It’s nearly New Year and the Mari Lwyd is out and about, stalking the land. She comes into her full powers on the night of “Hen Galan”, the “Old” New Year on January 13th, but she’s just having a little visit now to wish you all Blwyddyn Newydd Dda … A Happy New Year.
A Wassail Winner and a Magic Mushroom Hat!
Here’s the last drawing I did at the fundraiser at Cinema & Co.ffee the other night, for the MacMillan Cancer Charity and the Wounded Highlanders. I couldn’t resist scribbling these two, sitting and watching the indoor fire demos. The one on the left was wearing a magic mushroom (fly agaric) hat and won the fancy dress competition prize.
I also won a raffle prize – two tickets to the annual Gower Wassail and Mari Llwyd festival in January. Result!
Scribbling and Indoor Fire…
Here are a couple more sketches I did yesterday evening into my sketchbook at Cinema & Co.ffee, where Husb and I went to a fundraising event for MacMillan Cancer Support and Wounded Highlanders (a veterans’ sports organisation). There was a varied programme throughout the evening including some cool videos and indoor fire demos from Ddraig Tribe.
Hatching Tonight.
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 🙂
Recycle, Reuse.
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 Catmas!
Christmas Eve #Caturday
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
Headphones In The Wild…
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.
A Talk At The Gallery …
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!
A Mischief of Maris
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.
















