Tag: Life

Kaliedoscopes

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , 6 Comments

PicsArt_1534447434592

Does anyone remember the kaleidiscopes you could get as a child? A cardboard tube, brightly coloured, with an eye hole at one end and a plastic cover at the other end. You could see little plastic blocks inside the cover which was slightly transparent. As you looked through the eye hole the little coloured blocks would turn and move and because there was a mirrored surface inside you got a symmetrical pattern which was so beautiful.

As you turned the tube the pattern would change, you could hear the little plastic bits move and rattle as the image changed. The pattern was never the same, and because the blocks were different colours it was like looking at a moving stained glass window.

Today it’s all changed, you can create patterns using digital apps but they don’t seem to stir the same feelings of creativity in me. I would play with my kaleidiscope for hours.

Nowadays we have computer games, and video games, but where are the simple toys? I feel nostalgic about spirographs and etch-a-sketch toys too. I was very lucky to get things like that as Christmas presents.  I wonder how children would react to them today?

I know we should use less plastic, but maybe they could be made with recyclable materials….

Gemini?

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , 2 Comments

1/12th or so of the population were born in the summer months of June and July. Part of those two months are demarcated as the astrological sign “Gemini”.

When I was a child I used to read my horoscope, occasionally it would be correct, most of the time not, despite it being so generalised that it could probably be relevant to half the popualtion of the country.

I don’t really understand why we still believe in such mythologies. We live in a world where algorithms  are used to predict our behaviour, what we want to buy, how we will vote, where we will travel. What out health will be like . We are pigeon holed into data sets.

I guess what I’m saying is I don’t want to fit in with predictive text, I prefer freedom of thought. I know astrology does not control my life, I’m just amazed that people still believe in it.

I love astronomy, the study of planets, galaxies, nebulae. But I don’t think they influence me. I realise that gravity holds everything together. But when you think about it you can lift an apple up from a table without any effort . You have just overcome the force of gravity. The only reason the Moon orbits Earth is because they are huge, massive, immense. But a force from another object hitting the moon could knock it out of orbit. A wave of gravity was recently detected from two black holes colliding, but it was a miniscule force and difficult to detect.

All I’m saying is, yes there are patterns you can see in the stars called constellations,  But don’t expect them to effect your life!

Rudyard lake railway.

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

IMG_20180816_095858_654

This is a drawing I did last year of the dam, a little station on the Rudyard Lake railway, a miniature railway which runs over a railway bridge above the road going out of Rudyard village towards Macclesfield.

The station for the railway is situated just beyond the bridge on the land alongside it, you can drive up a slope to get into the car park. The miniature railway consists of small steam engines  (I’m not sure of the scale,  maybe a 5th or a 6th of the size of a fully grown one). There are small passenger carriages some with windows and some without that are towed behind the engine.

The line is open at weekends in the summer months to take you along the wooded valley that leads up to the lake.  (Not sure how much it costs sorry). The first stop is at the Dam  (pictured) which is where the lake has been dammed to collect water. That is because Rudyard Lake is a reservoir for the local canal system. The train journey then continues down the length if the lake to the far end of it.

The journey is very scenic, with views over the lake with boats sailing on it and the wooded hills beyond. Sometimes we get out of the train at the dam station so I can do a drawing or painting.

The railway was built by a school several years ago. It’s on the track bed of the Great Central railway which went from Manchester to Birmingham and then London. The track was taken up in the 1950’s  we think. It went through Rushton Spencer and on to Macclesfield then Manchester apparently.

Anyway, I think the lake was named after Rudyard Kipling? But it might be the other way round. His parents used to visit the area, but I don’t know the story about that I’m afraid.

The miniature railway has a snack bar with teas and coffees. Rudyard Lake has a tea room and other facilities. Parking can be difficult by the lake but you can also park at the railway and walk along the track bed which is also a footpath up to the dam where you can walk across to the little area with the tea room. This is where the boat club is based together with a little visitor centre. The footpath continues along the track bed up to the head of the lake and there are also little paths that you can follow to get closer to the lake.

Other access to the lake is along a narrow road which takes you into the Rudyard lake hotel carpark. I’m not sure about the parking there. I don’t remember having to pay but it can get crowded.

Rudyard lake is a couple of miles away from the main road between  Stoke-on-Trent and Leek. You can also get to it from the road between Leek and Macclesfield.

I’m not a travel writer so this may not be totally accurate.

X

Shattered

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

IMG_20180815_233628_207.jpg

Perhaps I am getting too old, but although the temperature here has gone down considerably I still feel very hot and tired. Almost on the verge of a cold or something.

Consequently I gave myself a day off today to try and get some energy back. But all I have done is felt grumpy and ended up sitting in a heap of listless thoughts.

I posted this morning about being addicted to blogging, maybe today has shown me how much I am? Sitting still with not much to do. But I do not feel well. I’m not looking for sympathy, just a way out of the apathy!

Tomorrow is only half an hour away, maybe a good night’s sleep will help ease things. But being a woman of a certain age does not help!

Oh well onwards and up the apples and pears to Bedfordshire!

Two faces, two sides

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , 4 Comments

IMG_20180814_002954_627

There are always two sides to a story,

one person’s love is another’s hate..

What comes between is defeat or glory

Which side you are on reveals your fate.

 

Talk to each other and share your troubles,

Never think fighting is better than speech,

Remember without it all anger bubbles.

Give Peace a chance is what we should teach.

 

Never hurt feelings if you can help it.

Hurt will run deep and ruin all love.

Be caring and helpful if you can make it,

Follow the symbol of peace, the dove.

 

I guess I’m an idealist, but in this age of rage between religions, alt right and far left, I still think diplomacy is important. We see more things on tv and the internet now than we could ever have seen in the past, when news from around a country, or across the world might have taken days or even weeks to reach us, and would only be noted if you had the money to buy a paper.

We  go into rages about things, clicking on links and signing petitions. Somehow we all have panic buttons that we constantly press. Our stress levels and hormones are at heightened levels. Like the cold war we are prompted to react to every threat, every thought that might be a challenge to our status.

Instead of wild worries about things we have no control over I do think sitting down and talking things through is a better way of solving things. We all have bogey men, enemies, people that are not our favourites. But to turn them into absolute foes, to become bigoted against them is wrong.

Perhaps we should take the chance of thinking, negotiating, trying to understand the other point of view occasionally instead of being in continuous rivalry.

The world is a smaller place than in the past, resources are finite, humanity’s population is continuing to grow. Somehow we need to grow up and talk like adults instead of squabbling like children?

Experimenting.

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

I’m experimenting with different ideas. I have gone a bit more abstract. The small green man has already gone to a new home, and I’m trying to make paintings with a slight Celtic influence, like the cat. The horse is taken from an illustration I saw, I think the original had a rider. I just like the strong shapes in it.

Further ideas are more industrial and town landscapes, more celtic/abstract designs, more animals. I might try and do slightly surrealistic pictures, where the perspective is altered. I painted some like that a few years ago. I’m exploring my mind as well as art…

I intend to try and do some ceramics over glass later in the year.

I guess it’s because of doing some mono prints yesterday. I suddenly feel more liberated. I’m not sure if I will ever stick to one style or idea…..

Im drinking beer and thinking…

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

IMG_20180811_005718_339

I’ve not had that much beer, probably a bottle, because I’m sharing with my partner, trying to see which one is best. My favourite is a chocolate flavoured porter. About 6% abv. That’s quite strong but I’ve had less than a quarter of a pint and if I can spell that I’m OK. Just chilling.

So my thoughts are.

I’m lucky to be able to do this, sit and watch TV, have a roof over my head. Be able to paint and draw. Have enough money to feed myself and my partner, run an old car…,

I wish everyone had that chance. Could live in peace. I’m a silly old idealist. But I care about people. ….maybe this is the drink talking? I see people begging in the streets. It wasn’t always like that. We were more of a caring country I think, where did we go wrong!? Austerity is a word used to hide the cruelty of the rich getting richer and the poor, well..poorer.

The working poor is the latest thing. Doctors, nurses and police taking second jobs to earn enough to live on? When did that start? Ordinary people with three or more jobs to pay the rent?

I’m leaving this here…what is happening to the world!

Abstracting Angles

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Take a picture and twist it,

Mix it,

Turn it round and bend it,

Don’t mend it.

Shake it up,

Blend it.

Shape that space,

No disgrace to fix it.

Give it Grace,

Make a place,

New is ace.

Change its face.

There’s no race,

Just keep up your pace.

Spin that pic,

Twin that pic,

Win that pic.

Love that pic.

That pic is sick!

(A possible Rap) x

Its raining!

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

20180810_114303

I just did the strangest thing, I saw it was raining hard outside, and then checked my tablet to see what the weather forecast was saying (light rain). Is this an indication of how addicted to my tablet I am.

Thinking about it, is that why they are called tablet computers? I know that’s not true but it makes you think.

Anyway the rain has just poured out of the sky, all those black and grey piled up clouds finally released their water. If I were living a hundred years ago I would have just watched it, but today I took photos and filmed it! Not such a great event in the scheme of things, hardly worth noting. So why write about it in a blog? If I had a diary and was writing 100 years ago I think it would have been about daily events, or even the war (not known as the 1st world war till later) I certainly would not have taken photos of rain, even if I had a box brownie. I once made a pin hole camera and developed my own pictures. You put a piece of photographic paper inside a biscuit tin in the dark. You make a tiny hole in the tin and cover  it. Then you go into a lit room or outside and uncover the pinhole for a second. Cover the hole again then develop the picture in a darkroom. I got some good results.

Anyway, I changed the subject…..yes, rain, good stuff, unless it causes flooding, damage, mud slides……

Bye x

Skies

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

One thing about living in a temperate climate in the Midlands of England is the variations in the sky. We might have just had one of the hottest summer’s on record, but like most people here I am waiting for the rain to come back. The country usually gets enough, but at the moment satellite imagery shows the grass burnt to brown instead of the greens of summers. Trees seem to be fairing better because they have deep roots. But hopefully when the rain comes down from the sky the land will recover.

Skies….

Clouds fly on the breezes and winds,

Blue skies soon turn grey,

Magic sunsets illuminate the sky,

Stars shine out on high.

Shooting stars obscured by clouds,

Planet’s seem so bright.

Moon and Sun in turn appear,

Sometimes Moon hides Sun.

Look up, look up, into the air, not just to the ground,

Above your head the sky astounds,

The world below is gone.

 

Well I do like skies. There is something called the cloud appreciation society which has interesting information about clouds. They suggest blue skies are boring, and watching the different sorts of clouds is the thing to do, from cirrus, cumulo nimbus, asperatus, mammatus, stratus, so many names. New cloud formations identified. ..

Skies are such a barometer (no pun intended) of our atmosphere. I would hate to live in a country where the weather stayed the same for months.

X