Posted by Dear loves
I have always been inspired by the nostalgic and this month I introduced vintage ephemera, such as sewing patterns, postcards, sheet music and dictionary pages into my work. Working with these papers has led me down the path of mixed media, finding ways of mixing paper craft with textiles…
I am absolutely loving the inclusion of paper collage in my work and I have started a couple of art journals, which will document and showcase my experiments.
I have also developed a way of transferring these papers to fabric, which means that I can now marry the nostalgic and vintage with hand printed fabric and embroidery in my textile work. June Scroll of the Year reflects my arrival at this place in the evolution of my work…
The call of a wood pigeon is a sound that stops me in my tracks. It transports me straight to the woods and calms my nervous system. It is also a sound that lives in the happy place where my two cultures join. Just like the smell of wood smoke, it simultaneously takes me to the English and Kenyan countryside, evoking memories of playing under tall trees as a child on a family friend’s farm in Embu, Kenya and walking in the woods with my kids near Dunster, England. Bliss.
I turned 53 in June! I struggle to celebrate myself on my birthday but that’s ok. I do feel proud of those numbers though. 53 and still going. 53 and still hopeful. 53 and still trying. That’s enough for me.
Quietly Yours, by Birdy is my jam. Every time I hear this love song, I stop and allow myself to feel what comes up. It takes me to my core, to a place where I am reminded that life is about loving and being loved. That includes self-love, therefore ‘Quietly Mine’ makes sense too. I feel a deep sense of joy that I am here and I am alive AND it is tinged with a beautiful pain, part yearning, part grieving. This song takes me to the thin line between life and loss.
My beautiful friend Jenny is so precious to me. She is like the sunshine in the fable of the sun and the wind. She knows I can’t be pushed into things and therefore she sometimes gently nudges me towards something she knows I love to do when I have put a mental obstacle in my own way. In June, she gently coaxed me into Hampstead Heath Ladies’ Pond. Thank you sweet Jen. The delight and calm after a swim stays with me all day. And breathe…
Talking of delight, here are some details of the background collage:
Thank you for letting me share June’s delights and moments with you.
Sending love and warmth – all the love but not too much warmth, it’s flipping hot in the UK at the moment!
Lu xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
