Black Feathers, White Flowers

Continuing my account of the Land Art Course with Dan Lobb at West Dean College:

The walk from the bench, to gather the cut grass, took just over 5 minutes each way. The walking and the raking became a beautifully satisfying daily practice, allowing my body to be well exercised and fully part of the installation.

Dan remarked that seeing me raking and trundling backwards and forwards with my wheelbarrow, reminded him of people raking in Japanese gardens. I realised that the same thought had been at the back of my mind and I was so pleased that he had brought it to the forefront.

As you may know, I love most things Japanese and was lucky enough to spend 15 glorious days on a textile tour in 2015. This photograph from that trip came to mind. (If you type ‘Japan’ into the SEARCH box you can see lots of posts about my trip, but here is a link to the first post about it. )

I found I would take one route to the hay and a different route back. Each day and each time of day, offering new things to notice in the garden

There seemed to be an unusual amount of feathers on the ground.

Were the birds moulting in the heat, or were the feathers more noticeable because the grass was so parched, yellow and short? A couple of us began collecting them.

Walking back past this clump of Annabelle Hydrangeas, I couldn’t resist popping a black feather into a few of the white frothy balls.

A little breeze was blowing and the birds who had gifted the feathers were calling in the trees above:

At the time, this was my favourite ‘installation’, if installation it was.

It felt very Japanese – Dan had pressed the Japan button, and I was off!

The video feels to me like a visual haiku. I went to Google translate.

Seeing the words written and hearing how they are spoken,  the title

‘Black Feathers, White Flowers’

seems like poetry to me

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Slow Sunday Haiku

Leaves falling

Showing front and back

Autumn’s here

 

It is a long time since a haiku popped into my head.

This one was inspired by this post by Mrs Gumboots.

Joining Cee’s Challenge FOTD – Autumn Leaves

Sunday Calm

 

meditate

doodle and relax

sunday calm

~

 

Light

My visit to the Tate Modern on Friday 10th November, was the perfect start to my birthday weekend

The Exchange is a room in the new building at the Tate for interactive projects. I didn’t stop to make a lampshade but did watch a few people doing it. You can get a free cuppa in the Tate Exchange Room – worth knowing!

The exibition in the Turbine Hall, by three Danish artists from an artists’ Collective called SUPERFLEX is also interactive – read all about it here. And see a photo of the artists here,

‘Interactive’ is my favourite form of art.

This exhibit strongly relies on LIGHT and reflection. You can lie on a stripey carpet and watch the huge shiny ball as it swings overhead….

Click on any photo to see it in more detail.

Lots of people were enjoying the bubbles this Mum was blowing as they walked up the carpet.

Whole families could swing together in the rest of the hall, it was fun.

This next picture is taken from a bridge that connects the two buildings.

overview

broken by split layers

Tate Modern

~

One-a-week Photo Challenge, prompt: LIGHT

To join in, leave a link in the Comments to your post – past or present.

~

and joining in with Ronovan’s Haiku Challenge, prompts: BROKEN and OVER

Walk

little hands to hold

then let them go to explore

smooth transit to joy

~

After doing some drawing games with my grandsons, we went for a WALK, although we don’t mention the word ‘walk’ because then Big Bro will not move from the sofa.

We were not going on a walk, we were going ‘exploring’ to find badger sets…

luckily Granny knows Evvvvv–er–ry–thing – even where badgers live.

We talked about those families sleeping underground, we found back doors and front doors and neighbours doors, we made up stories about them, we imagined them all coming out in the evening and playing together, tumbling and play fighting and quarrelling and chasing….

Walking with my grandchildren comes very high on my list of favourite things to do. Seeing the world through their eyes. … …

Precious…..

….climbing, falling, getting caught in brambles, jeopardy – where are we?

who lives in these magical holes – under trees, in trees….

how do we find our way out of the wood?

Phew! we found the way into the field

now for some tracking

 

looking down –  who or what has walked this way before us, was it last night by the light of the moon

looking up – at baby catkins

thinking of Spring

looking down

oh wow – an abundance of acorns, let’s pick some up.

Muddy puddles!

with tiny red wriggly worms in them

worms swimming,  who knew?

squelch and splash and jump and laugh

Oh no! Where are we?

Look for landmarks to find our way home – ah-there’s the big oak tree near Granny’s house…… there’s her house!! – race you!

~

Ronovan’s Haiku Challenge prompts this week are: SMOOTH and HAND

Cathy and  I have put together a list of One-Word promptsfor our One-a-Week Photo Challenge. You can join in by leaving a link to your Walk in the Comments, either here or on Cathy’s Post.

If you love descriptions of walks in far flung places, Restless Jo has some corkers every Monday.

Shop

spooky nights?

dark ghoulish oufit?

not for me

~

 

Now, what do you think I’m going to do with these? Any ideas?

My entry in our One-a-Week Photo Challenge

Please leave your link in the comments here or on Cathy’s post.

These fabric flowers are my latest purchase online from a fairly local Craft Shop called Hobbycraft

And joining in with

Ronovan’s Weekly Haiku Challenge, prompt words: SPOOKY and NIGHT

~

Happy Halloween

Happy Samhain

remembering our ancestors

Muddle

walk by lake or sea

to calm the mind and spirit

beachcombing works well

~

 

As I get into a frenzy of creativity, creating patterns and people with shells, my collection gets in a right old muddle – they need sorting out again.

Joining Cathy and our wonderful band of contributors in our One-a-Week Challenge

We would love you to join us – just leave a link to your ‘Muddle’ in the comments, either here or on Cathy’s blog post.

Also joining Ronovan in his weekly Haiku Challenge

Prompts this week are LAKE and CALM

 

 

Regal

I don’t need Christmas

My heart celebrates Solstice

Turning to the light

~

Using a bit of poetic licence here to meet our One-a-Week Photo Challenge Prompt: Regal

I was trying to make a tealight holder out of used teabags that was not so BROWN.

After painting it with white Gesso it somehow said ‘Christmas’ to me, so I painted the inside with some gold paint, a few dots around the outside and then it said ‘CROWN’.

Also joining in with Ronovan’s weekly Haiku challenge – prompt words HEART and NEED

Rust

 

no silk or satin

to grace my skin, happier

in a rusty truck

~

Cathy-and-Daffy’s One-A-Week Photo Challenge – RUST

and

Ronovan’s Weekly Haiku Challenge, Prompts: SKIN and SILK

Join in our challenge by adding a link in the comments on either blog, we’d love to see your interpretation of this week’s subject.

Next week – REGAL

From Rust to Regal, we like to mix it up!

 

Shadow

remember

sweet scents of childhood

in green lanes

~

Join Cathy and me in our One-a-Week Photo Challenge,  by leaviing a link in the comments

and

Ronovan in the weekly Haiku Challenge. This week’s prompts: SWEET and SCENT

The photo is of Master R, taken in summer 2016 at Kingston Lacy, one of our favourite places for a day out.

 

Orderly

touch, smell, remember

how did life get so busy

miss beachcombing days

 

All these shells and pieces of coral were collected in Abu Dhabi in January 2014.

Two weeks of warm sunshine, sitting on the beach, wandering slowly along the shoreline, knitting, reading and arranging shells ……. ah! ………… sigh …….

You might recognize some pieces that have been used in my shell pictures.

My entry for our One-A-Week Photo Challenge, this week’s prompt: ORDERLY

combining with

Ronovan’s weekly Haiku Challenge: TOUCH and MISS

I could happily spend days arranging collections of objects in an orderly fashion – how about you?

Beach

 

Passion for sand play

Creates dragon with baby

on Pembrokeshire beach

~

Photo Challenge Prompt: BEACH

Ronovan’s Haiku Prompts: PASSION and PLAY

 

Please leave links to your BEACH photos in the comments – thank you, looking forward to seeing them and remembering long summer days.

Found

geocache

late holiday find

left hidden

~

We went hunting for a Geocache on our family holiday in Solva in Wales at the end of July. There are quite a lot registered in that area, but this one was very close to where we were staying. It was fun: first we discovered the general location from the Geocache website, and there was a code to crack to give us a clue about the exact location. But I don’t think we would have found it without the help of my daughter’s Smart phone.

Miss E, Master R and Little Miss M were all very excited to find the plastic pot. We lifted the cache and took it back to the B&B to show the rest of the family

This is what we found inside the cache

The idea is that you can take an item from the cache and replace it with a little gift. It was fun to read what others had written, but we were just a little bit disappointed to discover  a marble and some sweets. Nobody wanted to eat the sweets, Little Miss M wanted to keep the marble.  We threw a couple of sweets in the bin and the children had fun deciding what to leave in their place. This is what we put back in the cache: A sheet of stickers, a butterfly candle, a rubber, and a Love Rock

We put the cache back where we found it and covered it up with stones

 

This is my entry for our One-A-Week Photo Challenge this week, leave a link to what you have FOUND this week in the comments to be included n my monthly Round-Up of entries. And pop across to see what others have found on Nanacathy.

Also joining in with Ronovan’s Haiku Challenge, his prompt words this week are: LATE and HOLIDAY

~

Solva is a very special place for me and I have been there many times: if you would like to see more photos or read more about it put ‘Solva’ in the SEARCH box at the top right of this page and the former blog entires are listed there.

Sharp

~

sharp eyes, sharp scissors

small hooks, smart patterns to please 

each round exciting

~

Joining two challenges together:

Our One-a-Week Photo Challenge

and

Ronaovan’s Haiku Challenge: PLEASURE and EXCITE

 

Inspired by some of the mini crocheted mandalas I’ve seen in online crochet groups I am trying my hand at making a couple whilst me hands and eyes can still cope!

The white one ‘Sol’  by Zoya Matyushenko on Ravelry, her designs are amazing! Each round is a little gem in itself. I’m making this in Cotton thread – Scheepjes BonBon, Bridal White, with a 1.25 mm hook, although if I did it again in this cotton I would choose a 1.5mm.

The turquoise one is Spiro Star by Helen Shrimpton which I am making with the same thread and a 2mm hook. My plan is to make a one colour Mandala Madness with Spiro Star at the centre.

 

Join Cathy and me in our weekly Photo Challenge by leavig a link to your ‘Sharp’ photo in the comments.

 

Lane

That moment when you are walking in a muddy lane and just have to stand still and look at the sunlight shining through the leaf stuck on the end of your stick.

Archive photo taken on our family holiday in February 2016. We hire a big house for my children and their families, for a week, every other year. It’s wonderful to see the little cousins all romping around together. This is Twiglet, one of the twins.

Joining Ronovan’s Haiku Challenge: PARTY and ENJOY

party of fifteen

gather biennially

enjoyed by us all

~

Join us in the One-a-Week Photo Challenge by leaving the link to you current or archive ‘LANE’ photo

Turn

Oak tree turned into a sun dial by the evening sun

swirls like the ocean

running on the shore of your

imagination

 

The spiral made in my lawn this year has been thoroughly enjoyed by many – children always run around spirals – turning, turning, turning, always turning, always running, always laughing – it is a delight!

Easy to do – you cut the lawn on a high setting and then starting in the middle, mow outwards on a lower setting, keeping a gap of the mower width to your right or left, whichever way you are moving. I’d love to know if you give it a go.

I first cut a spiral back in 1999 and then came the Waves, and the Grid

What pattern would you create?

Just had to include this wonderful piece of graphic design:

I saw this on a site called ‘Trust Me I’m a Designer’. Clever don’t you think!

It’s your turn!

Leave a link to your photos in the comments so that we can all see what turns up this week. 😉

Joining in with Ronovan’s Weekly Haiku Challenge – his prompt words this week are: Ocean and Shore

and the One – a – Week Photo Challenge that Cathy and I have compiled for fun.

Wave

remembered childhood

when the flames of friendship grow

embers never dim

~

Combining our One-a-Week Photo Challenge and Ronovan’s Weekly Haiku Challenge: prompt words – EMBER and FLAME

This photo was taken on a very special New Year’s Day on Mwnt beach with my cousin.

You can see more about the event in this post: Mwnt beach on New Year’s Day

Gosh the weather was fierce that day – the wind blowing up spray from the breaking waves.

My cousin and I met as small children, but not since, and now over 50 years later we have discovered a very special friendship. I do love the way life goes round full circle.

More Wave – related goodies:

Have you heard of the book  The Wavewatchers Companion by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

I hadn’t either until listening to the Museum of Curiosity which is my absolute favourite Radio 4 progamme.

Then there are the wonderfully relaxing waves of crochet in

Attic24’s Neat Wave Pattern, Crochet Wavelength Stitch

and this ripple pattern which has featured in quite a few of my cushions and throws

Ripple

 

 

Please leave link to your WAVES in the comments and I will include it in our monthly round up.

Some old photos of my children waving …….Bye for now

~

Later addition – after Alastair’s comment (below) I had to go on an explore and just look what I found

Spectral Waves

How cool is that!

Fiction

deep thinking

even at six years

darkness lurked

~

Ronovan has given us DARKNESS and DEEP this week in his weekly Haiku Challenge.

Mixing that with our Photo Prompt – FICTION.

~

My childhood was not always a happy place to be. There is a hint of that in my expression in the photo of me at about 6 years old, that little frown. The photo is in its original 1950s frame.

My Grandad and step-grandmother, Dabbity, provided me with a haven of books, cooking, gardening and needlework, I was always supremely happy when I was with them.

I learnt to read early and loved reading fiction as an escape. Perhaps that is why I hardly ever read fiction nowadays – no need to escape.

These are three favourite books of my childhood: Swiss Family Robinson, Monty Woodpig’s Caravan and Miss Richard’s Mouse

The illustrations in Miss Richard’s Mouse are a bit deep and dark and I remember feeling a bit scared of this book

~

Please leave your link to your work of FICTION in the comments, we’d love to see them.

One-a-Week Photo Challenge: Cross

the stars in my world

creativity blooming

with needle and thread

~

Three generations of cross stitch.

The blue and yellow Binca pieces on the top were made by my children (now 35 and 41) at school. The white Binca is being decorated by Little Miss M (4) and Master R (7), he has made the first arm of the cross stitches, but got frustrated when he came to the corner, his mathematical Virgoan brain could not get it to be precise enough, so we had to take a break. I hope we can return to it next weekend. Shall I undo the corner bit? …… Hmmmm these moral connumdrums we Grannies face.

You can see my cross stitches on the fabric collage underneath, the start of another textile experiment.

Linking with Ronovan’s weekly Haiku Challenge.

This week’s prompts: STAR and BLOOM

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Cathy and I have put together a list of subjects for the whole year – jump in as and when you feel like it with current or archive photos, and leave a link in the comments to be included in the monthly Round Up.

Favourite

dusty blue

Teddy’s favourite

keeps her warm

~

Miss E very sweetly asked me if I could mend the first dress I had made for Teddy as it is her FAVOURITE. 

Of course I could not resist this Boro-esque challenge.

First I needed to darn the holes and stabilise the edge with a running stitch

Then I carefully washed the dress and took it to Miss E for further instructions.

She asked for a daisy to cover the darn in the front and for me to neaten the edge. I hope she approves of the result as seen in the first photo.

~

“Work is love made visible”

Kahlil Gibran

~

Joining in with Ronovan’s weekly Haiku Challenge, prompt words: COLOUR and WARMTH

and

My entry for our One-a-Week Photo Challenge: FAVOURITE

Please leave a link to your FAVOURITE photo in the comments to be included in the monthly round-up.