Thursday, November 21, 2019

Seven Sketches For Folk Week

Over on Instagram there are always lots of daily challenges to take part in. I always admire people that can fit the time in for them and do try to do some myself. You may remember I did the 'March Meet the Maker' challenge earlier in the year. So when I heard about a week long challenge called Folk Tale Week it was time to jump on the ride and join in. A week didn't sound so bad and if i just did tiny pieces/ sketches then I could dedicate a couple of hours each afternoon. So I did.
Each day there was a prompt to create a piece.

Day 1. 'HOME'

”Once upon a time her forest had been far and wide. It’s mossy plains never ending. But the cold grey stone spread like a plague across those ancient paths she travelled. Each garden was a country, this island her universe and her home her castle"

Day 2. SECRET'

Many of you may know that I think Robins are a bit special, so who better to pluck from the book of knowledge?
'Many men believe they have read from the book of knowledge. Yet in reality only but a few know how to pluck the golden threads of secret from it’s ancient pages’

Day 3. PATH

On the third day I couldn't get the old song 'The Fox' out of my head. It's a song I used to sing at Primary school and is also on my Spotify playlist. (I like the Laura Veirs version) Here he is, out on the path on that chilly night.
”A fox went out on a chilly night and he prayed to the moon to give him light for he’d many a mile to go that night before he reached the town o, town o, town o “
Do you remember the song? :-)

Day 4. SMOKE 

The sleeping red dragon beneath Dinas Emrys.
“Sometimes a thin cloud curls around the old hillock like smoke”

Legend says that the war lord Vortigen chose the hill as his retreat. But however hard he tried to build his fortress, all stones toppled. Believing it was the work of supernatural powers preventing his success he seeked the help of a young boy. Myrddin Emrys (Merlin). Vortigern had plans to sacrificie his innocent body to appease the powers. When the boy realised, he scorned the idea that any supernatural power was involved & told Vortigern that attempts at building had failed because two dragons lay sleeping inside the hill, beneath a lake. Convinced the boy was right, Vortigern dug deep beneath, found the lake & drained it. The two dragons, woke up and began to fight. The white dragon fled leaving the red dragon to go back to sleep quietly in his lair. Vortigern’s castle was finally built and named in honour of Myrddin Emrys.


Day 5's sketch featured my old friend and familiar, the white hare

“He knew the many old tales of the forest, the young girl with the blood red cloak, the two children that left a trail of breadcrumbs behind them. The darkness held many stories, and yet he still walked it’s labyrinth of paths leaving stardust in his wake, for souls to find” 

Day 6. KEY

’The last leaf falls when old winter calls. And the keeper of the key begins the passing over’

Day 7. CROWN

’As a daughter of the forest she cared not for gold or silver. So they made her a crown gifted from Autumn hedgerows. 

I enjoyed taking part and am glad I set myself this small challenge. Hopefully I shall take part in some more daily challenges next year? 

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Yarrow of the Olde Mead

Yes I know it's November 5th, 'Bonfire Night' here in the UK. But, today there shall be no obligatory firework pictures, instead let me whisk you away from November grey, back to the days of summer’s magic, when the dancing moth and healing yarrow decorated the old meadow...
’Yarrow of the Olde Mead’ is a painting I did for the exhibition 'A is for Apple' which has just begun at the Inverarity Gallery. It’s a gathering of different artists and we were all given a letter of the alphabet as the beginnings of our painting.  It's painted in acrylic on wood, and is framed in an up cycled vintage painted frame with mixed media.
Do go and have a look. The painting is for sale here  so if you are after a certain special 
Christmas gift for someone, then who knows, maybe, this could be it? :-) 
Anyway, I thought I'd stop by and give you dear blog readers (that are not on other social media) the heads up.
Enjoy your sparklers, toffee apples and baked potatoes this evening.