A Blessing...

 May the light of your soul guide you.

May the light of your soul bless the work you do with the 

secret love and warmth of your heart.

May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.

May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those
who work with you and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.

May you be present in what you do.

May you never become lost in the bland absences.

May the day never burden.

May the dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams, 

possibilities and promises.

May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.

May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.

May your soul calm, console and renew you.

John O'Donohue

Anam Cara ~ A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Art Quote & a Garden Posy

'What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.'

~John Updike

my latest posy from the garden;
lavender with cow parsley leaves

Wind In The Willows

It's a while (errr… christmas!) since I completed this piece of work using words from the 'Wind in the Willows' song from the tv series based on the book by Kenneth Grahame 

Here are the words if you'd like to listen along while you read!

It tickled my sense of synchronicity at the time to find this artists book made by Ann Corr

in her shop, Modestly, on etsy> here. The book is sold, but you can still flick through the pictures…

She told me, 

"I did mean to do a longer blog post about it, since Kenneth Grahame was an interesting figure, and his now well loved tale was an evocation of an England that was more imagined than felt. He was a figure that longed for the romanticism of the wild, but was stuck to the comforts of suburban life." 

Ann blogs at "Moving in Time" and if you enjoy poetry, literature, bookbinding etc, 

it's a lovely, gentle place to wander.

The words are gentle too; the colours needed to be teal & purple, but otherwise I could do as I liked, so I just blended them in a dreamy watercolour wash. I often cover the mount of framed work so that it gives a softer contrast, but this one was longer than a full sheet of paper. It would have worked without, but I thought the addition of lettering strips around the edges just softened it a little, as well as repeating some of my favourite phrases from the song.

[Actually, it was to cover a mark where I mis-cut the mount...

then I added more to make it look like I meant it, but don't tell anyone will you!]

Work by Yves Leterme

Just noticed an update from Yves Leterme at Animal Scribax…. he's just had some of his work printed into a rather tasty looking set of 24 cards. Latin quotations rendered in fabulous calligraphy, complete with translations in English and Dutch and an accompanying booklet written by Yves about the Roman authors & his calligraphic interpretation. 

more information is here> http://www.yleterme.be

A favourite paper for a proposal scroll

If I had to choose a single paper, this Bhutanese Rhesho could be "The One". Either this or the Tsasho which is very similar except that it has the 'laid' lines from being dried on bamboo screens. There's a definite 'tooth' to the surface, which makes it beautiful to write on, and though it is textured, there aren't any annoying little strands of fibres that catch on your nib (at least very rarely!) Rhesho combined with Thai Mulberry tissue makes such a delicious, natural combination… the off-white lettering that tones with the mulberry gives such a harmonious look that I really love. 

The lettering on the outside of this scroll is done with a drafting ruling pen. You're not going to see the inside, as it contains a very personal marriage proposal! 

Ice cube trays make excellent mixing pots but white ones are actually better to show up the true colour of the paint. I'm using gouache here, and I brush it in between the tines of the ruling pen. The little screw on top adjusts the gap & thus the line width.

If you've never tried writing with one of these instruments before, you should, 

& you don't have to be a calligrapher to have a go either! 

This little scroll was to be hidden inside another...

… to be opened on a romantic re-creation of a first date.

this did get petals added, but I also really like it without

It did the trick… Tina said " I couldn't be happier with what began as a "quick enquiry". My enquiry was anything but quick but Suzi remained patient with my ever changing mind and delivered a beautifully bespoke handmade scroll which I presented to my Fiance when proposing to her. Needless to say, she said yes and was over the moon with the scroll and how personal it was to us as a couple."

That's one of the best bits…. getting to hear the happy ending!

Hymn Book Pages

A teeny hymn book, only 2.75 x 4.25 inches (7 x 10.5 cm) ...

with pages almost transparent and so lightweight,

 that feel so gorgeous with text visible from the reverse giving such an interesting texture...

all packed in bundles of 50, ready for crafty folk to work their magic… to tear or cut, to glue or stitch,

in mixed media, altered books, collage, scrapbooking & other such creative endeavours.

 I love to see or hear about the things that people make, but not everyone is willing to share photos with the world. If any followers of my blog would like a selection of book pages to sample, and are prepared to send me photographs of your creations that I can post (and link back to you of course!) 

do get in touch…. the first 3 people to email

 suziscribbles [at] yahoo [dot] co.uk 

can have a bundle  of pages to play with. 

 Book pages available to purchase at  torn edge paper on etsy

Chocolate, Cream & Gold Heart Canvasses

Art- Einstein Quote

"True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist." -

Albert Einstein

Garden Posy

I love violas…

… a couple of pansies mixed in,

and some delicate umbels of Cow Parsley...

...or perhaps Wild Chervil sounds better! 

It is the original holder of the title of 'Queen Anne's Lace', 

though other similar flowers now share the name. Wild Carrot is called this, especially in USA.