Reconnecting

Every so often I take a break from social media, including blogging. You might have gotten used to my ‘flow’. That’s just a need I have as I don’t like feeling the overload of technical input. If I haven’t been getting around to read your blogs please don’t take it personally. I am much better at maintaining relationships in person than online. I think of myself as a ‘natural girl’ barefoot in the grass; my senses wide open to the goings on in nature. A laptop or mobile phone etc. is just not in the same realm. I love writing in journals by hand, painting on real canvases, making things with my hands and cooking delicious meals.

Yet here I am because I do want to connect with you in my blogging world. And I do want to keep in touch with family and friends. Connection is one of my core values.

What have I been up to?

Creative project: Vicar of Dibley

I was asked to make fascinators for a play that will be showing this weekend. In case you don’t know, a fascinator is something women could wear on her head to a formal occasion such as weddings -much like a hat- but it is more adorned and fascinating. I enjoyed working with the character in the play who was going to be using them. She is a whacky personality from Vicar of Dibley: Mrs Copley. The fascinators are a secret so I can’t describe anything more about them before the play but if you are within the Peeblesshire area come to the play this weekend.

In the garden

I am back in the garden now that the temperatures have risen to 8 to 15 degrees Centigrade. I am learning to follow the signs of nature to know when it is warm enough for sowing seeds and also for my lungs. What I observed in my garden is: first the snow drops appear, then the crocuses, then the daffodils (that’s still not warm enough for sowing);  after that the cherry blossoms appeared and that’s when I can enjoy being outside working in my vegetable beds. I am also learning about the weeds in my garden. I am open to entertaining weeds in my garden if they are edible. One such weed is the nettle and another is the dandelion. So I use my app in my garden to take photos and identify them and later in the afternoon I research the plant uses and edibility. I am interested in teas, dyes and culinary uses.

Dyeing clothes

Speaking of dyes, some people who have known me long enough know that I started dyeing when I was 11 years old. I am fascinated by colours and mixing colours. The use of colour can be found in cooking, art, garment making and home interiors. When it comes to fabrics: mixing colours by overdyeing with new colours is a fascinating and exciting pursuit because there are some variables depending on what the fabric is made of and the percentage of different fibres used which will impact the colours.  Most of the time I am happy with the results, sometimes I have pleasant surprises and a couple of times I treat the outcome as a learning experience. I make notes for future. Dyeing is a fun way to bring life back into tired looking garments or just if you are bored with your clothes. And Spring, with the warmer weather, is a lovely time to start dyeing. 

Listening to music

I have been listening to Adam Holmes. He is a Scottish singer/song writer who is becoming well recognised in the last few years. He has been referred to as the modern day Robert Burns, when it comes to writing poems and songs. He has an interesting backstory and often his words reflect a person who has been through a lot at a young age. He shares his wisdom in a soulful, country style.

Here are some of his songs I have been enjoying

Working on a new mandala.

First I made a little book out of A3 300g paper, by folding it, so that I could use water colours if I wanted to. The book is like a little sample of the flora I have been encountering in my garden and also other plants I have been thinking about sowing or growing or plants that tickle my conceptual thought processes. Once I have satisfied myself with gathering the images I will distill them into images for my mandala. The first part of the process is my percolation period and the distilling and creation of the mandala is the concretisation period. I think the whole process will take about two months.

 My mandalas are not religious but rather deep expressions of thoughts and ideas that I have been turning over in my mind. They often have symbols of personal meaning woven into them. This mandala, brewing away, is no different.

I hope you are enjoying the changing of seasons as much as I am.

Take care,

– Morag Noffke