Glen trool magic . . .

To walk in  Glentrool Forest is to walk in a place
that has the magic to soothe the soul & clear the mind.

Discoveries to be made include the martyr's grave tucked into the woods
with its tale from long ago of 6 Covenanters killed by soldiers
while they were holding a service in Caldoris Wood in January 1685. 
read more here (from pg 399)

Discovering the mist laden hills as they climb above the trees.
Sitting at their feet, beside the stillness of loch trool
simply being and hugging a warm cup of coffee,
was to be enveloped in a sense of peace & wonder

The quiet only broken by the call of geese as they circled overhead
and the breeze as it stirred green branches.
So much beauty, just on our doorstep!

Our walk took us on the circular route around glen trool
three hours later, we returned to the start feeling as though we
had emerged from another time & place and making
promises to return very soon to taste the magic again.

Rebecca Vincent landscapes . . .

 

I do love the work of Northumbrian artist

Rebecca Vincent

Such beautiful pattern and earthy, Autumn colours

They have a wonderful patchwork, textile feel to them.

Find her website here and on Facebook here.

Dumfries & Galloway, home of my heart . . .

I have created a board on Pinterest called 

Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland ~ Home

Home ~ Because it is the place I call home in my heart

Such a wonderful place to live tucked amongst the heather strewn hills
and the ancient forests. 

 Here I shall pin some of my own photos and those of others & interesting links.

Above is my photo of Cairn holy. A magical place to visit. 

For info on the cairns see here

Snowed in & story writing workshops

Hello from our snow surrounded cottage up here on the hill.

What an adventure we had last weekend, so much snow,

we woke to such a wonderland and were snowed in well & truly!

 We had to dig our way out & were snowbound for a few days.

Above you can glimpse the snow to the top of the hedgerows

Mr O is 6ft and it was taller than him, see the digger in the lane!

But oh it was a sight to behold, I spent an age wandering in the woods

and felt such deep peace & awe at the beauty of it all.

It bought a flurry of winged visitors to the garden too

and unveiled tracks of visiting creatures, normally unseen.

Of course i had to play for a while, pleasing my inner child!

My wee unicorn stood tall & proud most of the week.

This wintry weather has been perfect reference for my work

and the Nip Nebs book illustrations are coming along nicely.

A new venture for me this month was the "Daydream Believers" picture book creation workshops, set up with storyteller Susi Woodmass, where we work with children to help them develop words & pictures to create their very own wee books.  (Above~ some of the prompt cards i illustrated to inspire their storytelling)

Earlier this month i had the pleasure of working with Susi on our very first joint workshop at the local school. The imaginations of the children as they created their stories was inspiring indeed and watching them illustrate their work & bring it to life was a pure joy. I can't wait until next time.
 **

So if you  know a group who would love to do one of our workshops do get in touch, you can find more information over here at "The Wee Folk Storytellers" website.
*

ps: you can click on each image to view it larger.

A splash of yellow & inspiration . . .

 The newest touches of Spring are creeping into the air, popping with colour.

snowy drops & glowing gorse or whin bushes as they are called locally.

 

I recently realised my sketching skills are far too rusty, 

I haven't "just" doodled or sketched for the fun of it for ~ ever.

 An inspiring conversation with the lovely Margaret Milligan, 

about the 30 day painting challenge she set herself, set me a thinking.

(You can see here  the wonderful results of Margarets challenge.)

and so with all that in mind, 

I have set myself the task of doing a hal hour sketch a day for 30 days!

and by putting it out here, hopefully I am more prompted to keep to it!
I cant give up if its going badly, (something i am far to guilty of doing normally)
but have to stick at it for the half hour (i nearly gave up this morning to begin with!)
* * * 

So here is sketch number 1 a tiny splash of yellow sunshine on my windowsill.

Oh i did enjoy doing this, roll on day two!

Treasures at Glasgow Cathedral . . .

At last we managed our overdue visit to the medieval Glasgow cathedral

St Mungo's, watched over by the Necropolis with its towering monuments

It was an overly dark day, all gloomy and rain grey,

 and little did we suspect the treasures tucked away inside!

Treasures like the crypt,  built mid-13th century
to house the tomb of the patron saint of Glasgow,
 Saint Mungo, who originally built his church on this site.

Wonderful Gothic features & carvings, green men & details galore,
Fragments of brightly painted stone found beneath the floor,
that once graced a door archway

 This perfect copy of the biography of St Kentigern,
by Jocelyn a monk from Furness Abbey, made in 1180.
I love the corrections in the margins of each page.
(original can be found in the Marsh library, Dublin)

The Blacadder crypt or aisle built 1483 -1508

quite awe inspiring to walk down into this beauty

 a sumptuous display, some of the finest carved bosses in Scotland.
Perfect examples of the work of medieval craftsmen.

 The Millennium window painted by Mr. John K. Clark
once a student & lecturer at Glasgow School of Art.

and of course I'm always drawn to colours and patterns

such as these wonderful tiles in the 15th C Sacristy

and the preserved old stained glass

A wee bit of a long post, but worth a share, it is after all

the only remaining medieval cathedral on mainland Scotland.

More information can be found here & here

and I have uploaded more images here.

A taste O' Burns . . .

With Burns Night upon us I thought I would give a  "Wee taste o' Burns"

Born in Alloway 25th Jan 1759, he lived not so far away in the town of Dumfries
He wrote many well known songs such as ‘Auld Lang Syne‘and ‘To a Mouse‘

 In the town there lies still  "The Globe Inn" Robbie's howff (haunt)
His favourite seat survives & poetry he scratched on his bedroom window!
There is still a Burns "Howff" club held in the town

There is a great wee video summing up his life & works here.
and here "The beginners guide to Burns" a good introduction
here to Burns Birthplace site for a collection of all things Burns related.
(Globe Inn image courtesy of Visit Scotland, the etched window from BBC News)

All around the world tonight folk will be raising their glasses,

making toasts and tucking into haggis, neeps & tatties. 

The Selkirk Grace

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it

But we hae meat, and we can eat,

And sae let the Lord be thankit

Here's my offering "A taste O'Burns" treasury
from folk all around the world

Wintery squirrels & cosy ponies . . .

Such a lovely treat this week the snow bought into our garden

 two new wee visitors to our Narnian wonderland.

Such antics they get up to, & keep burying nuts on the snowy lawn

for the wily blackbirds to then go and pinch !

Also just had to share these cuties.

Two of Shetlands most famous things

Shetland ponies & Fair Isle knitwear.

This to promote the "Year of Natural Scotland"

Shetland pony image by Rob McDougall.

A tale of a story teller, Jack Frost & snow . . .

A wee while ago I was delighted to meet the lovely Susi Woodmass

Scottish singer, songwriter, storyteller extraordinaire, who goes by the name of
Susi Sweetpea the Fairy, such a bubbly, enthusiastic & creative soul.
 She is a "lover of enchantment" and her work is enchanting indeed.

So when I was asked to take a peep at some of her work
of course I jumped at the chance for I so love enchantment & tales.
Now here I am illustrating her story, written in wonderful verse, all about
 "Nip Nebs" Mr Jack Frost and his antics as he covers the land with frost patterns.

Susi's stories & songs are filled with her passion for the old Scots language.
words that roll around the tongue and conjure such images for me, words such as
 "crumshie" snow ~crunchy snow and  lugs and nebs ~ ears and noses.

Here are snippets from my sketchbook and i do have to add

Nip Nebs was a little inspired by Victorian gents & certain Johnny Depp!
I have given you a peep at a few of the scribbles from my sketchbook
but shall be sure to share the finished ones as soon as we can.

Here in Galloway we are muffled in a wintery white land of magical Narnia.
Lots of snowy inspiration at last and I have been out a hunting
 with my camera for frosty happenings to include in the illustrations!

Hope you are all keeping warm!
Find more about Susi here & here at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

Jennie Ashmore ~ natural patchwork

There are so many wonderful artists & makers here in Scotland 

and more closer to home in Dumfries & Galloway

So I decided every now & again to share the work of some of my favourites!

*   *    *  

Early last year I had the pleasure of seeing the glowing works

of Dumfries & Galloway based artist Jennie Ashmore.

who's love for texture & pattern shines through her work.

Each piece is a delicate layer upon layer of collage

made entirely from carefully placed leaves, flowers & greenery.

 Jennie collects her treasures from the local woodlands, fields & gardens

in and around her home here in South West Scotland.

 I spend a happy age wandering from piece to piece 

taking in the depth and colour and detail

 each new work like a glorious ancient patchwork quilt.

Do have a peep at her website here

Keeping a Happiness Book . . .

Many folks have asked me in times gone by, about my happiness book

so today,  I thought I would share snippets of the things it holds.

The hows & whys & wherefores of what makes it tick for me.

Kept in a jotter form, with the cover & inside pages decorated in collage,

for which I use delicious images I have collected over the years, 

 my precious happiness book is filled with much loveliness.

 Divided into sections, spirit, mind & body, it is an exciting place to go

& fills me with joy ~ my book of dreams & hopes & wishes.

Being a Virgo of course there are plenty of lists to peruse throughout.

Lists of  . . .

 "Things I love to do" & "Things I hope to do one day"

 "Films I want to see" & "Books I long to read"

"Things I hope to make" & "Places i can't wait to explore"

I have different sections for various things

for healthy living, for calm & peacefulness

for inspiring ideas for my own personal style.

It is filled too with favourite images & things

quotes & sayings & inspirational words.

I love my book!

A "Happiness Book" can remind you of hopes & dreams & possibilities

it can keep you on track when life gets so busy, hectic & difficult.
It is a book you can add to, a place to keep your deepest desires
and if nothing else it is at the very least a delightful "LookBook"!

Maybe you keep a Happy book, or something similar I would love to hear what,

perhaps you are inspired to give one a try? Do let me know if you do.

Of course, that isn't the only book I keep, I also have my delicious Journal

but I shall share the hows & whys of that another day.

Here's to making today a beautiful, happy day x

A happy new year & some exciting news . . .

Happy New Year to you all!

At last i am out of hibernation and have eventually emerged!

I didn't want to break the magical spell of Christmas!

We had such a lovely family time, for all the children were home.

Before New Year we found ourselves at gorgeous Kippilaw house

(what a treasure of a place, rescued from ruin, & so homely)

  celebrating with my lass & her partner as they both were turning 30!

 

Then it was home to celebrate the beginning of a sparkly New Year.

I love saying goodbye to all that has been and welcoming in the new,

so I have been tucked into my wee studio plotting for 2013.

Making plans for the days ahead in my beautiful new diary

( a birthday present I have been longing to use)

and we have such a jewel of a piece of news  . . .

Mr O & I are to be Grandparents in June, soo very exciting !
* * * 

So goodbye 2012, the year my youngest left the nest, I turned 50 eek, 
my business amazingly went from strength to strength.
I  want to say to all my lovely blog visitors,
I couldn't do it without you,so heres a huge thank you 
 may 2013 bring you much loveliness into your lives x