Brightlingsea Music Festival

It looks like it might be a cracking weekend for the music festival, with a fantabydozey 70's band headlining. There will be many stalls and lots going on. Including an art and craft tent where you can find a few of Brightlingsea's resident artists exhibiting their wares.... I will be taking some of my very popular Coastguard Cottages along, with some driftwood paintings and a few other small items. Of course the Waterside Gallery is still showing the Contemporary Arts & Crafts exhibition, so lots of goodies to choose from.

A Maltese door revisited and a small watercolour on driftwood.

 A bag full of worded pebbles

Gratitude pebbles, a reminder to be grateful for everything in our lives.

The story behind the 'gratitude stones'  :

'Lee Brower was a teacher who found that things weren't going right in his life.

One day, he found a rock and he said to himself 'Every time I touch this rock, I'm going to think of something I'm grateful for'.

And so every morning he wakes up, picks up his rock from the dresser, puts it in his pocket and he goes through what he's grateful for in life.

And every night he comes home, empties his pocket, sees his rock and again he goes through what he's grateful for.

And so one day he had a friend from South Africa visit and he dropped the rock in front of his friend and the friend from South Africa asked 'What is that?'

Lee Brower explained what he was doing with his rock and pretty soon his friend started calling it a Gratitude Rock.

Two weeks later, Lee Brower got an email from his South African friend asking if he had any Gratitude Rocks to send over. His friend explained that his son was suffering from a rare form of Hepatitis and was dying. So Lee went to the river to look for rocks and he sent the rocks to his friend in South Africa.

Five months later, Lee gets an email from his friend telling him that his son is doing terrific and completely cured of the disease.'

As you give thanks...you get :0)

What a view

I have been a bit of a bag lady this last 12 months and frankly it is quite tiring moving 'studio' all the time. But there is an air of excitement now as this view will be mine in a few months time. Can't wait.
I may have to take an air rifle to those Victoriana lights right in the way, but hey a small price to pay. I will have a studio on the roof terrace with the most wonderful view to inspire my painting. I am looking forward to a completely different landscape to work from and colours that are not often seen in this country. Though I have to say, this week, even the muddy creek water has taken on a whole new aspect in this wonderful sunshine.
I will continue to blog, WiFi connection permitting, and hope to give a different outlook on life.
In the meantime exhibitions continue down in Brightlingsea, so head on down if you haven't already been.

Can't think of a title.

Some new driftwood paintings which will be on show at the Waterside Gallery, Brightlingsea today. 

Pieces of wood found on dog walks around Brightlingsea. Not easy carrying large bits home and manage a dog or two !

I use gesso as a base on which to paint. My continuing love of the subtle effects of watercolours, goes on. The end result on gesso is quite different to painting on paper. The paint sits on the surface and is easily manipulated with the long wispy hair of my horse tail hair brush.
A little gold or silver ink added to the watercolour gives a lovely shimmer.

I think summer is finally here ! A day on the water me thinks......

Early start

  Heybridge Basin at 06.00 this morning.

All is still, the mist lies waiting for the sun. Black headed gulls squabble noisily.
Little brown birds busy themselves looking for bugs in the grass. Starlings swoop and dive around the boats. Settling for a moment on a mast before taking off again like a swarm of bees.
Deep breath.......What a beautiful day.

....In with the new.

Before I embark on a new adventure (more later in the Summer) I need to clear the studio. Odd works left from exhibitions, that don't fit in with any new ones, are lurking in the corners of my studio. A collection of paintings and sculptures. A new brush sweeps clean !  I need to clear my head of all my old way of thinking and start afresh. Hence a September Studio Sale. It will be a chance to buy one off original artworks at knock down prices. If you can't wait that long I will be showing lots of new work over the Summer at the Waterside Gallery.

So, in order to sweep clean, my good friend and Textile Artist extraordinaire Stefanie Moss and I are having a 'Studio Sale' in Brightlingsea to coincide with Open Studios in September. We are looking for another, poss two, artists to join us. If you are interested and not already taking part in OS weekend, please email either me or Stefanie.

This has nothing to do with anything except:

Silent and serene, forgetting words, bright clarity appears before you. Dropping judgements and names, sitting serene, Prajna Wisdom lights up the you-before-world.
~ Hongzhi

Waterside Gallery is hosting another show starting this weekend. Contemporary Art and Craft. Another exciting collection of work from well established Brightlngsea artists and also some new faces. I will be sitting in on a few days over the next few weeks...so pop in I would love to see you. Lots of new work from me too !

Waving at ya !

I have been re reading 'The Zen of Creativity' Cultivating your artistic life: by John Daido Loori. It is an inspiring read, Daido Roshi is a photographer and articulates well his journey into studying Zen through his photography. The meditative process we go through to produce art sometimes goes unnoticed, even by the artist. He explains how to cultivate the meditation practice through our art, thus producing something very special.

As I have had a lull in the last couple of weeks, after the frenzy of getting work finished for the last (very successful) show, and have been experimenting a little with new processes. Horse hair brushes were my first experiment. First, find a horse willing to give a little of it's tail hair ! Luckily I found one that did. Bundle the long strands of coarse hair together at the blunt end and hey presto an 18 inch unwieldy wonderfully tapering painting brush.
The Japanese tend to use ink for their long haired brush paintings, but I wanted to try it with watercolour. I also wanted to see how it would work on gesso and ultimately on driftwood. Some messy pieces later I got to grips with the long hair.
It wasn't so much about controlling the paint but more about letting the long brush do it's own thing. Daido Roshi suggests that we take ten minutes or so before we start our work to settle the mind and body in preparation. Bringing everything to the still point before applying paint. That way we are in tune with our surroundings and only concentrating on the job in hand. Ink painting as a practise in Zen tradition is taught by example rather than by words. The teacher demonstrates as the students watch in silence. The methodical grinding and mixing of the ink, the preparation of the paper and then carefully breathing through each brush stroke, allowing the brush to do the work. What you end up with is a piece of art that is intuitive rather than over thought.

I have started with an enso as this doesn't entail much thought and it's a good place to start. Watercolour on 140lb watercolour paper.
I love the way the first few strokes are heavy with blobby paint then as the paint is used up the lines become very fine, creating wispy, wispy movement.

This is watercolour on gesso, on board. After the paint had dried I used a spray fix to stop the paint running, then I finished it off with a clear varnish to protect.

I did a few more on paper. I also tried some with inks, including metalic ink which gave a lovely effect. Cropping the painting gives the effect of waves breaking.

The other thing I have become interested in is journal making. Inspired by a new friend Ness Woodcock-Dennis who's work can be seen here

After some You Tube tutorials, I have am beginning to master the technique of Coptic stitching and binding a few journals together.
These snippets of wave meditations are going to make some lovely covers for the journals. You will be able to see these at the Waterside Gallery, Brightlingsea in July.

My life has a red thread running through it ! and I will use a red thread in the sewing of my journal signatures together.

The first of Red Thread Books

Showcase

Travelled down to Devon this weekend to see my daughter's jewellery on show and for sale at the Contemporary Craft Festival. Clever girl, you can view Alice's work here

          .......  and here are a couple of her pieces using Silver and resin.

Ankle cuff

Today

On a day when the wind is perfect,

the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.

Today is such a day.

My eyes are like the sun that makes promises;

the promise of life

that it always

keeps each morning.

The living heart gives to us as does that luminous sphere,

both caress the earth with great

tenderness.

This is a breeze that can enter the soul.

This love I know plays a drum. Arms move around me;

who can contain their self before my beauty?

Peace is wonderful,

but ecstatic dance is more fun, and less narcissistic;

gregarious He makes our lips.

On a day when the wind is perfect,

the sail just needs to open and the love starts.

Today is such a day.

~ Rumi

Come on in

                      

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be cleaning you out
For some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from the beyond.

Rumi 

Shhhhhhhh

What did I learn today?
I learned that I need to be grateful for every situation I find myself in. It's all for me. I learned, that even if I try to breathe through a problem there will always be someone who will not allow me to. That I have to learn to deal with that too. I learned, that even if the situation escalates into something horrendous, I try to be present every step of the way. That means not lashing back in anger, but taking time over a response. Easier said than done. Even if it does happen, to then realise that is what has happened and to be aware of that.
Standing in awareness, one can very quickly see where the back lash may occur. Every action has a reaction.
Gosh it is so difficult to always be present. I try to remind my self to 'listen' when the going gets tough. Listen to the bird song, a motor bike, the wind, water rushing, a clock ticking, anything that brings you back to the still point. It's only when you stop, take a breath and hear, that you are brought back to the moment and not attach big emotion to the stories in your head.
I was asked the other day why I like walking around 'jangling' with bells on my ankles.....Hmmm.... because they catch my attention and bring me back to the still point.

 'This too shall pass, until then, fetch wood, carry water, walk the earth.'
It has been a trying few days, year, in fact. The point has come where I have given up trying to fix problems. I no longer have the energy to walk the earth, so I am going to sit for a while and listen.

Waiting for the water to clear

 “I'd love to give you something

but what would help?” 

― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth

Wanting to help someone or deciding to let them struggle is always a dilemma. I don't mean physically help, but emotionally. Should I thrust my opinions on a friend about a certain situation, or should I sit back and watch them suffer, until the time is right for them to see more clearly ? What is the old saying? 'You can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink'. Sometimes we may be able to offer a solution, but the friend is so tied up in past beliefs and unsound paradigms that they just can't see. Saying 'Sit by the stream of your mind., waiting for the mud to clear' doesn't always go down well !
Sometimes we have to wait patiently for the friend to stop and ask.

I revisited some old favourites. Do what we do, moment to moment and let others do it their way. It's all about perspective.

Each time the wave breaks

The crow

Gives a little jump.

~ Nissha

 “Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind.

A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluable treasure.

Dusk rain on the river, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds;

Elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night after night.” 

― Ikkyu

 “Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon.” 

― Ikkyu

Some more nearly finished driftwood paintings for the Completely Coastal Exhibition.

Tide rushes in

One of my favourite walks in Brightlingsea, is the rope walk. It runs from the tip of the creek, through the marshes and along to the boat yard. Essex marshyness at it's best. Whatever the tide, there is always something to look at. The tide rushes in, water bubbling over the muddy banks. Debris seems glued into it's khaki stickyness or on a bright day the water laps and glints through the ochre grasses, oyster catchers flitting overhead. Rotting house boats lie in the mud, perfect wabi sabi.
It is an endless source of ideas.
I have painted some watercolours, studies of the marshes.

I keep reading and re reading this !!

 “Life always gives us 

exactly the teacher we need 

at every moment. 

This includes every mosquito, 

every misfortune, 

every red light, 

every traffic jam, 

every obnoxious supervisor (or employee), 

every illness, every loss, 

every moment of joy or depression, 

every addiction, 

every piece of garbage, 

every breath. 

Every moment is the guru.” 

― Charlotte Joko Beck

Cindery Island appears and disappears with the tide. Oyster shells litter the mud at low tide, at high tide just a slither of land peeks above the horizon.
These and others will be on show at the Waterside Gallery 18th May for two weeks.