Seven Sketches For Folk Week

Over on Instagram there are always lots of daily challenges to take part in. I always admire people that can fit the time in for them and do try to do some myself. You may remember I did the 'March Meet the Maker' challenge earlier in the year. So when I heard about a week long challenge called Folk Tale Week it was time to jump on the ride and join in. A week didn't sound so bad and if i just did tiny pieces/ sketches then I could dedicate a couple of hours each afternoon. So I did.
Each day there was a prompt to create a piece.

Day 1. 'HOME'

”Once upon a time her forest had been far and wide. It’s mossy plains never ending. But the cold grey stone spread like a plague across those ancient paths she travelled. Each garden was a country, this island her universe and her home her castle"

Day 2. SECRET'

Many of you may know that I think Robins are a bit special, so who better to pluck from the book of knowledge?

'Many men believe they have read from the book of knowledge. Yet in reality only but a few know how to pluck the golden threads of secret from it’s ancient pages’

Day 3. PATH

On the third day I couldn't get the old song 'The Fox' out of my head. It's a song I used to sing at Primary school and is also on my Spotify playlist. (I like the Laura Veirs version) Here he is, out on the path on that chilly night.

”A fox went out on a chilly night and he prayed to the moon to give him light for he’d many a mile to go that night before he reached the town o, town o, town o “

Do you remember the song? :-)

Day 4. SMOKE 

The sleeping red dragon beneath Dinas Emrys.

“Sometimes a thin cloud curls around the old hillock like smoke”

Legend says that the war lord Vortigen chose the hill as his retreat. But however hard he tried to build his fortress, all stones toppled. Believing it was the work of supernatural powers preventing his success he seeked the help of a young boy. Myrddin Emrys (Merlin). Vortigern had plans to sacrificie his innocent body to appease the powers. When the boy realised, he scorned the idea that any supernatural power was involved & told Vortigern that attempts at building had failed because two dragons lay sleeping inside the hill, beneath a lake. Convinced the boy was right, Vortigern dug deep beneath, found the lake & drained it. The two dragons, woke up and began to fight. The white dragon fled leaving the red dragon to go back to sleep quietly in his lair. Vortigern’s castle was finally built and named in honour of Myrddin Emrys.

Day 5. DARKNESS

Day 5's sketch featured my old friend and familiar, the white hare

“He knew the many old tales of the forest, the young girl with the blood red cloak, the two children that left a trail of breadcrumbs behind them. The darkness held many stories, and yet he still walked it’s labyrinth of paths leaving stardust in his wake, for souls to find” 

Day 6. KEY

’The last leaf falls when old winter calls. And the keeper of the key begins the passing over’

Day 7. CROWN

’As a daughter of the forest she cared not for gold or silver. So they made her a crown gifted from Autumn hedgerows. 

I enjoyed taking part and am glad I set myself this small challenge. Hopefully I shall take part in some more daily challenges next year? 

Summer days

Warm summer days. Fields of sunshine, with buttercups,  rivers edged with  cream lace of hog weed and hemlock, meadow sweet in bud, blue cranes bill , ragged robin  and the darting of damsel flies, precious  jewels in the golden light of evening.   Scent of  elder flower, honeysuckle and freshly cut hay. And in the garden, honeysuckle again, mock orange and sweet williams. Oh how I love sweet williams.

Elder flowers freshly picked in the sun, insects shaken off and ready to be turned into cordial.  The strong smell of elder takes me back to childhood, not the delicate sweet perfume of the blooms, but the leaves and stems.  Breaking off an elder stick to use as a play bow and arrow  and stripping the bark back.

Lemon zest added.

Then soaked overnight. The kitchen smelled delicious.

The next morning I finished it off, straining, adding sugar, simmering, cooling etc. Now there is a large bottle of thirst quenching 'hedgerow delight' in the fridge for sunny days.

This little prince has been hanging around quite a lot this past week. I'm sure he could tell you a thing or two about Elder? Don't worry I haven't stolen all his future Autumn berries, there are plenty to go around this year. 

Some bits and pieces to show that I've been working on. The pendant, a gift for someone.

Coyote and moth.

I'm having a bit of a break from wooden hangers now and will be concentrating on some paintings. I love doing the hangers, but I have to keep a balance, otherwise the muse gets somewhat grumpy. ;) This is what I've been up to, playing with ink, and pencil in my sketchbook.  

Initial idea then painted onto a piece of wood that I was going to discard because it had a crack in, but I decided that the crack could be incorporated into the picture. A crack in the universe somehow.

                                                                      'Nights Portal'

'There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in' ~Leonard Cohen

This evening, the eve of the summer solstice, we sat out in front of a fire, listening to the song thrush sing it's goodnight song. Enjoying the outdoors at the middle of the year, we watched the clouds gently move away and the sky cleared for the stars to appear. On the window frame there were two Buff Ermine moths in love. Aren't they perfectly beautiful!

                           

Wishing you all a wonderful Midsummer solstice. x

I shall leave you with some Coldplay that I've been listening to all week whilst painting my own sky of stars. I love this and it makes me want to dance around the garden beneath the stars whenever I hear it. I might just do that later today? :)