The Sigh

Last month's Theme Poetry session with Sara-Jane Arbury was about Heirlooms and Keepsakes.  For the warm up exercise she gave us a list of objects to choose from and write about.

I'm not going to tell you what I chose.  You'll work it out as you read, I'm sure. But the picture is not a clue!

(c) Karen Wicks

The Sigh 

 I crunched my way through the woodland
Boots crushing the brown, dried leaves,
some still frosted from the night time chill.
No other sounds. All wildlife stilled
as I, the interloper, crushed the woodland floor.
I stopped to sniff the air, the chill
fierce against my cheeks. 

The air scented with Autumn
A pyre for the end of the year.
As I walked further in,
wisps of smoke wafted past me.

A dangerous place for a bonfire!

I hurried forward uncertain of my path
and found to my surprise
as I had walked these woods so many times before
a ruined cottage. No roof.
Just walls and a chimney.
Snatches of smoke appearing
not from the chimney
but the cracked and broken window.
Brambles and nettles
growing round the door frame, in mockery
of the roses-round-the-door
chocolate box image of a country cottage.

No sleeping beauty here; I pushed through
the weeds to find the lingering remains
of a fire in the hearth.
A heap of ashes still exhaling
last breaths of smoke.
Not all was ash. A remnant remained.
A partly burnt notebook.
Cramped indecipherable writing
closely packed
filled the remains of pages.
Crinkled edges where the flames
had charred the outer margins. 

No name.
No reason
why the book was there
and burned.
But as I turned the pages
I heard a sigh.
Was it from the book
or merely the wind in the trees? 

 

Thank you to Karen Wicks for being able to use one of her prints for this post.  You can find her on IG @iacartroom or at Ghostbuildings.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

PS
Did you work it out?  It was 'a partly burnt notebook'.

Maps & More

This month I rejoined the Art Textiles monthly group at Littleheath Barn.  This years theme is Maps & More.

We started with a warm up exercise in our sketchbooks.  I'm using a 20cm square Pink Pig sketchbook.

 

 

We had been asked to take a map with us and I took a map of Venice - where else?  It was that or the canals of the UK.

 

The next exercise was to take just part of the map and draw 3 lines then 5 then 7.

 

 

We moved on to A3 paper, drawing with ink and adding watercolour

 

 

I made my second piece of paper square.

And add handmade paper to the piece I had cut off.

The last exercise was to draw with a wax candle and put a wash of colour over the top.

 I folded the square paper into 16 squares and cut them out and put them randomly into my sketchbook.

With the large rectangle I made a book (surprise! surprise!)

 
I made a zine with the added paper piece.

I used little brown paper bags as pockets to keep the books in. I had made a collage using the pattern from the 5 line drawing

 We made a Turkish Mapfold booklet with the wax and watercolour wash paper.

It doesn't help that the writing is upside down but I'm not going to worry about it.

It was a really enjoyable and productive day.

To be honest I think I make a dreadful student and feel really sorry for any tutor who has to cope with me.  I frequently want to be doing my own thing!

But before I went I promised myself that I would be a good student and do what Liske suggested.  And it worked.  I had a lovely time.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt

Over the summer the theme for the Snapshot Girls has been to use the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt from Patio Postcards.  We didn't officially join in but used the scavenger hunt list.

1 A plant with thorns

2 A Wordless Directional Sign

3 Something Netted or Webbed

4 Something Berry Berry Delicious

5 A Bridge

6 A School

7 Something That Dangles

8 Some Shadows

A Pothole

10 White Flowers

11 Extraordinary Water

12 Summer Tools

13 A Sold Sign

14 Something That Rolls

 You could take the list and do an Autumn Scavenger Hunt.

Thank you for joining me today
Bernice