of summer signals that all the deliciousness of winter is just around the corner...
Tracey Fletcher King
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I am a painter and teacher who is obsessed with mixed media, contemporary botanicals and all things tea related. I draw inspiration from things around me and like to produce work that can be made into beautiful prints, cards and wearable art. I am wife to Sinus Man, and mother to a 15 year old daughter, who at the moment likes to be called Phantom, and an adorable, thick as a plank, fur baby called Mushu. My work can be purchased by contacting me through my blog while I prepare to enter the online world of Etsy and madeit.com.au early in 2012.
My blog can be found at
http://traceyfletcherking.blogspot.com/
10 Responses
Winter there sounds wonderful…I should move!
Posted by: linda | Dec 16, 2011 at 5:43 am |
Congratulations Tracey!!! I was thrilled to see you as the guest poster this morning.
Wow, what a difference in Christmas days. Ours is spent lounging about in the warm toasty house, grazing on snackies, and staying in our pjammies for as long as possible.
Great post girl!
Posted by: Tracy | Dec 16, 2011 at 6:07 am |
Really interesting to see another take on winter. I am quite impressed with the quality of the light as you describe it, perfect for painters:)
xx
Posted by: Gwen at Foxglove Hill | Dec 16, 2011 at 6:21 am |
Tracey! Wonderful to “see” you here, in one of my favorite spots on the web!
As we move toward winter (Dec21 actually) I will think of your “winter” with golden light and no humidity. Not that I have humidity where I am in the winter – just short short days…do your days get longer and shorter there? When I was in South Florida I know they did not get as short as here in Southern Maryland. And short days in the winter are one of the things that keep me here instead of further north in Maine, which I find a gorgeous state. And since we also have (big giant daytime) Tiger mosquitos here in MD now, they don’t seem any more of scourge in Maine. I’ve often wondered what the purpose of mosquitos is. They say everything has one, a purpose. Perhaps to remind us people that we aren’t as in control as we think! Lovely post!
Posted by: tammy vitale | Dec 16, 2011 at 8:53 am |
Tracey, so nice to see you here. Love the art. And, let’s make a deal, I’ll trade you your winter for my New England winter.
Posted by: Sandy Coleman | Dec 16, 2011 at 11:22 am |
What a surprise–fancy meeting you here! You and your pretty blue mixer now have me wanting cookies, thank you very much
I absolutely loved the description of your winter, especially that wonderful light…but I may also be adding “Christmas in Australia” to my list for Santa (minus the mosquitos, of course).
Posted by: Cat @ sea.sky.stone. | Dec 16, 2011 at 11:58 am |
Okay, so after hearing your description of Christmas in Australia, I totally need to move to the Southern Hemisphere! At least for the six months of dreary in Ohio!
Posted by: Heather | Dec 16, 2011 at 12:07 pm |
Last December I made the rash decision to sign up to the wordpress blog every day challenge. I didn’t think I’d still be here in the middle of December, but the discipline really started the creative juices flowing in other ways. I’m looking forward to taking part with you all in 2012, especially if I also get to read lovely posts like this too!
Posted by: Myfanwy | Dec 16, 2011 at 2:26 pm |
I just now realized I could leave you a comment Tracey. lol Great guest post. Enjoy your holidays. Looks like we’re having a green Christmas here in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was warm enough today that I didn’t even zip up my jacket.
Stay inspired!
Michelle
Posted by: Michelle | Dec 21, 2011 at 2:06 am |
Great post! Christmas in Australia must be sooo different from a North American holiday. We have family in Hawaii for Christmas and our daughter is just back from there complaining of the damp here.
All the best with your Etsy store.
Posted by: Catharine | Dec 24, 2011 at 1:33 pm |