Who are you?

POST #4

“We create words to define our experience and those words bring attendant emotions that jerk us around like dogs on a leash. We get seduced by our own mantras (I’m a failure…I’m lonely…I’m a failure…I’m lonely…) and we become monuments to them. To stop talking for a while, then, is to attempt to strip away the power of words, to stop choking ourselves with words, to liberate ourselves from our suffocating mantras.”

Elizabeth Gilbert. Eat Pray Love. 2006.

Every day I log on to Facebook and I will see the regular ‘Why can’t I find a nice man?’ and ‘I’m so depressed and lonely’ statuses. These kinds of statements really bother me. For a small second I almost consider clicking on these “friends” and deleting them, but then I would have nothing to get angry and write about ha-ha!

·         Why is it that people think that their lives mean nothing if they’re single?

·         What is the obsession with people being so depressed because they are “alone”?

·         Why do people believe that they can only be happy if they are sharing their life with someone else?

What people don’t realise is that the only person that can make you happy is YOU. The reason why you are so unhappy is not because you don’t have a partner to share your issues with, it’s because you have issues in the first place. Finding someone will not dissipate your problems. Yes, the new love will be a beautiful distraction for a little while, but it will not make your issues disappear. Eventually, your issues will rise to the surface and break you right in front of your partners’ eyes or entirely shock you and make you realise that you're in the wrong place.

How are you supposed to be happy with someone and make someone else happy if you’re not actually happy yourself?

Did you ever think that being “alone” could actually be good for you sometimes?

You are not ready to fall in love until you love yourself. Seriously, not like actually be in love with yourself, that’s just crazy. However, appreciate yourself, enjoy your own company, explore your imagination, your identity. Figure out you. Read some books, watch some good films, learn to cook, and learn to enjoy your own life just because you bloody can. Try everything. Resolve your issues alone. Work hard, find your career, and figure out what future you want. Not just “I want a man/woman to love” and that’s it, because that’s really just not it!!

You’ll meet the right person when you meet the right you and that person will never expect you to be anyone else and will never ask you to be different.

Once you’ve embraced yourself fully and once you are comfortable to be exactly yourself, with no excuses, no lies, and no pretences, just you -with every single person you ever meet. That is when you can be happy with someone else, or start looking for someone.

You never know though, when you find you, you might not ‘need’ anyone else. That’s the whole point. Never lose your independence; never feel like you need someone else - because you don’t.
You'll know when it's right anyway....

New Dawn

POST #3

I think starting again is always good for you. That doesn’t necessarily mean making a huge change in your life and being completely destructive for no reason; I’m talking about the little things, all those little things that swirl around your brain everyday… the –“I wish I could…’s and the “why don’t I?’s or the “If only I had time to”s. All those little tiny jobs around the house that you’re too busy or too lazy to do? Maybe it’s that career that you’ve always wanted but you’re a little too scared to research into or to re-write your CV because then it becomes too real? Or even the recipe that you really want to try but it means a lot of effort (and possibly a lot of waste if you don’t even like it!)

I think right now, everyone is at the time of the year when they are thinking about the future; 2013 is lurking around the corner and there’s so much you wanna do before Christmas comes, or even in celebration of the New Year. Something huge to symbolise that you’re not just stuck in one place.

I say right now is that time. Get it done. Just do it! Go on…. Just do it!

Hard right?

I’ve spent the past few weeks feeling like this. Questioning and over thinking every little tiny minute detail of my life. Obsessing, procrastinating, crying, laughing, relaxing and finally enjoying.

I don’t think you should worry about doing the right thing. I think you should just do what feels right (right) now. That’s what’s important to me. Doing things that make me happy and figuring out what 2013 holds for me and my beautiful boy.

Those little tiny things that are going to make you feel better, like:

·         Buying those jeans that make your ass look fantastic.

·         Indulging with chocolate and wine in front of a chic flic.

·         Going to see the complete Twilight Saga in one evening.

·         Spending time pampering yourself.

·         Listening to Take That and singing at the top of your lungs.

·         Secretly enjoying Rylan Clarke on the X Factor a little too much.

Stop feeling guilty, embrace who you actually are and sink your teeth in and enjoy it.

Do things just because you can, don’t regret it and just effing enjoy it.

Don’t forget, the world still rotates without your help.

Something I did for myself this week:

I decided to change my whole bedroom round, turn it into a complete ‘Emma’ space, complete with dedicated Art Gallery wall, throw pillows, and layered blankets on my bed. I bought new vintage furniture; a beautiful hand painted Cath Mellor bedside table and also a large chest of draws to store my ever growing shoe collection.

 I sorted and colour co-ordinated all of my clothes and hung them neatly in my wardrobes instead of throwing them on the ‘floor-drobe’. I fixed the speakers on my Stereo so that I could listen and sing along to the Christina Aguilera ‘stripped’ album just to feel like a teenager again.

The Bedroom Art Gallery; (left to right: Gustav Klimt inspired embroidery piece by myself 2007, Mannequin woman illustration developed from collage of vintage furniture illustrations, Illustration by Felicity Gayle 2012, 'Emma Brown -FMB inspired oil painting 2012' Painted by myself. underneath is a Picasso Print that I bought froma charity shop a few years ago. )

 

My new Cath Mellor Vintage Bedside Table. Just so bloody perfect! 63 year old cabinet beautifully re-painted and reloved.

It really is amazing how doing something so small can fix so many other areas of your life and make you so much happier. It’s kind of like being able to file away your thoughts into that imaginary filing cabinet, to be able to accept and process and forgive and forget.

Expect more from me very soon.

GingerDollyQuinn

xx

Cath Mellor Vintage Furniture

Felicity Gayle Artwork

Emma Gough Artwork

Cookie dreaming.

POST #2

 

Baking is something that I have loved to do most of my life.

I have fond memories from when I was a child of baking cakes and making homemade French Bread Pizza with my amazing Mum and two brothers; getting messy with tomato puree and being able to sprinkle as much cheese as I wanted all over the bread, delicious! I think this is what started my obsession with eating bread, the carbohydrate goodness and comfort you get from the smell and crunch of a baguette is wonderful.

In my early high school years it was something that I was a little afraid to do, when we actually had to do cookery classes, I lost a little bit of passion for it because I am a rather clumsy person and I am also not the neatest at things and tend to get rather impatient waiting for food to cook. It was something I was unsure about enjoying.

 Every week we’d be asked to buy ingredients to bring it to cook something quite normal to take home with us again. I was never the tallest or strongest little girl and I always remember struggling with the bags of shopping that we’d have to take in. For example, making a fruit salad, we’d have to take in loads of fresh fruit and tinned fruit and cartons of juice (which wasn’t light) and then when we’d made it all, we’d have to take it home in a plastic lunchbox which would most definitely leak all over your school bag and ruin your P.E. kit or maths book and if you had any lessons after cookery you’d just go home with mushy fruit.

I think I just needed to find something that I enjoyed making (and tasting, of course!)

My beautiful step Mom Lani introduced me to baking cookies when I was a teenager. It was a family tradition for her in America to have annual baking days with her mother and grandmother too and I remember her showing me photographs of hundreds of cookies that they’d baked.  My brothers and I used to stay with my Dad and Lani every Saturday and we always had to find something creative to do. Baking cookies was something we did regularly as it meant that we spent time doing it as a family and we also were able to indulge eating different types of cookies until our hearts content.

I have always associated cookies with comfort and pleasure. I don’t think you should ever feel guilty for having a cookie!

Lani taught me many recipes but there is most definitely a favourite that I have continued to bake regularly for many occasions, such as, cold days in with my family, objects of affection for my partner and also for cake sales and fundraisers.

My favourite type are Peanut Butter Cookies!

They are the perfect combination of flavour and texture and depending on your preference you can make them gooey or crunchy you just have to alter your butter and sugar measurements to suit.

All you need to make these cookies are;

.Plain Four (225g)

.Caster Sugar (150g)

.Vanilla Essence (1 table spoon)

.One Egg yolk

.Peanut butter (crunchy not smooth) – (about 5, messy, heaped table spoons)

.Butter suitable for baking (I never really measure my butter, I just throw enough in so the ingredients stick together)

Make sure you pre heat your oven to about 200 degrees; have two baking trays ready with baking paper.

I always start with the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl first, many books suggest adding a pinch of salt, I never do (it’s pointless!) Then add your peanut butter and your regular butter and most importantly get your hands stuck in, make sure it is thoroughly mixed, if it’s crumbly then add more butter. Throw your egg yolk and a splash of vanilla essence in and massage the mixture. You want it to feel like play-doh and you want it to stick together and end up in a big ball.

You don’t need to grease your baking tray, they paper will be enough for your cookies to peel away from when they are cooked and cooled.

You should be able to get about 12-14 cookies from this recipe.

Roll your dough into balls in your hand, again like you’re playing with play-doh and place them individually on your tray and flatten slightly with the palm of your hands.

Once all laid pop them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, let them cook, they’ll be fine, don’t check them too often, only check them maybe at 14/15 minutes and you’ll know how long they’ve got left in your head, they will be lovely and brown once fully cooked!

The most important part is to enjoy it, and if they’re not great then don’t beat yourself up, try again or go to Asda or to your local bakery and buy yourself some cookies that you know will be great. As long as you’re eating some lovely, indulgent bad for you food then it doesn’t matter.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had moments were I’ve cried because my stupid cookies were crap! (Think Amy Adams in Julie and Julia, full on tears on the floor because she couldn’t get something right, or screaming because she couldn’t kill the lobster haha)

I spent my morning baking Peanut Butter cookies, which is why I have ended up writing about them today.

Here’s a photograph of my cookies, yum!

 

Enjoy the recipe if you use it!

New Start!

Hello Everyone!

I have decided to start a new blog simply because I am bored, and quite frankly a little bit lost.

I recently finished my degree in Fine Art, and somehow managed to land myself a full time job pretty much straight away. Since getting this job I have barely had the time to express myself creatively and to talk about the things that I love the most, or to even explore my passions further.

I actually really love my job, I work for a Tile Showroom and Warehouse, selling and distributing tiles amongst doing many other things there. I am still able to use my artistic knowledge on a daily basis and continue my love and imagination for interior design by working there.

That being said; just three months ago and for three years before that I spent every single day (all day) painting, drawing or writing and for that routine to completely have changed is quite a shock.

I actually tried to enrol on a Business Course last week because I am struggling to figure out how I am going to further my career, but ironically, I was the only person to show up so the course got cancelled.

So here it is, I am resorting to another blog that I will probably completely fail at keeping up with, just to make me feel like I am still doing something important and creative with my time because I really miss having something to write about!

So here it goes;

POST #1

My beautiful 2 year old son, Quinn, is currently obsessed with drawing and colouring, which of course I love to do too so I actively encourage him to express himself this way and to enjoy the marks that he is making.

The trouble is, is that he never continues to draw just on one piece of paper, every time he makes a mark with paint or crayon he likes to turn the page and start something new. Being an artist myself, I understand these feelings! However, my house is cluttered with used paper and sketchbooks and I am very proud of Quinn and his drawings so love to show them off.

I wanted to think of a quick way of displaying these images for all to see and enjoy, without the walls being covered in blue tack or crumpled up paper.

A few weeks ago I purchased a ‘scatter frame’ which was on sale in Asda (or Wal-Mart to my American friends) You know, it’s just one big clip frame with multiple picture slots so you can kind of collage all your material together with it still looking neat and tidy.

I have been waiting for an excuse to use the frame and to also clear up some of Quinn’s artwork and today I just thought, What a lovely way to decorate his bedroom! So easy to do, and it looks lovely!

I now have a mixture of Quinn’s Artwork in this frame, from his stencil prints, a few different paintings (stamping shapes and also stippling brush techniques), also parts of a collages that he made with me. It now looks like one big, neat decoration.

I think I will be doing it with a lot of his pictures. It is hard to keep hold of them when they are stuck to the fridge or blu-tacked to the wall, especially when his mischievous self pulls them down and decides he doesn’t like them anymore.

It’s a great way to capture my precious memories with him! I also think they will make excellent and reasonably priced Christmas gifts for family too.

Here’s what it now looks like on Quinn’s bedroom wall.

 I love it! just so unique!

For my following blogs, I hope to write about other things that I have enjoyed doing with my son, or even textile projects that I have been working on, paintings that I have made or write about books that I am reading. Reviews on make-up, cooking and Art Exhibitions… there are endless possibilities with this! I feel so free and thankful that I have chosen to start a new blog, I have had a few before but I focused mainly on my artwork and felt so pressured. This way I believe I can inspire others to take an interest in other things too.

If you are here because you are interested in my Artwork, then please view my online portfolio @ www.emmagough.weebly.com

Emma Gough

Red-head, Mother, House Wife, Graduate, Lover of Creativity and More… Stay Tuned!