My Artful weekend

I often promise myself to spend some time pursing my creative bents and most often I do not! This weekend has been an exception. Yesterday I attended an Iconography day workshop, with great anticipation as last year I couldn't get booked onto the Madonna Icon workshop.

I greatly admire many religious iconic paintings, and am always drawn to them for some reason. Duccio's Maesta being one of my favourites and it moved me to tears the last time I saw it in London. It left me deeply affected. I had to sit down as I was overcome with palpitations and light-headedness. I also was similarly affected each time I have visited the La Faruk triptych

in the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, without knowing the amazing history of the paintings.

So armed with my colour copies of these favourites and of a few favoured angel images

thrown in for good luck, I attended with my best sable brushes, palettes and enough enthusiasm I hoped to see me through.

We were given gesso prepared wood panels, fine pages of 24ct gold leaf, size, pigment and egg yoke to make our own egg tempera. Six hours of bliss. No distractions, no phones, kids, computers, demand-less me time! I left with my palette of tempera to finish off 'writing' my icon at home.

Sunday- I finished off the Angel Icon, as I had dreamt about him - Archangel Michael the protector- and his eyes were too modern so I woke up and got out my table easel and completed it to my satisfaction.

I then touched up a watercolour I had been meaning to tidy up for a year.

In our last house I had used one of the greenhouses as my den

unfortunately as the weather cooled the condensation overnight damaged the painting.

I removed all my gear right away and it has been packed up

and so mentally out of reach for sometime. Until this weekend.

It is all now in the conservatory.

At hand. No excuses now. I even started a small painting of one our beloveds.

Barney who passed a few years ago. I wanted to try and do him justice, I have never attempted to paint animals. It's only light and shade after all, but I've started it and there is a likeness,

so now I have a project on the go and l'm all revved up!

...and yes Barney only had one eye!

Hip op'

For all of you who follow Moannie -'The View from this end' here is an update on her progress.

Her hip surgery was Monday. She was aghast at the fact she had to be there for the ungodly hour of 6.30-7AM!! But got there she did. Yesterday was day 2 and I spoke to Dad, aka JP for news last night, as he had visited in the afternoon. He said as she was still rather drugged up with morphine, lucky thing, he said it wasn't worth ringing as she might fall asleep, in a narcoleptic fashion mid sentence.

Today I rang her about an hour ago and she sounded bright and fairly lucid considering!

She is in a lot of pain, but even so she has been walking with supervision. She'll be home in a few days and no doubt she will have much to say to you all soon.

Vintage Fashion Shoot

A couple of months ago I mentioned HERE

that I was relaunching my vintage clothing business

and that my home was rendevouz central for a fashion shoot,

the clothes were sourced from my online shop

for the Christmas fashion feature in the December edition

of our city's glossy magazine Carlisle Living.

It came out yesterday and l'm pretty pleased with it,

if only a little disconcerted that a model is standing

in the middle of the garden conifers,

my conservatory couch is incongruously

(sorry should that read edgey?!) on the wet lawn

and a 'drunken blonde' is badly hovering my living room carpet!

All's fair in love and fashion, I guess!

www.sarasattic.co.uk

if you click twice they will enlarge!

all featured dresses & more available from

or direct from Sara

Keys in the song that is life

The sound is full. Wide. Deep. Generous. Meaningful. Its pulse resonates within me. On several levels. It is a sound which is secure. Protective and comforting. A sound which satisfies. It wraps around me. A cocoon of sound.

A while ago a group of us were talking about our favourite music. I wondered why some pieces of music, a tune. Moves me. Why does it reach into the very core of my being and for no understandable reason it fills me up. Making me catch my breath. I creep inside of myself. I quietly weep.

Perhaps some melodies, tunes or compositions, reach us because the beat is in time with our personal heart beat. Our heartbeat of life. Our own rhythms.

The first piece of classical music I ever really listened to and loved and retained.Was a piano piece. The first classical piece I heard live in concert. Was that same tune. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1. Almost any piece of music which has the piano as its key sound. Talks to me.

I was pondering upon a tune the lovely Erin mentioned in a post. It reminded me that blog posts are sometimes like pieces of music. I am not able to just pop by and read posts. Their rhythms too sustain me. They play with me. Provoking and inspiring.

Why is that? Is there a connection or is it simply the cadence in the words and notes?

...it starts proper about 1m 40secs in!

I don't get it!

I really don't understand the current ritual bullying that is the voting british public's obsession of the moment. Katie Price has attracted criticism, tabloid headlines and vitriol that would be better directed in my opinion on sex offenders rapists, thieves, murderers!

What has the woman done that is so awful? Has she left her children locked in at home, without adult supervision, without food and gone on holiday for a week? No. Has she stolen, lied, wrongly accused?

Is her crime the fact that she spends her own money on pink cars, bling and luxe holidays, botox, boobs and benders. Is her crime the fact that she has seemingly built a multi million £ brand around herself? Is this to protect her from the rejection she appears to expect? From men, her father, her childrens' fathers. A self fulfilling prophecy I suspect.

She may have different values or standards of dress. It may not be to our taste. She may have already found another man to replace Peter in her affections, but she doesn't, like many singletons with children, introduce them to a different uncle every month. She loves her kids and her horses. She works hard, her kids are well looked after. I'm not sure we would ever be friends, we are so different but then all know of her are what the press, magazines and tv spout. So who am I to judge? Who will be next after Kate, we've had Ulrika, Victoria, perhaps Colleen?

In the jungle she has been humiliated day by day by the voting public and it is not pleasant to watch. Tv executives rub their hands with glee, good tv and they don't limit the tasks. She has reportedly been well paid to return to the jungle. She has set herself up for this and 'we' have put her in the stocks and are throwing every disgusting fetid tomato we can find at her. Day after day. I feel ashamed.

A programme that was once funny and interesting to see the characters behind the famous and infamous faces, (isn't George Hamilton sweet?) just like other reality celeb programmes that are I believe wilting under the strain. Big brother is past its sell by date. So is X factor. Even Strictly has its moments of humiliating crushing critique. The jungle is not a place I would go and indulge in these trials, for any money. So I do have a respect for them. But at what cost and what gain? It's the public I am ashamed of. We set these celebs up in their towers and then tear them down again.

It says more about us I suspect than them.

A Rainy Day Out...

On wednesday Larry had a business appointment in Glasgow,

fortuitously I cadged a lift and

I spent the day at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery

A place l've been to several times and I always find it peaceful and stimulating

it can be every busy, but as it was (typically) a rainy day, with gale force winds forecast,

most sensible people stayed home and dry, so I had the place virtually to myself

(click any to enlarge)

sculpture: Queen Victoria welcomes...

Sophy Cave's installation of floating head

juxtaposed wildlife and a WW2 Spitfire

Anna Pavlova, John Lavery

Scottish Painters Room

another quiet, empty corridor

stunning Charles Rennie Mackintosh fireplace

the main hall

more sculpture

as I left the building, the light was fading fast,

the lamps and trees were twinkling through the rain

Name game

Yes another one! Scraping the barrel? Not really. Firstly I have to confess I really don't like the word Meme, unless it's pronounced as the french say it, Meme means the same and is pronounced MEM silent second E!! A me-me as some pronounce it, well I guess is releveant cos these things are all about ME!

Anyhow I stole this one from the fabulous Fhina and the lovely Lime also completed it hilariously and I so refuse to compete with hers as she is a very funny haha heehee lady. I love the way she reads differently into the questions. A rebel quite obviously!

Name Game Meme...

1.Your rock star name (pet, current car)
DOG BERLINGO ( NOT very drugs, sex and more drugs and sex, a shame!)

2.Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)
PAVLOVA PUMP ( sounds rather rude to me)

3.Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal)

PURPLE PEACOCK

4.Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born)
ANN TANKERTON

5.Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name)
WILSA

6.Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
RED GIN ( sounds like a racing horse, apt?)

7.NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers)
JACK MARTIAL

8.Dancer name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) CHANEL CHOCOLAT

9.TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)

CHILD CINCINATTI ( teacher was called Julia Child actually in Montreal)

10.Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
AUTUMN CHRISTMAS ROSE

11.Cartoon name:(favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
RASPBERRY FLIP FLOP (someone has been peeking round that changing room curtain again!)

12.Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
MUESLI BANANA SYCAMORE

13.Movie star name (pet, street where you lived)
PIPPA TURNBERRY or if I have a sex change BUTCH CARLTON

HERE is a link to movie stars and their REAL names, quite fun...