Who lives in a nest like this?

Exquisite.

Horsehair, moss, plant stalks & thistledown.

Cast adrift.

I fancied it would look good in black & white.

But also like this antique effect.

About 4 inches / 10 cm at the very widest point.

Fiona has been printing & ponders on the collective noun for nests over here. Any suggestions?

The moment he opens his card...

… captured on camera!

Thank you Lindsay & Jason for sharing x

This isn't something I normally see…. I did once see a girl receiving a concertina card & a few other little goodies I had written. She & her friends were quite amazed & so appreciative. They were unaware that I was watching or even that I had made them…. it was pure coincidence that I was in the same place at the same time. I sort of felt that I shouldn't be watching, like I was eavesdropping a conversation, but I couldn't stop looking either! It was quite a strange experience, but very satisfying to witness the reaction. It's really lovely to see this moment too,

Workspace Wednesday

This is the room that is being turned into my studio…. The bed comes with the house & there's really nowhere else to store it. So if I can't move it, I'm going to make use of it!

 I moved a writing desk from downstairs and covered it with a large cutting mat which is still in pristine condition (I'm sure that won't last long). A piece of board found in the garage, just to say stretches across the bed to balance on a stack of plastic drawers, that are luckily a similar height to the desk. Paper supplies are currently stacked under the bed. 

I'll probably cover the mattresses with some more board & possibly construct another work surface to straddle the bottom end of the bed to make it more of a usable space rather than just somewhere to dry canvasses!

All this stuff...

… is now stashed in the huge wardrobe. Some cheap shelving units turn the hanging space into great storage for all sorts of bits n pieces. No doubt things will get moved again as I get organised, but I'm feeling really pleased with things so far :-)

I am worried about the floor though… the carpet is new so I'm going to have to cover it, especially where I will be painting & writing. Not sure whether to get some lino down or use the rolls of sticky film that decorators use…. hmm….

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

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.

The view from my window...

… which means that we're no longer living in the caravan!! That caravan & "the garden shed" next to it have served us well for the last 8 years. I've loved travelling, but the time has come to settle. The most gorgeous home presented itself to us, which we viewed one week 

& moved in the next!

On my wish list were trees & a stable door, Steve's included a shed… we couldn't have found somewhere more perfect at the moment, I don't think! 

Now all I have to do is organise myself a studio in the spare room. I'm really looking forward to being able to leave work out & not have to pack everything away each time I use it!

St Johns Bible... a modern calligraphic masterpiece

How do you fancy writing out the bible when you have a bit of spare time? Oh, & not in scrawly handwriting.... it needs to be in your bestest calligraphy to match the style that everyone else is using! It's the idea that Donald Jackson had for years before it was taken up by St Johns Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota & the Hill Monastic Library. There are 7 two foot tall volumes made of vellum, over a thousand double page spreads & 160 illuminations....

OMG is an often over used phrase, I think, in this era of text speak. But watch this video & you will be OMG-ing more than once! It doesn't matter whether you are Christian, Pagan, Atheist or anything else, this rendition of St Johns Bible is a take-your-breath away masterpiece.

There are so many Youtube videos about Donald Jackson & the making of this manuscript if you want to see more. It's really interesting to see what the individual scribes on the team have to say, and Sue Hufton makes the point about how much of a team effort the whole thing was... and there was a whole team of calligraphers, illuminators, studio staff and so on for this project, that took nearly 13 years, not including preliminary discussions!

There is a The St John's Bible site and also a St Johns online exhibition but it would be wonderful to see even a printed copy... like the people in Austin library in the 1st video, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to resist touching!

Here's the full run-down of who was involved http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saint_John's_Bible

Little things that make me smile....

I came across these bamboo pens on etsy, made by Kate Moby, from bamboo grown in her own garden > here

They really look quite gorgeous... such lovely little details! It's a long while since I made a bamboo pen, & I seem to remember I enjoyed using it, but have no idea where it went. Kate says she uses hers regularly... hmm, I have a hankering to try some again now! I could make some.... but I'm tempted to treat myself to these beauties sometime. {if any of my family are reading this, take it as a hint :-) }

Anyway, from her shop I skipped to her blog, as you do, and came a cross a post that pointed me to the Digital Colour Meter hidden on my Mac. Hehehee, what a great little tool.... I had no idea it was there!

Go to Applications> Utilities> Digital Colour Meter

Thanks Kate x

Wherever your mouse hovers, the meter shows how the colour is made up... in various formats... how cool is that?! There's a write up about it <here> if you need one.

The Handmade Wedding Catalogue

I am lucky to have been included in The Handmade Wedding Catalogue, curated by Shana Mattheis.

It is huge... Shana has scoured Etsy to produce 138 pages full of photographs showcasing more than 200 shops & includes plenty of resources to assist with wedding planning.

 A couple of my book pages feature early on in "The Proposal" section. I've never got as far as listing calligraphy services for invitations & place cards etc on etsy yet, but it is something I offer & I have a steady stream of people buying both original work & prints as wedding or anniversary gifts.

On my browser the instruction 'click to view' appears twice & the 2nd time it goes to the 

full screen view...  it's so worth viewing at full size! 

Each photograph is linked directly to it's etsy listing, as well a link being given from the page index, so no one has any excuse not to find out any details of anything they like the look of!

Ideas are grouped by theme & by colour....

...  & I defy any bride not to find some inspiration amongst these pages.

It's impossible to pick favourites at first glance, but I am taken by the 'Earth Friendly' ideas.

There are also pages of resources interspersed throughout the catalogue... ideas about what to do when & comprehensive guides to planning offer reassurance to anyone not so sure & confirmation to those more confident in their organisation.

CLICK HERE to view the online edition of The Handmade Wedding Catalogue 

and thankyou so much to Shana for pulling the whole thing together!

Shana blogs at This Amazing Life
Shana's Etsy Shop

Shana was aided by Candice at Silk Florals by Candice, so a big thanks to her too!

Human Elephant Foundation

Thanks to Ruthie for pointing me in the direction of the Human Elephant Foundation. The home page images of elephant sculptures in situ are amazing. Andries Botha creates life-sized sculptures made from recycled materials, which are situated in various locations worldwide.

The elephant is a metaphor that awakens the yearning for forgotten conversations between humans, the Earth and all living things.

~Andries Botha

The foundation aims...

... to encourage every person to do something meaningful with his or her life. It can be something small at home. Or a major global solution. Something personal or something collaborative. Whatever it is, it should be life affirming, and it should be a worthy legacy to leave the next generation.

It is well worth a visit http://www.humanelephant.org  

The Etsy app

My sister has informed me that she now knows how often I add anything new in my shops... yes she's checking up on me to make sure I do as much work as I say I do.... she's got an app for her phone...

If you want an app to keep an eye on your favourite etsy shops all you have to do to get one is go here

You can read about it here.
I'm still in the dark ages.
I just have a phone to make calls.

Earth Dance

And so, that symbol I mentioned earlier... i was splashing ink & paint around... walnut ink & watercolour... just random pattern & texture... splashy backgrounds... perhaps for text... or decoration... or concertina books... probably some little concertina gift books that Sam suggested would be an idea to do more of.

I suppose it is quite a meditative process... no great thought, just moving brush & water & colour around.... ideas of how to use them floating in & out of my mind. I was thinking of making some peace flags & hanging them around the local woodland when "Earth Dance" jumped into my head...

And so I turned the words over... thinking of the dance of Earth & planets around Sun... how the universe danced into being.... the words of Kathleen Raine "the earth upon her astral spindle winds her ecstasy producing dance"... of Gaia & the Mother Goddess... how life dances across earth... of animals, humans, plants... the ebb & flow... the circles & spirals... and my place in it all....

After I'd written the words i wanted a symbol that encapsulated my thoughts, and what i produced just flowed without conscious thought... except there were layers of thoughts running through my head.... an open circle, not closed... a suggestion of continuity whilst allowing things in... & out.... the upper line, what is above... sky, heaven, space, beyond... also above in a spiritual sense... the Higher Self, the Soul, Spirit, beyond... the lower line, the Earth, what comes from the earth & returns to the earth... what earth gives & receives... what we give & receive. It sounds a lot but it all took just seconds...

It was all intuitive, that's why I was curious to see if the symbol invoked any thoughts from anyone. In a way, you all picked up an aspect of the feelings i had.... which is pretty cool!! Straight away i had ideas for various projects so did a search. Of course a phrase like that has been used in various ways

Top of the search was http://www.earthdance.org/... a global festival of dance for peace, and although it has taken place for several years I hadn't heard of it. Here is an extract (from this page)

THE EARTHDANCE GLOBALLY SYNCHRONIZED PRAYER FOR PEACE

4pm California – 8pm Sao Paulo – 1am Cape Town – 9am Sydney [22nd september 2012]

The Earthdance Global Link-Up for Peace 
The highlight of the annual multi-location Earthdance Festival is a simultaneous link up, when every event across the world plays the Prayer for Peace at the exact same moment – morning in the Australian rainforest, afternoon in California, midnight in London, and sunrise over the Himalayas – the Prayer for Peace is a profound and powerful moment that unifies our intentions for World Peace on all levels.

"We are one global family

All colors, All races

One world united.

We dance for peace and the healing of our planet Earth

Peace for all nations.

Peace for our communities.

And peace within ourselves.

As we join all dance floors across the world,

let us connect heart to heart.

Through our diversity we recognize Unity.

Through our compassion we recognize Peace.

Our love is the power to transform our world

Let us send it out

NOW..."

Considering that i was thinking of peace flags for Ersi Marina's project  when i felt he words, i'm quite impressed!!

Another link that I'm looking forward to reading is "Earthdance~ Living Systems in Evolution" a book by Elisabet Sahtouris.

I just love this photograph [of an ammonite in the national History Museum in London taken by Nancy Larson]... and also the opening message that Elisabet included... "To my planet & its people". This is the opening quote...

Dancing is surely the most basic and relevant of all forms of expression. Nothing else can so effectively give outward form to an inner experience. Poetry and music exist in time. Painting and architecture are a part of space But only the dance lives at once in both space and time In it the creator and the thing created, the artist and the expression, are one. Each participant is completely in the other. There could be no better metaphor for an understanding of the...cosmos.

We begin to realize that our universe is in a sense brought into being by the participation of those involved in it. It is a dance, for participation is its organizing principle. This is the important new concept of quantum mechanics. It takes the place in our understanding of the old notion of observation, of watching without getting involved. Quantum theory says it can't be done. That spectators can sit in their rigid row as long as they like, but there will never be a performance unless at least one of them takes part And conversely, that it needs only one participant, because that one is the essence of all people and the quintessence of the cosmos.

-Lyall Watson, Gifts of Unknown Things

The book is available from Amazon & also as a kindle version... details on Elisabet's site here!  Dr Sahtouris is an "evolution biologist and futurist"... some really interesting articles & links there.

And then, looking on Amazon for one Earthdance, I found another by Joanne Ryder. It's worth looking just to see the reviews...

 I was immediately enchanted by the beauty of the words in this poem, and so moved by the message that, to my surprise, tears began to well in my eyes! I was reading the line "You are twirling so gracefully, carefully, not even the sand moves as you spin..".

There were more, but i quite like the vision of Earth Dance Farms (a non-profit organization)...

"We envision productive local farms where creative endeavors can bloom alongside flourishing produce. We envision former strangers cultivating the land together and growing relationships in addition to sugar snap peas. We envision an Artist-in-Residence gaining inspiration from the beauty of a community farm and in return sharing their talents with farm-workers and farm-goers. We envision individuals from all walks of life coming to EarthDance to learn skills in organic farming and gardening, to taste a fresh-picked carrot, and to see where their food comes from. We are dedicated to seeing this vision through to reality."

Aren't these connections amazing... I love the synchronicities & feel so honoured to be a part of this dance... and have thoroughly enjoyed the dancing around finding others touched by the magic of our Earthdance.