Tuesday, 22 December 2009

patchwork & snow


Patchwork natural dyed cotton colours...... a hand stitch project for the holidays....I'm using a variety of colours from the past year.... But next would like to make a more tone-theme piece..... slowly, slowly......

The snow lingers..... we have had snow upon snow.... and energetic neighbours with spades are out there now, and a litter of cars blocks the end of the road, so no one is getting very far today.....

a goldfinch in the snow......

Sunday, 20 December 2009

mosaic monday


1. a wish come true, 2. button hole stich books, 3. the 25 stones of christmas, 4. Winterlandscape, 5. Pebbles shells and candles, 6. Amelia (detail), 7. Christmas 09, 8. bob bob bobbin' along, 9. Hiver Hibiscus, 10. Untitled, 11. green winter, 12. mitts, 13. love what is real, 14. let it snow 4, 15. Embroidery Brooch, 16. presépio, 17. Night forest, 18. post struggle, 19. Untitled, 20. Christmas Angel - detail, 21. "A Serious Matter", 22. Señor, 23. Untitled, 24. river II, 25. SDC11328, 26. cirkels, 27. millicent, 28. perched in the soul, 29. Untitled, 30. Circle and circle, 31. Brooch, 32. 6, 33. Untitled, 34. Oh, 35. Untitled, 36. eco print with oak leaves

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

A very good Monday to you......The snow fell and lingers on, icy snow outside, I can hear the birds singing in the hedges by my window but it's not quite light..... Many thanks to the artists and photographers featured here for sharing their Wintry inspired and wonderful work!

This week I shall be attempting to take it easy, which is not what will happen with a busy small household and plenty to do.... (yes I still have gifts to wrap, no I am not cooking for ten thousand....)..... I shall continue to make small steps of progress on existing projects. The chairs are slowly getting their layers of paper. I'm thinking of ideas, jotting notes, writing lines...

Today is Winter Solstice, the 'shortest day of the year'. So, no surprise that it is as I type 8am and still no sun. It will rise in its own good time, as I consider good times ahead and good times past....

I'll be quiet here this week, with festivities happening and children busy. On Christmas Eve I'll be sharing the final, third part, of 'Winter Magi' - a poem sequence over at Nevering.

This week's colour is green, the most hopeful colour to enjoy. I sleep under a green duvet with the hope that it might give me dreams of a bright green world :) I wear green and love to eat it too.....

I have some fun 'gifts' to look forward to this week.... Natural dye jars have been slowly fermenting in our airing cupboard and all will be revealed later this week. If you have read my natural dye posts this year, and indeed if you have experimented with solar jar dyes, you may know how much fun it is to wait and see the results.... It's something you either 'get' or you just don't! I have a range of experiments slowly cooking..... Walnut with onion. Walnut with blackberry. Madder. Logwood with onion. Logwood with copper pennies. Ivy leaves. (I think my family are pleased these are dye and not cooking experiments.) I will share the results with you next week some time.

Listening to such a wide range of music. Loved listening to the Christmas around Europe performances on BBC Radio 3 yesterday. If you missed it then you can listen again (not sure if you can if outside UK??) It's become part of my holidays tradition to listen to a wide variety of world music, especially Christmas music. I especially like eastern European music with tingling bells and unusual organ and percussion, evoking fairytale dances and images....

Watching not a lot of TV, as frankly I find much of the repetitive Christmas fare depressing. I am not into Santa and never will be... and If I see a Santa movie I click off. We don't watch much at this time. I love old black and white movies, so if a good one comes on - well that's different:)

Next week's mosaic will be a little different, as I'll be sharing here a selection of my favourite images - my own work - from the past year.

But the year's not done just yet. The sun's up now, it's suddenly a lot whiter and brighter out there..... enjoy your shortest day! Love and light and peace xxx

Friday, 18 December 2009

red & black & snow

Two lovely vintage books that I picked up in my local Oxfam shop. They are both a delight to look at and read. Just love the old typography and charm of the illustration..... On the left is: 'The Starke Sisters' by Kathleen Mackenzie published in 1963, tells the story of Charlotte, Selina and Georgiana who live with their elderly grandmother, Lady Starke. Disliking anything modern, the grandmother insists the girls live as if forever in the Edwardian era. The story details how the girls have their first social occasions with other young people and how they realise the differences in their lives. It is a book about social change, class, and is very English.

Michael looked at their dresses and did not wonder they felt peculiar; he did not quite know what to say. But he need not have worried about hurting their feelings.

"You don't have to try to be polite about them," said Selina, interpreting his silence correctly. "No one could think them more awful then we do."

"Why do you have to wear them?"

"Grandmamma!" said Selina and Georgiana together....

From 'The Starke Sisters' by Kathleen Mackenzie 1963.
I think I am correct in saying this book is now out of print. Perhaps one for Persephone Books to 'discover'?

The other book Ivor Brown's 'Book of Words' is a fabulous treat of a book for anyone, like myself, fascinated by meanings and history of language. The book was published in 1944 and the paper is the economy type that publishers were obliged to use. With the 'war economy' logo printed on the inside first pages. It is a book of its time, and is a subjective, eccentric catalogue of words and meanings, with emphasis on words used in drama and poetry. Some words are well-known, whilst others are words in less-common use, or were on their way out by the 40's. The author was a successful journalist and reviewer. Infact he went on to be editor of The Observer. It's a wonderful book and I think there are several copies floating about in secondhand shops, so I hope it continues to be read and enjoyed.

Here, for example, is Brown's understanding of the word 'glamour'...

GLAMOUR
This beautiful word has been bludgeoned to death by modern showmanship, which has attached it to every young lady who contributes a face to the film or a limb to the chorus. It is an English importation from Scotland where it had long signified magic with magical effect. I had fancied that it was pronounced 'glam-our' until I found Burns rhyming it with grammar..... Until recently glamour was reserved for conjuring tricks and was not bestowed, as now with such damnable iteration, on all aspiring to or professing 'it', 'umph' or 'sex-appeal', to use the modish title of what used to be called plain beauty......


Nature's quiet glamour...... the beauty of rosehips in snow.... for yes we had snow overnight, just a few inches, but enough to make a delightful scene.....

One of several robins that live about our garden..... They are so very territorial, it is true... the blackbirds and the robins clash all the time. They like to keep the food supply to themselves.... I try to remember the birds and feed them with nuts and seed. We've got some new feeders to put out, so better get on with that....

A selection of bird tags, monoprint drawings with collage and stitch. Sort of an alternative to cards, a gift in themselves.... I hope they may be enjoyed...

And to finish this post, another quote from Ivor Brown's Book of Words:

FAREWELL
The word has dropped from popular speech. We say 'Good-bye' which is decent, or decline into the democratic 'ta-ta's' and cheerios and 'so longs', which are miserable. (What exactly does 'So long' mean?) Farewell is now rather literary and slightly jocose. Perhaps this is due to a kind of reverence. Do we hesitate to make common a word which sounds so beautiful? You have only to put it in a line that scans and poetry emerges.......

Well, not quite farewell, but until Monday...... enjoy your weekend. And part two of 'Winter Magi' will be posted tomorrow over at Nevering.



Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Chairs continued

Another chair in progress.... I like the slightly larger size of this one and that curved top. Playing with scale and shapes interests me and one chair seems to be leading me to another, like a parlour game.... These are very time consuming to make! Oh, a whole morning goes by with glue-sticky fingers and the snow falling outside.... Yes, we have had snow, a small sprinkling. Not enough to close the roads just yet, hmmm....

The chairs will become part of an installation piece, perhaps. I want to photograph them together. That is my ultimate challenge, to put together a chairs scene that will meet my mental picture...... My fascination with chairs comes from an interest in design, of course, interiors of many eras. But also, I like to see personality in objects that are used by humans. And also the whole business of a chair being 'my chair' or 'don't sit there it's his chair'. And, have you looked at the chairs in an old movie, film noir, with chair shadows and the rain outside..... And stage sets, and Rebecca Horn installations and so many artists who have used chairs either en masse or as single pieces.... Chairs stacked at one end of a room, waiting to topple..... So much waiting, and yes absence. A certain invitation, sit here won't you, and yet a certain set of rules. How does someone who comes from a culture of sitting on the floor think about chairs, I wonder? And what would we do if all the chairs just left?

For these Winter Holidays I am sharing a poem sequence 'Winter Magi'. Today I have posted part one, and will post the next part in a few days time, and so on, until the final part which will appear Christmas Eve. You can read over at Nevering.

With the poem notes and looking at all my chairs in progress, I have a busy time ahead.....:)

Monday, 14 December 2009

mosaic monday

1. blanketed horse, 2. IN CASE OF LOSS, PLEASE RETURN, 3. Spontaneous Journal 12/13/09 - 5 minutes, 4. white rabbit, 5. Monoprint2, 6. red robin relief print, 7. Self-portrait, 8. Untitled, 9. ida bohatta winter prints, 10. Untitled, 11. The older sister, 12. Untitled, 13. Pearly Bird of LOVE, 14. DSC00485, 15. the oracle, 16. xmas market, 17. birds67, 18. Ninfa y Alimaña en el autocine., 19. Home for Christmas, 20. Owl stories-, 21. Untitled, 22. To Live Is to Fly, 23. white rabbit, 24. 3 garotas, 25. Too little too late, 26. roots, 27. Untitled, 28. Viva La Gong knit tree, 29. Lady Cat with paper jelly, 30. revisiting the holiday wreath, 31. papermaking final project, 32. esquizoide, 33. finding each other1, 34. Cutting Board - Stage, 35. IMG_7701, 36. Les Pierres Les Oiseaux (1/13)

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

A Happy December mosaic for you.... many thanks to the artists and photographers for sharing their work. I select images from my Flickr contacts and it's always so interesting to see connections and ideas evolving.

Last week (I usually start this paragraph with 'This week....' but today it is looking back for a moment) my poetry blog Nevering was highlighted by blogger as a 'blog of note'. A surprise to me, and so many new readers, thank you. I've always considered Nevering to be a special side-shoot from this my 'main blog'. Not everyone's cup of tea perhaps, poetry, but how wrong to assume..... I shall hope not to feel stagestruck and wobbly when posting future poem notes.... it is all about NOT being self-conscious, this sharing of poems that may never end......

So, This week then - this week I am continuing to work away at various new designs and projects. Chairs and red thread and other thoughtful things.... All looking ahead toward mid-January when I hope to have a new selection of work to offer.

A frosty start today, the roofs white and the trees glistening gently in murky light. So this week's colour is white. As my daughter will tell me from her recent Science lessons, white is not a colour. But then it is all colours. Our charcoal tree is decorated with white baubles. The white glare of snow can feel overwhelming. It seems to impact on everything, making time go wonky..... I like white with red and white frosting on cakes. I don't wear pure white because I am more an antique white person:)

Listening to: a variety of this and that. Tori Amos' new Midwinter Graces CD. Some vintage Kate Bush because the Amos recording reminded me..... and of course my favourite Kate Bush song for this time of year is 'December will be Magic Again', though it makes me cry....

Reading: Moomin Midwinter - Moomin books are so lovely. However, having attempted to read these to both my children I have to say they don't agree with me.

Eating, because December is about eating, feasting if you are fortunate..... mostly too much chocolate orange (that is orange-flavoured chocolate in the shape of an orange).

This morning I delivered a stack of pristine hardback novels to my local Oxfam bookstore. A very small gesture in a needy world but worth it. Please think about donating something to your local charity shop this side of the Holidays so that others can find affordable gifts.... I bought two lovely old books. I'll take photos and share something about them this week...

Have a very good week and more soon x

Sunday, 13 December 2009

following the thread


As many creative people know, ideas work in cycles and happy dances of chance and circumstance and connections etc....... Red thread and paper combined are making a 'comeback' in my work, it seems... I like the feel of it and it feels right to be working in this way. Perhaps my recent pared-down monoprint drawings have suggested this is the way my stitching work should follow.... Abstracting the figure just a little more and playing with the 'other side' - that is the other side, or bobbin side of the stitched work. Have you flipped over stitched work to see that the back is sometimes more interesting than the front? If you use a sewing machine you understand this....

This weekend the Christmas tree has been discovered in the garage, hauled out and decorated.... Difficult to photograph in dim December light but I'll attempt to get a photo some time. It's very birdy... I found some rather extravagant even camp birds that I bought several years ago and haven't used the past couple of years.... They seem very at home with us.

I hope your weekend is going well and more soon x

Thursday, 10 December 2009

more chairs etc...

Tiny Jack balances himself on a vintage cotton reel, upon a papier mache chair..... he is one of the new yesterdays dolls that I am making right now and will continue to work on over the next few weeks or so.....

Yesterday I had plans to work on this and that but was feeling slightly under the weather after having a swine flu jab Tuesday afternoon. Don't let me put you off - it's more important to have the jab if you need, and I feel better today. It is good to see sunshine today! This morning I was sorting the rubbish (garbage) for our weekly collection and the bird song was .... ah lovely....


In case you are wondering why there is a needle in this shot... it is because I use the needle to draw. The paper is placed on an inked sheet of glass and then I draw, in reverse... This makes a one of a kind monoprint drawing. I've explained before but this is one of those questions I get asked, and I am happy to be asked:)

And another, for my chairs series.... 'taking the chair to the story'....

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