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May 1st  So as I mentioned in my blog last night; tonight I'm back to spooning, but guess who this time? When I folded the handle of the spoon over on this particular one; it reminded me of a large mohican hair style. With a face shaped like this spoon and a mohican hairstyle; one person sprang to mind, the fabulous Martin Degville of Sigue Sigue Sputnik. The first time Sigue Sigue Sputnik (who were formed by Tony James) appeared on Top of The Pops, I think every right-minded dad in the land choked on his tea. They were outrageous; colourful, over the top and edgy. A perfect combo. So begins, the making of the Sterling Silver Sigue Sigue Spoonface... The first stage was to etch the face. When I removed the spoon from the etching fluid I liked the effect, as I'd made it textured like the fishnet face mask he used to wear. I then cut out the mouth and sawed the individual teeth. (See above pic) The next stage was to punch his nose out (in a nice way); not too much though, as I wanted to get that stockinged mask effect. Tomorrow I will be attacking his back side; and FYI it will be getting quite naughty. If you wish to witness this, come again on the morrow.. ------------------------------------------------------------- April 30th I've been sewing in my sewing shed today, testing out polyester combinations of my Travelling the Road Tartan. I've also got some organic cotton lined up, and an exciting new lining and fabric design. I'm working on a shop page too for my website, and will be setting up an Etsy Shop. It's quite overwhelming knowing where to start; I've got so much completed work to list, and I keep putting it off until 'tomorrow'. Hopefully tomorrow on my blog, I will be spooning once again with the aid of a love missile. Shoot back here tomorrow to see a blast from the past, in silver. ----------------------------------------------------------- April 29th  Now then; where were we? Ah yes. Ring a Ring a Robot. After soldering on all the silver pieces, I then set the Siam Glass cabochons. These really did bring the robot to life and I was very happy with the result. This is a very large (man-sized) ring, see pics left. It's a unique one-off, that is pretty out of this world too. I was trying to think of an apt punchline; but if you actually punched anything with this ring on it would leave a massive impression..... No need to do that though, just looking at it will also leave a massive impression!.. (If you are interested in buying this ring why not send me a D.M...not the shoe though)... ---------------------------------------------------- April 28th  As I mentioned before; I challenged myself to make the robot ring, to test my skill at lots of soldering. The next step in the making of the piece was to cut out four smaller and four larger circles of silver from the scrap sterling ashtray. These I was going to use as the eye and ear bases, so the next step was to solder these to the ring. In the areas that are soldered, there will be a bit of solder residue left. These areas can be filed, or sanded back to leave a smooth surface. In between each solder, the ring was placed in jewellers pickle to remove oxidisation. Next I added the mouth and nose, and then made the collets (the gemsone holders) for the cabochons. I attached these too, and was beginning to feel quite pleased with myself. I'd managed to do all the solderes so far without any disasters. You could say that this piece was becoming my ring of confidence. Funky, chunky and punky...More tomorrow ... ---------------------------------------------------- April 27th...and a bit of the 28th..  Late night blogging tonight due to socialising. I will now attempt to type in a straight line. So......... the next stage in the making of the ring; ( after soldering the main joints), was to file and round the edges. I knew I would like to use foil backed pieces of glass for the lights, as I thought these worked well. (I think I may have had some costume jewellery as a child with this style of cabochon glass, and have always like it.) Before I started on the face though, I decided to add some silver stars to the shank of the ring. No particular reason why, I just like stars. I then cut out a circle of sterling silver from an old battered silver ashtray that I'd also cut the stars out of; domed the piece, and soldered it on to one of the surfaces . (See above pics) It was beginning to take shape nicely, so pop back tomorrow when it may be all about face... ----------------------------------------------------- April 26th  I mentioned last night that I've started another silver 'Spoonface' spoon; but before I show you that, I thought I'd show you a huge robot ring I made recently, when I was lost in cyber space. I wanted to challenge myself with an extreme amount of soldering on one piece of jewellery; and I think it turned out that there were 32 soldered seams on the ring in the end; (which is a lot). One of the tricky things with lots of soldering on a piece of jewellery; is that every time you solder a new seam, you risk an old seam popping open. The whole affair can become one big balancing act. I love japanese tin plate robots of the 50's and 60's, and decided to base the design around one of them. First of all I cut out four pieces of 1mm sterling silver. The blue ink marks on the silver are remnants of potential etchings that I abandoned, which sanded off easily. I then soldered the pieces together. (See above pic). (I've just realised I'm making another character out of silver; maybe this is why I never get lonely, I can always 'make' new friends. Hmmm , I think I need to get out more.) I'll be back tommorrow with more data... ---------------------------------------------------------------- April 25th  I'm glad I've turned the corner with this nusiance fluey cold thing that I've had, I find it really frustrating when I can't even make it 50 feet to my studio. Today I've been back at it thankfully. The fabric which I designed to look like a woven tartan has arrived and I've made a couple of flat caps out of it. I chose a polyester as it is light and comfortable for summer. Patterns can look completely different, when they are printed on different types of fabric. In the pic above the cap on the left is made from the hand woven merino wool that I wove on my loom; and the cap on the right, is a polyester twill made to look like the woven tartan. I'm quite pleased with the result; but will get some fabric printed in a cotton too, so that I can compare all three. I've also designed a lining for the hats, as I've decided this will complete the uniqueness of them. Today I started making a new silver Spoonface spoon, and will post more about that tomorrow. For now though, hats off to feeling better! -----------------------------------------------------------  April 24th I'm starting to feel a bit better tonight, so will be back to blogging tomorrow . I've been riding a beast called Virus, (see above pic) and I finally feel like I'm beginning to rein him in. Yeeeeharrr!!!! -------------------------------------------------------- April 20th No blog again tonight. Still sneezing and wheezing, it snot very pleasing... .------------------------------------------------------------ April 19th No blog tonight, due to sneezing , wheezing and freezing...B.R.B. ----------------------------------------------------------- April 18th  I was beginning to tire; seven long days had passed, and I was starting to feel a little week.... Sleep had been evading me; and I felt that now the Prince of Darkness was nearing completion, it was time to lay him to rest. The making of the monster had left me short of funds, (I even tried to get a loan at the blood bank, but all was in vein). No; the way to press ahead now was to send him off in the modern manner, so I gave him The Works. I painted a fitting wooden casket for the necklace (see above pic). He is now laid at rest, waiting for someone to dig him. (Hell fire that was a bad pun?)... Which character should I feature next in the Silver Spoonface makeover?, I would be fascinated to hear your nominations? Vampire suggestions after midnight, don't Count.... Until next time....Mwwhhahahahaha.... ----------------------------------------------------------- April 17th  The creature I had created had taken on a life of it's own by now; so I needed to restrain it with some kind of appropriate collar. The silver spoon itself was sizeable; so for comforts sake it required a large hanger, and to create a collar of 5mm or above out of silver, would have used a very large amount of material. Then I remembered the carriage driver with his whip; and thought how a leather (sorry to all the vegans out there) plaited thong, would make a very apt necklace for the pendant. This is not the type of thing you can buy in a normal jewellers shop and I knew I was going to have to construct one myself. First of all; I would cut out and stamp some pieces of silver, to make the chain ends. (The silver ends to the leather thong, see the rectangular pieces of silver in pic 1 ) . These I stamped with skulls. I then formed them into tube shapes and soldered them to flat pieces of silver as in pic 2. I cut off the excess silver and after soldering on the half ring ends, I filed and polished them. I wanted the extender chain to have a gothic look; and happened to have 5 chain links from a previous re-construction which fitted the look. I joined these with jump rings which I soldered and added a lobster claw catch. (Pics 3,4 and 5) I then found a sterling crucifix from a redundant necklace, which seemed to tie in very nicely with the overall theme. You may think the Nosferatu spoonface necklace is now complete but you are wrong, I still need to make the casket for it to lie in..... I may have to dig deep to create that....... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- April 16th  Now that the main form of the face had emerged; I decided to take a stab in the dark and add some ruby red enamel, in a vein attempt to re-create an illusion of blood. I sprinkled enamel powder on the chin and fired up my torch. On the first firing I decided there was not enough glass powder to give the correct illusion; so I added more, then took the torch to his face once again. This time I was pleased with the outcome. I now felt happy with the look of Nosferatu, so I attached the ruby heart crystal to the chain and placed it in his grotesque hand. (See above pic) Tommorrow I will be going for the jugular and making a devilishly good hanging item to put the pendant on. (Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be a pain in the neck).... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 15th  Continuing in the same vein as yesterday.... The monster I was creating was beginning to take shape. I decided I wanted him to have bulging; staring eyes, so I cut two silver circles and then punched his eyes out. I experimented with the face parts to work out where I wanted to attach them. Then I fired the ears and eyes onto the spoon, and shaped some large eyebrows too. I couldn't decide whether to give him a nose or not, but in the end I attached one. (After all; if he didn't have a nose how would he smell?......deadfully?). Next I textured the face; as I wanted him to look like he was in an old black and white film, then added the lips and fangs. Return again tommorrow to read all a bite the next chapter in The Nosferatu Spoonface...... –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– April 14th  So Day 3 and 'Count'ing; the blood curdling, silver spoon saga continues... It seemed necessary to finish off his backside before I started on his front; so I extended a couple of the fingers. (Sorry , I couldn't help myself). I carved and shaped his hand and soldered the fingers to the spoon. This created a pocket area and I decided I would place a blood red crystal heart in here. I soldered a bracelet chain onto the wrist and will attach the crystal to this, so that it can be lifted in and out of the hand when the piece is finished. I was beginning to feel that the end was nigh for the reverse of the spoon. So I attached the ears on the front, (as in the teasing pic above) and if you are daring enough to look at his hideously grotesque face, then tune in tomorrow for the next installment of The Silver Nosferatu Spoonface....... (Oh and there's only a few Designer scarves left that were handmade by me so....  Hop on over to the Traveller Tartan page to grab yours soon, before they disappear into the night! -----------------------------------------------------------------------
So the next chapter in my story of the making of the Nosferatu 'Spoonface' pendant goes like this... Using my saw, I started to cut away at his face mwwwhhhhahaha. The two pieces I removed; I would save to reattach upside down, to make into his ears. Before I started soldering things onto his face, I wanted to remove parts of the back of his head so I dropped his head in acid. The result is shown in the pic above right. The skulls that are also in the pic are silver skull pendants I've been making as well, out of recycled silver. For anyone who is familiar with the 1922 Gothic Horror film Nosferatu (and that would probably be most students who went to Art College in the 1980's); the vampire himself, has long twisted fingers. I wanted to capture this in the spoon; so I twisted the handle over the back of his head, and took my saw and created a hand and fingers from the end of the handle. (See pic top left, I've also added silver wire around the pieces I removed for the ears). The hand needs more work, but the basic shape is beginning to claw it's way out of the silver. I was tempted to put a pencil in the hand...why? So that he could draw blood....read the next batty installment on my blog tomorrow; and if you enjoy it please share it, fangs once again... ___________________________________ April 12th  Whilst I've been pretty nocturnal; sewing and weaving in the night time and part of the day, I've also been playing with fire in the daytime in my workshop. As it's #whitbygothweekend this week, and as #whitby holds a dear place in my heart (having been brought up and schooled in Whitby). I decided to make one of my Sterling Silver pendant 'spoonface' necklaces based around Nosferatu (the early black and white film version of Dracula released in 1922). I've been re-purposing silver spoons into pendants for a while, and I like to look at a spoon and think who it reminds me of ? I thought it might be interesting to post a daily account this week; of the process of making the pendants, so the pic above is the initial rough sketch and first cut of the spoon. Tomorrow I will post the next stage...Fangs for looking... ______________________________________  April 11th 2019
So with the changing season, I'm beginning to feel that it's time to 'spring' into action on the Internet. I know I've not been on here much recently, but I have been busy in my workshop. I've been living in a material world, but the fabric of my Universe has been just that...fabric. I've recently had a few messages asking about buying my Travelling the Road tartan by the metre. So I made inquiries about having the fabric woven on larger and more professional looms than mine. It seems the average price to have a bespoke tartan woven into a length is about £70 a metre for pure wool. Bearing this in mind; I decided to see if I could design a 'faux' tartan which has the look of a woven tartan but is printed onto a fabric. (I hate that word 'faux'; Trompe-l'oeil feels so much better and I want it to look like an optical illusion, as if you are actually looking at a woven tartan). I photographed a section of tartan that I'd woven into a length on my loom; the next bit was rather tricky. I had to find where the pattern repeats (a bit like where the pattern joins on wallpaper). I then had to put a grid over the pattern to ensure that the woven lines on the tartan would join up in the pattern. This was very time consuming and on top of this I had to correct the flaws in the image too. I didn't want the lines to be perfectly straight; more like a natural tartan, which made the job more complicated again. Anyway; I've finally finished it and I've sent the image off to the fabric printers to see what the finished effect looks like, fingers crossed. The image above is a close up of the print, so hopefully you can get a rough idea of the finished effect. I've also made some hats from the wool fabric I've woven on my loom, and I'll be listing them soon in my 'Lolly' Shop. Sweeeet!!!
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March 20th Organisation, it's just not my forte. So, I'm thinking of trying to be more organised with my blogging. Blogging every night can become a chore; and as I actually enjoy blogging, I'm thinking that maybe I will blog on only three nights a week?. Monday; Wednesday and Friday seem like good options, but I'm just interested in any feedback from readers on this? Having been nominated for the U.K. Blog Awards and reading with interest how other bloggers work; I was quite surprised to read that some of the bloggers who got through to the final round only blog a couple of times a week. I would love to hear your likes/dislikes and tips on how to get more readers. I'm also thinking of opening my own 'Lollipop' Shop, selling art I've made. Tell me what you'd like to see in the shop, any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanx --------------------------------------------------------- March 19th  On this day in 1533 John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners died. This portrait of him was painted sometime between 1520-26 by Ambrosius Benson. I love it because of the direct stare; and so does The Portrait Time Machine, and that's why it decided to update it. The way that he is holding the piece of fruit in his hand; to me, is not suggestive of an offering. To me, it suggests that this guy is going to batter you to death with it. In a modern day setting I picture him as a tough guy in a Guy Ritchie film, and coincidentally that's how the machine has portrayed him...... John Bourchier, just another Goodfella! -------------------------------------------------------- March 16th  Although the Portrait Time Machine has been pretty quiet of late, it is still chugging away merrily. Today it's produced an updated version of a portrait of Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo, painted in 1519 after Columbus's death. Funny, because I've been focussing on my Traveller Tartan at the moment, and he was one of the most famous travellers and explorers ever. When I was at school he was heralded as a great man, but nowadays he's thought of like Marmite, you either love him or hate him. Physically he was described as a large man with auburn hair. I'm not sure how common it was for Italians to have red hair in those days? but I've read that, when the Romans came to England they described it as a nation full of copper haired people. Indeed, Boudicca was said to have had red hair. In the original painting; Columbus is wearing thick bulky furs, which must have been pretty cumbersome when exploring. Nowadays with the high tech clothing that's available; it's made travelling so much easier, and of course, any self respecting traveller would wish to be seen in a Traveller Tartan hat. So that's what he's wearing. (Now some people who will have a quick 'peak' at this page; may assume that the Portrait Time Machine has the 'cap'acity to include some free advertising for my traveller tartan as it's updated the portrait of Columbus............ All I can say is.........If the cap fits......haha) --------------------------------------------------- March 14th  A couple of news reports today covered the recent findings that Ancient Brits travelled to Stonehenge for raves . Is this news to them? Blimey I thought everyone knew that?. I imagine that it probably wasn't policed as strictly as it is now though. Archeologists analysed remains from pigs that were brought to the stones to feast upon, to work out how far and wide people had come to party. Some might say that there is still a need to get rid of the pigs at Stonehenge; but on my more recent jaunts to the stones, I'm glad to report that I've never noticed any ceremonial goings on with pigs. No we can leave that to the likes of David Cameron thank-you! (See pic from March 6th) --------------------------------------------------- March 13th  I was making a little image for my 'Travelling the Road' scarves to use for Mother's Day, and it got me thinking about just how many people there must be in the world who move from place to place living on the roads or have a nomadic lifestyle. People sometimes refer to life itself as the 'long and winding road' and let's face it; it's definately a journey, and sometimes it can be a very bumpy ride. One area of travelling I'm quite interested in, are the American Nomads who roam the U.S.A. in their trailers, R.V's , trucks and buses . There's even a section of travellers in the U.S. who are termed the Camper Force. They apparently; move around from Amazon Depot to Amazon Depot working shifts, and make up a sizable percentage of the workforce. This evening I think I will watch the documentary made by Richard Grant called American Nomads; I found a link to online. I've added a button below to click on, if you'd like to watch it too. It looks very interesting. Maybe I could start a new line in Traveller Tartan Stetsons? Put it this way; if I ever saw anyone wearing one of those...I'd definitely take my hat off to them! (p.s. If you wish to buy a scarf please pop over to the Traveller Tartan page and click on the link) ----------------------------------------------------- March 10th  Gulp!...So today's the day that I've managed to keep all the metaphorical plates spinning and have launched a facebook page for Traveller Tartan. The whole process of of designing; registering, producing the fabrics etc. has been a very long, and intense journey. There always seems to be something I've left off the 'Check' list, so let's hope I have everything in order. Tonight I'm feeling just like one of my scarves.........I need a 'check up from the neck up' ! ---------------------------------------------------------- March 7th  It's not the 25th December today, but it has been Boxing Day in my abode...(see above pic) I'm now teetering on the edge of being ready; willing, and able to stick my neck out and 'Check' out the world of marketing with my Traveller Tartan Scarves....x ------------------------------------------------------------- March 6th  Today is not only the birthday of my gorgeous friend Marion, it's also Michelangelo's birthday. He was born on 6th March 1475 and died 18th February 1564. The guy was a genius; which is why his work still endures all these years later, and probably why The Portrait Time Machine has popped out a portrait of him today. Like in the past; I have used the ancient art of Physiognomy to analyse his portrait, which was painted of by Daniele da Volterra. His face would read as; he was a fun loving man (curly hair), with lots of character. The deep lines running from the sides of his nose to the corners of his mouth would tell that, this man can talk to anybody about anything. (He loved talking, and he probably had a lot of funny stories). His jutting jaw shows his determination. His earlobes say that this is a spiritual man, (take a look at how a Buddha's earlobes are portrayed). With his skills, determination and lack of shyness, he had the Physiognomy to succeed. Using this information; I imagined him in the 21st Century giving Ted Talks on how to make a successful career from Art, and that is how the machine has portrayed him. (In the modern world he's actually turned out to look like a couple of my art tutors from the past). His work has inspired people for over 450 years and is still inspiring and being replicated to this day. Remember the 'Cameron David' 9ct gold and silver pendant I made last year (see pic below), made to mark the 'Hameron' Piggate scandal? I'm sure Michelangelo would have loved telling everyone all about that.  -------------------------------------------------------- March 5th  Did you know that the actor Rex Harrison was born on this day in 1908? Funny; because yesterday I was feeling a little sheepish, but today I've been feeling like a Pushmepullyou. It's been one of those days where you start to do a job that you hope will improve things; only for everything to unravel. Then you have to do it all again from the start. You could call it a My 'Un'Fair Lady day. However; I gambolled along regardless, even if it did feel like one step forward two steps back. Do you ever have that type of day? It definately wasn't a DoLittle day .. _________________________________  March 4th
I'm feeling a little sheepish as it's been ages since I penned a post; ewe wouldn't believe how busy I've been though. I've been trying to shake off my woolly headedness and swap it for a 'business head' which is something I've always struggled with; and to be fair, probably always will. However here goes; in the coming months I will be listing things I've produced for sale and I'm hoping that people may flock to buy my products. Will I be ahead of the herd, or just another lamb to the slaughter? We shall see? I think today is the day to March 4th though... January 11st 2019 I'm chuckling to myself because I'm not normal and I've always known that. You may have noticed that the 'Vote for me in the Uk Blog Awards' sticker has gone off the top of the page. I received an email telling me that I sadly, hadn't been selected as a finalist in the awards. It was a relief, and I know I'm partly to blame for this too. It's a compliment to be selected for the awards; but the entrants who've been chosen, then have to get people to vote for them. The voting makes up 40% of the marks. Now this is a much easier task for a blog with a readership of thousands; but little 'ole me?....well that would be a full time job and to be honest it's just not my bag.. I really struggle with the whole internet 'Please like me' ethos anyway. It kinda reminds me of the kid in the playground who's asking all the other kids "Do you like me"?. It gets to be annoying after you've already said yes two or three times. Maybe I should have taken a leaf out of some professional bloggers books; and paid someone else to drum up a following? But A, that would require spending money I haven't got and B, I couldn't give a Flying *uck if anyone likes me or not haha. I can't bear the thought of giving up any more of my arty time to the net. I have a friend who's running a small business selling hand made; organic cotton, baby clothes. She's getting quite successful but said it drives her bonkers that she spends a third of her time on the computer. Uploading photos; changing listings, answering questions, answering emails, taking payments for orders and making invoices etc, etc. and only two thirds of her time actually making her gorgeous clothes. Virtual lives mean a life less lived?. It's kinda scary. This is why I've awarded myself a mini break from blogging, to re-jig and re-assess. It was a challenge to myself to see if I could continuously blog for a year; and I more or less achieved that last year? Now I may not blog every day, but will still post regularly. I really enjoy doing the Portrait Time Machine, so that will remain a constant in the blog. I would love some suggestions of things you'd be interested in finding out about, that go on in my daily life. All of that said; I am really looking forward to the challenges of 2019. I will be posting a lot more pics of what I'm actually doing and making and how I go about this. I must also say a massive thank-you to everyone who's been reading my blog, and I hope you all had a fab New Year! The Portrait Time Machine's engine has been started; and like me it is warming up and getting ready to steam full ahead into 2019!... X ------------------------------------------------------------------ January 1st 2019  Happy 2019 to everyone, hope you have a fabulous Year!
December 30th  I don't know if anyone else is feeling like I am, as the end of the year is approaching?. I feel like I am running out of steam. This must be the reason The Portrait Time Machine has produced an update of a portrait of James Watt by Carl Frederik von Breda. James Watt was not the inventor of the Steam Engine, but the man who made it all run smoothly. How ironic that in almost all of his portraits; he actually looks like HE'S run out of steam. When I read about his personality traits I felt I had an affinity with him. Excerpt from Wikipedia -He was a rather poor businessman, and especially hated bargaining and negotiating terms with those who sought to use the steam engine. In a letter to William Small in 1772, Watt confessed that "he would rather face a loaded cannon than settle an account or make a bargain."[41]Until he retired, he was always much concerned about his financial affairs, and was something of a worrier. His health was often poor. He was subject to frequent nervous headaches and depression. High Five Bro'! It must be a creative thing? I think this time of year is definately a time to re-charge the batteries in preparation for the coming season, where we will hopefully spring up again like the perpetual daffodils around York City walls. James Watt developed the concept of horsepower, the SI unit of power, and the watt, was named after him. All of these are units of energy; yet he appears in his portraits, to have none himself. So if someone asks you 'Watt's Up'? Just remember; you are like a rechargeable battery and sometimes in winter, when in what seems like our most dormant moments. We are actually preparing for a huge energy boost, so that we can 'steam' ahead in the Spring.............(Hopefully?) ------------------------------------------------------------------- December 27th  I think I will have to admit that I am a bit of a Space Gypsy. Sometimes I head off in one direction; then end up floating off in another completely random direction, meanwhile forgetting all the things I've only just left behind. The lure of new; unexplored areas, has always drawn me in. (I would be THAT fly, that flew into the blue light). But; as I was checking in to my studio today, I noticed the Portrait Time Machine was left switched on. There; lying relaxed and re-worked was Erasmus. (See above pic) He's changed quite a bit since his original 1523 portrait by the fabulous Hans Holbein. If you were using physiognomy to analyse Erasmus; the first thing you would notice are the lines around his mouth that tell you this man can talk to anybody about anything, he was a great orator. His nose would be described as a great palace of wealth; so you could assume he was very wealthy too. Then his heavy eyelids would suggest that this person is a doer; who acts immmediately on new ideas. He's not someone who writes lists; as soon as he's thought of an idea, he has to act on it. His cheekbones would state that here's a man of feelings. I think if he were alive today he would be very concerned with the state of the planet; so that's how the machine has portrayed him. His anagram sweatshirt says it all. People of the Earth Erasmus says, Ur.A.Mess. ------------------------------------------------------------- December 21st  Contact has now been made with Lolly, and normal-'ish' service will be transmitted as soon as possible. Was she 'Lost in Cyberspace' or 'On another planet?' find out in the next exciting episode! ......... ........ ... ___ ... --------------------------------------------------------------- December 12th  Today I'm travelling by train to Shropshire to stay with my mum for a few days, so I won't be blogging again until early next week. I've designed this year's Christmas card; and today of all day's, seems to be the most appropriate day to post it. It's called Peace on Earth, (Just don't look outside). The monster outside the window this year is the Brexit Monster!...... Season's Greeting's to you all! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 11th Fell asleep before blogging.... -------------------------------------------------------------- December 10th  Game, set and match. (Well, necklace set and match). I've added a pair of mistletoe earrings to the necklace I finished yesterday; then I just need to give it all a final hand polish, and it will be complete. Ready to sprinkle some twinkle this festive season. (Maybe I'll call it Angel Kisses ?), have you got any good suggestions as to what to call the set?, if you do, please let me know, I would love to hear from you... ------------------------------------------------------------ December 9th  I thought I'd better set the stones in the re-cycled sterling silver necklace today, that I started on October 25th and never got around to finishing. I've used Red Carnelians for holly berries; Lemon Jade for mistletoe berries, Swarovski Crystals for the centres of the stars and a Moonstone teardrop. I re-enamelled the holly leaves first, as I wanted a more speckled effect. It was hard to photograph the finished necklace on my iphone, as the moonstone seemed to be actually glowing. I'm pleased with the overall effect though, and may make a matching pair of earrings to go with it tomorrow. (I could even make them like two tubes with zig-zag twists at the ends, or would that be two crackers?).... --------------------------------------------------------- December 8th I'm not going to blog tonight; (even though I'm actually now blogging). That's because I've noticed; of all the night's that I post, a Saturday has the least amount of readers. This is something I'm glad about; I like the idea that my readers are party people, out having fun. I have myself; been known to indulge in this art form, in the past. But tonight; with the wind and rain howling outside, I'm just going to snuggle down in my bed with some Netflix n Horlicks....(the drink that is!) ---------------------------------------------------------- December 7th  Another painting has sailed out of The Portrait Time Machine. Today marks 201 years since the death of William Bligh; and the machine has updated his portrait by Alexander Huey, painted in 1814. There are lots of theories on why there was a Mutiny on the Bounty; the ship that Vice-Admiral William Bligh captained. We'll probably never know the true reason why his Master's Mate Fletcher Christian led a mutiny on board the ship. As I've said before; there's no scientific evidence to support even one jot of Physiognomy, I just find it interesting, and I can tell you what Bligh's face tells us using this very ancient chinese technique. He absolutely has the classic definition of a determined chin. With his very wide jaw line and jutting chin, you can see that this man is driven. My God, those men who were cast away with him in that launch could have just stick his chin in the water and that would have got them all the way to Timor!. His face also tells of a man who's quick to temper (his eyebrows), and his mouth shows someone with a rich fantasy life, who's quite mean and is good at keeping secrets. His eyes tell of a cautious man, who is a do-it-now type of character. If you used Physiognomy to analyse Bligh the summing up would suggest here was a determined, cautious but sometimes ruthless man, who was quick to temper. I feel more inclined after 'Face Reading' Bligh; to fall into the- "the men were corrupted by the freedom, idleness and sexual licence of their five months in Tahiti, finding themselves unwilling to return to the "Jack Tar's" life of an ordinary seaman, under the strict authority of their Captain. His drive and strict determination were the qualities that saved the lives of the crew who were set adrift by Christian. So those qualities came in very useful . Fletcher Christian must have been in turmoil when the descision was made to mutiny. He obviously held Bligh in high regard or he would have just killed him; he knew he would have been hanged, if caught. Yep; I suspect that the mutineers had had their fancies tickled rather spendidly in Tahiti, and that 'end of a fabulous holiday feeling' where you just want it to go on and on, took over. We all know that 'back to work' feeling?, Return to Blighty in a Blizzard ?, or Sun, Sand and Sex in Tahiti, it's a no brainer really?............Bye-Bye Bligh!... -------------------------------------------------- December 6th  I've been sewing again today, I made up a Ginger 'Ed Sheeran Christmas Stocking. (See above pic, still available on Print me Pretty, and there's still time to give your friends a completley unique gift!) I was thinking of sending it to Ed, if I can find a mailing address for him?. In between sewing; I was checking out Social Media (as you do), and I was a little shocked by some tweets that I read. On Twitter I follow The National Gallery @NationalGallery; and there was a tweet at 3.10am today, that mentioned a new loan to the Gallery: "Jean-Etienne Liotard's 'The Lavergne Family Breakfast' is now up in Room 33". "At their breakfast table, an elegantly dressed woman watches her daughter dunk a biscuit into a cup of milky coffee": https://bit.ly/2SuksZq . I was very interested to read the comments underneath the post which stated; there were a lot of highly respected people in the art world who regard pastel and pencil 'painting', as not really art. I was quite gob-smacked at this declaration. Banksy is one of the top selling artists of the moment; and he just has a can of paint and a hole to spray it through........ Surely any art is 'Art' if there's a flow and a reason; and sometimes there's no flow and no reason, and it's still art. Ever since Duchamp's Urinal; I thought it was pretty much agreed, anything goes? Following on from Duchamp's work; I feel like I'm really pushing the boundaries of Art with my depiction of 'A Portrait of Ginger 'Ed Sheeran in the form of a biscuit, on fabric'. (See above pic). It's part of the body of work I call 'The Ginger Br'Ed Sheeran Cookie Series'. This includes the renowned work, 'Ginger Br'Ed Sheeran Christmas Stocking' - Cut out and Sew- Mark 1. (Also available in printed yardage in a pioneering form of portraiture). I know it's controversial drawing him in the form of Gingerbread; when it's blatantly obvious, he's a Gingernut. The thing is; I'm like dough, and that's just how I roll. So if a urinal is definately art; and the famous bricks called Equivalent VIII are definitely art. Then 'A Portrait of Ginger Br'Ed Sheeran in the form of a biscuit, on fabric' is probably...almost definitely, the next biggest thing in the Art World! Run; Run as fast as you can! You'd better catch him he's The Ginger 'Ed Man!! Or ..maybe I'm just taking the biscuit? (with a cherry on top?) (Yes;..... I do know, his wife is called Cherry; but I used a Cherry to cover his modesty because I felt an orange would be really taking the pith). ---------------------------------------------------------------- December 5th  Yesterday there was a blip in the matrix; but today the machine is back up and running! Did you know 230 years ago today the poet, Christina Georgina Rossetti was born?. One of her most famous poems is 'In the Bleak Midwinter'; which was later turned into a hymn by Gustav Holst, then by Harold Darke. She had a lot of mental wrangles during her life, but I think she must have been a very caring person. Christina was opposed to slavery (in the American South), cruelty to animals (in the prevalent practice of animal experimentation), and the exploitation of girls in under-age prostitution. The above portrait of her, is by her famous brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti. She was born into a comfortable family; so when she came out of The Portrait Time Machine, she is wearing Gucci earrings and running her own Publishing Company. Physiognomy would say that this woman has lots of drive, and the machine has given her bright red lipstick to give her a stronger voice. It must have been quite difficult for her to be heard when she was surrounded by The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. I don't think there were any female members of that exclusive club.? Another of her famous poems is called The Goblin Market, she wrote many fairy stories for children. People have tried to analyse this poem and read into it their own interpretations. I read on her Wikipedia page that Christina Rossetti was a volunteer worker from 1859 to 1870 at the St. Mary Magdalene "house of charity" in Highgate; a refuge for former prostitutes, and it was suggested Goblin Market may have been inspired by the "fallen women" she came to know. I must say, that's certainly IS another term for a Goblin Market?.... blimey! ------------------------------------------------------------------ December 4th Ok; so on the 4th, I went out Out. ----------------------------------------------------------------- December 3rd  As today marks the anniversary of the death of the Artist Claude Joseph Vernet; I thought I’d put a portrait of him by the under-sung female portrait artist, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842) into The Portrait Time Machine. Elisabeth painted over 660 portraits and 200 landscapes, fair play! I’m always a bit more excited when one artist captures another. It reminds me of the time I briefly met the Portrait Artist Peter Edwards, (who is from my home town of Oswestry) and we sketched each other.(See pics below). I think his portrait of me is much more relaxed than my manic portrait of him; you can see I was quite nervous about meeting him, (it was 1998). I would love to go to one of those ‘Drink and Draw’ evenings that are very fashionable around London at the moment. Sadly I haven’t found any of these fun events closer to home; in deepest, darkest Somerset. What fun it would be though; especially if it escalated to a ‘dance off’ style sketching evening?, a ‘sketch off’. Chest bumping other artists in a ‘come on then’ style. Hilarious. Actually; thinking about it, I have been to a different type of drink and draw evening in the past, but those usually involved a bottle of Vodka and a spliff. Back to today’s portrait. Now; as the subject of the painting is an artist himself, I had to think how I would imagine him as an artist in this day and age. The first present day artist who sprung to mind was Grayson Perry; and what a co-incidence that, when I put Joseph in The Portrait Time Machine, the resemblance was uncanny? I wonder how Joseph Vernet would feel about his Widow Twanky style make over, if he were alive nowadays? I would imagine he would find the skill of Grayson’s pottery most admirable; but, he would probably find his alter ego Claire, a bit of a Cracked-Pot?  --------------------------------------------------------- December 2nd  Following on from the 'flouncy' style portrait of yesterday; I've chosen another romantised painting to put in The Time Machine today. On this day in 1804, Napoleon was crowned Emperor of France. So, I thought I'd put a portrait of his adversary Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson into the time machine. It was painted by Lemuel Francis Abbott; and for me I don't think you can get any more romantised than this. I mean; that man in the Nelson Portrait is seriously handsome with his big exaggerated doey eyed-ness. It actually makes me think of those pictures from the BBC production of Poldark. The pictures that went viral of Aiden Turner scything. I'm pretty sure if the portrait of Nelson were repeated in modern times, it would look something like that. (A naked half Nelson?) So; that is how Nelson is portrayed, once he has returned from The Portrait Time Machine. All I can say is "Kiss me Hardy?"..... Horati-Oh Yeah!..........You try and stop me! ---------------------------------------------------- December 1st  So today marks a year since I started full time blogging. Sometimes it's hard to force yourself to write, edit, photograph, edit etc when you just want to get on with other arty things.
I don't think I'm particularly suited to self-promotion either. My mother always instilled dignity at all times; yet in my experience generally it's the people that are screaming "Look at me, Look at me!"; that inevitably, do get all the attention (whether it's deserved or not). I'm just not desperate enough; (I know I will always somehow survive, being of no fixed abode for about 10 years in the past). Now; is that a good thing or a bad thing these days? It's hard to believe I was painfully shy as a small child. I've always felt that if I'm pushed out infront; my natural state, is to shrink back into the undergrowth. I felt quite overwhelmed when I read the comments on The UK Blog Awards twitter page about planning content, getting a logo designed, employing writers even? (As I was reading those words I was just naturally shrinking back; because for me, it's JUST me, and I just DO it, no planning etc). I definately feel like I'm at a crossroads in my life and need to be more pro-active in getting people to look at my art and my blog etc. Or; of course, the other option is to treat my blog as an exclusive club. Yes that's the answer;......... Welcome to my exclusive club you regular readers! Which reminds me did you know that 99 years ago today; Nancy Astor was the first female Member of Parliament, to take her seat in The House of Commons? That's why I decided to feature her today in The Portrait Time Machine with the above portrait which was painted by John Singer Sargent in 1909. I love Singer Sargent; and when I saw his portrait of Madame X in the flesh, it actually moved me to tears. He has managed to capture an iridescence in the skin which is sublime. Having said that; I do find his painting of Nancy Astor far too flouncy; and definately not, how a modern politician would wish to appear. Physiognomy would say that Nancy was a very driven woman, and maybe not a very good wife either? The modern Nancy would wear a power suit and carry a briefcase (which funnily enough, the style is called Astor). I couldn't help but tinker with her rosette , and it now features a sinking ship in the centre. No shrinking away into the bushes for this lady, she'll be sticking her chin right out! November 30th     This morning the sky was that lovely shade of blue that always reminds me of France. Looking up at it reminded me that I must paint the horse that's on the roof. (See top pic) It's was painted very roughly; in a hasty 10 minute job, and has ended up staying like that. It's amazing it's stayed on the roof during these hellish gales we've had. I thought I'd have a mini catch-up today; as tomorrow (1st December), marks exactly a year since I started my daily blog. (With a few tiny little breaks). I don't know if anybody who reads my blog can remember a year ago when I started my 'Advert Calendar' ? Gosh that month's blog was a lot of work. It was properly Christmas Crackers! (Click on the black link if you fancy a reminder of the mayhem). For the moment, I've been entering lots of competitions and challenges. I've designed a fabric to remind people to recycle. There's a multi-coloured version, and a monochrome black and white version. The colourful version (see pic above left) has been entered into The Print me Pretty design challenge for this month, you can check it out by clicking on the black link, and leave a message if you like?. (there's also a link from there to their Facebook page where it's featured. The Black and White Recycle design (see above) has been entered into the Spoonflower Black and White challenge contest, (you can click on the black link to vote for me if you like?). There are a lot of entries, so you may have to scroll down for a while to find it 'Recycle Black n White' by multitalentedartist. This also reminds me, that you can vote for me in The Uk Blog Awards under the Eco and Green section (page 3) by clicking the above pink link; as well as in the Arts and Culture section. (Me cultured ppfff). I've also entered another thing but; I will share that with you if anything comes from it. Basically; just Vote for Me, Vote for Me! in everything (Please x). At this rate I may end up standing for election, and asking people to vote for me. (Though it won't be for the first time, see pic above). I definately couldn't make a worse job than the shambles who are in at the moment. (See I'm cutting edge political too!). If you've enjoyed my blog over the last year; please drop me a line as I would love to hear from you, and hardly ever get any feedback.. It can be very lonely here in Cyberspace... (Hmmm that's just given me an idea; maybe I'll send some radio waves out into space, to try and corner the alien vote?) P.s Have you seen the new images sent back from Mars, of the shiny rocks that have been spotted lying on the surface. They think they could be meteor fragments, but no one has mentioned that they could possibly be gold?. That could end up being THE slowest Gold Rush ever! How much would an ingot of that gold be worth though? Now there's a Mars Bar I wouldn't mind getting my hands on!..... Sweeeeet! P.P.s Vote for me!!! (Thanx) ------------------------------------------------------ November 29th  On this day in 1516 Giovanni Bellini died. So I thought I'd better put one of his most famous portraits in The Portrait Time Machine. It's features The Doge Leonardo Loredan. I've always loved this portrait with it's beautiful blue background. Infact; I generally like any of those 'simple outline' style portraits, which in some ways look like Cluedo characters. Anyway, here's my interpretation of how I think the Doge would look if he were alive today. (A bit like the guy out of 'Fantasy Island'?; but then again , I don't really have a Cluedo ....). ------------------------------------------------------------- November 28th  He's one of the most famous soldiers in history but; thanks to The Portrait Time Machine, he's now in the wrong Century and looks completely different. It's a painting from The Dutch Golden Age that has become known as; The laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals, 1624. The painting was simply titled 'The Cavalier' in Victorian times, when It was exhibited at Bethnal Green Museum (now known as V&A Museum of Childhood) in 1872-75. Later when it was exhibited at The Royal Academy in 1888, it had become known as The Laughing Cavalier. All that we actually know about the sitter, is that he was 26 when the painting was painted in 1624. You have to admit that the most splendid thing about the original painting is the outfit he is dressed in, (although the moustache does come a very close second). Frans Hals has captured the flame coloured embroidery on his black silk tunic so exquisitely; with swift, confident strokes. Without his 'tashe and goatee; and minus his flambouyant dress, I think this soldier looks rather 'run of the mill' (although he is still very handsome). Regarding this particular portrait though, it really could be a case of 'the clothes maketh the man', what do you think? ------------------------------------------------------- November 27th  He’s got an exhibition at the National Gallery, and he’s also in The Portrait Time Machine today. It’s that fabulous Renaissance Artist Lorenzo Lotto! With his painting ‘Venus with Cupid’, dated 1530. Now, this is another painting I was never really happy with the content of. It’s all very confusing; but apparently in the 1500’s it was classed as very amusing. The figure lying down is Venus; and the Cherub urinating on her is Cupid, her son. She’s wearing a veil and crown for she is to be married, and the ribbon tied around her chest is to mark her purity, (Apparently it was a custom of brides in the 1500’s). Cupid is peeing on her to enhance the fertility of the virgin bride. The seashell hanging in the tree represents the female, and is symbolic in its innuendo of the female genitalia. Now I’m no Gynecologist but; didn’t anyone notice that if Cupid is her son, she must have already indulged in some rumpy pumpy? The image of Cupid peeing on Venus may have been funny in the 16th Century; but to the modern eye it’s almost abusive. E.g. Just lay back Venus, and let love (Cupid) piss all over you. So once again, I’ve re-dressed the balance. In the 2018 version, Venus is just trying to get dressed in her yurt. The virginal chest band has been binned. Why should anybody have to confess their love life to anyone else?. It’s their own business and no one else’s. The crown and veil have gone and she is now free of any constrictions. Her arm tattoo translates to “Don’t let the bastard grind you down” (love), and her leg tattoo very aptly states ‘Love Hurts’. She has her phone ready to catch the scene ‘live’. Venus has used an electric fire as a shield; in the ultimate ‘Piss Off’ to Cupid, (which could result in a shocking end). Then finally; next to the ‘female’ shell hanging in the tree, there is now a burnt banana…… Balance re-dressed I think?.... ------------------------------------------------- November 26th  So, the Time Machine is running smoothly again today. (It just needed to get well oiled). When I was doing some maintenance on it yesterday, I found this Botticelli hiding behind the seat. The original portrait was painted by Sandro Botticelli in 1484, it's called Portrait of a Young Woman (possibly Simonetta Vespucci). To me, this stylised type of painting is like a very early form of graphic design. You cannot fail to love Botticelli's use of vibrant colours and his confident line work. When I studied the image of the young woman; I couldn't help but think how beautiful she was, and how totally ornate her hair style is. When you look at her in detail, you notice all the plaits, ribbons and pearls woven into her hair. The plaited tassels are fabulous; and I'm sure they, or even all, of the plaited parts must have been what are termed 'extensions' nowadays. The hair is much shorter and finer around the face than say, the two plaits which come around to the front and join up. The 'stylist' must have spent hours doing it. All of this detail made me wonder if the sitter actually realised how beautiful she was, or if (like many young girls) she looked in the mirror and saw a distorted view of herself. That's why I made her 2018 reflection in the mirror, an image of how she may have viewed herself. The Body Dismorphic Botticelli. I don't think the feelings of inadequacy in some young women are a modern thing it's probably been around for a very long time. Although, maybe not in such numbers as there are today. It's very sad when you meet a beautiful girl, who believes she is ugly. The old adage 'Beauty is wasted on the Youth' sadly, very often turns out to be true. However, 1484 or 2018 her eyebrows are still 'on fleek'. Crikey; it's amazing it's still as fresh as it was when it was painted, 534 years ago. This updated version of Botticelli's painting is meant to show the mental wrangling which can sadly happen during maturity. The true beautiful self, and the distorted self vision. (Sorry this one's deep I know? but; beauty very often, can be more than just 'skin' deep.) --------------------------------------------------- November 25th The Portrait Time Machine is closed today due to maintenance. I put Erasmus inside; and unfortunately he de-constructed it, in the hope of making a better version. With a bit of luck; it will be back up and running tomorrow, as I've put the genius Leonardo da Vinci inside now. That fella can turn his hand to anything..... BRB. ---------------------------------------------------- November 24th  Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1 is the actual title of today's portrait in The Portrait Time Machine. Painted in 1871 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, it is better known as Whistler's Mother. Some say, it's an American Icon. Anna Whistler was 67 when she sat for the portrait; although Whistler himself didn't like the picture to be called a portrait, as far as he was concerned it was an arrangement. Very often in old paintings widow's are depicted as the eternal mourners; I can't remember seeing a painting of a male figure in mourning for a lost spouse. Whilst those who suffer loss, can suffer eternally. I like to think that with Grief Counselling; nowadays, people can move on and make the most of their lives. In my updated version of Whistler's Mother; she's had her Grief Counselling and realised that at 67 she still has plenty of vim and vigor and thus, has found a renewed lust for life. She has also become computer literate, and this has opened a whole new set of experiences for her. No more the contant mourner, now the Merry Widow!. The Portrait Time Machine will closed tommorrow for maintenance. (I put Erasmus in there and he's pulled it all apart). If you enjoy my blog and have any suggestions for entries into The Portrait Time Machine, just drop me a line. If you have a moment too; could you please vote for me in The Uk Blog Awards by clicking on the Pink Link above, it's simple and you don't have to register. (Infact; you can vote for me twice if you like, I'm in the Arts and Culture group on page 9 and the Eco and Green section on Page 3). I've been nominated and got through; to the second round and stand about a Cat in Hell's chance of winning, as I'm up against 'Super Bloggers'. Hey, but even a Cat in Hell deserves a chance surely? ha-ha ..thanx ----------------------------------------------------------- November 23rd  The Painting in The Portrait Time Machine today, kinda creeped me out, the first time I saw it as a young girl. It's called Candaules Showing His Wife to Gyges by Jacob Jordeans, painted in 1646. It shows the rather sleazy scene; of a rich old man who's married to a beautiful young woman, and he's allowing another man to take advantage of her by secretly watching as she strips to bathe. I always felt very sorry for her, so I've re-dressed the balance with my updated version. Instead of her being the victim; I've turned the tables on the men, and they are now the victims of her scam. She's taken a large sum of money from them, to supposedly allow them to be voyeurs. But; whilst this angelic cherub has promised them a heavenly experience, she has infact, called the police on the Peeping Toms. She is taking their money and running. I've given her tattoo wings, but this girl is no angel. To this young woman, there's no fool like an old fool. I guess you could say the two men got a bum deal? -------------------------------------------------- November 22th  Today's classic portrait that has entered The Portrait Time Machine is by the Dutch artist Rembrandt. I'm not sure if the subject's name is known, but it was painted in 1634. The skill in the execution of this painting is exquisite. As her name is unknown; I've resorted to Physiognomy once more, to analyse and update her. This is the face of a no nonsense; practical can-doer, who gives more than she takes. She may have lost someone; or something, in her life that she still grieves for. So; as a practical person who gives more than she takes, I imagined her, as working for the Ambulance Service. To me, she looks like she would be called Val in this day and age. So to quote Amy Winehouse; "Why don't you come on over Valerie?",..... ........(to the 21st Century, that is...) ------------------------------------------------ November 21th   Guess which 16th Century Sex Kitten is in The Portrait Time Machine today? Love her or hate her; but you'll never forget her. It's Anne Boleyn. This painting is a copy of a lost original of Anne, but I like it because it's one of the most used paintings to represent what Anne actually looked like. Physiognomy would described Anne as being an optimist; who had self belief and was quite sensitive, and we know from the history books that she was a total tease. So I've put her in this red, 'look but don't touch' style dress. I've made her mouth bigger in the updated version because, I am pretty sure she is deliberately pursing her lips in the painting to make her mouth look smaller. In the 16th century; a small rosebud style mouth, was thought of as being the most attractive shape. Funny how fashions can completely change. That is the polar opposite, of today's 'troutpout' 'duck style' favoured look. Most of the old depictions of Anne show her to have brown hair, so I'm going with that. Although, Holbein's sketch of Anne appears to show her with corn blonde hair. (See pic left) However, I shan't be losing my head over that issue. ----------------------------------------------- Late Night update:- Ok; so I've been nominated, and have got through to the second round in The Uk Blog Awards. I stand about a Cat In Hell's chance of winning but, I've just read that the link for voting is not working. (Only; hehe the link I have saved to my website is). So come on friends, vote for me by clicking on the Pink Link on my website, it's easy and you don't have to register to vote), let's make me the Bloggy Mc Blogface of 2018, please vote and share by clicking on the Pink link above. Thanx in advance ... (She who dares wins!) November 20th  Today’s portrait in The Portrait Time Machine took quite a lot longer to produce than normal, due to the amount of people featured. The original Oil Painting was painted in 1623 by Gerard van Honthorst, and it’s another one of my favourites. It’s an image of a bunch of musicians having fun. The main focus is on the lady on the right, (Her’s being the brightest lit figure). She’s suffered a wardrobe malfunction, which has resulted in a ‘nip slip’. The man who is in shadow; and sat with his back to us, has noticed this and is fixated. I love the fact that it’s a humourous painting and the colours of the costumes are so vibrant compared to a lot of paintings from that era. It’s amazingly fun and colour filled. In the updated version I couldn’t bear to cover over the beautiful vibrant costumes, so I brought the musicians to a modern setting. You could easily bump into these funsters at a music festival. So I put them in a street in Boomtown Fair, but added some up to date accessories. The brightly lit woman now has a shoulder tattoo, which she is showing off. This has resulted in the same scenario, and the man is still fixated. (Some things never change). The group is drinking Tequila, and I’ve put an orange N.O.S balloon in the man’s empty hand. The girl at the back is taking a selfie, and there’s a mirror on the table with dubious lines on it. The lad at the centre back is showing off his gold grillz. I know the pics are small and low resolution, but I’m hoping you can still see this. I’m thinking of possibly making a high-resolution glossy book of these images, whereby the details will be very clear. Or, maybe signed prints? I would love to hear any feedback on this, if there would be any interest? So there go our lovely lads and ladies; off into The Portrait Time Machine, 'shine on you crazy diamonds'. -------------------------------------------------------- November 19th  As we had Holbein’s Thomas More in The Portrait Time Machine yesterday, how about his portrait of Thomas Cromwell today? Painted in 1532-33. I don’t think this portrait is as slick and polished as the Thomas More one. Maybe Holbein spent more time with Thomas More?. Maybe he liked one more than the other? Physiognomy would say that, Thomas Cromwell was an intense man with a fine eye for detail. He noticed things that others missed and his nose shows that he was a centre of information. (People came to him to tell him things and he passed that information on to the relevant people) He would have made a good Receptionist, a Bookmaker etc. I chose to make him into a Bailiff though; I think that would be the information he would be passing on with his stern, no nonsense looks. I’ve sat him in a Public House; as the settle or pew he is sat on, reminds me of the ones that are still in use in old-fashioned pubs. I love the way the wall looks like it’s decorated in flock wallpaper, and I actually like the way the dark teal wall clashes with the grass green tablecloth. I gave him short hair; as I’m sure he’d probably class long hair as belonging to lay-abouts, in this day and age. The pint of beer he’s drinking is Bitter. He strikes me as a bitter man. Yep, off he goes to The Portrait Time Machine! ----------------------------------------------------- November 18th  It occurred to me yesterday whilst I was working on a portrait, that I subconsciously use Physiognomy in my work. Physiognomy is the ancient art of Face Reading. It is something I’ve always been interested in, and have read lots of books on the subject. It’s just a bit of fun really; but after studying the subject, when I now see a portrait, I imagine what that person must have been like. Yesterday I put one of my all time favourite portraits; by one of my favourite artists, into The Portrait Time Machine. The Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein painted in 1527. You don’t need to use physiognomy to see that, here’s another strong man. I love everything about this portrait. The intensity; the rich textures and the portrayal of the red, silk velvet robe. The way Holbein has captured the shimmer of the fabric is heavenly. Even the shine in the stubble on his face is sublime. Absolutely delicious! Physiognomy would describe this face as, the face of a family man who had a talent for making money. He kept many secrets and was passionate about his beliefs. (But I’m pretty sure that is what was written about him anyway?) I wanted to keep his hair the same length in the updated version; and in my mind’s eye I pictured him as a slightly tormented rock and roll style, Country Singer. So that’s the way he ended up in The Portrait Time Machine. He might even be singing – “His D.I.V.O.R.C.E. became final today” ha-ha. (You may have to read up on the history of Henry VIII to get that joke!) ------------------------------------------------------- November 17th  Wouldn't it be funny; if a portrait went into the Portrait Time Machine, and came out as a portrait painted later in the subjects life? Like this next one of Christina of Denmark; painted in 1558 by Francis Clouet. 20 years later than the Holbein portrait featured yesterday. You've only got to look into the eyes of Christina to see she was pretty 'Kick Ass'. In the above original portrait; to me she has that 'take no prisoners', Rock Chick look. So that's the look I chose to update her image to 2018. When you think of other the portraits Holbein painted of prospective wives for Henry VIII; the women look demure. But; when you look at the painting from yesterday, Christine is giving a very bold, direct stare. I find this very refreshing for a woman of that era, who was expected to be seen and not heard. By February 1563, she referred to herself as "Christina, by the grace of God Queen of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, Sovereign of the Goths, Vandals, and Slavonians, Duchess of Schleswig, Dittmarsch, Lorraine, Bar, and Milan, Countess of Oldenburg and Blamont, and Lady of Tortona." Yep, definately Kick Ass Rock Chick! (P.S. Did you notice the 'snuff' spoon necklace around her neck?) ------------------------------------------------------------ November 16th   This Portrait Time Machine I've created, is becoming addicitive. All the portraits I use in the T.M. are paintings I've loved for years. I still love portraiture and have produced many over the years. (See pic left of Frank Bruno drawn in the 1980's). Today's portrait to enter the Time Machine though; is Christina of Denmark. It was painted in 1538 by Hans Holbein. I know it's a bit controversial giving her black hair when she's Danish; but her eyes are a very dark brown, and in a later portrait of her in the 1550's, it shows that she did have black hair. With her direct stare and black clothes, she made me think of Liza Minelli in the film Cabaret. Henry VIII sent Holbein to paint Christina when he was scouting for wives. Henry was very pleased with the outcome and asked her to marry him. She; obviously being a very savvy lass, declined the offer stating "If I had two heads, then I would gladly offer one to Henry". So there she is, bold and beautiful Cabaret Christina! --------------------------------- November 15th  I’ve been tweaking my website a bit to add a ‘Vote for Me’ (in the UK blog awards); link, which I’ve been sent. I have almost a ‘Cat in Hell’s’ chance of winning, so I've altered the wording on the link slightly. If you have a moment; and you like rooting for the underdog, could you please vote for me via the link? Thanks in advance. I’ve also added a Bubblelicious header at the top of this page too; as I decided a white background with white writing just didn’t work, ha-ha. (By the way if you like my header; I have designed a fabric called Bubblelious in the same pattern, which is available to buy on Spoonflower very soon. See pic below. In the midst of yesterday’s chaos; I still managed to operate The Portrait Time Machine, and look who came through. It’s The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer! Originally painted in 1665; and re-worked by me, yesterday. Only now, she’s going backpacking around the world. (Well that’s how I imagined her in this day and age). No more ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring'; more like ‘Girl; give your mum a ring!’, but first she's off to The Portrait Time Machine!  ---------------------------------------------------- November 14th  Sew busy again today. I'm making up a Christmas 'Ginger Br'Ed Sheeran' Stocking to post to Ed Sheeran himself. See pic below. (Incase you missed it; they're designed by me, and available on Print me Pretty. So if you fancy one for Christmas; or to give as a gift to your 'crafty' friends, click on the link). I also updated another portrait for the Portrait Time Machine. This time I modernised one of my favourite subjects from the past, Henry VIII. Even updated, and wearing a suit he still looks like a very powerful man. I kept the sceptre in the image because I imagined if he were alive today, he'd still have a Pimp Cane. In my imagination, that's just how the big fella rolls... and he's now rolled into The Portrait Time Machine.  ------------------------------------- November 13th  Right then; as promised, I've added an enhanced image of The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, to The Portrait Time Machine. As soon as I added eyelashes and lipstick she made me think of Dita von Teese, the Burlesque Artist. Nobody is quite sure what colour the Mona Lisa's hair was originally; as it's been over painted several times, but I imagined if she were alive today she may have dyed her hair black. Also; most Burlesque Artists have certain assets (be them real or false) so I added a couple of surgically enhanced boobs, then off she went to The Portrait Time Machine Gallery page. I like the way she turned out. She was definately a minx! So here she is the all new, ..... Mona Dita! ------------------------------------------------ November 12th  Yesterday I modernised another of Roger van der Weyden's portraits. (See above pic) I think I enjoy doing this; as it makes me feel like the subject has got into an Art Time Machine, and has been transported to the present day. With this in mind; I thought it would be good fun to have a page dedicated to this activity, so I've set up a Portrait Time Machine Page. Please hop on over, check it out and let me know what you think. I will be regularly adding images to the Gallery and if you have any suggestions for portraits to modernise why not let me know. I can't guarantee I'll be able to do it, but it would be interesting to hear from you. As for you Mona Lisa........... Get in my Portrait Time Machine , I'm coming for you! ------------------------------------------------------------- November 11th  So today is Remembrance Day - lest we forget. I’m thinking of those poor; brave men who sacrificed their lives, and the ones who suffered mentally and physically as a result of war. Their families at home who suffered too, with the ongoing trauma? To wear a poppy on your lapel represents the battlefields at Flanders. It’s worn to show that those brave men and women; who fought, will never be forgotten. It’s such a shame then; when you read in the newspapers about homeless ex-soldiers like Darren Greenfield, who die on the streets. Nobody should die on the streets in the U.K. in this era, yet it is estimated that at least 440 homeless people died in the U.K. in the past year. I can only imagine with the rolling out of Universal Credit across the country; and the five weeks of no income that comes with it, that those figures are only going to increase. I really don’t like those charities that ask you not to give money to the homeless; give it to them instead, and they will decide how to help them. Erm, no!. Definitely give it to the homeless, I say. I met a couple of ex-service men who were homeless a few years back; and they did use the poppy in other ways, to forget the horrors they saw. Peace out.... On a slightly lighter note it’s National Tongue Twister Day today! The top tongue twisters listed on the Internet, seem to be these seven…. 1. She sells seashells by the seashore. 2. The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick. 3. Six slippery snails, slid slowly seaward. 4. Black bug bit a big black bear. But where is the big black bear that the big black bug bit? 5. A skunk sat on a stump. The stump thunk the skunk stunk. The skunk thunk the stump stunk. 6. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, How man pickled peppers would Peter Piper pick? 7. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck If a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, And chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would If a woodchuck could chuck wood Not even a sniff of the one my dear late dad taught me as a small child. I’ve had many hours of amusement, asking adults and children to repeat it. It goes like this… One smart fellow, he felt smart, Two smart fellows, they felt smart, Three smart fellows, they felt smart, And they all felt smart together. If you practise it; you will be able to say it quickly, then sit back and feel that overwhelming whiff of superiority whilst trying to stifle the laughter. Peace, Love and Laughter x ----------------------------------------------------------- November 10th  I’ve managed to buy an Art book in a charity shop that I can’t read. I was seduced by the images inside it. It’s a book about the artist Roger van der Weyden; who was an early Flemish painter that lived from 1399 to 18th June 1464, and it’s written in Italian. I always find early portraits fascinating. I like the detail. The jewellery, the fabric and the architectural designs. I like to look at the sitter’s features, and imagine what they’d look like if they were alive today. I’ve noticed that van de Weyden had a particular skill when it came to painting tears, and he added them to a lot of his sitters. (See pic below). A few portraits of women show a particular fashion in that day; for what I can only describe as, an extreme bandaged head look. (Probably made fashionable by that famous 15th Century Tailoress; Vivianna Westwood-Ho!) I think that maybe the 15th Century ideal woman was demure and in tears; as a lot of the women he paints are attractive, just not in a 21st Century type of way. I’ve modernised the cover image of a young woman; by giving her make-up and updating her red hairstyle, and I’ve also included a phone in a Kim Kardashian style. (See above pic). This is what I imagine she would look like nowadays. I would let you know more about the Flemish Painter Roger van der Weyden; but as the book is written in Italian, I’m Roger’ed twice. …….. Yes, it’s all Double Dutch to me!  -------------------------------------------------------------- November 9th  Speaking with friends recently; I asked for any helpful hints on blogging, and it seems the top trending tip at the moment is ‘getting naked’. Apparently; getting naked is the best way to boost numbers massively. Stripping off has always been an instant attention grabber though; as in the above 1946 Varga Varieties Girl. (By the way; if any of my readers have any useful tips on blogging I would love to hear from you, or any other feedback would be greatly appreciated). With this in mind I decided today, that I would be working completely butt naked! I thought it was probably best to avoid the jewellery workshop, as I didn’t fancy any nicks or cuts in any sensitive areas. So I opted for a far safer bet, and sat down to do some sewing of traveller tartan flat caps. (See pic below). The weather is wet and windy again today and I do have a few draughts; which got into the nooks and crannies but all in all, I managed to keep warm. Sew Naked- it’s now a ‘thing’!.........Will I go viral? (Some of you may have ‘cottoned’ on to the fact that there are no photos of me stitching in my Birthday Suit as evidence. Well I can assure you that underneath these three layers of thermal clothing; I am in fact, completely naked!) And that’s the Naked Truth!  ------------------------------------------------------------ November 8th   I've been a little bit distracted of late, as I'm taking part in a Small Business Course. It covers all aspects of running a small business efficiently. Taxation; profit forecasts, book keeping (though not the sort of books like the one I bought at a car boot sale recently; which is a gorgeous 1946 scrap book of Varga Variety Girls, see pics). I decided a while back that I need to be better prepared when it comes to selling my items. I am the eternal learner. I've always enjoyed learning new skills. If I can't do a job that I want to do, then I will go out and learn how to do it. I studied Graphic Design at Art College; but that was way before Photoshop, or any computer art. So when I decided I needed to update my skills, I went to an evening class in Photoshop. I also took an evening class in Digital Photography; and Dreamweaver, and Illustrator in order to be back on track. Small business management is (for most artistic folk) an alien subject; and while I'm doing the course, I feel my hands are tied (like in the above dubious pic, which is in the V.V.G. Scrapbook) re selling art. I'm also trying to have a massive clear out of collectables I've aquired over the years. I will feel much happier when I've finished the course in a few weeks time and can set up shop far more efficiently. I could do all three things; produce art, learn how to sell art efficiently and set up shop. The problem is; at the moment, it feels a bit like the lady on the left. It's all too much tassle....I mean hassle! ---------------------------------------------- November 7th  Wow, last night's wind and rain really did pick up after I wrote my blog. I was lying in bed and the walls were flexing more than the plasticine I had been modelling with. (I wasn't walking down a catwalk with it). The whole crazy storm made for a very noisy, edgy night. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz . Crikey, I'm glad we don't have too many like that one. Not much sleep was had and I was seeing stars today. I actually was seeing stars; as I was stamping them out with my star cutting die punch thingy. Probably best not to operate them when you're tired as it's quite easy to catch a digit on the sharp metal edges left on the punched metal. (See above pic, for a pretty splash of the old claret on the said piece of equipment). Fortunately it only a scratch; and after sticking a plaster on it and sitting down with a cuppa and a quick bit of online surfing, I was good to go again. After three days of avoiding feasting on the National Food Day list on Wikipedia; I broke my diet and had a sneaky peek. I'm not going to say which National Food Day it is today in the USA as I need to break the habit. So; I won't be telling you that it may consist of tortilla chips covered in a tasty mince and cheese. No; I won't be telling you that. National Food Day list...Today is Nacho Day! --------------------------------------------------- November 6th  Back to the sparkles today, re-polishing jewellery which had dulled a bit in it's box. I've been trying not to dull a bit myself, as the weather has switched to windy and rainy. It's all too easy to let the Cabin Fever in; when you've lived through a great many muddy winters. Mud may be the focus of much fun and frolics in the middle of summer at Glastonbury Festival but when you live in a caravan all year round it's hard to find the fun. One year when my children were young and we lived in a big silver Double Decker bus; the mud got so gloopy, we laid down a path and deck of wooden pallets. We must have used 30 or 40? That year we called our home Buckingham Pallets. (Well; one must keep up appearances!) I do love rain most of the time; (let's face it we, the Earth and the animals need it to survive)... just not when it's relentless and makes the ground a quagmire. Anyway; I refuse to get bogged down with today's rainy weather, (even though I've spouted torrents about it tonight). Brillo the Border Terrier; Eartha and B.B. the cats, are loving snuggling up infront of the roaring wood burning stove and I've just opened a brand new packet of rainbow coloured Plasticine. (see above pic)..... So rain will not stop play around here!. ---------------------------------------------------------------  November 5th Remember; remember, the 5th of November. Gunpowder; treason and losing the plot. I'm STILL shepherding pixels! Hence the work today finished with a fizz rather than a bang. Fortunately; the evening was more spectacular and sparkly though, when I went to watch a fab Firework Display at Taunton Racecourse. (See above pic of three palms exploding). I know they are called palms, because I read an interesting article on identifying the various types of firework. (I bet there are some geeks out there who can identify each one by smell). I'll be back to twinkly stuff though tomorrow; as I'll definitely working in my jewellery workshop for the day. I need to bring the sparkle back into my life, with a bit of spit and polish. (Hmmm; on second thoughts maybe not the spit?.... just the polish). As those famous Pop Prophets Take That said...Let it shine! -------------------------------------------------- November 4th
  On days like these; (day 2 of pixel shepherding), I can't believe I've resorted to posting pictures of my food. Yesterday's politician (see previous post) is today's sandwich though; and as it's National Sandwich Day today, Sam and Dave made a rather nice little snack. (See above pic). Oh well; Eggs is eggs! There are lots of firework displays on tonight and Brillo the Border Terrier is not bothered one jot. That's because he's profoundly deaf now and can't hear the bangs. I used to have a Springer Spaniel called Pedro and he was a pitiful sight on bonfire night, he'd shake for hours. I used to wrap him up in a blanket and hold him like a baby to try and stop him shaking, poor thing. Sergeant Brillo has always been the polar opposite. When he was young he used to bite the air and growl at the fireworks; completely fearless, standing guard at the window checking that none of them were coming anywhere near. Now he just lies infront of the woodburner; making a smell reminiscent of fireworks, from his back end. I watched this week's Channel 4 TV program Naked Attraction last night. With my memory for facial recognition, I'm fairly sure the guy on it was also R Wayne in Peter Kay's hilarious 'Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice' . Only; he now works out a lot, has plucked his eyebrows and visited a spray booth. (see pic right) The people who go on that program really do have some balls. I take my hat off to them all, taking everything off. I'm guessing the guy who played the part of R Wayne now goes by the name of R Willy? (Not to be confused with the Scottish Comic Strip character Oor Wullie; who despite being in a comic 'Strip', to my knowledge never actually got naked.... (I must get back in the studio tomorrow, I think I'm going screen crazy.) ----------------------------------------------- November 2nd  Today has been one of those days where it's quite hard to see what I've actually been doing, literally. I've been pressing on with a boring old job which leaves the brain feeling addled; but it's gotta be done, so I just have to crack on and do it. I've been a pixel shepherd. (Well that's what I call it anyway). Rounding up any loose pixels on images I've made for fabric designs and putting them where they belong . (See pic below of a close up of an image that needs tidying up). It pays off in the end because you can guarantee if you don't go into this amount of detail; when the item comes back from the printers, those little bits you missed can be so annoying to look at. The thing is; I like my finished work to look eggseptional. No; my brain isn't scrambled! I just knew this would happen on National Deviled Eggs Day! (USA) (See yesterday's post). Do you think there may be a link between National Deviled Eggs Day and David Cameron announcing his return to frontline politics? First he drops us in the eggsplosive Brexsh*t, then runs like a chicken !...A sure sign of a rotten egg? Cameron returns on Deviled Eggs Day a coincidence?.... I'm shell shocked!... (I'm also Super Eggsited as I've just found out I'm through to the next round of the Uk Blog Awards! Eggsellent..) (See above pic of Dave and Sam, who aren't as eggsited as I am)  ---------------------------------------------------------- November 1st  Did you know November 1st is International Stout day?.........................Well I'll drink to that!
It's also National Vinegar Day, National French Fried Clam Day and National Cook for Your Pets Day..... I'm sure there's a few Basset Hounds out there who will fail to be impressed with that, and some Siamese cats who will think it's still not good enough. Liberty Horses too; who don't want to chomp on it, because they are watching their waists. Siberian Huskies will wolf it down while the Pekinese will pick at it, though the Goldfish would just gulp it up if they weren't so flaky. Even though Budgies are known as seedy characters they are all a flutter if you're making one of those recipes on twitter. Whereas Rabbits they'd have it again and again and again ..... (Please accept my apologies for tonight's post, I may have been celebrating International Stout Day more eagerly than the other National Days. Tommorrow I will try not to be so 'barking' mad; but I can't guarantee it, as tommorrow is National 'Deviled' Egg Day...) October 31st  It's All Hallows Eve and I've been going batty trying to finish off the Xmas themed necklace I'm making. It really has been one step foward, two steps backwards today. Every time I soldered a joint an old one would ping undone; due to me not concentrating, and overheating areas I didn't wish to. (Or maybe the gremlins really were out?) I also decided when it was almost completed; that it could do with a little moonstone magic. So I made up a moonstone droplet setting and attached it. (I think a moonstone is a very apt stone to choose on a day like today). Did you know some people believe moonstones have special powers? (No, they can't get planning permission without applying). Romans believed that moonstones were born from solidified rays of the Moon. Moonstones are so very beautiful and I do love their iridescent rainbow hues. Moonstones definately should not to be confused with Mooning though; that is a very different thing...No butts! (Yes I know, that's really scraping the 'bottom' of the barrel...) N.B. I must apologise it seems to be Fright Night in the Pun Department. -------------------------------------------------------------- October 30th  It makes me chuckle when I read facts online, that are half baked. Today for instance; I was perusing the website of a famous London based jeweller I admire. When I read that he claimed every ring he makes takes him two weeks to complete I was very confused. Now I'm sure that the original ring would have taken that amount of time, but his figures just didn't add up. If infact; it really does take him two weeks to make every ring, then that would make a maximum of 26 rings in total to sell over a year. The things is; on his website he's got hundred's of items for sale, and I know he is a very popular jeweller who sells a lot of his work to the rich and famous. I suspect he makes and designs his very clever articulated jewellery himself; then either, sends off the designs to a company which can replicate the parts for him to re-assemble. Or; he has the cleverest army of jeweller elves working for him at night time? The man is a genius; and I've got a brilliant idea for a new line of pendant for him. 24 carat gold articulated porky pies; fully baked, priceless!. --------------------------------------------------- October 29th  I may have been on another planet yesterday; but today I came back down to earth, literally. I've been doing ground work outside. The brambles have taken over and now that the bracken has died back a bit; I've spent the day attacking the spiky blighters, in a cut and thrust manner with my brush hook. I managed to get a little bit of digital work done too, but felt I had better make hay while the sun shone (or rather bracken bales). I'd like to be more self sufficient; and next year I'm moving my veg patch to a sunnier spot, so I'll be laying down old wool carpet and cardboard to try and beat back the weeds. Like Jack; from the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, I bought some runner beans off an old man at a market. He said to me "These ARE magic beans; keep a few in a dry storage jar for the following year and you will always have beans", and he was right!. I like to slice them finely, add garlic and fry. Then add a little bit of soy sauce or peanut butter with a splash of milk, which makes a nice satay sauce. It's a great cheap and cheerful; as well as healthy, lunch. I've just realised how I manage to do all the list below...I'm full of beans! .......(or hot air-you decide?) ----------------------------------------------------- October 28th  Time Shift Alert!....The clocks went back last night; so I had an extra hour in bed, Yay!. I love a relaxing Sunday and now that Dr. Who has shifted it's time slot from a Saturday to Sunday, it's even better! (You can't beat a bit of sci-fi escapism). Sometimes people ask me how I manage to fit in all the things I do; and to be honest I've no idea, (occasionally they ask me if I'm on another planet). Actually, a time machine would be a very useful bit of kit for me. In my head I kind of see all the projects I've got on the go as planets that are spinning. They are not going anywhere; just hanging there rotating on their axes. When one starts to slow down, I have to concentrate on it to keep it spinning. I feel that if I keep doing this, then one day all the planets will align and I will go stratospheric. Anything is possible? Although another possibility is that I will disappear into a Black Hole. I guess that's a better option than, (look away now Jennifer) ....disappearing into Uranus though? ...  (See post from October 23rd) ---------------------------------------------------- October 27th  I was rummaging through my jewellery box today, as I need to have a sort out. I occasionally do this and find pieces that need repairing; re-working, enhancing or binning. One of the nicer things in there is an old Pinchbeck bracelet I used to wear as an Art Student, which has paste stones. (See above pic) Pinchbeck is a really old alloy metal mix invented by Christopher Pinchbeck in the 18th century. I recently saw on an episode of the Antique's Roadshow that genuine Pinchbeck is now very collectable, especially in America. Prices for original pieces can fetch the same as if the piece were made out of gold, and sometimes far higher prices than gold. Funny how an impersonator can overtake the thing it was impersonating. I remember when I was a child and people were just throwing it away, as it was fake gold and thought worthless. I guess that's part of the reason the price has rocketed, the rarity of it? My Pinchbeck bracelet must be one of the first examples of 'Copy and Paste'? I do think it's a funny thing to happen though; as it's almost like, if in 200 years time a fake Rolex watch was more valuable than an actual Rolex. Who Knows?...'Watch' this space' as the saying goes... ---------------------------------------------------------------- October 26th  I love soldering when the temperature has dropped like it did today. It's a nice little heat source. Soldering really is a fine art though. When you solder silver there are only a handful of solder types e.g. Hard, medium, easy, (I don't know why it isn't called soft) and extra easy. Each time a new seam is soldered you are supposed to chose a softer solder so that the previous seam doesn't come undone. It can become very tricky if you have a lot of soldering to do on a piece. (Like the chunky robot ring I made for myself a little while ago from sheet silver, which had 32 seams to solder if I remember correctly). Then it really does become like Solder Jenga. If the previous seams come undone; you have to start from scratch again, which requires re-sanding etc IF the metal is salvageable. Otherwise it ends up in the scrap tin ready for re-cycling. Then it really IS a case of soldering on regardless and as gingerly as my Ed Sheeran fabric. ----------------------------------------------------------------- October 25th  Some days I feel like I'm swimming against the tide; but for today, I feel like I'm bobbing along nicely. I was really chuffed when I found out I'd won the www.printmepretty.co.uk Christmas Design competition with my Ginger 'Ed Sheeran themed Christmas Stocking (see below), judged by Christine Leech of Sew Yeah. So that definately added a little lift to the day. Then I decided to press on with the Christmas sterling silver necklace I'd started, and thought that the holly and mistletoe leaves would look better with a green torch fired enamel. (See above pic) I punched out some stars from the scrap sheet silver I had in my scrap box, and decided I like the effect of two soldered together. I added the carnelian and lemon jade beads to get a feel of what the necklace will look like when finished. I think the final item will look good, so all in all a satisfactory day. The winner of the competition wins two prints of the Christmas Stocking plus a £40 voucher. I think one of the stockings I will make up and send to Ed Sheeran. Wouldn't it be funny if he sang 'I'm in love with the shape of you' to it?  ------------------------------------------------ October 24th  Q. Do you know what the tool is in the above pic?. It's probably one of the lesser used tools in the U.K. A. (Here's a little pearl of wisdom)...It's for holding pearls when you want to drill a hole in one, or saw one in half for setting. It's very handy if you need to do this, as it's really difficult holding a pearl without one. I'm thinking that pearls and opals go well together and may work nicely in festive themed jewellery. I'm not even going to mention that some people like to get a pearl necklace for Christmas; because my sister may think that statement is a crude double entendre. But; if you do want a double entendre, I'll give you one... (Note to self... stop! just stop it!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- October 23rd  So I'm trying to take advice from my lovely sister, (who's far more successful than I am). She rang to tell me that I'd slipped into my bawdy posting again; (my natural default setting I think?), and I needed to get back to posting about my art. Now basically; I'm going to stop fannying about and get on with the job in hand! Today; I was trying to think like a proper artist business woman, and concentrate on things I can make for Christmas which may sell. I was lucky enough to buy a load of Opals which were reclaimed from scrap gold. Opals are one of my absolute favourite gemstones and I think they will work well in Christmas themed jewellery. Most opals come from Australia, and did you know Aborgines believe that Opals are formed at the end of rainbows to create harmony on earth?. Here's some interesting facts about opals. Now I've just got to decide what I shall make with some of them, once I've stopped being mesmerised. (See above pic). Harmony on Earth would be pretty fab actually? In 2008 according to the above link, NASA reported detecting opal deposits on Mars! Harmony on Mars too? A very small amount of the opals I've acquired have tiny chips in them where they have been damaged, when they were leavered out of the scrap gold. I've watched tutorials on polishing and re-shaping these stones and am quietly confident I will be able to repair the damaged ones. It will be a learning curve though, as I would describe myself as a bit of an Opal cadet. (I was tempted to say I'd had a night of passion in one of those back in the day, but my sister may be reading this haha). ------------------------------------------------- October 22nd   Yesterday I posted this selfie (see above pic) on facebook from the previous night, with the caption - Looking to gain a religious halo? just take a selfie in front of a round mirror. Eat your heart out Beyoncé. Halo, Halo Halo... It's the first time I've used a filter on my phone's camera, and it got so many likes I now feel like I need a permanent filter infront of my face. I can see why so many people get addicted to them. My camera is only 72 dpi so it's pretty soft focus anyway. According to the dictionary, to use a filter is to pass something through a devise to remove unwanted material. (Original pic left) So yep, that's wrinkles and pimples filtered. Now it's going to be, goodbye impurities and 'halo' filtered 'Face'book! ------------------------------------------------- October 21st  Did anyone read Monday 15th October's report in the Guardian Newspaper about the £750 Fendi Vulva scarf/jumper? Fendi have accidentally managed to produce a jumper which makes the wearer appear to be being born. I bet despite this funny oversight, there will be label whores who still rush to buy them. The fashion for vulva chic is no new thing though. Take this picture above, of two Innuit women from Labrador photographed in 1916. The parkas they are wearing were a common design for women in the eastern and western artic. The inset fur patterns were there as a metaphor of maternity, representing the uterus over the womb. Maybe I'll have to think of a new design for some vulva art. A vulva hat maybe, for the fashion conscious Born Again Christians? Flip flop flaps for the trendy beach goer? Yes vulvas...there's gotta be an opening somewhere?... ---------------------------------------------- October 20th  I read a very interesting article recently on Artsy, about why the male member was portrayed as being small in ancient Greek Art. Large penises were seen as vulgar and belonging to barbarians, whereas small penii were seen as much more aesthetically pleasing, (if not sexually). Funny how fashions change? Although; I've noticed even in the 1500's, on statues like Michel Angelo's David the penis is still handleable, as it were... It may have been enhanced in the Sterling Silver and Gold necklace I made entitled The Cameron David, (see pic on left) which was based on the Michel Angelo statue. It seems like it's only in the second half of this century that a larger penis has been seen as admirable. If the artistic interpretation of a penis was still seen to be aesthetically pleasing in a smaller todger; there would be a lot of happier men in the world, and I'm all for that!. So maybe in the future if I need to draw, paint carve etc. a male member I'll go small. The thing is how small do I go? A half inch Willy...well that's just bollocks! ------------------------------------------------------------------ October 19th  Back once again, I'm the Renegade Master. Yep, with my ill behaviour. Mum's on the mend and I'm back in the saddle, riding high with this new fabric I've designed for Christmas with a Gingerbread theme. It features different types of Gingerbread including a figure of a Ginger Br'Ed Sheeran. It's for sale on Print me Pretty if you'd like to take a look, (also entered into their Christmas Stocking cut out and make Competition). What do you reckon....Is it melt in the mouth?...or is it really taking the biscuit? October 11th  I will be having another short blogging break as of tomorrow. My dear mum has not been very well lately and I'm going to stay with her for a few days. I will also be going to watch my sister in 'Ladies Day' by the excellent Tanat Theatre Company which I am looking forward to, there's 'nun' better than watching 'sister act'!. I've made my sis a pair of sterling silver and copper Comedy and Tragedy earrings as a gift; alternating the materials in each earring, using silver for the comedy mask with a red Swarovski heart crystal drop. Then using copper for the tragedy mask with a golden tear Swarovski drop. The copper mask has silver hanging wires and the silver mask has copper hanging wires. My great-grandfather (who died in the 1930's) was a Tin Smith on the Welsh Borders; I sometimes think of him when I'm working and how he will have used a lot of the same tools and techniques I use for jewellery making. I will still keep busy though when I'm away. I will be taking the play that I'm writing with me, and hope to jot down another scene. Can you guess if it's a comedy or tragedy? I entered a scene of it into a competition called 'Page to Stage' and won a small prize for that scene. That was a couple of years ago and I'm still working on the play. Let's hope the rest of the play is a winner too and hopefully that is not a hard act to follow?....Mwah x --------------------------------------------- October 10th  Hubble bubble; a bit of toil, but not too much trouble. Today I made copper hooks for the cauldron earrings. Then I made some sterling silver ear wires to compliment them. I've added a pic of the earrings before I blackened them, and after. 'Witch' do you prefer? -------------------------------------- October 9th  Today I've been experimenting with some designs for Halloween Earrings out of copper. I've punched out the blanks from recycled sheet copper; heated it up to make it soft, domed it and etched it. The more I learn about silversmithing; the more I notice how even on places like Etsy, a lot of makers buy the jewellery parts separately and then assemble them, rather than actually make them. It feels good to be making things in a traditional manner, very often using the same techniques that would have been used in ancient times. I made some pumpkins with features which I cut out and this was a bit fiddly, and some which were a long chinese lantern style. I tried a reverse pumpkin style which I thought may look like a glowing pumpkin but they didn't quite work and a cauldron style pair which I didn't have time to blacken. It will be interesting to see them finished tommorrow; and which one works best. My initial feeling is I rather like the cauldrons thus far, (you never know maybe the Cauldron will turn into a hot run?) -------------------------------------------------------- October 8th  They say it's the little things in life that bring the biggest pleasure; (although shaping a tiny penis for a silver ladyboy has been quite frustrating to be honest). But interestingly today, I remembered how much I enjoyed sharpening pencils with a scalpel. It's only a tiny thing but; it took me straight back to my first days at Art College when I was 16 and had just left home. As a new student you were given a long list of equipment to bring with you for personal use such as :- a set of Rotring pens...... (these were something my mother was horrified at, due to the cost) a Roget's Thesaurus...... (I remember this was expensive too and they insisted we had one as part of our kit; and to my knowledge, no one in my form ever used one). A good quality A1 Portfolio Art folder. (also expensive) Etc,etc, but the most exciting piece of kit was a Swann Morton surgeon's scalpel with interchangeable blades and packs of various shaped blades for differing jobs. At home I'd used a pencil sharpener for sharpening my pencils, but at college we could go native and slash away at the ends of our sketching sticks with such gay abandon. I really did feel like myself and my new student friends were the sharp dressers; with the sharp pencils, sharpened with our sharp minds. A very grown up feeling. On one of the first art lessons we had, we followed the tutor's instruction on how to sharpen safely. Even so believe it or not, one girl had to go to hospital to have two stitches in her leg! Why am I telling you this you ask? Is there a point to the story?...... Well yes, and it's on the end of the pencil :-) ------------------------------------ October 7th  I had a bit of a balls up today while working on the final touches of the Glastonbury, Block 9 Necklace. I decided to add a curly moustache to the beard I had already attached. (See pic from 5th Oct). It was only a little thing but; the the sprung tweezers which I was holding the lady boy with, jumped when they heated up and the head and beard flew off the silver lady. It was so annoying, when I was so near the end. Now I'll have to spend a couple of hours soldering them all together again. The balls up under her dress?; well fortunately, they are still attached! -------------------------------------------------- October 6th How I feel today..... ( No, not a blinking twit!) I'm just spending the day observing .......... -------------------------------------- October 5th  Apologies for the very late post tonight, I was caught up polishing knobs. (Oh, and I may have nipped out for drinks and nibbles with the most gorgeous gang of girls). Anyway; next year at Glastonbury Festival I will be having an Exhibition of necklaces I've made out of re-cycled silver which to me, represent various areas of the festival. Tonight I was working on the start of my Block 9 area necklace. So far; I've created a bearded lady in a flamenco dress with a willy, (which to me pretty much sums up the area). It is so difficult trying to craft a minature penis out of silver that is the right size, ( I wouldn't want to give her a chode, but then again she has to dress to impress). If you come to Glastonbury Festival 2019 I will be in the Croissant Neuf Field with my Exhibition of necklaces and you will be able to look under her dress and see what she has on display. If you can't make it; you'll have to guess what's under her dress?...(more or less?) ___________________ October 4th  Seeing Christmas decorations in the shops yesterday, has made me think about making some seasonal jewellery. I flattened out some sterling silver sheet from an old battered cigarette case, and drew out some holly and mistletoe leaves to cut out. In my bag of scrap silver oddments I found an old angel pendant; but I didn't like the bail it was hanging from, so cut it off and added a ring on either wing. I soldered the leaves together and have the start of the, makings of a necklace. I remembered that last year I bought some small Lemon Jade beads to turn into mistletoe berries and some small carnelian beads for Holly berries too. Amazingly, I managed to find them in my chaotic studio. In the bag with the beads in though; there were quite a lot of misletoe leaves I must have cut out last year, and never had time to make up into something. I know it's a cliche but for a moment it did feel like Christmas had come early. I could have kissed myself! ------------------------------------------------ October 3rd  Flip flops are flying out! Yep, it's that time of year when the prices are dropping rapidly on summer clothing and chunky mohair jumpers are making an appearance in the shops. I saw plenty of Christmas decorations in the shops too, today. Well; as that old medieval saying goes, "When the flip flops leave, it's time to weave!" (Or did I just make that up in my head?). Anyway; it's definately time to fold out my loom and make some wooly tartan as the winter nights draw in. Even with a good spotlight aimed at my solder station in the evenings, I still find it hard to to see the solder flowing once the natural light has faded. I tend not to make jewellery in the evenings. I will be weaving some cloth to make into hats for Christmas; and I fancy making some new styles too, so watch this space. Yep! Winter 'looming' in my opinion, is a great thing :-) ----------------------------------------------- October 2nd  Whilst working away today, the Radio chat was all about Boris Johnson's back-stabbing Brexit 'Fringe' speech. It's amazing how much news coverage that man gets! I can see why it was called a 'fringe' speech; when he has got the most unusual of hairstyles for a politician. (I'm sure a 'Johnson' is the name for a 'Dick' in the U.S.A. which is pretty apt in his case too!) Boris who's never hidden the fact that he wants to be Prime Minister one day; was always called a 'buffoon' when I was younger. He was not looked on very favourably either, being a member of the awful Bullingdon Club. It's amazing how he seems to have a following?. I think he and Tony Blair should form their own political party, and they could call themselves the Back-stabbing B's. I know looks and charm are not a requirement for a politician, but both of those men give me the creeps a bit. Tony Blair with his 'Hills have eyes' eyes; and Boris with his albino sea lion, eating bloater paste face. Oh well; maybe when his divorce comes through, his ex-wife will be interested in buying my 'Boris Necklace'. (see above pic). Or maybe Boris with his huge ego would consider buying it for one of his future love interests, (who would possibly be a member of S.P.A.G ?) The Seal Protection Action Group.... ----------------------------------- October 1st  October; or Winterfylleth as it was known to the Anglo Saxons, may be the month where I have to dig my thermals and winter woolies out.
We've had a couple of chilly mornings here in the shire so far, and I always find it eerily beautiful when there's a frost on the roses. I'm sure when I was a child that roses were not in bloom in October?. It's a topsy-turvy world...(As I'm typing this; I'm having to dodge a drowsy hornet that may have been awakened by the warmth from the woodburner tonight, I wish he literally would buzz off). As a child one of the books I read was Anne of Green Gables, written by L M Montgomery. In the book Anne gushes about the month of October .....October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths. Anne reveled in the world of colour about her. “Oh, Marilla,” she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill—several thrills? I’m going to decorate my room with them.” I suspect if that book had been written in this day and age Marilla's response would have been : "Bitch, you 'ain't got no choice!" I am fortunate enough too; to live along a lane that's lined with wild cherry trees, so for now I will drink in the deep reds of the leaves. (Although the deep red of a Vin Chaud sounds very seasonal too!) September 30th  I had to put all artwork on hold today, to fill up the first section of the woodshed for winter. The soothsayers are telling us it's going to be a long cold winter; but to be honest, they tell us that every year. With dry weather forecast for the next week, I feel like it's the 'last chance saloon', for storing the wood for winter. I do envy those people that have the time to make artisitic wood piles though. Like these for instance, on Off Grid World. Oh well I shouldn't complain; at least I've actually got wood, and there's not many women these days who can say that! ------------------------------------------------- September 29th  Today was my daughter's birthday and I gave her the Sterling Silver and Swarovski crystal earrings I made for her, to remind her of the brilliant time she had at Outlook Festival this year. I painted a little wooden box with a scene of a boat party on it, to keep the earrings in. When she opened them for a moment my heart sank, as she described them as being "sick!". Then I remembered that 'sick!' to the yoof, actually means 'fantastic!'. (Except when you are actually sick, then that's not fantastic...).  ------------------------------------------------- September 28th  Today there has been an abundance of butterflies flitting around in the late autumn sun. I took a pic of a lovely male Comma, sitting on a bramble leaf today. (See pic above). I did a little bit of research when I came inside; as I wasn't sure if they go into hibernation at this time of year or if they die off. I found some interesting facts re the Comma butterfly. Especially the 'nuptial gifts' bit, which is the butterfly equivalent of a box of Milk Tray. I was pleased however, when I found out that this little chap would actually be going into hibernation, meaning this Comma is not going to become a 'Full Stop'.... just yet. :-) ------------------------------------------------- September 27th  I'm a big fan of Bobby White Jewellery. I think his metamorphic rings are so clever. His work is very popular with Rappers and Hip Hop Artists, as well as the very wealthy. I am also in awe of the way his studio is so organised, he posted a pic on Facebook a while ago. (See below). Even his reference books are set at exact angles, he must be obsessively tidy. This is something I am not good at. (See above pic of my jewellery workshop). Flicking through his website today, I did see one thing that I am better at than him though. I couldn't help but notice that his blog page was blank. Also; I really do think the bloke is a genius but, his tag line is 'Maker of the World's most UNIQUE Jewels'. This may be something he might want to change if he ever saw my 'Cameron David' necklace haha. (See previous post from 6th September). I'm now wondering if I should market my jewellery as being (Large letters) ...'Better than Bobby White...(small letters) at updating her blog.  ---------------------------------- September 26th  Today was one of those rare autumn days where you step outside in the morning and smell the frost, whilst being hit with a wave of heat from the late summer sun. Absolutely glorious. It made me think of the Alps; and actually, the sky was that deep blue that you get in France. (See above pic taken of the 'Thatcher King' on the roof of my sewing hut, with no filters). My younger daughter has not long returned from Outlook Festival in Croatia. She had an amazing time; and as it's her birthday this weekend, I thought I would make her some silver earrings to remind her of her foray It was lovely working away in my jewellery workshop, with the low sun shining in through the door. The earrings are made from an old sterling silver cigarette box, which I have cut up and made several new items out of. Soldering the little pieces of silver wire onto the rays was a challenge, as soon as the heat was applied they were jumping all over the place. I found that if I heated the earrings with the wire on top, once all the pieces had all reached a uniform temperature I could apply the solder without them jumping about. It felt like it was a very apt thing to do on a sunny day, make a pair of earrings which represent a sunny festival, for a girl with a sunny disposition. (Let's hope she's beaming when she sees them).  -------------------------------------------------- September 25th  A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to buy a load of opals which were reclaimed from scrap gold. I'm now wondering how to re-work these to their best effect. I've always loved opals, and feel I am a very lucky person to be able to give these stones a new life. Opals have a rich history of being a lucky stone; but Walter Scott wrote a novel in 1829 which described them as being unlucky, and they fell out of favour just because of one story. I find them very hypnotic and could spend a lot of time staring into them. It's easy to get lost in one. I would love to be able to go on one of the opal hunting holidays that are now available. The opals found at Lightening Ridge in Australia have such a fab name. The pic above, is a silver ring I made today for my eldest daughter. I have an awful lot more cabochons that I need to work into jewellery. Looking at the pic below, reminds me of how moon-like the stones are too. So maybe the jewellery I make out of them will have a planetary theme? Very appropriate for the orginal Lunartic.... ---------------------------------------------- September 24th  It's a chilly night outside tonight; the moon has definitely got a frosty air. (See above pic). I'm going to have to dig out my thermals. (My winter boots have already come out of the closet). I think every season has it's own style of beauty; and as the leaves are starting to turn brown and fall to the ground you can't help thinking of bonfires and fireworks. If you're looking to brighten the dark nights with a sewing project; then you might like this fun fabric designed by me for the firework season. It's a winning design that's available to buy on Print me Pretty . (If you can't sew and have no money it's still worth a sneaky peek, 'cos it's not very often I show people my Bangers!)  --------------------------------------------------- September 23rd  So; I might have been a bit over enthusiastic in my celebration of the Autumnal Equinox last night. I went out for a communal curry meal with a great bunch of friends, and partook of the local cider. The result was today, that I was left feeling very sketchy. So what does one do on a sketchy day?,...sketch! My brother is visiting at the moment; so I decided to capture him looking at Facebook on his phone, whilst listening to music. For me, the most I could manage was to ponder over the pencil I would use....2B or not 2B...that is the question? --------------------------------------------- September 21th
  It was probably a very good idea collecting the free dinghy that was on Facebook marketplace. Like Noah; I may need it to get off this hilltop in the morning. The rain is torrential this evening. (See above pic looking out of the window this evening). (Also see this evening's BBC Weather Forecast for Taunton, left.) The walls are flexing with the force of the strong winds! I'm battening down the hatches here like it's a scene from Moby Dick. (The classic 1956 film starring Gregory Peck. Not the porn film which probably starred someone called Gregory Pecker). Which in itself is fine, ......if that's what floats your boat?, but I'm really hoping the rain isn't going to float mine! ------------------------------------------- September 19th  Today I was trying to measure out where I was going to plant down the dinghy for winter; and trying not to get down, about the impending season. Winter blues can seem much more vivid when you live in a mobile home; you feel you are much more susceptible to the elements. Cabin fever can creep up very easily. My garden area has run riot with nettles and bracken this year. I like my wild areas as they attract insects that I can photograph; but I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed the sunflower growing in the middle of it. (see above pic). It had the cutest little insect with a green heart on it's back crawling around on it. I haven't planted a seed so I'm guessing it must have grown from bird droppings?. It certainly cheered up a dreary September wednesday, and I felt it was some kind of omen for a brighter tomorrow. When I searched on the net to find out if there was a spiritual meaning to this flower, I found this page- Sunflower Joy The page told me- A sunflower is a symbol of steadfast loyalty, everlasting faith and adoration, a symbol of optimism and happiness, a symbol of longevity, a symbol of good fortune and good luck. All these attributes are very positive and uplifting; but I do feel the list is missing a major fact in my case..................... a symbol that I don't have a working lawnmower!..... ------------------------------------------------- September 18th  I've been thinking about the perspex cockpit of a plane I've had lying around for 30 years recently. What could I make with it, and how could it be installed in a piece of sculpture?. A few days ago I noticed a 'Solo' sailing dinghy free to collector; on my local Facebook marketplace, so I went to pick it up today. (see above pic) I'm imagining that with the perspex cockpit attached to it; it will make a mighty fine 1950's style spaceship. As winter is starting to set in now; this project is probably going to have to wait until next year to get off the ground. Let's hope it's 'Up, Up and Anchor's Aweigh! ---------------------------------- September 17th  Photo taken at Rockaway Park by Danny Wilson I've only been away for a couple of days but it feels like eons. I had a great time at #rockawaypark, met some fab people and got some great ideas for moving forward with my artwork. I observed how seasoned pro's had streamlined their stuff to be packed up and taken away in 10 minutes, and this is something I will try and aim for in the future. Displaying jewellery on stands in cabinets, which are quite cumbersome to move around on your own, takes up a lot of time. If I can design and build myself some cabinets that can be easily set up and taken down; then it really will be, 'Hi Ho Silver away!' ---------------------------------------------- September 14th  I framed and boxed up this Blighter today... Who do you think it might be?...He's buggering Blighty whilst the Bulldog blinks! -------------------------------------------- September 13th  I'm packing lead.. Well; my treadle sewing machine feels as heavy as lead. The wording on my vintage treadle reads 'Reach for the Sky'. After I've carried this mofo to a transit van; my arms will have stretched by so much, I'm imagining I will literally be able to reach the sky. I will have limbs like Mr. Tickle. I'm sure it will all be worth it though, for a fabulous fun filled weekend at Rockaway Park. If any readers manage to come along , please come up and say hello. Or if you're shy just give a little wave, but keep well out of the way when I wave back!. --------------------------------------------- September 12th  No time to blog tonight as I'm busy in my 'thatched' sewing hut' making last minute chiffon scarves for this weekend. I'm being closely watched by Gary Barlow;..... oh no, it's actually his look-a-like Henry Weston!. He's probably thinking why am I 'in cider' shed? ----------------------------------------------------------- September 11th  There's just a few days to go until the Rockaway Park Art Weekend, which is looking like it's going to be fabulous ! So here's another cheeky poster for my Traveller Tartan. Once again, maybe there's someone in the image who looks familiar?, but to be honest it's purely a coincidence! If you fancy 'snatching' a bit of fab music, stunning art, wonderful relaxation, with great food and culture, then why don't you 'rock up' to Rockaway Park this weekend? ---------------------------------- September 10th  I was looking through my many images today and came across this old magazine cover from 1998.(See above pic). It's a photograph of me, on the front of Festival Eye magazine. I love how the photographer (Mark Pickthall) has captured the colours and feel of a festival. I clearly remember making the plant pot hat I'm wearing, and I've still got that dress! It just doesn't seem like 20 years ago! Anyway from an old magazine to a new one. Today I had to start a new magazine mixing palette; and remember those 'Erotic Trade Only' magazines I mentioned on 22nd August that will not stop coming? Well; they are proving very handy! (See pic below).  -------------------------------------------- September 9th  I'm back from the Croissant Neuf party feeling happy but wishing I had an actual, virtual self who could get everything ready for the Art Exhibition at the Rockaway Park Art Weekend. I'm at that stage of post party exhaustion, where you are feeling overwhelmed and haven't got a clue what to take. The last time I exhibited in Somerset Art Week was in 2002. I've just found the above image which was the initial poster which you were faced with when you entered my 2002 exhibition. After the weekend I've had; I feel like I couldn't even read a newspaper, never mind your mind!... --------------------------------------------------------- September 8th Anyway; now that I’ve erased the rubber dolls from my mental imagery, I can say the reason I actually went online yesterday was to google what the Tardis looks like on the inside. One of the projects I’ve got on the go at the moment is converting an old National Milk trailer into an Eco home. I was imagining what my ideal kitchen would be like and all I could think of; was a retro space age style, like the Tardis from Dr. Who. On checking out the images, I came across a Virtual Tour of the Doctor’s Time Travelling Space Ship Police Box parked in Earl’s Court, London on Google Maps! (Click on Virtual Tour for link) I was sooo excited! The Tardis itself is actually quite difficult to enter into on the site, and if you’d told me Dr. Who likes to use the rear entrance I would have flinched. (I’m not going to squeeze out a long list of jokes about a Turdis. No, I’ll save you that indignity! They’re all sh*t anyway?). I love a good virtual tour, especially when they have an added magical element such as the Tardis. I know it's just escapism and fantasy too though. (In a way, just like those silicon dolls are for some folks?.) Which reminds me; I’m going to The Croissant Neuf crew party this evening and the excellent ‘Rhythm of the 90’s’ (see clip below) are playing their huge array of live rave tunes from the 90’s. Raving in a field; at my age, in September…Maybe I’ve got Mad Cow’s Disease?.... It’s the Moosic of the night… It’s the Moosic of the night!.. Raving Mad! -------------------------------------- September 7th  I started the day today clicking on a link on Facebook that was about men that like those adult life-size silicon dolls. Do you know what I think? Whatever floats your boat is fine, as long as it’s not hurting anyone else. I can understand some lonely people wanting more than just pornography to feel more fulfilled; and let’s face it, most Porn Stars these days are f*cking arseholes. Anyway; the factory that made them described them as being very life-like. Although honestly; I couldn’t see that, myself. There wasn’t one doll that had any cellulite; or one that had a monobrow they had to keep plucking because of a neurotic fear of ridicule. Etc.etc. I also find it unrealistic when they are programmed to speak. It all seems very subservient and not realistic at all. I would love to gain entry to one of those factories and re-program them to say things like- “FFS; Stop scratching your nuts!” or “Christ! What the hell have you eaten today?” No; those women are about as real as Dame Edna Everage. Although I do think Dame Edna is much more attractive; being an actual living, breathing being surely? And she too, has probably got a little surprise she’d want to share with you? Somehow; I can’t imagine the conversation would be too subservient though?..... and that really would be an alternative Silicon Valley! Funny how times change though?; when I was a child men would quite often proudly tell each other they had a dolly bird. It would have been hard to imagine that a dolly bird of the future would be something very different!. ----------------------------------------------- 6th September  Today I was in my jewellery workshop trying to finish off a few projects and tie up any loose ends, as it were. A pendant I've been working on; is based around the 'Statue of David', by Michelangelo. It adds to the many replicas made of this famous statue over the years. (See above link) Only mine has a little bit extra. The David figure is in Sterling Silver, but attached to a certain part of David's anatomy is a 9ct gold pig. The piece is entitled 'The Cameron David'. Whilst soldering away I thought to myself; "It's all very good making this 'Cameron David' pendant, but willy sell? -------------------------------------------- 5th September  I've made another little advert today for the Traveller Tartan, and some of you may be fooled into thinking you recognise the 'Screamer' in the pic. A few of you may even think it bears an uncanny resemblance to Joey Schnider, from the excellent group The Reverend Schnider and the Band of Angels. (See the Youtube link below). Well you'd be wrong; the image is simply a freaky coincidence. (I'm now beginning to think I've cornered the market in Freaky Coincidences?) If you fancy being a model in my Traveller Tartan Freaky Coincidence adverts please let me know and I may try and put one together; although any likeness will be purely coincidental, of course... ---------------------------------------------------- 4th September  I've been working on some cheeky signs to advertise my Traveller Tartan at the coming #rockawaypark Exhibition. Of course, any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. If you pop along you may recognise someone; who happens to resemble someone else, which is purely coincidental. The above painting is entitled - 'It's Art Jim- But not as we know it!' If you recognise anyone it's purely coincidental... ------------------------------------------------- 3rd September  I woke up to a flattering article this morning, which was written by Rockaway Park (See above link). Rockaway Park is an amazing creative hub, which is also a working Breaker's Yard. Every day or two they are writing a review of the Artists who will be featured in their Arts weekender. (The above pic is a selection of portraits featured in the article, along with other images of my work) Here is the article below- It just keeps getting better! So very exciting to say that we have Lolly Golding exhibiting at the weekender! Her experience and knowledge go back far further than a lot of ours. Her work and life have not only been influenced by her travelling life and the lives of those within the culture but arguably she has been massively influential within the culture and movement also. Lolly works in lots of different media; usually, (but not always) with a humorous twist. Die hard Somerset Art Week fans with a good memory, may remember the last time she exhibited during SAW. In 2002 she had an interactive show called 'Freak Peep Show' (see picture). She's worked as a walk-about performer, as an Illustrator, (Illustrating the series of Tess the Traveller books amongst other things), a Chainsaw Sculptor, a Portrait Artist (she has a collection of over 50 portraits of new age travellers sketched in situ during the 1990's), and with along my sister wrote a play which was performed by the Tanat Theatre in Llanrhaeadr. She now also makes silver and gold jewellery and works in digital media too. So you could say she is well travelled in all areas! Follow her through her blog, which she incredibly keeps up to date amongst all the amazing things she does! www.multitalentedartist.com She really, really does live up to her title, and we can't wait to see what she brings. X I now feel like Jonesy in Dad's Army - "Don't Panic Captain Mainwaring!", and all the time I've got a Bee Gees tune going around in my head. "You don't have to be an Art Breaker".... -------------------------------------------------- 2nd September  I’m going to be exhibiting at Rockaway Park during the weekend of Somerset Art Week which is the 15th and 16th of September. (See above link) The last time I had an Exhibition during S.A.W. was in 2002; and I’ve just found an old newspaper report from The Western Daily Press dated Thursday September 19th 2002. (See above pic) The article states that I haven’t lived in a house for 12 years. All this time later I’m still living a low impact lifestyle; so that’s 28 years since I have lived in bricks and mortar, crikey! Reading through the report after all this time has made me chuckle. The reporter claims I’m wearing Giorgio Armani spectacles. They did have a logo on the side though; it was actually Harley Davidson. (See pic below) I remember the opticians were selling them off cheap, as there seemed to be no takers at that time for motorbike logoed glasses. I guess logos are like Grammar; it’s the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit? Or maybe she just should have gone to Specsavers?  -------------------------------------------- 1st September Nuff said...  August 31st I’ve been looking into copyright and product placement etc today. One of the biggest corporations that maximize their potential through copyrighted merchandise is The Disney Corporation. (See above link) Without doubt, one of their best selling products is the huge range of ‘Frozen’ merchandise. With this in mind; I thought I would approach them with my latest idea. It incorporates a mix of this very popular animated film with a non-vegetarian food. It’s called a ‘Frozen Chicken’. Do you think it will take off? --------------------------------------------- August 30th  I’m pretty sure I’ve solved one of the greatest mysteries in the art world today. For centuries people have looked for hidden meanings in the work of Leonardo Da Vinci’s work. With his most famous painting being The Mona Lisa; this piece of work in particular, has drawn the most scholarly interest. Her enigmatic; contented smile and her heavily lidded eyes have been the subject of many a heated debate- Was she happy or sad? (See above link for an article in the Independent Newspaper). Was she keeping secrets? Even… was she male or female? Etc. etc. I can now reveal my very own theory though…She was simply stoned! The pic above reveals the original painting; using new high capacity x-ray technology, with the original title clearly seen..... The Stoner Lisa… I thank-you! ----------------------------------------------------- August 29th In a report on the BBC News website I read that someone has paid £450 for a portrait of Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg in The Royal Academy's 250th Summer Exhibition. (See link above) The only person I can imagine paying £450 for that, would actually be Jacob Rees-Mogg himself! I also see that unsurprisingly; nobody has bought the £25,000 portrait of Nigel Farage painted by artist David Griffiths. (See the link below). If I was the artist I'd be tempted to re-work it. He seems to have missed out one major thing. Yes everyone knows he's a right tit!  -------------------------------------------------------- August 28th  Today in my jewellery workshop I was doing my usual pondering. I recycle as much silver as I can when I'm working, right down to melting the last bits and using it for casting work. (Pic of my scrap tin above). When I buy silver I like to buy old broken items with which I can re-use/ re-work the sheet silver from. This; I will re-cut and make into other things, but occasionally I have to buy some new sheet silver. I have always bought eco silver, which is guaranteed to be recycled etc silver. Eco silver is more expensive than standard sheet silver though, and there's part of me that can't help wondering if this is actually a rip-off? Silver and gold have got to be one of the most re-cycled materials on earth surely? If someone breaks a gold necklace; they either take it to be repaired,or sell it for scrap. You never hear someone say "Oh, I didn't like my 9ct gold bracelet and my sterling silver necklace so I threw them in the bin", do you? Whenever I'm handling an antique gold item; I quite often think, "Crikey there may be a particle of gold in this from King Arthur's crown?". Gold and silver have been re-cycled for thousands of years, but I guess there's more and more demand for it though? I suppose you've just got to do what you feel is right for the planet in the end. My thoughts on this subject go around in a circle in my head, a bit like a 'gold'fish, or perhaps a 'silver'fish?... ..though yuk!......maybe not? (See above link) If you ever do have a Silverfish problem here's a brilliant article all about how to get rid of the little wrigglers from Happy DIY Home's sister site howIgetridof.com . Hmm I think I may try and make a silverfish brooch that's made from silver and is not a fish, but a silverfish...If you get what I mean? ----------------------------------------------- August 27th I was walking around today taking note of the seasonal changes in the flora and fauna; when I noticed this little bee, which had got trapped in a burr and died. It was only just in it too. (Maybe that was his name Justin?). Justin Bee Burr?.......OK I'll get my coat.....  ------------------------------------------------------- August 26th  So with yesterday’s detachment, it was best foot forward and into my jewellery workshop to complete a necklace I have been working on. It’s called The Crucifixion of JC by the Media. The cross is 9ct gold and the Jeremy Corbyn figure is Sterling Silver, all on a gold chain. It represents the moment JC was attacked by the press over #traingate, when he was photographed sat on the floor of a train reading a newspaper. (I know the images aren’t great, but I will get around to making some better ones soon). So, as they said in the film ‘The Life of Brian’. Is he the new Messiah? Or is he just a very naughty boy?..... I quite often work on things for a while and then just leave them for a time; returning to them later with a new, fresh eye. You could say this necklace has been a ‘Labour’ of love?...... (Don’t be cross with me).. ---------------------------------------------------- August 25th I was excited yesterday when the chiffon fabric I’d ordered arrived in the post, which meant I could make some new Traveller Tartan scarves. I was keen to get started; but the delicate fabric requires the gentle touch of my modern machine, which meant swapping over the apparatus in my tiny sewing hut. Whilst I was struggling to switch them over, I was well and truly hobbled when my foot dropped off. It detached itself just outside the door, in an area the size of about a square yard. I searched and searched for ages, on hands and knees raking through the grass with my claw-like hands. All to no avail! (I’m talking about the snap-on foot on my sewing machine). How can things disappear into thin air like that? It made me remember how a friend’s son had found the Action Man he had lost as a child when he walking on his local beach as an adult. He had been playing with him on the bridge that ran over his local brook; when he accidentally dropped him. Despite the family searching for days for his beloved doll, he was never seen again. The brook did in fact, eventually run down to the sea. As an adult when he was strolling along the beach he recognized him immediately; (even though most of his limbs had been worn away by the motion of the water). How did he know this was his toy? By the distinct stab wounds in his neck! Where my presser foot has gone I may never know? It may turn up one day in the exact spot I’ve looked in for years; lost things tend to do that sometimes. Or maybe that one legged grasshopper from a while back is making use of it? Hmm actually; it would be no good to him, as he hasn’t got a leg to stand on. I wonder if there is a mathematical equation for things that just disappear into thin air? ... Question……How many feet are there in a square yard? Answer…..... None!  --------------------------- August 24rd  Last night was the first chilly night we’ve had all summer. I can’t complain though, it’s been such a fabulous long hot one. The thought of winter nights drawing in; prompted me to dig out the embroidery I’ve been working on for a few years, (not continuously). For some reason, it tends to be something I end up working on during the winter evenings. I quite often forget about it, and it could be packed away for months on end. The background is a black velvet, and I’ve only got half way around it. I’ve taken a photo of a small section of it. Yes, it’s my lovely Showman’s Caravan in a red velvet with a lot of hand embroidery and embellishments on it. I’m not going to tell what the finished article will be, but I’ll give you a clue. The tent in the background is the Croissant Neuf tent, and Sally Howell of Selene Events is on stage with a band. (See link above). I will however post a photo of the finished article when it is completed; but by the way things are going that may be some time. They think the Bayeux Tapestry took 10 years to make; this may take even longer, though it’s shorter. I’m thinking that Bayeux could almost be a Welsh word? Cariad, have you seen my reading glasses? Yes, they’re Bayeux…. ---------------------------- August 23rd  Regarding yesterday's blog entry about chainsaw carved penii. I had a desire to dig out some old photos as evidence. Here are just a couple to whet your appetite, as it were. The one above is about four feet high. The one being lifted onto the back of the lorry below is somewhat larger and heavier. You might even say; that is one mighty erection!..  ------------------------------ August 22nd Today I've been painting signs for a forthcoming exhibition I will be part of. A handy tip I picked up on Joby Carters signwriting course; ( see link below) was to use a thick, glossy magazine as a paint palette. This way at the end of the day; you can just tear off the sheet and start afresh on a new page the following day, which saves a messy cleaning job. I had a bit of explaining to do though, when someone noticed the magazine I was using. Years ago, in my chainsaw carving days, there was a new show being heralded as a future success. The show was called Erotica; and myself and some other friends thought that we would carve some giant penis's and try and sell them there. The largest one was 15 feet long and had to be craned onto a lorry! Anyway; ever since then they send out a quarterly magazine to all previous stall holders. I have rang them on lots of occasions and asked to be removed from the mailing list and emailed them several times, but still the magazines keep coming. (A bit like the porn stars who take advantage of the settings in the evening). I have now stopped ringing them as the magazines still arrive regardless. They do make fantastic paint palettes though, if you can just concentrate on the paint rather than the images. Was the Erotica Show a successful event for you, you are probably thinking? For us personally I'm afraid it was a flop!   --------------------------- August 21st I know, I know. I said I was only going off-blog for a few days, but it turned into a few weeks. The thing is I am only human; and I've been doing things that a lot of other human beings are doing, but up until now I have never dared. Yes, I've been stuck in a Netflix loop!... Instead of updating my blog every evening ready for the following day, I've been plugging into the drug that goes by the name of Netflix. I've indulged in Altered Carbon. I gulped down both series. I've gorged on Stranger Things. I've consumed so much Sci-fi I could open a Sci-fi parlour, with lashings of Extras as well. Most of it watched with a Queer Eye too! Sometimes it's just so much easier to just switch off and consume, rather than work 24/7 and produce. Thanks very much for the lovely comments whilst I was off-blog, this spurred me on to get back in the saddle. Good news is my mum's eye op was successful, but sad news is I lost a lovely fellow sci-fi loving, kind funny brilliant friend. R.I.P Professor David Allsop (43 years old) of Sydney University; now captaining the spaceship headed for another dimension..  7th July For the next few days I'll be having a mini-break from blogging. I'm going to the Welsh Borders to look after my mum for a few days who's having a minor operation. Have fun whilst I'm away X 6th July  I am lucky enough to be friends with the Tree Surgeon who had to make safe the famous sacred tree 'Gog', which stands at the bottom of Glastonbury Tor. Gog unfortunately caught fire. (See above link) The owner kept most of the wood, but he was allowed to take a couple of small bits that were left, that were considered of no use. He gave me a small twig; and I in return, made him a sterling silver necklace out of a piece. I've been slicing this small ancient twig into small discs today, and have made a few necklaces. I've used Sterling Silver; recycled from an old silver cigarette box, which has a very good texture for acorns. I made two different types of acorn style pendant bail. (The bail is the part the pendant hangs from). One which was all silver; and one which uses a brown glass bead with a disc of silver to make the hat of the acorn. I'd be interested to know which sort, other people prefer? The wood is very hard to saw and it smells of incense when cutting it. It's amazing to think it's thousands of years old and I feel very honoured to be able to make a very small piece of it into something beautiful. So honoured infact, that I wasn't even distracted by insects and flowers today! (well maybe just a little incy wincy bit)... ---------------------------------------------------- 5th July  Even though I’ve been a bit ‘grubby’ lately; and my posts have followed the insect 'thread', I’m still making art. It’s just that, as usual I’m observing what’s going on around me too. Insects are so fascinating and they totally take you into another world. I’ve no idea what most of the insects even are, that I've been taking photos of. Take this one for instance that I snapped the other day. I mean; what the ‘Duckin ‘ell’ is that? Please message me if you have any idea? It looks like it should be called Monty Python’s Flying Circus! ------------------------------------------ 4th July  Yesterday; for the second day in a row whilst working, I got a visit from a cricket. Same table; different cricket, and this one only had one leg! Isn’t nature amazing? She’d obviously adapted very well. She did scuttle rather than hop. (I’m calling her a she, as it’s a bit sexist to call all insects he). Yes, she was probably called Peg, or maybe Ilene?….hmmm.. P.S. Happy Independence Day to my friends from the U.S.A.! ------------------------------------- 3rd July  Every Monday I usually fast, unless there is an event on. The first Monday in the month I try to fast for up to three days. Yesterday I worked outside under a parasol, to fill my casting molds with sand. As I was working away ‘By Jiminy’ this brazen little fella decided to pay me a visit. He hardly moved just stood there looking at me, looking at him. You would have thought his name must have been Jacques Hughes, by the way he was eyeing me up. I felt like it was like a scene from 'Lassie Come Home' and this little insect wanted to tell me something. Maybe he was hungry too? As apparently, a normal sized grasshopper can ingest 16 times it’s own body weight in one sitting. Or maybe he was roasting? (Although in a slightly different way than they roast in the Far East, which is with a Bacon and Cheese flavouring) See pic below. Maybe he was taking note of my casting technique? “Ah little Grasshopper, watch and learn from the master! “, (she says with a Chinese accent) Did you know that Jiminy Cricket is a ‘minced oath’ (see link below) for Jesus Christ? After about 10 minutes of watching me he hopped off, that’s when I could see that actually, he had no 'tail' to tell….  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd July  The National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award Exhibition opens soon on the 14th June- 23rd September (see above link). With this in mind, I couldn’t help thinking about portraiture and what the general public find attractive in a face. When my grandmother was a child Rudolph Valentino was one of the first Big Screen heartthrobs. My grandparents mentioned how when he died prematurely aged 31 it caused mass hysteria; and it was reported women killed themselves rather than go on without being able to watch their screen hero. I’ve looked at a couple pictures of Valentino in the past, and I couldn’t really understand what all the fuss was about. Yesterday I looked again at him. I then thought he actually has a very well balanced face. (According to scientific studies; humans find balanced, even faces the most attractive). So I wondered what he would have looked like if he were alive now in 2018, with a modern haircut and trendier clothes. I set about colourizing a promo photo of him from the film 'The Married Virgin'; and to update it I used the hairstyle from another Mediterranean heartthrob, Ronaldo. (See pic below) The photo I used was very low resolution, so I knew the outcome would not be perfect. I updated his hairstyle to Ronaldo’s, and gave him a diamond earring too. I think it turned out O.K.? It gives a very good idea of what Rudolph Valentino would probably have looked like if he were a star in 2018. What do you think, would he still be breaking hearts 100 years later? “Rudi – A message to you” – I think you’ve still got it!  ------------------------------------------------- First day of July!  There are hundreds of Peacock Butterflies cocooned inside webs on the nettles, but that’s their decision and they’re sticking to it! I love observing them and wondering when they will get their wings and soar. Already I’ve noticed small insects that have flown into the webs and got trapped. Can you imagine how that must feel in this heat? (You can now see why my mum called me Dolly Daydream quite a lot when I was a child; I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating this sort of thing). I bet the pupae inside feel like they are in a tent at a festival and a drunken idiot has stumbled and fallen on it whilst they were having an afternoon nap. Then the idiot got entangled in the guy ropes whilst trying to get upright again. Though they’ve probably forgiven him or her, ‘cos they’ve been in the same position too. (Could it be that I am speaking from experience haha?) You can’t help feeling sorry for the trapped insects though, maybe it’s too much to ask nature to add an insect repellent to the webs so that other insects don’t get trapped and die, yes in Deet it is!……  June 30th I've done it, and even in this searing heat it felt good! (I am not talking about 'Swingfields' the swingers festival on this weekend in Bristol; although frankly, it was only yesterday the BBC we're telling us there was no crumpet in the UK due to the CO2 shortage? see the above pic). No. I actually finally tackled the button holes on the merino wool; hand woven, Traveller Tartan waistcoat I've made. I've spent weeks fearing the holes; due to the fact that my sewing machine came with a really complicated looking button hole attachment, and I'd lost the instructions. Today I though sod it; I'll just make them the old fashioned way, and I'm pleased with the outcome. I think the 'transit van wheel' buttons really top it off. (See pic below). I am now the proud own of the world's first Traveller Tartan waistcoat, it is no longer a wait coat!  ------------------------------------------------------------------------ June 29th  I really fancied going to Joe Rush's opening of his exhibiton of drawings tonight (see link above), but an old dog has had his way.Owning an old Terrier is like having a baby again. He constantly emits unpleasant smells. He was disobedient before; but now he is deaf too, so any kind of instruction is ignored. Last night he woke me up at 1 o clock scratching the cats milk bowl constantly; (he's always scratched his bowls to draw attention to what he wants, he's not allowed milk but sometimes he pinches the cat's milk). Then he woke me at 2 o clock barking to go out for a wee. I got up and let him out, then when I had managed to get back to sleep he woke me at 6 o clock to let him out for a wee again. I've taken him to the vets and he's had blood tests but the vet says there's nothing wrong with him he's just getting old. In a way it was good being woken at 6 o clock as this meant I was outside at 7 o clock hand sawing a wall cupboard before the sun got too hot. It fitted nicely into the spot that I had bought it for. (It was a bargain on Facebook Marketplace). Those knobs though? Who on earth would make a mahogany display cupboard and then attach gold coloured plastic knobs? Wrong; wrong, wrong. Needless to say, I will not entertain disgusting knobs in my Showmans Wagon!. So I replaced them with some crystal ones and they looked so much better. I've also loaded it with my Special Brew shot glasses too. With the heat we've had today and the doggy induced sleep deprivation, I just didn't have the energy to drive to Bruton where Joe Rush's Art Exhibition Opening Night was happening. You could say tonight I'm just too dog tired! Oh yeah, and I tweeted Bucks Fizz who are in Ibiza for Radio 2's Sound of the 80's weekend. I told them to get back to the UK immediately 'cos we need their Fizz as the country's running out of CO2. (Although Brillo the Border Terrier seems to have his own constant supply of gas!).... multitalented artist if you want to follow me?.... (Latest Twitter update :- No reply; I guess they're "making their minds up"?  June 28th Whilst listening to Madeleine Albright on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 today, I noticed a bit of graffiti scratched onto the inner wall of my ex-prison wagon, studio wall. I must say the clue is in the name 'All bright', because Madeleine was a 'shining' example of how a Politician should be in this day and age. She spoke about fascists and nazi's and how she believes there has been a shift in world thinking. How she is determined to seek to maintain Freedom of Speech, love and understanding of your fellow man, non-discrimination etc etc. The piece of graffiti that I noticed was the word FREEDOM. (see above pic). It seemed quite poignant that I would notice that word when she was talking about freedom and all it entails. I wondered what the prisoner was like who wrote this word? For all I know it could have been a Nelson Mandela or a Braveheart type character? Maybe one of the Birmingham Six, or some other wrongly convicted man?. But then again, maybe it was just a wrong 'un? I should have been watching what I was doing instead of imagining who scratched the word into the wall, because it was at this point I missed the hole I had cut into the sand to pour the molten silver into. Fortunately it just went on the outer area of sand and I had to start all over again. (note to self don't read other notes when holding a crucible full of molten metal) --------------------------------- June 27th It's hot and I'm melting! (It's not me that's melting, well it kind of is too?...er, maybe I should put a video up,...but it's a gas and it's too hot to handle :-) (more to follow tomorrow )..... ------------------------------------- June 26th  It's like a jungle out there, the plants are growing furiously. My jewellery workshop is starting to get absorbed by nature, (see above pic) I'm expecting Dr. Livingstone to make an appearance any day. When the weather is scorchio I enjoy working in my ex-prison wagon studio as it is really well insulated and keeps lovely and cool. It's always interesting reading the graffiti that has been scratched into the walls too, Gaz 4 Ju 4 Eva type of thing. I've started to paint the outside so that it blends in with the surroundings nicely, I don't like the original white. A couple of helicopters and a light aircraft flew over and I think they must have been rubber necking, as for a little while it appeared like they were going to have a close shave as their paths crossed . (See the red arrows- not the Red Arrows aerobatic display team, the red arrows on the pic). (Click on the above link to read about the Red Arrows Stunt Team) No Glow worms today either I just had an 'earworm'. It must have been because it was such a gorgeous day, that I couldn't stop singing Sugar Town by Nancy Sinatra. Listen to it at you own risk on the YouTube link below. I can't guarantee you won't have it as an 'earworm' too, as it's pretty infectious! June 25th It's funny how even when I am in the longest days of the year, I still feel like there are not enough hours in the day. Today I worked until dusk and then went for a little walk in the nature reserve next door to look for Glow worms. Normally on this monday in June I would be starting to pack down everything from a week long stay at Glastonbury Festival. My return from this glorious event is usually uplifted by the thought that there may be Glow worms when I get back to site. On tonight's meander though, nothing was spotted. None of the familiar little green glows. I can only assume that maybe because the roses and flowers are later this year, then maybe the glow worms are too?. I had to chuckle when I looked at the UK Glow worm survey page and they were complaining that people had reported seeing fireflies, when infact they were laser projections. (see above link). Some years there are loads of the females, (as it is the females that glow a bioluminescent green to attract the males) basking in the moonlight flashing their 'come and get it boys' glow. So many that we tend to call it the Green light District! ------------------------------------ June 24th  The weather has been glorious once again today. It was a great day for playing in sand and casting spells. (Spells ?, sorry I meant shells!). I decided it was time to start melting some of my bits of scrap silver and doing a bit of sand casting. (see above pic). I'd been keeping some shells I'd come across with a nice texture, that I though may look good cast in silver. I wasn't disappointed either. I was very happy with the end product. I hardly had to move a 'mussel' to make them too!. (Though I am 'Conch'ous that I should be 'Naughty-less'). -------------------------------------- June 23rd  As in the picture above; and to quote Arnold Schwarzenegger, "I'll bee back".......... (Tomorrow). (Actually the photo might not be a bee, but maybe a fly of some sort? Let me know if you can identify it.) (Update) I've just found out online; that this is actually a Horsefly, neigh kidding! -------------------------------------------------------- June 22th  'Handy Re-Cycling Tip of the Day' - Use an old plastic; air tight, Chocolate Box to store your circular sanding discs in. This way they can be stored outside, but remain dry and moisture free. 'Warning' - You could end up with beetles on your roses!. (see above pic) -------------------------------------------------- June 21th  Mid Summer madness and it’s getting harder to apply myself to the job in hand; especially when there are Tigers mating in the garden outside. (see above pic) This pair of Scarlet Tiger Moths were together for hours. So I popped out last night to see if they were still there and they were still in the same spot; but on either sides of the bed, as it were. (see pic below) Did you know butterflies and moths release pheromones to attract one another for mating. Some male moths and butterflies have specific scales located on their wings that produce pheromones to attract females of the same species. Some female moths have glands on their bodies that release pheromones to attract males. Pheromones are important for moth species that are nocturnal and have drab colors, as they rely on smell to locate potential mates. Male moths are able to use their antennae to locate females that are up to four miles away. Now that really is a ‘Pick up’! The male then flies immediately to the scent’s source. I’d love to be a fly on the wall (or in this case a moth in the garden), to know what they were communicating to each other. “Fly me to the moon Tiger?” After they have mated the female immediately lays the fertilized eggs in a suitable area. I must say, it's not every day you notice a Tiger laying eggs in your garden!  ----------------------------------- June 20th  You may remember I mentioned I was going to repair the Elephant’s trunk on the lamps that I am making, which I managed to sever whilst trying to screw into it? Well blow me, I couldn’t find it anywhere even though I looked high and low. Does that ever happen to you? You put the special ‘thing’ somewhere safe and then can’t find where the hell you have put it. During the Elephant hunt I noticed a brightly coloured moth having a daytime rest. These lovely little lepidopterans like nettles too. (Like the Peacock Butterflies I mentioned yesterday). It makes me feel good about not mowing the lawn and leaving swathes of wild areas for all the insects. It might not be the prettiest thing to look at, but on closer inspection you’ll see some beautiful things within them. I’ve found a great little website for identifying butterflies and moths. It’s called Butterfly Conservation. (see the link above). The stunning black; white and red moth that I found (see the above pic) is called a Scarlet Tiger Moth. So it turns out, I lost an Elephant but found a Tiger! --------------------------------- June 19th  I've been wanting a stand for my Kromski weaving loom for a while now, the only problem is that for a 24inch loom they cost approx. £80. I walked into a charity shop this morning and there was a double towel rail for £3 which will do the job very nicely thank-you (see the above pics). This lucky find gave me a saving of £77 ! It's a lovely warm day today so I will be setting my loom up outside, (a loom with a view?) Then I will be repairing the elephants trunk I managed to snap off when making my lamps. Maybe just call me Dumbo? The answer to yesterday's caterpillar conundrum was, those young punks turn into Peacock Butterfly caterpillars ! Yes they look nothing like their colourful adult selves do they?. (see pic below).  ------------------------------------ June 18th  The diversity of wildlife on the very short walks between my studios never fails to amaze me. Today it is like there is a Mad Max convention taking place amongst the caterpillars. Can you guess what kind of Butterfly these nettle loving, spiky grubs turn into? I feel like playing them some Steppenwolf, they look like they'd enjoy it. I'll give you a clue, the resulting butterfly looks nothing like it's biker-style caterpillar. These 'Sweet Little Rock n Rollers' truly are 'Born to be Wild'. I'll let you know what they are in tomorrows blog post, (unless of course, someone messages in with the answer) :-) ----------------------------------------- June 17th  OK, so keeping up with the current fashion for fake news I made up the story about the Bird Eater Spider yesterday. Let's hope it doesn't come back and bite me on the a*se! (Forgive me, I was desperate for some one to comment). Today I've been wrapped up in tartan and the history of it. The oldest piece of tartan in the U.K. is about 1,700 years old. It's a fragment which was found wrapped around a pot, containing a hoard of Roman coins. The cloth is described as a plain check in the article in the Scotsman Newspaper (see above link), but it looks more like a houndstooth check to me? I was amazed to read about the Tarim mummies in China too, and to see the fragments of woven checked cloth which were found very well preserved, like the mummies themselves. (See the above pic) They have European faces and DNA, and date from 2-3000 years old. (see other link) Amazing! If anyone deserves to wear Traveller Tartan they do! What with Cheddar man having dark skin; and Tarim mummies having European DNA, it just goes to prove we, the human race are all immigrants and all connected... ------------------------------------ June 16th  OMFG!!!! WTF is that? I was photographing the insects and flowers this morning only to look up and see this MOFO of a spider running up the side of the showman’s wagon! It’s body must have measured more than four inches and when I googled it to try and identify it’s species: the only spider that looked like it is the Goliath Bird Eater Spider! (see the above link), but they only live in South America. (The thing is, it did appear to be heading for the bird on the roof!.) I tried to capture it but it ran away too fast. If anyone can identify it please send me a message and let me know, as I don’t fancy finding one of those in my cracks and crevices! It certainly wasn’t Incy Wincy Spider! ------------------------------- June 15th  Ok; let’s talk about the elephant in the room, well two elephants actually. I’ve started making a pair of lamps for the showmans wagon out of a couple of wooden elephants heads I bought at a car boot sale, with just this job in mind. I want them to appear like a couple of Circus Elephants and I’m hoping it doesn’t turn into a mammoth task, or tusk even? I gave the 1930's Showman's Wagon a 'circusy' theme as my 'Palace on Wheels' is rumoured to have been used by Chipperfield’s Circus. Let's hope there were no monkey's spanked inside my caravan! (see the above link) I’ve got some shell shaped glass shades from a set of 70’s lights, which work quite well as a head feather. I think the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ though is the little bag of antique screws I got from a car boot sale many years ago that have a little jewel which screws into the top of the screw itself. They turned out to be perfect for attaching the shade. I’m cutting out some copper to attach crystal droplets to in the hope of making it appear like the elephants are spraying water from their trunks. I’ve also got to make some tusks for them out of copper as the ones they had, have broken off. ‘Touch wood’; they’re shaping up quite nicely, but then again I don’t wish to ‘blow my own trumpet’… ---------------------------------- June 14th  Sticking to the insect thread;……(see what I did there?). One of my favourites to photograph are Bluebottle Flies. They are so beautiful to look at and come in colours of blue, gold, green, bronze, black/bluish, all with a metallic sheen, or iridescence. Whereas; the beautiful Large Red Damselfly I photographed the other day ‘appears’ to have a ‘Sh*t Eating Grin’, the Bluebottle actually does! They are responsible for spreading disease and many upset stomachs amongst other things. It's scientific name Calliphora vomitoria says its all . They are ‘winging it’ by fooling the observer with their stunning jewel like good looks; when in fact they are nothing more than little pieces of sh*t, literally. Bellies full of faeces and dead things. (I'm pretty sure that is my silhouette reflected on his butt though, …hmmm the face that launched a thousand shits?) --------------------------------------- June 13th  Hurray! my favourite rose is in bloom. It’s happened later this year than last. The name of the rose is Alfred Sisley (I’m guessing after the impressionist painter). This striking rose is so vibrant; I don’t know why the hybridizer of this rose decided to call it Alfred Sisley, as Sisley’s paintings are quite subdued . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Sisley (Although Sisley’s wife is wearing a dress in similar colours in a painting by Rembrandt. In which case, maybe it should have been called The Alfred Sisley’s Wife’s Dress as Painted by Rembrandt Rose?). I guess that’s a bit of a mouthful and there’s probably a Rembrandt Rose out there anyway. There’s a similar rose called Abracadabra, which I love the name of and one called Tequila Sunset, which is a very jolly name too. When I look at the rose I can’t help thinking they’ve slightly down played it, and Alfred Sisley is just not a good representation of it. There’s a new interesting pop up theatre on tour at the moment called the Shakespeare ‘Rose’ Theatre. It looks fab. It’s currently in York. (See the above button link) Shakespeare wrote the phrase in his play Romeo and Juliet “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Shakespeare was a top geezer, but I'm not sure about that quote?. If my rose was called Stinking Sweaty Crotch I’m pretty sure it would be hard for my senses to deliver the true odour. Yes, as Shakespeare would have written, “ Me thinks the sweet smell of that rose has been ‘Taint’ed!...... (p.s. I cannot be held responsible for the resulting images if anyone decides to google 'taint'.) ----------------------------------- June 12th  Today the weather has been glorious again, and the Large Red Damselflies are once more having a massive party. It was such fun snapping away with my camera today, and it almost seemed like they were loving being photographed. I then went inside and zoomed in on some of the little 'winged wonders', and that's when I noticed their little faces. Amazing! The above photo is totally untouched; I sh*t you not...they really do have a massive grin on their faces! Unbelievable!........................................ F*cked in the head and lovin' it! (see previous post!) ------------------------- June 11th   I've mentioned before that one of the joys of living where I do, is the abundance of insects which I love photographing. On various days there seem to be lots of a certain type of insect buzzing around. Today there were a lot of red dragon fly types. I googled 'red dragon fly' to try and identify them, but the insects I photographed were not the same. So I googled 'red mayfly', and these weren't the same either. Then I came across an image of a Large Red Damselfly, and this looked the same. One of the oddities when reading up about them is that they are a bunch of Dick Heads....Literally! It seems when mating the male inserts his parts into the back of the head/neck area on the female! (I mean you really would need eyes in the back of your head to see that coming!). I'm glad I'm not a Large Red Damselfly, you'd always get it in the neck! Some might say that Damselflies are crazy, but maybe they're just f*cked in the head? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 I recently mentioned what a joy it is when you can get on with odd jobs outside in the summer. You could even say it's a buzz, literally! Not only am I lucky enough to be surrounded by organic land which has an abundance of insects flying around, (many of which I have photographed and have thousands of images on file). But, because there are some very interesting vehicles where I live you also get buzzed by low flying aircraft having a gander, as it were. I was sewing in my sewing shed. (The one with the thatched roof made of Thatcher's Cider cans, which incidentally work very well! Check out my previous blog from August 2017 if you wish to read more about the shed). Anyway; I heard some engines going overhead and when I popped outside to look there was a pair of Bi-planes. They were really rather cute! Bi-planes hmmm?, do you think they are called Bi-planes because they like boy planes and girl planes? (I know, I know!, sometimes I've just gotta share the madness around!) haha. -------------------------------------------  June 8th I'm on the case! Today inbetween running around like a Blue Ahhhs Fly (trying to be polite), I managed to paint some old rusty ironing board legs. (Yes I know it is the sign of a true Tataholic when you keep a rusty old ironing board because the legs will 'come in handy' one day). However, today was 'that' day Hoorah! I had half an old tin of red Hammerite 'Direct to Rust' paint which had been kicking around for a couple of years and it did the job nicely!. (See the link below). I'll give them another coat tomorrow for a very polished effect. The case that I will be using to put the scarves in I got from the Tip Shop for £3. It's been some sort of musical instrument case, maybe a saxophone?. I liked the solid construction of it that meant I could screw directly into it. It had an old brown 'Rexine' outer which I rather liked, but decided it would look better in black with the red legs. I joined the newly painted items together and at first I thought I may have 'attachment issues', but it turned out I just needed a good screw!  ------------------------------------------------------------ June 7th I've been working on my sign again today. How I love the long days of summertime when the weather is fine. I don't have much inside space to work in, so it's a joy when I can work outside until dark. I decided to make the sign a folding sign, which will fit into the case where I will keep my Traveller Tartan scarves. The plan is that I will be able to open the suitcase like Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, though it won't be as technically brilliant as his! I bought some battery operated lights to clip on around the sign. The pic shows the folding sign with the lights around it to get an idea of what it will look like. The sign has the lights lit in the bottom pic. It just needs a lit bit (as in small lights) more tweaking and it will be finished, then I will deserve some 'sign' letters re-arranged....... 'Gins!' ---------------------- June 6th  Last night I watched the latest episode of another type of 'June' - The Handmaid's Tale on Channel 4. It's so dark, I couldn't help thinking I wouldn't have lasted very long in that environment. I would be the one who just couldn't help shouting out a funny quip in an intense situation. It would end up being like the scene in Monty Python's 'The Life of Brian', the one where the Emperor tells the soldiers to "Frow" Brian to the "Gwound". In my imaginary episode, the executioners wouldn't be able to hold their guns straight to shoot me for giggling. I'd then receive a much worse punishment for taking the p*ss, and be kicking myself for my failure to take the situation seriously. The lead character is called Offred, this means that she is the property of Fred her master. I've always considered Art to be my master, so if I was a Handmaiden my name would be Ofart. Hmmm... O fart? .... and that Ladies and Gentlemen is how I always shoot myself in the foot. P.s. maybe the imaginary episode would have been renamed The Handmaid's 'Tail' ? -----------------------------------------------  June 5th Did I mention that in May inbetween all the chaos, I managed to finish making myself two sets of new curtains for the two windows in the living room of my Showmans Wagon? (I started making them in January). They were made from a vintage cherry red; crushed velvet chenille, pair of curtains I've been keeping for twenty years just for this job. I hand sewed them because the windows are old and let a lot of heat out in the winter so I added a thick layer of old wool blanket for insulation. I trimmed them with gold coloured coins from an old belly dancing scarf I had. I also used a red lining with gold stars on them. I know the camera on my phone is not too smart; so I'll explain the centre panel is an oval sky and clouds panel, surrounded by roses with a leopard poking his head through. (It kind of matches the painting on the roof of my two daughters depicted as cherubs holding onto a leopard and tiger). They are now hung and I'm very pleased with the end result, they cheer me up every time I walk into the room. Yes, when it felt like curtains for me, I once again made curtains. ---------------------------  June 4th My sister recently came by on a flying visit and when we were in town she spotted the ideal dress to wear for a friend's daughter's wedding. It had a cherry blossom printed design. Finding a fascinator or hat to match was going to be a challenge so I offered to make her one. I quickly roughed out a design using recycled glass leaves, seed pearls from a bracelet I'd found in a charity shop a recycled metal headband and some silver plated copper wire. I had to use a silver colour as ordinary copper would have been too dark. (Although I wasn't quite sure as I didn't take a photo of the dress and only had my memory to rely on). My sister is more reserved than I am, so I had to keep reining in the design. If I had been making it for myself well....it would have put Princess Eugenie's Pretzel to shame. I was very happy when she sent me a photo this weekend when she was at the wedding, and the fascinator was a perfect match for the dress. You could even say it wasn't the cherry on the cake; rather, it was the cherry (blossom) on the wedding cake! ---------------------------- June 3rd  Well I can honestly say that Fannys Meadow was a super little fun festival; and even though it was obvious the previous night Fannys had been really wet, (purile I know, but I couldn't help myself) the sun shone brightly and dried up the mud just in time to watch Hattie Hatstar play her brilliant set accompanied by Jules Bushell on the double bass. Jules also plays with the fabulous Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys. Both Hattie and Jules are brilliant musicians and if you'd like to see them performing click on the links above. I also just have to include a photo of Jules with his very arty arm tattoo. Jackson Pollock eat your heart out!.  ------------------------------------------  June 2nd I can't believe it's half way through the year already, and I've still got a Happy New Year pic on my home page doh! (I won't be sorting that out today though because I'm going to look at Fannys). There's a small family friendly festival on locally which has a very good reputation called Fanny's Meadow . (Click on the link above if you want to check it out). I'm looking forward to seeing my neighbour of 10 years there, Hattie Hatstar. Oh yes, we are a creative lot, you've gotta remember that without diversity there is no creativity. Hattie writes and sings funny songs. I designed a flyer for her some time back. (See above). It's a lovely sunny day today and I'm off to have fun in the sun, hope your day is great too! x ------------------------------------------ June Boom! Back in the Room! (June 1st) (May hey, what can I say?) So May turned into Mayday! Mayday! , and I ended up turning into Florence Fright-in-gale. I spent a lot of my time nursing a friend in need and could only find the odd bit of time here and there to be creative. (Although I did make a few things, which I will share with you at a later date.) Today June has arrived and brought with it the good ‘ole British sign of summer (rain showers). So I though it’s a good time to sit in the kitchen and make a ‘sign’ for the Heath Robinson style case I am building to put my Traveller Tartan scarves in. It needs tidying up a bit but the gist of it is there. It will probably have another painted piece of wood the same size above it and will fold in two so that it can fit in the case or be hung on a wall. I found it quite relaxing painting with the pitter-patter of rain on the roof. I don’t think Khan my male cat found it as relaxing though, he spent a lot of time looking like a thousand mice were running over the roof.  |
Lolly GoldingThe day to day life of a Somerset Artist Archives
March 2022
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