It's been a while

I haven't been here for at least a couple of months, so thought it was about time I made a visit and wrote a blog post! It has been a busy time over the summer months, and such a warm and sunny summer it has been in the UK. Our extension to build a bedroom for our smallest little boy is nearly complete and so is my little studio (yay! See picture- still plastering to do but better than it has been!). Apart from that we have been mostly attending lots of playgroups and playdates, Brockholes wetland reserve near Preston being one of them. Such a glittering day of sun, playing in the woodland and playground. The woods took me back to my childhood when a group of cousins would gather and we would spend hours building dens and enacting make belive adventures (being a tomboy helped!), such simple things, where trees, sticks and imagination is all you need are the parts of my childhood of which I have the fondest memories! The wetland reserve has a beautiful piece of floating architecture for it's cafe, activity rooms and shops, the picture probably doesn't do it justice. I do plan to blog a lot more often, one of my autumn resolutions!

Art books: The calligraphic arts of Ogawa Toshu

I can't actually remember when I got this book but I did so because of the beautiful fluid works by the artist, also the subtle visual textures within the brushwork. I also love the narrative of the lines and marks to illustrate characters of the subjects such as a crane, snow, even crockery! I love using water based media myself, such as ink & watercolours so found these images so inspirational. A lot to learn here from a master of brushwork.

The Glass house cafe at Stydd gardens

A rare breakfast without our boys this morning was a relaxed affair and rather more civilized than we're used too! We headed for the Glass house cafe at Ribchester. It is inspirational and very cleverly designed, making something unique and beautiful from what was a simple greenhouse, but a large one at that. The gardens are also very beautiful with a fairytale quality.

Studio continued

Well it is coming on slowly, what was once a patio is now becoming a room. My little studio is taking shape and I'm getting excited and of course realize how incredibly fortunate I am. A way to go yet of course,  but high walls have been built and holes for velux windows have appeared, so hopefully this will mean space & light.

Stoneyhurst

I realise I forgot to actually include images of Stoneyhurst school on my previous post, the building I was calling more magnificent than beautiful. The photos were taken on a previous visit in the winter time, hence trees without leaves and grey skies. 

Old stone

We had a Sunday walk around part of the outskirts of stoneyhurst school, a favourite location of ours because of ducks & geese for the boys and well just beautiful architecture for us grown-ups, or maybe a more fitting description would be magnificent. I just remember the front of the school and long drive were featured in the film Three men and a little lady, if you've seen that good old stalwart of a nineties (or eighties?) film you'll know what I'm talking about! We did the usual walk I do with the boys to the little farm down a lane just by the school grounds. Although not really very old by British standards it has a stone plaque on the side of one of the barns dated 1938, so I do wonder if it had an involvement in the second world war, providing provisions to the school maybe? The photos below are some of the battered and broken windows on the side of the stone barn, I just find them inspirational because of the composition of shapes and textures of the stone, a stone wall was nearby, I love the imperfect shapes locked together and small speckles of overhanging greenery invading another wall. All old stone.

To be continued

I made this printed bag (the print not the bag!) at a print day with the Make District yesterday. I am hooked! I have done print a lot in the past but the method we used here was so easy and very do-able at home. So there will lots more printing to come! The Make District is well worth checking out on line for their courses, although living in North West England would help! However there is also a lot of inspiring images of their work.