Happy Christmas!

Weather outside sounds atrocious but Christmas is nearly here, so safe journey to all travelling in the next few days and a Very Happy Christmas and Joy in the coming year to all!

 

Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Poetics and winter

I have been spending time floating on the lake of music and imagination and wandering in the meads of poetry  -  all will be revealed 'but not yet', as the phrase was spoken in 'Gladiator'!

Meanwhile, winter has arrived with cold and snow on the tops of the hills. The woolly cardis have once more taken up residence in the wardrobe (when not upon my person!) and the remaining lighter clothes put away until the return of spring. I feel so sorry for the little birds when the temperature drops and wonder how they survive.

                   Below is one of my pictures of blue tits feeding on nuts in the garden.

 

 

A great tit arrives to tackle a fat ball.

 

 

 

 

The blue tits like these, too!

 

 

 

                                    Another frequent visitor comes for some favourite food!

 

 

                                          

 

 

 

Back again!

My poor little blog had died a bit of a death but I will now try to resurrect it!

Very exciting for me is that I have now begun my part-time PhD in Fine Art at Aberystwyth University. As well as this exciting development in my life, I now have three solo exhibitions lined up  -  amazing! The first will be in the Cloisters Gallery, St Davids Cathedral, March 2014  -  both Arthur and I are looking forward to being back there again  -  the second will be in  Oriel Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, April - June 2014 and the third from 10th January  -  22nd February 2015 in MOMA Wales Machynlleth.

I have always believed in art in hospitals, so it is really good to be exhibiting in Bangor Hospital next spring and I am very excited about the forthcoming solo in MOMA. Lucinda, MOMA's new curator, is really nice to speak to and I'm looking forward to working with her on the exhibition  -  she is very keen on my idea for it  -  there will be sound as well as visuals and Miranda thinks it could also form part of my PhD, which would be great.

 

This image is 'In the Garden, Secretly', the one which was Highly Commended in this year's Open Exhibition in MOMA in the summer, when the theme was 'The Garden, Yr Ardd'  -  my take on the Garden of Eden!

Noises of Art Conference

Last week, I attended a fascinating conference on Noises of Art in Aberystwyth, at the Arts Centre and the university's School of Art.

I have loved Aberystwyth, the university and place itself, ever since coming here as an undergrad long ago in the 1970s. In first year, I studied Art, French and Italian and modern languages were in the Old Coll. Some of my Italian classes were in a little turret room up a winding staircase with the gulls wheeling outside the window!

This is Juls and Ed on the prom with the Old Coll building on the left  -  taken about 10 years ago now on a visit to Wales before we moved over permanently.

Arthur pictured on the same day as Juls and Ed  -  the weather was lovely!


I also stayed in the then women's hall of residence, Alexandra Hall, which is located at the end of the prom by Constitution Hill. My room was in the annexe, right at the top and, in bad weather, little pebbles would be tossed up by the spray right over the roof and could be heard running down over the tiles! When seas were rough and heavy waves rolled in, dashing themselves against the sea wall, if I hadn't locked my room door or shut it especially firmly, the door would swing gently open and shut to the reverberation of the crashing water  -  a very exciting place to live!

Self with Juliette on a windy winter's day five or six years ago, with Constitution Hill and Alexandra Hall under the lowering violet skies.

Talk in October

Just been asked by Debbie Marais to give a demonstration/talk about my work with textiles and words at the Oswestry Festival, October 12th - 19th. It will be on Thursday 17th in Oswestry Library  -  I'll look forward to this!

New exhibition

I have just opened in a group exhibition called 'Natural Selection' in a fairly new gallery in Oswestry, Shropshire, The Willow Gallery  -  run by ever such nice people and a really interesting space. The building used to be a car showroom and has been imaginatively converted into a gallery which, very happily for me, is completely wheelchair friendly!

The work I'm showing is my 'Silent Polyphonies' installation and the following show how it looks in the gallery.

First two images taken during set-up.
The panel and 'falling book' in place with little view through in the gallery. I really like how the gallery design includes these little 'windows' in the dividing walls, as well as creating added interest, they open up the space beautifully. There are also settees, comfy chairs and tables and a café, so it's a lovely, relaxing place to visit.

 

Just about there, now!

 

 

Opening Night Friday 6th September. The browser with my prints in it was put round the corner  -  a good position alongside more browsers.

 

 

Juliette and Arthur on Opening Night  -  a folk group played creating a lovely atmosphere and lots of people came!

 

 

Glass of wine had now been enjoyed and about to move on to the coffee. My scarf (silk-painted by self) seems to want to take over!

 

 

Going home now and looking in from outside.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday morning

There it came again, in the night, the pain that wakes me. It tears into my flesh, hundreds of hot, stinging needles, tiny razor sharp knives trying to rip my leg apart. I pray. It helps.

This is another of my pieces in hand stitch, mirror shards, paint and print. I call it, 'Towards the Light'.

Just the second blog  -  still in my infancy as a blogger!

A pale morning today, the light on the mountains misty, gentle shadows  and voices echoing on the road outside; in this atmosphere, the mind can slide into the space between.

Two of my recent artworks are set on the liminal place of the shoreline. A boat is poised, metaphor for the soul, ready to travel on, to keep journeying, even if so often only in the mind, when the problems of the physical body keep it tethered and bound to place.

This is one of the images showing most of the piece, worked in paint, print and stitch.

Julia Caprara, a wonderful stitcher and teacher who died a couple of years ago, said that stitch allowed the mind to dream. I agree with her on this and would add that the rhythms of hand stitch in particular can also bring a sense of peace within the bombardments of the modern world. I 'play' stitch with colour like arpeggios on the piano.

A creature who finds no problems in finding peace is our cat, Jasmine, now 15 years old. She loves the summer sunshine, lies in the garden, disappears into the field . . . The only frustration she gives us in these light mornings is that she will wake VERY early and miaow angrily and vociferously on the other side of the doors that define the living room in our open plan house. Sometimes, she throws her furry body impatiently against the small door panels, rattling them in an impotent fury. We pretend not to hear until, finally, we give in and go and feed her and out she goes, tail high, sniffing the air  -  she never did learn how to use a cat flap, has always preferred the human kind!

 

A 'thinking' moment on the patio.

 

 

 

Why worry? Just stretch out under the larch tree and have a snooze!

Welcome! Croeso!

Hello all!

My name is Eileen and I am an artist who loves colour, stitch, sound, word and spirit with daily inspiration from the beautiful mountains where I live! See my website here

I'd like to use this blog to show images, words, things that inspire me and that I'd like to share.

This is the book cover that I did for my sister-in-law and theologian Dr. Anne Inman  -  a detail from my painted and stitched piece, 'Rain on the Water'.