Manukau Heads

 I'm working on a giant painting of Mitre Peak at the moment, from when we went to Milford Sound on tour back in February.  And I've got another giant canvas sitting in my room, which made me think I should also do a giant painting of the Manukau heads.  So a couple of Sundays ago we took a drive out to the Otuataua stonefields to take a few reference photos and watch the sun go down.

 Such a beautiful and slightly eerie place.

There is an avocado orchard there that is part of the regional park and you can take five avocados per person.  Note to self to go back in avocado season!

Band craft

Since we started our band The Bitter Years, lots of my craft time seems to have been focused on band craft.  Lately I've been making ribbon bunting for stage decoration and flower crowns for human decoration.  

You can see us playing an old timey country song in our lounge here!

See you at the Fair!

I'm happy to announce that Millicent Crow will be at the next Auckland Art and Craft Fair, on the 28th of June in the Aotea Centre!  After some recent forays into making ribbon bunting for my band I'm hoping to have a ribbon bunting-decorated stall.  More info about the Fair is available on the Auckland Art and Craft Fair blog here.

The Bitter Years in Auckland

After traipsing round a whole lot of the country this summer our band has its first proper Auckland show this Friday night and I made us this poster.  We're playing in a beautiful historic church hall as part of the Auckland Folk Fortnight with Great North...expect banjos and flower crowns!

Green ribbons, tall mountains

 I've been experimenting with some new ribbons for my huia brooches and thought I'd try out some in my favourite colour, a mossy green (I have an embarrassing number of cardigans that colour).

 And I've been planning a painting of Mitre Peak, probably one of the most painted places in New Zealand, but after I visited Fiordland earlier in the year I thought I'd love to have a giant painting of it in my lounge.  I'm having a (legitimate) sick day off work with a cold, so I thought it was a good chance to steal some time and get started on it!

Crowns of glory

I had so much fun making flower crowns at Splore that I decided to make some for our band to wear.  We played up at the Coatesville Markets in the tail end of Cyclone Lusi on Sunday and it was good to have some red flowers to cheer up the grey day.  

 The dudes got flower brooches instead, which they wore with their Millicent Crow medals.

Posers

I'm tempted to wear my flower crown to work tomorrow!

Covered

After so very long I think I have finally finished the drawings for my op shop zine, and these 70s cups are going to be on the cover.  I've only taken slight liberties with the colours...the middle one I got in Thames many years ago for 40 cents I do believe and the others are recent additions from Mayfield.  Years ago my friend told me about a wonderful op shop in Mayfield with rack upon rack of velvet jackets - it achieved a sort of mythical status in my mind.  Finally I got to go there while we were on tour with The Bitter Years and it did not disappoint.  Crown Lynn room, what more can I say!