New Beginnings

Well, it seems my post regarding a spiritual free for all, was timely. That was very tongue in cheek but I like it so will leave it in.

This is also a long meander about how this weekend has made me look at myself and my work in a whole new light. So…

I thought I would share.

I know what we ‘Arty’ types can be like, and people like to find out what makes an artist tick. Have you ever wondered about Damon Hurst and his sharks? Well, I have, and whilst I don’t ‘like’ them, I understand the concept and why it is that someone like him, who can actually paint, created something like this. It is a similar thing that drove me to photograph my (dead) cockerels, hung and ready to dress, and then paint them in all their glory ‘impressionist style’.

If that is a step too far for you then feel free to leave now I won’t be offended but it’s a bit nicer from here on in.

On Friday I got a message asking if my girls & I would like to join Kate and her daughter at an event at the Global Retreat Centre in Oxford. My girls have been itching to meet Kate’s daughter and I like Kate a lot & have heard of the place before, but never quite managed to get there. So of course we said yes.  Have to include a link to share this wonderful place http://www.globalretreatcentre.org/

Friday afternoon came and Morgan had her bees to tend, so Rowan & I went off to get Pizza (not homemade/big treat) and a family film. We have a lovely evening but the girls were so very excited, it took them ages to go to sleep.

The actual event itself was fabulous, and the setting was magical. For the first time in a while, I felt I was somewhere I could just ‘Be’. There were so many things for the children to do, trees which begged to be climbed and swings, hammocks, grass mazes… I could go on. The lovely Marneta from Relax Kids was there, and the activities she provided enchanted many of the children. Unfortunately, my two wanted to explore, run free and really appreciate the amount of clear, free, beautiful space we were in. So it looks like I’ll be popping over to http://www.relaxkids.com/ to buy CD’s so the girls can enjoy the meditations at home,  and I got to meet Shelley from http://www.littlesignersclub.co.uk/ who I have tweeted with so it was lovely to actually meet her and her girls.

As the day wore on, Kate mentioned the Cellist playing, she really wanted to listen to him and children being what they are, ours didn’t want to go. So Kate, Shelley & her gorgeous girls went to be calm, relaxed and enjoy the music while I took ours on a trek.

We became explorers, through trees, up and down windy, secret (not really) paths, finding a new delight around every corner. It is a Capability Brown Landscape after all, and I was not disappointed. We rounded a corner to a covered clearing, where children were mock sword fighting with branches. It did look like fun until one of the boys started to whack a tree with a rather large branch. Before I could say anything, as 1, our 3 girls, (led by the 5 year old) stormed over shouting at him to stop and telling him that is not how we treat nature! I was so very proud of those little eco-warriors. We stayed with this new bunch of children for a while, as they all found their feet & introduced themselves. Then off we went, as the main mediation was about to begin.

This is where I truly had my eyes opened. I have always believed I meditated with my eyes closed or using some form of knot work or labyrinth pattern, I have a fab little app on my phone which has a mediation ball on it, I’ll try and find a link for it before I post this…. oh distracted …. Part way through, I could hear children playing loudly. Worried it may have been mine, I left Kate to go and check it out. Luckily, it was only one of mine, and some other people’s children  When I got our three together we decided it would be a great idea to explore the secret garden. ( Particularly as Rowan had just thrown herself down a hill on a tree rope swing thing. Bless.)

That part of the garden was actually magical, the girls had a marvellous time playing hide & seek and I felt like I had walked into Alice in Wonderland. It was almost a shame when Kate found us and it as time to make our way home. I won’t bore you with the rest, 3 tired excited happy girls fuelled up with stuff I won’t admit to feeding them here ;p and Rowan  did not run out of steam until about 10 o’clock. (Sorry K &L)

Back to my new beginnings.

wooden clock

With the introduction to the ‘Mediation for the World’ came this advice, to do the mediation with your eyes open. As the meditation began, I realised I have been doing this for a while, I just hadn’t recognised what I was doing. It has profoundly affected my point of view regarding any natural healing talent I have but also the way in which I produce, not only my work, but the art I make for my own purposes. I am often driven to make an image/item for reasons I cannot always put my finger on though the reason becomes evident at some stage. I have painted trees on my walls, (I did one for a friend 6 years ago and she paints round it still) and in the girl’s room, I love those fleeing shining summer visitors like the Mayfly, lacewing etc and have always felt an affinity with Trees. It is no coincidence my youngest is named after one of my favourite trees.  It may well be the reason I struggled against my tutors in the past, the reason I could never take money to push large brands when I know, because I bother to research, the working practices of that company are far worse than any human being has any right to expect.

The clock in the post picture, I made in a reaction to my job as a Warehouse Manager in the automotive industry, it reminded me there needs to be balance. I know some people disagree, and that makes it right for them. But for me the balance of time ticking past and the, the use of Runes rather than modern numbers and the inclusion of bound pentacles along with elements from nature had a calming effect on me before and after a busy day. Plus I love working with wood

I work with my gut instincts because when I don’t, it isn’t right. I have rituals I go through before I even start a piece of work, and there are certain things which must be ‘just so’ before I make that first mark. That first mark was the bane of my life until I got a decent drawing master. Iain Lowe was the best thing to ever happen to my work, and I shall tell him so next time I see him

Anyway after a lovely ramble, I have now got to a point where I have defined my practice to the point I am happy to offer my service to people because my ethic will not allow me to give people what they do not need or want and I have enough about me to turn down work I should not take on. Not out of hand, you understand, more of a ‘this person could do this for you better than I’ kind of way. So if you contact me regarding work and I say it’s not my field, then be assured that I am being honest and trying to do you a favour. My moral grounding and ethics towards my fellow human beings, will not allow me to do otherwise. That said, now I have time to do produce some pieces of art, they will have my heart & soul poured into them, they will have meaning and will be beautiful.

If you are still here, then thank you for reading

Love & light

Shelly

Lest we Forget – Real Heroes, all of them!

With the Japanese Skilled Veteran Corps in the news, http://bouhatsusoshi.jp/english and all the other troubles the world faces,  I got to thinking about how lucky we are as species. There are heroes the world over and they are usually ordinary people making extraordinary choices, in what are (mostly) very unusual circumstances.

I bow to the Skilled Veteran Corps with humility and gratitude, for it is not only their own nations people who are at risk here, but potentially the human race in it’s entirety. None of us know the true extent of future problems a nuclear disaster may cause. But these people do know the risk they are taking and are choosing to do it anyway.

Let us never forget those people, whose names we may never know, who have been somehow instrumental in changing our world for the better when no one else could or would want to. This led me to thinking about the following work I produced, which was a tribute to unknown heroes, I only hope the world will see fit to make sure there is a truly memorable tribute to these Skilled Veteran Corps in the future. 

As a proud supporter of Our Troops, I was inspired by a visit to RAF Cosford, to produce something that, for me, had some resonance with the actual people involved in the workings and history of these amazing planes. The High profile airmen are most often those acknowledged  individually but those folks who kept things going & working deserve to be recognised too.

This is my way of saying, “I see what you did, for me, mine, ours, and I appreciate it. Thank you!”

This is a piece I made using mono bock printing techniques with some, wax, Q-tips and white spirit thrown in the mix.

I made this after a visit to RAF Cosford http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/ a great place to visit, with or without children.

There are all manner of flying machines and other historical military vehicles. The thing that stayed with me most though, was the sheer volume of rivets/welds on the aircraft displayed. It really put into context how much use these planes must have had, how much damage, and how ingenious the human race is. the pattern was so random, as the replacement panels must have been, I felt an ode to the Riveters & Welders was in order.

rivets like bullet holes