Wednesday 1 December 2010

Our Time by Georges Carlin



The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways ,but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.


We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Soda Bread


Soda bread...strange but nice!


500g plain flour + some for dusting
2 tsps Bicarbonate of Soda
1/3 tsp salt
400 ml buttermilk (or plain yogurt)

combine flour, bicarb and salt together. Add Buttermilk/yogurt on and mix together until combined but sticky (use your hands but beware, it's sticky) Make a rough ball and place on a greased baking sheet, or grease proof paper. Sprinkle with flour and bake in a hot 180 degree oven for 30 minutes (I did mine for 40).

Eat hot out of the oven with butter...or you can wait a bit so not to burn your mouth. I used buttermilk and it has a weird tangy flavor. Might try yogurt next time.

Sunday 21 November 2010

Balancing Rocks - or so it may appear


This is what I have been working on for my MA. My study has taken a complete turn from what I was initially thinking about doing (doesn't it always)...This idea came to me while walking on the beach at Hengistbury Head. The sun was beaming in a crisp blue winter sky. My shadow was cast across the pebbles, it was on of those really long and interesting shadows. This got me thinking about what else would create interesting shadows and the pebbles were right there in from of me.

The idea at the moment is to re-scale and use much bigger pebbles (rocks to be precise) to cast shadows across the beach. This is something completely new for my practice and I have no idea whether this will work or not. I have to fond a drill to put holes through the rocks so that I could lace these onto a pole. This is going to be problem number one. I tried drilling through a pebble with my Dremel and that didn't work. I glued these little ones together but somehow I don't think that will work with the bigger rocks. Obstacle number two is to getting the sculptures to the beach and photographing them on a sunny day...it's winter and they are few and far between. I will keep you all posted. This is going to be an interesting experiment.

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Smart Phone Blogging

So I've discovered a Blogger app for my HTC and this is me testing it out. I like the idea of being able to blog wherever me and my Android might be but I fear it may be way too time consuming. I'm lying in bed about to read my book but have been distracted by this little experiment. I will log on tomorrow and see if it has worked...photo and all! Night all x
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Christmas Cards

Here are a few sneak peaks at the Christmas Cards I have made this year. They are on sale at The Walford Craft Mill on Wimborne. The images have been mono-printed and then coloured using pencil, watercolours and oil crayon.

Monday 8 November 2010

Crostata di Fichi

There were figs at the fruit stand at the market near where I work so I decided to get some and make a tart. This is how it has turned out. What stared off as being a disaster with forgetting to put the egg yolk in the shortcrust pastry has turned out quite yummy indeed. (I just chucked the egg yolk and worked it in with some more flour at the end... surprisingly it has turned out beautifully short and flaky!)


I even made some little cupcake tarts! Yum!



Wednesday 27 October 2010

Crazy Man on the Beach




I wish I had the courage to hit the water in October like this guy...you have to be a bit insane to do it I reckon! But what a beautiful day for it. I sat on that beach sketching and observing. The best me time I have had for a while.


Friday 22 October 2010

Chimney Cloud


I looked out my kitchen window and wondered...Did that cloud come out of the neighbours chimney?

I hope you all have a lovely weekend
x x

Thursday 21 October 2010

Spiral or Bound?



I have had a fascination with sketchbooks ever since I can remember. The most exciting bit is opening one up forthe first time and contemplating the marks i am going to put on the very first page. In the end it always ends up that the pressure of creating an exciting first page prevents it from happening and that all the more exciting things happen in the middle or even end of the book once I have settled into it. I have hundreds of sketchbooks varying in size and they go back over a decade. I will never throw them away which means I have to find cleaver storage solutions for them...at the moment i have it under control.
I always ponder the best kind of sketchbook. Spiral? or Bound? I had this conversation with a new friend and she believes that bound is better because of the way they look on a shelf. Most of my sketchbooks are spiral and after some contemplation I agree that they aren't the most attractive on a bookshelf however, I think that they offer more flexibility and you can stuff loads in. My friend Elizabeth creates beautiful journals. She boasts about having the fattest journals around. I think I have journal envy...if that's even possible? I like to create pockets within my sketchbooks to collect different bits and pieces in. That way i can keep it all together without having to stick it in. This fattens them up a bit but nowhere near to Elizabeth's.

I love looking at peoples sketchbooks. They are an art form in themselves. So what is the consensus with regard to your sketchbooks? Spiral? Bound? Or is loose and free better?

Monday 11 October 2010

Dorset October



This was yesterday down on Bournemouth Breach. It was beautifully warm and it was a strange sensation to be welcoming the sea breeze on an October afternoon. People were out eating ice-creams, walking their dogs and building sand castles at a time of year that we never expected.


We ate chips on the beach...not something I would so in the summer but somehow the Autumn sun made them the perfect lunchtime snack. Seaside chips are special, I am not sure what they do to them (and probably don't want to know) but they a deliciously fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.


Some ventured out into the water...I only brave it in the August sun and even then it is freezing. I take my hat off to those nutters...i'm cold now just thinking about it.

Happy October everyone. This time last year we weren't far off the snow storms that brought Britain to a cold stand still. Enjoy it while it lasts but keep those boots and scarves close to hand.

Friday 8 October 2010

Let the Creativity Begin


I start my MA in Fine Art on Monday at AUCB and in preparation I have organized myself a work area. I am so thrilled and lucky to have this area, it is something that I have wished for for so long. We rent so we have never had an ideal area to create a work space but now my prayers have been answered. What is so great is that it is a section of our living room so when I work I won't be removed from whatever else is going on in the flat. . . and I hate hate hate to miss out on anything! So bring on the next 12 months. I cannot wait to get stuff up on those blank walls and transform them into walls of inspiration. I am so excited...eeeeeee!!!!

Thursday 7 October 2010

Cupcake Love



I am feeling a bit down in the dumps because I have a bit of a cold and it is making me feel groggy and headachy and bleh! Phil (my amazing boyfriend) has been so good and has been keeping me more than adequately supplied with cups of tea, Beechams and hugs. So to thank him I have stored up some energy to make him some lemon cupcakes. Now I know that they aren't very manly because of their pinkness but trust me, he won't care as long as there is cake underneath.

Check out this recipe...it is the easiest recipe in the world.

Ingredients:

125g soft mararine (or butter)
125g caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
2 eggs
125g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
1 lemon - grated rind & juice
175g icing sugar
Yellow or Pink food colouring

1) Beat the margarine, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and lemon rind in a mixing bowl. Don't bother mixing one thing at a time - just chuck it in!

2) Divide mixture evenly into cupcake cases in a muffin tin and spread surfaces level (I didn't bother with the spreading...I don't feel well so couldn't be bothered)

3) Bake in 180 degree Celsius preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and springy to touch (don't burn your fingers)

4) Once your cupcakes have cooled, mix the icing sugar with 4-5 tsps lemon juice to make a thick gooey paste. Add your colouring. Ice and decorate your lemony cupcakes to your hearts content.



Enjoy with a cup of delicious tea for an instant pick me up and the perfect way to say thank-you to someone you love
x x

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Cards for Sale


I have a little thing to be excited about. I have made a few greetings cards and they are now available to buy at The Walford Mill Craft Centre in the gift shop. It was quite exciting to see them being displayed in the shop and I think that they stand out from the other cards there...such a biased comment! hehe!





Tuesday 28 September 2010

Basketry

Willow and Wire


Today I saw an exhibition of work by weaver Lois Walpole. She is currently exhibiting at the Walford Craft Mill in Wimborne where I volunteer. I haven't been up there for a couple of weeks so today was the first time I saw this new exhibition of woven baskets. The first thing that caught my attention was the smell in the gallery. There was an aromatic smell of wood, even though not all the pieces were wood based. It reminded me of the smell of my parents wicker furniture that they had many years ago. The second thing that caught my attention was the colour used in the work. The pieces are made up of found objects, ranging from bottle tops to corks, wire to paper and wood to plastic to tin. So you can imagine the selection of colour. The third thing that I noticed were the shapes of each of the pieces.


The gallery was an installation piece in itself, filled with a variety of colours, shapes and sizes. The pieces gave me a nostalgic feeling of home because of the materials used within work. I understand that Lois Walpole is a British artist working in France, but looking at her work gives me a sense of something more tribal modern, similar to the work seen in South Africa. Modern weaving in South Africa incorporates found objects such as tin cans and plastic carrier bags, and here I saw a very similar use of objects. There is a definate ethnicity seen in the work that I usually don't associate with European artwork. It is refreshing to see and it twangs on the home sickness strings just a little bit.

Wire, Tin and Baler Twine

Champagne and Beer Muzzles and Wire

Willow Plastic Bottle Tops and Wire

Wire and Wooden Beads

Wine Bottle Corks

Beer Tins and Wire

Orange Nets and Polypropylene String

Crown Caps from Beer Bottles and Wire



Sunday 12 September 2010

Forest Feast

Just a stroll in the park with things to find and create with. What a scrumptious feast I have left for the squirrels.


Today's Special: Crunchy pine cones served with a selection of red berries, finished with a fresh ivy salad and a sprinkling of pine needles.




Sunday 5 September 2010

Sage and Chilies


This is an experiment in out of season growing! I planted these about a week ago and it isn't spring. Will this work? I do love the feeling of excitement I get when the little green shoot pops it's little head above the soil!



My chilies have had a slow start over the past year, mainly because they were in a small pots. I planted six and one didn't make it. These five have been repotted in my new little white pots and have been doing much much better.


So hopefully they will produce chilies a little bigger than these baby ones. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my little dried chillies. My little, wrinkly and home grown by me.

Saturday 4 September 2010

Peanut Butter Cookies

It was my friend Charlotte's birthday on Thursday and unfortunately at the moment money isn't a flowing but I still wanted to get her something to make her smile. Now there is something you need to understand about Charlotte, and that is that she has an obsession with all things baked! She eats cake like it's going out of fashion, and she isn't picky about what kind of cake it it. Whether it is pre-packed, freshly baked, red, yellow or green cake she is on it...and yet, believe it or not, she is slim, lean and looks gorgeous! If only my metabolism could whisk the cake away as well as hers does. So I decided to get my baking goodies out and bake her some yummy little morsels, my favorite peanut butter cookies. They are oaty, creamy, moist, squishy yet crispy on the outside. I think I got the recipe out of an American Seventeen magazine. It was their valentines day issue and in the recipe they were topped with a Hersheys Kiss. As we Brits (not that I am a Brit) don't have Hersheys Kisses at our disposal I omitted them from the recipe all those years ago when I first started making them. Cut - just like that...I was ruthless, I didn't substitute them with anything, and just left them to their peanut buttery and oaty pureness. Now, at first I had a bit of a timing issue so burnt the first batch (sad face)...I timed them but when the buzzer went off they weren't golden brown enough so I stuck them back in without resetting the timer and got distracted...so this happened:


OOPS!


The rest, however, came out beautifully and I couldn't resist having a little taste while they were still steamy and warm. Absolute heaven! I felt they were definitely fit to be a birthday present for my very special cake eating friend. So all I had left to do was wrap them up all pretty like.




All it took was a piece of cellophane, a piece of organic hemp string and two beautiful ceramic buttons to decorate this delicious stack of cookie goodness. Of course Charlotte loved them. We went out for a few birthday drinks and they were sat there on the table looking yummy, everyone desiring just a little taste. But I don't think Charlotte shared them with anyone, and why should she? They were her cookies and it was her birthday after all!