The Pattern of my Days

I hope you are all staying safe, well and busy. Our days have taken on a new slower rhythm as we try to keep some structure in our lives whilst observing the lock down. Stewart still has work delivering groceries so is now deemed a "key worker" and much of his other work has always been done on line so not much has changed to his daily routine. Of course, it is a worry that he is going out to work and potentially at risk of being exposed to the virus but we are being as careful as we can under the circumstances. For me, suddenly being without any work and not knowing when it will resume has meant creating a new pattern to my days. I continue to get up at much the same time as usual and take the dog for a long walk. I come home and we then have breakfast together. The heat then gets put on in my studio and I might catch up with emails or maybe watch an art video or two in the house while it warms up. The day is spent in my studio, with breaks to make lunch, make a daily phone call to my Mum and calling or sending a message to other friends and family. More than ever it seems important that we all stay connected.

Studio activity varies depending on what I feel like doing, although I've not felt very much like making big paintings this week. The windows in our village are being filled with rainbows, an idea so that children could play a game of "Rainbow I-spy" whilst out walking, although I suspect a lot of adults are playing too... I know I am and feel disproportionally excited when I spot a new one! So I started the week by painting a rainbow for our hall window. I then decided it would be fun to have a more permanent rainbow to hang up and so made another from mosaic. Are there rainbows in windows where you live?

Although I haven't felt much like making large paintings I want to make some sort of art every day and sketchbooks seem an ideal way of doing this. I have been taking part in Karen Abend's Sketchbook Revival this week (still not too late to join in) which has prompted me into making an art journal. I've started these before but I've never progressed much beyond the first couple of pages. I thought it would be a good way to document our days at home during the pandemic though and with not a lot else to do I might stick with it this time. These are just some random pages from this week.

Important to remember to keep smiling I think...

It is hard to believe we have only been in lock down since last Monday evening... it feels like so much longer. I guess that's because so much has changed in such a short space of time.

Laugh whenever you can... it's the best tonic to keep your spirits up!

We have been lucky that the weather has been so good the past week and on my morning walk one day I was struck by the fact that there were so many birds singing. Nature carries on regardless and it's a joy to see so many signs of spring.

A reminder to myself to make art every day...

... and to keep in touch with our family and friends. We have a family WhatsApp group and there were all sorts of puzzles being sent yesterday between our adult children. It's hard not being able to spend time with them though especially our new grandson who is already a month old.

As well as daily sketchbook work I have also been making some short videos with a view to eventually teaching online. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you may have seen some of these already but this week I uploaded my first ever YouTube video which you can find here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnbBcyyrVM8

I made it specifically for one of my classes that was due to meet last Saturday as this was one of the things we were going to be doing, and I know some of the class aren't on Facebook etc. It's ridiculous that I have happily been teaching classes to adults  face to face for twenty years but it felt so exposing and I felt so self conscious talking to camera. But I have gradually got braver and my next plan is for a step by step collection of short clips showing the progress of a painting... as a response to a request in a comment from Stitchinscience on my last post. Anything else you would like to see me teach? 

In the evenings I occasionally pick up my knitting but I have also been working on a rag rug for our hallway which I finished on Thursday... I can see a lot of projects getting finished in the coming weeks. I had no sooner put it on the floor to see what it looked like when Hector came over, gave it a sniff, circled a few times and then plonked himself down with total ownership. He approved of the rug that I obviously made for him!

But this is where it really belongs... in our hall where Hector doesn't go!

Last night we had a very special evening... we cracked open a bottle of wine... okay that's not that special and seems to be a regular occurrence ... we then had take away fish and chips delivered on our doorstep by our village pub. This was followed by a delicious homemade crumble and ice cream (even if I do say so myself) made with a gift of allotment rhubarb from one of our neighbours (also left on the doorstep). We then spent the evening on a zoom call with several neighbouring families taking part in a village quiz. It was a lovely evening, just as good as going out and makes us realise how lucky we are to be part of such a wonderful community.

So that's the pattern of my days, which of course may well change as the weeks go by. It's not always upbeat and happy and I have my moments of anxiety worrying about all the people getting sick and whether my family will be safe etc. just like everyone else, but I try to remind myself  that I can't control what's happening in the world, I can only control how I feel and act and it helps by limiting my exposure to the news (which I've realised actually makes me feel physically unwell with a racing heart and pressure in my chest). I feel it's good to know the facts but I don't need all the "what if" horror stories and factually incorrect rumours that are abounding.

How are your days and evenings? I really do hope you are all staying safe, well and busy xx

So This is November!

Oh dear.... nearly a month since I last blogged and November almost came and went without a word but I've snuck in briefly to say hello. I'm not even that sure what I have been up to but the days have been full and whizzing by as ever. Just a taste of what has happened since I last dropped by...

Painting

I've been doing lots more painting, including ripping things up, reassembling and then stitching into them. And I sold the one above which was based on my trip to the Lakes at the beginning of October.

I think I said in my last post that I had been doing a fabulous on line painting course with Louise Fletcher called Find Your Joy. I pretty much decided not to continue to the second course but then changed my mind. I've not regretted it and continue to churn out paintings.

I'm aiming for big skies and light open spaces. Maybe these will be ripped up and reassembled too!

Cooking

I'm trying really hard to like my Aga but it's really not winning me over. Admittedly it's rather nice to have it constantly throwing out heat now it's cold out but I don't enjoy cooking on it. There is so much moving things from oven to oven, the heat drops during the day and the more it is used and I just don't find it precise enough. Someone suggested that it is wonderful for doing a roast and yes, I have made an excellent roast dinner but no better than I could do in my old conventional oven and it took twice as long by the time everything was moved around the various ovens. What a faff!

Baking is a bit hit and miss too... good when it works but I've had a couple of disasters with previously reliable recipes. It seems too much hassle to get the thing removed so I'm just resigned to no longer enjoying cooking like I did. More time for painting I guess!

 

Teaching

I'm currently doing two classes a week in machine embroidery and book making. Current projects are Christmas Crackers... not the first time I've blogged about them.

and these little album style books. Full instructions for both are available as downloads from my Etsy shop... just in case you are interested!

 

Mosaics

I've been making lots of mosaics, mostly for a special project that will be revealed at the beginning of next month. Can't spoil the surprise and tell you what it is so maybe I'll be tempted back to the blog to tell you all about it before another four weeks have passed. Don't hold your breath!

I've also been decorating a tree for a Christmas tree festival in the church in our old village... and we have chosen our own locally grown tree from this village that will be dug next month. I've been catching up with friends and family over lunches and dinners, as well as meeting new friends over coffee. Books have been read, meetings attended and I have a new studio in the garden that is almost ready to move into... can't wait to finally get rid of all the boxes and stuff that have been cluttering up the house. And I have survived another month of no new clothes, which really hasn't been a hardship. And that has been November. I'm sure there has been lots more going on too but I can't recall exactly what else has been keeping me busy and away from the blog. Maybe see you again before too long if you are not bored silly with my ramblings!

Welcome to my World

I was going to ask did you have a good Easter weekend... ask what you got up to. But that was this time last week and there appears to have been a time warp. But that's what my life is like at the moment and the weeks are flying by. Of course if I stop and think I know exactly what I have been up to... there's been a printing workshop to teach in Hertfordshire and then a rag rugging workshop in Leicester. I took my Mum to her painting class as driving any distance has started to be problematic for her, and I had a stall at a craft fair, so that's four days gone already.

But for the purposes of this little space I'm still back there in the Easter weekend before all those things happened!

Our Easter break was quiet... a chance to get on with more clearing out and packing, although that didn't really happen. The week before I had spent a day doing mosaic with my friend Terry, making this dish. So I finished it and grouted it and it became the perfect dish for holding chocolate. No Easter Bunny in this house... we have an Easter dragonfly!

I also finished off my furniture restoration projects. An old yellowing pine chest had been given a first coat of paint several weeks earlier and had been sitting there reminding me it was unfinished every time I walked past. It got its second coat, a wax and rub down and then on a whim I added some stencilling as we had been given the stencil as a Christmas gift.

It is destined to hold all my spare knitting yarn but that's a joke... I have given away at least ten carrier bags of yarn and I still have three boxes full. So let's rephrase.... this will hold some of my knitting yarn stash.

 

While I was about it I also finished off another kitchen chair.

So now I have a pair. I think it might be some time before they become a full set but that's the plan. Except when guests arrived on Monday no-one wanted to sit on them in fear of spoiling them. But no point having nice things if they are not used... I ordered that bums were put on seats!

 

On the last day of the holiday the family descended... in dribs and drabs all day... popping in, popping out, some staying hours, others making only a brief visit. Of course it was lovely to see them all and there was plenty of food on the go, including chocolate baking too! Who doesn't like a mini egg brownie?

So that was our weekend, busy in a nice way. Since then there has been some progress with the house situation and it looks as though we won't have to rent after all. That's all I'm saying for now, but the clearing and packing continues. I have also joined a little singing group. Believe me, I am no singer but this is an informal group of friends meeting to sing together once a month... because I need another hobby/interest in my life! Jesting aside, it's a great stress relief to sing for an hour or so and I thoroughly enjoyed our first meeting. I'm also taking  part in a free online sketchbook course called Sketchbook Revival, over two weeks. It's pretty intense with two videos a day from a variety of different artists but I'm picking and choosing what I want to do and somehow fitting it in by neglecting the housework. The dust will still be there in two weeks time. If I find another spare half hour or so I might even write about it here!

So how was your Easter weekend? Good I hope.

Thoughts on the Future

I have been participating in Cambridge Open Studios since 2005 only having missed two years. The number of visitors is always fairly consistent, never huge crowds with living in a village outside of Cambridge centre but always enough to make it worthwhile. There have been years when no-one has turned up for the first few hours and I have wondered if I have opened on the wrong weekend but it always evens out in the end. I mostly sell enough to make me feel good about what I'm making and to cover my costs (participating in Open Studios is not cheap). But this year felt like a disaster... where was everyone?

My visitor numbers were less than half the usual number overall and mostly consisted of people I already knew. with the exception of about three or four people. Everyone who came was a great support, even the man who opened with "Are you the cross stitch lady?" was enthusiastic when I explained how I work. I sold a few bits and pieces too but still it felt soul destroying. And although I would make and create things even if it wasn't my job I can't help feeling it is all a waste of time. I guess we all need validation for what we do.

The feeling has been compounded this week on finding out a course I thought I was teaching had been cancelled and no one had thought to tell me. Made me feel really valued let me tell you!

I'm sure these feelings will pass soon but right now I'm wondering how to get rid of the huge amount of stuff I have made and accumulated over the years, especially in light of the fact we hope to downsize in the not too distant future. I contemplated a skip... a yard sale... giving it away to passing strangers (except we don't really have many of those in the village) but in the end I thought I would do a little Etsy shop update starting with my latest mosaic makes. I did in fact sell a few of the mosaic pendants over the weekend but the rest have ended up in the shop. I'll decide how to deal with the rest of the stuff later!

I was also considering a drastic career change... Brain surgeon? Bus driver? Bar maid? But then an email popped into my inbox this evening with an offer that might... just might make things look a bit rosier in the future. But you'll have to wait to hear about that!

Sitting Doing Nothing...

So here I am again, sitting around for another weekend of Open Studios... quiet so far and although I know it is still early in the day (most visitors tend to come in the afternoon) it is hard not to feel a little despondent. So much work goes into these events that I do wonder if it is worth it. 

I'd like people to come along just to see my new discovery... I can see me doing a lot more mosaics in the future. In-between the weddings I just happened to have another birthday and inspired after my day making mosaics with my friend Terry I asked for some basic supplies to get me started. I just happened to have a handful of these blank wooden gift tags, like you do, so decided to try decorating them with mosaic to make little pendants.

Why start with a simple project when I could be doing something intricate and fiddly... well I know why now!  Not to be deterred I persevered and have made sixteen little pendants which have been added to my Open Studios sales table.

Not perfect by any means but passable enough judging by the reaction they have received on Instagram (I'm gina_ferrari_art on Instagram since you ask)

And if they don't sell this weekend they might make an appearance in my Etsy shop next week.

Although I might keep one or two for myself. This one goes particularly well with my new top.

And of course, should you be reading this and be within spitting distance of South Cambridgeshire I'm open until 6pm this evening and all day Sunday too.

There are textiles and paintings to see on the walls.

And lots to tempt you should you be in the mood for spending, although of course no obligation to buy... just come along to say hello!

Another five and a half hours to go... I hope someone turns up!

I'm Still Here!

I feel I'm in a time warp. It's weird, the days are long and don't feel particularly rushed but the weeks are whizzing by with so much to fit in. Blogging as ever seems to have taken the back seat. We've had a birthday, well there have actually been four family birthdays in the past three weeks but only one for which I needed to bake. Stewart opted for a cheesecake over anything else so that is what he got. Lemon and raspberry which was rather delicious since you ask!

I am acutely aware that in two weeks time my home will be open for Cambridge Open Studios once more. At least I don't have to clean and tidy up, having the house on the market has done wonders for my standard of housekeeping. And Stewart has become quite the gardener. Weeding and grass cutting a speciality.

In between various other activities I have snatched moments at my sewing machine to make some small items for sale. Of course three months ago there were grand plans for all sorts of gift items to be stitched. But  they haven't really got beyond the planning stage. The bag of forty zips I bought for making a collection of little zipped bags will have to keep for Christmas... or possibly next year. There have been a few lavender bags finished off though.

However it is next week that it will be all systems go. I have a wedding cake to cover and decorate, no. 3 son to collect from Gatwick before we all head off to Greece for no. 1 son's wedding... Gatwick again at 5.35 am! We will be back home just in time (with three additional house guests) for my first weekend of Open Studios, then a small family only civic ceremony when son no. 2 gets married,  followed by punting on the River Cam and dinner. There is a small matter of 150 cupcakes to bake and decorate before we then have a big wedding party to celebrate son no. 2's wedding. And all this before 14th July! That's not even mentioning house viewings etc.

So when my lovely friend Terry asked did I want to join another couple of ladies learning to make mosaics with her, I jumped at a chance of a day out doing something exclusively for me. It was a lovely day where we worked in the garden under the shade of a tree. Not only did I finish this rather quirky bird but I managed to use up some paua shell that I'd brought back from New Zealand six years ago. If it had been the first time I tried mosaic I might have been able to clock up another 60 x 60 but it is the third time!

The first time was when I made this very well used, hence grubby, coaster that came as a free kit with Inspirations magazine. I used to love that magazine that was always packed full of fabulous stuff to make and interviews with really interesting makers. But it disappeared years ago. My coaster however lives on!

Then many years later I met Terry at Open Studios and a bond was formed over common interests of sewing and amateur dramatics. And she very generously gave me a one to one session where I made this plaque. It wasn't that long ago but I'd forgotten everything, despite wanting to make more mosaics (I never did of course), so it was lovely to spend Wednesday learning all over again.

And once again I would like to make more mosaic... although it's not going to happen over the next couple of weeks. I fact over lunch recently Terry said she didn't want to see me blogging over the beginning of July until all weddings etc are over. She has a point, realistically I probably won't have time but I might sneak back with an odd photo or two. You'll want to see photos of our gorgeous Mamma Mia wedding won't you?

I also found time to go off and do what will probably be my final 60 x 60 (although it is actually only no. 53) yesterday afternoon as my 61st birthday falls between these two weddings. I tried Circle dancing for the first time. It was outside in a beautiful garden where we spent a couple of hours dancing gentle rhythmical dances to lovely music, celebrating the arrival of midsummer. The whole chakra, lei lines, priestess, airy fairy floaty stuff wasn't really my cup of tea so it's not an experience I will probably repeat but I did thoroughly enjoy my afternoon. I won't mention the fact that I don't seem to be able to distinguish my left from my right. The strawberry and cake afternoon tea was rather good too!

And finally, I haven't forgotten... that Festival of Quilts ticket. I did a random names in a hat type of thing and the winner was Jee... I'll email you Jane.

Have a lovely weekend and you'll know where I am if I'm not writing here!

Brooches and Butterflies

Quite a long time ago... an embarassingly long time ago actually, I spent a lovely day with a very kind lady called Terry who taught me how to make mosiacs. Well... a mosiac actually, the one pictured below, because I'm not really sure I could repeat the experience and remember how to make another one! The idea was that we would have a skills swap.

 

We did have a date set for Terry to come to my studio to do some embroidery but with one thing and another I had to postpone. Finally my guilt got the better of me and last week, Terry and I met at Wimpole Hall. We bought some lunch and sat in the corner of the restaurant trying to avoid the hoards of children on their Easter holidays and I showed Terry how to make a brooch using needle weaving.

 

 

A couple of hours later Terry had made the most exquisite brooch which she finished in time to wear home. Unfortunately my photography was not so exquisite and you cannot see how pretty it looked!

 

While Terry worked on her brooch I worked on one of my own and this is what I ended up with. I had forgotten what fun these are to make.

 

Tiny squares of woven threads adorned with beads.

 

And so inspired was I by Terry's pretty blue/green combination I made another one that evening.

 

And it did occur to me that as well as a collection of expensive bags...

 

I could also make a collection of not quite so expensive brooches for Open Studios in July.

 

And then at knitting on Friday, Pam was giving away some gorgeous threads... and I thought these would be just the thing for a whole range of beautiful brooches.

 

I would say watch this space but no doubt I'll be excited by something else by this time next week... butterfly brain... that's me!