Tales from the Humber

December Newsletter Issue Four

Have you noticed how quickly Christmas has come round? Usually, I have things well in hand but this year - Covid and Mindy’s death left me ll prepared and struggling to get a modicum of Christmas spirit.

 

I had picked up a bug, not Covid thank goodness, but it took ages to get better and then Jamie was unable to continue building the website due to moving to a new home and then becoming ill himself. So, the website is a job in waiting! I don’t know about you, but even when things seem depressing, not everything is grey. I was delighted to learn my essay Art as Metaphor plus three visual images concerning climate change, is to be included in the exciting interdisciplinary project Carbon-Borders-Voices. Opening sometime in January 2022, I will give more details when I know them in the January newsletter.

 

After floundering around searching for a subject for new work, I realise I was going about it in the wrong way. I had found two old seascapes when tidying the plan chest. They felt too refined and lacking in energy, but they weren’t a complete failure. They held no perception of the power of the sea, so I reworked them. Investing power into every stroke I felt the weight of the waves lashing the shore. They are no longer quiet images or calm. It was refreshing to work differently from the last work I’d made. No need to think further than each drawing itself. This is freedom!

Father Christmas brought me what I’d asked for – more Unison pastelsI The colours are so luscious they make my mouth water. The three new sticksare from the grey range and the subtleties between them are beautiful. I couldn’t resist trying them out immediately! There were also two vouchers to an art shop to get more! Heavenly, though it will be a hard selection to make. I’m so greedy I want them all. For a while at least, my materials will be soft pastels and graphite on thick cartridge paper. I can present rectangular work as printmakers do, within a mount and a see-through sleeve. Easier to store and cheaper to sell and to post. 

A source of quiet satisfaction is the decision for my next series of work. Partly influenced by my MA subject on Yorkshire Coast erosion and the Carbon-Borders-Voices show, I’ll continue studying borders of land and water, and the differences between the East Yorkshire coast and the Humber River. Nobody living in this low land area, can be unaware of the extreme danger of rising sea levels due to climate change.

 

PS The Carbon-Borders-Voices show launches the evening of the 24th January. For further information the links are website: carbon-borders-voices.com and you will also find their email and Instagram details.