New paintings and regular art updates.
I’ve added a cleaning service on my phone. But it seems to have done slightly too much of a deep clean on it, or at least that’s my guess as a non technical person.
My WordPress account is shooting straight across to Facebook again. I will have to try and get help sorting it out. It is annoying, it makes me feel like chaos is taking over….
So apologies if my posts are a bit confused.
X
I’ve been out all day singing at workshops with various tutors. Then in the evening 16 choirs were involved in a concert to raise money for three charities.
The day started early at a local theatre, groups went off to various changing rooms, bars and the auditorium to learn new songs and vocal techniques. In the same way as artists have different styles so do musicians. The first workshop I attended was called “joy” and it was joyful and bonkers. Fast cheery tunes and ” jazz hands”, it woke us up and some of us even threatened to join the teachers choir. The second workshop I went to was called “raise your voice” and helped us to harmonise and listen to each other while we learnt two folk songs.
In the afternoon around 400 of us.. Yes that many, learned a new song written specially for the day. Based on “let your little light shine” the lyrics were written by a local poet and music by a local musician. The result was filmed this evening when we sang it at the end of the concert.
It should be going on YouTube.
Each choir also sang one or two songs. Some of the singers were in 3 and even 4 of the choirs so they were busy.
We had a satisfying day and I think everyone should be proud of what they did.
The trees by the lake cry wooden tears,
The sky glints grey and gold.
Silver shimmers, water waves,
Cold walk in sunset glow.
The Exhibition of Blue opened tonight at Spode Site at Eleanora Street in Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent..
As you can see from the photos there was a great variety of work on the breif Blue. Everyone had to produce art in Blue with only the addition of white, black and grey.
There were glass and resin pieces, acrylic pours and paintings. Drawings and photos, installations with blue lighting and wall painting and fabrics. We were also entertained by an artist with a beautiful voice who sang the blues.
There were also blue cocktails for people who attended the exhibition. The only real downside was the temperature. The Spode studios are inside an old pottery building. The place was once filled with pottery kilns so it was not built with much insulation. It can sometimes be colder inside than it is outside. The exhibition continues till at least Sunday. It may continue next week but it has yet to be decided.
Inside the garden centre cafe, looking out over the Trent valley. A little patch of blue amid the grey clouds. The cafe lights reflected on the window are causing the two white patches.
We walked round and bought bird food a planter and some seeds for chrysanthemums, geraniums and other flowers to put in later in the year.
Most of the outside area was taped off with striped tape, a bit like a massive crime scene. This was a concrete area covered in ice and snow.
After a hot chocolate and a coffee we came back out into the freezing cold air and a low sun slanting it’s brilliant rays through the trees. You have to be an optimist if you do gardening. Looking forward to growth and new life. Thinking about opportunities for trying to grow new plants and exotic fruits.
I’m back home in the warm now. But going back out in the cold soon……
I had walked into my bedroom and seen the shadowy figure of my partner sitting in a chair by the window. I tried to see his face but the full moon in the window behind him cast darkness across his face.
“What’s up with the lights?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“I took out the bulbs” he replied..
That was something I had not thought of. “Why?”
“I need the dark” was all he would say.
I felt the chill air seeping into my body, something was wrong with the heating, it had been playing up before I went out to choir practice. Now it was as cold inside as it had been out in the night.
“It’s cold” I said simply. “Do you want a coffee?”
“No”
I was getting worried and scared, Henri was usually a happy, talkative man. His manner now was just not like him.
“I’m going downstairs” I said,
“No” again..
“Well this is stupid” I started to edge towards the door.
Then he opened his eyes….they were glowing gold….
I ran. Down the stairs, tripping and falling but catching the bannister I managed to halt myself. I felt a bone crack in one of my fingers, but I found I felt no pain, I just wanted to get out. Get back in the car, get away……
(To be continued…..?)
An Exhibition of Blue opens at 6pm tomorrow night. I know what I have painted but I can’t wait to see what others have done. I could have sneaked in to take a peek but I want to enjoy the suspense like waiting till Christmas afternoon before you open your presents or looking through an assorted box of chocolates looking for my favourite piece.
There are a lot of exhibitors ranging from glass and light installations to possibly found objects. I know someone has based their art on an old blue and white plate design (with a modern twist), I don’t know how my work will compare but it was a pleasure to work with the organiser to enter a painting to the exhibition.
The excitement is increased because I want to see how different people have interpreted the colour blue.
X
No, this is a blurry picture of Venus, the Moon and Jupiter. Somewhere nearby was also Mars.
This was the view looking East from our house about 6am this morning.
You can’t see it but the sky was crystal clear and the planets and moon were twinkling behind the tree branches. My camera phone is good in low light levels but it has over exposed this. Add my hand shaking and it is not very clear. However it might make for an interesting painting.
There are various astronomy sites where you can find information about conjunctions of planets. I like the sky at night on the BBC. Also I have spaceweather.com on my mobile so I can see things like comets, auroras and near earth asteroids.
Our little solar system is tiny compared with the Galaxy and then the universe, but its quite an interesting place even so.
Feathers, bold, blues new,
Trees and lamps, float above,
Mirror wings , fly out phantom birds.
Swoop over head, peck at the sky.
Field of blue, arching inwards,
Nearer than infinity, but far.
Find your reflection, on the wind,
Life eternal, changing, clouds scattered.
It’s been suggested that I carry on with this, so I will try…
I closed the front door and reached for the light switch. Nothing, the house was in darkness. My partner was not about. I used my phone to light the livingroom while I tried to find the fuse box. But when I checked none of the fuses had tripped.
I tried the light at the other end of the room, but it was the same. Normally we leave a table lamp on if we go out, but this was off too?!
What was going on? The room was freezing and dark, the curtain was open on the side window of the house so a glimmer of sodium street light trickled in.
I walked past the barometer. The pressure had dropped. The snow was starting to drift past the window again. I could see snow flakes falling silhouetted by the street light.
I realised that I still had not heard my partner. I moved back to the front door and opened it. Any foot prints on the pavement had been covered by the drifting snow. What next? I walked through the kitchen to the back door. It was locked and the key was still it. Even so I opened the door to look out. I was not surprised to see a cats eyes reflecting back at me, there are always stray cats hanging around for hand outs.
But the eyes looking back at me looked larger than normal, bright gold, glinting. Perhaps a fox? I slowly closed the door, not daring to take my eyes off the steady gaze until it was locked shut.
Feeling dizzy and worried I used the light from my phone to climb the stairs. Thinking all the time that maybe I should have knocked on my neighbours door? The memory of people walking upstairs in horror films also crept into my mind.
“Hello” “you’re home early” my partners voice came from a chair by the window …..
(I’m not carrying on with this tonight, leaving it as a bit of a cliffhanger).
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