Morning October, you wet and wild thing you!

Thank you everyone for joining in with September's words - a lovely mix of photos and stories, thank you for sharing :)

Words for October? Well, inspired by the weather over the last few days I thought I would ask friends for the first word that came to their minds - and these are the results!

Umbrella

Wet

Puddles

Overflowing

Splash

My own Choice

We will reconvene end of the month Thursday 31st October 

to show and share our stories and photos.

I will be even more quiet on the blogging front leading up to TAM19, as it is proving to be the busiest yet. We are barely running to keep up, but with the help of a newly drafted in unflappable and reliable friend, we already have noticed the difference.

Please don't worry about the 'radio silence' - no need to email and check 'if I am alright' because I am :D my energies are elsewhere and loving it! And if you really really feel the need to see what I am up to you can find me here and here!

Until we next meet - have a lovely month and hopefully the weather near you is a little kinder than it has been here :)

The scent of tea

There is a gentle stream of sunlight warming the back of my left hand.
My fingers are brittle cold despite me being wrapped up and as I pour hot water into my mug, the steam fills the air with tendrils and curls of damp vapour.

The studio fills with the scent of tea ... a sweet ethereal perfume that swirls around my head. I am grateful I can finally catch the aroma - I have been 'wearing' a slight but irritating cold with a lingering cracked throat voice and 'on-the-edge-of-a-sneeze' tingling nose. Enough now - please.

I have a list looking at me - not as long as it has been, but never the less - a list that requires doing and doing now .... preferably yesterday.

I tried to soften the impact, make it look less demanding by practicing my faux calligraphy. All it has served is my need to improve my hand-lettering and to accentuate how soon we all have to be ready for TAM18. One week to go.

A raft of new artists, new to the village, new to the event, will need cossetting, shepherding and directing - making sure that what we supply is as promised and what they supply is as promised too. We have have been let down before and it reflects on the event(us) rather than just the artist.

That sunshine I mentioned earlier? Gone. Fortunately my mug of tea is providing what that ray of light did not manage - warmer hands.

Going back to the scent of tea - I struggled to give that smell a description - I could have used words like grass or floral, earthy or leafy - none felt right. Tea often imparts the scent of things which influenced the mother plant's surroundings - the soil, the rain, the climate - the way it is processed and finally how it was stored. However, it is a scent that, like freshly brewed coffee or newly baked bread - is delicious and seared in my memory.

Tea drunk, blog post waffled, list temporarily ignored postponed -

Have a good weekend x

My pip-grown 12 year old avocado tree.

He lives outside during the summer,

returning home for the winter where he snuggles up against the radiator ...

Cossetted plant ...

Bitter winds blow

Today we awoke to a blanket of snow

and not to a particularly warm blanket

accompanied with a bitter wind.

Drifts up to our knees in parts of the garden.

Somehow

having a coat of powdery white

makes the mundane

see extraordinarily beautiful

Seed heads 

become otherworldly.

Other garden paraphenalia

become coated

appear hawkish

feel raw

overcome.

I knew this second icy blast was on her way

but still...

she is bitter,

sending a chilling howl around the house

and down the chimney.

In defiance - we went out

and despite floundering in the hip-height drifts

and feeling the icy-bite to our cheeks,

we have returned

feeling rejuvenated,

buoyant

and ready for a mug of tea and Shetland oat biscuits.

Welcome to my new followers - thank you for visiting my part of the blogisphere, it good to see you here. 

I have had a couple of emails asking me if I am ok as I don't seem to blog as regularly or as much as before, thank you for your kind concerns, I do feel to be busy at the moment but must let you know that I am also active elsewhere on the tintersphere.

I can be found here kjsutcliffe artist (which is my FB art page) and TAM - trawden artist makers, a community art page I do. 

My own page is for my art and studio plus updates and photos from the markets and fayres I attend and the TAM page is about a collaborative of artists and what we get up to - I would love to see you over there :)  I also have an art blog,  but like this one it has been a little neglected, something I will rectify once I have caught up with all the arty things I have to complete before the next art market I am participating in.

A door to the imagination

Thank you photo-hunters for your excellent pictures and stories- a real mix of tales and images, you certainly made my blog-reading-day! I love that, despite you all having the same list to work from, you all have such a individual stories to share. Thank you again.

One or two of you noticed I'd not joined in this month - my apologies, I fully intended too however, I was so so busy (beyond busy) with the art event I was part of, something had to give. (Housework and gardening also fell by the wayside!!) Anyhoo, I thought I would make up for my absence by sharing a story or two of my own leading up to our TAM weekend.

We have, in the village, resident 'fairies'. The small and magical kind - with little wings and pretty dresses. They even have a facebook page where their exploits and adventures are shared.  I first noticed their presence when little fairy doors started to appear in the surrounding area. I was intrigued (as were other villagers) and took photographs.

These little beautifully made doors have working door latches, the cutest little hinges and door numbers and best of all - best of all, are the stories that they bring, the questions they create.

Who lives behind those little doors? 

Where do they come from?

 Are they really magic?

Oh yes the children say, oh yes agree the delighted parents. 

It is wonderful walking along and catching the delightful conversations between parents and children as they spot these little magic doors. Sometimes they vanish, then reappear, other times they have a spot of magical TLC after little hands have tried to open the doors a little too hard. Fairy Magic is strong and protective.

I'd wished really hard that I had one in a tree near me.  

The fairies must have heard me and with a sprinkle of fairy dust and just a day or two before the art weekend - Not one.....

...not two...

...not just three...

but four, four enchanting little portals to another world, 

where fairies dwell and secretly appear

and leave magic

and make smiles

and share happiness.

Thank you Edith Mouse -

your magic is so very appreciated xxxx

Ok - back to business - As usual, our November photo scavenger hunt will be the last of year, December tends to be a little too busy! Julie from Julie's Scrapbook is running her annual Advent Calendar Link up and will be posting all the details on the 1st November - I shall be joining her - hope you will too :)

So, November's words are....drum roll please......

1. Blue

2. Me

3. Starts with a ...... W

4. Rainbow

5. Arch

6. Toy

7. Swirl

8. Brush

9. Nail

10. My own choice

A photograph inspired by a word, 

words inspired by the photograph.  

Remember to think laterally and interpret at you fancy, 

be it a current photo or one from your archives - Enjoy!

Post show recovery mode

Hello?

*taps screen tentatively* .... hello?

Are you still out there? 

I'm back - sorry I was so quiet, been a bit busy you see.

What? Sorry missed that? 

Oh you were wondering what I was up to. Ah. Let me see...

We've just had our first 'Annual Trawden Artist Maker's Art event' and I am absolutely shattered! 

I would like to write down all the stories that accompanied our weekend but you would probably fall asleep by the time I'd only got quarter way down, there are so many. I won't put you through that.

So, instead, I will just pop in to say hello (oh - already done that), say that I am here, in post weekend recovery position, I have an art studio in a topsy turvy but happy state, have a list of commissions and sales that I have to work through, stock to replenish and coffee to drink (that last one has got to stop though... need to get off the 'hard stuff' and get back to peppermint tea and the like).

Our weekend had loads of visitors, including 'Storm Brian' who although not as large as the hurricanes and tropical storms that upset other events, nevertheless stamped his rather 'moist' mark on our weekend.  However we did not let him 'rain on our parade' and surprisingly we still had many many visitors. At one point, there was standing room only in my little studio with a small queue forming outside. Other artists said the same, saying their venues were full of folk and the hall several times was fit to burst with our wonderful 'bouncer' on the door advising folk to do the trail first before coming into the hall as there was no room - now that can't be bad!

Fortunately my dear Himself had rigged up a gazebo outside my studio door as a porch to help keep Storm Brian out - it happily sheltered my visitors from the rain too.

Right, I really must get on ... below are a few photos taken before we opened the doors, while we still had space and time to drink a final brew and breathe.... will I do it again? ummm - probably. (I can hear my Himself shrug his shoulders and sigh!)

View down the back wall, textiles and art

Gable end, jewellery

Our local nail room kindly hosted a mini display for us

Storm Brian seemed to approve, rainbow over the hall full of artists.

.... and yes,I have included an image of myself.

Hi,

my name is Kate

I am an artist,

please to meet you x

October already!

Morning!
Not sure how the weather is in the southern hemisphere but here in Lancashire it is a little on the wet autumnal side with peach grey clouds flying across a thin blue sky.  I thought I would quickly pop in and say hello and introduce you to the latest list of words. Have fun and remember that it could be a current photo or one from your archives, try to think out of the box and we'll post out pictures and share our stories from Friday the 27th October.

1. Making ...
2. Empty
3. Starts with a .....F
4. Paper
5. Neat
6. Street
7. Kettle
8. Unexpected
9. Vase
10. My own choice

I might be a little quiet on the blogging front as it is leading up to the TAM - Trawden Artist & Makers Open Studio event and it could get a little busy. But I promise to pop in and say hi and if I have anything interesting to waffle about and share - I will do xxxx

A quick snap of part of our taster expo being held in Colne Library (our nearest town) as part of our event - Not all the art work had arrived when I took this photo, more has been added since.

#art #openstudios #TAM

Stepping off at the deep end

I'm a teeny bit terrified if the truth be told,

a little bit elated,

(ok a little bit more than 'a little')

 Plans and discussions

are turning into

REALITY

Scary stuff

but good too!

I am now a 🎨CONFIRMED ARTIST🎨

at TAM trawden artist & maker Art Event

Eek!

Edited to add....

Thanks Jill for the hint..!
Forgot to say when it is, silly me!

21-22 October
In Trawden,   Lancashire.

I'll share proper details
as they are confirmed xx