September has almost slipped by with hardly any time to catch my breath. Like a very incompetent juggler, I have been trying to balance a heavy workload with friends and family whilst attempting to keeping up with my little shop and I am afraid my poor blog has suffered from my inattention yet again. As many of you will testify, being a self-employed artist is very much a matter of feast and famine. Some weeks go by in the doldrums and then suddenly the workload is overwhelming and deadlines seem impossible. Not that I am complaining, I would much rather have too much than too little. I have been busy updating my portfolio and working on some packaging and greeting card commissions and extending my
Gardener’s Scrapbook Calendar to include cards, magnets, note pads etc. The idea being that we will have a whole stand of related products for The Spring Fair in Birmingham next year. I was also delighted that the first of
my Owl prints sold out, hopefully I will have some more in stock soon.
Earlier this month we visited beautiful Budapest. It was my first time to travel to Hungary and Budapest did not disappoint. It was so lovely to be able to walk under clear blue skies and to hop on and off buses, trams, river boats and trains; an entire week of travel for the cost of one day in London. The food was delicious, much of it spiced with paprika, which added, not only flavour but colour to the dishes we sampled. We sailed up and down the Danube and criss-crossed between Buda and Pest with visits to Margaret Island where we saw red squirrels! Budapest by night looks like a scene from Disneyland, the bridges and buildings along the Danube are illuminated and reflected in the river and there is a joyous, friendly atmosphere in the bustling streets and gardens along the banks. By the end of the week we had grown muscles on our muscles, after climbing what seemed like a million steps!
The contrast between rich and poor was very apparent; so many homeless people try to survive in this amazing city. The vast market groaned with fresh produce whilst others searched through bins for scraps of bread. I know this problem is not exclusive to Budapest but it seemed more obvious and made me wonder how people arrive at such destitution. Unemployment, family break down, war, all these things can happen to any of us and it made me very grateful that I have a roof over my head and food in my larder. “There but for the grace of God go I”.
The book in the photograph was a stark reminder of Budapest’s troubled past. It is housed in the Zwack Museum where we sampled Unicom, (I don’t have the words to adequately describe this extraordinarily bitter drink!)
No sun, no moon!
No morn, no noon
No dawn, no dusk, no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds
November!
Thomas Hood.
This month began much like the poem by Thomas Hood, dreary mist and rain, gloomy news from home about the state of our ash trees, and a distinct lack of birds, which was very worrying. Everyone has remarked on the shortage of starlings this year, even the house sparrows were thin on the ground. We watched the news and worried for the safety of friends across the ocean after the devastation of hurricane Sandy. Added to that we had our own drama here in the shape of a car crash which demolished the telegraph pole across the road, so added an extra line to the poem- No internet- November! Fortunately nobody was hurt and the fault was fixed but it took ten days, which made work very difficult.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom however; we had lots of trips and caught up with family and friends. We went to the NEC in Birmingham and handed over the original painting of “Hare’s Hideaway” to Mike and Hilary Emeny of “Art of the Imagination”. It is always a wrench to part with an original painting, knowing that if all goes well I may never see it again! I was comforted by the fact that printing technology is so far advanced as to allow an accurate copy to be made.
We also visited an exhibition called “The First Cut” in ManchesterThe exhibition showcased the work of 31 international artist who specialize in cutting and manipulating paper. I was particularly drawn to the work of Su Blackwell who’s work is book inspired (see paper house- Wuthering Heights). Many of the works were incredibly complex and fragile and made us wonder about the logistics of setting up such an exhibition.
Later in the month we visited London but I will save that for next time.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, I have a give away for you. I have a copy of my “Nature” calendar for 2013 up for grabs. This slimline calendar has twelve different nature based images including many taken from my children’s books. You will find an owl, foxes, a puffin, rabbit and hare, hedgehog and many more. The calendar has been published by Judges and is available in the shops here in the UK only. My giveaway is open to everyone, no matter where you live but please note the holidays are UK bank holidays etc that may not be relevant to you. To be included in the draw all you have to do is indicate you wish to take part by leaving a comment below. I will pick a winner at random on Friday 30th of November.
You may also be interested to learn that you can help a worthwhile charity and buy my new Birthday calendar here- and my Gardener's Scrapbook Calendar 2013 here-
