Gaia

We saw that another exhibition by Luke Jerram (the creator of The Museum of the Moon) was on at our local Museum, so on Thursday, we headed off and were among the first in there.  

It is a very similar concept to The Moon, with a large sphere which is lit from inside.  Despite the room not really being big enough (in my opinion), it still looked very impressive.

The Earth slowly rotates and is accompanied by a soundtrack of people talking about the Earth and how we should be taking better care of it and some specially composed music.

It was the closest we'll ever get to seeing it like this. 

You can see why it is called The Blue Planet.

This made me realise how limited my geographical knowledge is - I had never really thought about how big Africa is; I hadn't appreciated how close Russia and America are and I hadn't really thought about how high up the UK is.  Seeing it as a spherical shape made me appreciate these things much more.

It is a very thought-provoking exhibition.  Our insignificance is certainly one thing which came into my head.

I also hadn't realised that we have only been able to view the Earth like this since 1972. 

It is a touring exhibition so it may travel to somewhere near you.  A link to the site is here.   It is well worth a visit.
 

A few latest cards

I have been making cards for friends and family - above is one for a special birthday for my friend Katy.  The background in pink glitter, but it doesn't show up that well in the photo.

This was for my brother-in-law.  

This one was for a colleague at work, using a new rubber stamp which Chris had treated me to from Noolibird.

She is a keen houseplant grower, so I thought she would like a houseplant inside...

...and some potted flowers on the back.

I am enjoying using my stash to make these cards and to tailor them to the recipient.
 

Hello nearly Spring

It is so nearly Spring proper - it is just round the corner.  It is comforting that it happens without any interference from man.  The hellebores in the border are now in flower - they are a little later than the potted ones but I love to see them nonetheless.  Above is Harvington Picotee.

Harvington Pink Speckled.

Another Harvington Picotee - was this an original plant or is it a seedling? 

Harvington White Speckled.

The reliable Cardamine Quinquefolia, which I love.  I have been warned it can become invasive and it is certainly spreading but so far, not a nuisance.  If it outgrows the space or makes a bid for garden domination, we will be having words!

Camellia St Ewe flowering at the shady bottom of the garden.  It certainly provides a splash of colour!

A little crocus, (sieberi tricolor) opening up to greet the sun. I have planted these all around - in the borders (where I could find a space) and in various pots.  They are such cheerful little flowers and good for the early bees.

Finally, another hellebore, in a pot, called Princess Victoria.  This one is the darkest I have and has taken quite a while to get into flower.  I love the dusky, velvety look to the flower.  

I have just added two more salvias to the garden - Microphylla Cerro Potosi, which has a bright pink flower.  They are just starting to put out leaves, but I am looking forward to seeing them in flower.

Nearly Spring, but not quite.  It is an exciting time of year.

My thoughts are with them

(Photo from Wikipedia)

As you know, I tend to keep politics and religion off my blog because they are so divisive.  However,  I felt I needed to speak out about the invasion of Ukraine even though I have been at a loss on how to talk about it. How one megalomaniac dictator can do what he has done (and think this is right) in 2022 is almost unbelievable.

I wholeheartedly applaud and support the brave people in Ukraine, fighting for their freedom, their history and their culture.  

Wanderlust 2022 - weeks one to seven - Gesso and Gel medium

I have been thoroughly enjoying Wanderlust 2022 - the mixed media art journaling course.  This is my second year and the format is a little different this time.  The course is split into seven-week blocks and each block explores different media. The first block was about gesso and gel medium.

Week one began with an overview of the media and then a project using clear gesso and a photograph.  

Week Two was using gesso and seedheads, stems etc. as brushes.  It is supposed to be a view of poplar trees out of the window, but Chris thought it looked like a battlefield.

Week three was using gel medium through a stencil as a resist and then colouring around it with water soluble crayons to reveal the word. I had more success using water based Distress ink.

Week four was using gesso through a stencil, applying it thickly and marking into it, using it to cover materials such as lace and cardboard, stamping into it and mixing it with small amounts of colour.  There was a lot of layering involved!

For the fifth week, we used white and black gesso in thin layers. I cut the eyes out of magazines and decided to give only one figure a mouth.  This piece has a meaning to me as it represents how women have not had much of a voice throughout history.

The sixth week was about using coloured gesso in light layers.  I didn't have any coloured gesso, so made my own using a tiny bit of acrylic paint mixed in.  There was also stencilling and mark making in the gesso.

The final week of this first block was about using charcoal and gesso. Charcoal is not something I use very much, so it was good to be pushed out of my comfort zone.   It involved sketching flowerheads with charcoal and using gesso to blend areas, as well as scraping charcoal onto a page and blending with water.

I really enjoyed finding out what gesso and gel medium could do, learning new-to-me techniques along the way.  Roll on the next block - image transfer and modelling paste/texture paste.