As my working space has shrunk to a small kitchen table, I have cut my (table) cloth accordingly. Thus, the humble post-it note has become my scaled-down sketchbook for the time-being. These images all began with pencil drawings arranged on a grid of post-it notes. Layers have been added to build up images with overlays and digital media. The inspiration comes from the recent landslips on the beach at Praa Sands.
Filed under Digital, Drawings, my sketchbook pages
The streaker in question is Zola whippet. Whilst out enjoying a bit of welcome sunshine on Porth Kidney beach at low tide yesterday afternoon, I was poised to take a picture of the sand pattern when she flashed through the frame just as I was pressing the shutter. Now you see me now you don’t.
I have been collecting photos of beach patterns for many years now. I’m not quite sure why I do it other than it’s what I do. It’s part of my hoarding habit I suppose (which goes with the territory) and I have so many of these images now I could cover a sizable wall with them. In fact, I have just done my annual back-up of the My Pictures folder onto a separate hard drive and discovered there are just shy of 200,000 ‘items’ in the file! I know I should (hate that word) back-up stuff more often but that would be extremely tedious, would it not?
I also take pictures of footprints in the sand and collect handfuls of sand from different beaches and set them in resin just so that I can compare the size of the grains and subtle differences in the colours of ground up rocks and shells.
Prints of Prints
Photos c. 1998, Jersey CI
Lizard Beach Sediments in resin
Even my drawings are arranged in grid formats in order to compare and contrast, like the old style photographic contact sheets that I used to do at college.
Landslips on the beach at Praa Sands, February 2013
I remember being delighted when Kodak started including index sheets in your packet of prints in the days when you had to take your photos to be processed. I now sort my photos into subject folders and eventually, they begin to take on new meanings as collections of ideas.
making the borders for the quilt
testing the layout
I think this is why making a quilt for baby Rose was so satisfying as it shares the same principles: a selection of similar materials gathered and arranged in a grid format.
The post has arrived and no messages of love for me today (though I did get a special text message)!
a sign in the sand
If you look hard enough you often find signs in nature that capture your imagination and make you believe that they were meant for you as a personal symbol. Sometimes I will ask for a sign to confirm some sort of question I am pondering. I discovered this beautiful rock lying in the sand whilst walking the dogs with David on Praa Sands last week. At first glance I thought it might be a lump of gabbro or schist from the Lizard, but on closer inspection we both agreed it was definitely some sort of sedimentary rock.
Anyway, I was struck by the wonderfully architectural shape of it: arrow head; chevron; heart shape; directional pointer; signal; depending on which way round you looked at it. I had a bit of fun with the image in the ‘Mobile’ Sketchbook app on my phone.
looking ahead
boomerang
Happy Valentine
If you seek you shall find the messages we need from nature. For today, it is the heart shape that I send (and receive) with all my love. x.
Filed under Digital, my sketchbook pages
In a moment of weakness I stopped making art and suspended my practice for 6 years. This blog shows my attempt to get my professional practice back on track, sharing impulses, visual notes and things that tease my mind or catch my eye. A gradual process of peeling away the skin to reach the core of my creativity.
eco-soul : the ecological imagination
Home of Anna Wess, Writer & Ghost Chaser
a vision quest for peace
All over the world, every day, heritage sites, artefacts, skills and traditions are being damaged or lost through war, neglect, development, vandalism, theft or natural disasters. The Heritage Trust aims to focus on some of these issues, as well as highlighting many of the success stories in the fields of archaeology, conservation and historical research. If you have concerns for our heritage, or just a story to tell about it, please let us know by leaving a comment or contacting us at - info@theheritagetrust.org
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day by day photography
The Journal has been maintained since March 2005 to promote awareness and the conservation of the incomparable but often-threatened prehistoric sites of Britain, Ireland and beyond.
An arts based environmental practice and research for a deepening appreciation
Wet geographies, fluid art practice
Coastalwalker.co.uk - walking around the British coastline, very SLOWLY.
