More than a murmur...

One of my favourite winter poems is 'December' by Carol Ann Duffy. It begins ' The year dwindles and glows to December's red jewel...' and there is a definite nip in the air today, a tell tale sign that winter is on its way.

So is the sight of hundreds of starlings beginning to flock together. We have a group that took up residence yesterday in the field next door and they spent most of the day feeding and flying in an out of the ash tree in my garden. As you know, the collective noun for starlings is 'a murmuration' .When they all get together and make their incessant noise it is more than a murmur! It is deafening. There have been more today but they usually decamp to the farm down the road where they gather in their thousands. As the nights shorten they will fly over the garden at roughly the same time every afternoon on their way to a roost in the reed beds of the River Cleddau about 4 miles away. We don't get to see those huge moving swarms that you see on television but I still get a thrill at the sight of hundreds of them speeding past.

Starlings are an official 'red list' species and this means they are a special case for conservation. When you've grown up with them it is hard to believe that their numbers have declined by over 70 % in recent years and that they need our protection. I hope I shall see lots of them in December, when, as the poem says, 'the sky blushes and lays its cheek on the sparkling fields....'

Save the Albatross this Christmas please...

I have spent most of today catching up with my commitment to 'Combat Stress'. I realised I was way behind on my promise to use the fabric I was given and make items for sale this Christmas so I've been beavering away making cushion covers, peg bags and tea cosies. I am happy to support the charity this way and when I received our first Christmas card (what!) it reminded me of another charity and a request I'd like to make. The card above was my home made Christmas card from last year and yes, along with obsessions about beetles, moths, butterflies and buttons I also have a thing about stamps and about birds.

So, for the past few years I have been saving my stamps for the RSPB's Save the Albatross campaign. Friends and family know what I'm doing and keep me steadily supplied all year round with their British and foreign stamps. Once I have a large envelope full I send them off quite regularly and start all over again. If the Christmas cards are on the way there is no better time to start saving them. Even if it's only for Christmas, your stamps will make a difference. It's the one time of the year after all when we are guaranteed to get lots of post!

These beautiful creatures spend years wandering the seas only returning to land to form bonds and mate, which they do for life. With wingspans of up to 11 feet these wonderful birds can live up to 50 years old. In the myths of the sea the albatross used to be seen as a good omen unless one was harmed and then the luck turned bad. In sea lore they were said to be the souls of lost sailors.

Every species of albatross is facing extinction and numbers have plummeted worldwide. This is due in the main to long-line fishing practices. The birds are killed on hooks meant for fish, for no reason at all. They also die from ingesting the tons of plastic flotsam that the sea is riddled with. It is a sorry tale and if this majestic bird was lost for future generations it would be a crime not to have contributed to the fight to save them in some small way. Have a look at the link to the campaign and please think about saving those stamps this Christmas. Thanks.

Birthday Present

Yesterday was my birthday. As usual on a Wednesday I drove up to Bristol to spend the day with my Mum. The journey takes about 2 and a half hours each way and either flies by or seems neverending when the weather is foul. Last night wasn't too bad but it was very very windy so concentration was intense. I got home feeling really tired and opened the pile of cards that had arrived during the day.

Whilst it's lovely to hear from your friends and family my best surprise came with the envelope I received from Jill at Third Age Musings. The other day I was lucky enough to be picked out of the bag in her giveaway of these lovely ATC's. They are just great and really made my day. Thank you Jill.

Unplanned activity

Yesterday morning I was reading Donna's latest post at layers. I go there to see her wonderful collage work and she writes about how her work is planned, posing the question - what do others do? Now, I am not a great work planner but I felt inspired by her words to do something creative, hence the walk in my wellies up to my workshop... where I found the badger activity.... c'est la vie.

Anyway, I'd had this idea about screenprinting some cards or tags for Christmas a while ago so just made a paper stencil, got out some card, chose the paint and hey presto, I had a couple of sheets of prints. After finding some ribbon that matched (sort of) I cut them up, stamped over the top, attached the ribbon and had enough tags to stock a shop! After finishing these I came back to the house and received a phone call from my friend suggesting we meet for a coffee in Tenby this morning. At the end of the call she jokingly reminded me to bring the peg bag I was supposed to be making for her. This has been a running joke for a few weeks but, fired with energy, I picked up the fabric I'd put by for her and made the bag in less than an hour.

I was on a roll by now and had to do something else. The peg bag material was one of the £1 remnants I bought ages ago and I rooted around in my box (crate....) of fabric and found another sample I bought last year in a sale for £1 too. I'd bought a piece of silk from the charity shop for 50p and was going to use that for the lining. I'd already cut out all the pieces to make a bucket handbag but I'd moved on to another idea by the time it came to sew it. See what I'm like? Butterfly brain.

Anyway, I decided to finish it there and then. I already had all the bits like the handle and magnetic catch so all I had to devote was my time. It only took me a couple of hours and I'm really pleased with the result. It might make an aceptable gift for someone.

As I bought the fabric last December and cut it out in March, does sewing it up in November count as planned activity or is it simply procrastination? I've got a long way to go to organise myself better but I had a very productive day nonetheless. Thanks for the spur to action Donna.

Come dine with me... or us....

Pembrokeshire is at the heart of a controversial plan to cull some of its badger population in a bid to get rid of bovine TB. I don't pretend to understand the whys and wherefores of it and know it can be an emotive subject whichever side of the fence you're on.

We've lived in our current house for over eight years and despite lots of evidence of badger activity we have never actually seen them in our garden. As most of our garden used to be a field and as we're surrounded by farmland we see their runs everywhere but they've never really troubled us unduly - until today.

A couple of weeks ago my husband planted over 300 crocus bulbs because he read how much bees flock to the pollen they offer. In readiness for next Spring he spent a few hours planting near his hives. Today, I ventured up the garden for the first time since this terrible rain started and I noticed that the badgers have decimated the garden near the hives. ALL of his crocus bulbs have been dug up and are gone! There are great holes in the ground, made by some very powerful paws and divots of grass are everywhere.

I told him the news when he got home expecting despair and exasperation. I should have known better. My husband is such a pragmatist and says that if the bulbs gave the badgers a much needed feed in this awful weather then so be it. I hope the powers that be that have to decide on the cull can be just as pragmatic.

Book at Bedtime

I was really restless last night and couldn't seem to settle to anything. As I was sorting through the piles of paper I seem to accumulate some crows that I'd cut from a children's story book fell on the floor. I take these things as a sign and think they tell me to get on with something! On my kitchen windowsill (where else?) was a piece of watercolour paper I'd dyed in some tea for another idea and next to it was a strip I'd cut off for some reason. This is now about 10.00pm but I daubed another bit of watercolour on top, let it dry, folded it , attached my birds and then scribbled some hastily thought up words. It sounds like gibberish when I read it now but last night it seemed quite good.

When I got up this morning I found some scrap paper for the cover. The other week I bought a book on learning to type in a charity shop because I thought those letters would come in handy. Trouble is they are so small they are impossible to cut out but I can live with the rough look. It's either that or take more time over things but when I get an idea in my head I don't always pause for quality control sadly. In about 15 minutes I had my 'crow story' accordion book.

For some reason I cannot make this look bigger to enable you to see the text. On second thoughts, given that it's gibberish, that's not a bad thing!

Christmas List

I have just come home after spending a week looking after my dear Mum . She has rallied well after a sudden chest infection knocked her for six. When you're away from home all of your routines go out of the window don't they? Still, it gave me time to search for the books I might want to put on my Christmas list. 'Birds' by the photographer Andrew Zuckerman will be a must. Using his trademark white background he has produced a visual study of birds ranging from the common to the endangered. This video just gives a taster but I know the book will definitely be on my list. Look and enjoy.

Seasons of mists....

Sore throat. Could not sleep. Wide awake by first light. Early morning view from the kitchen window.

'I saw old Autumn in the misty morn, stand shadowless like silence, listening to silence'.

Thomas Hood

Harold Jones

Last week my friend Sue sent me a lovely present. It was a sheet of wrapping paper and the image came from the end papers of a 1937 book called 'The Compass Points North' by M.E Atkinson. The illustrator was Harold Jones. This is a period in book illustration that I have a huge fondness for yet Harold Jones' work was new to me. I wanted to do something with the sheet and decided to promote the design from end papers to the front cover. So, last night I cut a few signatures, sorted out some covers, got hold of some threads , did some nifty stitchwork and made these two books below.

I have subsequently tried to find out more about Harold Jones . It seems he started book illustrations in the 1930's mainly in pen and ink and applied colour washes. They are definitely 'of an era' aren't they? And it seems he worked with this author again. Here are the end papers and front cover for 'Mystery Manor' by M.E.Atkinson, also published in 1937.

It seems that Harold Jones went on illustrating books well into the 1960's but examples are few and far between. I am delighted with the example I was sent though and I still have some left for another book or two. Thank you Sue!

Red

Early this morning I noticed a lot of movement in the field next door. There was a huge flock of birds which kept flying out from the hedgerow in unison, pecking at the ground and then all bolting for the hedge again when startled. I got out the binoculars and was amazed to find they were all redwings. Obviously they have arrived here from Scandinavia for the winter although we have rarely seen them in our little patch. Once I went out into the garden though I noticed that our holly trees and hedges have been stripped. As they were still pretty well covered the other day I can only surmise it is the work of the redwings. They have hung about all day and are a real treat.

The glorious weather made me look closely in the garden and pick out other 'red' things like the Acer 'Osakazuki', the peeling bark of Acer Griseum and a battered and tattered, but still thriving Red Admiral. Amazing to see them in November. The right day though to think about red and remembrance.

Lucky Me

Today was the start of 'A Winter's Tale', an exhibition at Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen. It runs until Christmas Eve and there are a few artists involved whose work I really wanted to see. This mixed media box called 'Christmas Greetings' has been used by the gallery on all it's promotional photos and invitations. It is made by Becky Adams. I just fell in love with it and my husband promptly bought it for me! Now, I adore my husband, but even our friends will agree that he's not a man given to spontaneous gestures like this. I think he must have had a rush of blood to the head..... Becky also had a gorgeous larger mixed media book on display......

We also both liked the work by Rebecca Ellen Edwards which were screenprinted wallpaper lengths decorated with machine embroidery but I know when to quit while I'm ahead. If I drop enough hints I might get the other Becky Adams book for Christmas.... oh look, I just saw a pig fly past.

The Complex of All These

If you're interested in book arts and the like it's always fascinating to take a look at the wonderful Women's Studio Workshop. Abigail Uhteg spent the summer doing an internship here and she has produced a video flipbook of the 3000 photos she took whilst creating , printing and constructing an edition of 35 artists books. All the elements I love are here - printing, papermaking and bookbinding. If you love the same things you'll like this I think. Her work can also be seen here.

Angie Lewin Collages

Long ago when I initially found out about blogs, all things considered was one of the first I ever followed. The posts are quite diverse and cover a lot of areas I find interesting, particularly with regard to printmakers and illustrators. Not surprising really, as it is the blog of Simon and Angie Lewin. I came across it because I was trying to find out more about Angie's work having seen it on cards and in magazines. She is currently having an exhibition at Godrey and Watt in Harrogate and all the work for it can be seen here. The exhibition includes collage, something I have never seen her do before. Sadly, they are all sold but still worth seeing.

I just love the graphic images of the plants and think her use of colour is sublime. The collages are much simpler than her prints but just as special I think.

RWA Autumn Exhibition

I was in Bristol yesterday and managed to get along to the Royal West of England Academy Autumn Exhibition. If anyone is in the vicinity between now and December 13th go along and have a look as it is a treat of an exhibition. With over 500 pieces of art to look at you have to zone in on those that hit your 'hot spots' straight away and as always, I lean towards the printmakers, mixed media and collage pieces for my favourites particularly 'Garden Army', the mixed media piece by Lucy Fraser, above. Some of these works below are also on show and were those I homed in on.

Etching by Jenny Sanders

Altered bookworks by Alexander Korzer-Robinson

Seascape Refit No 1 by Robert Manners

Aquatint and chine collee by Mary Rouncefield

These are only a few of the pieces I enjoyed and I hope they show the breadth of material contained in the exhibition. I did not enjoy it as much as the Open Printmakers Exhibition last month but, that said, the selected work is outstanding so, go if you get the chance.

Florian

Florian from Andrew Gibbs . A tragic tale told via traditional cut out animation. Loved it.