My first piece of felt…………….
May 30, 2010
what an amazing day spent with my friends in deepest sussex. Ali is an artist, and today she passed onto us her amazing skills as a felt maker. Sitting together amongst a riot of colour, pinks and reds, blues and greens, sketch books, paintings, the tools of the trade and from the windows a view of the sussex downs, what inspiring surroundings. We chose our colours and with patient instruction slowly constructed our chosen designs, poured on hot sudsy water and rubbed and rolled the wool into submission, then like magic the fibres all “knit” together into one glowing piece of wool felt cloth. What was really great was sitting n a circle with my friends, rolling and rubbing in the soapy water and all chatting and laughing and sharing our stories, a magical day which I know will inspire some future work……….. Thanks so much Ali.
Please follow the link here to Ali’site www.feltgoodfeltfine.com
The Curlew :: Restaurant
May 30, 2010
I remember coming here a few years back, it’s always had a reputation for good food, back then it was a traditional pub but with excellent fare, and a pleasant garden. Now Mark and Sara Colley have taken it over and it’s interior now unrecognisable, there is nothing left of its former self, not even the bar, however the white-painted clapboard exterior is the same and nice garden space is still there but this too has been given a makeover. Not sure I 100% agree with the what they have done, as the place lacks something, a little soulless, not sure if it was the small space for having a drink before dinner, which left people, who couldn’t be seated to stand awkwardly in the middle of this small space surrounded by onlookers, as all the chairs faced to the centre of the room. Or whether it was the lighting, no contrast, just an overall gloom cast by the wall lights, although stylish they did not add anything to the ambience. Shame there wasn’t some accent lighting over the tables, couldnt really see the food, although beautifully presented I couldn’t really see it in the gloom !! Or was it the service, not overly efficient but adequate, nervous and rather vacant looking girls, however the owner Sara when chatting with her at the end, was friendly open and a delight. There were some features that stood out, like the Cow wallpaper and the wall hung plates but most definitely the star of all of this was the food and so it should be
I started with a meltingly soft and creamy poached duck egg with smoked haddock and capers, as the egg was pierced the golden yolk coated each mouthful with its rich eggy velvet smooth texture, it really was mouth-wateringly good. followed by pork with cute baby turnips and mash to die for. By then I was full but managed to consume a perfect dessert although the favourite was one of my fellow diners, he had a really sharp lemon tart with a really zingy spearmint ice cream.
Would I go here again, most definitely yes, the food was excellent, very tasty, beautifully presented and very good value for money, but I would opt to go straight to my table as I did not like the drinks area, and think I would like to try on a summers day, a sunday lunch perhaps…………..
Words from the front page of their website
In a previous life, The Curlew Restaurant at Bodiam, East Sussex was a Coaching Inn where travellers rested their weary, moustachioed heads and warmed their spirits while on rain-sodden route from Hastings to London.But now, Mark and Sara Colley have given The Curlew another life.
Just an errant arrow flight from Hastings, stone skim from Bodiam Castle, mince from Brighton, manicured lawn from Tunbridge Wells, The Curlew is a place where formal food meets informal dining, where the city and country brush shoulders, style meets stile.
Modern British dining for the Modern British diner.
LUNCH | 12 midday until 2.30pm
DINNER | 6pm until 9.30pm
click the link here to see the website The Curlew :: Restaurant.
Its all in the detail, or is it?
May 28, 2010
These shoes are my pond life shoes, fit for a prince of frogs, the detail is so intricate its amazing, click on the image for a larger view
Details, details, been a strange couple of days, the full moons energy has sure created a little turmoil in my life
I have spent hours and hours detailing furniture and lighting layouts and then coming home and spending hours and hours putting together a newsletter I send out on the full moon. Editing articles to make sure they fit, sizing images, trying out different typefaces and layouts, which colour scheme, what words to say……………. then come the day of the full moon, first the newletter file became corrupted and couldn’t compress for sending, that made me late and i had to rush for the train to London to attend a meeting and slipt over, twisting my arm and and leg and bruising everywhere!!. The meeting was successful and long and then a trying evening resulting in a situation that seemed so out of proportion to the the actual circumstances. I have always felt it was necessary to say what is on your mind, good or bad, I know sometimes this has not served me fully. But bottling things up is not a good idea either, its best to be able to bring up what’s on ones mind before it gets all out of proportion and then forces itself out like an exorcet missile !!! I didnt “react” but it left me feeling a little sad.
Today I could go over all the details again and again, but NO, details have there place. For my work as an interior designer, attention to detail is what creates that “effortless” look and find this quite “effortless” after all these years, but in day to day to living, the detail just ties us in knots, what mattters is that we live in the present, find joy in the day, in the minute. Today has been like that, seeing the big white jug of “pinks” in my kitchen and breathing in their heady perfume, hearing my cat purr, seeing my “happiness” plant with a new leaf bud, feeling the sun on my face. A peaceful day and everything is just as it should be.
Happiness, a special gift, from a special friend
May 22, 2010
What gratitude I have for my dear friend SP who gave me a plant pot recently and told me “to water it and you will have a lovely surprise”. After a week of careful nurturing and watching and waiting, a huge green been shape thing forced its way up through the soil. Then miraculously in three days this very stong shoot revealed a word that made me feel very warm and smiley. What a wonderful friend, who went to all this trouble…..
It always amazes me, the miracle of life, as it springs forth………………
sundown
May 21, 2010
Friday, thanks goodness its Friday, I do not know why I fee quite like this as my week only started in earnest on Wednesday due to being stranded in Malta due to Volcanic Ash. Its been full on though, juggling budgets and working with spreadsheets………. But tonight, it was glorious, a walk along the seashore as the sun was going down. Normans Bay to be precise….. images taken with my iphone.
some new things
May 20, 2010
some things I love, some for my home a couple of things for me…………. All at Anthropologie
Pleased to see me
May 19, 2010
Oh its lovely to go away but its doubly nice to get home !! One person very pleased to see me was my dear Lilly, my friend for 14 years. She is a lilac point Persian, very fluffy, talks a lot and has fabulous china blue eyes.
Up until last June she had a wonderful companion Ferdy, I bought them together, two little balls of fluff……… sadly Ferdy passed away last year leaving Lilly quite sad, she misses him. Right now she is lying next to me purring her little head off!!
Stranded, view from my temporary office
May 17, 2010
Red, blood red
May 13, 2010
I dont know what draws me towards red, its a huge pull and a colour that keeps me creating lately. Red, black and white and the human form these are the areas I draw inspiration from. This drawing I did originally as a sketch for a huge centrepiece, I imagined it made from porcelain and glazed in the whitest white.
I guess red for me is powerful, its exciting and passionate and courageous, it gives across a powerful message. Red symbolised desire, determination, domination, the thirst for action, danger, strength, power, its a very emotionally intense colour.
Persephone ate the seeds of the red pomegranate, a fruit thats very powerfully symbolic of life and death, she loved Adonis, and when he was killed in a hunting accident beautiful red roses sprung from his blood………. There are many stories told through generations that herald the colour, think of Little Red Riding Hood and The Red shoes.
RIP dear lady
May 10, 2010
92 years, a good long life
When asked about her success, Ms Horne once said: “I was unique in that I was a kind of black that white people could accept.
“I was their daydream. I had the worst kind of acceptance because it was never for how great I was or what I contributed. It was because of the way I looked.”
Tree spirit, panorama
May 9, 2010
click on the image to view larger size.
Magical
May 9, 2010
The Human Form is where my expression starts and begins……….. its my inspiration, the shape that flows from my pencil, pen, brush, the shape I want to photograph. I took these images in the Victoria and Albert Museum, I just love the one above, the curve and strength of his back curving down into his buttocks , so beautiful. The lower one is of Apollo, quite gruesome really, he is skinning alive, Marsalays for losing a music competition, bit severe, but a beautiful statue nonetheless
chinoiserie
May 9, 2010
The coral seems to have taken on a new identity that of heavily encrusted imperial robes of the chinese dynaties, I love the vibrational levels of chinese yellow and with the addition or red the levels increase in intensity. Puts me in mind of the films like “The last emperor” and “Raise the Red Lantern” a real feast for the eyes. This image has come along way from its routes, a piece of red coral in Paris…………..
Coralscapes
May 8, 2010
click on the image to see in larger size, the first one especially you can see the coral in more detail. I photographed the coral at a trade Fair, Maison Objet held in Paris twice a year, then made the image into a pattern
