Photo: Recent sketchbook pages
Hello from a most frozen and foggy hilltop somewhere in Surrey. Thick frost like snow.Not Christmas card weather, but something familiar - a damp and lingering whiteness in the air…. Frozen and glittery, murky and not at all mild, white edged leaves and ruffled old pigeons are waiting for seed. The garden has gone from confusedly mild to shocked into white sleep. And I stand at the window, waiting, anticipating the first snow… Magpies walk cautiously by, chatting.
I step out of the kitchen door, so tentatively, as if Jack Frost himself is around the corner ready to trip me up with an icicle shaped boot? (I imagine he wears skates, actually). But yes, I am mindful of one thing more than any other: don’t slip over!
But I want to feed the birds. I feel it is my gardener's duty to at least get outside once a day and make sure there’s fresh seed scattered on the little table. For every bird I draw/paint/stitch, I must feed a real one. I came across an article this week proclaiming how very bad it is to feed the birds, but until the RSPB tells me to stop I won’t. Yes, feed them seed and other foods produced specifically for birds. Don’t feed them your leftover fish and chips or chicken carcass (I kid you not) like my Granny used to do.
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I love the tactile qualities of hand stitch, especially working with wool. My wool embroidery gives me an opportunity to explore ideas without the eye-strain of tiny stitches. I can almost make a woolly french knot with my eyes closed.
photo: hellebore (Christmas rose) brooch - to pin on my jacket and/or display on the tree
photo: tree brooch - again for jacket or tree!
Here are a few pieces I made recently. I have several things in progress at the moment and am working on new designs. These wool embroidery items are mostly for myself, as they are time consuming to create. However, I think I might be making some winter-into-spring brooches with different motifs this coming new year.
Photo: And one more brooch/ornament
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A few stories from this week
Daughter and I escape the house and get a lift to a local garden centre. It is with some trepidation that we enter the Christmas Zone, where baubles sing and dubious-looking gnomes stare confusedly from their snowy shelves…. We are startled by a robin, no ornament but a feisty real-life hopper, who weaves his way through the aisles. It is obvious he has things to do. He jumps from shelf to carpet, as if this is his natural habitat. Oblivious of people, or too quick to care so much, the robin makes his way along the bird seed section leading us to muse over bags of hedgehog food. I wish we might have a hedgehog visit for winter. The houses you can purchase for a hedgehog look cosy indeed.
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Over these past several weeks, since breaking my foot, my son has become a postman and my personal librarian. I value his help so much. There is a book that needs to be returned to the library. I’ve been busy and have not reserved any new books to collect, so I ask my son to please, just at random, pick a few books from the front displays. I am happy to take a chance with anything. But no cookbooks, I say. Anything but cookbooks. I might have also added: no horror, no sport biographies…. But I don’t want to make this too complicated. My son is prone to anxiety if I try to over-complicate things. I also say if he feels overwhelmed to not worry at all…He returns home with two books he has spent a bit of time choosing. He has enjoyed picking them out for me from the ‘recommends shelves’. Both books are new comic novels, books I might never have picked out for myself but I will now read. Perhaps this will be my reading strategy for 2023. Always have someone else pick the book?
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Following on from last week’s suggested other artists - here are a few more to explore.
Jane Askey is an artist I have got to know via Instagram and am so glad to see her work. Her sweeping, complex landscapes feature places I may or may not have visited. I have never been to Edinburgh, but Jane’s works inspire me to make that journey some time.
Mirta aka Modern Botanics creates handmade prints using the simple yet careful techniques, Her thoughtful work explores the lively shapes of nature and home.
For those of you who have deep connections with cloth and stitch - you may already know Jude’s work - but may I suggest if you don’t to spend some time exploring Spirit Cloth’s endlessly fascinating approach to storytelling with fabric and thread and more. Read Jude’s Cloth Whispering.
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As you may know, I am taking a break from shop updates until after Christmas. I plan to have an update with an archive sale plus new work on Wednesday 28th December - time to be confirmed. Thanks always to everyone who has purchased artwork from me recently. Your support is incredible and means so much.
Photo: sketchbook from 2017 - don’t forget your vitamin c!
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“For every bird I draw/paint/stitch, I must feed a real one.” I love this! We, too, feed the birds (and the squirrels and the rabbits...) and find such great pleasure in providing a little something for them along with fresh water every day. The yard around our house is fenced with woven metal mesh, providing a safe haven away from the marauding coyotes that prowl in the night. It comes down to doing the work of our hearts. Out at the back of our property we leave the thistle, sunflower, and various other weeds gone to seed along the irrigation ditch for the wilder little field birds. I’m not at all certain that the wild creatures can sustain themselves with so much of their habitat given over to development. Wishing holiday joy to you and your son and daughter! 🎄✨
Your words make me feel like we are sisters from afar ❣️ thanks for your attention to the simple and straightforward and for making those fussy brooches😍you inspire me to slow down and lighten up - for that I thank you 🎄🎄🎄