☼ lazy sun:day

the clocks may have gone forward an hour:

but I made the most of some spring sun:

grabbing grasses and herbs:

keys and seeds:

to use up my cyano paper before it was past it's best:

after lunch we dawdled off to the

lazy sunday 

hosted by level 4 magazine:

a family day, humming with children of all shapes and ages:

parents and grandparents:

friends and new faces:

with something for everyone to enjoy:

sticking and glueing:

and a colouring competition:

adults included:

yAy!

then we grabbed a seat:

we listened to the 'poet laureate of Southend-on-Sea'

stuart bowditch

who made us smile with his ditties of his local

village, where the only gun crime was the squirting of a water pistol

on a badly reversed car:

we laughed very loudly and interacted with the

superbly amusing improvisationists

'the house of people':

then we sat outside in the sun for a while:

eating a huge plate yummy veggie chilli with couscous and tzatziki

from the delicious mykitchen:

the electro sounds of bearcraft wafted outside

so we popped back in to listen:

lots of dads liked this:

so did we:

the sun still shining, the sounds of chatter and

children squealing and some bubble blowing:

ended with a disco of 'songs your children should know':

the kids fascinated by the camera trickery projection:

yes Madam Diva, I saw you shimmying:

and so did I:

dancing on a sunday afternoon?

you betya:

Ж chit chat

last night Libbie and I went to a Pecha Kucha night:

what's one of those I hear some of you think:

it's an event for designers to meet and show their work in public:
the name comes from the Japanese term for the sound of chit chat:

the presentations are quite simply

20 images x 20 seconds

*a sweet 6 minutes and 40 second show*

this is our 4th Pecha and last night saw my 

quietly modest and talented friend

Paul Siggins up on stage:

as well as the fabulous Amy and Emma of

the CoExist gallery :

then someone new for me ~  Kidda :

this is him talking about a film he worked on with Noel Fielding :

he skipped along slipping in names like

FC Kahuna and Cadbury's:

another modest artist talking with passion about something he loves:

but it wasn't all commission:

he has time to play with Hama beads and create an

identity for his own music:

I like Kidda:

after a beer break we listened to the wildly inspiring

Holly Murray:

her costume designs are gorgeous:

we particularly loved her collaborative work with the anarchic dancer 

Liz Aggiss :

Holly talked about the demands of a costume and how

she enjoys the challenge each one brings:

we love their construction and elegance:

after the presentations we ate cheesecake from a cup:

drank a glass of wine and talked to friends:

all this on a Thursday night!

∞ a thing to make me go Ooºℴ

a treat arrived in the post today:

green green with recipes from Paris:

savouries as well as sweet:

can't wait to make this with 7 eggs, turmeric, cayenne 

and curry powder:

tastier trees I've never seen:

┇┃valleys and mountains

we couldn't resist this invitation:

a Sunday afternoon of folding?

you bet!

rolls of paper to be transformed into giant creatures:

foxy and friends:

printed paper ready for colouring pens:

and nimble fingers:

a heap of blue triangles:

young and old chattering as they fold:

slotting and creating:

amazing shapes and symmetry:

chocolategirl loves origami:

°。◦ wanderers

kicking our heels on a drizzly saturday afternoon:

it's a feast for those who stop to see:

☝ painted white then chipped away:

on corners:

brick walls:

up high:

on doors:

βɓʙlue blue for you

a Saturday workshop at CoExist :

creating cyanotype prints using a solution of iron compounds:

it's a recipe introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842:

distilled water + potassium ferricyanide:

distilled water + ferric ammonium citrate (green):

the two solutions are mixed together in equal parts:

in a daylight free room, coat some paper or

fabric in the solution and leave to dry:

place objects or negatives onto the paper:

expose to sun or uv light:

rinse in water:

or first in white vinegar, then in water to increase the tonal range:

this is a negative I found behind a photo in my Nannie's

photo album:

it's a picture of my Mama aged about one:

I gave her this print for Mothers Day:

〒 toku chan likes to look up

another super show at the Tap 

brought to us by Metal :

Toku Chan is a character created by the Brighton based artist

Lee Baker:

he uses Toku to show us his vivid prints, music and animation:

his inspiration = many visits to and fascination with Japan and it's culture: 

Toku Chan and his friends are like many characters that Western 

children and adults have embraced:

manga books and anime dvds have never been so popular:

*puts hands up ~ big Miyazaki fans here*

Lee Bakers cuddly heart shaped toys and animation are not all:

Kite Fight = a collaboration with St Marys School:

a festival of paper and string in the Winch Room Gallery:

gets our vote!

*click the images to view them larger*

lushly coloured giclee prints are steeped in traditional Japanese

colour, pattern and historical narratives:

we are introduced to the Samurai through Toku:

 geishas wear skull kimonos:

our favourite = gorgeous Chrysanthemums:

these beauties were a treat for our eyes:

✴ thrift

yesterday I bunked off work and spent the day with

my gorgeous friend Sandra:

charity shop find of the day for me = these ☟

I have a weakness for buttons:

their colourful shapes and differing sizes:

silver or gold:

old and new:

but that wasn't all within in the big polythene bag:

there were these ☟

Elegant buttons indeed:

my heart skipped a beat when I saw a little piece of folded paper:

thinking it was a shopping list for my collection:

no disappointment though ☟

birds nest pattern and sample:

I know someone who would like that:

ↂredyellowpinkgreenorangepurpleblue

I ❤ the colour green:

it calms my soul:

it sings to me when I look:

it calls to me when I buy things:

not just clothes:

if it's something to smell 

then green is pleasantly fragranced:

it's the colour of nature and healing:

good for the heart and slows breathing:

helps concentration:

apparently wedding gowns in the 15th-century were mainly green:

in some cultures green means danger:

who would have thought one colour could do so much?

what's your favourite?