You could follow the arrow that says "Starling Dodd" and find "Witchmountain" there in the trees; the last house on the mountain and goodness it's really felt like it lately - the last house on the way up but the first for the wind to hammer as it crashes down the valley. The outline of these hills has always made me think of sleeping dragons and I think one woke up during those Named Storms, it wasn't happy to be disturbed. Part of the lane has washed away and various bits of the house leaked - are leaking- (because as I mentioned last time, this is a Jumblie's Sieve kind of a place) but it's quiet now, the heating boiler is fixed and I'm trying to be less like Bill Nighy's Mr Woodhouse in Emma, constantly anxious about draughts.The picture above was taken from the top of Catbells last weekend. We set out in brightness and blue sky, with packed lunch and flasks of hot Ribena, only to be ambushed by vicious hail storms which I'm hoping will have the same effect as an expensive microdermabrasion treatment. The snowdrops are still hanging in there, leggy and battered but it's nearly daffodil time and hopefully a there's a gentle Spring on the way for all those places so badly affected by the floods.Now that I've talked about the weather I have to try and order my thoughts; what to say? What to leave out? What to paint a brighter shade so that I sound like a misery? I think a lot about writing (when I'm not writing) and art (when I'm not ... doing it) and what I think, often, is that anyone who tries to make a living by their imagination and creativity, or even just lets their words or images out into the wild with no thought of financial gain, is pretty damn brave, or crazy, because there are Other People out there and they have Opinions. I remember thinking this when I went to a book event in London a while ago, the brave and fearless authors who'd spent months alone with their writing, had to come out before a crowd to pitch their books to us (the booksellers) and then there would be critics, then sales figures and then the pot holed path towards a new book. It's the same for all artists who make a thing in private and then offer it up like a slippery newborn for inspection. You don't get to just go home, switch off and watch Eastenders after a day at work, it's always there, it is you.
If that all sounds a bit too heavy and serious it's only because I'm in a thinking mood after I was interviewed this week by a lovely woman from a local magazine. Little old me in my studio (for studio read kitchen table). I've never been interviewed in person about my work before, so of course I felt like an utter fraud, a slightly batty hermit; naturally the cat popped in and out with a dead vole and true to form I rambled, over shared (possibly) and only remembered what I should have said after she'd gone. I'll let you know if it makes the editorial cut, I hope so despite my shyness.So what should I have said? What is the right way to behave? Up sell, up speak and always look in control? You see I still feel as though some honesty is vital. What use is it to anyone if the picture of "life up a mountain making art" is airbrushed in such a way that other people misunderstand and possibly fall down the same pot holes, I have a duty to put metaphorical cones out!What's real today...*It took me 3 hours to light the fire so I've done no creative work , have a coal dust moustache and if there's a power cut we're stuffed because I used all the candles (ran out of fire lighters)*I'm realising that because my prints take ages to make I sell them too cheaply.*Sometimes I just want to read a book and eat crumpets instead.*Self promotion is so hard and feels like being everything you were brought up not to be.
Anyway, that's the end of the soul searching section, except to say that while I was talking to Ellie I realised that I became most passionate whilst talking about other people's work and businesses, it definitely feels more comfortable. We also talked about the solitude needed, in my case at least, to come up with ideas and inspiration, but that doesn't mean isolation. The support of (and for) others is vital. This week although I've seen no one I've felt absolutely lifted and supported by my slowly growing network of creative friends who all face similar days when the fire (literal or creative) won't light and their muse has gone missing. You're all amazing.
Hey look! I did a mug shot! This is so rare and I'm squirming a bit but here I am, only a slightly airbrushed startled rabbit. The finished "big" versions of The Ugly Duckling and The Secret Garden which I'd done for Elspeth Tavacci arrived the other week. Elspeth is working on making a version of The Secret Garden which will work as one of her, Purple Pomegranate, card books but these are the Story House versions, designed for teaching English as a foreign language. The books have all sorts of activities in the back such as word searches and creative writing prompts as well as vocabulary notes throughout which I hadn't expected , it really is nice to see the finished thing all printed and real.
This was one of my favourite pages ...
Anyway, I have just 5 copies but I could spare one, so I thought maybe I could do a giveaway like I used to in the Olden Blog Days? Is that still a thing? To enter just visit my website and let me know in the comments below which is your favourite card so I can include it with the book (if you sign up to the newsletter too that 's an extra entry - and if you buy a card you are a hero). I'll pick a winner at random at the end of March so that the winner can read the book before the new film comes out on April 10th!This is my current favourite and I'm thinking of getting myself a pea green boat if it doesn't stop raining soon. Good luck x
Reading : "Here in the Real World" by Sara Pennypacker. I love a good children's book and this one - admittedly chosen at first for its cover by Jon Klassen - is turning out to be about all the things I love, gardens, friendship, nature and finding a space to become yourself.Listening to " The Toyshop" by Robert Dinsdale and the theme song to The Detectorists by Johnny Flynn [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDunLPWD2Xw&w=560&h=315]
March is upon us; the wheel is turning again, creaking at first as the brave new buds appear but before you know it we'll be rushing headlong towards summer and taking it all for granted. Do you ever wish you could slow it down, press pause at a certain point; the first snowdrops maybe, or bluebell time? In melancholy mood I want to savour every moment, my 50th spring; when you put it like that each new season has a greater value - how many times will I see the wild garlic or the willow flowers?- and I know I'm so lucky to live in a place where those seasonal signposts are a daily joy. My dad recently told my brother he had lost his feeling for where he was in the year, unsure if it was snowdrop time yet, since moving from the farm to the town and so spending less time outside. As for me, I've been in the next door garden this week, discovering the Victorian "Barley Twist" edges of the lawn which I doubt have been seen for years under the overgrown borders and tumbled rockeries. The garden isn't mine, it has strange plants that I don't recognise and it makes me miss "home" and my own lost garden again, but it's a haven and I'm glad of it. I'm never happier than when I'm lost in a garden.
Apart from my occasional trips in to the garden, to gather sticks or hack through the undergrowth, I've been busy with all sorts of odd BCTF preparations, whilst wrestling with guilt trips about my lack of a regular income. I call myself so many mean names before I've even got out of bed that it's not surprising confidence is low... but so far I'm managing to meet all the targets I've set for myself, new work is happening every day, spread sheets, catalogues and even the odd drawing are being created and I'm starting to really look forward to April.
One useful thing I discovered whilst filling in last month's sections of The Makers Business Toolkit planner was that many of the people who buy from me via my Etsy shop or Facebook are people who have followed Witchmountain in one way or another for a long time. I really love that I feel as though I've known some of you for years, what would I do without you?! But, in trying to train myself to be more businesslike, I realise that I need to reach new people too; BCTF will hopefully do that but I wonder how else to do it? I've made a little survey just for fun and it would be great if you could take the time to fill it in , it's multiple choice, anonymous and very quick. Thank you.
Now the night has crept upon me and the fire has got low, it's time to think about sleeping and talk to the cat about her plans for the evening; it's raining outside but I don't want waking up at 4am by beast scratching at the bedroom door like a demon.
Reading: "Dip" by Andrew FusekPeters Listening To: "Dead in the Boot" elbowWebsite: Wooden-boy the arty adventures of musician Sycamore Sykes, including my favourite greetings card of the moment for book lovers and introverts everywhere :)
This week I am practicing the philosophy and art of hygge, or gezellig if you want an even harder word to pronounce, because its definitely Autumn now and the average temperature in this house during the day (even with the stove on) is 16-18℃. I'm creating the illusion of warmth and coziness by building a nest in my little room and wrapping up in a friendly old, orange wool blanket.It's silly that my fingers are so cold and it's not even winter yet but I can warm them up by slipping my hands under the laptop, which is on my knee like a hot water bottle.I've been driven a little bit mad by technology lately and the fact that I now have a computer that is so out of date the browser won't even load Wikipedia (I'm keeping my fingers crossed Wordpress stays as it is) and an iPhone with a splodgy camera lens and a battery life shorter than a goldfish's memory (since it updated to ios10 it lasts about an hour). These are actually tools of my trade so I really need to think about investing in replacements but built in obsolescence infuriates me; constant software upgrades and "improvements" never seem to be worth it and always seem like a plot to force sales but maybe I'm the problem; reaching a point where I'm resistant to change and all fuzzy in the head from lack of brain stimulation. The thought of setting up a new computer makes me feel exhausted so I struggle on with Hot-water-bottle-Mac and Goldfish Phone and may as well be using a Box Brownie and a ZX81...besides I can't afford it just now.
After I finished writing the last blog post I was so wide awake that I ended up watching old TV programmes on You Tube (which I never do) until 3am, before reading in bed until 4. The thing I watched was "The Moon Stallion" which was a BBC childrens' TV series from 1978. I was on my own in the house that night, curled up by the fire watching something from my childhood- ultimate gezellig. I was struck by how much it had affected me at the time - when I was 11 and living in Wiltshire not far from the places in the story. It was slightly spooky. I think I was terribly serious and geeky about it when I was 11 which must have been either funny or annoying for my family, so watching it now I cringed a little in memory of my younger self and I wondered how a child of 11 would feel about it today; apart from a slightly cheesy fight scene it had aged quite well and will always be important to me, perhaps because it was part of a year that marked the almost imperceptible "beginning of the end" of childhood. I remember being taken to see the White Horse at Uffington and Wayland's Smithy and frightening myself by trying to climb the steep grassy banks... it's an amazing place where it's easy to believe in magic. I've been back several times over the years and even took my children there, one hot summer day, to spin around 3 times in the horse's eye (don't tell English Heritage).
You can see a little etching I did from around about that time in this post from 2012. I can see the etching from where I sit and the house does look so much like "home".Meanwhile in another century a woman on the cusp of 50 draws galloping white horses and lonely bears surrounded by papery flowers and wonders where the time went. You can see a little etching I did from around about that time in this post from 2012. I can see the etching from where I sit and the
I've been slowly adding more pictures to my Artfinder shop as well as listing some new Winter Snow Bears cards on Etsy which are selling really well so THANK YOU to everyone who has ordered so far. It really is true that "Just a Card" can make a big difference - not just financially but by boosting confidence too, making it so much easier when people ask "what do you do". I've been baking too, making this stupidly delicious Ginger Crunch slice from the recipe given to me by Lucia's in Grasmere. More addictive than crack but hopefully better for you, despite the butter and sugar, it makes me feel happy when I eat it because it reminds me that some people are kind and generous and friendly in a world that isn't always so ( also a lot of these people seem to live in the Lake District). However I will soon be too enormous to fit in my wetsuit so I may have to learn self control.
I hope you are feeling gezellig where ever you are. Until next time x