Creating my own Kate Tulett art

At the South of England Show this year, in the pouring rain, I stumbled across the very lovely Kate Tulett in one of the craft marquees. Kate is an art teacher, artist and generally a splendidly bonkers lady! I thought her collages were fab, and longed for one of her creations myself, but settled on a one-day textile course held at the school she teaches at in Oxted. But unbeknownst to me, my great hubby sneakily arranged for me to receive one of her aquascapes for my birthday, knowing that I have a particular penchant for all things sea related.



It was done in great haste as we only 'discovered' Kate a week away from my birthday, and the collage was a surprise, so it involved secret emails, and a hand-over on a garage forecourt.
I love my picture, it even has lines from a poem that Steve wrote for me many years ago!

Those who know me are well aware that I am a hoarder as far as fabric, buttons and ephemera go, and I like art which is both textural and three dimensional. So having a go at creating something as fun as one of her pieces was quite a challenge. Letting go, and allowing myself to empty my head of science and bees and such, even for a day, is not always easy. Nature accompanies me where ever I go :o)

And despite being amongst many (many!) children on the course, Kate was patient with all and sundry, no matter what age or temperament. I have done some machine embroidery before so I am reasonably comfortable with a sewing machine, but am always open to new techniques.

We looked at the work of Sophie Standing, a very clever textile artist and Kate explained her techniques, before embarking on our own projects. And although I haven't finished it, I'll show you how far I managed to get today.

First a sketch on muslin, then acrylic paints washed over the canvas

Here's one of Kate's pieces in progress

And two stages of other pieces of Kate's work!

Next the fabric stage, and here the photo of my garden for inspiration

Kate's desk!

My collage beginning to take shape with fabric scraps

Oh, oh! Small people upturning the giant fabric box and hiding amongst the multitude of textures and colours! Great fun!

But, of course, bees are always in my heart, and always part of my garden...

You'll have to wait to see the completed article, as there is more to add to my master-piece. However, I am pretty chuffed at the way it is progressing, and even the din of enthusiastic noise from what seemed like a hall full of halflings didn't deter my enjoyment of the day.

Many thanks to Kate and her two peachy assistants!

Walking barefoot with Zaf

Everyone should sometimes walk barefoot. I don't think we do enough barefoot walking. Our feet spend months and months hemmed into shoes not feeling in touch with the Earth that supports us. We are too worried about treading on sharp objects or getting cold feet, and I feel this way too, mostly...
But it's good to sometimes just walk barefoot. Feel the changing textures of grasses, the wildflowers and the cool bare Earth under our toes, and even the grit and the sand of dusty pathways.

We used to do this as a children...at what point did it become 'not the done thing'..?

The most beautiful Sussex countryside

Zaf, the most beautiful dog :)

The extended spring appears to have made plants, trees and bushes absolutely drip with flowers and seeds. Here a range of maple 'helicopter' seeds

The elderflower bushes are laden with flowers. I collected some flower heads to make the first batch of cordial.

"Barefoot Days"

In the morning, very early,
That's the time I love to go
Barefoot where the fern grows curly
And grass if cool between each toe,
On a summer morning-O!
On a summer morning!

That is when the birds go by
Up the sunny slopes of air,
And each rose has a butterfly
Or a golden bee to wear;
And I am glad in every toe--
Such a summer morning-O!
Such a summer morning!

By Rachel Field

So... go on, get those stinky socks off, wiggle your toes and touch that Earth, 

I guarantee it'll make you smile!

The wildlife of Kefalonia

Today's post is a little about the marvelous wild - and not so wild - life of Kefalonia; being a tad nature crazy, we try not to miss an opportunity to photograph it! And there was plenty to shoot. Surprisingly though, a lot of it was rather fast moving in the heat!

Beautiful Scarce swallowtail butterfly. They fluttered around the whole Greek island. The British subspecies is confined to the fens of the Norfolk broads. This is partly due to the distribution of the sole larval foodplant, Milk-parsley. The continental subspecies is less fussy and will feed on many kinds of Umbellifer, such as Wild Carrot.

There were lots of lovely wild cats, very curious and very hungry. This was one of the downsides to the island, there is no spaying or castrating, so the numbers of cats, kittens, dogs and puppies grow in the spring and summer, when the tourists feed them, and then die of starvation and/or disease in the winter months. Shame really to think these lovely cats are doomed.

Ants are everywhere, in great numbers. Worldwide they are a very successful species. BB found a large dead centipede in the swimming pool and wanted to bring it home. However, as it was dripping wet, I laid it in the sun to dry and within minutes it was being carried off by these ants, using 'co-operative transport'. Love their little pointy bottoms! The Mediterranean Tiger centipede is the largest in Europe and can grow up to 150mm in length. They are nocturnal and venomous and can give a nasty bite.

Lots of damsel and dragonflies

And bee hives, seemingly everywhere. No sight of people keeping just one or two in their back garden, more that a few kept 250 plus hives. Interestingly, by late August most of the wildflowers had been burnt to a crisp by the Mediterranean heat, so what were the bees foraging on?

There weren't many wildflowers at this time of the year, but here's a honey bee on a thistle

The beaches of Kefalonia are nesting grounds for Loggerhead turtles. They spend most of their life in saltwater and estuarine habitats, with females briefly coming ashore to lay eggs. Along some of the local beaches these nests were cordoned off to prevent disturbance. Loggerheads are considered an endangered species and are protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

We saw several turtles in the sea when we were out swimming

The island pollinators are heavily dependent on the exotics planted in gardens and hotel grounds

Sleepy head!

This brown butterfly fell into the sea :o(

Little rustlings in the undergrowth turned out to be these small brown lizards.

Cats, cats and more cats!

This is Cheeky, who every day lived up to his name.

The ants provided much amusement; this was a 30 feet long trail (before heading off into the bushes) of Harvester ants.They carry amazingly large loads of seeds and such back to the nest.

Cicadas everywhere, the noise so characteristic of the Mediterranean!

This is the European hornet, Vespa crabro.

Caught up with a local beekeeper who kept 250 hives in his 'spare' time, he's also a mechanic! I bought some of his excellent Thyme honey.

BB feeds a bite of apple to our neighbour horse

Pretty livestock, being looked after by the traditional shepherd, who each evening herded the flock from one field to another

This is Spotty, he's very sweet natured.

This is Jasper, getting a little too comfy on our table!

Xylocopa violacea, the violet carpenter bee, is one of the largest bees in Europe. It is a solitary bee and makes its nests in dead wood. They are incredibly pretty bees, but a little intimidating when they fly close by.

The Oriental hornet, Vespa orientalis, is a hornet which looks very similar to the European hornet, and is quite common  in the Mediterranean area. It is a rather large specimen!

Lots of pretty bugs and beetles hiding in the foliage.

A group of 'our' kittens arrive to dine on left-overs!

So there you go, a sample of the amazing non-human life on a very special island!

Hope you are having a peachy week!

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

 

Have you been here? 

On a very wet and windy Sunday afternoon, I searched for some video clips for Sam who is a huge fan of Dr Seuss' hilariously silly rhymes. I came across this fantastic clip, and it made me smile...LOTS!!!
How bonkers, how fab, I want to go there...

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

It's Dr Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go", filmed at The Burning Man festival. This is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. What an appropriate setting for this fabulous story!

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And then things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights. 

Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

A perfect video clip to brighten a dreary Autumn Sunday afternoon...

That ever so lovely island

Well, what can I say about our rather lovely holiday this year? Other than what a fantastically beautiful, if a tad hot, island! This year saw us taking a couple of weeks off to totally de-stress on the mountainous island of Kefalonia. The island (Κεφαλονιά in Greek), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece.

Blues skies and Bougainvillea

The Greek island has many wonderful beaches with fine sand and turquoise waters specific to the island.

The island is said to owe its name to Kephalos, the first king of the area during the Palaeolithic era. Kefalonia participated in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars on the side of both Athens and Sparta. Throughout history the island suffered heavily and frequently from invaders and pirate raids. It has been under Frankish rule, then consecutively conquered by the Normans, the Orsinis, the Andeans and the Toccans. Later on it was dominated by the Venetians and the Spanish, with the Venetian rule ending in 1797 when the French arrived. They were later defeated by the allied fleet of the Russians, the Turks and the English. After a huge popular demand, democratic elections were organised in 1802 and a new Constitution was established in 1803. Kefalonia fell again under French domination in 1807 but the new Constitution was maintained. After the Treaty of Paris, in 1809, the Ionian Islands came under the rule of the English again. Kefalonia was finally united to the rest of independent Greece in 1864, the same time as the rest of the Ionian Islands. So the people of Kefalonia have seen many nations come and go, and yet they remain a stoic, relaxed and happy people!

Splendid clear waters with fish nibbling your toes...

Feeding the fish!

We dived down to collect urchin shells, and even cheekily stole this one off the back of this spiky fellow

Beautifully clear warm seas

Olive trees everywhere, olives being the main commodity of the island

Fishing boats in the harbour of Katelios

On the way to Poros

An evening stroll to the beach

Two of my very lovely boys!

That's probably enough for now! There'll be more to follow, so watch this space....