Great music

Have just had a lovely weekend off, did lots of walking, caught up with friends and saw the brilliant Rachel Sermanni play at the Old Bridge Inn, Aviemore. (My favourite pub) Click on her name for a link to her and friends on tumbler, check out "The Fog" as well. Nothing quite beats a ceilidh on the tube! Her first EP is out next week, I shall be buying it!

LITTLE BIRDS

These little pen and wash drawings are about to go into my etsy shop. They're a bit different from my usual style but I'm happy to play around with different looks for the moment. This year so far has been a bit hectic, I've been away for a few days doing fieldwork which was fun and interesting and took me into the spectacular landscape of Rannoch moor- see my photo below but I'm finding it a bit difficult to get back into a routine in the studio, so I've just been doing quick drawings and doing a lot of thinking about what I want to achieve this year. I have pages and pages of lists in my notebook so perhaps I should stop with the lists and just get on with it................................



Rannoch Moor  22/01/12



Treasuries

One of the tasks I set myself today was to try out different treasury wigets for my Etsy shop,

The pink one caught my eye and also features one of my item, and I just found this one; which shows a selection that I have curated..........
The treasury seems to be a good way to bring in more views ( and hopefully sales!)

I hope you enjoy browsing through them.

Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/imogengreene/collections/

I just joined pinterest and I don't know quite what I'm doing yet.....

It looks like it will be great for collating all the things that inspire me, but really I'm undecided as to whether it is a good thing or just another way to waste time on the laptop of an evening, I'd be interested in your thoughts if you care to share?
Click on the pinterest button on the left to follow my progress........



http://www.etsy.com/listing/83321032/wood-bones-8x10-fine-art-photographic

  

Round the next corner

I felt the need for some fresh air and space on Wednesday so I took a morning walk for the first time in an age. My studio is a 10 ft x 8 ft room so sometimes it's good to get out and give myself time to focus at a distance, both physically and metaphorically.My head is crammed with ideas and plans for the year ahead but I must remember just to take it one step at a time. I like imagining what's round the next bend in the road, the photo above is of one of my favourite corners. 

Talking about roads leads neatly onto journeys and my new talismans, more are about to go into the shop.

New sea pottery talisman

I just added a couple of sea pottery pieces to my etsy shop and will be adding this one tomorrow.I've already had a few views and four people have" favourited" the first ones to go into the shop, it's so nice to know that people like them! I'm hoping to spend more time near the sea this year and will be hunting for more to add to my collection.

Yesterday G and I went for a winter walk in the mountains. We tried out snowshoes for the first time, they're great.  I did take a tumble on the way down though, a classic faceplant, luckily between two rocks with a nice soft hollow of snow for my face. I came up laughing much to G's relief! The picture bellow is of where we got too, it wasn't quite as cold as it looks......

Pottery shard talismans

I've been collecting pottery shards for years from beaches and rivers and over the holidays I started painting animal talismans on them. I was thinking about the journeys the shards have taken, from being complete, used in daily life- a recepticle for nourishment , then broken & discarded. They are scoured of sharp edges by water, stones and sand and carried to the river or sea edge for me to pick up. I always think of the people who ate or drank from that piece of tableware and wonder how long the journey has been, the time and distance between us.

 I decided to paint mainly birds and butterflys as emblems of change and passage, both have instinctive navigation systems that we don't fully understand and some can migrate vast distances over land and sea, amazing that something as delicate as a butterfly can fly across an ocean. At times though, the shape or colour of a shard will instantly bring an animal to my mind like the bear. 

  

Happy New Year!

 I took this photo yesterday in the fading light of 2011 .G and I watched the darkness come down over the Cairngorm mountains and talked about our year and made plans for 2012. We spent the evening with friends, watched fireworks at midnight and danced in the street till the early hours of the morning along with the rest of the village. I'm always excited at the start of a new year, so many possibilities and new opportunities to look forward to. Hello and welcome in 2012!