New paintings and regular art updates.
What makes you nervous?
It rhymes with might
I won’t see this sight
You can keep your air
It’s just not fair
You see I’m nervous
But not being verbose
I won’t write big words
Like phobic? of birds…
I look at the sky
And my, oh my
I see a plane
Flying to Spain
Or over an airport
Where airplanes depart..
You won’t catch me in one
I just think they’re no fun!
So you hear me cry..
I just won’t fly!
How do you unwind after a demanding day?
You have to relax and unwind sometimes. But it can be difficult. Those that know me will understand that I use art to relax me. I draw or sketch. But the problem is that I can already be too wound up to begin drawing. Sometimes I will try and do some breathing exercises, six breaths in, hold for three, six out, hold for three. I do that for a few minutes to calm my breath. I learnt it from yoga class.
My worst situation for unwinding is when I go to bed. I suffer from various health issues and try various techniques to relax. Breathing, or trying to see a golden healing light when I close my eyes. The imagined light enters your head as you breathe in and descends to your feet, then as you breathe out it travels back up and out of your head. It’s hard to describe, but it sometimes works. Imagination is a good thing, learning to control thoughts. I’m hoping it might help my insomnia, even if it’s only a slight improvement….
Other times I just look at my phone. It’s really bad I know, but I go into my own little world and ignore the rest of it. I switch off my mind to my hubbys voice sometimes. I think its rude of me, but I feel cocooned and detached from worries. Maybe not the best thing to do.
The painting of the governor is an example of my work, where I spent hours painting it, concentrating until my hands and shoulders ached. Mentally unwound, but perhaps physically the opposite!
How do you use social media?
I’m online too much. On various sites. It’s hard not to post similar things on three or four sites. It’s also about the likes and follows that you get. I think its to do with dopamine, you get a buzz from posting and if your phone isn’t in your hand you feel lost!
I think I should make myself use my computer instead. It would force me to go upstairs and do my work up there. It might limit how long I stay on line?
I also need to get outside more. I’m sure I don’t get enough vitamin D. Personally I would use the phone less if I wasn’t connected to the Internet.
So I’m talking about NOT using social media. Perhaps that’s what I really need to consider. Less use, not more!
Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.
The word I thought of was Eclipse. I imagine if a shape like this, instead of the moon, could blot out the sun? Could it be an alien ship (I wonder why I’ve imagined that again). It could be a dream I might have tonight, I’d love to be able to direct my dreams…
There was an eclipse over in western Australia a couple of days ago, it tracked across the ocean and totality (the moon blotting out the sun) only happened for a minute or so. I’ve seen partial eclipses but never a total one.
To find out if a star has planets you can look out for dips in the starlight. Kepler, a space telescope has done this. By watching millions of stars, thousands of planets have been found eclipsing their stars. What a wonderful universe we live in…
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.
I was visiting friends at their new house about 40 miles away and I got lost. My hubby doesn’t like asking for directions so we struggled. I could not find where the place was and I’d forgotten to bring the A to Z map, (before satnav which I still don’t have). After a couple of miles of confusion I pulled over to ask a random stranger. I had moved up from that county years ago and I remembered how helpful they are.
Oh yes dear, said the old man, I know where it is. You go down the road past the speedway track (that’s where I met my wife you know), turn left onto the main road past the church (oh we got married there). Right at the roundabout (where I took my driving test), left at the football ground (my team, I’ve supported them for years). Then it’s second on the left (you can’t miss it, the trees are in blossom down there), and you’re at the street…..
After that long conversation we found my friends house easily. I was happy we had stopped. It reminded me of the type of people in that area, always friendly and talkative, engaging and funny. It was a positive encounter.
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
Things happen and suddenly you have to decide what to do. Your life can carry on the same old way or you can adjust it. Mostly though that happens when you get a little older. That’s what happened to me.
I knew I would be OK as I was taking a calculated step, but what I didn’t bank on was Brexit (why?), then the pandemic and now the cost of living crisis, and health issues.
So would I do it again? Yes of course. I know I’m not probably as well off and secure as I would have been, but I know I’m happier. I won’t describe why I left, but I wasn’t happy. Things changed and I could explain, but it’s in the past now. All I know is that I feel more confident, it has definitely helped me grow as a person.
What’s next? I’ll keep trying to make things work. I have to. I wish anyone else who has made a similar decision all the best and good luck.
What place in the world do you never want to visit? Why?
OK, but why?
The Earth is quite a large planet to humans, but it is also a finite place. It doesn’t go on for ever and it has limited resources.
I know there are wonderful places to visit and also terrible places, it depends mainly on human activity. We may preserve a place or tear it apart. Every time a person travels though they have a carbon footprint, the amount of carbon dioxide that is produced by the vehicle you travel in, what energy it takes to make it and what is used to fuel the vehicle.
But with satellites, television and the Internet I can visit almost every corner of the world without actually going there. So why should I? I visit places in the UK because it doesn’t cause too much pollution. If I could, I would cycle to where I want to visit. If I want to go abroad I would prefer to use a sailboat or at the most a ferry. I don’t want to fly unless there are solar powered planes.
Another reason not to travel is the fear of disease. There have been films about escaped viruses and diseases, but I never thought I would experience a real pandemic. I guess it’s a case of once bitten, twice shy. I don’t know what I might catch ‘out there’. I am not xenophobic, I’m happy for anyone to come here. I just want people to think first. Do you need to visit, do you want to increase your carbon footprint? It’s a different situation if you are fleeing violence or oppression, then in my opinion you are very welcome. The world is a strange place. I’m lucky to be here.
Describe a positive thing a family member has done for you.
I will always be grateful for my mother’s encouragement for me to go to art college. She had to work to support us all and when I finished school she might have insisted that I work full time.
Instead she let me go to college (though I had a couple of part time jobs). I initially went on a preparatory course, then left home to do my degree.
I was aware that my cousin who was also artistic had to go to work in a factory and forget her dreams. I don’t know what happened to her after I moved away. But in my case I was always welcomed home in the holidays.
I’m glad my mom gave me the freedom to do art. Learning has always been something that I enjoyed, and to do a subject that I love? I will always be eternally grateful to her.
Going home over the years I realised how proud she was of me. She was always encouraging us all to do the best we could.
What is your favorite restaurant?
This is an friendly restaurant. The food is tasty and plentiful. I still find it exotic even after going there for a few years. The owner/chef is very gregarious and cheerful.
Examples of the food we enjoy include papya and seafood salad, different types of red green and yellow curries, sticky rice, and obviously speciality Thai meals that I like but at this time of night I can’t remember the names!
When we go there we eat the food and then I wonder why I haven’t taken a photo! I’m not really of the generation that does that. OK I take photos of food I make but that’s because it’s either a recipe or I’m surprised I managed to make it.
Sawadee Thai taste is a small restaurant. It can accommodate around twenty people and will help organise parties. It’s in Stoke in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. The atmosphere is friendly and informal. It is not expensive.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In ten years, I will be riding in a sky car over a largely flooded coastline. Cars will all be electric. I will have sold every single painting and be a few thousand pounds richer. My house (on a hill) will be above the waterline.
Seriously, I don’t have any plans that far ahead in time. I hope to still be clinging on to life for a little longer, I want to see Halleys comet come back in around 2060?
Ten years from now
I will be older
I will be poorer
I won’t be free
Of gas bills
Aliens arrived
In 2029
And fell in love
With chickens
Who mutated
Into dinosaurs
Using ancient DNA
In a mad max type world
I will be
Glad if I’m free…
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