Month: March 2020

Something to Read: More Favourite Blogs.

the creative life

The scale of changes since this time last year is something I’m still struggling to take in. But, despite everything that Covid 19 is doing to us, spring is coming, growth is beginning, and flowers are blooming.

At a time when most of us expect to be enjoying the outdoors, we’re having to occupy ourselves indoors. So this may be a good time to share more of the blogs I enjoy reading.

Last week’s post with my recommendations for WordPress blogs didn’t allow space for all of my favourites (some of which are not on WP). If you have time to fill, I hope you’ll find some of these enjoyable. They are all art and creative-themed blogs, which I find both engaging and inspiring.

The first two blogs I want to mention have similar themes of artists’ books, textile art, and print. Stephanie Redfern shares her richly-layered work which combines a number of elements including fabric collage and her very delicate pieces of porcelain. Scroll down to the middle of her second post on ‘Books’ and you’ll see the beautiful pages Stephanie created with porcelain ginkgo biloba leaves and moths, along with her own poem.

The work of Annwyn Dean appeals to me greatly because it combines printmaking and artist’s books with great detail and delicacy. I had hoped to see Annywn’s work at the Turn the Page Artists’ Book Fair in Norwich in May – well, maybe next year!

I also find Stephanie Devaux Textus a most enjoyable blog to look at. (It’s written in french, but it is mostly photographs and Google translate takes care of what text there is.) It’s a lovely mix of book art, calligraphy and some textile art – worth a look!

There’s plenty of good reading, as well as beautiful mixed-media and textile art art on Rachael Singleton’s ‘Folio and Fibre’  (Scroll down the page and you’ll see her ‘Mussel House’ – a piece with the most delicious colours and textures.)

My final recommendation is a bit different to the others because it’s mostly about painting. But it also has a lot to say about every aspect of creativity and it’s one of the most helpful and inspiring sites I’ve ever come across – Nicholas Wilton’s ‘Art2Life’ blog. As a photographer, I’ve found what Nick has to say very useful and you never know, maybe I’ll actually try painting some day. (He runs courses for artists but is very generous with the free teaching he gives through Facebook and through his blog.)

I hope that you’ll find something interesting amongst the blogs here that will keep you entertained for a while. Stay home and stay safe!

The Joys of Blogging: And a Thank-You

the creative life

This week I had a very welcome surprise when I discovered that Liz at Exploring Colour  had included me in her list of ‘Blogger Recognition Awards’. I’m delighted, because the friendships I’ve made through blogging mean a lot to me and it’s lovely to feel that I’ve been accepted as part of this community. So thank you Liz!

I started this blog not quite two years ago, in the hope that it would help me get back to my photography after a few years of being distracted from it. (If you’d like, you can read more about the story behind my blog in my very first post .) It has worked well for that, because I have to get on and take photos for my posts. But there’s been a side to blogging that I hadn’t expected – the warm and encouraging community.

In appreciation for the enjoyment and camaraderie of the blogging world, I’d like to pass on the award to some of my favourite blogs.

Along with Liz, there are several bloggers that I met in the early months of my blog. Shelly at Love is Stronger writes with great kindness and compassion but one of my favourites on her blog is her delightful cartoon slugs. (And that’s coming from a keen gardener!)

I’ve been reading Digital Lady Syd’s Fun Photoshop Blog for a long time before I started my own blog and I’ve learned a lot about Photoshop and other photo-editing programs from her. There’s a huge amount of very generously given expertise on this blog, so I can recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to make the most of their photographs.

At the moment, while we’re all having to stay close to home for the sake of everyone’s health, it’s nice to be able to see other places through blogs. I enjoy Jill Slawit’s sharing of the Yorkshire countryside on Where There’s a Jill There’s a Way and this woodland walk feels like an escape from present worries about the coronavirus. This is a great time to explore the world through the blogosphere!

Travel further afield features in Petra Koster’s blog. You can see some of her beautiful photography in this post about seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland. It’s ideal reading if you’re feeling a bit cooped-up!

You won’t be surprised that plants and gardens feature on many of my favourite blogs. Susan Rushton’s blog is a great escape for garden-lovers. Why not immerse yourself in the quirky ‘Giant Houseplant Takeover’ at Wisley in Susan’s review here. Or you can travel to Texas with Linda Leinen’s Lagniappe and perhaps take a look at the wonderful display of bluebonnets and other spring flowers – sure to lift your spirits! And the hellebores on Phao Hewitson’s ‘A Blog of Two Gardens’ are a joy to see. For inspiration and ideas for planting your garden, head over to Ali’s beautiful blog at The Mindful Gardener. Her flowers are gorgeous and you’ll end up with a huge ‘to buy’ list of plants! (I have anyway…)

It’s interesting too, to see the different wildlife that comes into gardens around the world – like the black kites in Indira’s garden on her blog, ‘My Third Eye’. There is more wonderful bird photography on Birder’s Journey – I’ve never seen anything as amazingly colourful as this little Painted Bunting.

Nature is the inspiration for Steve Gingold’s beautiful photography which you can find on his blog. If you haven’t seen it before, you really must! (And, if I’m honest, I’ll have to admit to being a bit envious of this gorgeous photograph of a trillium.)

These are just a few of the blogs that I enjoy reading. It would be easy to create an exceedingly long post with many more blogs! They’re especially important at the moment, both as a chance to see beyond the confines of my own home and as a chance to develop friendships at a time when we need to be physically isolated from those around us.

To those mentioned above – thank you for the happiness your blogs bring. Please don’t feel under any obligation to take part in these awards if you don’t want to! But do know that it is a recognition of the pleasure and friendship your blog creates. (Something so valuable right now!)

If you would like to pass on your own Blogger Recognition Awards, then these are the instructions:

  1. Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
  2. Write a post to show your award.
  3. Give a brief story of how your blog started.
  4. Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
  5. Select up to fifteen bloggers you want to give this award to.
  6. Comment (or pingback) on each blog to let them know that you’ve nominated them and provide a link to the post you’ve created.

Oh yeah, I was supposed to pass on a couple of bits of advice for new bloggers – as a less than two-year-old blogger myself…hehe! In that case, I’ll say (a) just relax and be yourself, because blogging is about people in the end and (b) enjoy the company of other bloggers – comment and get involved – because that is the best part of blogging for me.

Freckled Hellebore-4869

Oranges and Lemons: Daffodils

flower photography, garden photography

Rich oranges and lemon-yellows make these daffodils a brilliant and delightful welcome to spring. The flowers in these photographs are growing on a wide, grassy bank in front of the houses here and they’re a sight I look forward to every year. (And a lovely greeting to everyone who passes by on their way into the town.)

A mass of brightly-coloured daffodils.

This year I think we all need as much optimism and good cheer as we can find while our minds are full of worries about the coronavirus. I’ve certainly felt lucky over the past few days to be able to escape into the garden and enjoy the peace and calm of being surrounded by the plants I’m working with.

The emerging flowers, new spring growth, and the increasing warmth of the sun are a comfort and allow some respite from the serious side of life. A small thing, maybe, but anything that increases our well-being right now must be good.

The daffodils seem to be bringing their own little bit of sunshine and exuberance to help lift our spirits – right when we need it.

Close-up of a yellow and orange daffodil.

Tricky Manoeuvres: Hellebore Photography

flower photography, garden photography

I’ve been waiting for a chance to take photographs of these hellebores for a while. At last the weather has become calmer. The wind has died down again and there have even been a few dry spells.

It felt good to get back outside into the garden with my camera and I was relieved to see that the rough weather hadn’t harmed the flowers.

But actually getting into a good position to photograph them was going to be a bit tricky. At the best of times it can be awkward to get close enough to low-growing plants, especially when the ground has become too much of a swampy mess to kneel on. Hellebores make it even more difficult by insisting on hanging their beautiful little heads down. You have to practically get to worm’s eye-level if you want to see them.

Luckily for me, there was a stack of bags of compost nearby and I was able to drag one over and lie down on it to get my photographs. Having one elbow firmly wedged against a big plant pot helped to make sure that I didn’t take a nose-dive into the mud.

All this makes me realise that I may have to change the arrangement of some of the garden borders. Far too many of the smaller plants are positioned quite far into the border, so that you really need to get right into the border to photograph them. Without standing on the other plants. Or getting jabbed by something prickly. Or even sitting down unexpectedly in the mud! Hmm, this may need a bit of thought…

Dark Hellebore 4833

Winter Irises

flower photography, garden photography

It’s particularly vile outside at the moment. Right now we have high winds and sideways rain and there was even some short-lived snow earlier in the week. So it’s comforting to know that the early flowers have survived, despite the weather’s attempts to shred them.

I photographed these irises a few days ago, in a dry and sunny gap in the stormy weather. (The weather forecast is my friend! I keep an eye on it to know when I must dash outside and photograph flowers before they are ruined.)

These fragile-looking flowers are iris unguicularis – had to check the spelling of that one – otherwise known as ‘Algerian winter iris’.

The plant was given to me by a generous neighbour and has slowly got itself established in a sunny border. It’s a plant that grows wild in Mediterranean countries and likes dry and sunny sites, so is well-suited to our hot and thirsty garden. (But the present heavy rain is unlikely to please it.)

There have been a good number of flowers this year, with a couple of buds still waiting to open. That is a good improvement over the previous years, when there were only three or four flowers and I thought the plant wasn’t too happy where it was. I’ve read that this iris flowers better as the clump gets older and more congested, so I’m looking forward to good displays in years to come…and a good reason to be outside on a wintry day with my camera.

Iris unguicularis 4766
Iris unguicularis aka Algerian winter iris