Scribbling, Shouting And Low Flying Seagulls

crazy lady

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

acer

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.

pizza

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.

 

castle

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.

isolate 3

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.

loganberry

The loganberries are coming on well, I gave them a feed of potash and a good watering.

 

 

A Pandemic Mask

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.

sewing 1

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.

sewing 2

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.

 

 

Pandemic Printmaking And A Wheatpaste Dog

 

isolate 1

 

I’ve been working on a new art project, a response to the pandemic and lockdown. It’s taken me a while to get ideas coming through but I think this will probably end up being quite a big body of work made up of many components. I’ve carved a little lino block and printed it up today – there’s my workstation (above) ready to go.

isolate 2

I tried printing the block onto paper and then onto some white cotton fabric, using Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash Relief ink in black with a traditional Japanese baren.

isolate 3

Here it is – my first word of the pandemic – isolate. There will be more …..

Swansea Jack

Husb and I are not in the vulnerable category so we’re sometimes out getting essential supplies for our family. Today was a walk to the Uplands area of the city, to the pharmacy. While we waited outside (the restrictions are, rightly, very strict) I spotted a wheatpaste artwork of the new Swansea Jack.  I first spotted this little fellow a few months ago in a different part of the city. He’s on Instagram – @theswanseajack and #theswanseajack . Husb and I are reflected in the window.

 

 

My Mojo Is Back

isolate 1

Today I started what I hope will be one of many small linocuts inspired, if that’s the right word, by the Covid19 pandemic and the extraordinary times we are living through.

isolate 2

I’m using the hard brown lino with a hessian backing. It’s very, very hard and I should have popped it into the oven to soften it first, but I was too impatient to crack on. It was okay, just a bit tough on my fingers.

isolate 3

Week one of lockdown put me into survivalist mode; cooking, preserving, shopping for relatives, getting the allotment into shape, DIY around the place, but no creative impetus at all. Week 2 and I slumped, hard to motivate myself to do anything. Now at the beginning of week 3, my arty mojo seems to be back! Tomorrow I print.

 

 

Ideas And Fish Pie

masks 2

I’ve been thinking a lot since the lockdown started about doing some artwork based around the Covid19 virus and the way our lives have changed. But I’m not someone who can force it and it’s had to mull around inside for a while and now the ideas are creeping out from wherever they come from.

masks 1

I had a spare cotton sheet hanging around, I bought the wrong size and I’ve been wondering what to do with it since. It’s a fitted sheet so I cut off the elasticated bits – they’re useful – and then cut a number of rectangles, 15 x 22 cms. The next stage is to carve a small lino block …… tomorrow probably …..

fish pie

And I made a classic fish pie for tea. Proper comfort food. Suits the times we’re living in. There’s enough left over for tomorrow too. I love eating leftovers – waste not, want not as my Nana used to say xxx

 

 

 

Clean Green Space

allotment 1a

We’ve just had our letter from the local council giving us permission to go to our allotment during the lockdown. We’re so lucky. We’ve had the plot about 12 years and it’s not been easy – a very heavy clay soil, surrounded by woodland. A few times we’ve considered giving up but I’m so glad we stuck with it because now it’s a godsend. We were there for nearly 3 hours today, getting exercise, fresh air, sunshine and growing food. It’s just below Oystermouth Castle and you can see the castle behind the trees in the first picture.

allotment 2

Because we’re overshadowed with woodland at either end, it’s hard to grow crops in those areas so I’ve created a small woodland garden between the shed and Compost Corner. The hellebores and primroses are in full bloom but the little daffodils are dying back. The wild garlic is about to flower and the arums are flourishing. The apple and plum trees are just budding.

allotment 3

This is the view that greets us. There’s a wooden shed hiding behind the greenhouse. There’s loads of wildlife here too. The birdsong was beautiful today and we’re visitied by foxes, squirrels and badgers, who are very fond of sweetcorn. We’re so lucky to have this space at the moment. I really feel for people who live in the larger congested cities with no access to clean green space.

 

The Edwardian Singer

corona 1

So I’m finally getting some creative ideas from the pandemic lockdown and I’m getting my kit together to make a start this weekend. I’ll be starting with some sewing, using my lovely Edwardian Singer machine. I love it and use it a lot, it’s better than the electric machines I’ve had over the years. Singers have a metal plate with a serial number and you can look it up online to find the date. This one is from 1904, in the middle of the reign of Edward 7th.

3 Blurry Cats

 

Husb and I have been taking daily walks to get our exercise during the Covid19 lockdown and have been seeing a lot of cats out and about, more than usual. I guess they like the peace and quiet. I do, it’s lovely. I’ve been trying to photograph the little furry ones but they don’t like me coming in close so the photos are a bit blurry. The gingers have beautiful markings and the little tuxedo is so sweet.