This week, pictures of lots of people, and only one cake

To start with, a little journey back in time,
Having to work inside……

…….creating a miniature heaven.


Last year, 3 of us spent a really productive day painting a celestial mural inside a lovely Chichester coffee shop. http://www.whippedandbaked.com/
It is almost always fun to spend the day with other artists, creating art, and this was one of the  fun days.
Here I am with Jeanette Sutton (mural designer) and Allan Davies, both former art teaching colleagues, who became and remain friends. We remain united by our love of art and alcohol as well as each other.
But, as responsible members of society, of course we do not exceed the government guidelines.

By all means visit the coffee shop, it is truly lovely and delicious, but our mural was always designed to be temporary, so expect another.

Returning to this year and the weekend.  I worked inside again on Saturday with two lovely friends, and PVA glue, and tissue paper. And again, the results were heavenly.
Diane and Jan had seen artwork created by layering tissue, and really loved the idea, so I had offered them a workshop so they could create their own.
Diana and Jan arrived equally prepared in their different ways.
One of them knew what they wanted the outcome to be, and the other brought a collection of things which would become part of the outcome.

We all had a really fun time. The only time we weren't talking and laughing was when we were all concentrating on our work, and then enjoying a productive silence.

 Mr Cooper loved it too, as he was left in peace to watch the rugby, with the bonus of having a really tasty lunch with wine on a tray, plus tea and cake to follow.  He did look a little surprised at the level of service he had!

Here are the fruits of our Saturday inside the studio.

Here is Diane and her beautiful tissue image, inspired by Franz Marc

And here is Jan, with her friend Frieda Kahlo, and exciting additions.

Next time we will explore the 3rd dimension with tissue, PVA and wire.

In the meantime, Jan might gain a Frieda Kahlo tattoo, and I might buy a pair of Frieda Kahlo earrings, and add more colour to my existing tattoo.  And Diane will put a lot of thought, care and love into planning her next work, as she does in her life.
And both of my beautiful friends, when you see them, always leave you uplifted and laughing. Definitely radiators not sinks!

I am now painting away at my 'toadstool' cake, and developing the idea for the part of the jigsaw that features Sam; ever conscious of my May deadline. http://www.chichesterarttrail.org/ (venue 92)
Yesterday I got him to pose him for my studies.
 He gave me many poses, but seemed to think the porn- type shot was the one for me to add .
  Sadly no, Sam, but here you are fully-clothed and chopping.

Will keep you up to date with the jigsaw image featuring Sam,  I am starting it on Sunday.
And also, if you wish to see a glimpse of a naked torso and porno pout, contact me, not Sam direct.  As a mother, I must vet the applicants.  Do not consider applying unless you are female, single, and possessing a brain.
Sam said 'female', we both agreed on 'single' and I said 'brain'. Sam is not too fussed on that point.

Next week, a burst of baking ready for Easter.  Watch out for Owl Eye Biscuits, and Chinese Chews.
Lemon curd tarts might feature too, as requested by the 'Young At heart' team at work.  We snatched a meeting in the car park, before returning to our cleaning, painting and washing up duties.

A chocolate rabbit will also appear, a friend of Barry.
His body is now in the freezer, awaiting de-frosting, buttercream fur and fondant features.

I might give the rabbit a less mournful expression than Barry had, as he is to be eaten by small children.
 Having said that, they will probably hack his head off, to eat first. Unless I get the eyebrows just right!

Good news to start the week.  My work was accepted by the Oxmarket, for their 'Awakenings' exhibition.  All framed now, and ready to go. http://oxmarket.com/

Here it is.  'Awakening Conscience….. Is That All?'

And then also a lovely surprise.  Rachael,  Mr Cooper's eldest beautiful daughter, sent me a wonderful bunch of orchids from her and Ben, hoping I have an enjoyable Mother's Day.

Thank you both, and Banjo. They are so exotically beautiful.

I had another less happy 'Awakening' on Mother's Day. As it was not raining, and  the soil was dry enough to work, I needed to start reclaiming the garden: starting with the vegetable patch.
After 2 hours digging, I was able to plant the broad beans. Hurrah, just what I wanted to do on Mother's Day.

Then off for my swimming practise.  As learning to swim properly has been a significant feature of this year, it has also formed a part of my 'Jigsaw' drawing, and last week I completed that section.

Swimming technically correctly was the first challenge, but after my promotion to the next group, I have to practise regularly to build up my stamina whilst remaining technically correct!

I do have a non-conventional family life.  One wonderful aspect of this is how wide, varied, fluid and creative my family life is.  Another aspect is that some conventions are not always followed.

Sam had sent me a present that was 'off the chain' for Mother's Day', but sadly it still hadn't arrived byMother's Day.  Now he is worried that I am looking forward to it too much, and will be disappointed.  (He may well be right, I got so excited when a parcel arrived yesterday, but it was only  equipment for Mr Cooper's next skiing break.)

I rang the boys, to ask them to call me. I spoke to John on the phone later on, who was involved with gathering the tools he needed for his new job; assisting in the building of a Saxon long house.  This is to be traditionally built from scratch with Saxon tools. Starting with felling the trees. ( The Saxons didn't have saws)
My Mother's Day message, as I had left a message for him to ring me, was 'Are You Alright, What Is Wrong?'
Sam had just finished a busy session, and had had enough of Mother's Day by then.

After swimming, Mr Cooper took me out for a drink, as I was feeling sad in a conventional sort of way.  Whilst out, I planned and discussed 2 more sections of the 'jigsaw' picture.  These may or may not have to remain under wraps, because of their controversial content.  Will keep you posted.

As I am running a workshop this Saturday, (looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Diane and Jan) there has been a lot of Studio tidying this week, and also in preparation for the 'Open Studios Art Trail'. (Like Christmas, each year I vow to never leave it to the last minute, but it never happens)

We have been asked already to supply details of the work we are submitting for the pre-trail exhibition at the Oxmarket. http://oxmarket.com/chichester-open-studios-art-trail
But as yet, mine are not only incomplete, they haven't completely left being the thought processes of my mind!  I am thinking of painting a 60s cake which features on it a fairy ring with a snail.  It will have boats with rice paper sails whizzing around it for background.  We certainly had a lot of fun in that decade!

Here is one idea for it, all I need to do now is to start it, and have it finished by April 13th.

 This is as well as completing' Cinderella', and my 'Jigsaw' drawing, and starting another major drawing entitled 'Shelf Life' which will be one of two for the National open Art Competition. http://www.thenationalopenartcompetition.com/how-to-enter.php

And all before May, when the garden is also to be reclaimed, planted and beautiful.

During which time, I also need to spend some time working for actual money.

I think if I painted my life just at this moment, it would be called

 'Awakening conscience…..This Feels Like Too Much!……….But Fundamentally Good!'

Or perhaps,    'A Little Frayed Around The Edges'

How lovely to see the daffodils coming out in force.

And in my garden, growing near my studio, are some very rare ones indeed!

This week has been busy as always, but this time more productive in a social way.

At the weekend we set sail for East Anglia, to visit my Mum.  These trips usually include a festive feast along the way, and for this one we visited 'The Chequers in Gedney Dyke. http://the-chequers.co.uk/

For those of you who are near enough to visit it, please do.  The food is delicious, each course was a real treat.  And to add to a lovely time, the service is really good, friendly but efficient.
 Just as it should be in that department, and very rarely is!

One purpose of the visit was to plan this years' North Norfolk road trip.
Last year Mum and I had a happy and sunny time driving to Sheringham, stopping often to eat seafood and drink wine. As we stayed at the 'Two Lifeboats' in Sheringham, we were of course drinking and walking, not driving. http://www.thetwolifeboatssheringham.com/

This year, we are also including Mr Cooper. He seemed rather sad last year to have missed out on lobster salad, crab sandwiches and rooms with excellent sea views. But that is what happens when you choose to play cricket on a Sunday.
We did have to think long and hard though, because it was a choice of including Mr Cooper, or being able to borrow his 2 seater!  And although Mum is extremely fond of the car, Mr Cooper had the edge for her.

All this talk of food and summer makes me excited about the approaching picnic season.
A good thing about the way I work means that I am always surrounded by visual picnics in my studio,

And the elements for an impromptu picnic are always close to hand.  In this case, on the landing.

I did manage to complete the next drawing for my 'jigsaw' drawing.  I will show you now.
Sadly, after I had finished it, I realised I needed to do it again. I did spend a day pretending I didn't have to, but in my heart of hearts I knew.

All very annoying, frustrating and time-consuming.  To draw this again will take about 5 hours.
But that is also part and parcel of being an artist.
 Lots of fun, ideas and imaginings.
But at the end of the day, it requires hard work, mistakes and a lot of effort to make it all happen.

Lets have a cup of tea and a slice of cake!

The week gone by has been a week of many parts.  

Lets start at the very beginning, with the best ever retro starter; the Prawn Cocktail.

On Monday, I attached my much-loved knitted Prawn Cocktail brooch to my lino-printed apron, and set off for the Cloudhopper Gallery, where I was to model the apron, and another garment at their 'Wearable Art' fashion show.  http://www.cloudhoppergallery.co.uk/#!events

To print and hand-colour the fabric for the apron, then make it had been a very long labour of love, although I am really pleased with the result.

The other garment I modelled must also have been a very long labour of love.  It was a dress made from video tapes woven together with fabric.  This created a great contrast between hard and metalically shiny, soft and matt.  It was a great dress to wear, along with the hair accessory made from records!

The creator of this amazing dress, Michelle Quick is seated on the left wearing black and red.

The evening was a lot of fun and I am already planning in my mind my outfit for next year!
Last year I modelled my skirt and jacket which showed an embroidered earthly and a flying picnic.

When I knitted the Prawn Cocktail brooches, I also gave one to my mum, my friend Sarah, and to my beautiful nieces. One of my beautiful nieces, Olivia Haslam, is providing the culinary element for this week's blog.  And what an element it is!
This coming Tuesday at 9pm, she can be seen as a contestant on Master Chef.
Olivia is a talented and vivacious photography student in Glasgow.
Well done Olivia, I don't know the results, of course, but I hope it was great fun as well as hard work.

instagram @oliviahaslam  blog oliviabeba.tumblr.com

Last week I was beginning a drawing based on the concept behind  'Awakening Conscience'.
Painted by William Holman Hunt in 1853.

This week, after intensive effort and much listening to Radio 4, I completed it.

Here it is,  ready to be submitted for the 'Awakening' exhibition at the Oxmarket in Chichester. 

http://oxmarket.com/

The only thing I have to do now is to confirm its' title.  

With this image, this aspect is as important and as hard as actually drawing it.

She is sitting there, late 50s/early 60s with the realisation that her life is basically going nowhere. 

 Being a housewife is going to be the only thing that she will ever be.  

There is no other identity, or status, or freedom to be part of a larger world.

So something like 'Awakening Conscience…..Is This All It's Going To Be?'

or, 'Awakening Conscience…..This Is What My Life Is'

Not sure about this one, I must do some thinking over the weekend.

If it was me seated there in the picture, at that time, I would have gone crackers!

Oh well, must go and complete another part of my jigsaw drawing, one piece down five to go. 

I have finished drawing green plastic donkeys on trifle.  I am now working on a self-portrait, mainly surrounded by cakes of the sixties. Then, I am attempting to depict, in a surreal way, a figure being chased through Winchester, evading capture and always running. 

 Good job I avoided being crackers, isn't it?