My October

October has been a typical Spring month here, alternating between cold, wintry days and 34C (93F) scorchers, with everything in between. There was only one thunderstorm, but it was a pretty impressive one. I had my ups and downs too -- feeling sick, feeling good, tired/energetic, enthusiastic/sad. I could make the usual apologies for not blogging more often etc etc, but I didn't feel like writing, so why force myself? I'm here now, that's all.


What I've been building ...
It's not much to look at yet, but Husband and I are building a garden bed in our front yard. If everything goes according to plan, it'll be an adorably retro, white-pebbled brick-bordered oval bed with a lemon tree in the middle and some quirky succulents or something dotted about too.

What I've been drawing ...
I went to my first ever life drawing class, and it was a very interesting and inspiring experience. That voice in my head which tells me my art is rubbish was very persistent for the first hour or so, but eventually it got quieter and I was able to get into a kind of flow state. If you can call a lot of scribbling and grimacing a flow state! I found that being forced to just sit there and draw non-stop for a couple of hours a really interesting experience, and it left me very excited about my art and the future.

There have been quite a few developments in my art lately, so I'll do a separate post on that soon.

What I've been photographing ...
A few weeks ago I did my first flatlay! I don't know why I became suddenly obsessed with them. I went down a rabbithole of research and finding pleasing examples for inspiration. I decided to base mine around a manga I'd recently read, because of the interesting colours on its cover. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find enough orange-coloured items around the house, but it turns out that wasn't a problem. There were plenty more I could have squeezed in! I'm generally quite pleased with it, though I notice a few gaps and the lighting could be better.

Where I've been visiting ...
Husband and I and our foodie friend went to visit the Geelong Agricultural Show, and it was so much fun, embracing our inner kids (and inner bogans, somewhat). I got to see baby animals and prizewinning vegetables, though unfortunately we couldn't find the handicrafts and I was too tired by the time we realised where they were. I can always see them next year!

What I've been reading ...
I didn't set myself a reading challenge in October, because I decided to participate again in the Dewey 24 in 48 Readathon, which was on the last weekend of the month. Reading for 24 hours out of a 48 hour period is almost impossible for me, but on the other hand I'm known to jump into improbable challenges pretty often. As usual, I used a page in my Hobonichi to keep track, reading in 20 minute increments this time (or half an hour if I was feeling like I could concentrate for a bit longer). I read about 13 hours out of the 24, and got several books and stories finished, but not the ones I was aiming for. That's life sometimes!