Karine Ardault

Busy week... again

As expected this week has been very busy at work. Though I have managed to do a small art piece yesterday. It is a collage on a round canvas. I like those canvas. I need to order more at the géant des beaux arts. They sell in Europe. I like their products, the prices are good and they ship very quickly, in 2 days most of the time. I also bought a few collage sheets this week-end. They are download sheets from the Lady's closet. I have already printed some of them. They are very good quality and it is a good deal as you can print as many as you want once you have bought them! i am buying from many different shops. I like that.

Today is a picture of New York where I have been in April earlier this time. So bad the weather was not always good. Bad weather usually means bad light and lots of pictures in black & white, which I like!

Well that is all for today!

Busy blawyer...

it is a busy week and i did not get any opportunity too blog. Office is getting crazy and the lawyer I am is just trying to cope with everything while trying not to get crazy... But that is not easy. Trying to create  but with so little time or no time at all for myself it is not easy.

Just like this blurry baboon. Baboons are not my favorite but i like this picture, the movement it shows.

Some more pictures for today... too tired to write... pole

This one was taken in Mexico in 2002.

This one in lengijave, just out of Arusha.

Back to work

After this long week-end I had to go back to the office. Everybody survived without me so that is fine.

Yesterday, Benoît had a day off. We went to Arusha National Park which is located lest than one hour from home. The weather was crap, it even rained several times, but it was nocely refreshing. So bad there were no flamingoes. We did not see many birds neither. But I am happy because I saw elephants. It is the first time I see elephants in this park. They were a dozen including a female that had lost part of its trunk because of a snare placed by poachers. She looked to do pretty well despite the fact that there are some food she does not have access to.

We also saw Black and White Colobus. Those monkeys are endemic to the parc. They live in the trees. The photo is not good as the light was really crap and they were high in the trees. Here it is a mother and her young. Babies are all white.

More photos

Talking about photos, since I have put some of my photos on imagekind I have not sold any. I cannot say that I am disappointed as I know it is rare to sell pictures directly through the web. Persons who buy photos prefer to see them directly not through a computer screen. Though I hope that maybe someone will drop by, like what I do and buy a print... I am not discouraged or anything. I just love to take photographs.

I took this picture while i was waiting for my next place at Seronera airstrip in the Serengeti. I had one hour to kill with almost nobody around. that was great. The sky and those small clouds were amazing and for once no tourist running around. Just silence. I have bought some drawing kit sometime ago so I did draw. I looked at birds and tried to get very close to take some pictures. It was great. i think I could have waited all day for the plane. unfortunately it only lasted one hour.

The other picture was taken in Grumeti at the lodge. The lodge is located by the river where hippos live. During daytime they are most of the time hiding in water because of their fragile skin. They come out at night to search for food. I like hippos but they are very dangerous animals would do not mind attacking men.

Some art

This is a piece i finished yesterday. I had ordered those small mosaic tiles and i did not know what to do exactly what to do with them. I received double slide mailings the other day and everything come in place quickly. Why not do some piece with a greek style.

I first covered the cover with pieces of pages from a book and I distressed them. Then I glued the tiles and a picture of a woman who looked "greek" thanks to her vase. I added cracking medium on top of the picture. To glue the tiles I used a glue that would dry clear so we can still view the background.

For the interior, I first applied gesso (my first pot of gesso arrived last week with my shipment!) on the left side I applied some acrylic paint in mushroom and a transparent showing some architectural detail. I also glued a funny paper clip. On the other side I applied some beige acrylic paint and I glued some gold leaves pieces. I also used some picture of a greek temple and a little fairy inside a bottle that looked like very greek also. Finally I used some watch parts.

I am very happy with the mosaic tiles. I may order some more!!

Lengai

Since mid July we have been experiencing Earth tremors in Arusha. The Volcano Lengai has been quite active too. Here is a picture taken two weeks ago

Patience, Art and Upset!

Everybody knows by now that patience is not my biggest quality. I am more a I-want-it-now person. I have been like this as a kid and now I have a job where most things have to be done in an emergency situation. But with art I have to be patient. I have to wait the glue or the paint to dry before continuing a piece. I hate it but there is nothing I can do but wait! so I wait. Ok, I have to do something else while waiting. Here I am waiting the gel medium to dry before going back to my art... the good news is that it is a small piece so it won't take long! :-D

Today I finally got my annual 50 kg shipment that left France on 4 May 2007... more than 4 months... Grrrr... Most of it was ok, some chocolate was stolen and I have a funny pink stain on a T-shirt that has been caused by something mysterious! Hmmm... just do not want to know.

I am very upset now! I like my life in Arusha but there are things I cannot accept! I learn today that a friend of ours got shot Sunday evening at his place. Some people followed friend of his who were coming to his place. They were armed and used their guns at him. He was shot in the throw. Those people stole a car and ran away. At the time the persons with him were in the medical field so he was given appropriate care immediately. He was then evacuated to Nairobi. He is fine and stable now. I am shocked by what has happen but at the same time I am not surprised. Two weeks ago three teenager girls were kidnapped and raped. The international community has always been a target but here it is becoming bad. I have always felt safe living here in my big house even when I was living by myself. I have never been scared driving alone at night even if at all time doors are locked (during the day too) and I drive fast. We already have grids for the windows in the doors, and 24h security (guards and panic buttons). it is standard around here. What more can we do? The international community is bringing a lot to Arusha so why doing that to us. People have already started to leave - Those kinds of incidents is just going to accelerate the departure of many families. The men who has been shot at Sunday is a nice guy. He arrived some one year ago and I cannot imagine he has upset people so they would hurt him. I am sure he was targeted for what he represents: money. In the end what those people got? They abandoned the stolen car and I do not think they got so much money. All of this for nothing! Do not mistake me there. I like this country and the Tanzanian people are nice people. A lot of Tanzanian are horrified by what happened and they think it is not a good thing. Now I just hope the attackers will be caught and spend the rest of their life in prison. They are supposed to be less than 30 years old, it will let them time to think about their crime.

Altered Matchbox

For those who ask - and those who do not ask - Muffin is doing fine. Right now she is trying to make a nap in my art supplies. She is not growing anymore which is great. She is so cute like this.

So yesterday I started with the supplies I had received. I did not have the opportunity to put a picture of all I had received. Well So many things I received! I am very happy I can create....

By the way i have found myself quite creative lately and I also need less time to do something. It is good news as time is such an issue for me. I spent again 11 hours in office today without any time for dreaming. I am exhausted.

I have finished my first altered matchbox. I more or less had to construct it as I could not find one to alter. It has a travel theme. A lot of the things I make have a travel theme lately. I think it is not a bad theme. The "Lucky" matchbox are just paper. Not good for art! I have wrapped it carefully and sent it on Monday morning. Please Tanzanian post office, be nice with me!! It is my first art piece going away. bye bye... hope it will arrive to California before Christmas!