Books by my bed

I wonder what you're reading? I never have just one book on the go but a whole pile. To read at work I need something light - to fit in my bag, and easy to pick up and put down in my lunch break. At the moment it's one of the No 1 ladies detective agency books, 'The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party' by Alexander McCall Smith. 

At  the weekends I'm dipping into the 2nd volume of the biography of Matisse - 'Matisse the Master' by Hilary Spurling. I just read a few pages at a time and am savoring being in Paris and Morocco in the early years of the 20th century and looking over Matisse's shoulder as he paints!

I'm also reading 'The Poetry Home Repair Manual' by Ted Kooser, a book about writing poetry which I'm hoping will reignite my passion. 11 years ago when my twins were babies and there was no time to paint I fell in love with poetry, something that could be squeezed into tiny breaks in the day. In the last few years it's been very neglected and I'd like to get back to reading poetry if nothing else. Look it's working already ...you know how I'm inspired by glimpses of birds in every day life... come and read this great bird poem 'Hardware Sparrows' by R T Smith.

I'm also reading the latest Dumbo Feather magazine, this edition is all interviews with refugees and asylum seeker advocates - while I choose not to debate politics in this blog, I think it's important reading for Australians, a different viewpoint from the one you'll see in the mainstream media, a call for compassion. (Darwinites - let me know if you want to borrow my copy when I'm finished with it)

Well I can't do a post without any pictures, so here are some new monoprint collage cards.

A thing or two about Matisse

One of the books in my pile of half read ones - hopefully soon to be finished - is a biography of Matisse by Hilary Spurling. He's been one of my favourite artists since I was a teenager - but reading this book it seems I didn't know anything about him at all!!
- that he had no interest in art through childhood, just a vague rebellion against going into his fathers business.
- that he discovered art when he was 20 and in hospital, the man in the next bed was painting copies of prints to pass the time, and suggested that Matisse try try the same. Matisse said "Before I had no interest in anything. I felt a great indifference to everything they made me do. From the moment I held the box of colours in my hand, I knew this was my life."
- that he had the most amazing wife, Amelie Parayre!! When he was courting her he declared "Mademoiselle I love you dearly but I shall always love painting more." It seems that she embraced this idea and supported him completely, she pawned jewellery so Matisse could buy a Cezanne painting which inspired him through his life, she opened a hat shop to support the family, so that Matisse could just paint, and she adopted Matisse's illegitimate daughter Marguerite.

I'm barely halfway through the book so I may be back with more. (And I'm hoping the library has volume 2 when I finally finish this.)

Thankyou to all the people who visited my stall last Sunday, I had a lovely day. Here are some shots of my stall.

And here are some lovely prints my daughter made!