merry christmas . . .

wishing everyone a wonderful warm & love filled christmas

x x x

light & dark . . .

Such a frost coated winter solstice.

From today onwards . . .

slowly & surely

the daylight will creep back into our homes the dark will draw back to hide under its covers till next time

the beginning & the endings

enjoy

x

red & gold & white . . .

in amongst all the sparkling loveliness of the snow & ice

i have been snuggled in my studio

i have been mixing deep & glowing colours

to keep me warmer still,

christmas stars in velvety skies

christmassy trees, full of heartfelt messages

and christmas dancing angels, to bring smiles of joy

i have also been amending disasters, this last month

my red & unruly hair seems to be a thing

hairdressers have never been able to tame,

by cut or colour, as you see below, sighs

at last i am relenting & returning to my natural untamed state

(top right & bottom left, is where i'm at just now)

do other redheads have the same problem i wonder?

At the end of each beautiful day

wonderful frosty sunsets send me indoors with

a smile on my face

x x x

Palaces & Peacocks . . .

Time out was so very long overdue

but at last we found ourselves travelling

North to Perth, the fair city, ready to explore. The beautiful sandstone "Scone Palace"

(pronounced sku'n ) was saved until last.

The crowning place of many ancient Scottish kings

amongst them, Macbeth & later Robert the Bruce in 1306

We stood & imagined the echoes of ancient voices at moot hill

as the kings sat upon the Stone of Scone

to receive their crowns. We strolled under the Autumn sun glittered on lawns

where once stood the village of Scone. Sadly landscaping in 1802

meant moving the whole village 2 miles away! The only reminders

now are the Mercat cross & mossy stones in the ancient graveyard.

We wandered amongst gardens discovering albino peacocks

stopped in at the coffee shop for warm drinks

& then tried to lose ourselves in the beech maze.

All in all a wonderfully relaxing weekend away.

Time out for Mr O & i, from all the other things

we find ourselves being from day to day.
x x x

Am foghar . . .

the crimson & gold hued treasures of Autumn

have slowly seeped into my very bones

and out through my pencils & brushes

"am foghar" my gaelic "autumn"

piece is begun, at last!

Thoughts of crisp woodland meanderings

and the wee creatures hidden there.

I am wanting to capture their wildness

in my drawings & tiny (unfinished) sculptures

october

It is nearly over, where do the hours disappear to?

We are safely snuggled into our wee house

as the dark draws round us,

finding plenty to keep our fingers busy

& with a whole heap of faerie stories to read.

My mr o is a travelling the highlands on & off

making the hours we share ever more precious.

Very soon i am off on an adventure with my girls

to the far flung corners of Marrakesh!!

So excited, my dreams are filled with

Arabian nights, dusky souks

story tellers, dancers & musicians

i can hardly wait!!

I wonder what keeps you occupied

on these drawing in so swiftly

velvety evenings?

x x x

hibernation & hunting . . .

It's been so long since i was here last

and oh how I have missed you all!

But I have felt such a need, these past weeks

just to sit quietly, to listen & to watch.

My precious inspiration went into hibernation.

It was i think, waiting for the dust of hectic summer

to settle back into place, before peeping out again!

Whilst the sun was still high in the bright blue sky,

we went a-hunting for my inspiration.

Along the way discovering such heart lifting delights as

ancient Celtic carvings at Tullie House,

hilltop carvings at Dalbeattie &Kirroughtree,

we hiking over the patchwork, heather strew hills,

hunting & found these glorious scottish landscapes

that stretched as far as our eyes could see,

one season has rolled into the next, now it is begun

the wonderful dusky change of hues that is,

my absolute favourite of them all, Autumn.

I am at last, feeling refreshed & full of ideas again

i have found my old, dear friend, my inspiration!

So i am away to pick up my dusty paintbrushes
but just before i go
i just have to share the utmost highlight of my days.
The picture above shows just a few of the delights
i discovered at the wonderful & delicious exhibition
my precious Mr O took me to see
( i wish you could have come too!)
"The truth about faeries"

oh my, i have so much catching up to do with you all !
x x x

two years old . . .

5 precious things. . .

smelling the scent of flowers

as i wander round the garden

listening to the buzz of tiny wings

as i sit still amongst the grass

tasting the salt in the sea air
as i collect treasures on the shore

seeing the beautiful unspoilt countryside

i am so lucky to live amongst

feeling full of happiness today as i

celebrate blogs 2nd birthday
x x x

thank you, all you lovely followers

for you fill my heart with joy

x x x

the red den studio at last . . .

for hours & days & weeks

my fingers have been a making

picking flowers to dry to make my faerie cards

moulding clay to bring to life figures in my paintings

collecting driftwood to sculpt mobiles & tiny boats

and why have my fingers been so busy. . .

for this our red-den family project,

that got put on hold for a wee while when

fate stepped in & took me off on different paths.

but at last (oh so exciting) this weekend it finally happened

our "Red den Studio" had its opening

* * *

for lots more to see do take a wander over here

or drop by, have a cup of tea & say hello,

it would be lovely to meet you!

* * *

very soon my creations will also be sitting in my wee etsy shop

i shall tell of it here as soon as they are

x x x

at last a website . . .

oh the days, weeks & months it has taken me, it has been an idea buzzing about in my head

for much longer than i care to remember. But its now out there, I have  taken the plunge and I finally have a web site

* * *

www.ruthieredden.com

summery things . . .

summery holidays (even without very much sun)

* mean lots of catching up with friends & family painting a picture of my own for a local gallery competition

visiting the glasgow girls exhibition

and discovering such detailed works by annie french

a trip to edinburgh, & the national gallery of scotland

to sigh over saint bride by scottish artist john duncan

trying my hand at some stone art on an evening beachy stroll
and attempting some driftwood hearts
i have so many things i want to share
but they shall have to wait till next time
i do hope you are enjoying these summer days x

a walk around britain . . .

a tale of two men,

ed & will, who travel on foot

live outside & sing for their supper

walking & singing their way

around the british isles ,discovering

the land, the people & their traditions

do visit to read their story

a walk around britain * * *
listen to their singing here & see their cd too

sea pinks and cotton grass . . .

wandering the countryside here

there are always treasures to discover

down on the shore,

tiny sea pinks & the brightest of lichens

decorating aged rocks

in a hillside field

an old empty cottage is tucked

the stories those walls could tell

up in the galloway hills

the softest carpets of cotton grass

nodding their sleepy heads

and when we stop for a moment

amid patches of daisies

we find, packed by my lovely mom

scones, filled with homemade jam to munch on

whilst we sit and admire the views

perfect weekend lazy days

x x x

(our poor old monitor is on its last legs

so i do hope the photos are ok!

to be remedied as soon as )

mad hatter madness & an anniversary . . .

my love of quirkiness was instantly attracted

to the mad hatter inspired theme

of this wedding shoot

by

jessica claire

* * *

especially as mr o & i

just celebrated another

precious year together

x x x

inside . . .

with all our tootling about & moving & such

i haven't painted for oh so long

my fingers have been itching!

but i was busy making . . .bathroom curtains & beady tiebacks
( made using some old christmas baubles)

to happily hang

bringing back to life old neglected chairs

above one for my own wee studio (rescued from the skip)

and several (6) for our family room

(how my hands ached after all the sanding & painting!)

and sewing stripey cushions and table cloth

to finish off the table we rescued too
I painted the table legs white to match the chairs.

i love making & bringing things back to life

but now its time. . .

i have new windows to peep out of

and a work space waiting for me to ...work!

have a wonderful weekend all x x