Hi, and welcome to a September arty chat.  

Summer in the UK has been delightful and long, but it has also meant that much of the country is officially in drought due to the huge lack of rainfall.  Here in Yorkshire, you’d think all would be well, but drought was declared in June since it hadn’t rained much in early Spring and almost not at all since Easter.  It’s so unusual to be in a country that doesn’t typically experience this, and especially in a county that’s all hills and reservoirs, but some were drained dry very early on and the scene travelling through the Pennines is apocalyptic.  There are now green basins of grass and vegetation covering what should be large bodies of water. You can see the trees struggling at the sleepy end of summer – they are tired and folk say we are in for an early Autumn.   There is the smallest nip in the air and the first browning of leaves.   I love this time of year!

In just a couple of weeks we will have been in our new home for a whole year.  It feels unbelievable but we have been so happy with the move we still get tingles of happiness about our house, the little town and countryside that surrounds.   It’s been a treat to watch the year cycle as we take an almost daily familiar walk. 

The geese which had left the small lake bar a few stragglers are slowly coming back, their number imperceptibly growing.  We hear them overhead and the other day I had to stop the car and gawp when about 200 flew over in breathtaking formation on their way to a reservoir somewhere (some still have some water!).  The geese can stand in our little lake it’s so shallow 🙂  

I’m all the time seeing patterns and shapes in the landscape that will wheedle their way into my work – crow dots of black on cream cut fields, reds of berries on green, long lines of reeds… and there’s a little part of my brain storing them all up.

In August, I had the absolute delight of teaching a summer school down on the Essex coast, east of London (new part of the country to visit for me) as well as a few other workshops with wonderful groups. 

I’m towards the end of this year’s mentoring and teaching which finishes in Oct. then I hope to hunker down to some on-going project work I could do with finishing.  I have quite a few things on the go.  In years gone by I used to think that shouldn’t be the case, I ought to finish one thing before starting another.   Some of those pesky ‘should and oughts’ again!   But now I know this is how I work best, flick-flacking between different things and not getting too stuck.  I have a strong drive to complete projects so they don’t tend to get lost, thankfully.  What about you?  How do you work best?

Several paintings, scarves and little abstract brooches sold through Heart Gallery at Hebden Bridge during their ‘Lasting Impressions’ exhibition so I’m really thankful to have had that lovely opportunity.   And we had our local agricultural show this weekend where accompanying the biggest onions and best Victoria sponge, you can enter artwork from any age in the handicraft tents.  It was quite an impressive show and the grandgirlies loved seeing their art on display – they did the most amazing pieces and had prizes to boot!

I have been slowly trying to finish a nest and start another but fingers are sore these days so it has to be a little at a time and I’ve been un-yellowing my yellow dress (see previous post).  I’m loving creating colour drifts and movement with simple stitches, it’s slow enjoyable sewing work that will stay with me for the next year I think.  It’s going to take a while.   I know I don’t particularly want a rainbow riot of colour so I thought I’d include blues throughout to help things cohere;  if I’ve stitched some purple somewhere I will go back in and add some blue amongst it.  So far, I think this is looking ok.  I will need to work out how colour along the seams flows eventually but I don’t need to think about that for a few months.  Having done the previous piece about rewiggling rivers, my language of stitch seems to be much the same here with long stitches…

In other news, there is a new piece on the go for a group exhibition next year – more on this when it’s cooked a bit longer and some ideas brewing for a workshop as well as a coaching course to help painting along a bit which I’m excited to start soon.  Finally, Art in the Gardens, Sheffield, was a wonderful first visit recently this year. 

It was a beautiful day with a lot of excellent quality art on display.  The botanical gardens couldn’t be a nicer backdrop and I came back with a couple of ceramic pieces.  Well worth going if you are anywhere near.  

That’s about it for now, here’s wishing you well and lots of creativity until next time.