And one more

  

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Lovely leaves…

   
    
 

Recent ceramic work…

   
    
 

Books…

Of course there have been a few recommendations being discussed;  I’ve been taking notice of reviews and breezing through book shops…. all in preparation for the great January read. I love reading all year round, but when you know you’ve got lazy days ahead with real time to read – it’s pretty exciting…. I’ve tried lots of different techniques for choosing books – friend’s recommendations, front cover appeal, reviews, reading the first page, reading the last page etc..

To be honest, the most fun and successful technique ever was my ‘Wife’ theme. It started when I read Time Traveller’s Wife (loved it) and soon after a friend suggested I read Ahab’s Wife (loved it)… well, it seemed I was on a good thing so I read The Tiger’s Wife and kept searching for books with Wife in the title (check out Goodreads… the list goes on and on). Some weren’t so successful – The Paris Wife, The 19th Wife – I started and didn’t finish. My philosophy on this is that life is short – don’t waste it reading a book you don’t like! Who is going to give you points for persevering with something you’re not enjoying? So start your own theme!

I’m half way through Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch – it’s a brick of a book and the descriptive detail took me a while to get used to – but this is one I will persevere with. I really should join a book group in 2016!

I will leave you with this book – not always easy to find, but a story that stays with me, beautifully written and I think everyone should read…..The Burial by Courtney Collins

PS – Just remembered how much I loved  The Elusive Language of Ducks

Enjoy! x

Parts of a bigger picture..

   
   

The weather improved…

…and so my outdoor studio returned…

A workshop with alcohol based inks

Some excellent demos

And some of my experiments –

Weekend of creativity and friendship

It can’t be underestimated – the sheer nurturing power of being with like minded women whilst walking, talking, eating beautiful healthy food, and exploring our creative worlds… I love and admire each of these women so much… (And the one that couldn’t make it)

Robitas painting

Bella’s pattern

The work of Juliet

Juditas crazy cat

Sassita working away

Me playing around with the concept taught to me by Julie arkell…

Dolly workshop with Julie arkell

Feeling nostalgic about this fabulous time 2 years ago …

something I wrote about creativity…

I often think of my creativity as an impatient itch… or an eager puppy jumping around in my head all day demanding my attention. My work keeps her chained up most days. We long to be let off but allow things to get in our way. As Mary Oliver beautifully articulates – you need to be ready… you’ve got to be ready or that spark will pass you by.

 

That half finished painting sits idle in a back room – physically, and as if there was a back room in my mind… so many messy rooms to get through before I can get there.

 

My ‘go to’ medium lately – clay – is waiting there for me like a constant, loyal friend – non-judgmental. My fingers find kindness in the malleability. It just accepts whatever comes that day… and yet I am often the one critical of the final ‘product’ instead of just enjoying the process; the meditation, the beauty…

 

‘Getting inspired’ takes the form of many guises. Spending too long on the internet, trying to be comforted by contemporary writers that say stealing is ok… when really I’d rather be engaged with the windfall on the ground, bark of a tree or patterns of restless clouds.

 

Some days it’s all I can do to wear something that expresses who I’d like to be; what I’d like to be doing. Somewhere in amongst the ocean of black and grey and neutral a flash of colour presents itself from mismatched socks, textured hose or the glint of a cheeky hued jewel… If I could tattoo the sky, I would…