The trees are still talking to me
June 5, 2012
my creative journey continues, the forests of trees that hold such abundance. Somethings calls me when I walk amongst the dancing leaves, the verdant lushness, their vitality and majestic power.
A dear friend posted this beautiful poem, I had forgotten just how beautiful these words were, a poem I had ready many times a few years back, but had faded in the mists of time…………….
the shoe journey
December 29, 2011
Another day of enforced resting ! a long while back I began a journey with my ancestors, I made shoes out of white paper and tissue paper that I printed with images of my grandmothers. Its been a long time since I looked at them and have today spent sometime working with a pair I made with hydrangea petals, I wanted to bring them together in an image, and here it is.
Click on the shoe to see more paper made images
today
May 23, 2011
today’s creative outpouring, a pencil sketch I drew on the train travelling up to london to a meeting. I just love these little creatures, need to really give them some fantastical name, but not sure what
Ballet Russe
April 4, 2011
Thanks Mr Bowery, it was because of you I came across this image, I thought it was a costume of yours, but then I read it was in fact a costume for the Ballet Russe designed back in 1935 !
Leon Bakst drawings I have always admired, and recently when I watched the Chanel / Stravinsky story my interest in the Ballet Russe became more prominent in my life again. I find the colours so inspiring. Diaghilev was a very clever man, he put together composers and artists the most avant-garde of their time, Braque, Stravinsky, Chanel, Picasso, Matisse and Nijinsky the famous dancer and produced the most inspiring and challenging ballets. He was not at all afraid to break with convention and his passion paid off, however at his death it limped along but was never the same again.
The boldness, the colours, the loose shapes, ballet costumes had never been seen like this before. I just love them, the colours sing out, I so would love to have been around to see their opening nights, especially THE RITES OF SPRING, apparently this caused a riot and they had to close down the theatre!! It’s hard to believe that now, but here is a collection of some the hundreds of costumes that were designed and made especially for each ballet.
Could they be transformed into paper sculptures, could the colour combinations be transformed into my design work and paintings, somehow they will have an influence, my creative mind is like a sponge, its absorbs everything around me so that one day it will be expressed in some form again as I continue along this creative path
Coat of many colours
February 18, 2011
we must let go of the life we have planned
February 13, 2011
WE MUST LET GO OF THE LIFE WE HAVE PLANNED, SO AS TO ACCEPT THE ONE THAT IS WAITING FOR US. Joseph Campbell
Control seemed a useful tool; it helped to make sure that ones expected plans, outcomes, would come into reality. Well you might think, that’s a good thing isn’t it? Is it? Lets think about this a little more.
If we use control, our will, to shape an expectation, to bring about a thought form and make it tangible, how do we know the form we are shaping is not coming from our distorted vision of our world? If we control our outcomes, grasping at a fixed vision then we become so blinkered we can miss little indicators on the way that may have lead us to something more meaningful and fulfilling from entering our world. Forcing our will to create takes a massive amount of energy, it can be very draining and we end up struggling when we reach a negative force, we start to battle, it can become a war as we fight to achieve our goals.
With Blinkers on we don’t listen to the biggest gift of all, our intuitive nature, our connection to the universal energy that supports us in every way. We all have an instinctual gift to share in our world, a souls purpose. Some of us know this clearly and have learnt to separate out and know the difference between, what we think this should be, often through expectation of others projected upon us and what we know to be our own true journey, a hero’s journey, full of joy and passion for life. For some it’s not so clear, but know they are being pulled along by an invisible thread to something much greater than is known to them at this time.
Dream courageously, let go of the outcome, drop the will, the control accept “what is” and allow life to unfold every second, every minute, living fully in the present with an ear tuned into the intuitive side of our nature, our feminine attributes, allows us to follow our hearts, to flow gracefully in the river of life, no struggle, no battles, just a serene unfolding that can take us to the wonderful life that is waiting for us.
A smaller example of what I mean. I had an idea in my mind that I would be breakfasting with a friend in the park this morning followed by a nice walk, but it didn’t work out. This meant a big hole opened in my day, and out came some pastels. I decided to create myself in image, not particularly for the finished article but the healing process that expressing from the heart can have upon our soul, my heart in particular is in question at the moment so I wanted to express the warmth and the life giving force a healthy heart can manifest in ones life. Just going with the flow allowed me to create this day, feels very good
Suzani and friends
August 3, 2010
today I received my parcel today from Tashkent, Uzbekistan !! How exciting, ripping open the brown paper and wrapped inside in a plastic carrier bag, was my precious suzani, a hand emmroidered cloth I bought on ebay.
I have another one coming that is similar colours but a slightly different pattern, the two together plus some plain fabric i am going to create wonderfully coloured wing chairs that will sit at my new desk. Actually its a long trestle table, in aged silver oak, over 3m in length at which I can sit and create, write letters and eat breakfast as it looks out across to the common.
A suzani for those who may not know is a hand embroidered cloth, usually sewn in panels and joined sewn together to make a large piece. From Central Asia, these pieces would from part of a brides dowry, shows her skills at embroidery. Often used as wall hangings and bedcovers. Each region can be identified by its designs, but need to research this a bit more.
Such wonderful colours, and each embroidered shape is so neatly sewn, the back is almost as neat as the front, such tiny, tiny stitches.
above are my little friends, the large boy you will recognise from my before images, (if you click the image above you will see) he is painted black at the moment, thinking of either a bright pink shade, or repainting him white with a white with a white sculptural shade and putting in my bedroom……. decisions, decisions. The other little friends are my all time faves my japanese collector doll uamou , buuts buuts uamou and boo. Unfortunately buuts got a rubbing over by my cleaning lady and lost part of her head piece which was very annoying………. we have a bit of a love hate relationship, but all in all we get through, the flat gets cleaned. I cant do everything sadly, my interior design work takes a huge chunk of my time and the last thing I want to do in my spare time is clean……… You can can see the whole range of collectable uamous here http://www.uamou.com/shop/index.html
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
I am Love, a must see
April 10, 2010
What an extraordinary film, a true cinematic experience. Emma, played by Tilda Swintnn at first is as cool and austere as the home she lives in but then something happens, she falls in liove, and everything becomes alive, the photography is stunning, the soundtrack just beautiful.
A film not to be missed.
Attachment: did it fail?
January 5, 2010
Please hear me she yearned, see me, feel me, I want to be close………………. Please dont leave me
The split second when………… creative thought
December 12, 2009
CREATIVE THOUGHT – When the spark of creativity explodes into action………….
This is what I imagine is going on in my heart when the birth of a creative thought ignites every cell in the body into action
Click image to see it much larger
and paper shoes all in a row………….
November 22, 2009
Carol, Carol quite contrary, how does your garden grow?
with silver bells and cockle shells and paper “shoes” all in a row
see more of my paper sculptures HERE
Transformation, from 3D to a wall of mosaics
November 11, 2009
Persephone needed to keep moving, she rose from the depths and transformed herself from three dimension to a creative wall design and then a a mosaic design to cover a full wall………….
the wild masculine
October 28, 2009
Mmmm he stands proud, a jaguar draped across his shoulders. Its no surprise I felt the need to surround him by horses, they respresent Power, grace, beauty, strength, wildness and freedom. He represents the masculine energy in us all. The bronze statue ‘Orpheus’ by Astrid Zydower, is larger than life and stands in the grounds of Harewood House just outside Leeds, Yorkshire. Orpheus was the greatest musician and poet of Greek myth, whose songs could charm wild beasts and coax even rocks and trees into movement. His magnificence radiates from this image. I put together the image with sky recently taken in malta, the land of the divine feminine, there are so many temples to the goddess here, it compelled me to produce a “balancing” image
Margorie Rose Memories – paper shoe no. 8
October 4, 2009
Marjorie Rose was my grandmother
an amazing woman who passed on her gift of creativity to me. Shoe no.8 is dedicated to her memory. Handmade in paper and tissue printed with images of my grandmother as a young child. Have so many happy memories of her, a fantastic cook, made absoloutely everything from her clothes to summer and winter soft furnishings. Made clothes for me as a child and always an identical dress or coat for my doll. Wedding dresses, wedding cakes, christmas cakes and puddings, christmas crackers, tree decorations, surreal savoury birthday parties for me to curried eggs and pineapple upside down cake. She was a treasure, died back in 1987 and buried locally.
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