On whichever day of Christmas....

I don't want to be accused of bird feeder 'one-upmanship' but surely a pheasant in a hawthorn tree must trump a partridge in a pear tree.... doesn't it?

Glass Act

 When I went to a John Piper exhibition in St Davids recently I bought a DVD of his work which reminded me about the volume of stained glass work he designed, most notably Coventry Cathedral and Oundle School. I've written before about the interest I have in the iconography of churches and churchyards so it will be no surprise that when we went to the Made by Hand exhibition in Newport a few weeks ago and saw the work of architectural stained glass artist Christian Ryan that my interest was piqued further. So much so that my Christmas present this year was a stained glass taster day with Christian yesterday. Have a look at Christian's panels and other work, especially his blog, via the link. I love the graphic nature of them and they are beautiful to see with light streaming through them.It was a 'full on' day with three others and we each completed an A4 size panel using the most beautiful glass in all shades and textures. I kept mine simple but I adore the colours of it and will treasure it especially as I managed a day of cutting glass and using a soldering iron without fatal injury! A new passion has been born.....

Life's a circus

 It's nearly a year ago that I posted here about a book saved for me by a lady in the local charity shop.Although I go in there regularly, she and I must have missed each other until yesterday when she produced a book she'd been keeping for me for a while. She doesn't know that I'm interested in  particular illustrators but she must have a keen sense of the type of work that appeals to me. The last book she gave me was Brian Wildsmith's 'The Circus' and my latest lucky find is 'The Wasteland Circus' illustrated by Charles Keeping. Perhaps she thinks I just like circuses ? In so much as I love the image of circus horses that is true. Look at these two wonderful spotted chaps.I think they are magnificent. My photos may not do justice to what is a fabulous book but I have others by Charles Keeping and he is worth a detailed look. If you want to see more, dive in here.

Upcycling? Maybe not....

The recent installation of a new heating system has caused lots of upheaval. The necessary subsequent tidy up led to a major clearing out, leaving us with a few empty storage boxes. I was about to send them to the recycling bin when I thought 'surely I can make something from that?'  I seem incapable of knowing when something really should be thrown away and thought I'd make one of my annual recycled Christmas decorations.....

 The idea seemed sound when it was in my head but it hasn't quite translated into a finished product. I think there is a good idea in there but the scale is wrong. I won't be making another however because once it was completed I decided to get on with my Christmas cards. Ideas have been in short supply this year so as a warm up exercise I set myself the challenge of making them with things to hand in my little office.....slide mounts, old books and a big box of old stamps I was given last year were within reach and pressed into service. I quite like them and they've got me in the festive mood to make some more. I've started to see other festive posts creep in elsewhere and shall look forward to seeing what everyone else is up to creatively!

Whitesands

Well we went for that walk to Whitesands beach but stopped in St Davids first, where I bumped into some people I knew and you know how it is.... we got chatting... and by the time we got to the beach it was getting to be late afternoon. It was bitterly cold and although it doesn't look like it here, the beach was full of dogs, their owners and even some hardy swimmers in the sea. I was too beguiled by the light and the reflections to walk too far. I was rooted to the spot watching stripes of colour, light and shade emerge. How I wish I could capture the essence of those moments in paint or words.......

Normal service resumes

 For the first weekend in what seems like ages my husband is at home with just one more week of the oil refinery shutdown to get through. He has been working so many hours that I started to ask to see his pass when he came home just to verify it was really him! When writing a couple of e mails to fellow bloggers last week it suddenly hit me how long it has been since I wrote a post of any description. My absence has not been a conscious one but I've been so busy with things that keeping up with other people's writings was about all I could manage. The garden maintainance that usually falls to the head gardener came to rest on my shoulders in his absence so I have been clearing leaves like nobody's business. First to go were the leaves on my favourite tree in the garden, the huge ash that grows right on the boundary and it didn't help that ash die back was all over the news. I spent ages checking all of the trees for things but luckily all seems OK so far. I've lost count of the number of trips I've made up the garden with a wheelbarrow full of leaves or swept my drive to remove piles of them. I think I may have developed biceps like Popeye from all that lifting and tipping.It would be putting it mildly to say I am 'knackered'. I've also been doing lots of print experiments and painting too so I'll share some of the results soon when I get back into a rhythm. I've just taken these photos this morning as we walked the garden and made notes of the outstanding jobs we have to do before winter. There is now a load of cherry tree and acer leaves to deal with and seedheads to cut down (or not)but the sun is shining, it's a glorious autumn day and I think my husband deserves a rest rather than a load more work so I think we might just get out for a good walk.... and I'll carry on with the leaf picking and tipping next week..let joy be unconfined!

Gifted

The appearance of beautiful book sculptures left anonymously in a series of Edinburgh libraries has been well documented online. Whoever the artist is, she, or he, remains unknown whilst their work now tours the country for a wider audience to enjoy these imaginatively crafted works of art. Sadly they are not coming south of the border but I came across this trailer for the event and think 'Gifted' is an absolutely perfect title for it. It makes me want to do something along similar lines. Anybody out there game to join in.......