View into a courtyard
What was a conservatory
Glass gone
Now open to the sky…
What happened?
Age and decay
Piled up over time
Timber rotted
And fallen.
But space preserved
Repurposed
Made good
New life
In old building
Through the door
Rode hall today
We went to see the bluebell walk at Rode hall today but stopped to talk to a lady that was very upset and distressed about something.
As we were chatting to her we all got caught in a thunderstorm with hail and heavy rain. We got soaked and decided to abandon the walk. Thankfully I had a discussion with someone from the hall and we can go back on Sunday. Above are pre bluebell walk photos with lowering dark clouds.
The hall is off the A34 between Scholar Green and Rode Heath:
Rode Hall, Church Ln, Scholar Green, Stoke-on-Trent ST7 3QP
Imagination
What gives you direction in life?
Imagining a direction to take
Decisions made when I wake,
Thoughts my mind makes….
It’s a hard question when you get older and most of your life is behind you. I’m not very religious, so mainly I want to stay safe and keep going. No one wants bad things to happen.
I guess what direction I take could include going round in circles, always turning right, heading north. But mainly it’s just survival. Not in a preppy, survivalist sort of way, but just managing with what we’ve got, helping others when we can. Not expecting too much. Just trying to support each other. It’s not always easy, and questions have to be asked about whether the direction we are heading in now is still the right one.
The world should be fair for everyone. I know that’s a hard thing to expect, and people can be selfish and jealous of what they have. But I hope people will consider others as well as themselves. I think John Lennons song ‘Imagine’ is a good thing to follow…..
Stylised
I’m having fun digitally altering that old painting. It’s given me an idea of what I might do to it. One thing about digital manipulation is that you get a regular pattern across the whole piece. It looks much more modern. I may do thus in reality.
My old painting found!
I don’t remember painting this but it must be several years old. I don’t know what I was thinking when I did it. I certainly wouldn’t do this now! It’s too blousy, but it’s got my characteristic patterns. Anyway it was discovered when someone was having a clear out of stuff so perhaps they were not that impressed either. I’m not sure if it’s on canvas or board and it could be when I was still painting in oils. I will have to see. I’d call it a sketch not fine art…..
Owlish
Waiting… Tuesdays #bandofsketchers prompt. Digital finger painting in Artrage app of an owl waiting for prey. . Ready to fly and pounce on a mouse! I decided to do something other than a felt pen drawing. Done while watching Jim and Nancy Moir programme about Owls on Sky Arts TV. ‘Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir’.
Butterflies and Moths
Soon there should be butterflies and moths flying round the buddlea bushes in the garden. But they, and other insects, have plummeted in numbers over the last few decades. Whether this is due to changes in climate, where their food stuffs emerge earlier than they used to and are not available to them. Or because their food plants are removed or not replaced. Or because insecticides like nicotinamides are being used when they are linked with insect deaths? Why don’t we see sense and try and limit increases in Carbon dioxide? Reduce insecticide use and stop being so destructive.
The bible says man shall have dominion over the animals and plants of the world. I wish that read responsibility for their care? We are the guardians of the Earth. We outnumber everything else and our behaviour is appalling in so many things. We should learn to support the Earth more.
I’m not a doctor
Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?
I’m not a doctor, but I always think in situations you should ‘first do no harm’. That is something I try and live by. Even when I’m tempted to do something. That said I am no saint. I get angry like anyone else. But you have to try not to get to upset. I wouldn’t hurt anyone, hit anyone, although as I’ve got older I do swear at, or about people. Thankfully that can’t physically harm, although mentally it might hit home?
One of the problems, still, with social media, is the lack of nuance. What is written is in black and white… There are no grey areas unless you create them in your words. For a long time on one particular site a person was being very antagonistic towards me, everything I said seemed wrong to them. We lived in different countries with different traditions and we couldn’t seem to agree on what was the best way to cooperate… I thought I must find a way so I found an important symbol in that country and did a complicated and detailed drawing of it and offered it as an olive branch. Luckily it worked and things became much more harmonious afterwards, we even became friends.
I guess all I can say is try and be diplomatic if you can. You should still tell the truth, but in a constructive way, and try and do no harm. I think hurting someone can only come back and bite you!
Panic
You shout out!
I jump..
I stalled
And you panicked
You minds sharp thorns
Sees danger round
Every corner….
Flight not fight
Means fright!
Stay calm
Breathe in
Breathe out
Anxious time
For both
So relax
If you can..
Doodle to face
I decided to play with my latest doodle, I used a sketching app to add the facial details, then photodirector to smooth out the rough edges. I do like to experiment with analogue and digital images.
Mallaband-Brown 