Sharing Skills

I don't excel at many things but I can do a pretty good job at most of them. The age old 'Jane' of all trades, master of none! 

A wise woman once mocked me saying "Of course you have lost interest in it, you have figured out how to do it, so it is no longer a challenge!" I think this really hit the nail on the head. 

I love learning how to do new things. Racking up the skills, feeling that if I needed to I could make most things for myself, without the need of the shops.

I also love sharing these skills, learning from others, teaching others. I have a strong belief in crafts and cooking skills being passed on from one person to another. Usually through shared experiences and communal moments. 


Learning to cook something new while sharing wine or having a bench full of little bottoms, all eager to nut out how to crack that egg without getting shell, or crank the pasta machine and see the spaghetti come out.

Sitting in the sun or around a fire with a pot of good tea and teaching someone how to crochet or read guitar tabs. Sitting side by side and mosaic-ing with someone, continually learning from each others techniques. 

The world is full of teachers and those eager to be taught.

Orlando has asked me to teach him how to knit. I have been waiting for his interest and with me doing quite a lot of knitting of late, I was not surprised at the request.

I have a delicious memory of my Grandmother teaching me to knit. She had a little poem that has stayed with me through many 'non-knitting' decades ready to be recalled as soon as I picked the needles up again. It went:

"In the rabbit hole,

round the tree, 

out the rabbit hole,

and off!"

So Orlando selected his wool, we choose some bigger needles to begin with and set to work. 

He took a movie of my instructions to remind him later if her needed (talk about techno-native generation) He settled himself in the crook of my arm and off we went. Hand in hand to begin and then just that little poem being repeated over and over.

He caught on really fast, seems interested, has come back 4 times in 2 days. I am loving that he is at an age where he can start to comprehend these more complex tasks and his fine motor control is developed enough to achieve what he needs.

Another skill shared in the beauty of a communal experience. One that hopefully Orlando will teach someone else one day.

Watching Life from Afar...

Sometimes I catch myself, watching life go by. Not as a participant but as an observer. It is like I am going through the motions participating in the routines, physically. Mentally I am somewhere else, no where in particular, but not there.

 I become aware of this removed perspective and often get a bit of a shock. How can we move though the motions, making decisions, and interact with others while not really being there, not really participating in our own lives.

Sometimes I find myself observing myself in social interactions, like I am sitting at the next table. Such a strange sensation... brains are so complex.

I am not sure yet as to why this happens, but I know it isn't a positive thing. My prediction is that it happens when life is too fast. I think we all have a limit as to how much we can process at once. When my overload point comes, I think I must retract, go else where, shut down and escape. Only mentally, physically I am still doing all the things that I need to do.

I had a moment yesterday when someone asked me how my day was.... I was taken a back... I wasn't really sure! It was a blur, it was hard to recall what the day had even been and I was still a part of it.

It can be hard to snap out of this mind state. It takes some deep breaths and very conscious decisions to be present. To be peaceful, slow and deliberate. To re-take control over the speed things are moving.

I find that the more I am inside, working, the more of an observer I become. Wild spaces bring me back into my life. They are my soul food, the place where I don't need to try to be present, I am, no effort needed. Life slows to now in nature... my senses are switched on and I am in my body, in my life.

Nature is my need... Holidays are coming. Time for a deep breath of fresh air on its way...

Reflecting

A Friday reflection of the week that has been, my head space and my "into the weekend" thoughts. So here goes! 

Wondering - whether it is normal to feel this tired all the time, or if I'm fighting something

Nourishing - with baked goodies... spelt choc-chip cookies have been the favourite this week

Playing -  all different sorts of guitars - searching for the perfect one

Creating - space - in the house by de-cluttering and in my life by not taking on more than I can

Nurturing - my guitar - she has new strings, has had a clean, and is now dust free

Growing -  peas! - they are very happily growing with the still warmish weather

Listening - to some old time Spearhead - Franti is just so cool.

Preparing - for a long weekend in Robertson - precious family time is on the way! 

Inspired by Steph over at this brown wren

Pocket Money

Boy, can I tell my kids aren't babies any more when I start being asked about pocket money!

Orlando (nearly 7) said the other day "If I help you with this dish washer, maybe you could give me some pocket money and I could buy this Lego Boat I want from the shops..."

I had a stirring of some very conflicting thoughts and emotions...

I asked him... "How does pocket money work?"

O - "Well I help you with jobs around the house and then you give me some money to buy things that I want to buy."

Me - "Oh that sounds nice... so can I have pocket money for the jobs that I do around the house?"

O - "But you already have money, I only have the money I get from my teeth" (there are a lot falling out at the moment)

This got me thinking... my kids rarely ask for things from the shop. They don't nag, so when they see something really special, I ask them to tell me about why it is so important to them and then I would usually buy it for them. But Orlando hadn't asked me to buy it. He wanted to buy it, with his own money.

This isn't something I wanted to overlook, to me it is an indication that he is wanting to take responsibility for some things, to feel a bit more grown up. 

A few years ago we had agreed to swap money for jobs - he chose 4 jobs that he would do each day and got an agreed amount of money at the end of the week. He would choose things like putting everyone's bed side lamps on at dusk and setting the table etc. It never felt right. I thought he should be doing these things anyway and I felt like I was bribing him with money.

It got me thinking about how we could make this work in an authentic and meaningful way. I like the idea of both the kids being able to have some say in what we buy. To want something enough to save up for it. To get some supported experience in how to use money. 

I went back to my tried and true thought ... "How does it work in the adult world?"

Well I get an allowance from the family budget, as does Nath. The kids don't get one, it is sort of combined with mine, as I usually spend all of mine on them anyway.

We get this allowance whether or not we got our 'jobs' done at home. If the house is messy and the washing un-done, I still get my allowance. I feel conscious of not pulling my weight but I still get it.

This made me think... I am a responsible and considerate member of a family. We work together as a unit. As a respected member of this family, I get an allowance. I also respect the other members of my family enough to participate in the running of the household. 

This could work just as well with the kids. They are also respected members of our family, and thus deserve to have an allowance each week, that they can make decisions about. 

They also need, as respectful and considerate members of this family, to contribute to the running of the house hold. If they don't then we deal with that... as a separate issue, not linked to the money at all. 

This feels SO much better to me, and seems, thus far, to be working. I'll let you know in a year when we've given it a good run!!

1/52

I've been a little undecided about if I was going to embark on this project again this year... I enjoyed it last year and LOVE having the years worth of portraits, but I think the mixture of the weekly commitment and how hectic last year was for us made it all a little stressful. This year will be slower. So I have decided to embark again see where it goes. I will also have a little more brain power to give this space, which should mean that I can post more often and add a little more 'meat' to the sandwich.

I've also decided that this year I will aim to add a 'group shot' of the two of them and their relationship as when I looked through last years photos and thought about separating them into two different book I became aware that I was pulling apart a shared experience. This year their books will have themselves and the group shots, showing casing the deep importance of their relationship.

So here we go for another year!

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Orlando: He is growing, his teeth are moving, his body is getting strong, athletic and fast.

Matilda: Complete trust when it comes to extreme maneuvers and her Daddy. Such Joy.

Pair: Fishing with Poppy, many hopes, lots of waiting, always better with a friend.

Joining with Jodi

Stoic...

This morning Matilda had her 4yr old immunisations. It is never fun for the kids or for the adults. I particularly hate it when they get older as they look at you with these eyes saying "Why are you letting them hurt me like this?" I must say I am often feeling "Why am I letting them hurt you like this!"

As with everything else, we are very honest with the kids about what's happening. A week or two ago I told Tilly about the appointment and she wasn't too fussed. Once it was upon us, she seemed a little excited, and I was thinking "Gee have I explained this properly?"

We went in and the nurse asked her if she knew what we were doing and Tilly confidently said "Yes, your going to put needles in my arms and it will hurt but go away quickly."

Everyone was set to go...

I have noticed with Matilda that she often selects just how much emotion she want to share. She will either be out there with it or she will hold it in. This is quite a contrast from her big brother who wears his emotion on his sleeve. There is never any doubt as to how Orlando is feeling, it's written all over his face, and bellowing into our ear drums.

I know that when Tilly and I butt heads over something, she gives me this look like "you can't break me... I am actually finding this quite amusing"  Where as if she is squabbling with Orlando she will dramatically cry until she has received what she deems to be enough attention from it. 

Today, when it really did hurt she held her breath, clenched her teeth and didn't show a tear. In between sides she hid her face in my chest and did it all again. Not a sound, not a tear.

We waited our mandatory 15 mins in the waiting room in which she was quiet, stiff and close to motionless in her chair. When it was time, we hopped into the car and I took off the band-aids. This was the straw that broke the camels back... the sobs flowed, the crying, the "OUCH it Hurt!" the deep need for Mumma and snuggles. She had held it all in, until the privacy of our car.

When I relayed this message to Nath, he said "Just like her mum" and it got me thinking...


Where have Tilly and I got the perception that we need to be strong, stoic, stubborn and not show others how deeply we are feeling? Why do we both wait for the safety of our loved ones to show the true depth of our pain/anger/happiness? Where did we learn about this mask?

I love that children teach us so much about ourselves, but I am also very aware about how much of ourselves we teach our children...

A New Chapter in Life...

The last 9 months have been very interesting to me. I didn't really realise how interesting until I have paused and reflected. 

9 Months ago Matilda (my youngest) turned 3. This was not out of the ordinary in itself, but as many of my friends embarked upon or worked their way through their 3rd and sometimes 4th children we made the radical decision to stop at 2.

So I watched on while others went back to nappies, sleepless nights and breastfeeding. I snuggled their babies and breathed deeply as I smelt that newborn infant smell. It was all very lovely but I became aware that something was very different in me now. I no longer yearned for these babies. I felt very satisfied with my own 2 beautiful children. No more were needed.

So as the busy life of babes continued on I noticed that I was now moving at a different pace. I wasn't breastfeeding any more, I had no more nappies to change, both my children sleep through the night (most of the time anyway :)). Orlando started school, Matilda started Pre-School. My baby years were done... what was next?

As soon as I had asked this question, the universe provided me an answer. I was asked if I would be willing to do some more study in my role at work. It was left field, an area I LOVED in my recreational life but I had never considered making it a profession. It was physical and challenging and going to need me to commit a lot of time... most of my weekends... I have challenged myself mentally and intellectually a lot in my life, but physical challenges I have always shied away from.

But I had asked the question and the answer was here. So I agreed to embark on 12 months full time study, on top of my 3 days a week work and being a Mum of 2 delicious children... and here I was thinking I was moving at a slower pace! I was creating a new job for myself. I hadn't felt I could commit back to teaching full time post kids, I needed to find a new angle and here it was. I have a strong commitment and belief in the importance of children having a deep connection to and engagement with the outdoor world. Now I was skill-ing myself up to lead them into the wilderness on many an adventure... and to get paid for it!

I knew it would be an intense year and so far it has not let me down. But this intensity has brought new perspectives that I am finding really interesting. 

My kids are growing up and they need me less. I'm less just Mum and can re-find/define who I am. Nathan, Orlando and Matilda have created a deeper relationship. Nathan could win father of the year this year, he has stepped into the parenting limelight and is doing it all while working full time. Ollie and Tilly have remembered that Nath can meet their needs, just as well as I can.

This has provided me space and some autonomy. I miss everyone while I am away, or busy with my head in the computer. But I also LOVE that I am away on adventures, with other adults challenging myself, extending myself.

A new chapter has begun. So far it's a roller coaster but I am telling myself that next year will be calmer, next year will be the launch, this year is the crazy preparation.

So I guess my new baby is me! My focus is on myself... and it hasn't been there for over 6 years so it feels really good to have some time to grow and develop me!

6...

I sort of feel numb about the idea that Orlando has just turned 6... really 6 already? Yet at the same time it feels like... only 6... I hardly remember life without him! 


So much growing up has happened in the last few months. Starting Kindergarten has had a lot to do with it, but I think all these new teeth and the idea of '6-ness' has been a factor as well.

Orlando has grown tall, oh so tall. All of his pants are suddenly two sizes too small. This new height seems to be giving him a different view of the world. Attitudes are changing and relationships are deepening. A new self awareness or maybe a new self consciousness has begun. A calm, deep focus has set in. New interests, broader interests, questions and fascination  Huge ambitions, Orlando is set to understand all the world has to offer.

There are new rules about what clothes are okay to wear, how he wants to look and choices about how he is presenting himself to the world. He is thinking deeply about relationships, how they work and how they change. There is a new ability to accept change and a humble way of accepting what is. He is learning new ways to negotiate and testing new boundaries. He is aware of how much focused time he receives from us, and lets us know when we have been too preoccupied "Mum I need us to do something together, just us for a bit"

He is testing himself and pushing his skills, trying new tasks and practicing them until he feels he has got it. He is reading, writing, sewing, jumping, creating, playing, building, exploring, inventing, discovering, watching, laughing and laughing and laughing.

Such love I have for this young man, such love and such fascination. 

Happy Birthday Beautiful Boy....

A Wondrous Birthday ...

Can it really have been a year already? 

and on the other hand...

 Has it really only been 1 year?

Today marks "A Woman who Likes to Wonder's" Birthday.... 

1 Full year of Blogging.... WOW!

76 posts, a few trusty and often quiet followers, most posts get read... by a few people :)
(Hey maybe you can give me a Birthday Present by hitting Follow over there on the right!)

I started this a year ago, with the aim to record some ideas, some thought processes, share some concepts and challenge myself to improve my writing.

What I was unprepared for was how cathartic it would be. A place to write down the continual trails of thought. Instead of letting them continue to circle in my mind, recording them here often allows me to let them go, release them.

It's become a place for me to use the thousands of photos that I enjoy taking. To share the way I see the world. 

Looking back over my year was quite an experience for me. What a delicious record of our world, our life and the experiences we share as a family. Little did I realise I was marking down and creating such a record, a memento. I love revisiting these experiences, as do the kids. They often want to sit and look through all the photos saying "what story were you telling here? was it about..." I great place to re-visit and reflect on our experiences.

The year ahead... is going to be pretty hectic and unfortunately I don't know how many spare moments I will be able to set aside for this space. I will when I can and I will then be back as my workload subsides. At the very least there will be portraits :)

So HAPPY BLOG-DAY to ME!!

May we all continue to Wonder 

and allow it to enrich our lives with

 learning, curiosity and reflection.

A Matter of Time...

This is a big year for our family. Orlando is 5 days a week at school, Matilda is starting Pre-School and I am .... working 3 days a week, mum of 2 delights and studying full time online (which will also involve 15-20 weekends away). Nath is therefore delegated with holding the whole family together!

Being 3 weeks into our new routine how are we going...

Well, we are all already tired, but I think that is just the transition from delightful January Holidays! What I have noticed though, is that there is no real routine yet! It keeps changing!!

But some changes are coming into play. With many of my weekends wiped out and Orlando at school all week we are having to make every moment count.

Here are some of the strategies we have worked out so far...

- 3-6pm is dedicated playing with kids time... nothing else allowed. 

- Washing and other 'life maintenance'  tasks need to be done during the week. A load a night and cleaning as I go, keeps me on top of it and saves free weekends for family. We are also thinking this year may just require the hiring of a cleaner to assist in family sanity.

- Being realistic with my expectations of what I can and cannot manage. For example, going to the gym is super important to me, so I need to keep that up, it also helps me feel energized. Unfortunately, I may not be able to post on here as much as I would like to...

- Bulk cooking dinners and freezing portions. This is saving us valuable cooking time. So many stews and sauces stay delicious frozen.

- Making lunches and laying out clothes the night before. This allows school mornings to stay calm and increases the kids Independence.

- Leave work at work! There is ALWAYS more work to do, but this year work is ONLY happening at work.

- When Matilda and I have a home day we are going to cook like mad! She can be my assistant chef, which she will love and we can stock the freezer for the weeks dinners and lunchboxes. This week Tilly chopped a whole soup pot full of apples. We then made delicious apple and raspberry fruit leathers and Apple and Ginger... YUMM

I am sure we will find a balance and a routine that allows us to include everything that is important to our family this year, it is just going to take more conscious thought to get there!

Have you got any time saving strategies can you share to help me out?

First Day....

Today was the BIG DAY!! First day of Pre-School for Matilda AND first day of Kindergarten for Orlando. 2 First days on one day!! (3 if we count my first day going to work without children in tow for 5 years!!)

So how did it all go?

Well the weekend ended up with me dealing with my nervousness by being SUPER prepared. I sewed new relaxation time pillows, got new 'school' shirts, named everything, packed bags, practiced needed skills, and talked, talked, talked.


The kids were excited, Ollie about seeing his good friend (and a little nervous about a new place), Tilly excited that "Mummy will go home and I can stay to play" - spoken like a true younger sibling who is ripped out of the classroom each morning at drop off... finally it is her turn.

We woke, got ready, had our first day photos and set off. We were all in good spirits. 

Matilda was dropped off first... Orlando set her up and in we went. She is in his old classroom, so knows the space well. She confidently put her things away and held my hand while we went exploring. she was captivated by the light/dark play and then discovered the clay. She sat down, we all said goodbye and she was busy... great! Easy! 

Now for Big School!

Orlando was wide eyed but keen, we went in, he made eye contact with his teachers, smiled and took a deep breath. In we went, found a locker and looked around. He spotted his good friend and off he went to play. We followed and he looked up and said "Mum I think it is time for you to go..." RIGHT. I've been told! Glad you feel comfortable... off I go!

So all went well. Then a couple of hours later I got this sinking feeling in my stomach... what if Matilda had started to freak out.... realised that we were not coming back for a while and was not happy? I let the fear pass through and got on with my day. Realised that I had been so busy feeling nervous for Orlando's big day, that I hadn't realised I was particularly nervous about my 'baby' going to Pre-School!

Reflections on the day...

Orlando - "Mum it was great! I didn't want to come home and can't wait to go tomorrow. You know when you left... I didn't feel sad at all. I was really happy. Tomorrow I am going to dig to the bottom of the sandpit and see what treasures I can find!"

Matilda - "I did lots of things! I started with Clay and then I did some painting, purple, pink and more purple. I washed some babies, did all the puzzles and played with the wooden people. I didn't eat all of my yummy lunch and I loved waking up from relaxation time."

Me - I felt really proud of the courage and confidence they both had. I didn't recognise Matilda when I got to Pre-School. She looked too grown up. This made me think that during my little freak out in the day, my perception of Tilly grew up... she isn't a baby any more... This is a good thing. She knows it... I just took a while to catch up :)

I find it fascinating to watch and observe their different areas of focus. Orlando has always been focused on the human environment, the teachers, friends etc. Matilda on the other hand is focused on the things she can engage in. What is there for her to investigate? I would be surprised if she gave any of her class mates a second glance! Maybe when she feels like she has explored enough she will look up and see who is around her :)

But we are all feeling positive and now home the kids have gone off and are playing by themselves... GREAT! 

Bring on tomorrow!

I Miss You!

I find being a Mum often provides me with points to reflect upon. This past 2 weeks has been an interesting turning point for me. 

I love being a Mum, but there a often times that I, (and I think many others) yearn for who I was before I had children. You transform a part of yourself when you become a Mum. Life changes, and I often find myself dreaming about when I used to have time and mental space for... movies, coffee with friends, work without distractions - even a trip to the toilet uninterrupted! I miss me! or the pre-mum me anyway!

With the new school year nearly upon us, I have had a lot of work on. So instead of shipping the kids from one place to another, they had their first 'holiday' away at their Nan and Pops. Boy were they excited... 8 days without Mum and Dad! 8 days of adventure with Nan! We had the plan of retreat if it was too long away. Not only were the kids excited but us too! 8 days kid free! 8 days to just think of ourselves! Eat when we want, go to the movies, go rock climbing together, gym when we need - not when is convenient in the tag team regime. I also had a lot of hours to put in at work, but even the concept of going to work without the kids and being able to work as long as I needed was exciting.

As we drove away from dropping the kids off, the car was very quiet. I felt excited but slightly nervous also... I was going to miss the kids!

After a day of quiet adjustment we started making the most of our time. 2 movies and dinners in 3 days! A well overdue bush hike over the weekend and the needed 9/10 hour days at work. Nath and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time together.

We hit day 5 and I realised I was feeling exhausted! I also woke with this sickening feeling of where are my babies I need them back! I was really missing the kids. I got wondering about why I was feeling so tired and then it occurred to me that I had been travelling at a million miles an hour. I told myself that I was just trying to make the most of the time away... but that wasn't it. This is how fast I used to travel ALL THE TIME! This WAS the OLD ME! 

I reminisced on how, when I had Orlando, it took me a few months to slow down. I had to change gears and adopt a slower pace of life. This was the biggest adjustment for me in becoming a mum, and I had sort of forgotten it. 

So now I was again going so fast that, the house was a mess (I was too busy to clean it), my 'food pets' were all in the fridge 'on hold' (I didn't have time to feed them), we were eating take out many nights (I didn't have time to cook) and I had no clothes to wear as I hadn't done any washing (didn't have time for that either!).

I found myself yearning for the routine and order having the kids in the house gave me. The slower pace, allowed me to do all the things I wanted/needed. It allowed me to be the me that felt right... Now I was missing the Mum me!

Through all of this I have realised that as much as it is normal to yearn for a little time to my/our selves, to want to see a movie etc I actually prefer the Mum me to the old me. I am calmer, more focused, more emphatic  more caring, I have more patience (although it is often tested), I am healthier,  I make far more of my own food, and I have two stunningly beautiful children who fill my life with  joy, laughter and overwhelming amounts of love! 

So now my babies are home and we prepare for both of their 'first days' on Monday. This is a year of change in our house hold. New adventures for all of us. I am so pleased that we are a tight and loving family unit, to support each other in all the adventures and challenges the upcoming year has to offer.

(I have also realised that we really need to get some more recent family photos!!)

Artistic Endeavours

Being a teacher of the young, I have spent a lot of time exploring, observing and reading about the stages of artistic development. I have seen this progression in many children over the years. I've consoled many parents that children NEED to go through these stages, to accept it and support them.

Exploratory 'scribbles' at first, then marks with meanings, through to identifiable images, and then refinement. Each new medium needs to start at the beginning again.


The theory of this, I know. When watching MY son continue to 'scribble', year after year, when I know he can do more symbolic drawings, I find rather frustrating. I find myself getting cross, and dis-interested in doing artistic things with him. I am not satisfied with what he is producing.... I CAN HEAR MY SELF CRINGE!!! It isn't about what he produces, it is the process.... although I believe this with every cell of my body, I still find myself getting frustrated. At times he produces a stunning, identifiable picture and shows me that he is capable, he just chooses not to... WHY!!!

I have realized that I don't value 'scribble' as I feel less comfortable with it. I don't feel as though I can talk with him about his art as much. I see his peers move forward and want him to do the same. I also know that where he is going to kindy, children communicate a lot of their ideas and concepts though drawing... if he can't do that will he get as much out of kindy?

When visiting a friends house who has children a similar age, I noticed that her children got drawing and painting out as a self directed activity on a regular basis. All of the sudden it occurred to me... I HAD NEGLECTED TO PROVIDE AN ART SPACE AT HOME!!!  Why hadn't I thought of that! All of the programs that I run at school are art rich. We get art stuff out at home, but not everyday. Every time Orlando came to the art experiences it was different, he never had the opportunity to revisit the same experiences. Therefore he never had the space to practice and build on his skills... he was always needing to start back at the beginning.

Well, now I felt like I had all the answers! I went home, re-arranged the play-space,  and brought all the art materials out of the cupboard and onto a self-help shelf. It isn't free slather, there are still things put away for special experiences, but there is a range of mediums out for use when ever creative inspiration hits. 

The kids and I found some attractive bowls to present the materials in and organised everything they needed. Here is a list of a few of the things we choose to include:

- Paint brushes

- Water colour paints (washes off nearly everything)

- Chalk

- Crayons - oil, soy, and wax

- Chalk Pastles

- Textas

- Pens

- Pencils - Coloured, lead, charcoal

- Stickers

- Collage materials

- Sticky tape

- Glue

- Paper - office paper, lined paper, thick water colour paper, diaries, scrap books etc

- Ink and Paint pads

- Rubber stamps

- Scissors

- Paper punches - ones the hole punch pictures 

- Pencil cases full of craft materials like pom poms, pipe cleaners, string etc etc

- Playdough and tools

Matilda 3 : "Roses that are not open yet"

We also brought 6 A4 frames. Three each to present the kids art works. The kids get to choose what goes into each frame and if they create a piece they like better then we swap it over.

Orlando 5: Undersea animals

Presenting children's artworks in respectful ways, shows them that you value their effort and their creative process. I also happen to think it looks stunning!

So, with our space created, it has been used multiple times a day by both of the kids and they adore having the frames to display their artistic creations. I am happy, they are happy, the space looks beautiful. 

Have you got any interesting ways that you respectfully display your children's artwork? If you do, I would love to hear about it!