Happy 1st Birthday Gussie!

Gussie (on the right) has gone from this...

to this...

to this!

Happy First Birthday Gussie!

Shedding tears

For the first time today, I used Google Earth to access some of the masterpieces housed in the Prado in Madrid. Looking at the 'Descent from the Cross' by Rogier van der Weyden in such close and staggering detail moved me beyond words. The stricken face of the swooning Madonna is a harrowing portrait of maternal grief. She's on my computer screen in miraculous close-up - I can see how van der Weyden painted the tears with shadows & highlights, yet on the other hand I can't. My brain simply won't accept that something this raw is artifice. Oh, the extraordinary power of art!

If you would like to venture into the Prado for yourself, this link will show you the way.

Why we live where we live - rooms with a view

As evening approaches, the sun turns the unmown heads of the long grass in the valley snowy white in the lens.

Remind me to show you some of our sunsets - our house faces west. We are lucky, lucky people to share our lives with the sky.

The great Kate!

I'm getting very excited as the utterly brilliant Kate McKinnon is adding the finishing touches to her DVD set, 'A Workshop In Fine Silver' Soon, I hope to lay my hands on a copy and suck all the lavish, luscious juice out of it. Kate's gifts as a teacher are LEGEND & as she talks and writes like an archangel, an extraordinary experience awaits you. I have all her books, including her latest, 'Sculptural Metal Clay Jewellery'. I owe you a book review for this volume and the accompanying DVD, but for the moment let me just say that it is SO magnificent that I'm going to be dictatorial and say 'go, buy!' I'm not on commission so this is an entirely altruistic prod. If you want to learn how to handle metal clay safely & sensibly and make deliriously beautiful, well-constructed jewellery, then this is the book for you. If you're interested in Wearable Art, then this book should be by your bedside because the lavish illustrations will deliver you into a trance fuelled by the most entrancing dreams.



I stick to Kate's books like a leech - is it any wonder? I learnt much of what I know about making jewellery from my copy of her 2003 Project Workbook (which is now in a ragged but highly venerated state) and now that she's releasing a set of DVDs, I'm going to be able to set her up on my computer & have Kate sit by me on the workbench. If I fall, I know that Kate will have answers for me because she thinks things through. I have a few books about metal clay, but most are simply a list of instructions which don't make many allowances for the questions of a beginner. I don't want, 'Do this, do that.' I want to know the whys and what-ifs and maybes too! I know from the DVD which accompanies 'Sculptural Metal Clay' how well Kate addresses the practicalities of a beginner's situation - I rejoice to hear phrases such as 'this might happen'. Kate drips confidence into your ear!!

And just look at the pieces that she makes...

What an extraordinary artist Kate is! Let her teach you too!

Having fun with a FABULOUS website!

I write like
Vladimir Nabokov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Ha ha ha!!

Autism Study: Baby's Babble May Contain Vital Clues

Autism Study: Baby's Babble May Contain Vital Clues

I send grateful thanks to Jean Yates for alerting me to this extremely interesting article. Anything that might aid an early diagnosis is CRUCIAL!!

'Think less. Draw more.' And seek out Danny Gregory!

More blog love!! Seth Apter of 'The Altered Page' (which is an immensely enjoyable read) is conducting a Buried Treasure 2010 collaboration in which he is encouraging people to search through their archives and repost some of their favourite articles. May I in particular point you in the direction of Danny Gregory's blog. The Slow=Know post is a particular favourite of mine - indeed a printed copy of it sits inside my Moleskine pocket.

Three cheers for Seth!!! Three cheers for Danny!!! And three cheers for Moleskine for putting pockets in their journals which is a throughly well thought out idea - I do so approve of thoroughly well thought out ideas! Anyone got any spare ones I can borrow?

Talking of archives, should you ever wish to look into mine, I've added a list of topics (or 'Labels' as Blogger rather irritatingly refers to them) that I regularly talk about, to the sidebar on the right-hand side. Go down past the list of places which I visit when I'm feeling curious, past my profile and there before you is my list of 'Labels'. Grrrr - I hate labels!