Fairy Magic and Chatty peeps!

Hello everyone again!!

The lovely Rachael Carver of  binkyroo dolls and crafts who is the very talented lady who designed and developed the Cd-Rom for Creative Crafting World 'At the Bottom of the Garden' for which I did all the artwork for,  gave me a lovely interview which she did for her blog  http://binkyroo.blogspot.co.uk/

And here it is! Please do try to ignore my fizzogg with it's simple grin! ha ha! 

Away with the Fairies - An Interview with Suzie Sroka

Since this blog is for arts, crafts, and pretty much anything design related, I decided to do my very first interview. So I sat and thought for a moment who would I love to interview and the answers I came up with were all impossible, most are no longer in the land of the living - Clovis Trouille, Cary Grant, Vincent Price, and Elizabeth Taylor to name just a few, and the others, well, I'm far too unimportant for them to want to talk to little old me. But I did have one woman who is just as fantastical and spiritual as the above mentioned and that's Suzie Sroka, the lovely lady who drew the wonderful images for the Crafting CD-Rom I designed for Creative Crafting World, At the Bottom of the Garden.  

Interview with Suzie Sroka

Suzie Sroka

Q. What are your favourite things to paint?

A. I love painting children and people in general, although I also love to paint the occasional dog or animal, and I really love painting whole scenes with all of the above in them!

Q. Who/what are you inspirations?

A. My childhood is mainly my inspiration. I have many memories of that time, and can remember vividly how I thought and daydreamed. I think because I spent some of my childhood in Nova Scotia in Canada, and the rest in England, I remember it so much more as it was so varied. I just remember the magic of being a trusting, believing child, open to magic. I absolutely adored reading Enid Blyton's 'The Faraway Forest' and 'The Enchanted Tree', I used to want to believe those things could really exist! I also used to love nonsense verse too.

Q. Which of the 12 featured designs is your favourite?

A. Well that is hard to answer! Can I have 3? The sunflower pixie, the sleeping fairy and the kiss, but at a push I would choose the pixie with the sunflower.........or the sleeping fairy!! I used to be indecisive, but now I am not too sure.. ha ha!

Q. How long have you been drawing and painting? 

A. As long as I can remember, from the time I could pick up a pencil and scribble it has been there. Years ago I remember a teacher showing my Mum a picture I had done, it was of a ship, it was very detailed with portholes and people looking out of them, deckchairs.. everything, and the teacher said that I was excellent at drawing, but that it was a shame I had to spoil it all by painting it! I never forgot that, and still feel nervous and terribly lacking in confidence whenever I pick up a paintbrush! 

Q. Do you remember your first commissioned piece?

A. Yes, I do, I was asked to draw and paint several children wearing billboards. Each bill board was from a deck of cards, it was for a card club. I enjoyed that one! 

Q. Crafting CD-Roms are a completely different format to a print of book. How does it see your artwork on cards and boxes, does it have the same impact?

A. Well, it is completely different, but it is still a thrill to see my artwork on anything! I am pondering having a go at writing a children's book myself, and that would be a challenge.. I have a few ideas swimming about in my imagination right now! I also have a little Etsy shop and am working on some digi stamps for that at the moment!

Q. Do you have a studio or a specific place you draw/paint in?

A.Well I have a studio which doubles up as a dining room too when we need it, this is not ideal as I need to tidy everything away when we do! I also love the breakfast room which is just as well, as I was actually stuck in there with four dogs when I was working on the artwork for 'At the Bottom of the Garden', as we had workmen in the rest of the house at the time! Sometimes if it is a really lovely day, the garden is rather appealing too, as I can watch the butterflies dancing and the bees buzzing!

Q. Do you have any guilty pleasures or a routine that you go through before you sit to paint or draw?

A. Not really, but I do love to listen to music when I am drawing or painting, it takes me into another world and affects mood. My guilty pleasure I suppose is that I like the music to be quite loud! I enjoy a varied choice of music, it would be hard to find something which I didn't like to listen to. I also love to eat midget gems and Licorice, I have loved licorice since I was a small child!

Q. I know you have several dogs, do they let you paint in peace?

A. Most of the time .. yes! On occasions no!! Generally they are quite good, and get on well together. It was a bit difficult when I was drawing and painting for this CD-Rom as being locked in the breakfast room with 3 Jack Russells and A large Old English Sheepdog puppy is not ideal, but we all managed!

Q. Most importantly, do you believe in fairies?

A. Ha ha, well of course!!! I used to look for them when I was a child, and was tired out often in the day, as I would lie in bed with my eyes very barely open, trying to fool the fairies into thinking I was asleep, because we all know they won't appear if you are looking for them! I was convinced if I waited long enough I would catch them flying about my bedroom and tiptoeing across my bed!! Nowadays, I believe in most things that should not be there! I have never given up on that childhood magic. In fact as a child I disliked magicians, as I wanted 'real' magic only, I wasn't about to be fooled by someone pulling a rabbit out of a hat! I have a strong spiritual side, and am always open to possibilities, after all just because you can not see something, does not mean it is not there!!

One of Suzie's paintings from At the Bottom of the Garden

That was fun Rachael, thank you!  If you pop over to Rachael's blog, and go to her last blog post before our interview, you will see that she is involved in a very worthy cause,  just click on the link below to be magically transported there! She is indeed a special lady!  

http://binkyroo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/charity-sponsored-sew-fighting-cancer.html

Right, off  I go! Until next time, keep happy and much love! Suzie xxx

Flowers, invisible horses and sadness too.

Hey! Thank you so much for your get well wishes... I think it worked too, as I do feel much better now!

What have I been up to this week?  Oh, you didn't ask did you? Well I will tell you anyway!  Despite feeling lousy, I got quite busy once I recovered a bit. Now lets see.  Oh yes! on Tuesday my bottom made a quick telephone call! Yes, it did... It rang George's car phone, but remained silent.. thank goodness!  Ha ha ha, I had sat on my phone!

I have been doing a bit more on my secret project...

Have been busy making lots of flowers....

And I finally had a go at making a brooch, as I have had some brooch pins for some time now! Does anyone else find themselves on occasion buying things, thinking that you will make lots and sell them or at least give as presents, but never get around to doing it?

I felted the wool onto the under felt, and attached beads, and of course a brooch pin too!

Now, you may not be aware of this, but I have an invisible horse. Those of you who are friends with me on facebook will already know!  Obviously, this door was absolutely no use whatsoever for an inquisitive horse now was it?

 

Let us out! Let us out!

So as part of the grand makeover which has just begun, we just had to have this door fitted.......

 

So now my beautiful invisible appaloosa horse (brown and white markings for anyone interested!  ;o), can trot to the door anytime he likes and gaze out of the window at the flowers, butterfies and bees!

Paula the lady who bred ralph our Old English Sheepdog, breeds these beautiful natured horses as well!  Click on this link If you like to ooohhhh and awhhhhh at puppies and horses!

And it looks so much cosier from the inside too!  I can't wait for a rainy day all snuggled up in the kitchen with a warming bowl of homemade soup, watching the rain pitter pattering down that little cutie window!

It really feels now, like we are finally starting to get somewhere with all thes jobs that need doing on this house!

Two thank yous this week and one sadness I am afraid.

Thank you Jacqueline for another one of your beautiful tags! Look at the cute owls peeps! You are a star, so kind thinking of little old me here in Lancashire with my dotty dogs and invisible horse!

Thank you too, to Star, who sent me these lovely mags for a giveaway I recently won at her lovely blog.  I shall have a good look through them as soon as I get a mo!  I have only managed to skim through them as yet! 

I still haven't got around to reading your book Jen, which I am sorry for! I haven't even answered your question about it yet... sorry! I am sure I will enjoy it and will report back to you when I have read it.  I noticed that you have done a wonderful post about 'four', which I will try and read later! X

I would like give a mention here to a lovely blog friend of mine Mollye, who suddenly and tragically lost her son Jake just over a week ago. It is at times like these when we need to show our love, support and care so much. I like Mollye very much, and often think of her, and send my love to her often, but right now I am sending her every ounce that I can squeeze out of me. Words are just inadequate really.  He sounded a truly amazing man, and you can read Mollye's beautiful tribute to him here. It made me cry.

It just makes me think once again, how every moment on this earth is precious, and how, when we are lucky enough to have people to love, we must love them with all we have got. We all take too many things for granted sometimes.

Love to you all.   Suzie xxxxxxxxxx

A sneak preview of my secret project!

Gosh is it time to say hello to you all again! Yes, it is!  Thank you for your comments since last friday, I have enjoyed reading them so much. It seems that generally we women are all singing from the same page! What was very interesting was how  many of you agreed with me that these days women can certainly have it all..... ...... children, careers...........Oh yes they can! ....And they can also have all the housework too, all the shopping, all the responsibility of sorting out everybodys birthdays, christmasses, organising holidays, school holidays, ironing and luandry chores, clothes shopping, lunchboxes,...... do I need to go on?  because they generally do so much more than this list...and  mostly alone.  Yes, they certainly do have it all these days!  Hmmmm! Equality!  What a laaarf!

Here is my drawing/painting from last week, a bit more finished off, gosh she looks relaxed and peaceful!

 She has had more layers of paint now and looks a bit clearer. Here is a preview of something to do with my secret project too! This one has only just been very lightly started, so it is only as yet in the first stages!

Click on the pic to see it better, if you like. Next week it will look so much clearer! The little girl really does have a body to go with that head... honest!  It looks a bit squashed too, and is not at all in real life!

Well, I dont' know about you, but I have been out in the garden this week, making the most of this glorious weather.

Even though I am at home all day, I find it hard to keep up with all I have to do, and while I am outside, I am thinking of all the chores and pressing matters (like my secret project!) that I should be getting on with in the house, but while I am in the house I am thinking.. gosh that garden needs doing... and that garden is 150ft long! However I spend time busying myself  I am always thinking that I should be doing something else!


We had a lovely BBQ on Sunday, it was wonderful getting to eat al fresco again after that long and cold winter!

It was seriously yummy folks!

This week I was very lucky, TheGirl sent me this lovely award! Tis pretty I think! Thank you so much! xxx Please go and visit her.. she is just so wonderful and interesting, and has a brilliant slant on things... I love her humour!

This award is for looking on the bright side.  Crikey!  I really do try to do just that as often as I can! Now I really hate choosing people, so I won't (well I will!) , because last time I did I  just spent ages worrying about all the lovely bloggy friends that I didn't choose!  But two people in particular do pop to mind when thinking of someone who despite life throwing manure at them, keeps smiling regardless! I admire this lady  greatly, so I will award this award to Tracey . Not only does she keep herself going, she cheers us often with her wonderful and funny nature! She is one of lifes fighters! Go and see for yourself! I appreciate her humour, as I too use humour to help me get through lifes trials..

Heres to all the mushrooms amongst us... you know who you are!.... Kept in the dark , and every now and then someone comes and throws s**t  at you!

One of my cross stitch designs, note ... she is sat on a mushroom! Ha ha!

The other Mushroom, ooops I mean bloggy friend is Mummymad, she certainly has had her fair share of mushroom food being thrown at her! But she carries on regardless, and where, a lot of people would crumble to the ground in despair, she picks her self up and may I say too, that she is a jolly good Mum too!  Go and pay this fabulus lady a visit!

To all the other mushrooms out there, carry on, stay focused, don't drown in your own tears!
The rules of this award are to list 10 things which make me happy, but I would just be repeating myself! Also to list 5 trivia facts about me so!.....

1:   I have to wear this darn sleeve every day for ever!  But the funny part is that occasionally while trying to get the damned thing on (it is elasticated, but stiff!) I punch myself in the face! It hurts. OUCH! What did you do that for.. I ask myself!

 I was going to show my other arm for comparison purposes, but figured out I needed it to hold the camera! DUH!  It is now 30% bigger than my right arm, an improvement of 10%, but If I don't wear it, it will expand to giganticous proportions! I do sometimes wonder what would happen if all the lymph fluid suddenly left my arm, would I suddenly have a huge head, or foot or something?!!!

2:  Once when I was little, My Dad took me to work with him on a trawler (he was an engineer and it was in Canada). He left me in the room with all the controls (first mistake!) and told me not to touch anything (second mistake!). Hmmmm I wonder what this button does???? It was the fog horn! Oh dear, he was not pleased!

3:  I apologise to lamp posts when I bump into them, and I apologise to people when they bump into me!

4:  I love buddhism, and have been on a retreat, and got many books on this philoshophy. I try to live in this simple, but difficult way of this thinking, and constantly question my thinking and way of looking at life. I truly believe I can alter the way I view events in life and therefore learn to accept all with grace. But at the moment I think I need to read those books again and do some serious meditating, as I am starting to have murderous thoughts towards Aunty chaos! Maybe this is my latest test in life!  :o)

5: I get goosebumps watching the red arrows, fireworks and thunder and lightening. They all make me quite tearful and emotional!

Also I really must thank Jaqueline  , she send me a gorgeous token of friendship through the post this week! Isn't she such a kind lady! Thank you my friend! xxx

Look at the Owl!  Thank you!

What will you all be doing this weekend I wonder? It is mine and George's 24th (say it quick!) anniversary on Sunday, so we shall be doing something lovely I should think, whether it is a meal out, or in, there will definitely be food and some vino involved! Heres to the man I met in a car park 26 years ago! ( A funny tale, too long for now, and maybe a tad inexplicable!)   Raise your glasses ladies to my lovely husband George! To a man who actually does help out round the house and cooks like a michelin star chef! Oh yes! He does!

 The poor, long suffering George! Thank you blorb for putting up with me all these years!

Have a happy weekend all you sweetpeas!

Suzie xxx :)