Queueing today at the chemist (pharmacy). It took a while so had a quick scribble while I waited. It’s lucky that we’re having such good weather, queueing is pleasant enough, but it’s going to be horrible when the weather turns.
Scruffy, Bitey, Digital Cat
Just doodling this evening with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8, a free app called “Markers” and Sparta Puss. She’s looking a bit scruffy because it’s Springtime and she’s moulting. She needs brushing but every time I get near her with a brush, she bites me. Hey ho.
Isolation
I chose another word to carve into a small lino block today. I’d been playing around with lots of words and phrases that have become associated with the pandemic lockdown. But it isn’t just about choosing random text, but words that have some meaning and resonance for me. The first word I cut and printed onto a mask was “isolate” which was pretty much the first message of the lockdown. But I work part-time for a homelessness charity and as the weeks have gone by I have come to realise that for some people “isolate” has become “isolation” and is hard to cope with.
Many charities, alongside the statutory services, are working flat out to develop different, safe and effective ways of supporting the most vulnerable people in society. If you have some time to spare, please check out some of their websites to see what they do.
Like An Iceberg
Despite global lockdown, there’s loads to do; all those jobs that we’ve been putting off for years as well as getting creative. Making a work of art is often a bit like an iceberg, you only see the top 10%, the final bit of the process. Behind that work of art is a lot of thinking, planning, sketching, thinking, trying things out, thinking and …. more thinking before anything concrete happens. Today was one of those days, lots of thinking, some sketching, doodling, scribbling and even more thinking.
Didn’t do any cooking today, just warmed up the leftovers ….. lovely ……
A Day And Night On #PlanetLockdown
Lockdown carries on. Cooler today but still sunny so I spent some time in the garden sketching some ideas. Then I marked up a block of grey lino – I should get three small prints from it.
I’ve been playing with words; words that keep cropping up throughout the pandemic; some good; some negative.
I’ll work on the lettering and try out different styles before I transfer them to blocks for carving. I like hand lettering and I love the book “Hand Job, A Catalogue of Type” by Michael Perry.
Then I made lasagne – there’s enough for tomorrow too.
And now Husb and I are settling in for a night of Deadpool and Deadpool 2.
See you tomorrow on #PlanetLockdown xx 😀
Another queue another sketch….
Another quick little sketch in a queue…..
Scribbling, Shouting And Low Flying Seagulls
Queueing outside shops gives me time and opportunity to have a quick scribble in my little sketchbook that goes everywhere with me. I think it’s important to sketch, it doesn’t have to be a fabulous work of art, just a quick scribble to keep practicing. I saw this lady walking along the other side of the street in the sunshine, talking very loudly to herself and occasionally shouting across to people on the opposite side of the road. A few of us in the queue, observing safe distancing of course, chatted about whether she was alright, but she seemed happy enough and was clean and tidy, looked well fed and was walking along purposefully enough. I noticed that the seagulls are swooping very low now.
Potager, Leftovers, Castle. In That Order
Hot hot hot today! It was too good to stay indoors and we’re lucky to have an enclosed garden so I spent most of the day working on it. It’s the silver lining in the lockdown, having time to do stuff like this. The garden was really scruffy and overgrown after the very wet and mild winter. We’ve got a mixture of fruit, vegetables and decorative plants so I suppose that technically it’s a potager. My Japanese acer is just coming into leaf and the colour is fabulous.
I had some leftovers in the fridge, a bit of pastry from when I made quiche the other day, some laverbread and a scrap of bacon, so I put them together to make a Welsh pizza, topped with Tintern cheese and a few tomato slices. Into the oven, Gas mark 5 for 30 minutes and it was delicious. Leftover meals are great. I never waste food.
And we went to the allotment quite late to do some watering. We have a permit from our local authority to go there as long as we practice strict social distancing. It’s easy enough as the site is so large. As we left, the lights by the castle came on, it was lovely. We’re so lucky to live here.
I printed my little lino block “isolate” onto fabric to make a mask but I also printed some on paper as well, as I’m thinking of taking it into different materials and formats. I did a couple onto white Hosho paper and then tried them out on different coloured papers made from recycled saris.
Husb and I also did a couple of hours on the allotment, he’s doing maintenance on the shed and I’m digging, raking, weeding, tilthing, pruning and sowing. I was fine while I was there but I’m really aching now.
The loganberries are coming on well, I gave them a feed of potash and a good watering.
A Pandemic Mask
So after several days of cutting cloth, cutting blocks, printing and sewing here’s my first pandemic mask. I carved the word “isolate” into a little lino block as the basis for the work. I hope it will be the first of many.
I learnt as I went along. My sewing skills are rusty – so are some of my pins! I didn’t allow enough time for the ink to dry – it’s much quicker on paper.
I used my lovely hand cranked Edwardian Singer sewing machine, now an antique – it was made in 1904. It has this beautiful sphynx-like decoration. Gorgeous.
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