UNPLUG AND UNWIND

                 AT THE GOOD HOPE GUEST FARM ~ ROBERTSON

My DH and I were the fortunate winners of the Annual Reach for a Dream Gala Event raffle prize last year where we won a 3 night stay at the Good Hope Farm and Guest Cottages situated at the base of the Riviersonderend Mountains, close to Robertson.

Scenic Beauty at Good Hope Farm and Guest Cottages

As my DH has only been back to South Africa twice this year, we needed some alone time and what a perfect opportunity this was for us to unplug from all mobile devices and to unwind at this beautiful location.

Packed with our supplies we set off on a scenic 3 hour trip from Cape Town to revel in some quiet time. We were welcomed by Taryn and her dog, Seun, who soon took up residence on our patio. We unpacked and went for a stroll around the working wine and olive farm where Seun joined us on all of our walks. He would soon blast off into the distance to only come back and egg us on to keep up with him.

Dogs, Lambs and Goats Roam Freely at Good Hope Farm and Guest Cottages

We certainly welcomed the lack of distractions from our electronic devices and never a dull moment was had as we observed the workings of the farm life. The pigs and their piglets, also came to visit and kept us constantly entertained with their antics around the farm.  We watched as they would come up to the smaller dam outside our cottage and dig with their snouts in the muddy waters searching for food. The piglets were always following their moms so that they could suckle. They really "pigged" out on any fruit or veg the farmer would bring for their meal that day. Some of the animals were rescued and came to Good Hope Guest Farm in search of a happier existence. In addition to the pigs, a variety of other animals can be spotted either roaming freely or in paddocks such as a donkey, horses, lambs, goats, peacocks and peahens, chickens, turkey, guinae fowl, a variety of bird life and of course any number of dogs and most probably a whole bunch of other creatures, which we did not see. 

Free-Range Pigs and Piglets at Good Hope Farm and Guest Cottages

If you are more energetic you can take pleasure in the any number of other activities offered at Good Hope Guest Farm, such a mountain biking, hiking, trail runs, kayaking on the dams or chilling in the swimming pool. A collection of various different types of accommodation are available to suit your requirements and a farm shop to cater to your belly.

 

Pigs, Peacocks and Birds on the Good Hope Farm and Guest Cottages

The weather averaged around 22 degrees Celsius, not too hot nor too cold with such breathtakingly blue skies due to the lack of pollution in the area. We enjoyed a BBQ each night and gazed upon the spectacular stars wishing that our stay could be pro-longed just a little longer so that we could luxuriate in this other world. 

Farm Workers and  Old/New Machinery at Good Hope Farm and Guest Cottages

If you are looking for a place to unplug and unwind, I would definitely recommend a visit to Good Hope Farm and Guest Cottages. 

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ACRYLICS

ACRYLICS ON CANVAS

Acrylics

This Medium is one of my favourites with which to work with. I enjoy the fast-drying darker elements of acrylics. I like working with layers as I find this adds to the depth and dimension of the painting.  This body of work has been created over a few years. Most are my own ideas, some are borrowed and some were copied for practice. 

https://theartofcreativitystudio.blogspot.co.za

Cheetah’s Eye:

I used my photo from when I visited the Cheetah Outrage Program at Spier. I only painted the Cheetah’s Eye with Acrylic Paints on Canvas as I wanted to capture the soul of a Cheetah through his lens as I much as I was through my camera lens. 

Hopsy:

Was my daughter’s beloved pet rabbit who sadly passed away.  This a memento, which I painted using acrylics on canvas for my daughter. 

Autumn Leaf:

My Son went on a Global Young Learners Conference in the States and whilst he was there he took a photo of this Autumn Leaf which had fallen on the ground.  I asked him whether I could paint this image of the Autumn Leaf, using acrylics on canvas, as a keepsake from his trip. 

Coffee Time: 

Was a composition theme at one of the first art classes I took when I first started painting acrylics on canvas. I gifted this to my Mother-in-law who loves coffee. 

Life’s a Beach:

This can be interpreted as you like, but I prefer for it to be a reminder that life can be easy and carefree, if we so choose. This is a miniature Mixed Media Acrylic on Canvas. 

Blouberg:

I used my Photo of Blouberg Beach as a reference to create this Acrylic Painting of Blouberg.  This painting was created for my Nanna who always loved the ocean.

Ethereal: 

It was a cold Winter’s day in Cape Town and this acrylic painting on canvas happened perchance.  I had started painting and did not really like what I had created so I thought that I would experiment with spraying the top of the painting with water.  As the water droplets were running down, I then started to blend it into the painting with this result, which I rather quite like and have left it as such. 

Umbrella:

Reminded me of a lazy Summer’s day on the beach, relaxing and watching the sale boats float by in the distance. Allowing me to drift off to far away places. I used acrylic on canvas and used coarse texture paste for the sand. 

Mermaid:

This was a very different technique which was taught at one of my art classes and which I have not utilised since.  It definitely, allowed more freedom as we used various techniques for each layer. Wet acrylic was allowed to drop down, then a texture paint was applied and then drops of paint were allowed to pool. Lastly the mermaid was drawn on and painted in where needed. 

NEWS:

North, East, West or South. It does not matter where you are in the world, the sun will always set and there will always be another day to start over. Mixed Media acrylic on canvas with gold texture paste.

Relax @ 10:

I love tea, any kind of tea and drink copious amounts each day.  I created this using a stencil and acrylic on canvas, which I have subsequently decoupaged onto a tea tray. 

Angry Bird Pilots:

Acrylics on canvas was created for my hubby who is a pilot. This was created just as

 fun piece for his bar.

RFAD:

Reach for a Dream is a NGO (Non-Government Organisation) in South Africa, who fulfil the Wishes of Children with life-threatening illnesses.  I support this very worthy Charity Foundation and I painted this acrylic on canvas for their new office in Cape Town. 

Fantasy:

Was a theme created by an artist group which I belonged to on Facebook.  I used acrylic on canvas and had a lot of fun allowing the inner child within to escape and get lost in a Fantasy world. 

SuperHeroVille:

My Nephew, as any young boy does, loves SuperHeros. So with this in mind, I painted this SuperHeroVille for his bedroom using acrylic on canvas.  

MY CREATIVE JOURNEY (Part I)

MY STORY

I absolutely love to create and make things and I will try anything creative once.

It has been a journey of many creative experiences to get me to where I am today.

I took great pleasure from a very young age in keeping myself entertained with my colouring book and crayons and I still have my first colouring-in book, which my Mom had kept for me.  I could spend hours "teaching" my dolls and sometimes my sisters would oblige.  Little did I know that years later, I would actually become a Nursery School Teacher or an Artist.

My Nanna taught me to knit, crochet, embroider and sew when I was 8 and I started sewing on her old Singer Machine with the treadle. She had so much patience and I was the only grand-daughter who was interested.  Neither my Mom, nor my 2 sisters were remotely interested in needlework. 

I also loved to write and had several Penpals in my teenage years and delighted in stamp collecting, which was the in-thing, back in the early 80's.



I had really wanted to become a teacher when I left school, but unfortunately, I was not able to attend Teacher College after I Matriculated.  I went to study "Secretary of Tourism" of all things at the Cape Technicon.  I went on to work for the South African Tourism Board for a few years.  During this time I met my future husband on a blind date and on the 6th of April 2016, we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary.

With my husband, being a pilot, we have moved several times, wherever the work has taken us.  When we were newly married, I attended Mixed Media evening classes in Pretoria, South Africa after work.  In our classes we created some of these:

Bunny Jewellery Holder for Daughter's Room

Checker Sheep Board for Nursery Room

I then started lessons at Sew & Simple in Johannesburg, South Africa and created many of my own clothes and my husbands tracksuits, absolutely hideous when you look back.... I was still yearning to become a teacher and decided that the only way I was going to do that was to study long-distance.  I enrolled and within 2 years of intense studying, I qualified as a Nursery School Teacher. My dream to teach did not materialise as in 1993, I fell pregnant with my son and wanted to be a full-time Mom.

My Son was 2 when we moved back to the Cape where I assisted a friend in her home industry business, which is now a very big supplier of school uniforms in the Western Cape and she now has her own factory. It was then that I realised that there was a market for Maternity Wear as the maternity clothing were just awful and had no shape to them whatsoever.  I went to night school and learnt pattern making and started my own little home industry, manufacturing Maternity Wear, called Mum2Be, which grew successfully.

I was able to continue with Mum2Be during several moves, and even when my daughter was born in 1999. Unfortunately, I was not able to move my business with me when we relocated to Mauritius in 2000 as I was not allowed to work there as my husband was the one with the work visa. However, saying that we were allowed to do Charity Work and Volunteer, so I volunteered at the Children’s school at the School Shop, where I learnt Pastel Accounting and attend the Corona Women's Group where I made many friends.  Expat life there was fantastic.

Halloween

Under The Sea Theme

Nursery Rhymes

Spirngtime at Nursery School

In 2005 we relocated, again, this time to Abu Dhabi.  This is where, I finally had the opportunity for my passion, which was to Teach.  I loved teaching and was able to teach as a Nursery School Teacher for 5 years.  Arts and Crafts was obviously my favourite teaching aspect and I looked forward to planning those lessons the most. The best was teaching kiddies how to paint, hold a pencil, cut with a scissors and watching them grow into very independent children who could write, build puzzles, throw a ball, climb the jungle gym, etc. 

Part II to follow next week on 13/4/16

CHARITY: REACH FOR A DREAM FOUNDATION: CAPE TOWN

I like to do my bit for Charity and have been assisting where I can for the last 20 years with The Reach for a Dream Foundation in Cape Town.  I prefer to work behind the scenes, as although, I love kids, I would not be able to work with the terminally ill kiddies, my heart would just break.  I admire the staff and volunteers for their drive and passion.

Reach for a Dream is just that, an organisation which fulfils the wishes of children with terminal illnesses. The kiddies are assessed and then the work begins for the staff to fulfil that Dream. Much organisation, kind sponsors and donations are part of what make the dreams a reality.

This week, the Cape Town branch tried moving offices, however, not everything always goes according to plan, perhaps next week they will be able to complete the move. In the meanwhile, I've assisted with the packing of the boxes and hopefully by next Tuesday I can help them move into their much awaited new offices, after working in a very confined space for the last 11 years.

On Saturday, Reach for a Dream, Cape Town, will be having their Annual Gala which raises funds to make some of the Dreams come true and I have donated 3 Mixed Media Paintings for their Raffle Prizes, Cosmos, Peacock Feather and Under the Sea as shown below.

If you would like to make a Donation to make a terminally ill kiddies Dream come True, please visit their website:http://www.reachforadream.org.za