Influences on my work no.1 ~ Nature

I thought I'd give you some insights into the influences on my textile art. When I began considering the influences, I realised there are quite a lot, so there will be lots more to come! Today I'm starting with the one that probably has the biggest effect on what I do.

Nature.

When I was a child, my parents used to take me on picnics in the country or at the beach every summer. Back then, I enjoyed the days out, but probably didn't appreciate the nature that surrounded me; the plants, the trees, the views. As time went on though, I began to see the beauty and peacefulness, so much that if you put me in a field, I'm happy. :) A few hours in the country, or even in the garden, can make me feel better on a bad day and more connected to the world. That's why I love nature so much and why I feel it should be protected. We humans are part of nature, but we've separated ourselves from it so we've lost that sense of being a small part of a bigger thing.

I think it's the colours and forms of nature that inspire me, along with the patterns that can be found on flowers and leaves, for example, the colours in the sky at sunrise or sunset are gorgeous: gold, amber,rose, amethyst.

This is a photo I took of the sky a while ago:

The work I did for the final year of my degree was all about nature in contrast with man~made structures; how we clear nature away to build, but when a building is abandoned, nature quickly reclaims it. 

Here are some of my photos of the sorts of things I took for inspiration:

The colour and forms of flowers.

 The combination of natural stone being used in a wall, then being covered by ivy.

These are a few pictures of the pieces I made, a combination of the colours and forms of nature with the structure of buildings. They were hand~dyed and pleated and I used monofilament to give them shape. Some ares were slightly frayed to convey the fragility of both nature and the man~made world.

I love the art of Andy Goldsworthy because he uses leaves, stones, twigs and even ice in his work, then leaves them to nature, to be broken down by the elements. A lot of his work is absolutely beautiful.

I also love the Pre~Raphaelites and the way they used nature in their art. The plants they put in their paintings quite frequently had symbolic meanings which added an extra dimension to the story they depicted in each work.

I think I will always be inspired by nature. There are so many things out there to see; the different species, the differences in the seasons. I've been working on a piece using leaves as the starting point, but it's also become a representation of the order people try to impose on their gardens and the wilder side of nature; how people try to control it as something separate from us, but then nature does her own thing anyway. Also, it has the underlying theme of insects and birds needing wild areas to survive and how we could all leave a small part of our gardens to stay wild to benefit them.

I've used strips of material sewn with machine embroidery. I'm planning to overlay it with fine organza and hand sew it in a more natural, freeflowing way. It needs more work but once it's done, I've got many more ideas inspired by flowers. 

Spread love and consideration for everyone!

Valentine's day is here again. I was just going to post some pictures in keeping with the day, but during this week I've been thinking more and more about something I read which connects to experiences I've had and also connects to love and understanding of other people, which in turn goes back to Valentines. It doesn't have to be about showing love to the people closest to you, it can be a day to remember that we should love and accept everyone else. 

I was thinking about this while making this felt heart:

What kicked off my train of thought was reading a post on Tracey-anne McCartney's blog about empaths and HSPs. If you don't already know Tracey's blog you can find it here

Tracey wrote about how highly sensitive people are misunderstood and how we would be a better society if people accepted others no matter who they are. Also, one of the identifying features of empaths is a dislike of people who don't consider the opinions of others. This is the point which chimed with me and has been swimming around in my head for a long time, because I have met quite a few people who don't consider the opinions, situation or experiences of others, one example being last year. 

Let me explain: 

I have a blind cat. He's been blind for a few years and I bought a harness with a lead which I put on him to take him for a walk in the garden. I say "take him for a walk" but actually, it's the other way round ~ he takes me. He decides when we go out, where we go and when we come back in. He's trained me well! :) I thought it would be nice for him to still go out, have fresh air and to explore without the danger of wondering off somewhere. Last summer he began taking me onto the pavement and we've since been on walks right along the road. Some days we've been out so long I considered taking a picnic. :) 

During these trips, we met a lot of people and I could divide them into two types:

There were those who would stop on their way past and say something like, 'Aw, how sweet. Is he a new cat / old / ill?' 
Then there were people who said, 'You don't see that very often!' with a smile.

The first group, in the time it had taken them to walk up to us, had obviously thought about it, taken the time to imagine why I had a cat on a lead and realised there must be a reason for it. They completely understood after I explained. 

The second group seemed to jump to a conclusion using their own opinions and perspective and hadn't been able to consider the situation from my point of view. They obviously thought I was just a mad cat woman. Some, to their credit, once I'd explained why my cat was on a lead, realised the whole point and said things like, 'Oh, that's nice.' But one or two just said 'Oh', and walked away~ or drove away, as some of them stopped in their cars ~as though they didn't like being proven wrong in their perception of me. 

The point I'm trying to make with this, is that everyone is different, with different experiences and situations, doing things differently, but some people don't understand that. How often have you heard someone say, 'If I were her....' or 'I think he should.....' or 'Why don't they.....'? It seems to me that people who say these things or think they know what's going on just by looking at someone, are judging others by their own lives and not imagining beyond themselves to consider what those people might be going through, the experiences they've had in their lives or the situation they may be in which is making them do or not do something.

As a society, we are too quick to jump to conclusions. It would be wonderful if everyone could put themselves in other people's shoes, realise that others are different and that it's a good thing. Maybe it would lead to greater understanding. Life would be boring if we were all the same and did things in the same way. We need to spread love and consideration for all humans ~ and all animals too.

Spread love and consideration for all.

 Speaking of animals, here's a photo of the robin that's been in my garden since the summer. I call him Robbie. Very original! 

He's been joined by another robin recently and as robins aren't meant to tolerate another in their territory, I assume it's a Mrs Robbie. I hope they're happy and we'll be seeing chicks soon. 

Happy Valentine's Day to all. 

Spring, a season of hope and new beginnings

Happy first day of spring! Today is meant to be the first day of a new season, but I think it's begun already. This winter has been so mild that my daffodils are already flowering:

My irises are also out, but something has eaten them. Grrr!! This pink flower has bloomed too, but I haven't got a clue what it actually is. If anyone knows, please feel free to enlighten me. 

Back in history, this day was the festival of Imbolc, a day to celebrate the turning of the seasons, but also a festival of purification or cleansing, possibly with the aim of warding off any harm that might befall ewes, lambs or milk. It celebrated the lambing season and was also a time to check the animals before they were let out after being cooped up for the winter. 

Spring ~ a season of hope and new beginnings

The Irish goddess Brigit was associated with Imbolc as she was the goddess of the dairy, so was an important deity at a time when the milk of ewes was needed. She was also goddess of ale-brewing, poetry, healing and craftworking, which I suppose is a connection to what I do, and quite relevant to me, my work and this blog.

In a rare occurrence, Brigit, who was a Tuatha De Danann, became Christianised as Saint Bridget, whose festival is also celebrated today and she retained her role of dairy protector. 

So, whether Christian or pagan, today is an important day in the year, though we have sadly lost touch with the natural world and don't celebrate the seasons as we used to. It's a time to look forward to longer days, more light and sunnier weather. I don't mind the rain as it's good for the land, but it can be depressing if it rains constantly, like it has for the last couple of months here. It's not that I don't like winter; I love seeing different seasons, different weathers. The variations in colours and light are beautiful and inspiring. The patterns of bare branches, the frost on grass...

I think the problem with January is that after the lights and colours of Christmas are taken down and put away, it seems extremely dull and dark. 

But, although nature is sleeping at this time, colour and life are there if you look for them, like many other things. There are flowers that bloom in winter ~ I have a winter jasmine ~ and others that have bronze or golden foliage to bring brightness to a cloudy day.

Then there are birds. I took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch over the weekend and saw so many feathered beauties! Among them were two robins with their flash of red on their breasts, a blue tit with yellow breast and blue cap and to top it all, fourteen starlings. That was amazing for me. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of them, but this is a picture of a chaffinch that I took as she landed on a branch:

Nature and wildlife can be so relaxing to watch. I felt better after just an hour watching these birds flitting about. When you consider yourself as part of a whole, you feel much more connected.

I think this spring, a season of hope and new beginnings, I'll have to spend at least an hour now and then just watching nature.

Sources of information :

The Celtic Myths A Guide To The Ancient Gods and Legends by Miranda Aldhouse-Green

Exploring The World Of The Druids by Miranda Aldhouse-Green