1st February

Bright Hope


Standing on hilltops with our bright hopes leaping and tossing about in the winds of life, we can only gaze at their joyful dance, colours glowing in the sun, and trust that our lines don't get tangled, causing a rapid descent to the ground and an end to our optimism.

31st January

Thirty One Pictures!


Last day of January and I am still here - cause for celebration and a small, self congratulatory pat on the back! I am enjoying playing with paint, pushing it around and letting the colours mix a bit on the page. There is something a bit strange about this expression, something a little assessing, and a bit wry. I guess that is ok, self assessment isn't a bad thing, as long as I remember to be kind to myself as well. I do like the energetic brush strokes and the colour range, which also reflect the feeling of the day. It is sunny, blue skied, with the wind playful and not hot. The best sort of summer's day. I noticed the horse chestnuts are just starting to change colour - they are the very first mention of the approaching autumn. I feel ambivalent despite the gorgeous leaves and still days that autumn brings. Focus on the now, not the coming days, is essential or I will descend into a melancholy!

30th January

Keeping All Your Balls in the Air


The beginning of the academic year is about to begin for me - if you can call the jewellery course I attend academic - and suddenly there are all sorts of things to be thinking about. There is a large area of mundane things that need attention as well, there are so many things I prefer to spend time on, and several areas creatively, as well as planning to make a little more income from my sales of glass and jewellery. So many things ticking away in my brain. This is the way I like to function, plenty to keep the little grey cells busy, and the playful creative part of me getting lots of opportunity to play too. 

29th January

Cityscape


I have always wondered if high rise buildings would feel less oppressive if they were a warm, sunny, pink, instead of grey, or white and metal colours. Wouldn't city life feel more cheerful? I couldn't help but smile when I saw brightly coloured buildings along the edge of a canal/river in Spain, and buildings in 'undercoat pink', and intense vicks-bottle blue cottages in the UK. Perhaps we should be paying more attention to the colours we surround ourselves with, maybe carefully chosen colours would make the grimmer parts of our cities a little less grim.

28 January

Flitting About


Today has been one of those unexpectedly fizzy days with lots of little jobs, hunting out some new paint, paper, a quick peruse around a couple of recycling places - one wooden step ladder that needs a little TLC-  and looking for a particular shaped bead for my latest idea in the repurposed object jewellery arena! And the sun is finally showing her face - boy does that make a difference.
So here we have a trio of energetic creatures, flitting about, energy to burn, and having a grand time of it! I have used some liquid acrylics instead of my other stuff, and I think it is going to make small details easier to control - yay!

27th January

Whispers


Whispers in the halflight, gauzy curtains, a cool breeze through the window laden with scents from the garden. Close your eyes and what do you hear? Rustling leaves, the little chirrups of small birds, the air moving through treetops. What words would you like to hear in the quiet?

26th January

Mine's Bigger than Yours!


Ah, sibling rivalry! It seems impossible to avoid. My solution was to become extremely non-competitive, and tease people when they seem overly obsessed with winning. While this has had its successful moments I have to wonder if it has meant I haven't exactly striven to do my best! Even if the rivalry is not so close as the sibling variety it is difficult for me to know how best to respond. Another lie we are told as children -'Ignore it, and it will go away'. It doesn't often, and can suddenly rear its head from the shadows and bite you on the bum! All I can do is laugh at all concerned, myself included, and make myself absent from such situations. It is so important to have supportive, nourishing people in your life who take you for who you are and don't care about what you have or who you know!