New paintings and regular art updates.
What is good about having a pet?
When I’m feeling down and lonely
The cat will come to me
He jumps up for a little love
While sitting on my knee
He gives comfort when I am low
Dispels my sadness you see
That little cat who is my pet
Is my truest company.
Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).
45 years ago I bought myself a ladies mixtie frame 10 speed bike.
It cost £120 which was a lot of money then and as a student I had to pay monthly to get it. I think it took me 6 months.
But it got me through college and into the first jobs I had. It was my method of visiting family and friends. I must have ridden thousands of miles on it.
Bikes are a means of transport for all sorts of people. Who needs ebikes. Keep cycling.
What was your favorite subject in school?
I’ve loved art since I was a child. In fact, at school I would finish paintings ahead of everyone else in my class. One day I painted the wooden bit of my pencils to match the coloured part of them. I actually got in trouble for doing that. But I was bored. I got sent to see the headmaster (I was about 7),but ran into the cloakroom and hid. I was fetched back to class in tears and very upset. So much so my class thought I’d been smacked for painting the pencils! I was too upset to tell them what had really happened. I still loved art though!
Do you need time?
Health, life, memory, stuff.
I need to have time to learn about aspects of my health. I’m gradually finding things out that I never knew. I need to listen to experts and scientific fact and find out how I can support myself.
My life needs organising, the last year has been horrendous. Lots of stressors and worries. Trying to sort out paperwork and filling in so many forms. I keep finding things I should have done.
Memories are fading of my soul mate. I long to hear his voice. To hear a recording of him would be good. But seeing photos can cut too deep. Maybe I need more time to come to terms with what’s happened.
Stuff? That’s the pile of stuff that’s in front of me, things that need organising, removing or storing. All that takes time, which is what I need!
Invent a holiday! Explain how and why everyone should celebrate.
There may already be one?
A day to celebrate the Earth, a day to spend thinking about how to improve and support the world. Trying to clean the rivers and seas, reducing pollution, supporting poorer countries so the world uses greener and safer technologies. Actually caring about the land under our feet. Working out how to capture carbon and start to reduce gobal temperature surges. Hoping that the richest people get involved too.
Why? Because it’s needed, it could be the most important holiday that we ever create.
What historical event fascinates you the most?
It’s fantastic that in my childhood men landed on the moon, not once but several times. Using computers that barely had the memory of a pocket calculator.
The race for space started after the second world war, when Wernher Von Braun went from Germany to America to continue research into rocketry. In the meantime Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and his Russian team were working on the problem in the USSR.
The teams gradually designed rockets that could travel into space. There are many books about the space race that are worth reading, telling the tale of the triumphs and tragedies that happened as the race continued. First one country took the lead then the other.
It all culminated one July day in 1969, I remember being bought downstairs to watch the landing. I hope to see people go back there.
What does it mean to be a kid at heart?
Up until recently I think I’ve been a child at heart. I loved to joke, to see the lighter side of life. I liked nothing more than a good comedy, or watching silly videos. Using puns or wordplay to make merry.
But now? A year of world tragedy, personal grief, heath issues has stomped on my head.
I want a time machine, a way of going back, or at least a way of improving my timeliness. Give me a glimmer of hope, lift some of the gloom. Let me get my hands in paint again, spreading colour and love around me. Give me a box of glitter to shake over it. Please. X
You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?
If a genie arises and I can beg
3 indulgences to make life better
I would ask for Peace
As Julian of Norwich wrote
“All shall be well and all shall be well
And all manner of things shall be well. “
Let peace arise and calm the world.
Prosperity?
Let people have sufficient for their need
With less greed.
Finally, the ability to care.
For trees and plants,
For birds and fish
Animals of all kinds
Insect, arachnid, mammal, marsupial.
Care enough to save our little planet.
Describe a family member.
My grandfather was a carpenter. I don’t remember meeting him as I think he died when I was quite young.
He was very skilled and made the lych gate (roofed gateway in front of a church) at the entrance to the local parish church. He also carved the altar rail at the main Methodist Chapel in the town. I imagine he must have been well respected. We also have some wardrobes he made clad in beautiful walnut veneers.
Hearing about him encouraged me to do art. I was told that creativity skips a generation and that I was lucky to have that artistic gene. I also found out I had an artistic cousin that wasn’t allowed to be an artist because her family was short of money, so she ended up working in a factory. I hope she eventually pursued a creative course in life. I feel lucky to have had such an artistic grandfather.
How much would you pay to go to the moon?
Simply put I won’t go!
I don’t fly
Up in the sky
I get vertigo
So I’ll stay on my feet
Keep my carbon footprint down
Let some millionaire clown
Spend dollars for fun
Hopefully not crashing
Into the Sun!
Mallaband-Brown