Gratitude: A Walking Meditation

Some of you might remember that back in the Summer I went to West Dean College on a Land Art course with tutor, Dan Lobb.

I was telling you about my piece of installation land art, centering on a bench, which became a focus for GRATITUDE.

And then my computer started to malfunction and my posts about the installation stopped.

So this post is a bit of a throwback to the summer, just to round things off.

A short meditation walk of gratitude.

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Silly Surreal Saturday

I thought it would be fun, on this grey, wet Winter’s day, to think back to my wonderful time at West Dean College.

At the end of Summer School there is a magnificent party which is themed with Dali in mind. We were all invited to dress accordingly

I donned one of my knitted wigs and my Frida Kahlo headband.

I don’t usually wear make-up and am so out of practice that my attempt at ‘surreal’ meant that I looked as if I had two lurid black eyes!

The dinner was fabulous with many Dali references

The art students created Mae West lip masks, after the sofa. One of the original sofas is at West Dean College.

I also wore some crazy trousers that I bought in the early 1980s and some flashing trainers that I bought to wear to my daughter’s recent 40th birthday party.

In the photo with me is C, a student on the sculpture course. She gave me permission to post the photos – thank you C!

The Summer School Party was very silly and a LOT of FUN!

Silly Saturday: Compostable

When I saw the enormous Compost Heap at West Dean, I was reminded of what my son once said:

“You won’t want to be buried, will you Mum, you will want to be composted!”

 

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

Walking the River

Land Art at West Dean College with Dan Lobb

As I gathered the mown grass, I made a meandering path.

When the wheelbarrow was full, I left a mound of ‘hay’ that needed to be stepped over. These mounds gave the walker an opportunity to pause, rather like the turns in a labyrinth.

These are two of my fellow students who kindly let me video them as they walked.

You can see A’s art on Instagram here: @aprilyasamee

and

T’s art on Instagram here : @aweworks

I had only collected 2 barrow loads at the time this video was taken. By the end of the process, I had gathered 9 barrow loads of ‘hay’.

When the project was finished, I walked the ‘River of Hay’ and at each mound spoke of something I was grateful for, before stepping over it.

Gentle tears were falling as I neared the end.

Spending time in a place where all facets of creativity are deeply and profoundly supported is an experience I wish for everyone. Soul food!

A Bench of Gratitude

Working with this bench at West Dean College on a Land Art Course, became a very meaningful process for me. It also led me to make other pieces of Land Art in different locations around the garden.

This is the third post about it, you can see the first here and the second here.

The bench is, under a Lime Tree, in the front of the college and therefore seen by all the garden visitors and college students. Not the sort of place I thought I would have chosen at all – but it chose me.

After weaving in the first bunch of grasses, I walked back to the tulip tree to gather more. I counted my steps as I went. It took 150 steps to get from bench to tree.

As I counted out loud, I was reminded of my Welsh maternal Grandfather.

I did not get to sleep easily as a child and he used to pat me whilst counting out loud, very quietly, to help me get to sleep. I could choose how many pats 100, 150 or 200. We had a very close relationship – I had not remembered the patting for years and years. I felt very close to him as I was walking and a feeling of gratitude that I had him in my life, washed over me.

I picked just what I could hold in one hand, walked back and wove the dry grass through the back of the bench. Back for another handful and this time I placed it as a bunch to the left. This referenced sheafs of corn and also flowers left on benches and other places, in memorium.

My intention was to gather more grass to bulk up the sheaf, but after a walk around the garden, I saw some cut grass and decided to gather this to create some sort of spiral or other path, leading to the bench.

As I raked up the cut grass, I made a meandering path, which became my second piece of Land Art.

I came to like the spin off pieces more than what happened around the bench, but if I had not started with the bench the others would not have been created.

Silly Saturday Shadows

I had such a wonderful week at West Dean and will share more of the process with the bench in another post, but today is Saturday and time for a bit of silliness!

Does my bum look big in this?

I had fun on the last morning (yesterday) walking around the grounds of West Dean College playing with the shadows in the early morning sun.

If you would like to see more of what I got up to you can visit my @rustnfound Instagram page.

Have you had an opportunity to be silly this week?

Scrap Happy Bookcover

Some progress has been made on the book cover started last month.

It has fabric from old clothes and curtains, some from the 1970s.

The white lacy daisy is from a dress I had when I was 17, the stars are from holey old jeans that Miss E (14) has grown out of. I love them sitting close to each other in this piece.

This project is a lot of fun.

The inspiration comes from “The Magpie’s Nest”

a course by Aimee Irel Bishop

I have started another, which I have made in a different way.

This time, instead of cutting slits in the base fabric, I have laid strips on top of a piece of fabric to act as the ‘warp’. I tacked then down along the top edge and started weaving.

There is more to do.

Joining Kate and her happy band of Scrap Happy contributors.

The Stitchbook – Ta Dah!

I signed up for this project in May 2019

150 of us joined Helen Birmingham’s STITCHBOOK COLLECTIVE and the journey began.

Who knew when we got our first box of goodies in September 2019 how important this project was going to be for keeping us busy, creative and connected.

Each month for 12 months we recieved a kit through our letter box, and even though we had paid for it, many of us felt like it was a present arriving through the ether to cheer us up – happy post!

We chatted via our Facebook group, encouraging and inspiring one another

We were initially working towards exhibiting the books at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show. This was cancelled, but we kept on stitching – the cancellation gave some of us the much needed time to finish the project.

I get very excited at the beginning of a project. I loved the feeling as inspiration flooded in with each new box – but then I go off at a tangent and make a multitude of my own experiments and lose focus.

I am so good at NOT finishing things – anyone else out there like me?

I wonder if I ever would have pushed myself to complete it if it hadn’t been for Helen’s flexibility and gentle encouragement to get me over the finish line.

The covers done and the book bound together with bead spacers – it sat there – it did not feel finished – bizarrely, it did not feel mine.

It was a huge effort for me to focus on the covers, make them to Helen’s specific instructions and get the book exhibition-ready. The front cover has tabs on it so that it can be displayed for exhibition. The effort to get the covers made took away some of the joy, so it had to sit in a corner for a while.

Seeing other finished books online and a few text messages with Cathy (thank you Cathy!) gave me the kick of enthusiasm I needed – out came the beads, the stamps and the paint brush

and here it is – Exhibition-ready!

AND £3,344.00 has been raised by Helen and the purchasers of her kits for the mental health charity, MIND. 

Feel good project all round.

You can see other posts about this book by typing Stitchbook into the SEARCH box and here is a video of the finished book.

A HUGE thank you to Helen Birmingham for this project and to the other members of THE STITCHBOOK COLLECTIVE community.

Coastal Crochet Workshop

UPDATE: Because of the Covid-19 we have had to cancel. We hope to reschedule as soon as we can.

Exciting news!

Eleonora of Coastal Crochet is coming to Dorset to run a Coastal Coasters workshop.

She has designed this bright and summery poster for the event.

The workshop is on the Sunday after Easter Sunday. Why not come along and make a weekend of it. There are plenty of lovely places to stay around here.

We will crochet with Eleonora all morning and then we can spend the afternoon finishing off our projects. There is always something very special about crafting together.

I have followed Coastal Crochet for a few years now and have really enjoyed watching Eleonora’s journey to becoming a published crochet designer. She always shares such wonderful photos of her travels as well – I’m really looking forward to meeting her!

Coastal Yarn Bombing

I’m very excited to tell you that my Seahorses have gone on a little adventure and are now enjoying a life on the Sussex coast.

They have gone to join Eleonora’s yarn bomb and you can read about them in her latest blog post: Update From My Hooks, which has some fabulous photos of them in situ.

The post is a thoroughly good read with so many interesting crochet links and projects.

Eleonora has also kindly put a link to my Seahourse pattern, which you can buy on Ravelry.

You can also follow Eleonora on Instagram and Facebook.

I’m so happy that Eleonora will be coming to Dorset next year AND that she is happy to run a workshop. Once we have the details sorted out I will let you know.

A Coastal Crochet meets Friends of Attic24 Gathering.

Fun!

Whimsical Collage: 2

Back in November I went to a fabulous 4 day Mixed Media Collage Workshop led by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Nathalie Kalbach. See my first blog post about it here.

It was such fun getting messy and creating colourful papers in readiness for our first 6 collages. We used pages from old books we had been supplied with – books that would otherwise have gone to landfill. The print adds a layer of texture and interest.

And the books themselves make perfect little sketchbooks to carry around for those odd doodling moments

Julie and Nathalie have a great way of introducing the theory of colour and composition in fun bite-sized exercises. In this one we were mixing tones of one colour using black and white

no paint was wasted, we cleaned our brushes on more paper

and then experimented with stamps, building up layers of marks, pattern and colour – my memory is a of a frenzy of fun and activity as we all dashed off all these wonderfully inspiring pieces without really thinking

In this way we gradually built up supplies and confidence, moving towards creating pieces we were pleased with.

The background of this one is the newspaper I was using to protect the cloth beneath. I think at this stage it reminds me of textiles …. still more to do in those blue squares, but I’m not sure what yet……

I wondered about adding a little knot of silk remnant

and maybe some stitching …… hmmm …. not there yet.

Julie’s first Blog post about the workshop  explains the format of Day One and Two.

There is a picture of me (the 8th one in) in pink Tshirt, working away, ( and a couple more later on) plus loads of pictures of fellow students and their work. This blog post alone is inspiring enough to keep me busy for weeks as I remember all I learnt and discovered.

And then we were ready to work towards some finished pieces.

Next up –  working in a series: six collages on 6″ x 6″ card

Julie’s second Blog Post: Whimisical Collage in the UK Part Two shows lots of these from the group. You might be able to spot mine in amongst them.

The best part – building the layers with stamps and oil pastel lines and scribbles

The next part is wondering if they are finished or not

The 4 on the left have a story attached to them, but that is for another day ……

Joining in with Kate and her Scrap Happy January band of happy scrappers.

 

 

 

Whimsical Collage Workshop: 1

At the beginning of November, on my way up to Yorkshire, I was lucky enough to attend a fabulous 3 day workshop: ‘Mixed Media, Whimsical Collage Circus’ organised by Art Workshops and led by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Nathalie Kalbach.

It was a residential workshop held in the Holiday Inn in Coventry and there were about 36 attendees.

We were 6 to a table. Look at the contents of the goody bag that greeted us

The organisation was superb, and Nathalie and Julie are excellent tutors.

They would first do a demo

 

Then we would go back to our tables with a simple set of instructions and create.

One of the first exercises was mark-making

No paint was to be wasted – to clean our brushes we used up any excess paint on newspaper and old book pages.

See the wonderful creative flurry on our table

The best thing was that we were only given about 5 – 10 minutes to do each exercise – no time to think, just paint – it freed me up so much.

At this stage we were creating papers we would later be using in collage.

Gosh it was fun!

Julie and Nathalie both create a range of foam stamps that were there for us to excperiment with

We could also buy packs of them, but by the time I had decided which ones I would like, they had been snapped up!

There was an amazing array of art supplies in the ‘shop’ and lots of shopping going on!

It is hard to know which ones to buy before using them – this one of Nathalie’s turned out to be one of my favourites. She had made a book with each of her Foamies stamped as a simple repeating pattern

The fun comes when you use the stamps over other layers of paint. Here’s what happened when I started to play with it

The trouble is I like it too much to tear it up for collage. You know that feeling I’m sure.

We did some fun exercises and had lots of laughs – at the end of the three days we all had 12, 6″x6″ collages to take home.

I will tell more in a future post, but in the meantime, Julie created a Vlog about her whirlwind trip to Ireland and Coventry which includes our workshop (starts at about 18.40 minutes in) – she has such energy!

 

Happy crafting!

Snow, Ice and Guinness

Last weekend I went to Branscombe, Devon for a ‘Walk of Life’ workshop.

But

The Beast from the East was foretold and this Beast would clash with Storm Emma and cause all sorts of dire conditions

I wondered if the workshop would still take place, but Helen seemed very determined that it would go ahead so I decided to go a day early to get there before the worst of the weather was due to descend upon us.

I got there just in time, as just a couple of hours after I was cosily ensconced in Nestlecombe, the walk across the road to the Masons Arms was getting icy and the village was soon to be cut off for all except farm vehicles.

In the pub I found a log fire, a warm welcome and a handsome young French bartender. I ordered mushroom soup and Guinness… I do love a draught Guinness.In his strong French accent, the bartender asked me what I was doing in Branscombe.

“I’m here for a dance workshop on the beach,” says I

“I was not expecting that!” he said, we laughed!

After lunch, while the storm raged and the snow fell, I was snug back in my holiday let, happily watching ‘Shetland’ on iPlayer and doing some more of my Jurassic Coast blanket.

This is currently my go to project when I just want to do rows and not have to think too much about the pattern. Easy to do in front of the TV.

I laid it on the bed to see how it was coming along

Just coming up to half way.

Keeping to coastal colours in Stylecraft Special DK, 4.5mm hook and in Extended Moss Stitch, which I think is also called Linen Stitch.

The view from the bedroom window

After the snow came the freezing rain and on Friday walking anywhere was lethal – lethal but beautiful 

so I just had to get out there with the camera – luckily I had my walking stick and Snow Grips with me. I’ve had them for years and never used them before.

There was a crust of ice over everything

which made a wonderful crunchy sound as you made your way across it

I have never seen the effects of freezing rain before

this whole tree was encased in ice

The photos don’t really do it justice as the light was so low

the effect was spectacular

I thought the pub sign had a touch of ‘Daphne du Maurier’ about it.

and in the fields

so much beauty to be found

even the catkins were frozen

more icy photos to come …….

Click on any photo to see it larger.

(PS. I was the only one who turned up for the Workshop! Wimps! Ha!)

Now I’m going to pop over to Cathy’s for a good ol’ Knit and Natter Friday

Check

~

home schooling:

free rein on the quest

for knowledge

~

Last week Miss E and I went on the train to the Lymington Museum and Art Gallery where 22 Home Schooled children gathered to take part in the most wonderful workshop based on an exhibition of work by many different artists all creating pictures of trees.

The children were invited to leap into a painting and imagine themselves there – what could they hear, see, touch, smell. What would they need to take with them. how did they feel whilst they were there.

They then chose a painting to look at for 10 seconds then turn away and draw from memory, then a different painting to draw just the outlines for 5 minutes, then 5 minutes to use colour. After that we went to the craft room to create a printing block of their drawing in polystyrene, to print on coloured paper.

On the train I was allowing the movement of the train to create wiggly lines in my sketch book as a quirky diary/memory of our day.

Miss E noticed that the rain on the train windows made similar lines when travelling down the windows

which in turn were similar to the lines of the branches of the trees in one of the paintings

I just LOVE the way her creative mind flows.

Joining in with our 52 Week Photo Challenge, this week’s prompt CHECK

and

Ronovan’s Weekly Haiku Challenge, prompt words: REIN and QUEST.

I’m a little late this week as I have been away for a few days visiting my son and his three girls and then to Chelsea Flower Show with my sister! We had the BEST time – more of that soon. A highlight of the day was meeting up with fellow blogger Dorris – Wow! That was really special!

Textile Art: #1

I had a delightful day today learning how to make textile books with Frances Pickering.

Such fun tearing fabric and sloshing paint to make the pages. This is going to be the first of my 9 pieces of textile art for my 16 for 2016 list.

It feels so good to be using bits and pieces I have had stashed away for years.

All the pages are made, plus a fastening and a dinky bookmark.

Tonight I’m thinking about what to put on the pages

I am LOVING it and already have ideas lining up for the next 8.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Kingston Lacy Haiku

Yesterday I went to a ‘Haiku and other Short Poetry’ Workshop at Kingston Lacy, a National Trust property.

First warm-up exercise:

We played a Haiku ‘consequences’ type of game:

We were each asked to write the first line of a Haiku – five syllables, with a theme of Spring. Then fold the paper over and pass it round.

Then the second line with 7 syllables, fold over and pass it on

Then the third with 5 syllables, fold over and pass it on. The words in pink are the ones I wrote.

And then we read them out:

Bluebells under trees

Spring has sprung out of the soil

Holding the moment

*

Petals underfoot

Deeply inhale the blue scent

The trees are alive

*

Morning has broken

Stepping softly in the silence

Trip over with joy

 

It was fun to co-create and felt pressure free with only one line to write at a time.

I get such a buzz out of creating something with others, whether it is a design with my grandchildren or a Haiku or a Renga

 

 

Later we talked about flipping the first and the last lines to see if this would be an improvement, e.g.:

The trees are alive

Deeply inhale the blue scent

Petals underfoot

*

Holding the moment

Spring has sprung out of the soil

Bluebells under trees

*

And then used our own lines and flipping the first and last:

Trip over with joy

Deeply inhale the blue scent

Bluebells under trees

This seems like a fun way to play around with a Haiku to look for different emphasis and sometimes it seemed to create more poetic strength – I’m definitely going to try this one out in the Haiku challenges.

It was a fun workshop, I really enjoyed it, and then I had a wander around the house and gardens.

I’m just a teeny bit obsessed with bluebells at present. I bet you got that!

I love them for their fleeting beauty, their subtle yet heady scent and the way they mark the beginning of my most favourite time of the year, when all the Spring flowers burst forth in a soft fluffiness of colour.

 

A bluebell doodle

And they remind me of a bluebell time when love was in the air – oh that heady feeling, remembered each time I walk in woods carpeted in a soft purple-blue haze.

lying in bluebells

mirroring clear skies above

on high forever

*

Latin name for Bluebell: Hyacinthoides – that’s 5 syllables, the first line of a Haiku right there! Or maybe a better last line?

Trip over with joy

Deeply inhale the blue scent

Hyacinthoides

“Hyacinthoides non-scripta: The Bluebell’s Latin name, Hyacinthoides, comes from a Greek myth: when the Prince Hyacinthus died, the tears of the god Apollo spelled the word ‘alas’ on the petals of the hyacinth flower that sprang up from his blood. Non-scripta means unlettered and distinguishes this bluebell from the similar-looking hyacinth.” (from the Scottish Wildlife Trust site)

Does the scent of a Spring flower bring back happy memories for you?

Clay play

After the slow business and concentration of learning the new skill of stone carving, Miss E thoroughly enjoyed working with clay and made this delightful leaping dolphin

Exploring a familiar medium in  a different way

The dolphin was left to dry and the conversation turned to how the clay was used and stored etc, so Sarah showed Miss E how to recycle clay by smashing it with a hammer,

mixing it with water…………. and swidging it about

and then ..

which when held up to the light

gained magical halos where the paper had absorbed the water.

It was wonderful to watch this process unfold as E was supported by Sarah to explore things as they emerged, E always taking a next creative step with what she was doing.

Even the board on which the model had stood provided a shape that to Miss E looked like a lion’s head

can you see it?

and so a print was made.

For want of a printing press Granny’s great weight was used and because even that was not quite enough to make a decent print, I picked Elfie up and we jumped up and down on the board and … ta dah!

She now had a picture of a .. oh , it turned into a tiger prowling towards the viewer. E was down on her hands and knees demonstrating just how the tiger was moving …

it’s no wonder Miss E recently won a prize at school for story writing – very proud Granny!!!

The three of us were entirely absorbed for those two and a half hours of wonderful exploration – a very special time  – and so lovely to be able to share it with you all.

Sarah runs workshops for all ages and family groups – tis a fabulous experience and makes a great present. Take a look at this website to find out more.

Sculpture Hut

Miss E (my 6 year old granddaughter) asked me if she could ‘do some art’ with Sarah at the Sculpture Hut and so I booked a session and off we went with our packed lunch and warm coats.

E just loves Sarah’s studio and enjoyed looking at, and talking to Sarah about, different pieces there

she decided to have a go at some stone carving, trying out different tools

and how to make shapes and marks on the stone.

She worked with a chisel and a mallet to make a carving of a shark leaping up over the edge of the piece of stone and then did some

filing to soften the edge.

 

 

 

 

Stone carving is hard work for a 6 year old but she worked for about 45 mins before needing a break.

She discovered that when you come across a fossilised shell in the stone the stone is harder to work.

We went down to sea to look at the rocks that had been broken by the storms and found fossils in them.

and found a warm sunny ledge to have our picnic lunch on and watch the fishermen

 

and do some knitting – the crocheted blanket was great charity shop find which lives at the hut and the knitting will be a jacket for Miss E.

 

It was a really special creative time at Granny’s Hut

Miss E also worked with clay – pictures of her creations to follow in another post.

The Craft of Writing

I’ve been itching to write a post about the writing workshop I went to at Walford Mill in Wimborne, Dorset, led by Simon Olding and Sara Roberts. It was called ‘The Craft of Writing; Writing about Craft. 3 hours Fee: £35.

Writing has never come easily to me – at school, I would write something I was pleased with, only to get poor marks and hear other brilliant pieces read out in class. Those childhood memories can hang around to haunt us can’t they!

 

So I was a teeny bit nervous climbing up and up the wooden stairs to the Learning Loft

 

 

 

However, the atmosphere that Simon and Sarah created was friendly and non-threatening.

We were asked to think of two words to describe good writing about craft and after a discussion, one word to describe bad writing.

Some excellent examples of good writing were shown to us and after a coffee break, we were given an exercise to do.

We had 25 minutes to find and object or group of objects in the Gallery, for which to write a 50 word label.

The label was to be directed at a particular group of people of our own choice. We would then read out our descriptions and receive feedback from our tutors and fellow students.

I was so glad the time was tight and I had to make a quick decision on what to write about, otherwise that process alone could have taken me ages.

As always, I was drawn to textiles and a collection of Ceramic Patchwork by Zoe Hillyard

 And directed my comments to a group of creative people, maybe students or school children:

“Ceramic Patchwork to add zest to creative recycling.   Doesn’t it just make you want to go home and smash a pot.   Zoe offers a new relationship with the unloved and forgotten object.   Where does this take you? Would you use different covering materials? Would you keep the original shape? Would you add collage and texture?

Zoe Hillyard – what will she do next?” (62 words)

The hardest part was to keep my words to 50, which some people managed to do exactly.

I was fascinated by this collection and am wondering about having a go myself, but mine would be much rougher and textural as nowadays I don’t have the patience for the amazing finish Zoe gives to her pieces.

Some of the other objects that my fellow students chose to write about were:

 

these exquisitely painted pebbles

a fabric representation of fungi in decay

and some wildly whirling glass bowls by:

I was amazed at what we all managed to write in such a short time and I left feeling more confident than when I walked in.

So thank you Simon and Sara, I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

And Walford Mill is always worth a visit.