Autumn Cottage Diarist

At Last This Year - a Dragonfly!

The arch into the herb garden in the soft light of autumn

It's more by luck than skill that I have captured on camera the large Southern Hawker dragonfly that I first heard, then saw, clattering around the pots which skirt the herb garden pond this afternoon - the pond that split and drained over a year ago, which was reinstated back in the summer.

I am so very pleased with the way it has already settled down - it looks as if nothing had ever happened (in fact looks a tad more cared for than it did before), but it has been somewhat sterile up until now; while filling with water, a single dragonfly did indeed do one circuit of the pond, attracted by the sun on the water, but since then - nothing. The proliferating duckweed has helped to mellow it and then - today - the final sign that nature is  in good working order in that area; the advent of the beautiful dragonfly, which spent its time circuiting the pond edge, laying eggs into every nook and cranny it could find. I have missed them and was thrilled to see this one return.

Dragonfly larvae can apparently spend up to *seven* years developing at the bottom of the pond, but I have great hopes that sooner, rather than later, I will be able to once again sit in the arbour on a summer's afternoon and watch them climb out onto sedge grass, split their larval skin, and emerge to pump up their wings and fly away - another generation of dragonflies taking to the air.

I have a passion for all forms of Dragonflies - they entrance me, and have also been a great inspiration to artists in paint, textile and jewellery for many centuries; along with the wild creature itself, here are some examples of the beautiful items that have been created by human hands

Rene Lalique - Dragonfly brooch - 1904

Also by Lalique - the mesmerising 'Dragonfly Woman' at the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon

Lalique (again!) - Dragonfly Tiara

The exquisite embroidery of Annemieke Mein

On paper: Frog-Dragonfly-Fantastic-Bird - Jacob de Gheyn (1565-1629)

From the British Library - a page from De Bello Gallico, circa 1550

Red Dragonflies - a Homage to Monet - Reiji Hiramatsu

Now all I want to pick up my pens and needles and sketch, paint and stitch - but in the meantime, I can always resort to my camera!

 

 

On the Disruptive Nature of an Artist's Date

The Death of the Virgin - altarpiece segment from the Northern Rhine, 1430-50. Painted and Gilded Walnut.

Anyone who has read Julia Cameron's 'Artists Way' will know that one of the activities which she suggests is that of taking oneself off at regular intervals for 'Artist Dates' - time spent alone at some particular venue which will stimulate your creative juices, so that one's 'well of creativity' can be periodically refilled in order that it can then be dipped into anew.

I had the opportunity to do this two days ago, when I was invited to travel to London to the Victoria and Albert Museum - a temple to creativity - to which my close friend J had been given gift membership last Christmas. As a result, we were both allowed to use the Members Lounge - a quiet room in the upper reaches of the building, accessed via the Glass Galleries...

Exceedingly covetable miniature (not quite 1/12 scale) Bohemian 19th century glass in the Glass Galleries

...and also gain free entry to one of the two major exhibitions open there at the moment -  The Treasures of the Royal Courts, celebrating 500 years of diplomatic and trade relations between Britain and 'Muscovy'

You can read more about the exhibition on the V&A's own website - so this post is not really to tell you about that in detail - but more to notice the disruptive, as well as the 'well filling' effect that such a visit can have. As you all know, if you read this blog at all frequently, I am spending a great deal of time at the moment in the garden, which is gradually taking shape again from a fairly neglected patch of greenery. I love almost every minute I spend there, getting my hands dirty, the rest of me often dirty and wet, making my back and feet ache - but standing back periodically, deeply enjoying the natural world and saying 'yes, at last this is becoming a garden'.

The Troyes Altarpiece, French, 1504 - incredibly finely detailed portraits carved not in wood, but in (painted) limestone

But now - after my Artist Date at the museum on Tuesday (large parts of which I did spend on my own, as my friend and I split up most of the time to visit our own favourite galleries), after immersing myself in the balm of a different kind of beauty, and knowledge, and discourse, why - I am totally disrupted!! I am hankering once again to pick up my books and tickle my brain cells in a different kind of way - be creative in a different kind of way to how I create when I am gardening, and also pursue study of some of the collections in both a broader and a deeper manner. What was the historical background of these items? The particular story of the church in which that carving was placed? What do the symbols and postures of the figures denote? How did the cult of devotion to the Virgin Mary in medieval times encourage certain styles and patronages? There is a beauty, too, in discovering all these details, and more in seeing how these works of art do not come to exist in isolation, but for a reason and within a context. As explanations make sense and pieces fall into place, I think there is much beauty in gaining greater and wider understanding,  But I need to juggle my days around to enable me to fit in both kinds of beauty; I *need* both kinds - otherwise, one life time will definitely not be enough to enable me to appreciate all that is waiting out there for me!

One factor which makes the V&A museum so impressive is its stated philosophy of being a place to stimulate the creativity of all those who visit as well as a place to admire the creations of the past. They have an exceptional outreach programme of classes, courses, lectures, symposia and visits with related online 'subject hubs' - of which their Creative Writing hub immediately caught my notice. It is worth taking a look if you are at all interested in any form of personal writing - six segments with writing exercises in each, using items from the museum collections to stimulate thought and imagination. Not everyone can travel to London, but anyone can browse the V&A collections, so why not do so yourself - and in so doing, give yourself your own little Artist Date with the museum.

And as a final thought - if you could visit, explore and/or study an area, subject or topic in greater detail - what would it be?

Distraction Tactics and Give-away Result

Hare through the woods - from the website of Wendy Bramall

To avoid getting my head down and just GETTING ON with my academic work, my main distraction tactics this weekend so far.... a) to go shopping yesterday and buy £20.00 worth of costume jewellery in the sale (would have been over 100 uk pounds at full price - fab chunky pieces that I love) and b) to browse through the brochure for the county-wide Hampshire Open Studios which is coming up on the second half of August. (if you go to the website, do look through the 2008 brochure which is in .pdf format but full of inspiring colour illustrations of each artist's work). I spent a happy half hour planning a tour of some of the exhibiting artists - an amazing way to have a great day out (you don't HAVE to buy original art, most of the artists have postcards and greetings cards of their work available which can also look good framed).

The artist I absolutely MUST get to see is Wendy Bramall - who works as an illustrator and has the most extraordinary eye. I'm including this image above as it is the one from the Open Studios catalogue, but I urge you to browse through her website and particularly look at some of the illustrations under the "Personal" button. Look closely to see the way she has merged skeletal remains with images of live animals...I think they are absolutely beautiful.

She was apparently brought up on Guernsey (though now lives in Winchester) and has some gorgeous illustrations of Channel Island cottages in her "Commercial" section, which remind me of the charming work of Richard Bell and illustrations in the book "Island" by Garth and Vicky Waite. Oh, I'm so inspired to start painting and drawing again...lets find a sketchbook and start small....

Thanks for those of you who wrote in for the Poetry Card giveaway... I loved reading what you would do with them. If you will email your home addresses to me, cards will be going to Darla, Gina and Anna (I've decided to give all three sets away) - but I will be back in college tomorrow, so if there are any more, I'll bring another set home and send those out as well.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Extreme Altered Books

Image from centripetalnotion.com

Got the bug for Altered books, so I've been doing a little surfing - and came across these amazing works.

Brian Dettmer not only alters books - he alters other used items - cassette tapes, old maps - anything he can carve into, melt or otherwise modify. More of his works here and here and his Wikipedibio here

The Kindness of Strangers - who Turn into Friends

The Box of Delights

I don’t normally receive an intriguing “knock on the door” on Valentines’ Day – but this year, I did. Then, when I saw the carrier standing there with an enormous parcel, I assumed that it was a clothing order for Alec. It was only when I brought it inside, and saw my name on the label, that I knew that something special might be lurking inside.

Altered book pages

It all started a few weeks ago, when I mentioned here on the blog that I am preparing new courses and workshops, and that one of the things that I did was to run “Memory book” and “Memory Box” workshops. I mentioned how costly “art” papers and scrapbooking materials can be – and received in return some very welcome and helpful thoughts on how to create or discover inexpensive materials.

More pages from the delicious altered travel book

I also had a kind message from Rachel Scott – we have exchanged half a dozen emails over my last couple of years blogging, and she generously offered to send me some items from her own “stash” of scrapbooking and art journaling resources. I awaited an envelope, but, being under the influence of “elderbrain syndrome”, completely forgot about the offer within days – a lot of other “stuff” was invading my life and demanding priority attention at the time.

So when the parcel, which measures something like 18”x 15” x 4” and weighs a LOT, arrived, it was not until I saw Rachel’s signature on the paperwork that I put two and two together.

Papers from Rachel's "Ladies" collection

And when I opened the box? “I looked in and all around, saw wondrous things”

I’m still gasping. As I took all the items out this morning to take these photographs, I am enthralled by the art-making possibilities, but I am also amazed at Rachel’s generosity. “Thank you, thank you; thank you!!” seems all too little an expression of gratitude.

But I think there will be many other people who will also be touched by Rachel’s generosity - all the friends and clients who will attend my workshops.

"Travel" inspirations

I will put part of the materials to practical use, but I will also keep a selection of each sort of item (art papers, wallpaper borders, tags, tiles, embellishments, altered book) in the box, just as they are, to become a travelling exhibition of “what to use, how to use it, what to look out for” whenever I am giving a workshop or talk. The story of how the items came to me will always be told.

Tiles

In a few weeks time, I will be visiting the Cancer Care day centre at my local hospital to run just these sorts of workshops – be very sure that this box, and the story of how kindness and generosity have stretched their embracing arms across the Atlantic ocean to touch the hearts of many here in England, will go with me.

Thank you Rachel – your gift is deeply appreciated.

Henry Moore at Kew

I’ve never been much of a fan of Henry Moore, if I’m honest. I guess that for me, he fell into the "Damien Hurst" category of being somewhat obtuse and doing things for effect – for "shock value" only.

But on Friday, I had my view changed almost instantly – not by looking at his sculptures outdoors in Kew Gardens, (Where 30 or so of his major works or on display) but in the small indoor display of his sketchbook ideas and working drawings.

Alongside some of the small maquettes of his work were some of the natural items from which he took his inspiration – a box of small flints and a larger chunk, a couple of pieces of driftwood, tree roots, a ram's horn, a shell, sheep's tooth. Suddenly, the scales fell from my eyes and all became clear – he created his forms from the natural artefacts all around him. Especially connected for me were the female figures, which seem to metamorphose from and back to the flints – Earth Goddesses of the most literal kind, drawn from the earth and merging back into the landscape again.

I walked back out into the Gardens and suddenly, transformationally, I was looking with different eyes at the pieces which half an hour before had meant little to me. Not for the first time, the sketchbooks and the natural inspirations for works of art brought the works themselves to life. After absorbing their meaning, after following the pathway that the creator took himself, I was able to appreciate something of what the sculptures were all about and what he was trying to communicate with them.

Edit the above as pretentious rubbish if you like! But enjoy the sculptures themselves in the images here. I was able to gain more by being able to see them "in the round" and with the light changing on their surface as the day passed – and we will visit again, in the winter, to see how the changed landscape around changes our perception of the sculptures. But tell me what you gain from these photographs that I might have not seen – I am willing to go on even more of a journey through your own observations.

I see a seedpod here - what is it that you see?

"Please Sit and Draw"

While continuing the mega-muck-out of my office today, I came across
a slip of paper. It is something I copied last year from one of my
favourite places - the Ruskin Gallery in Sheffield. Surrounded by some of the wonderful artefacts belonging to John Ruskin's  Guild of St George, there is a corner with paper, pens & seats supplied, and this exhortation on the wall to those who pass by......

"In our busy lives, we often miss the chance to look closely at the
world. We may be unaware that if we look at a tiny feather, we can trace
structures, patterns or the way colours catch the light. Artists try to
see clearly the world around us. Imagination and skills of hand then
transform this seeing into something new. The works artists make
encourage us to go back and look closely. Often we then begin to see
things differently. Please sit and draw."

This is a message to me, from the Universe, via a scrap of paper, to
pick up my pen again.

I love to read Karen Winters "Creative Journey" and Richards Bell's' "Wild Yorkshire" .They follow the suggestion to "please sit and draw" almost every day.

How about me? How about you?

Sparkling Rainbows of Delight

I'm sorry for my absence for the last few weeks - since returning from
Portugal, life has been hectic here. Firstly with preparations and send
-offs for my younger son, (who is at the moment visiting Toronto and
canoeing the French River as part of his Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award
expedition). I've also been busy completing various assignments for the last few
weeks attendance at my Diploma in Counselling course.

But today is Alec's birthday, and today we celebrated in style, visiting
the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, just outside London - a special
expedition of our own, that had been marked down as "must see" when
first announced, back last year - the installation of 45 pieces of Dale
Chihuly's works of art in glass. We were not disappointed.

The exhibition of his pieces, scattered amongst the spectacular plants,
hanging gloriously, gracefully from the great Victorian greenhouses and
scattered joyously across the Great Pond, with one exultatory boatful of
rainbow coloured, sunlight electrified glass swirls, spirals and globes
just made my heart sing and my feet dance with delight. It was the most
thrilling thing I have seen for years - not since my dear friend Boyd
visited London three years ago and first introduced my to my first
Chihuly chandelier in the foyer of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

If you live in the UK, drive, get a tube or a train to Kew. If you are
in Europe, hop on a plane. Even if you are in the USA - if you have a
few spare days and a few spare dollars, hop on a plane as well - I
guarantee, you will not be disappointed.

Enough of words......you need to see the pictures. Enjoy and give thanks
for such glorious adventures in art.

Stories in Pictures

This is the handpainted sign from our local pub, "The Gun", where we
often have Sunday lunch. There has been a building on the site for many
centuries, the name of the pub alluding to the fact that it stands on
the outskirts of the area that was the site of the 1st Battle of Newbury
in 1643, one of the important battles of the English Civil War. It is,
in fact, believed that the building originally functioned as a hospital
station during the battle.

Evidence of the fighting is spread all over the area of Wash Common -
people frequently turn up archaeological finds of musket, cannonball and
other militaria. Autumn Cottage lies about three miles away from the
battlefield, and even here we have found interesting items in the
garden. The most interesting of these is the lead top from what was
called an "apostle" - a measure of gunpowder, carried in a bandolier
across the chest.

We have been told that the cottage was inhabited from about 1700, but
that before that it may well have been part of some farm buildings - so
it is quite likely that soldiers travelling on their way to or from the
fray may have holed up here. I like to think so, anyway - so romantic!

As we are having a thorough overhaul of the garden this year, I am
toying with the idea of carrying out a more comprehensive dig there. I
have literally boxes and boxes of artefacts that have been retrieved in
the general course of digging the flower beds and when building work has
occurred, but it would be interesting to carry out a more thorough,
accurate dig and record it properly. A good friend is the retired
Curator of the local museum, whose expertise I should be able to call
upon. I'll have to think more about this...

This is one of my recent efforts at collage. Another on line friend who
owns her own Yahoo list called "Armchair Travelling" has encouraged the
idea of an "Artist of the Month" in the group. Last month we focussed on
Jean Cocteau - and this is the collage that I created as a result.
Initially started with paper & acrylic paint, then scanned and script
added digitally. It's only a quick effort, but I am learning more about collage all the time. I enjoy the facilites offered by digital manipulation, but there is something missing in not having the wonderful textures of a mixed media work to enjoy. Swings and roundabouts, I suppose.

This month we are finding out more about the authoress Georges Sand, one
time mistress of Frederic Chopin, but also an accomplished writer and
woman of the word. (I meant to write "world" here - but I think the slip
in fact describes her better :-)). I am enthusiastic to join in such an
enterprise as this - we can vote for our choice for the next month, but
I am quite happy to "lose" the vote - because then I discover more about
someone with whom I might be totally unfamiliar - which is much more of
an exciting adventure, don't you agree?