'came in through the bathroom window......'

The twisted and distorted view out of the bathroom window at work! Overlooking the grounds of the Quaker meeting house. And beyond are the old Almshouses; with Morrison's the brick tower in the far distance.
The Quaker garden is full of clumps of snowdrops. Lovely to see.

The trees are bare now; but last May/June, here is how one of them looked. Thick hawthorn blossoms. I can hardly wait for the flowers to bloom this year! Though they might not return so thick; the trees have been hacked back, quite drastically.

sky & stich

The winter sky, reflected in the lagoon near to where I live. Strange how the sky didn't seem quite that shade of blue when I took the photo? Cerulean.

Seed stitch on different fabrics; at the bottom is the walnut dyed silk; top left is onion dyed cotton; 2 re-cycled slices of red silk stitched onto a cotton/linen fabric dyed in a black bean dye-pot. The black on the right is gifted silk.

winter walk

With the low light we get in winter, strange shadows, colours, and pattern, can be seen, especially in the mud.

The angles of the sun shining on emerging catkins makes the trees look as though they still have xmas decorations on their branches. The colours brighten the brown and black landscape.

Trees fallen during the winter, remind me of sculptures.

season....autumn

 Some rainy weather brought jewels to my path. Diamonds on a fallen leaf. 

A couple of weeks ago, Pauline and I took Minnie, her friend's dog, a walk round the grounds of Nostell Priory. We tired all of us out, and finished with coffee and cakes in their caff. Round the edge of the lake we saw this tree....I saw a face (two faces actually! Kissing! In public!) only later when scrolling through the fotos on my fone.

We'd had some blustery winds earlier, and the leaves were starting to come off the trees. This copper collection, gathered in the water, set off against the green rushes.

And Evening Primrose! Still flowering in (then) October! Reminder of sun gone; and sun to return. Some day.
I don't know much about the growing season of Evening Primrose, so maybe they are usually found in flower in October? They seemed fragile to me, in that cold October daylight.

full moon

Last week, on the 19th, it was full moon. I leaned out my bedroom window and took these photos with my fone. Despite it not being very good quality, I managed to catch the silhouette of the trees; and the edges of the bank of clouds that moved over from the south. 
There were 2 cloud banks, looking like ice caps, floating in the sky, with the moon caught between them.

MayDay

 

When I visited Bridlington last week, I bought this interesting little gizmo! It's a 'Witch Needle Threader'.

You put the needle into the funnel, and placing the thread across the notch at the base of the funnel, press the white lever on the right, and hey presto! the thread is pushed through the eye of the needle. It really is quite magical! 

Today, the MayDay Bank Holiday, has been glorious and sunny!
Traditionally British Bank holidays are wet, with miserable weather; but not this one! Here is how the sky looked from my garden....blue, blue, electric blue! I've been out in the garden with the cats; reading; stitching; listening to the radio; drinking; eating buns brought round by my neighbour Pippa, and her two sons! We all stood gazing into the pond at the tadpoles swimming about.
The studio door has been open, and I've been pottering about. It's been gorgeous. Just how I imagined having a home-studio would be. It's a lovely day! 

paula tod

In March, for the Artwalk, Paula Tod had an exhibition at Westgate Studios Project Space. Here are a couple of her paintings. 
She paints oils on canvas, with wonderful evocative images of landscapes. She and her husband are moving up to Eyemouth, near Berwick-on-Tweed. Where she'll have fabulous landscapes to inspire her! I'm looking forward to visiting her later in the summer.

At home, the garden is greening up; and the rhubarb started to come through, at last. Spring's late this year.

And, some sea holly, from my visit to Spurn Point last winter. I went to see Alice Fox's exhibition from her residency there.
Last week, I went to see the exhibition of the work at the 49 Gallery, at the Old Town in Bridlington. It was a lovely day; the exhibition worked very differently in a more domestic setting than the Lighthouse at Spurn Point. And the light is very different at this time of the year. We walked on the beach; paddled in the VERY cold North Sea, and experienced sun, hail, and snow, all in a matter of minutes! 

spring 'as sprung

The daffodils are finally out, hurray! A bit different from how they appeared a few weeks ago when we had the snow (see photo below). And the weather is getting steadily warmer, the days lengthening.

As a postscript, margaret thatcher has died. I feel in two minds about mentioning it. Partly I want to turn my back on her, and her noxious prime minister-ship which saw the gap between poor and better-off widen. 

I've been very interested to listen to people's responses. 
Looking on Billy Bragg's website; Chumbawamba's website; listening to Elvis Costello's song 'Tramp the Dirt Down' on Youtube;talking to people at work, my friends. Interestingly no-one I know has had a good word to say about her, or her political policies. Though there are different opinions as to how it might be appropriate to 'mark' her death. 
Well, I live in the North, don't I? Where the ramifications of her deeds still linger. 
And it's interesting that our current governments 'austerity' programme doesn't include not paying for her funeral.....us peasants will all be stumping up for that. 
We have local elections coming up shortly. I wonder if there will be any impact on the results, due to the government paying for her funeral? Don't we just live in interesting times!

Did you see what I did there? I used bad grammar/lower-case so as to not give importance to her name and job-title. Other names have been given due prominence. Well, as we chanted at Greenham, and throughout the bitter dispute of the Miners' Strike, I suppose it's easy to see 'Which Side Are You On?'

winter jasmine

Last weekend; more snow.
Me walking out to buy basics and cat food from the local shop.
Dressed in hat, gloves, kagoule, walking boots, waterproof trousers I set out in the slippy, slidey snow.
It was hard work.

Today; most of the snow has gone. Some piled high in the hedgrows, out where it's colder, and the temperatures are lower.
But today we've had sun. Full, bright sun, the sort that warms through! Hurray!
This has been such a long, cold winter. I want spring, and sunlight, and sun-warmth. To not need to wear boots all the time. To cast off some layers of fleeces, and thick socks! Mmmmmmmm.
So here is the last of the winter jasmine, hopefully indicating winter is finally moving, and we can start to make tentative steps into the Spring. I hope so. 

snowdrops

The snowdrops aren't through yet. This photo is from last year. Tiny green shoots are forcing their way through the earth, but they aren't in flower. I'm continually amazed by how tough these fragile flowers are. They come up in some of the least favourable weather; the coldest, bleakest part of the year. That post-xmas/new year period, when we're still entombed in long, dark nights, and short days.
But when these beauties arrive, I know that Spring will follow soon after. They are my personal heralds!
The snowdrops seem late this year. 
By Imbolc (2nd February) they're often showing; 'candlemas bells'. I await them, and the turn of the year.

snow.....the white stuff

It's snowing again. A fine, sparkly snow, unlike the wet flakes we had earlier in the week. This is settling, and covering everything with a glittering white blanket. 
I'm hoping to get out in it tomorrow, and take some photos.
Today I've been seated indoors; reading; stitching; drinking tea; keeping warm. Entertained by the cats' puzzlement when they come in wailing, wondering why I can't make it warmer for them outside!
The winter of 2019/2010 was a snowy one; I took the photo above of a frozen berry in my garden. And the one below is the view from my studio at Westgate Studios, the same year. 
Over in the distance is Emley Moor mast. Whenever I travel I always know I'm close to home when I see the mast! It's quite a landmark.

'nature print'

Interestingly, as we moved into the digital age to create photos, and the old way of making photographs using darkroom, and rolls of film has been overtaken, there has also been an interest in making photos using 'non-digital' methods!
Above is an example of something called 'nature prints', which is basically placing objects on top of photographic paper, and exposing it to light. Instead of using an enlarger as a light source, these sheets are exposed to sunlight, and then washed in water.
We used to call them 'photograms' many years ago when I was studying art at college.

It's very low-tech, which I actually like....a lot.
I used it with a group I worked with. The results were variable. I'd done this beforehand, and exposed it in direct sun. This works much better than diffused light.
The group saw lots of images in it; an anchor; a sea; waves.
I like the subtle shapes and tones, and the ambiguity of it. I'll do another one. And we'll make another attempt with the group; when there is more sunlight shining through the windows.

Star Carr

 The Derwent River

This section of the River Derwent has been canalised, for quite a length. A long straight section, that I'd guess is relatively recent (?)
I stood, and sat here, for a number of hours, soaking in the landscape; watching the wildlife; drinking in the silence.
Close by is the site of 'Star Carr'; where during archaeological digs last century, deer horn helmets/masks were discovered in the peat. These are now in the British Museum. Not, sadly, in either Hull, or Scarborough Museums. Needless to say, they are a highly significant find, and nothing like them have been found anywhere else in Britain.

I saw a hare in the field next to where I sat. Always an amazing sight. No deer, though, although they are round and about that area still.
Did some sketches and took photographs. I'm planning a painting based upon that landscape, which was the reason for my visit. 
Artists have worked there in the recent past, and you can type in 'Mesolithic Interventions' and find the blog for that project; there was an exhibition in York Art Gallery a few years ago.

More information about the archaeology can be found here.

'chicken scratching for my immortality'

The campsite I stayed at had lots of chickens wandering around; they were really tame, and I crumbled up some breadcrumbs for this one, to tempt her closer. The sunlight really caught her colours. 

Beacons Festival

Last weekend I went to Beacons Festival.

Listened to music; drank beer; ate food; enjoyed the sun....when it shone! And tried to avoid the rain!

On the Saturday, it was glorious weather. The sky was blue; the clouds were little fluffy ones!

The sunset over the fields, and the hawthorn tree, was spectacular.

For 3 days, I sat in a field, camped up in Blanche, and chilled. Bliss!  

 And after Beacons? I drove off to explore North Yorkshire, and look for Star Carr!

wasp nest 3

While cleaning out the new home studio, I came across this; I think, a wasp nest?
I've found a couple of these things before. They are papery, and very fragile. 

poppies

Poppies in the rain.

The flowers don't last long with the rain we're having. The petals drop too quickly.
I'm getting some work ready to put into the Arthouse Open Members Exhibition, which will be on for the next Artwalk, at the end of July.

Fire & Fleet & Candleleet

 Before the dark fell, the boats could be seen in daylight, floating in the bowl. As the sun dropped, the tea-lights began to glow more evocatively, and crowded together, surface tension making them hug the edge of the bowl.

The weekend after the ArtWalk, we took the remaining boats up to the lagoon near where I live, and lit the tea-lights again, setting them sail with our wishes, and casting off those things which are no longer relevant to our lives.

We said our goodbyes to the tiny boats, and the wishes they carried.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park - MIRO

Off to visit the YSP last Tuesday, to see the big Miro exhibition on there. I liked some of the work in the Underground Gallery. The large black bronzes (tautology?) outside were too solid and...well, black, for me!

But there was a lovely quote from 1959, on the wall of the Underground Gallery which I thought worth repeating. Particularly as the grounds of the Sculpture Park could be regarded as a massive garden.......

  'I think of my studio as a vegetable garden. Here, there are artichokes. Over there, potatoes. The leaves have to be cut so the vegetables can grow. At a certain moment, you must prune. I work like a gardener or a wine grower.

Everything takes time. My vocabulary of forms, for example, did not come to me all at once. It formulated itself almost in spite of me. Things follow their natural course. They grow. They ripen. You have to graft. You have to water, as you do for lettuce. Things ripen in my mind. In addition, I always work on a great many things at once. And even in different areas: painting, etching, lithography, sculpture, ceramics.'

The River Dearne; birches; blackthorn in bloom; all signs of spring on the way. The land beginning to awaken, open, and push us into the coming season.

Reminding me, I too need to get my gardening gloves on, and begin the work of planting, and tending. 

And remember, 'Everything takes time.'

Catkin Clootie Tree

The Twisted Hazel is dripping with yellow catkins; decorated like a clootie tree! In the bright spring sunshine, they glow. This photo shows the shadow cast by next doors fence. The catkins at the bottom, are in gloom, like ghosts. An unexpected effect. 

Wasps

A few weeks ago Jon brought this wasp nest home from his allotment. It's now rotted away sadly; but the nest was beautiful to look at. A creamy ball of feathery 'paper'.