Inn of the Wandering Dragon

I recently co-ordinated a small henna gathering. A couple of us who have been chatting on facebook agreed to meet up for some much needed practice. Hennaing someone else is a completely different experience from just applying the henna to yourself. For one thing, most of us are neither yoga masters, nor are we the "gumby" types who can bend every which way. We can only reach certain areas (the left hand is really popular). So having henna applied to an area we have difficulty reaching and drawing on (well) is a wonderful novelty!

One lady enjoys a combination of painting on the henna with a brush as well using the cone for darker lines to reach a nice two-tone effect. This cherry blossom branch was painted on me and the stain came out rather well I thought. I did not get pictures of the pieces I did on them, but perhaps next time I might remember.

I decided to explore a few different styles of henna in the sketchbook recently, here are a couple of the pages I have been working on. I need to build up my visual 'language' so to speak and I need to improve my design planning. So I'm starting by copying designs of other artists (whether I like them or not) as a means of learning how they put their designs together and how they achieve their flow. From there I can retain elements I like and use them towards building my own designs.

A friend of ours has taken on the monumental task of breaking into the local builders market. First he renovated an existing property, now he is in the process of building one from scratch. He is going for the higher end (high dollar range) of the market in terms of his location and design, and the whole process has been interesting to watch.


What has been even more interesting (for myself anyway) is observing how the physical space is evolving from the original design - and the reactions of people who are actually walking through the space! As an example, the top floor was designed as a loft style bedroom. It comes complete with a walk in closet plus full bath and a fire place, however no one who has been walking through has though of it that way.

"This would be my office space."

"This would be my sewing room."

"This doesn't feel like a bedroom."

"This would make a nice play area for the kids."


The room itself is long and narrow (such that furniture placement is going to be a challenge), and it has the lowest ceiling in the entire house - and yet, that is where people envisage spending a lot of their time (or maybe just more enjoyable time). In contrast the "lifestyle room" and the other bedrooms are all wider with higher ceilings and more windows. They are pleasant and comfortable but their perceived purpose is markedly different from the top floor.


I know where I would spend most of my time if I lived there. What do you think?

The past few weeks has found the rollercoaster of life to be plunging and twisting more dramatically than usual and I feel like I have been choking on emotion along the way. I think it truly is a sad state of affairs when I have to specifically schedule time to just sit down and let myself feel and release what is pent up inside. But then I really can't blame anyone but myself for my busy life. And for the rest that has been going on, attempting to lame blame is pointless. Life happens. Death happens. And all the Joy and Shyte that are part and parcel of our crazy little world happens along with it.

We lost a good friend recently, she passed away unexpectedly. She was a smart, sassy and straightforward woman who was always willing to try something new. She grabbed opportunities with humour and honesty and I always had a great deal of respect for her. We were not always close but I can honestly say she made quite an impact on all that knew her, myself included.

She will be sorely missed.