Another weekend is over and the house is silent apart from the sound of me munching my way through a second batch of homemade Jammie Dodgers (even though I tried to trap them in this dome). Worryingly this picture got more attention on my Instagram and Facebook pages than any artwork I've posted recently, maybe I should start drawing biscuits? Or just go and work in a bakery and knock all this art nonsense on the head! Anyway, I even switched the radio off today and just opened up the sliding doors to enjoy the birdsong... sunshine at last.
And so with the sunshine comes my annual attempt at consistent cyanotype print making. I'd already messed up on the one sunny day last week so I recoated the paper and tried to be more scientific ( setting my phone's stopwatch and then forgetting it was on silent). The results were fun; adding another layer to the pale. washed out print underneath. Then I coated some more paper and of course the sun went in; seems I will have to get a proper exposure unit set up if I want to keep doing this, it's just too hit and miss relying on Northern sunlight.
Still, in the moments when I'm not banging my head on the table in despair, I'm thinking about ideas for BCTF and wrestling with the sewing machine because I want to make silk things and the corners are impossible! This week I also discovered the Cumbrian Printmakers group who have a Kickstarter campaign to open a studio space not too far from here. They also do group exhibitions and events so I'm hoping they meet their target so maybe I can do some etching or screen printing in the future. At the moment they're looking for the person furthest away from Cumbria to back them ( just a pound ) ... could it be you?
The landscape is changing colour almost daily and the little black Herdwick lambs now have white spectacles as they start to get their grown up coats, they look so funny and a little bit naughty. This weekend was spent well away from water and canoes... we climbed Robinson again and picnicked on homemade cheese and rocket bread, hot spicy apple drinks and those addictive Jammie Dodgers. The previous evening we'd had a bit of a horrific sheep incident when Rupert and his friend discovered a big fat Swaledale hanging at an improbable angle from its spindly leg, which was trapped in a tree root on the bank side. He got the saw and managed to cut it free ( the root not the sheep's leg!) but it was clearly snapped like a twig; poor thing (although it hobbled off when I lifted it to it's feet). A neighbour called the farmer but he didn't come that night...or the next. Now in the old days, when I was naive and trusted people I would have called again ... but my experience with aggressive farmers in Snilesworth, who hate you just for being there, have scarred me for life and I'm just hoping they've taken it today.
In happier nature news Mrs Frazzle has two little chicks now ... one hatched so late that I almost threw the egg away thinking it was a dud but it turned out to be a really sweet black and white chick (and they both have smooth feathers thank goodness so fingers crossed they're not cockerels!)Other happy news is the fabulous graduation of my wonderfully amazing daughter who managed to get it all together for her final illustration project.It was nail biting at times as she perfected the techniques and ideas but I think the work is beautiful and thoughtful and the message behind it is really important. The exhibition is on at UWE, Bower Ashton, Bristol until June 11th and then at Free Range in London on the 25th. Well done Sara.