Memes and memories

I was awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award by Maree Clarkson, who lives not too far away from me, and is a new, welcome addition to my list of South African bloggers (I hope we can get together for some plein air painting sometime, Maree!)
As you know, with these awards - or memes I heard from Jeanette they're called - you're supposed to list seven things about yourself - which I have done before and don't want to repeat... so let my mind amble off in all sorts of directions, and I did some doodles, and had some flashbacks and spent far too much time on this, but its been fun, and hope it's fun to look at.

First of all did you know that...

(1) I have my own personal French* Chef who cooks magnificent meals for me, and whoever else is a la maison - with unflagging energy, creativity and enthusiasm.
*Well, he did a year at Alliance Francaise and practices a lot on his French-speaking customers, so speaks more than most people that I know.

(2)I have a weird semi-phobia about phoning people - I want to, and mean to and am very happy when they phone me, but to actually dial, is a major hurdle to overcome...

(3) I love cricket (I know, I've said that one before) - to watch that is, not to play - you can hear my French Chef chuckling to himself as he manned the camera in this little video clip that I found from when our son was about 7 and bowling...Then, my mind strayed back in time to some distant memories - I note with dismay that I appear rather bad-tempered or ungracious in most of them - I hope that I've mellowed since then!

(4) I got Honours from the Royal Academy of Ballet, in the then Rhodesia, for the one and only ballet exam I ever did at age 8, for which my mom made me a beautiful pink tutu. A few weeks later, my cute, red-haired little sister was chosen to present flowers to Lady Bird Johnson at the Bulawayo Museum, where our Mom worked as an artist, and who had then to make her a beautiful green tutu... I was incensed with rage and jealousy. I know now that I would probably have collapsed into a bashful ball of blushes and tears, and Gillian carried it off with sweetness and light, but oh, it was a bitter pill to swallow!

On to some early Drawing memories!...

(5)In Bulawayo, nobody thought I was any great shakes at drawing - I remember looking and looking at faces and wanting to draw them in what I now know to be a three-quarter view, where the eyelashes, and parts of the lids and sometimes even the eyeball protrudes into space, but did I succeed at this quest? Emphatically not, said my best friend...





(6) And I tried a bit of anatomically correct drawing of 'a lady' - earnestly and seriously following the curved contours, and was outraged that my classmates put such a lowly, base spin on my carefully observed work of art...







Then we moved to Cape Town, and after being used to stern derisory criticism of my artworks, suddenly...

(7) I was the main 'drawerer' in the class! I had never had such recognition, and was completely unprepared for the demand for my efforts. A pile of assorted papers grew huge on the seat next to me - that my classmates brought and demanded to be filled with their requests - which to my memory I never did, probably offending some for the rest of primary school...


Well - not exactly earth-shattering revelations... but I was thinking when I recalled the last three that I'd love to hear other people's early memories and experiences of their art or drawing beginnings - whether they put you off or spurred you on, so let your minds wander back, and let me know...in the comments or on your blogs!

Now I'm supposed to pass it on...um, so many creative bloggers, so many awards... I think this time I pick
Ginny Stiles- A lively, busy artist who shares her interests generously
Charlene Brown - a sketchercise buddy who writes and paints beautiful light-filled pictures in British Columbia
Robyn Sinclair-another sketchercise bud who is currently making a very lovely series of the Tuscany landscape
Jana Bouc - always creative, always amusing and always worth a visit
Helen Percy Lystra - lovely poured paintings and fascinating frames

I'm going to leave it there - I have spent far too long on the computer again, and I know many who I would give this to, have it already...if any of these nominees want to 'pass' - there's no obligation from my side - just an appreciation...

One more thing!... Coop of Essex left a comment the other day to ask if anyone would be interested in making an Artist Trading Card (2.5 x 3.5 inches) with a portrait of Frankenstein on it and sending it to him - he's collecting them for an online gallery, and maybe to exhibit in a real gallery later... sounds like fun and there are some great entries over on his blog. I might get to that - after complaining about rushing through too many things!