Music and singing

Posted on June 18, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A capella, Blogging, Choir, Education, Enjoyment, Fun, Learning, Life, Music, School, SongsLeave a comment

IMG_20190225_163440_optimized

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.

Blue

Posted on June 17, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blue, Lapis Lazuli, Life, Oil paint, Painting, Sea, Sky, Titian, UltramarineLeave a comment

DSC_1986_optimized (6)

I just watched a programme on TV about colours, one of which was blue. They showed the rock, Lapis Lazuli, which can only be found in a small number of places in the world including Afghanistan and California.

Lapis Lazuli was used as a paint pigment in paintings by artists like Titian. The rock is ground down to fine powder and then mixed with oil and wax to make oil paint. The resulting colour is called ultramarine and is a superb blue used in things like the blue paint in the robes of the virgin Mary in Titian’s paintings.

So how did Lapis Lazuli become blue? Sulphur rich rock, which was a pale grey brown was heated up 30 or 40 kilometres below the Earth’s surface. The intense heat and pressure apparently compresses the mineral and makes three atoms of Sulphur line up in each molecule. It is this geometry in the molecules that causes it to reflect pure blue light. (Sulphur is usually found in nature in a yellow, red, orange, brown or black form – the Volcanic moon of Jupiter, Io, is coloured by Sulphur).

Blue sky

Blue Sea.

Blue life.

Blue me

River

Posted on June 16, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cliff hanger, Creative writing, Environment, Life, Short story, tension, Very short storyLeave a comment

Standing on the bridge looking over into the turbulent waters of the stream. She did not realise that in a few hours the water would be flowing above it. Mud and rocks were being washed down from the local hills, trees had slipped down the hillsides, branches had been broken from their boughs by a storm.

She walked along the waters edge, seeing the beauty of the land, green and verdant. She heard the rumble of thunder but it sounded hushed and far away. She walked down stream into a narrow valley, the birds were singing loudly, the sound echoing from the rocks.

She felt a gust of wind and realised the storm was getting closer. She hurried along the path, the road was half a mile away….

Now the wind and rain were rushing past her, each minute the squall grew stronger. She heard a rumbling sound and turned to look. A wall of black mud, tree trunks, churned towards her. She started to run and climb up the steep sides of the valley. Would she reach high ground in time?

Cafe sketch

Posted on June 15, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Cafe scene, Design, Doodle, Drawing, Life, Pen and ink, Pink cake stands, Small sketch, Supermarket, Urban sketchingLeave a comment

_20190614_190102

Drawn while waiting for a friend, the cake stands are bright pink and full of sugary delights that I avoided. I had strawberries and cream and a fruit smoothie which was made of smooshed frozen berries and very cold! This was a 20 minute drawing so didn’t go for any details. The woman walked along to the till as I was drawing so fitted her in at that end. Since urban sketchers last weekend I’m doing more of this kind of thing.

Holiday sketches.

Posted on June 14, 2019June 14, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Chalets, Drawing, Fun, Life, Lodge, Scribbles, Sketching, Trees, Urban sketchingLeave a comment

Some sketches from our short break. Including two doodles when it was to wet and dark and the TV was on the blink. My hubby reading, a sketch inside the cabin, a drawing of Fountains Abbey in the rain, the view out of the window, and finally trees which I coloured in.

Sketching keeps me occupied and gives me something to do when I want to be artistic.

It doesn’t cost much to draw, you can use a biro and the back of an envelope. You have to try and stay dry but it’s good to get out and about.

Out of touch

Posted on June 13, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Driving, Environment, Life, Lodge, Motorways, Rain, Travel, Weather, Wet, Wood, Yorkshire2 Comments

We have just come back from a very wet Yorkshire. We stayed in a lodge in the woods. It was very nice, but damp.

There is a lake at the place where we stayed and we saw ducks and geese with youngsters walking through the woodlands. The only shame is that they are going to cut down some of the trees so people can get WiFi. I’d rather go without it and keep the trees.

We drove out to Fountains Abbey and I tried to draw it but the rain was coming down and the ink pen ran. However we had some very nice food in an Italian restaurant by the side of the River Wharfe.

Now I think I need an early night. I will try and catch up with WordPress over the next couple of days.

Ignoring the satnav

Posted on June 11, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Driving, Gin and tonic, Humour, Life, Motorways, Satnav, School, Short break, Travel, WordPress4 Comments

Sitting at our destination slightly tired after a long drive. Got a g&t as no more driving today.

I decided to use my phones satnav. But the options were all motorway driving and I wanted to avoid part of that as I know the motorway is having a lot of work done on it. However the sat nav didn’t know that and kept saying, “in a quarter of a mile turn left” each time I drove past a junction, turn left, turn left. In the end I joined up with the motorway. Then I had an argument with my hubby about the route, he wanted to go our usual way but it took me away from the city centre. We went a different way, just getting stuck in roadworks a few times.

So I’m sitting here after about 90 miles in three hours… Slow but safe x

UK urban sketchers annual event, Sunday

Posted on June 10, 2019June 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Fun, Life, School, SketchingLeave a comment

Who knew so many people would get together and draw for three days in mostly very wet conditions. Here are a few more photos of the event on Sunday in Hanley.

Art is important, it is creative, it shows us new things, new ideas, new ways of looking at things. It helps understanding of the complex as well as the simple.

I think it should be compulsory to do some sort of art at school (well I would), but nowadays the core curriculum seems to have shrunk without the breadth of knowledge of the past. In the meantime dumbing down seems to be the norm.

Ah life, so strange. Thank goodness for art.

Thanks to Martha I can post again.

Posted on June 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blog, Blogging, Computer, Deleting, Learning, Life, Memories, Photos, Thank you, WordPress2 Comments

I managed to delete photos from my WordPress account so I can now post new ones. Thanks to my friend for helping and explaining how to do it.

I deleted over 10%, so if you look back at some of my old posts there may not be images to accompany them. At least it means I can avoid upgrading my account and also save a bit of money.

So… Posts and more posts to come

Urban sketchers annual event…

Posted on June 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Life, National urban sketchers event, Sketching, Urban SketchersLeave a comment

This weekend was the first time Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers had hosted the National Urban Sketchers event.

Over Friday, Saturday and today visitors to the city and local sketchers joined up at four venues. Stoke minster and its surroundings, Burslem school of art and places like the wedgewood institute in Burslem. Longport at the waiting room gallery and the cherished chimneys shop, and also the local canal, and finally today we were based up in Hanley looking at the inside and outside of the Potteries museum and art gallery.

There were a lot of attendees. From various parts of the country. I think they enjoyed it despite very wet conditions.

Can’t wait for next year. I don’t know where its planned to be held but I can’t wait to hear.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life