Tag: Memory

Humour

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What positive emotion do you feel most often?

Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone? Is that the old saying?

I come from a humourous town. Where I lived people took pleasure in telling long and I silly stories. They liked word play and puns. We would howl with laughter over some of the daft jokes people told.

Now, laughter is a little less frequent but still enjoyable. That’s partly because where I live now has a different sense of humour, harder, more direct. But I will not relinquish my old style. I might come over as sarcastic, but it can be very funny. (Just too tired to think of a joke now!)

Art of course

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If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell?

If I could I would open an art shop. But I don’t have the skills. I’d need to be trained in accounting, in design to get things looking peofessional, and more knowledge of pricing. Also I’d need sufficient funds to rent or let a property.

At the moment I’m lucky to have some of my work on sale or display, but the business side of it doesn’t enthrall me. I’d never be an entrepreneur.

I did try when I finished work, I set up a studio and worked at producing new art. But the building us rarely open to the public, and my studio is off down a narrow corridor so I don’t have much contact with people when I’m there. Covid and lock downs stopped me from getting stalls on local craft fairs.. A cheaper way of selling than having a permanent ‘public facing’ shop.

I’ve heard of business plans but never had one perhaps that’s my biggest failing, I just keep getting on with getting on….

Flower head

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A planter I made about thirty years ago, I really wish I’d planted it up with lobelia like this but it got a bit late. It’s had snapdragons in it this year but they have got a bit straggly. I hope when I get a bit better I will be able to get out and rearrange things a bit. Summer is passing by and I’m stuck. Sorry to be grumpy.

Umbrellas

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Facebook Memory from 2017.

‘Just back from the Leopard Hotel in Burslem. Met Sharon Crisp the landlady and her lovely staff…it’s 10 year since I painted the murals in the back room there, she is very kindly taking some photos of them for me! This is the Clarice Cliffe Umbrellas mural that I painted way back then …2007?’

Even now I miss my murals, the Leopard Hotel in Burslem was left empty and people got in and vandalised it, started growing cannabis. The building caught fire and only a shell of it remains

Old tv

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I’ve started watching a TV channel that shows old 1960’s and 1970’s programmes. A favourite is Randall and Hopkirk (deceased). There’s usually an old house like this one in it.

There are classic mini cars in it, and fashions from the 60’s. There are car chases and mysterious disappearances. It’s intruiging and funny. Part of the joy is the memory and excitement of watching again.

I can remember it from childhood. The characters were a private detective (Randall) and his late partner (Hopkirk). It’s always some strange case. The detective tries to investigate but struggles. His partner, Hopkirk, who is a ghost, helps solve the cases. He can move through walls, transport himself by thought from place to place and move objects without touching them. It’s humourous and a classic mystery series. They might be a bit un PC these days, but I love it.

I’m not conservative

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What traditions have you not kept that your parents had?

My family were traditionally conservatives. I was bought up to think that socialists were bad and would lead to serious problems for our country. But when I left home I started to see things in a different light. I had to look at how other people lived. There had been a lot of strikes, and people were struggling to survive. I found out things that had never been discussed at home. Thinking and listening to the words of John Lennons song Imagine really got to me. The struggle to manage when I was out of work for a short time. It made me realise how hard life can be for others.

My traditional upbringing included religion. The rules were set. Money had been important, but listening to Jesus teachings after I left home gave me more concerned belief that people deserved better. I became interested in equality for women, and I also supported charities that worked to save nature. I think leaving home gave me insights I would never have had before. It led to arguments with my parent, but I hope I changed her opinions too.

Short, artistic, old!

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How would you describe yourself to someone?

I don’t have brown hair anymore, and it’s rather longer than this painted self portrait. I still wear glasses. I’ve been trying to loose weight and succeeded in dropping 35 kilos.

I am generally cheerful, despite old age creeping up and breaking bits of me. I mean if you see me across a crowded room I’ll probably be the one shaking and staggering a bit?

I’ve always been short. I knew people got taller as they grew older, so I was very disappointed when I stopped growing but other family members didn’t! I’ve always assumed myself to be ‘good’, and have been described as pleasant. But I got a stubborn streak from my mother and grandmother and I’m quite moral and believe we are all entitled to our rights and shouldn’t be pushed around.

And I try to be creative, I love art, invention, science, science fiction and cats, and as someone just said I’m a good artist!

What nickname?

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What’s the story behind your nickname?

I don’t have a nickname anymore. I used to have one, but I’ve forgotten it. I’ve changed as I’ve got older and only my hubby would use a nickname for me, and he stopped that a few years ago.

So when I was a child I was called nicknames by the school bullies. They took my surname and changed it to blueband (there was a margarine by that name) and used to shout it at me. I hated that. So I was pleased when I moved up to senior school and the bullying stopped.

As I say I had a nickname given me by my hubby, it was something silly, but I truly can’t remember it. So I guess I’ve answered and not answered the question.

Plus, what if I use my ex-nickname as a password for my computer, some of these questions rely on you being honest, but what if someone else reads it and uses the data? That’s a good question. Thankfully I’ve never used blueband as any kind or part of my passwords (plural), and now I’ve mentioned it I never will! Put that in your thesaurus and smoke it!

Old work in progress

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This is my phone screen saver. It just cheers me up to see it. I only have it because someone asked me for a copy of a painting I did forty years ago.

You can see how I’ve laid the scene out and started filling in the image. I don’t tend to underpainting but go straight in with colour. I rarely sketch in the image, but because this was going to be a copy I had to fit the buildings on properly and also it helped with the perspective.

This is about four years old. I can confirm its new owner was very pleased with it.