Having decided to write daily last week, I have managed 3 out of 7 days this week.  Well, a lot better than 1 out of 7!

Two major things have happened to disrupt the art-flow this week. Firstly, working for money. The hours are long, the pay not tremendous, and as a member of the 'Young at Heart' club, the work is tiring.  However, the tips are good, and 2 days at the sink just about enables me to keep chasing the wolf from the door, although he keeps having a very good chew at it!  Lots of the conversations are interesting, and I share these with Mr Cooper at the weekend (adds a certain spice to a Sunday) but they would change this blog from being 'suitable for the whole family' to 'broad-minded over 18s only'

And secondly, this week me and Mr Cooper are celebrating our fifth anniversary for our wedding in the garden.  We are having a 3 day mini-break at home, where we are aiming to ignore our differences in opinions on quite a lot of things, and focus on the bits we agree on!

5 years ago, Mr Copper had a lot more hair! And as always, my lovely bros have none.

What about my working for money in the art world?  Well, my plans for the Owslebury Show advertising board are evolving.  http://www.owsleburyhorticulturalshow.co.uk/
 To make them evolve at a more rapid rate, I have asked to meet the show's organiser, Nigel White, next week, to discuss the preliminary sketches. When they have met with approval, then you shall see the image unfold.  Just imagine at the moment an assemblage of cakes, jams, marquees, sunny blue skies, vegetables and hula-hoop dancing girls, and a pony.       Maybe the Maypole will make an appearance, maybe not.

As for my artwork which involves spending money and not earning it, I have registered to enter 3 drawings for the Jerwood Drawing Prize,
  http://parkerharris.co.uk/artists/awards/index.php?ArticleID=277
 and have also registered to enter at least one artwork for the National Open Art Competition. http://www.thenationalopenartcompetition.com/
 So I am one artwork short at the moment.  I have June in which to produce a masterpiece!

And as well as this, I am still swimming at least 3 times a week. 12 lengths, which is what I do at the moment, is equivalent to a quarter of a mile.
One good thing about swimming with a significant tattoo is it is very much like going for a walk with a dog.  There is always someone who comes up to have a chat about it, as I catch my breath between lengths.  In fact, after coming to the end of my session, one of the lifeguards said that he liked my Phoenix.  One day, it will be my style!

Must add some more colour to the above.

Bedtime reading this week,

Very good, but I seem to have read the last book first, and the middle book second. As I have enjoyed both, I will now aim to read the first book, third!

Knitting, carried out in the evenings to keep me awake, and between shifts at work, going well.

House improvements, the next seagull cabinet has been painted………..

Mr Cooper was a bit sad after reading last week's blog, so this week I must make amends, and point out that not only is he extremely good at hoovering, but is also amazing at tidying and cleaning, which apparently I'm not.

I have just remembered I have not even started to make a green donkey pantomime costume for the pantomime horse race, or even found out when this will be.  But, I have bought 2 lengths of material to make a couple of posh summer frocks for our September holiday in Puglia.

Beautifully whacky and…..

                                                                                   …………. beautifully vintage (if upside down)

And to leave you now with all good wishes for the week ahead, and another photo,

Does anyone recognise these handsome lads from 5 years ago?

Yesterday when I was at work, washing up, one of the chefs asked me what I was going to be doing
on my day off . "Oh, this and that," I replied.  "Yes, but what is this and that?" he asked.
"Well,"  I said,  "I have lots of artwork to do, but I have a doctors appointment to make for that day, an hour's English teaching, do some decorating in the bathroom,  swimming practise if possible, visit the bank, tidy the house pre Mark's visit, and a hospital appointment later on, with Mr Cooper."
 "That sounds a lot of 'this and that,'" he said.

Well it is, perhaps so much of this and that, that 'the other' is being overlooked.  The other being my creative work, so put the hoover away again (sorry Mark, if the carpet is a bit crunchy!)

After my early morning read in bed this morning, I came across a really pertinent quotation from the book I am reading,  'A Year of Reading Dangerously' by Andy Miller'.

If you are a reader, this book is a must.  Get it, if you can, from a bookshop.  I am going to the library later today (use them, don't lose them) to get a copy of 'The Sea, The Sea' by Iris Murdoch,  having been inspired to read this book by the above book.

The quotation was an extract from 'Whatever' by Michel Houellebecq.  See at the bottom of the blog for the complete extract, but the very simplistic gist of it is that writing is hard to do, and reading deeply fulfilling and pleasurable (the hard work has been done to make it so)

This was a good kick start to get me out of bed, and make me think that writing as part of my daily life would be a lot better than putting it off till the eleventh hour once a week.  Why is it that us artists spend a lot of time avoiding starting creative work?  Time to 'get a grip', and just get on with it.

Cinderella is saved!  After much thoughts about this painting while washing up, and driving to work in order to wash up, I have come to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to complete Cinderella as it was always intended.
But then, to paint another to go alongside, where Cinderella inhabits my world.  Imagine Cinderella in my painting dungarees, frantically painting, fuelled by a good bottle of red.  I tried to sketch these ideas to show Mr Cooper, but they are at the moment still only drifting around in my head, and refusing to be drawn.

But there is another huge and crucial job to add to my life…….get the house ready for selling, and us ready for moving to somewhere smaller!  In order for this to happen, I may look on it as an artwork, so you should see this unfurl on the blog.  Step one, complete decorating the bathroom that I started last summer.  It does look almost OK, but needs now to house my seagull and shell art collection, many of whom have spent nearly a year hibernating in a spare bedroom.

Plus, make sure I have entered all these drawing competitions, and then get ready for the weekend, when my other wonderful brother comes to stay with Jem and Snowy.

And now for a touch of colour, all my remnants of wool are becoming a stripy jumper.  This will not only tidy up a lot of loose ends, but will keep me awake in the evenings.

Did I say I have been asked to design and paint a roadside board, 8' x 4', for the Owslebury Show?
http://www.owsleburyhorticulturalshow.co.uk/

Here is the extract, as promised above, will catch up with you all next week.

'Writing brings scant relief.  It retraces, it delimits.  It lends a touch of coherence, the idea of a kind of realism.  One stumbles around in a cruel fog, but there is the odd pointer.  Chaos is no more than a few feet away.  A meagre victory, in truth.

What a contrast with the absolute, miraculous power of reading!  An entire life spent reading would have fulfilled my every desire;  I already knew that at the age of seven.  The texture of the world is painful, inadequate; unalterable, or so it seems to me.  Really, I believe that an entire life spent reading would have suited me best.

Such a life has not been granted to me.'

Looking forward to landing in his new home!

A fair exchange took place, following the Chichester Art Trail.  Following a warmer weekend, my stocks of knitted cakes were eaten into!

After 101 visitors, and sales of cards, cakes (knitted) and trays, I exchanged my takings in a shoe shop for these wonderful creations.  Here they are, pictured with a not so full cake stand.

And, with a fantastic wedding, and also a glamour show to plan for, Vintage Vogue patterns have been chosen and should be arriving very soon.

Going back to the Art Trail, following the success of 'Awakening Conscience' (or Steamo, as it now affectionately known as) I created a sister ink drawing to go alongside, for The Trail.

Pictured below is 'Deepening Conscience, Ironing Away My Dreams'.

When my son Sam saw this, he remarked that 'That should really cheer people up'.
I think in my studio, lots of work did cheer people up, after they had recovered from the onslaught of colour, but I can say that 'Steamo' and its companion were really well looked at, and discussed.
 Just not quite sold!

My most important work was 'Pieces From My Life Last Year'.

Last time I showed you this, I said that I was just off to do some swimming, as featured in the bottom left hand of the picture.  Or rather, in my head I said that, but I wrote 'bottom right'. Thanks to Juliette, my lovely friend belonging to the exclusive 'Young At Heart' club, for telling me.

Those of you who know me as a driver will be very familiar with the fact that I do know what is my left and right, but they do seem so very interchangeable.  A condition shared by my hugely talented, tremendously fit,  amazingly successful and lovely big bro, Simon Haslam.
 http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fabout.me%2Fsimon_haslam&h=vAQHy1G2I
(Don't feel sad Mark, your slot is on the horizon! I am doing this in order of age.  As Mum says, there are no favourites!)

So today, I have returned from an early swim, an activity which started last year when I learnt to swim properly for the first time ever, and remains with me this year.  As shown on the bottom left of the image.

I try to take my phoenix swimming 3 times a week. We always wonder why we are doing it during the first length, want to get out after the third, but at the moment carry on till the tenth. I will let you know when this distance increases.  A sad thing about being eligible for the 'Young At Heart' club means that I am no longer eligible for the 'Young In Body' club.  It's now a lot harder work.

As for the bottom right, the person featured who is wearing the jeans is now so proficient with the sewing machine he is now making his own jeans, to go with all the shirts he has made!

Another picture that made its first appearance at the Art Trail, although not quite complete, was my painting of the 'Meringue Toadstool Cake'.  Here it is at a slightly jaunty angle.

Exciting news for the future………as I near completion on my 'Cinderella' painting, I stopped as something wasn't right for me, with it.  One good thing about eleven hour days at the sink, working as a K.P in the Greyhound on the Test, Stockbridge, is that it gives my mind a lot of time to wander around, reviewing current images and planning future ones.
'Cinderella' will keep many aspects of her 'Barbie' appearance, but will go on to lose many aspects of a Barbie image.  Does that make sense?

So here is your last view of flawless 'Cinderella' as additions are to be made.  Things that will give 'Cinderella' more of my traits, and an amazing shoe, but will leave the flawless face.
Not one of my traits, sadly!

Have a lovely weekend, I hope to be back with Cinderella next week!

Let's start with another link to my book what I am writing……….and also with the Open Studios Art Trail, first weekend complete, and the final one coming up.

Here we have a plate of tempting cakes I made, that are safely in my snug studio, unaffected by the gusty wind, persistent rain and all too brief sunshine that were present on the first weekend.

Although real cakes also featured during the weekend, none were as amazing as the cake I had made the previous weekend.

When asked if I could make a cake for a friend's daughter, who was going to be 30, I first thought about posh, professional-looking cakes, and also the posh, professional amount of time they would take to make.  Then Mr Cooper came to the rescue, and said 'do a hedgehog cake,' so the idea of Daniel was formed.

Components all ready, we set off for Suffolk on Friday, ready to celebrate with Jenny and her family and friends on Saturday.

Here is Daniel, having undergone secret construction in the utility area.
'Why does he look so worried?' you may ask.  I think it's because he is apprehensive of his final decorations, as well as his strategically placed angelica eyebrows.

 Here is the completed Daniel, with a change of expression from slightly disturbed…….

…………….to mentally disturbing!

I bet Jenny was really glad I opted to make Daniel, not a strawberry shortcake, a decorated fruitcake, an assortment of gateaux…….

Many thanks to Jenny, and mummy and daddy Fraenzel for a really wonderful party.

Back now in West Sussex, and just before the Bank Holiday Weekend.  

I love taking part in the Open Studios Art Trail, but each year I vow to be better prepared next time. 

 So, Friday was set aside for erecting a pop-up tent, hanging bunting, struggling to erect a pop-up tent, hanging lots of pictures, crying as I struggled to erect a pop-up tent, hoovering and polishing my studio, finally managing to complete erecting the pop-up tent, then applying Teatree oil to the cuts and tears on my hands, and a tissue to my tears.  

Have a look inside my studio all ready for visitors.  First a view to the right,

And then to the left.

Then came a sewing interlude when my son John arrived with two saxon garments that needed completion for the Beltane festival, where he was demonstrating his skills the following day. (one of the garments was in fact a length of hessian plus a pattern!)  http://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/

With a few hours of feverish cutting, pinning, sewing and pressing, interspersed with a swimming lesson and a Chinese takeaway, at 10pm John thankfully decided that it would not be possible complete the hat and the trousers, and also sleep.  He drove off armed with his medieval shirt and tunic, having done all the cutting and most of the sewing.  I had excelled with the hemming and pressing.

Just time then to pop down 'The Travs' to join Mr Cooper, and to be joined by his eldest, Rachael, at 11, for a quick drink before returning home for a slower drink.

I was actually the first to bed, at one am, mindful of all that was not yet done.  I am getting very familiar with being intensely active at 6 in the morning.

Tomorrow is always another day.  Getting up to close the door on the sewing party havoc, I created my own havoc in the kitchen, making cakes for potential visitors, then printing labels, and then creating a gallery in the still-standing pop-up tent.

At 10.30 all was almost ready, and my face resembled Daniel's, when candles had been added.

So began three days of visitors, chats, tea drinking, cake eating, a few sales, wind, rain and finally sun.

Here is a glimpse of the outside, in the brief time when summer appeared.

First that wonderful pop-up tent, 3 legs of which descended at intervals throughout the long weekend.

And then my lovely sturdy, dependable studio, plus vulture.

Do come along to see me this weekend, venue 92, if only to eat cake, and see if me and the pop-up tent are still standing!  http://www.chichesterarttrail.org/