Saturday 26 October 2013

A walk, a play and sandcastles

We had a sunny play and walk around ribchester this week, Indian summer days are to me better than august or July summer days, maybe it is the fact the sun is lower in the sky this time of year, so it seems more golden and casts wonderful long shadows. On our walk we saw some beautiful Moorish tiles used to create a house number, a ladybird which became a pet for a good part of our walk and a beautiful lichen covered stone wall bordering the church grave yard. The light was magical! A play in the park was called for and a new little friend made the fairytale sandcastles!

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Line drawings

Line drawings make sketchbook work more accessible. They are quick and immediate, as in very little thinking and hanging around! I haven't my usual paraphernalia of materials around me at the moment such as paint and mixed-media, due to building works here at home, so they had to be packed away. But the direct use of line and mark-making using in my case a fountain pen (my favourite mark-making tool!), still means I'm working in my sketchbook, which is becoming more important as time goes by, I'm finding it's the only link to any creative practice right now and so keeping me thinking creatively and getting me drawing everyday too.

Saturday 19 October 2013

Autumn treasure

Conkers, leaves, sticks and acorns, they are all treasure to children, and actually adults too if you include the likes of me! Gathering the conkers after prising them from their snug cases, it is a reward to see them in a cup or bucket and play with them, ours were especially useful for being carted around on our little farm, or for the horse to eat! Golden, bronze and blood red Leaves and sticks with a blanket of lichen the colour of mustard are just beautiful to look at.

Friday 18 October 2013

Playdough inspiration

I love playing with playdough, there's something about the colours and texture- its easy to mould and shape into shapes, therapeutic really! So when I get the playdough out I'm right in there with the boys making shapes and getting stuck in! I loved the repetitive dog shapes I made in the picture, I was planning a whole pack but some little fingers came along and liked to squidge them up which was probably far more satisfying!

Tuesday 15 October 2013

The rose bush and tangerine

Sketches without thinking. These can be good. I had ten minutes before my two boys were brought home by their grandparents, so eating a tangerine I sketched that, and looking out of the window I saw our old rose bush, so I sketched that too. Playing with ink, mark making, smudging and writing words, all good stuff for a sketchbook, even if they are quick!

Friday 4 October 2013

Art books: Painted pages, Sarah Ahearn Bellemare

I am so excited to have received Sarah's book Painted pages! Being busy raising two toddlers full time hasn't given much time for making over the last couple of years, and of course if you get out of practice making, your confidence can falter which can have a real effect on if you make anything at all, so the cycle goes on! I've needed some help to get out of this creative rut and maybe it's also about help to see that how I think about making and want to make has value! Well here was the book to put me right and get all the creative juices flowing again! It's a warm, excited, happy feeling right in the pit of your stomach that tells me my inspiration is back and I'm ready to start making again (once a few hours are mine and that damn studio is finished! Ha ha!).

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Gathering acorns

Autumn is beginning to show itself here, red berries on hawthorn bushes, leaves turning to bronze and tree branches gradually beginning to show. Acorn gathering has become a particular pastime by my two boys this autumn, simply because an oak tree resides close to our house, so it's a short walk to look over a fence to check if the farmer has put cows or sheep in the field and at the same time to collect acorns. I tell them that if empty of their acorn the small hats they wear are used by fairies to drink tea, but they don't seem too interested in this piece of folklore just yet!