Last chance moths... and things

We're getting towards the end of the main moth trapping period for the year. Although we could have a trap every night if we wanted to we tend to stop in October and start again in the Spring. As it was quite mild yesterday we put it out last night and caught this beautiful Merveilles du Jour. The photo is not great as I'm having trouble using the macro buttons on our new camera but it is a stunning moth and only the second one we have seen all year. The moth below is a Brindled Green which are very common about now. I love the markings and those streaks of greenish gold that shine through. I have spent the morning sketching it and messing about with the photo to see if I can make a good enough photocopy from it for a gum arabic print. I shall call this my 'work in progress' - it can join the pile of other ideas that I flit to and fro from.....

Yesterday I had a lovely card from my friend Lynda who is wonderful textile artist. We always send each other handmade cards and I wanted to send one back straight away but didn't have anything to hand that was right for 'her' so I rummaged around in my garage where I had a bag of scraps waiting to go to the recycling centre. This was because I saw some collaged cards in a shop yesterday morning and the idea must have stuck with me. On Wednesday I had picked up some packs of cards in a supermarket clearance for 25p per pack so, with my cards costing 5p each and using scraps I made these two sets last night. I am the first to admit that I am no good when it comes to dainty work on the sewing machine but they look OK in the flesh and I am really pleased with them - especially as they are 'budget' makes (so what did I have to lose).

It has sparked an idea about printing some of my moth drawings onto calico or other fabrics and doing something similar with the vintage fabrics I have hoarded in my shed....

Talking of sheds, go over to the blog of my friend Sue. She's encouraging us all to put photos of our workspaces onto the Woman's Hour website. Have a read about it here and get posting!

The Staffordshire Hoard

Living in Pembrokeshire, it's not hard to get caught up in the wonder of the Staffordshire Hoard. We are only a stone's throw from some of the most wonderful hill forts, standing stones and dolmen of the Iron and Bronze Ages. It was from here that the Bluestones of Carn Menyn were carried from the Preseli Hills to form the inner ring of Stonehenge and we are lucky to live in such an ancient and inspirational landscape. Small wonder we would be so intrigued by this amazing find which has now been put on Flickr under the Creative Commons attributed to the Staffordshire Hoard website. Have a look at the stunning pieces on view. That they were created as long ago as the 7th and 8th centuries will take your breath away.

Edwina Bridgeman

I popped into Carmarthen today and by chance went along to Oriel Myrddin to see what might be on. I was charmed to find 'Orchard' - an exhibition by Edwina Bridgeman. This is a touring exhibition from Brewery Arts in Cirencester and it is a delight. The work is conceived out of memories of things now lost - like the community orchards we used to have and even the varieties of apples that no longer exist. To Edwina Bridgeman, the names of these varieties could be characters in her own works of fantasy. I particularly fell for Barrington Pippin - he sounds so suave and is no doubt a jolly good chap.

There is an old table in the gallery. It's a space to write your own poems or stories about what memories orchards evoke and as her work has been sold as the exhibition tours, Edwina has then turned some of these true stories into new pieces that join the exhibition. I love that idea a lot. Similarly, I loved the bird box made out of an old book about birds and their nests and this wonderful sheep made from driftwood and rope. The fact that all these works are made from reclaimed and recycled materials adds to the message of the exhibition. It was a real treat to come across 'Orchard' this morning. It has made my day.

Charlotte Cory

I was reading an interview with Lynne Truss today of 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' and 'Talk to the Hand' fame. One of her prized possessions is a piece of work by Charlotte Cory, a Victorian family photo with the heads changed by superimposing images of stuffed animals on their shoulders. So, I had a look for more pieces and found the camera working spoonbill. Now, this is one of my current 'obsessions' so I had to post it. I chose one more but I'm not sure whether I like them or not. Could be my aversion to all things 'rodent like' athough she uses all sorts of creatures to great effect so I could have chosen many more.There are loads to see over at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery again and there is an exhibition on currently. See what you think.

We have bees!

Last week my husband was offered the chance to buy two hives from a lady in his beekeeping group who is moving away from the area. Initially she wanted to take her bees with her but this is not possible. So, she came yesterday and delivered two hives complete with their occupants. Each hive has about 5000 bees and there is every chance they will increase next Spring and start us off with a third hive. They've already started discovering the garden and are all over this aster that is still flowering its heart out and offering nectar for an autumn treat. My husband is really excited and it is fascinating to learn more about how bees live and work. Lots of honey for next year!

Charmed Adventures

Stone Charm for the Knee

Rebecca Jewell currently has an exhibition at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London which runs until October 17th. Entitled 'Charmed Adventures' Rebecca has worked from collections in the British Museum where she is Artist in Residence. She has looked at magic, superstition and charms in the everyday life of people on opposite sides of the world - the UK and the Pacific Islands. I love the depth of these etchings but there are also monoprints, paintings and mixed media pieces in the exhibition Have a look here and see it all.

Old Potato Charm

Solomon War Charms

Admiralty Charm

Love Charm

More 'pretty flamingos' and the like

Having strong contrasting images for the gum arabic transfer was a key issue in the workshop I went to last weekend so it must have been still on my mind when I came across these beautiful photographs by Nicolas Evariste. I was looking for images of flamingos to do some drawing practice with and came across these wonderful photos in his 'Dark Zoo' series. I only ever look at the birds but there are so many others to see . More to look at here.