Just seen this article on the wonderful Marginalian.
Connections
Musings on our connection with nature. Monotypes, drawings, collographs, collage. Wildflowers. Garden. Lovely places. Be grateful to the world.
Blog Archive
Sunday 11 February 2024
Dandelions.
Tuesday 21 November 2023
Waters of March
Wednesday 6 September 2023
“Go out and walk. That is the glory of life.” (Maira Kalman)
Forest walk. Entangled. |
Friday 18 August 2023
Life on Mars. Life as it was.
I've been watching Life on Mars. Ages old, I thought it was quite recent but no.. 2006. That's nearly 20 years ago. Anyway, of course I started thinking about what I would be thinking if I was taken right back to 1973. Back then, we thought that it was modern times. A couple of years ago, I taught students who were so young they thought the 70/80s were 'when everything was brown'. I think I know what they meant. It was all a bit brown. But then the 80s! That was PINK!
I miss the 70s. Or at least some of it. I didn't do well in the 70s, particularly. I made some great friends though. Some of whom I still know. I did terribly at school. It bored me. The music was great. I was lacking in self respect. I gained a foul mouth. It's always done me proud though. So. If I was thrown back to 1973, I wonder what the result would be? I would love to go back with my now, amaaaazing view on the world. I would be erudite and interesting and know absolutely everything in Physics. I would treat blokes with utter disrespect, as they deserve. Or else I wouldn't put up with the misogyny. I wouldn't go out with any of them. Gaslighting bastards!!
Anyway.... I wrote this after a couple of glasses of wine. I thought I would add to it. I have a nice story about me and 70s music! In 1973 I was 15. I loved Marc Bolan and Michael Jackson, although I think I was growing out of him by then. I also liked Donny Osmond, but of course that isn't cool is it?! I'm not going to pretend that my first single was Life on Mars by David Bowie, because it wasn't and I don't believe anyone who says it was. Anyhoo.... digression! We had family friends called David and Grace, Tim and Phil and we would often go and visit them, usually on a Saturday evening for a meal. This is where I first ate spaghetti! It really wasn't a thing in our house in the 70s. Neither was garlic 😏
One Saturday night David and Grace gave me 5 L.P's. they didn't want. They were: James Taylor - Mud Slide Slim, Carol King - Tapestry, Carol King - Music, Neil Young - After the Gold Rush and Joni Mitchell - Blue. Need I say anything else? That was me from then on. I still pinch myself.
Monday 1 May 2023
Wilful Dispersal
Tuesday 4 April 2023
Exhibition coming up @apothecarygallery in Thornton. Opening Friday May 5th. Quick catch up.
Tuesday 7 March 2023
Everyday the sky is different.
"There are a thousand things I can see! .............These simple little things are unbelievably rich. A lot of people have forgotten that but you can remind them".
I'd like to talk about David Hockney! To be honest, I hadn't really paid that much attention to Hockney, although he's hard to avoid if you have any interest in art at all! I'd been to exhibitions in London, but as usual with big named artists, it was a frustrating experience. Always too full of people to see anything and just annoying! It was the same with Vincent (great Sunflowers) and more recently, with Cezanne.Of course, Salts Mill itself is amazing. Look at the length of this room and this isn't the longest. At the time Hockney was in Normandy, and stayed there to follow the seasons and draw all of them. It's all there. The winter trees, the buds, the blossom, the rain, the fruit trees, the hayrolls, the autumn and round again.
Friday 10 February 2023
A quick catch up
The left picture is Golden Samphire, which is in an exhibition at The Old Parcel's Office in Scarborough from tomorrow 11th February. A trip to the seaside again! Lovely.
The second picture is called Bee Sanctuary and I have just submitted it to an exhibition in Halifax called Nature's Endurance, so we will see. In making this work, I hope to articulate my interest and curiosity in the intricate way our planet is held together. Ecology and stewardship are important to me, and since my research as an artist, I have come to see that we do not exist in isolation, but as part of a whole. Without plants we wouldn’t survive. Without bees we wouldn’t survive.
It's good to be thinking about exhibiting work and starting conversations.
Thursday 8 December 2022
Process and the beauty of the inconspicuous.
It's December and I have neglected this blog and haven't posted anything since August. I should restart.
My studio is now up and running and since I have had a wood burning stove installed, is comfortable. So, of course I have been unpacking and have found old drawings and in this case, I have decided to improve. I am now adding colour to the old favourite, Alstroemeria. A popular cut flower this! It's looking good so far.Sometime I have used the actual plant or seed to make the image. Nothing final yet but the process is ongoing WIP or work in progress as they say. This blog is a way of thinking through this process. Looking at a way to communicate the pure beauty of what I'm looking at in nature.
Friday 12 August 2022
Summer of Sunflowers
It's been a busy summer. I've had many visitors. Been lovely to see you all! I haven't made much work though, in this time. I have been enjoying Sunflowers this summer. The joyful yellow has been lighting up my kitchen for the last month.
"Choosing the sunflower as your favorite flower says a lot about your personality. You’re an open individual that has lots of energy. You’re optimistic and cheerful. You create a place of love, happiness, and warmth. Wherever you go your enthusiasm goes with you."
Sunflowers are grown for their edible seeds, which can be eaten on their own or processed to make oil for cooking and skincare. I expect we all eat the delicious seeds. Might have some now. 💕
I am happy to report (see Echium Vulgaris from a while back) that the petals, leaves and stems are used to treat snake bites! Apparently, they're good for fevers and sores too. The petals, leaves and stems of the sunflower plant are also edible. In fact, from a website I was just looking at, they can treat just about anything. A miracle plant all round. Mentally and physically.
Now I am going to press another favourite yellow flower, Calendula. I might draw that as well. It's another positive and hopeful deep yellow. Full of hope and a reminder that good things happen.