Big skies

The last few weeks have been so strange. The painting mojo has left for a while, i know that i should just keeping working on it and it will come back (just show up at the page- thank you Julia Cameron) but i feel so lathargic. Work has been chaos, which never helps and i have been feeling insular and vulnerable.

This week, though, has not been about me, it's been about my family and in particular, my lovely cousin Gemma. We've bad years before and have come through them ok, and i'm sure we will this time, but I just just want to send a little comfort her way today. They are all in the Lake District and I hope the skies there are as big as the ones I saw in Wales yesterday. They were massively soothing and i remember this was the very reason I loved norfolk so much when Si's mum was there. There is nothing like ending the day feeling salt-whipped, achey of thigh and tired through and through.

Leaf (Autumn and Gold)

There's a reason they call it retail therapy.

Most of the time it's the money that matters. The rent, the mortgage and the bills. Clothes and adornments are not so important as there's a much bigger picture surrounding you. In quiet moments a little bitterness creeps in as you ponder the boots you've been silently coveting for a couple of months, unable to justify the expense but the soul is consoled by the thought of the romance of your existence; the cottage, the wooden beams, the lovely man, the future you will have and suddenly the sacrifice is not so huge really.

However, when said Lovely Bloke decides the grass is greener elsewhere, the cottage starts to crumble around your ears due to neglectful landlords and the future is spirited away before it really had a chance to begin, then, the clothes and nice things Really Matter. Hence the lovely Coast dress, a vintage Jigsaw bolero and sea green beads from Noa Noa. I see your disapproving look but I'm making up for 5 years of martyred abstinence here and there's still a long way to go.

Current creative obsessions.

A very short post as i'm in the middle of class planning for this week. The lino cut in the top two photos is part of the prep for my Creative Sketchbook class. The last time i taught lino cutting i was in the middle of showing my students how to safely cut lino when, with perfect comic timing, i promptly sliced the top of my finger off. I shall try to be more careful this time. Dad informed me a few weeks ago that there were wood cutting tools lurking somewhere in the cobwebby shed, i may seek them out this weekend. I love printing. I can become quite obsessive about it when I get started. I have plans for these little woodland scenes so they shall be useful.

There are more blackberries too, another little obsession. The work I produce for myself during term time usually start off as class samples and then i take them away and develop them further. There have been 5 classes so far this term on hedgerow delights and, frankly, i'm a little sick of the subject matter now. However, this little darling is nowhere near finished.

The books in the bottom image are finally finished and stitched together. Sorry about the orangey glow in the photos. I'm struggling to get pictures taken before the light fades, i may have to invest in a daylight bulb for the winter months, or just take all my pictures on my days off.

I think perhaps i need to schedule blog posts. Maybe Monday will be what i did over the weekend and Friday what i did during the week. I'll give it a try. I would be the first to admit that this little creative venture feels a little shambolic at the moment.

The start of term

All the classes at work begin again this week as well as a new exhibition going up and the old one coming down. It is with aching back, tired eyes and cracked bones that I half heartedly write this entry. This little watercolour of a blackberry is a sample for my class tomorrow. I quite like it and may try something larger, perhaps at the weekend.





The rest are close ups of book covers and the stack of them that are waiting patiently to be sewn together. Again, these started life as class samples and have slowly evolved into something a bit special. It would appear that the obsession this late summer has been to bead everything that looks like it needs adornment. I'll let you know when I start beading my clothes.

I usually try to take nice photos of my work on white background but quite like the paint splattered look of my old desk. This was bought from a local charity shop for £10 in the tearful aftermath of my break up with Mr Ex. After rattling around in my old bedroom for a week Mother suggested turning Brother Dan's old room into an art studio. It seemed important at the time that I must start working on something straight away believing it to be a therapy of some kind. And, of course, it was. The poor table (never a looker to begin wth) is now covered in paint and wax as well having rivets gouged out of it from where I heave the sewing machine to and fro.

This weekends other activities have seen Mother making runner bean chutney. I almost said "we" made it, but all I really did was hover and prod and taste the mixture before it went into jars ready for the festive season. It kind of tastes like sweet and sour sauce at the mo. I'm told it will improve. This joins the Sloe (slow) Gin that was made the week before. The Christmas season could either prove a festival of boozy and pickled deights or we may all spend it with a tummy ache.

Beaded bracelets

I've only finished three and my back and neck are killing me from adding all of those tiny beads but I love doing these! I've spent a qiuet weekend sat with the beading needle and Enchanted on DVD. One of my favourite films and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

I've got four more to work on and the BBC versions of Sense and Sensibilty and Pride and Prejudice sat ready and waiting. Happy days.

Brother Dan

This is brother Dan. He's one of the many casualties of the recession, currently out of work, bimbling between his easel, the job centre and dozens of interviews. Here he is reading Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain, a weighty Reader's Digest tome that has been fought over even before we could read due to the lovely 70's style woodcuts and illustrations. This is one of the less esoteric books in his collection.
I'm just feeling so bad for him at the mo and there isn't much more to say than that. My small attempts at help have just yielded more heartache. Don't worry brother Dan. There is still that lovely girl and I'll show you how to make proper risotto for her.

Below is an image of the Generation Gap show on in the Mill foyer gallery at the moment, as promised.

And these lovely pieces of jewellery have been made by Catherine Baum, a very talented young lady studying down in Poole and working in the Cafe over the summer. I have just bought the turquoise earrings on the left hand side in the bottom picture. I may have to buy the ones on the right as well.

In other news this week my muse upped and flew away on Tuesday. I have not been near a piece of paper since since he left. I noticed this morning that the gloss had gone from my hair, my eyes were dull and, as is normal in people with highly complicated inner fantasy worlds like me, reality came crashing through the door in his place. For a month now he has been next to me shouting in my ear but today I can barely hear a whisper, I can just about see his misty figure in the distance as he returns to his own world. Ah well. Bye bye.

However, not to be too maudlin, I have felted some more wrist cuffs and there is nothing like pounding the hell out of the sewing machine to make me feel better.

Let's see what damage I can do to these bad boys.