Changing pace- well trying :)

We are working raelly hard at making changes- always good to have an incentive.
Lunch is at home each day- i can make sure it is healthy and then a rest for an hour or so....
still busy at the house and getting hotels sorted out now it is down season. We have hired a young man Rajendra to be my assistant....he loves figures and book work, can track all our various projects in book keeping terms, heis keen and willing to learn- so looking good.
I have been putting a lot of time into getting him up to scratch... this will free me up to do more planning, and writing up of things, websites work, working with artisans, hopefully a bit of time at Shakti [the kids project] and most importantly time in MY STUDIO.
Yes it is for artist-in-residence ideas but also for me......
I have been there just lately.
I had some wool pre-felt from Beautiful Silks to trial [will use it in a workshop I am teaching in Melbourne in October]
working on idea of Story Cloths- an idea I have been poking around for years with....years and years really, finally I feel the components of shifted  into place.
Kantha Quilts, some fabulous medieval tapestries I saw in Paris and Bruges, an enormous Budhhist painting I saw at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Rajastani Story cloths have all filtered into this and I can feel it is an idea I am going to play with for some time.
Felting gives a lovely ground- it shifts a little as you felt so you have to respond to what is in front of you, not just head at what you think you are doing.....
Using the machine and approaching things like a child [I mean just get into it and keep going- no procrastinating- let it come out] the continuous line from a machine gives a real livliness to an image and then hand stitch...time to contemplate, time to find the silver linings in the story....hmmm I am very happy.

You may have guessed my story here revolves around Pushkar- scared to Brahma [symbolized by the lotus flower], the 2 sacred hills that have temples for his wives, the Sacred Lake and its many temples....and then things to do with our life are staring to appear

here is where I am up to at present

House is progressing very nicely....all by hand- we only have power half the day so you could not do any other way really.

Starting on the terrace in fornt of the studio...

Kitchen from bookshelf and door end of dining room

Along the dining room, to bookshelf wall, kitchen on left- door to Studio Courtyrad on right

In through the back gate to The Garden Courtyard...at the far end is a plinth next to the steps which will be good to put a matress on and chill out reading a book- thanks Praveen, great surprise :)

Doorway into the hose on kitchen side on right.