30th March

Piratical!

Not sure about this one, maybe something inside is about to mutiny! Or at least burst into pirate speak or take to talking to parrots. A little surly but with other worldly, sea-green eyes and a kind of feathery familiar spirit. I am feeling a bit besieged by a number of jobs that are backing up on me, and Easter is already here, bar the chocolate. Arrrr... shiver me timbers me hearties, there be dragons here!

29/3/10

Storing Up Outside Days

A beautiful Autumn day with a warm northerly, blue skies, and the garden calling out for some attention! I am also a bit behind with several other things, including these little pictures, but I decided that time in the garden before the bad weather sets in is probably more important for my spirits, and I don't want to end up with yet another bunch of flower plants dying in their plastic bag before I get down and into the earth. Being out under the sky is so important for me, I will hate it if I am ever unable to put my toes in the grass and my hands in the garden soil. I may not be the world's most effective gardener, but I am one who is most appreciative of the process!

28th March

Last of the Autumn Flowers

I went around my garden this morning looking at the last little splashes of colourful flowers as the leaves are starting to fall from the trees. A handful of nasturtiums, a lace cap hydrangea, and a couple of harebells was pretty much it. I always mourn the end of the paintbox coloured nasturtiums once the first frost arrives, they seem such childlike flowers, full of optimism as their vines climb about the garden, and seeding in the most unlikely places. This year a couple of ambitious plants climbed up the fence and through a rosebush by the clothesline and amused me by nodding at me against the blue sky as I hung out the washing. Flowering where they find themselves, and bringing a brightened moment to whoever notices.

27th March

Kite Flying

This is another of those lovely, windy, outdoorsy things that are fun to do! Once you launch your little construction of paper, string, and sticks up into the wind it becomes a twisting, tugging live thing on the end of your string. It's a kind of magic transformation, filled with possibilities and breathless laughter. Here is this construction, which is definitely heavier than air, riding above you on invisible wind, and for all intents and purposes, seems to be making a good attempt at lifting you off your feet and up into the sky behind it! Such a joyful sensation. A low-tech, energy friendly, simple delight.

26th March

Cat

Cats are supremely able to sleep deeply without any effort at all it seems. It is a gift many of us envy! This is our cat, or rather we are hers, called cat as she is a stray who has obviously been loved and named by someone else in the past. She has impeccable manners in the kitchen but is demanding everywhere else. She has a determined fixation on our fish and chip papers if we forget to shut her in out while we eat from them, and we are her retirement plan! Actually she has done rather well considering we were planning to be pet free once our children left home. She gives so much affection, and is very smoochy when it suits her, as every cat I have ever known is. She has become a fixture here, showing  respect for neither artistic endeavour nor reading, and firmly asserting her place right in the centre of everything. She gets away with far too much!

25th March

The Cat

So this is one of those days when my idea has not meet my expectations... I love the way the shape of the cat is instantly recognisable, and I thought using collage images of domestic stuff would work with the idea of the domestic cat, but... I have a hodgepodge, a mishmash, an unresolved creation where I am doing battle with my media, lack of ways to overlay text, and plain lack of time, all digging me into a hole. Still the idea is not to have a perfectionist rock around my neck, but to keep going and see where I end up at the end of the year. I will have to keep trying. I read somewhere that there are two sorts of outcome, a pleasing one, and the one which gives you the opportunity to create another one ... or words to that effect. This is one of those. So I will retire today and have a little melt down, I have a day away from home tomorrow so will have to create something later than usual - I won't be abandoning ship, merely taking a chance to breathe and look at something new for the day, and hopefully returning refreshed!

24th March

TwentyOne Birds on a Wall...

Amazing how much expression can come from one basic shape! Here are 21 birds striding about in their fabulous plumage, on a slightly 60s background. I have some new paints to try out which is fun. A set of golden acrylic paints in little bottles, in a flow formula suitable for the finer detail I need on this scale of work. I think they look promising, although it is still a bit slippery to draw over with coloured pencil. I may have to resign myself to only using coloured pencils with watercolours in the background I think. I quite like this big panel of bird shapes, they seem like real little characters!

23rd March

Looking Forward

Here is a handfull of things to be thinking about as I think about the future. Letting my mind have free reign and ignoring my inner voice of reason, caution, and general lack of conviction at my abilities, takes a certain amount of bloodymindedness on my part! To become mentally cavalier, throw caution to the winds, and let some wild imaginings happen is an exhilarating experience. Then the voice of reason can step in and go about making some plans, and follow them through!

22nd March

Working Harder

There is a need, from time to time, to check if I am working at a reasonably demanding level, and add something extra to give things a bit of a boost. My obliging cat has made an appearance here, and, in contrast to real life, is helping out! Usually she is demanding to sit on me when I am hard at work, even pushing in and sitting directly under my nose on top of the work underway. She is very persuasive, and the look of disgust that she gives me when removed is monumental!! How can the back of an disgruntled cat convey such outrage? Whatever their annoying habits do to us is far outweighed by the pleasure they bring when they talk sweetly to you and bump foreheads in greeting after a long day.

21st March

On Just Sitting

Autumn seems to be the most meditative season of the year for me. Golden light, still days, the slightly melancholy feeling as leaves slowly change colour and start littering the ground. Things feel a bit slower, as the earth puts on her leafy cloak and all the creatures store as much as possible for the coming winter. I find myself staring into space more, and dwelling on where I am heading and where I have been. A bit of planting in the flower garden, putting in a few more daffodil bulbs and some soft yellow tulips so I have something to look forward in the spring, and a check on the camellias to guess how many buds are forming for their flowering in the winter are all part of this time of year. A reminder that things are still ticking along despite the bare earth once winter reaches us.

20th March

Never Underestimate the Power of a Red Hat!

So many fears are associated with wolves, all those fairy tales where the wolf is betrayer, hunter, toothy, hungry, and tricky with it. So many frightening things about life, from time to time. We all have our array of tricks to help keep them at bay; business, loud music, anger, laughter, getting in first before attacked... there must be hundreds of tactics. I myself like the 'Red Ridinghood' approach - wear something cheerful, a little outrageous or even slightly mad. Red is a great colour for lifting your spirits, engendering courage, and increasing a sense of daring - for me anyhow. I have known other women who use a coat of 'warpaint',   a firey red lipstick and lots of eye make-up - I find that a bit scary, but I wouldn't want to have to do battle with them on one of those occasions!

My character in her red hat looks quite secure, with the prospect of a nice cup of tea, despite the wolf eyeing her through the window.

19th March

Look At Me, Look At Me...


Sometimes life gets pretty busy, like mine at the moment, and then I get so caught up in doing the daily stuff of life I forget to pay attention to the things I really want to spend time on - the star performance maybe! I often see my creative persona as patient dog with a lead at his feet just waiting for a run when his guardian gets time, but here he is as a performing circus dog showing off his new trick and just longing for a round of applause. It is obviously time I got on with it and put aside some of the less essential, but demanding, tasks and get stuck into some concentrated creativity!

18th March

Thoughts on being a Princess

Princesses seem to have a lot of time for hanging about wells or sitting in towers whilst waiting for something to happen. Somewhere in their future is a frog, or a handsome prince, or maybe a monstrous creature who will see them into a new, more exciting life. What goes on the mind of these princesses that have been so much a part of the childhood stories we have grown up with? They often seem so passive, just waiting, sitting about without much to do really. It is an easy state to slip into, princess or not. Sometimes we need an interlude to dream a little, letting our thoughts wander as they will, but it is also easy to find yourself waiting for that something magical to happen without knowing where you want to be or what that future might look like. I don't enjoy the sensation of aimlessness for long really, and sometimes I would love to have a 'frog' turn up and get things moving along for me, but mostly I have to get moving, take hold of my own life, and work with the stuff that is at hand.

17th March

Dancing Through the Seasons

Another beautiful day, golden sunshine, still air, warmth on your shoulders. The weather forecast is suggesting stormy weather and snow to the mountain tops, and yet we can still prance about in the garden in bare feet and no sleeves. Better make the most of it, soon we will be hopping up and down, slapping our arms and dancing a completely different sort of dance, trying to keep warm!

16th March

Geraniums

Autumn is well and truely here with cooler air in the mornings and evenings, followed by beautiful golden sunshine and still air. The garden is a bit tired but the colours are intensifying and this little bunch of geraniums caught my eye on the way down the path to the studio. They glowed in the sunshine and as I picked them their green fragrance engulfed me, transporting me to my childhood gardens. I seem to have grown gardens ever since I was a young girl in one form or another, collecting plants from relatives. I have lots of stories from my paternal grandmother who used to be one of  those naughty old ladies who carried her secateurs in her handbag and snip off cuttings as she walked around the botanical gardens. She knew all sorts of names of plants, common and latin, and loved her garden with a passion.

15th March

Studio Window

My studio is a converted shed at the bottom of the garden that Steve altered for me more years ago than I am prepared to say! He put some old windows in to improve the light, which have wonderful old latches. They make me smile and think of Dr Seuss who accompanied me both through my own childhood and my own children in theirs! A whimsical left over from the updating that was done to our house in the 70s. Anyhow, they caught my attention while wondering where today's picture was going to take me, contrasting against the green and sunlight through the window.

14th March

Something Fishy

A small, fishy, fantasy. What lurks beneath? All sorts of wonders, fish of all shapes and sizes, a myriad of colours which flash and shine as the fish swim through the ocean. Breakfast, perhaps, for a passing seabird, or a hungry fisherman. I just like to think of the huge variety of creatures there are that most of us will only ever see on a wildlife program on TV, going about their marvellous existences without any reference to anything except what concerns them in the moment.  I could do with some time like that, no thinking around the issues that surround us, no trying to work out what the best course of action or which viewpoint has the best outcomes. Sometimes it is exhausting trying to walk through life with integrity of thought, so I am going to try a little bit more time just being for a while. Maybe it is possible to bring a little beauty to the world by just being.

13th March

Moonlight

Entranced by the beauty of the heavens and moonlight on a calm sea, a quiet moment of contemplation for a creature at one with the elements and herself. Time to breathe and be, enjoying being in the places we find ourselves and appreciating the beauty of our environments is so easily left out of our busy lives. Even a few moments last thing at night with your feet in the grass and your head tipped back to look at the sky can make an otherwise mundane day end with a touch of magic.

12th March

Winter is on the Way

Persephone is contemplating summer's beauty and the inevitable return of winter. Autumn has a melancholy about it in the midst of all the harvest and the bright, sunny weather that wraps itself about you as the days change and get cooler. We have the promised southerly change here today, with a spot of rain and a chilly temperature. I don't enjoy a lot about winter, though it does have its own particular charms, and I find myself sorry to see the back of Summer's skirts as she leaves the stage. It is necessary to build a little cache of memories to draw on when the days are dark and cold, something to pull out and turn over in my hands, hold up to my face to catch the faded scent of to remind myself of the summer to come.

11th March

Letting Go

Flying through the air on a trapeze, high above the crowd looks scary enough, but the crowd doesn't gasp with amazement until the artist lets go and take the risk of mis-timing their manoeuvre and falling into the net below! Hours of practise is required before a public performance is made, hours of wearing old clothes and making mistakes, false starts, and a collection of bruises. Right up to the moment of launching yourself into the air in your gorgeous costumes, and letting go before twisting and catching the other trapeze in front of the oohing audience, you really aren't sure if you will be successful. Risk taking.... I need more practise I think!

10th March

Balancing Act

Life is a bit of a balancing act! I have to remember to keep playful, take a few risks, and push myself a bit harder from time to time. Making sure I keep some options open seems to help, and of course, if I come a cropper and fall off occasionally I like to be sure it is possible to climb out of the water and try again, or sail away for a recovery break! So here we are, practicing our balancing acts and so far still having fun, adjusting things when things don't quite go to plan and being kind to each other when things get wobbly.

9th March

Travelling the Old Way


At the moment there are lots of people coming and going in my life and all this thought about flying has got my imagination going! Just packing your bag, grabbing the cat, and leaping onto your broomstick to launch yourself up into the night sky is an appealing idea from time to time. No airports, no security checks, and best of all, no cramped seating arrangements. I feel a cackle attack coming on...

8th March

Flying To the Moon

Night flying at its best! Twinkly stars, planets, a big full moon, who wouldn't want to be able to fly through all that? A sense of mystery and heading for an unknown destination. What will you see, how will the journey change you as a person? No noisy distractions to take your attention from the beauty and purpose of your dreamings. These are among my favourite dream travels, waking or sleeping, a welcome interlude from a more earthly existence!

7th March

Following the Shoreline

I often have flying dreams, and often imagine what it must be like to be a bird aloft in the wind. Following the shoreline is a good way to find your bearings in a strange place, and I love places where different environments merge, places of change and transition. Looking down on the world from a height gives you a completely different perspective too. I always enjoy these dreams from the sensation point of view, and there is always something to learn from to take back into my waking life. You don't have to follow any of the accepted rules and wisdoms of the world in your dream life and the symbols are all of your own creating - a wonderful creative opportunity to play.

6th March

Autumn is Here

For the first time for several years I have no sunflowers in my garden. I am missing them sadly and find myself peering over fences and around the edges of buildings as I pass someone else's joyfully glowing sunflowers. I have attempted to capture the hot, slightly hazy feel I get when standing in the garden surrounded by tall, pollen laden sunflowers, with the buzzing of heavy bumblebees in my ears. Next year I will have to be more vigilant and make sure I don't miss the moment to grow them. I am a bit surprised that there were no seedlings from last year's crop, but the birds were very busy last autumn and maybe they ate every last seed.

5th March

Wheels Within Wheels

This is based on a large cog-like piece of metal I have hanging in my studio, which I keep for the beauty of the rusty patination that has developed on it and its perfectly regular shape. I spent some time pulling an old alarm clock apart recently, much admiring all the tricky little pieces and the way they all interlocked, turning together to keep the hands moving and time nicely regulated for those of us who are a bit time challenged! I got to thinking about how so many things in our lives are interlocked, each having an effect on the other, and how there is a kind of order imposed upon the events in our lives. I am not sure exactly how I feel about this. I am rather a fan of the unexpected, the moments of happy accident, and the things that take me from the more ordinary places of my life into something new! I have entertained myself here by applying randomly considered patterns onto the orderly shapes traced off first, combining order and my own set of chanced decisions!

4th March

Make Love your Banner

I want my journey through life to be a thoughtful one, a life I can look back on with a sense of having tried to make life good for those around me, and having given me a satisfying ride as well! Travelling with love and a kindness towards the world around me is important, enabling me to accept the things I can't change and appreciating the things that are different from my own ways for the beauty they hold. There are so many wonderful people and creations around us and I don't want to miss anything by having my eyes closed in fright when I come across something that is different! Sometimes it is necessary to narrow your field of vision to deal with a difficult time but I never want to close my eyes against the world entirely!

3rd March

Wisdom from Within

I love the idea of wisdom and comfort coming from a caring, knowing source. Call that source what you will; angelic, spiritual, or an expression of one's own psyche, it is a welcome voice along the day to day business of life. Getting to know yourself is a life-long journey full of interesting twists and turns and for someone of a visual turn, like myself, I enjoy drawing on the imagery of angels. I am particularly fond of the medieval creatures who are often richly clothed in reds and have wings full of peacock feather eyes. We live in such a mechanised world it is fun to return to a world that was steeped in the presence of spiritual beings and exercise the imagination a bit!- at least when considering the benign aspects of such beings. Sometimes as a child the unruly, negative aspects of invisible creatures was more problematic!

2nd March

Under Time Pressure!

So much to do/see, so little time! I feel great sympathy for the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland! At least the only White Queen I have to deal with is that part of me that demands perfection, and I have ways to deal with her! My head remains firmly on my shoulders! Organisation will become the key I expect, and we all know how creative people are supposed to manage that! I am pretty good most of the time, and priorities are easy to act on, even if they aren't quite in the same order as some would think was 'right'. I am sure there are many things I will wish I had done more of when my time here is done, but there is a big list that I won't be sad I did less of!