just for a wee while. . .

just sometimes, do you feel a tiny need . . .

. . . sometimes, for a little place to tuck yourself away

just to contemplate or read awhile . . .

to listen to the sounds of nature or just to be . . .

. . . i am packing up my pencils & my sketchbooks

am off to tuck myself away, for just a wee while

i shall be back very soon x
Taking myself off to Mom & Dads wee cottage
they so lovingly renvated by the coast.

Cathedrals & carvings

such a grey & dreary day it was when mr o decided we needed a distraction

so off on long travels across the scottish border to the city of Carlisle

& its wondrous gothic cathedral tucked away there
**

innocent angels & roguish gargoyles

creeping vines topping sandstone pillars
such realistic alabaster figures
** fantastical carved wooden creatures

and above all,
painted stars on a ceiling you could live with forever

celtic trees & an inner child

a wee while ago, another

delicious design book found its way into my hands
its storytelling designs, intricate knotwork inspired me
great fun & experimenting & splashings of colour followed

(in preperation - of course- for my own set of celtic designs )
as i hope, can be told from my celtic tree of life

***
i remember reading somewhere once upon a time how
the ancient celts believed in our centre we each have a golden child
i think that maybe i am just beginning to discover mine

***
I rather like the idea of my having an inner child

that precious innocence & sense of wonder at the world
the way children open their eyes wide & really see the world around them
the tiniest details (we so often loose this ability as we get older),

wonderful sense of fun & happiness & pleasure in simple things

a child's love, purely & simply given.

trees . . .

a wonderful book i am dipping in & out of just now is

the Celtic wisdom of trees

for ever & always trees have fascinated me

the old lore & mysteries of these ancients

tall & majestic trunks that reach into the sky
intricate roots that cling to mossy banks
lacey pattern branches winter bare

i love photographing them, majestic & proud in all their shapes & sizes

***

the celtic tree for Feb-march is apparently the ash

"it is said to hold the key to healing the loneliness

of the human spirit out of touch with its origins"

***

after my walk . . . i feel spring is in the air

the letter R . . .

precious R things.....

rocking horses & red letter days

red breasted robins & rascally rabbits

rainbows & raspberries

rackham & rossetti

* * *

sayings like "right as rain" & "its raining cats & dogs"

* * *

delicious scottish words like "richt" meaning right

"rummle-gumption" meaning understanding, common-sense

* * *

do you have R words that conjure lovely thoughts . . . .

Precious things 6 . . .

 my very 1st blog award!

from the sweet & inspiring Jessie Lilac

it seems i am to list 7 things i love - how difficult to decide which

so they have turned out very random indeed

typography - delicious shapes of, letters, words

the gentle eyes of velvety ponies & horses


angels and their glorious wings - this from the Burrellhand woven baskets & delicate corn dollies

hunting for old treasures - latest find, for the studio, mr O's brass top table (£2o)

wandering through old cemeteries & pondering the carvings there

finding beautiful images to photograph out on our walks.

faerie folk & arty self

this has been a mottled piece of scribbled on paper tucked away in a dark corner

for oh so very long (26yrs ouch!), unfinished when my arty self got lost

occasionally when i came across it, i would promise myself that

one day when i found my arty feet again, i would finish it

i didn't always quite believe - but

it seems i kept my promise

Illustration Friday ~ Climb

For Illustration Friday ~  climb, I made myself finish it.

I am so bad at finishing a thing, if i'm not just sure i like how it's going.

It's the perfectionist virgo part of me & its such a pest.

*

*

Sometimes, all you need is a cuddle. . .

sometimes all you need

is a cuddle to make you smile again