Wanderlust 2024 - Weeks nine to sixteen - Texture

The art journaling course is going along well so far this year and here are the pages from the theme 'Texture'.  Above we were drawing a portrait using watersoluble graphite and adding gesso mixed with plaster of paris as well as texture paste.  My portraits are improving but I do find them tricky.

I loved week ten where we used a book as inspiration - mine was 'The Secret Garden' (with a bit of Alice in Wonderland thrown in - both with gardens, and finding keys to unlock doors.) 

Week eleven was adding texture to an image by sticking tissue paper over it.  I didn't really find this lesson very inspiring, but like the bird image I chose to use.

For week twelve were encouraged to think back to our childhood and my thoughts went back to a lovely house we used to live in which had stone walls and a climbing rose 'Albertine' in the back garden.  I then thought of the blue and white flowery material which my granny used to make me a puffed sleeve dress.  I loved that dress! Under the rose is a pocket which houses...

...some tags - here is Granny with me in the dress.  The image to the right is from the pattern she used, which I found in a bag of patterns.  The plan at the back is how I got to the different elements I used in the final page.

I enjoyed week thirteen as it involved inks and texture paste and a stamp for the focal image. This woman stamp is a Jane Davenport one and I love the movement in the image.  

Week fourteen was really fun.  We had to make pen nibs out of drink cans and stick them to a wooden skewer. These pens were then used to write and make marks.  I thoroughly enjoyed making all the papers which were used in the big circle.

Being grounded was the theme for the next week, so I chose a photo of the lilac and magnolia trees in the garden.  We were shown how to mix used dried tea leaves and sand into white gesso or clear gesso to create a textured paint.  

Week sixteen was the 'Artful Musings' week and it was about using an art journal to process emotions, in this case, grief.  The writing is quoted from the end of this blessing, which struck a chord with me and I knew I needed to include it:

"May the sun bring you energy every day, bringing light into the darkness of your soul.
May the moon softly restore you by light bathing you in the glow of restful sleep and peaceful dreams.
May the rain wash away your worries and cleanse the hurt that sits in your heart.
May the breeze blow new strength into your being, and may you believe in the courage of yourself.
May you walk gently through the world, keeping your loved one with you always, knowing that you are never parted in the beating of your heart."
                                                               Apache grief blessing, by unknown author(s)

On to our next theme, which is writing.

This morning

We have had two sunny days in a row, which is something of an event so far this year.  Making the most of it, I went out in the garden this morning.  Above is the unknown fringed tulip which I didn't plant but which keeps coming back and is very welcome.

I do like a fern and my ferns haven't had much of a focus on my blog.  I have just removed the old leaves, so you can see the new growth so much better.  Above is a Hart's Tongue fern, a British native plant. Such a zingy green!

I have an English bluebell unfurling its flowers.

My Rhodanthemum Casablanca has been repotted and is still flowering - it started to flower in December.

The Japanese Shield Fern has new leaves in this lovely red colour.

Finally, here is my other fern, (I can't remember the name of it) in the border by the hydrangea.  It's a beauty!

Count Arthur Strong - 'And It's Goodnight From Him!'

After a busy day at work, I was looking forward to seeing Count Arthur Strong.  We are big fans of his brand of silliness and it is a great antidote to the depressing elements of the world we are in.  We all need to laugh and Count Arthur enabled us to do just that. He is a bit of a 'marmite' character which people either love or hate, but he has had TV series as well as radio series so there is a lot to enjoy if it's your thing.

There is a good review of the show here which gives a flavour of what to expect. I was crying with laughter quite a lot.  Steve Delaney is a master of his art and this was a real tour de force.  One of my favourite bits was Count Arthur mangling 'back behind the butcher's block' in his own inimitable way.

If you like him, the dates and venues are above.  If you don't know what I am talking about, here's a taste of his comedy (talking to a life insurance salesman) on Youtube and here is one of the fan favourites from one of the TV series (Flying Lesson).

Plants in mid April

While it is tulip time, there are other plants flowering now and bringing colour to the garden.  Above is Clematis Blue Dancer, which has long elegant flowers.

This clematis is Frankie, which looks a deep purple here but is lighter in real life.

Of course there have been tulips and on sunny days, they have opened up fully. Above is Ballerina.

Here are Brown Sugar (and Ballerina in the bottom left.)

Ballerina has such an elegant shape and a fresh lemony scent.

Brown Sugar in a pot, giving a lovely splash of orange.

Apple blossom from my little patio James Grieve.  I am not sure how well this will do this year (or at all) because when we repotted it earlier in the year, it was infested with vine weevil grubs and had lost a lot of its roots.  We shall see.

Erythronium Pagoda which has grown into a good clump now.  

Tulip Ronaldo in a pot, just starting to flower.

Here it is in full flower and looking lovely.

Self sown primulas under the patio table.  There is also a self sown hardy geranium leaf too.

Finally, Magnolia Susan and the lilac tree have been flowering too and I always enjoy seeing them together. The scent on a sunny day is lovely.

Oh What a Lovely War

 A couple of weekends ago we went to Hull Truck Theatre to see Oh What a Lovely War by Black Eyed Theatre .

There are some very quick trailers on Youtube here and here .

The show itself was originally created by the cast at the time in 1963 and interspersed with songs from the time of the First World War.  However, it is (sadly) all too relevant today and the implication is that despite all the wars and conflicts since, the human race has learnt very little from its mistakes. If you would like to know more about the show, here is a link to a Wikipedia entry. 

The cast were all multi-instrumentalists and singers and they really earned their money. The show was moving, thought provoking and intelligent.  While the action was going on, which was extremely slick and well-choreographed, on the screen behind were projected the horrifying numbers of people killed in the various WWI battles.  Our one slight criticism is that the ladies' voices didn't carry so well we missed some of the lyrics from the songs, but none of the cast had microphones which added to the intimate feeling of the show.  

It was definitely a memorable afternoon. There are a couple of reviews of the show here  and here which give a flavour of the show as a whole and this particular revival.  The remaining dates and places on the tour are here.

Easter

To all those celebrating Easter, may I wish you a Happy Easter.  It was a beautiful day yesterday, with sunshine and blue sky but today it has turned misty and cloudy.  I am sure that Easter egg hunts and other festivities will still be enjoyed by those taking part.  Above are some of the Easter cards I sent out this year.  The cat with bunny ears was inspired by Tim Holtz, who was busy putting bunny ears on some of his photos here. 

I have also made some Easter butterfly cakes which we will be enjoying over the next day or two, assuming they last that long!

In the garden, things are starting to look more Spring-like.  Muscari (grape hyacinth) are flowering...

...and the scillas are bringing their beautiful shade of blue.

Cardamine Quinquefolia has been really pretty but is starting to die down again now.

The tulips at the front door are supposed to be Orange Emperor, but they look decidedly red to me.  however, they are very welcome, whatever they are.

The hellebores in the border are still flowering.

Here are some of the Valerie Finnis muscari I bought late in the season and planted in December, I think it was.  Their shade of pale blue is so pretty...

...and works well against the other muscari shades too.  I keep finding them popping up in the borders where I had forgotten I had planted them, so it's a nice surprise!

It's also the start of tulips in the border, which have flowered once in a pot and then get transplanted.  So far, most keep coming back, which is a bonus.  I planted them deeply and I think they like that.  The ones in pots from last Autumn are in bud, but not near to flowering just yet.

Magnolia Susan is also starting to flower and scent the garden with the lovely lemony, fresh scent. 

There is so much to enjoy and this is my favourite time of year, from now until mid-June.

Colourblock

I recently treated myself to a small piece of Tim Holtz's cotton called Colourblock.  (It's no good, I can't bring myself to spell it the American way!)  When he showed the lovely things his talented team of makers had made, I was inspired.  He also explained the the material was based on a colour swatch of his ink pads which he had then grunged up.  It had been scanned and digitally printed on the material. If you would like to see the video, it is on Youtube here.

I decided to make my own version, using some of my ink pads and some watersoluble crayon to give me the grungy look on the edges. The back of this is some packaging cardboard. All the lovely colours make me happy and I really enjoyed making it.  I haven't decided where I'm going to put it or what I shall do with the material yet though...

Luxmuralis - 'Science' at Lincoln Cathedral

When I heard that Luxmuralis was coming back to Lincoln Cathedral, I booked up as I really enjoyed 'Life' last year.  My blog post about it is here. We were warmly dressed and headed on up last Tuesday night.   This year the presentations were all about 'Chemistry, Biology, molecules, cells, DNA, the history of science, contributions of science to humanity and a reflection on famous scientists past and present' (taken from the description on Youtube).  Above was the development of the study of human anatomy.

The patterns were mesmerising.

I recognised the periodic table...

...and enjoyed watching the development of cells into an embryo...

Equations made some beautiful patterns.

The finale included images of scientists, past and present with their names coming up and I wish this section had been slower so that I could have taken more of it in.  You could stay as long as you wanted up until the Cathedral closed for the night and a lot of people were sitting down to watch.  It was an immersive experience, like being in a giant kaleidoscope, as I said last time.  I am sure it will be a popular event for the Cathedral.
 This video on Youtube will give you a flavour of it - still photos (particularly with a camera which doesn't like low light levels) just don't do it justice.