"I begin with an idea ... and then it becomes something else"
~ Picasso

Sunday 4 September 2016

memories and summer blues ...

this summer I enjoyed many local places with family and friends
and took lots of time out from work to recover from being unwell

cool blue shimmer on Porthminster beach St. Ives

there was a summer wedding of two very dear friends in St. Ives
after which I had some beautiful blue sea holly to dry
and other pretty flowers to press from summer



as I went to get my flower pressing book ... these fell out ...
they are so delicate and precious!

the sea holly is drying out nicely ... and the blues are still strong


some studio glimpses …




a day with friends in Mousehole and a beautiful gift

I haven't been around the galleries so much since I’ve been unwell
so I missed seeing this exhibition at The Crypt Gallery, St. Ives
so I was delighted when friend Julie made a gift to me of this gorgeous ceramic bowl

the ceramic artist is David Brown

it’s so beautiful - thank you x
now my bowl sits with the lovely barnacled shell Julie also gave me


 it was a cosy, rainy day indoors
but later ... it brightened up and we went for a walk ...
we messed about in puddles ... and picked up shells on the beach

I spotted this poster on a lamp post in Mousehole - The Tyler Gallery 


all this summer I saw Jubilee Pool art …

The Jubilee Pool on the seafront at Penzance has featured a lot in local news lately
it has been the subject of a number of artworks I've seen about locally
to raise funds for essential refurbishment work after the storms of 2014
battered the sea front and caused a lot of structural damage

I think the gorgeous painting above is by artist Gill Watkiss

***
another day … a hot July day ...
and a walk through the woodlands of Trengwainton Gardens
followed by afternoon tea and cake at Lamorna Cove with my love


beautiful Cornish agapanthus
***

and over the summer …
we had a lot of tall ships and sailing boats come into the bay
I love seeing these beautiful boats
and I love creating magical scenes with layers and bokeh
I mean ... could this actually be the Black Pearl out in the bay... {swoon}


or perhaps this might have been one of Captain Poldark's ships ...
I call this one "evening sail"


a lot of sail boats and old luggers come to Mousehole
for the biennial maritime Sea Salts and Sail Festival held in Mousehole harbour
and this year it took place 8 - 10 July

we had such an amazing time sitting on the pier all weekend listening to live music
sampling the Cornish ales, watching live cookery lessons and eating kippers

my absolute favourite local band is The Odd Folk
they had everyone up and dancing on the cobbles
an added bonus was that I got to do gyotaku printing with Hayley from Porthmeor Studios

I used black squid ink to print a fish and a baby squid

I was rather pleased with my print of a baby squid
during August The Man Engine toured the far South West
and we got to see him in Penzance on 5th August

did you see this on the news?
this is the largest mechanical puppet ever made in the UK
for the "tinth" anniversary of  Cornwall’s World Heritage status and mining history

he was truly an awesome sight to behold



15th August and my fun summer continued with a trip to the pictures to see
the magical BFG and family film Pete's Dragon with friend Jo

we were the only ones in the cinema on what was probably the hottest day of the year!


  The BFG has to be the most magical film I have seen in a long time
and we enjoyed the double bills so much it will probably turn into an annual event
(going to see the kids films during the school holidays)

***

my thoughts now turn to textile things
and getting ready for my show with St. Ives Textiles
inspiration, gallery visits, sketchbook work, techniques and tutorials

"St. Ives in Textiles" runs from 17 - 24 September 2016
Porthmeor Studios, Back Road West, St. Ives




and once "St. Ives in Textiles" ends on the 24th September
my thoughts will turn to bead making and dyeing fabric and threads
putting together creative textile packs and supplies for "Stitch St. Ives"

"Stitch St. Ives"
26 and 27 November 2016

creative work exploring colour and texture



thank you always for reading my ramblings x

9 comments:

Carol Rigby said...

I was thinking of you tonight while I was watching Poldark. I seem to remember that you were a fan. I watch it for the same reason as you. The scenery of course. Beautifull post.

Erica said...

Lovely, lovely, lovely! Your beautiful textile art, your stunning photographs, the almost overwhelming beauty of where you live, your precious friendships. Thank you.

Lynn Holland said...

Carry on rambling Carolyn its wonderful to have you back. Your photography is better than ever and how I wish I could make the exhibition
Blogland has given so many of us some true friendships over the years, like pen friends did before the internet
Lynn xxx

Penny said...

Love having your ramblings back and your stitching.

Sandies' Patch said...

Wonderful post, full of eye candy to mixed media fans and Poldark fans lol!
Enjoy the show.
xxx

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Of course blue is my favorite color so I loved this post! Too many amazing bits of eye candy to ooh over so will simply say I loved it all (and congratulations to your friends).

Angie Willis said...

How lovely to hear from you again - your blogs are some of the ones I look forward to most. Your photos are beautiful and atmospheric as always and your stitchery amazing. I have just completed a disastrous woven tapestry and it looks like we're going to miss out on a house we've fallen in love with in Wales so I'm a bit woebegone (never used that word before :-)) and your blog helped to cheer me up a little.
Love and blessings
Angie

Robin Olsen said...

What a delight to settle into one of your posts with my morning cup of coffee. I sometimes think I'm jaded from looking at too many photographs these days, then yours show up and thrill me every time. That ship at night--wow! Looking forward to seeing your textile works reappear. Thank you for never failing to add a little delight to my days.

martha brown said...

Wow! so much to read about and look at! That ceramic bowl is just gorgeous! and your baby squid print is wonderful! I wish that I was there to see the St Ives in Textiles exhibit. I'm hoping to visit England next summer. ... so maybe I will actually be able to see St Ives, at least!