New paintings and regular art updates.
Drop, drip
Spot, spip,
Slow trickle
down my window pane.
Spop, slip
Plop, plop.
Water from above
Sloshes down the path,
Rumble, rip
Flashing hit,
Thundered grumbles
and lightening crumbles,
Tree cracks
Branch slaps
Wind howls
Drop,
Drop,
Slurp,
Splurt,
Slosh,
Gurgle
Glug.
Mud,
Downpour!
One thing I have got to do is paint some images of minton tiles. These were made in their millions over many years and can often be found in the hallways of town houses especially in Stoke-on-Trent. People are enthusiastic about them even now and get excited about them when they find them in old houses.
There were apparently 12 original designs which are documented in a little book called touching history by Hans van Lemmen and Bret Shah. This is available through StokeYourGratitude.org.uk #StokeYourGratitude
Today was all about making and painting things for the Penkhull Mystery Play this year. I reused two boxes from previous plays. I was asked to paint them black and then to use gold and yellow paint for the decoration.
The idea was to create boxes which would look like they had been decorated with Chinese lacquer. I didn’t know whether the idea would work, but it seemed OK.
Other work to do include sticking paper plates together to make them strong enough to be passed between 50school children and painting two large papier machè birds that represent the birds on the willow pattern plate.
One box has a landscape on the top of it, the other has a circular coin like shape on the top.
Things that you don’t find out when you are young….
Middle aged women suffer from hot flushes (or flashes) as they get older. This is called the Menopause. You can start getting problems when you are perimenopausal. This is when the normal hormones reduce as you age. Women start getting problems like osteoporosis or loss of bone density. It can also cause memory problems.
One thing that can relieve this is HRT or hormone replacement therapy, but this is not widely available. Basically women are just expected to get on with it.
I guess the only advantage is not needing extra layers when it’s cold. At the moment I feel like the central heating is on full blast.. But the radiators are off!
Last night we went to see the Pirates of Penzance. The comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan was a live broadcast from the London Coliseum by the English National Opera shown at cinemas throughout the country.
The story is about Frederic, a pirate whose nurse took him to the sea to learn to be a ships pilot. Unfortunately she mistook the word pirate for pilot so he was indentured to be one until the contract ran out. The story starts when he is leaving the pirates. He tells them his duty will be to stop their piratical reign when he is free of them.
Later he meets a daughter of a Major General who he falls in love with. As the opera continues he is caught in a dilemma, whether to persue the pirates or rejoin them.
Many memorable songs made up a wonderful night out. The song ” I am the very model of a modern major general” and ” A policeman’s lot is not a happy one”.
I won’t give the end away. But it is very enjoyable. The twists and turns of the plot hold your attention. Excellent.
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Rain, some people never get any, others get monsoons. Here in temperate Britain we get our fair share but the South East gets less. Up here in the Midlands we usually have reasonable amounts and we rarely have hose pipe bans.
This year we had a really mild February followed by a wet and windy spell. Now in June the temperature is lower than usual and we are stuck under a low pressure area, so it keeps raining. Don’t expect to get enough vitamin D either. It’s overcast and grey.
Apparently the Jet Stream in the upper atmosphere if swinging backwards and forwards, sending Low pressure areas down riwards us or up from the bay if biscay. High pressure and a stable weather situation seem far away.
The weather in the east has been very bad for a change and there are floods in Lincolnshire. Rivers have burst their banks, and as a lot of the land is below sea level, the embankments and river edges are overflowing. Homes have been flooded. Life is interesting.
When I got up this morning one of my cats was sleeping on my chair. I stood and watched him for ten minutes till he woke up. He saw me standing there and gave me a look as if to say “no chance” so I went back to bed for an hour! Cats have such a personality for small animals. I find myself constantly talking a sort of baby talk to them! Making up different names and stringing together noises they might like. In fact I begin to think they are alien invaders who have us in their thrall. Until of course I get fed up and pick him up and move him!
Bricks are a wonderful building material. They are baked hard clay that lasts for centuries.
Bricks are ceramic, the clay becomes vitrified (turned to a hard substance though heating in a kiln).
Bricks change in size through the ages. From small and thin in Tudor times and getting larger closer to the present day.
My favourite sort are Staffordshire blue bricks. These are dark blue/grey and often covered in dimples on their upper and lower surfaces which are visible when the bricks are used for paving garden paths.
Red brick is also used in building and there are “red brick” universities in the middle and North of England. These are not as posh as places like Cambridge and Oxford but their courses are as good as the ancient ones. Examples of red brick universities are Nottingham, Leicester and Sheffield.
The photo on this post is from my collection of photos manipulated in an app called Layout.
I like celtic knot work, winding and swirling.
Celtic Knots
Twisting and turning
Crissing and crossing,
Lines overlaying
Then tucked under.
Celtic knots,
Tied together in mystery
Telling celtic history.
Animal terminals
Dogs and wolves
Entwining figures
Gurning faces,
Knotted laces,
Beautiful complexity…….
I’ve been to a choir workshop on Sunday where we learnt songs and short pieces over a four hour period, then tonight I was learning songs for the penkhull mystery play which is being accompanied by Clay Chorus, a choir I’m part of. I’m a member of the cast of the play, so I might not actually be singing all the songs but it’s good to learn them.
It is quite tiring doing so much singing. It takes concentration and the ability to listen closely to your fellow choir members and the choir leader. We learn a capella so we often don’t have any accompaniment.
I also went to a concert on Saturday night and later today I will be watching a live broadcast of the Pirates of Penzance at our local cinema.
Music can transport your mind, calm stress, but also excite and enthral. Music can be raucous, noisy, loud, rhythmic and ugly. It can also bring tranquility and peace.
I think music should be taught more, to all ages and abilities. It should not be elitist and should not be for the privileged few. Music broadens the mind and the senses.
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