Husb and I are just back from Cinema & Co in the city centre, after a fund raiser for the MacMillan Nurses and Wounded Highlanders (a veteran’s charity). More about those tomorrow, it’s late now and I want to catch a quick bit of telly to get me in the mood for sleep. Nos Da 🙂
Having a few days off from working on art as it’s holiday season, so I sat down today and caught up with some chores that had been hanging around a while. I sorted some stuff from my wardrobe, old clothes that had been through the smart wear, house wear, garden wear cycle and now need to be cut up for the rag bag to go to Swansea Print Workshop.
The second chore was taking apart a heavy cotton duvet cover that is the wrong size, too big, but it will make two nice winter sheets with a bit of hemming on my 1904 Singer sewing machine.
It’s that time of year again when Husb’s digital drawing of the little furry tyrant, Sparta Puss, pops up to wish everyone the greetings of the season. Well, in her own way I guess 😀
Christmas Eve in our house is a lazy time, for chilling out before the mayhem of the feast tomorrow. Here’s a quick sketch of Husb chilling with his late cat, Ming the Merciless. She was a very sweet, tiny long-haired tortie, who lived until she was 18. She loved to curl up on his lap when he took a nap.
Season’s Greetings to everyone, Nadolig Llawen i bawb. Have a lovely feast day tomorrow x
I was hanging out at one of my favourite places today, avoiding the Xmas mayhem in the city centre at the Waterstones Bookshop café, that I missed so much during the Covid lockdowns. I really appreciate being able to drop by now, to chill out and scribble a quiet slice of life. This young woman was engrossed in her technology, I don’t often get the chance to draw headphones in the wild.
I went to a talk at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery at the weekend, given by the glass artist Chris Bird-Jones, who gave us an illustrated history of her fascinating practice. Of course, I had to have a scribble!
I’ve finished printing a load of little Mari Lwyd linocut prints for Hen Galan cards in mid-January. As far as I know there isn’t an official collective noun for lots of Mari Lwyds, but quite a few people on social media have suggested a Mischief of Maris, to reflect the naughty, sometimes bawdy, nature of the tradition. I’ve printed in black ink onto 5 different colours of hand-made sari and wool papers.
I carried on with the little Mari Lwyd lino block that I cut the other day and started printing. I used Cranfield Litho / Relief SafeWash ink onto a lightweight fibrous paper made from recycled saris that I bought in Swansea Market. I’m happy with the proof print, now to make a whole lot of little Mari Lwyd cards for Hen Galan, the “Old” New Year which falls on January 13th, according to the orthodox pre-Gregorian (Julian) calendar.
The stone near Penlan Uchaf outside Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire has an amazing view over the countryside and out over the sea to the Worm’s Head, in the background. It’s very colourful, covered in bright lichens.
This is a painting / drawing I did a few years ago, travelling across South Wales with Rhondda-born archaeologist Dewi Bowen and Swansea film maker Melvyn Williams, hunting the wild megalith, accompanied by my portable drawing board, portfolio of Fabriano paper and a bag full of assorted artist’s materials. Dewi is researching his latest book on Neolithic monuments and Melvyn is making a documentary film of our literary and artistic adventures. We are following the legendary trail of the boar hunt, y Twrch Trwyth from the Mabinogion, recording the Bronze Age ancestral stones that those ancient hunters might have encountered.
Greetings Hoomins. It’s been some time since I got my paws on the ‘Pooter Box. It’s that time of year when my monkey servants go into a cheese coma so I snuck a few minutes on the ‘Pooter to wish you all the greetings of the season. It means nothing to me, of course, except that the female ape might give me an extra Dreamies ration, but the male monkey is too tight – you’d swear they were HIS Dreamies!
I must say, I make a very fine Xmas card!
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