coming up for air
May 11, 2013
its been awhile since posting here, have been in total overwhelm……. day job taken over, new kitchen being fitted in my home, one thousand and one pressing demands just felt I have been drowning !! I did manage to get away in between this mayhem and get total rest and sunshine with friends in Malta. But plunged back in the deap ocean again swimming against the tide this week
Coming back up for some air ! Once this project is ready for the launch on 6th June I can breath again and get back to my creative self !! I am lucky my day job is creative, its been such a huge part of my life since March, very rewarding but I need to start my own path again soon. Its like there are two of me, one creating environments for people to enjoy and another feeling a little frustrated that she hasnt time to express a new path……. It will come, can feel it my bones !!
Here is a piece that I worked on some while back , drowning in the ocean……….(click on image for a larger view)
About change
March 12, 2013
Awoke to stillness again, the dead hush that only snow can bring……. so peacful. A wintry white blanket with snow swirling in the blustery wind. Not a day to venture out. thank goodness work is no more than 30 paces away from my front door !
So where does the change come in ! well I have been sewing, sewing a quilt, still not finished, so many squares and rectangles to sew, I am beginning to get bored of sitting at the machine. So this evening in quiet meditation practice, I just took a pencil and let it roam around the page. shapes were forming, I shaded and moulded them and hey presto this is what materialised. A complete change to sewing, just me, stillness, pencil and paper and The Mother Tree
The creative mind
February 28, 2013
Not sure what is going on with my mind at the moment, its kind of all over the place, one minute creating a patchwork of colour, sewing, sewing, sewing, with blocks coming out of my ears…………… Then wanting to sketch with a mapping pen, all inky blots and scratchy lines
Then after the orange spurt on Monday, partly prompted by bitter orange library scheme I am creating for my next project in my day job, like luscious tangy marmalade all juicy and ripe. Partly inspired by the wonderful parrot tulips I treated myself to. But now its purple, the wonderful pinky purple colour that hot beetroot makes when doused in sour cream swirls…….. Deep magenta, oozing damson liquor when baked in a pie. I cooked myself beetroot and courgette with warm lemon yoghurt dressing tonight, the taste was just sublime. As I rubbed the warm skin from the cooked beetroot just couldn’t resist taking a photo of it, Hey presto it turned into a humble beet to kind of Beet Mandala !
from sun to snow
February 23, 2013
Beginning of the week was 10 degrees , blue skies and sunshine, today, Saturday, its thick white skies, flakes a fluttering and snow-capped roof tops and -1 degrees
I love the way snow seems to blanket sound, everything is quiet, like time stands still. The colours of snow reminded me of a piece of work I made . It started life as grisaille painting, a still life of some treasured items of mine , silver and reflective. Taking a photograph of it to study the tonal qualities I started to play with it digitally and turned it to this…………… exactly what today has conjured up for me
I call this my snow mandala
this is the original piece of work , a creative exercise in trying to capture differing qualities of metal, stone, and shiny objects
Day three “orange”
February 20, 2013
Day one started on Monday, I spent a long time gathering images and writing the post, pushing the publish button lost it all. A little frustrated, but had no time to sort it out. Yesterday I found that the post wasnt even saved as a draft, so did it all again, only to have it happen to me again !!!
So this is now Day Three, not sure if orange is in my realm today, but sitting here next to a bowl of orange tulips I cant help but feel sunny and warm inside. The sun is not shining today as it was the last two mornings, the sky is grey, but somehow this doesn’t matter, I can still feel that uplifted feeling that the memory evokes.
Orange is such an enticing colour, its pure creative energy and a colour I am drawn to in my artworks. I have even been using it in a more burnt marmalade shade in my next project being installed in March/April. sumptuous velvets, Toleware from Paris, silk sheaths on the chandelier chains……….. and much more. It’s all very exciting
Here is a pictorial view of how orange has inspired me , first off my kitchen flowers
A bowl of Parrot Tulips in my kitchen
taken on visit to Krishnamurti Centre
Tree Fertility, pencil sketch coloured digitally
Tree Spirit family – painting
watercolour – I called this Fragility but now I can see it’s a beautiful forest
Leaves I collected on an autumn walk
A small scultpure I call Freedom
patchwork coat for my daughter’s puppy
playing at breakfast
shoes I made of paper
The list could to on and on and on !
a day of rest
February 16, 2013
Oh gosh I have so been wanting to have a day off this week to rest and get over some kind of flu thing, Picked a good day, sun was warm, had my two favourite friends with me (daughters’ dogs) did a bit of hand sewing, finished of a small piece of embroidery; A pomegranate, watched a film and slumbered away the day.
Full to bursting with ideas
February 3, 2013
Ideas of all “kinds” have been racing around in that head of mine, from creation myths to creating huge interior projects and drawing out designs or my new quilting obsession.
Its been awhile since I posted anything, I have been sewing, reading, writing , researching and getting ready for the workshop I am facilitating in Malta with two dear friends,
A fruitful time in many ways, designing and detailing an interior design project thats being installed in March, and another in Leamington spa which is the most amazing building see here . Then I have been sewing my first large bed size quilt. Up to now have been practicing on small items, lap quilts, sewing accessories for the kitchen and amassing fabric!
In between all this activity it was my birthday, a very special day indeed, felt very loved by my two children and all my friends.
Here is a pictorial diary of the last weeks……………. Off to Malta Tuesday, so no posts for week !
I am still here
November 24, 2012
Does not look like I have been very creative for awhile does it !! Please be assured I have been beavering away ! Apart from painting, sketching and working with paper sometimes, my day job as an interior designer has kept me extraordinarily busy of late.
Working with space and colour, planning space to create dramatic effects, almost like stage sets, these are always playing in mind like virtual 3D. These past weeks the moving images of my thought processes have kind of hijacked my personal work, but I have been keeping a small “toe in” by looking on ETSY to see what others are creating.
I couldn’t resist purchasing this cute little mouse, I have fond memories of having real little white mice as pets when I just started school. This cute little fella, all the way from Chile stands only 3″ high, and is sitting on the shelf in my newly painted dark blue bedroom.
Another find was upcycled felted wool, all naturally hand dyed and purchased from the USA, its been a little slow, but I have been piecing together a woollen quilt, my first ever ! probably be throw size I think. Could really become addicted to quilt making, so much love goes into them and I feel this need to make one for everyone I know !! Picture soon
Monday morning blues, oh dear have those feelings today, of oh no, its cold, drizzling and so much to be done, I just want to stay here in the peace and solitude of home.
Weekend was just not long enough. I know once i start in a mo, all will be well and tomorrow going to take a look at how the next project is coming along.
But for now the feelings are here, just had a thought “the blues” , my bedroom is blue? hope this is not a knock on effect ?
Blue is a calming colour, promotes tranquility and its also about communication too. So NO, I don’t think my bedroom colour is responsible
here are some image of blue’s complimentary colour, Yellow, just in case there is any doubt……
Dreaming continued
September 18, 2012
More developments on the dream theme. pencil sketch
Dream State
August 27, 2012
yesterday I bought myself an amazing hand made book all about the night life of trees. Each page hand screen printed with the most exquisitely detailed drawings in blue, white, turqoise, green all on black paper.
today in my doodlings my unconcious mind was trying to connect with those trees I am sure, all about the seeds we plant, how they incubate in the darkness and one can see in sketch that they are taking shape, little buds still slumbering in their dream state. Dreaming of who they are to become.
Think I would love to make a beautiful book like the one I bought, not sure how to go about it. Guess will have to learn some book making skills !
St Andrew’s , Hambelton, Rutland
August 12, 2012
Beautiful church in the lovely village of Hambleton, carved angels and cherubim and even boasts windows by Edward Burne Jones. I hadn’t realised just how picturesque all the villages around Rutland Water, actually were. Limestone built cottages, some thatch, some stone tiled, all very unspoilt.
the carvngs inspired me to paint, not sure the effect is quite what I wanted, but I enjoyed painting with my easel out in the sunshine
The Family Tree
May 2, 2012
The Creative Journey continues
deep in the woods
May 1, 2012
another colourful journey
inspired by trees
April 22, 2012
drawing, painting, walking, reading, my spare time is taken up with these things. My days are spend creating interiors, all good stuff, but its not freedom, a lot of constraints. Drawing allows me to express what I sense and just lately its something about the spirit and energy that abounds when I walk in the woods.
My studio has been littered with ideas, written descriptions, and little sketches. my first sketch I would like to capture as a tiny miniature with raised gilding and jewel like colours like a medieval illumination. then through a series of sketches I came up with another tree spirit this time in oils and much biger. Its not finished yet and I am sure will go through many transformative colour changes. But here is where I am for now…………..
