'Rings' by Susan Cartwright-Smith

A really enjoyable chance to play...using collagraph prints to illustrate poems. This one is for rings, by local poet Susan Cartwright-Smith.

Rings

The rain stings like nettle rash
And I am in and part of this world
And I am made of it and part of it
And will become it once again.
We are shining, made of muons , sparkling briefly in our firmament.
The edge of me is blurred
I pass myself in pieces
On to others and achieve
An immortality through
Curl of lip or eyebrow raised and
Words both said and writ
Like the lines scored in my forehead
Given to me by my father
Passed along to son
I am not alone or insular
Nor am I standing still
And I feel the earth cry out as I am
Travelling in time
Know the pain a mother feels when she sees
A child to suffer or is suffered unto from them
Ripping pieces passed along .
I am crying for the time I see with others eyes
The heart strings of my web
Reverberate
I am not within a sacred circle
I am goddess, maiden mother crone and born again into interweaving spirals cycles
Not in confines and we are all one.
Not bound or shuttered, joined. We go back into earth and rivers wash us out to sea.
We are returned to air and to the stars returning as a speck, a shimmer, a gleam in someone's
eye.
And we fall upon another in the rain,like nettle stings, and begin again.

Bannerdale Crags

This morning's painting, from a walk a few years back, Bannerdale Crags from the top of Bowscale fell. The grasses were really orange and red! There is a bit more at the bottom, but having computer issues so Adobe and the skew facility aren't currently available, so I had to just crop the image... so it's the best I can do at the moment!

Fused glass ice

Earlier this week I was able to start on an idea I'd had ever since our walk up to High Cup Nick in January.  Click here to see the walk ... the track had water running down it which had frozen and the ice patterns were lovely - they radiated out from the prominent pebbles and looked like giant ice crystals. How do I recreate this in fused glass? Well it was a case of looking at key shapes and layering up the glass - using kiln paper for texture; making pebbles and then adding coloured translucent and opaque glass; adding glass rods for lines; adding some frit for sand/silt and  then a layer of transparent glass fragments. I can't wait to see the results!

Using kiln paper to create texture and support the crystals of ice that will rise up from the wave.

The wave of ice ...

Details ....

...bring on the fusing!

Felt picture workshop

Another excellent taster session at Boltongate - this time felted pictures. We used a combination of needle felting, to secure the merino tops, before wet felting. Everyone did really well and we are all looking forward to the next session.

Gulls at Parton

Given the weather this was an unexpectedly rewarding walk, it certainly blew away any cobwebs! The tide was just on its way out and the gulls were enjoying  the wind and waves. The light was superb, so I should have stayed and focussed on  the photography, but marble hunting beckoned - it was a two marble day! Click here for more marbles....

So here's a selection of pics...

Walk through the lanes

With a brief gap in the weather I went for a quick walk up the lane. Some signs of spring are appearing and it was lovely to hear the birds singing - especially the male robins. Skiddaw looked distinctly wintery!

Dramatic trees...and light.

...and below ...spring may be nearby! 

Chaffinch...

Textures....

It's still winter though! 

Grune Point gale

A rather windy walk out this morning with 50mph or more winds and the odd squall...good to be out but not easy to hold a camera still!

Duncan McGill Gallery exhibition

A good day out to visit this lovely gallery in Castle Douglas. Another cracking exhibition by John Threlfall and Lisa Hooper ….so here are the highlights for me - and once again more inspiration. Apologies for the reflections in the glass!

Buttermere oil

While the weather is still fairly grim, here's an oil painting from our walk the other day. Click here for the walk. Comb Beck was in full spate as the water poured off the fells.

Bluebells and wood anemones

Following on from the dragonfly gelli prints click here I wanted to apply the same technique to a new subject. The shapes need to recognisable, so I gave bluebells and anemones a go....in hope of spring! Cutting the stencils was testing! Leaving enough white was also challenging and inevitably my favourite print was a ghost pull when cleaning the plate at the end! The colours aren't displaying too well -  the greens are a lot more vibrant than shown.

Great Gable over Innominate Tarn

With Storm Dennis scuppering our half term holiday plans....a trip to Islay, I find myself at home with an empty week. So it’s time to try and stay motivated and make the most of it. To start with, an oil painting of Great Gable. Hopefully I may do some more experimental work later in the week! Unfortunately though I don’t have access to my computer as everything is being transferred to a new non windows 7 one, which means no ‘my pictures’ folder which is a pain to say the least....

Oil and wax painting

Life's been hectic, so a brief blog to show three experimental oil and cold wax paintings based on pebbles and water - based on our many trips to Ennerdale and the river Liza.

Round Ennerdale

Another rubbish forecast for the weekend, so round Ennerdale it was, before storm Ciara hits. Not a lot to see but some nice wintery colours.

Views ...

River Liza.

Gooseanders.