First Snow

December arrived in style here on Witchmountain, snow,ice and of course the school bus failing to arrive. As you can see there wasn’t much snow but the bus is an “executive mini bus” and not really suitable for the job ( I’m sure they just don’t want to get it dirty!).

Today I’m in a land of greyness; misty, monochrome landscape. Its so dark, i feel like making a big fire in the garden (but I don’t think it would burn, the air is so damp). Anyway, the stove is going like a dream; with my blue enamel pan stewing the coffee, so I’m busy making some little bear brooches for Sunday and some other odds and ends that may or may not make me some pennies. If you’re near Osmotherley this Sunday come to the Village Hall between 1 and 5 – apparently there will be stalls including Lewis and Cooper (deli), Roots Farm Shop and various local produce ( cards, photography, small gifts, jewellery etc) as well as activities for the kids. You can also call in the Golden Lion for a delicious lunch (I won’t be at work so thats all good!) and a pint of real ale.

I stopped on the way home yesterday to take these pictures. The one on the left is Robinson’s Cross which supposedly marks the spot where a poacher was hung for his crimes…I’m going to look that up in a moment as I’m not sure of the story. Not much changes up here on the moors!

Here’s a photo of my cat piece in the Zillah Bell Gallery. Their Christmas exhibition runs until early January and I’m excited to have something on their wall!

Right, time to rescue the coffee and get some work done. x

Kitchen Confidential

Here is the corner of my kitchen with pin-board and wine crate bookshelf. Sometimes it feels as though my whole world has shrunk to just this room and the ever changing view from the window…today mostly obscured by misty condensation. This time last year it was getting ready to snow but hopefully this year it’ll wait awhile…at least till I sort out why the car is rattling and find some hay for the ponies!

Today I have been catching up with Lyndsay McBean and wondering yet again if we’ve all been heading in the right direction. College now seems SO long ago.Lyndsay has been working on her online portfolio at Carbonmade so lets hope lots of job offers come flooding in :@); I particularly like her nightclub promotion posters…

The Zillah Bell Gallery e-mailed me yesterday because they had been sent a piece of my work by Les Prince. A nice surprise and beyond the call of duty ( he really is a remarkable man). So anyway, I think its going to be in their Christmas exhibition which opens with a private view tomorrow night. I also finally got around to contacting a few other galleries ; so I’m kind of hoping that in the new year things may start to look a bit brighter.

Well, the stove is almost out and the last dregs of coffee have turned to syrup in the pan so I’d better head up the apples and pears to bed. I finished reading “About a Boy” by Nick Hornby this morning ,which means I’m heading back to the magical world of Tove Jansson and “The True Deceiver” . Then what? Any ideas?

The Printed Image

On Friday evening I went to the opening of “The Printed Image” exhibition at the Zillah Bell Gallery before ending up ,eventually, at a crazy club in Middlesbrough called RiffRaff. Luckily there aren’t any pictures from RiffRaff but above is an early screen print of William Tillyer‘s called “High Force”-standing in front of it ,the blue is dazzling.

I had two favorites (but shortage of money and wall space!) one was a Norman Ackroyd and the other this collograph by Katherine Jones called “A House In The Woods”. She’s done a whole series of lovely ethereal prints based on illuminated shelters and greenhouses in woodland settings. As soon as I finish writing this I’m going to have to look up what exactly a “collograph” is!

This week I hope to take a few things to get framed for the Salt Box, start a new group for New Leaf using all my new heat transfer paints ( wow, SO expensive!) and find out more about Gocco ready for my new purchase to arrive. ( Anyone out there use a Gocco for textile printing?) Meanwhile I’ve been enjoying a blog I found tonight called Textile Swatches , nice to see lots of examples of eco and artisan textiles as I’m right off Illustrator at the moment.

Until later x

“…In another life when we are both cats.”

A beautiful autumn day today, berries and yellowing greens. I feel as though I’ve been sitting here forever watching the big oak tree go through it’s changes; skeleton to spring green, and now just starting to turn golden round the edges.How fast it all seems to have wizzed by.

My friend Jane just called by on her way back from delivering mosaics to the Saltbox, apparently my magpie and owl are up on the walls there .So, goodness, I actually have work in a gallery! The exhibition runs until November so if you’re in the Helmsley area go and have a look (closed Mondays though).

These images are of a piece I’ve been reworking, intending to get framed for the exhibition.This morning my model “Toast” was sunbathing on the garden table, making the most of the last days of summer.

Events this weekend : Designer’s Marketplace is at The Loft in Leeds this Saturday. These events are really taking off and getting lots of good publicity from Tigerprint , PrintandPattern etc.

“The Printed Image” Opens on Friday and runs until October 23rd at the Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk.

Flux

Here we are at the Autumn Equinox again; another milestone that seems to mark turning points in a year that has gone by too fast yet also at times unbearably slowly. I’m feeling restless and wanting some kind of positive change, feel like going on an adventure. So far this feeling has only lead to a strange urge to drive to the sea after work yesterday… only by the time we got there it was dark and we ate pizza in the car and drove home without even setting foot on the shore.I felt like I’d gone a bit crazy and I’m sure Sara and Jake  thought so too!

Here are some bits of a piece I’m working on at the moment. I think, as I’ve been saying all along, I need to draw, because I’ve become lazy using old images and recycling them. Lazy or just stuck…either way, you can see from the state of the “lawn” it is time to “cultivate my garden”(when all else fails, as Candide says).

Les Prince’s selection of “The Printed Image ” will be opening at the Zillah Bell Gallery from the beginning of October including some rarely seen prints by William Tillyer and Norman Ackroyd.

(Meanwhile I’m reading “Kafka On The Shore” Haruki Murakami and have “For No One” stuck in my head)