Something Lovely.

I love the fact that I can buy mini pieces of artwork/design in the form of cards. For years I wouldn't allow myself to buy cards because I thought I should be making them. But as time has gone by, I've found it impossible to resist the growing array of brilliant choice out there, and I've taken to buying ones I like when I see them. It means I nearly always have a card for every occasion.
So, I was delighted to see the new range at Rosehip Cards.

Bird motifs. I just love them. And retro bird motifs? Even better!







They come in packs of 12 and are GBP 9.50. Not bad for something so cheerful!

After School.

After a stuffy classroom, some days are meant for a stroll along the promenade with a bag of chips. Mmm, nothing nicer than salty chips in salty sea air.



These scoundrels were so cheeky we couldn't resist throwing a few their way.

A Week Of Pictures.

For some truly gorgeous vintage style children's clothes have a little look here.

When I'm Not Looking.

Today. Stuck into work of one kind or another.
Once they realise I'm not available they engage in the simplest of games.





For incredible images, too numerous to choose one or two to show you, have a look here.

The Journey Home.

Driving home tonight, in the blue hour of dusk.
Wending my way through the Glen o' the Downs, the Sugarloaf mountain looming out of the mist.

And the trees, in their new fullness of green, climbing up into the dipping clouds each side of me.

And then, the big new road, now softened by the mist, with it's big new lights that stretch up into the blueness and look! in the soft, diffused mizzle of misty rain, they are giant storybook flowers with drooping halo's of light around them.

Then down into the tunnel of green, explosions of frothy Elderflowers crammed amongst the green, and there, opening out before me, the cool grey sea, and the mist scatters and drifts. And now, on the lane, now I see glowing windows and there, tucked amongst the verdant, wet summer growth, a little house.

And here I pause for a moment, to savour the quiet, as the music comes to an end. Then I step out into the dimming air and I breathe.



I breathe.

Home.

Oh My...

Foxes? Woodland creatures?

I cannot WAIT to see this movie...



Want to see the trailer?

Creepy Clown.

What is it that makes clown toys just that little bit creepy? I don't mind real clowns, but clown toys always seem a little bit sinister.

This little roly-poly clown has a little bit of history. About nine years ago, at a tea break during a singing workshop, my new friend Natalie came up to me and handed me this clown, with a lovely smile. 'This was Jay's when he was a baby, and I thought he might like it back', she said. I was gobsmacked. It turned out that she knew Jay's Mum back in the day. When Natalie's last daughter Aimee was born, Jay's Mum gave her some toys, and this was one of them.



It's been up on the shelf since then. None of them were that interested in it. Too creepy.

Until today.

He shouted at it. And bashed it around. And it just kept coming back up.

He loved it...

Something Lovely.

This arrived in the post yesterday. Yes. Another notebook. But I just can't resist! This is particularly special though. I got it from Pedlars, one of my favourite online shops. It said: "Hand printed by Kim Jenkins on her small hot foil press in London. No two books are the same". Unfortunately, there's very little info on Kim to be found other than her email.



I just love this. Those little sailors are the sweetest. And it's just in time for a whole series of work that is falling out of my head at the moment, which looks possibly like part of a group show with some old friends, later in the year. I'll let you know as that progresses. And as the work materialises I'll give you some sneaky peeks.



And the best thing about this? At 9BP was reduced to half price...(Why tho? Why?)

You know me well.

Happy Birthday Jay!

I knew the light would be fading,
hurrying,
to put these drooping flowers
to water, I notice
a streak of red
in the dimming sky, and pause,
filled with you.

A Week Of Pictures.

Oh Look At Us!

Chris pointed out to me the other day that we are on the Crammed Organisms homepage! Which also includes a link to our website which will be up and running soon.



In the meantime I'm working on the last two Animal Parts so will have them to show you in the next day or two before they are shipped off to the U.S.

Eighteen Years.

Today we celebrated. Eighteen years together. Thirteen years of marriage. Four offspring.



We had a picnic with said offspring in a park in Dalky, not far from where we had our wedding party.

And the sun shone.

DIY Saturday

The bathroom is in the final stages of a makeover, which I am very excited about. It's turning into somewhere that calls for long soaks in the bath with a good book and a glass of wine. I'll show you as soon as it's finished. My final stumbling block is fabric for a blind, and I'm seriously leaning towards something Amy Butler.

So, today was spent at home.



And to entertain the troops I put up a the tent.



Tent=hours of fun!

And tomorrow we're off to the RDS for the Art 08 and Interior Design 08 shows. As if I really need inspiration!

Chimes.

I love tins. All shapes and sizes.

This one arrived in the post for The Eldest, all the way from Alabama, and filled with ginger chews. The chews were scoffed by Him and Jay.



And I've nabbed the tin.

A Note From Finn.

This was found taped to the door this afternoon:

"A kind dog needs a kind home.
kind dog great with
kids of all ages
found stray in Dublin
no diseis found."



The hints get stronger.

The Queen Of Arts.

Yesterday morning I spent back in my old college of art in Dun Laoghaire. It has changed so much since I was there it's not even called Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design any more. It's where myself and Jay met, many years ago, but more about that on Sunday.
Yesterday I was helping my mum assemble her glass installation for her final assessment next week. It was strange to be back in that environment again, and very cool to be able to help her out after years of her helping us.



It's amazing to see what she did in the end. But I shouldn't be too surprised after years of her working in textiles, painting, wood, ceramics, and glass. And yes she has excelled in them all.



This piece is about the history of Holy Wells in Dublin city, a lot of which are still there to this day. A series of maps etched onto glass sheets. Each sheet representing a period of time. The thicker blue line is the River Liffey, the white dots you can see are the wells. It's eerily beautiful.



So, in the next week or so I will do a post in which I get to show you all the extent of her brilliance. In the meantime, I'm going to take a little bit of time to catalogue just some of her work to date.

Chickens!

What the...!



Did you see these! Real ones!

Little Boys.

A coastal cloud arrangement withheld the sun, so we made plans.

A last minute arrangement with Liz found us in Greenan. Our first visit since last year. See here too.

Middle Son aka AstroBoy and T and R ran, and shouted, and waded, and ran, and laughed, and ate, and ran some more.



In the green, the beautiful green.



And my beautiful Girl walked.



I don't remember when she stopped running.

Something Lovely.

In the many years since I stopped working in clay, I found myself more or less indifferent to ceramics in general. It surprised me as I had really enjoyed the elemental aspect of clay: earth, air, water and fire all are needed to produce a ceramic piece, and this really appealed to me. But textiles just took over and there was no going back. To this day I have no desire to work in clay again.

However, lately I have found some amazing ceramic artist thanks to the www. This latest one being a San Francisco based lady by the name of Diana Fayt. These pieces I do love.



Isn't it nice when you discover an appreciation for something you thought was no longer part of your life?

This Afternoon.

Hanging out with friends. A long lazy lunch on and around Hannah's balcony.

This Morning.

Most years we get wonderful sun in May and sometimes June. Then, a lot of years we get monsoon in July and August! (Not really joking here!) It means we have to rush to the beach after school if it's nice, and stay late, and then we have to remember to squeeze homework in when we get back, and let me tell you, that doesn't work very well...





If I go in the morning then the older two miss out.



Wouldn't it be great if days off were related to how nice the weather is?