Some Thoughts on Creativity

While browsing Youtube the other day, I stumbled across a first-class video on the subject of creativity. It was a talk presented by Tina Seelig, of Stanford University’s School of Engineering. The talk, entitled “Six Characteristics of Truly Creative People,” was primarily directed at companies and organisations but could equally well be applied to individuals. She has written a book on the subject, in which she came up with an intriguing diagram which she calls the “Innovation Engine” – a sort of Moebius strip of interlocking characteristics, all of which are essential if one is to be truly creative.

The aspects on the inner part are all things found within ourselves – imagination, attitude and knowledge. To feed our imagination (which is the basis of all creativity), we need the right attitude, and we need knowledge to formulate our ideas and put them into practice. On the outer part are aspects impinging on us from outside of ourselves – our culture, habitat and resources. We are all influenced by the culture in which we grew up, and the environment which surrounds us can either fire our creative imagination or put it to death. Resources are so much more than money – they include all the things we have, and sometimes it’s really good not to have much money, because one is forced to use the limited resources at one’s disposal. In the video, she got some of her students to create something from their rubbish bins, and they came up with some surprising results. Could we, as artists and crafters, do likewise? I know I have often used rubbish, such as chicken packaging, in my art, and I like to challenge myself with the question, “Could I make art out of this?” – whatever it is, and my hubby usually answers with a resounding “No!” which I immediately take as a challenge to prove him wrong!

All the characteristics on the Innovation Engine are important, and depend on each other. It is arranged so that parallel items are related, for example Culture and Attitude. Relating Habitat and Imagination, Tina Seelig showed a typical kindergarten environment, with a very fluid layout – brightly coloured moveable furniture, with easy access to all sorts of colourful and stimulating equipment. Moving on to your average school, there were desks in rows, and this progressed to the regimented cubicles that so many people are forced to work in for their employment. Contrasted with this were the work environments of Google and other innovative companies, with all sorts of fun and stimulating surroundings, and comfortable furniture laid out in such a way as to encourage people to sit and chat and brainstorm together. Such companies encourage their employees to take time out and rest – take a nap, and the ideas will come! So often good ideas come to us in dreams. In this way, one’s habitat can fire one’s imagination rather than crippling it.

This sort of thing got me thinking about our education system in general. I’ve thought about this a great deal in recent years, especially after I started Zentangle, which is a drawing method that I originally liked to describe as “drawing for people who can’t draw” – until I thought about it a bit, and re-phrased it “Drawing for people who think they can’t draw.” All pre-school children draw. They all dance and sing, however “badly,” according to educated adult standards! Little children are naturally creative, and have well-developed imaginations. As soon as they start school beyond nursery and kindergarten, the system begins to develop the left brain, which is involved with reasoning and logic, and facts. Right-brain activities such as music and the arts are generally looked down upon and not considered such valuable skills because it’s the “Three Rs” that enable people to pass exams and get jobs. The emphasis is always on getting qualifications – bits of paper that say that you know how to come up with the “right” answers. Music and art are fine for hobbies, but “get a real job.” In these days of limited financial resources, a lot of music in schools is now extra-curricular with teachers not being on the payroll but self-employed, and schools in impoverished areas often have very little musical education at all and no facilities – I saw a horrifying programme on TV a few years ago where the poor music teacher in one inner-city school had no musical instruments for the children except yogurt pots that they could bash with sticks. OK, she was thrown back on her resources and had to make do in as creative a way as she could (one of the points Tina was making in her talk) but it was a graphic example of the lack of importance that the powers that be, in our culture, put on creative imagination. A young orchestral conductor went in and provided instruments, and opened up a whole new world for those children, some of whom had never even heard classical music before.

If we don’t educate the whole person, where are the future ideas going to come from, that enrich the lives of us all? We NEED creative people in industry, science, medicine, and every profession. Apart from that, education is supposed to be about producing fully-rounded individuals who can make the best of themselves and live fulfilled lives for the benefit of themselves and others. How else are our communities and the wider nation supposed to improve themselves if people are not encouraged to have the skills that come from a creative imagination?

Tina says we are often far too limited in our solutions to problems, and our education system encourages this by training us to find “the right answer,” when it would be far more creative to pose the questions in a different way, so that there is no one single “right answer” but many ways to answer the question, in a way that encourages us to use our creative imagination.

I love this “thinking outside the box” approach. In my art, I like to experiment with different materials just to see what happens. Not always having the “right” equipment or materials to achieve the results I want, I have to improvise. This is often a lot more fun than just opening a pack of this, or a tube of that, or the exact colour from the complete range – having to work a bit harder at it, one is learning all the time, and gaining far more satisfaction in the long run. Another example of this is thinking beyond the normal art suppliers who usually charge a high price for their products, and looking elsewhere – I use decorating and DIY materials and often raid the cake decorating aisles for equipment. I also use a lot of tools that I inherited from Dad, which were more to do with his interests than mine, but all so useful!

Cooking can be a bit like this too. Where is the satisfaction in simply slavishly following a recipe, and perhaps not even attempting a recipe in the first place because one hasn’t got all the exact ingredients? Substituting these for what one actually does have, one can end up with new and exciting flavours. I use tools and implements for the “wrong” purpose too – one of my favourite kitchen tools is a butter curler. I never curl butter, but it’s brilliant for scraping seeds from melons and squashes. My strawberry huller is in constant use for cutting out the ends of kiwi fruits, and I use my grapefruit knife for removing the flesh from melons. Taking risks is half the fun in all creative endeavours, and often leads to exciting and unexpected results.

Making mistakes. Failure. Doing it wrong. These words are so limiting, and encourage people to give up, and also make us fearful to try anything new. Instead, Tina says we should look on the failures as part of the learning process, to add what doesn’t work to our arsenal of knowledge and experience, and to build on them. I have often made what I initially thought was “a right mess” but before throwing it in the bin in disgust, have made myself think about it in a different way, and build on it, and in the end, have been much more pleased with the result than I would have been, had it “worked” in the first place.

I think truly creative people are rule-breakers, rebels. I know I’m a rebel. I have my own ideas about how to do things, and don’t like people telling me what to do!! Perhaps this is why I am constantly glad that I never had the opportunity to go to art school. I remember I had a friend when I was young, who had recently come out of art school. She was always a rebel and a highly creative person, and she had had to fight hard in order to be allowed to follow her chosen specialty at college – embroidery. In those days, this was looked down upon as the pursuit of little old ladies and not “proper art.” (I am glad that attitudes have changed since then!) I remember thinking at the time that so much that was coming out of art colleges in those days was very “samey” and had a very distinctive style which I called “1960s Art College” (which I personally didn’t like), and how hard it must be for the students to retain any creative individuality if they were forced into the college’s mould. My friend, being a rebel, and capable of being pretty stroppy especially when challenged, came out with her individuality intact! I was always very impressed with that.

Of course I am not against formal art education, and I know that things have improved a lot in recent years (see my post on the high standard now achieved at my old school). There is much to be gained by being taught how to develop and organise one’s work, and basic skills on which to build one’s own creativity – I do sometimes regret not having had this advantage, but I do believe it’s left me freer to follow my own inner guiding and inspiration. Anyway, there’s always Youtube – if you want to know how to do anything, it’s on Youtube!!

All this has got me thinking about my Dad. He was a superlative amateur musician, highly skilled at all the wind instruments (with the exception of the clarinet and the recorder) and he was also no mean keyboard player. He told me that when he was still at school, he had to make a decision about his future career, and it was a sharp tussle between music and medicine. What finally decided him was that if he became a professional doctor and an amateur musician, he would be left alone to lead a happy and fulfilled life, but if he became a professional musician and an amateur doctor, he was likely to get locked up! On a more serious note, he said that if he had chosen music as a career, he would have had to limit himself to one instrument, and would probably have spent his life in the ranks of an orchestra, being forced to play only what was on offer. As it was, he could pick and choose, and although he played in orchestras all his life, he could also indulge his passion for chamber music, and he had so much fun with all the social aspects of this, making musical friends wherever he went, and being in constant demand for his talents. He had so many creative interests outside of work, including his clocks and engineering skills. He went through various phases in his life where one interest or another occupied his time, and looking back, I can see a lot of him in myself, although I do not aspire to his level of genius! We have both moved on from one thing to another, learning all the way, and being excited to learn new things and gain fulfilment from new achievements. Some people may say these crazes and phases lead to a rather undisciplined way of life, as it often heaps up ever more UFOs (UnFinished Objects) but you have to go where the creative flow leads you! Mum never understood this, and when I was a child, she often used to say, “Don’t start anything new until you’ve finished what you are doing.” This can rob you of a lot of joy if the spark has gone out. The spark can come back though – after a number of years, the bug for knitting and crochet has come back, and I’m picking up some pretty ancient UFOs and getting satisfaction from finishing them at last. (This is one reason why I’m such a hoarder. People say “If you haven’t used it for two years, you won’t use it. Chuck it out.” If I throw anything out, you can guarantee that next week, I’ll want to start using it again, even if I haven’t looked at it for twenty years!! Confession time: some of my UFOs are over 30 years old.)

One thing Tina emphasised in the video was the importance of paying attention. I am always telling my hubby that he doesn’t notice things! When we are out and about in the countryside, there are so many miraculous little things, and if you keep your eyes open, you can spot them, and marvel at them. Just looking at ordinary things, and seeing strange juxtapositions of objects, can make one see the funny side – Dad and I were always doing this when we were out together – both seeing something in a funny way at the same time and laughing, with no need for explanations, for example a lorry emblazoned with the legend, “The Chard Meat Company,” or a house with an estate agent’s board outside saying “Sold by Force.” These things spark the imagination and one conjures up all sorts of bizarre images! There is so much fun to be had out of the most mundane things in life, if one just keeps one’s eyes open.

Training oneself to do this, the skill transfers to other areas of one’s life, enabling one to think outside the box and find solutions that might not otherwise come to mind. It also undermines a natural tendency to perfectionism which can be so limiting.

I have been thinking a lot about the Innovation Engine over the past few days, and how I can use it to develop my own personal creativity, thinking about how the various influences impinge on my own life, and how I can use them.

I Have Finished my Chemo!

The second of two posts for today. Please scroll down to see my latest Florabunda card collection – worth seeing as the Perfect Pearls are just gorgeous!

I have posted an edited entry from my Cancer Diary page into the main blog because it is such an important event, and I know that not everybody visits the Cancer Diary. Edit: I have been experiencing problems with Blogger (again…) and am unable to post from Blogger’s editor so my latest Cancer Diary page has not yet been updated. Unfortunately I cannot post to any page except the Home Page on my blog from Windows Live Writer, which is my preferred blog editor. Further edit: I have now discovered that this is a problem with Firefox. I can successfully publish posts to my Cancer Diary page if I use Chrome – not my preferred browser, so I am hoping Firefox will resolve this issue in double quick time!

I keep being quite overwhelmed by the fact that today I had my final chemo session! I wonder when I am going to wake up and find that it is not true and that I still have loads to get through... Recently I got really fed up with feeling ill all the time, and wondered if I'd ever get through it but the time has simply raced away, and suddenly I was facing the final session.

I had to wait for nearly an hour before being seen, but in the end this was a blessing in disguise (more later). I was taken in and prepared for the chemo as usual, and then went into the treatment bay. I began by eating the lovely packed lunch my hubby had so kindly made for me, and continued through the afternoon with a combination of a bit of colouring for my Florabunda card project, reading my book, and doing part of a puzzle, and chatting with some really lovely people. One lady told me she’d recently had a colostomy and wasn’t dealing well with it. I had a chat with her and said that how she felt did not alter the fact of it being part of her life, and that a change of attitude would really help her. I shared my story, and also gave her quite a few hints that I have learnt along the way. I got some nice feedback from one of the nurses later, that this lady had found the conversation very helpful. I shall be very happy if any of my experiences over the past year can be used to help others even in a small way.

The atmosphere is so friendly on the unit and even people whose cancer is terminal have the most amazing upbeat attitude and are full of smiles, and the resolution to make the absolute best of whatever life remains to them, and everyone emphasises the importance of family, of love, of appreciating each and every day, of counting one's blessings - all those things that money cannot buy, and which are of infinite worth. All attitudes and thoughts I have been cultivating over the past months! The nurses are also all amazing, and the clerical staff too - there is a lot of laughter in what is a happy place, despite the seriousness of its raison d'etre. Logically, it should be a place of doom and gloom and depression, but the resilience of the human spirit, and love and caring, make it quite otherwise.

My hubby arrived while I still had about a quarter of an hour of chemo infusion to go, and then I saw the machine count down from one minute to zero, and my final beeps began, and I raised all my imaginary flags! The nurse who had been looking after me today, came and did all the necessaries to finish my treatment, and I was free to go.

By this time, because of the delay at the start, all the other patients had gone, and the nurses were not all rushing around being ultra-busy, so I got my phone out and said I wanted some photos of me with them all. They were all very enthusiastic about the idea, apart from one who wailed, "I haven't got any makeup on!!" in very good humour, and was instantly shouted down, in equally good humour and a lot of laughter ("We haven't got time to wait two hours..." "I've got some permanent markers in my locker..." etc. etc.!!) We called Emma, my favourite desk clerk of the team who work on reception, and she came and joined in the photo shoot too.

Here are the photos I took of the Ricky Grant Day unit (looking very strange with no patients!) - you will see what a lovely place it is, and how they have gone to a lot of trouble to introduce restful pastel shades, and a lot of pale wood panelling, to make it look less "hospitally." The first photo shows the corner of the reception desk, looking down the further corridor, which has doors off to the right with separate treatment rooms, some of which have couches in them for people to rest on while they have their chemo. You can see the drip trolleys on the left, which are used for the treatments.

Looking back the other way from reception, you can see the wide corridor that also serves as the waiting area. As usual in every hospital waiting room I have ever been in, there are NO spaces to park wheelchairs, with the result that I ALWAYS feel as if I'm in the way! I have written this on numerous feedback sheets but so far nothing has happened to remedy this - considering how many disabled people attend hospitals, I think this is quite an oversight. On the far right of the foreground of this photo you can see the large rubbish bin, the space in front of which has become my favoured parking place! (Make of that what you will, lol!)

Behind the seats in the waiting area are two wide gaps giving access into the two treatment bays. The next picture shows the first one, where I have always gone. On the right, between the windows, you can see a low dividing wall which separates the two areas. The second area has a wide-screen TV on the wall. It looks very odd with no patients sitting in the chairs (you can see one of the recliners in the corner - my preferred seating as they are very comfortable, and the other chairs certainly are not - at least for me!), and the occasional tables which have jars of sweets for people to suck to take away the horrible taste of the chemo. Along the wall, on the white strip, are numerous power points to plug in the drip machines.

Here is Emma, my favourite reception clerk, at the desk. If you look carefully it looks as if she's got three arms. This is because one of the nurses was hiding behing her, unbeknownst to her, and raising two fingers above her head, which you can just see if you look very carefully! Lol!

Finally, here is the group shot my hubby took. I am leaning back with my arms around the two nearest to me, and I look so FAT!!! (OK, I AM fat, but not as fat as I used to be!) You can see how happy everybody looks.

I was sorry that several of the lovely nurses who have looked after me over the past six months were not present today. I shall be emailing one of them with the photo so that she can pass it on to the others. They were all exceptional people, so friendly and encouraging and helpful, and efficient in their work - so sad that they are so busy because there is so much cancer about. They are unfailingly cheerful, remember our names, and give us the very best treatment. As we were leaving, Emma gave me a questionnaire to fill in about what I felt about my treatment, and I gave them a five-star rating on every count, and in the comments section, said that if chemo could ever be considered to be fun, it would be, given the nature of the truly wonderful staff on the unit, and that they all deserved a gold medal with diamonds on it. When I started writing, they all started chipping in with remarks like, "I (Emma) am the most efficient clerk on the unit," and "I am the best nurse," and "I am the most beautiful nurse" etc. etc.!!! Eventually I cried out "Stop! If I start writing that I'll forget someone and they will get upset" lol! We had such a good laugh.

Although I am absolutely 100 percent delighted that my chemo is now finished, I am going to miss going to Ricky Grant and receiving such loving and caring treatment. I shall be going back, though - I have an appointment in six weeks' time for port flushing and bloods, and will probably be returning in the future for further blood tests until I am guaranteed clear of the cancer, so I shall be seeing them all periodically, just not on such a regular basis.

I also want to make more things for the chemo people. I have been thinking about this, and while I simply love to give things away, and would be happy to continue to do this, it occurred to me that if I charged a token amount for each item, the gift would be a double wammy, because the recipient would have something nice to treasure without breaking the bank, and the unit would benefit from more much needed funds, so that they can continue to give others the excellent care that I have received. There is a box on the reception desk with cards in it that people have made, and I could certainly do some for them in my own style, and I could make other items too. I have gained so much from my six months' attendance on the unit and it would be a nice way to put something back, and also an opportunity to call in every now and then and catch up with everybody.

My hubby took me home after this, and I really wasn't feeling too bad. I managed to eat a nice evening meal, and while I do feel slightly peculiar, and have had a little peripheral neuropathy in my hands after touching something cold, it is not there in a big way and I haven't resorted to my gloves. Like last time, I may find that week 1 is pretty good, and I may crash again in week 2, but we shall see.

I think that already, the effects are less severe because my whole attitude has changed now that the treatment has finished. I am feeling so good that phase 3 of my journey is now at an end (phase 1 being preparation for surgery and then the actual operation and hospital stay; phase 2 being learning to manage Kermit, my stoma, and phase 3 being the chemo). Phase 4 can now be called "the recovery phase" when I can really concentrate on getting well. I am convinced that I am going to be OK now; they are all very optimistic at the hospital that all the cancer has gone. I shall do my best with eating the right foods to help my body expell the residue of toxic chemicals from my system, and my positive attitude and determination will also help me along the way.

What a journey this has been! Phase 4 will include the CT scan and further blood tests in the next 4-6 weeks, and then ongoing for the next five years. At some point I shall have to go in to have the port removed, but they will most likely leave it in for a while until they are sure it won't be needed any more, and this means I shall have to return to the Ricky Grant unit for it to be flushed every six weeks if it has not been used. However, during phase 4, I shall be concentrating on getting my life back on track at home, and gradually taking on my previous roles on the domestic front, relying on my hubby on the days when I am feeling not so good - he has had plenty of practice and I am sure he won't mind stepping into the breach when necessary. I am not intending to rush into doing too much and setting myself back, but I shall be sensible and continue to listen to my body.

Amazingly, today, the "Daily Blessing" in my side bar has come up with this:

Friday October 16, 2015

Today's Verse:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13,14 / KJV

How appropriate.

Commission for a Zentangle Book

The second of two posts today. – Edited – picture of book cover.

I have been approached by Jane Marbaix, a UK Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT), who is writing a new book on Zentangle – she already has more than one in print – she had found my tangle “Y-Ful Power” and wanted to feature it. She asked me to submit the step-outs for it, and also a piece of art using this tangle, and some text giving details of the inspiration behind it. She asked if the art piece could somehow reflect the story of my cancer journey this year, as the publishers were keen that the book should inspire people.

I was a bit daunted at first because the deadline was so short, for which she apologised; she said she needed it within three weeks, but effectively for me, that meant by the end of the week, because my next chemo treatment is due then, after which I will be fit for nothing for another fortnight. Her timing was actually very good because I was just starting to feel better for my third week in the cycle, and I’ve been able to pull out all the stops and get it done in time!

I felt a bit daunted for another reason too, which was that I have very little experience in expressing my thoughts, feelings and experiences in the form of art. This is definitely something I have felt the need to work on for some time, because I have been wanting to get into art journaling. Hopefully next year after the chemo is finished and I am getting my life back, this will start to happen, and it’s good to get in a bit of practice in advance!

I feel extremely flattered to be invited to contribute to a published book. To be sought out like this and invited to take part is very exciting indeed, and I am so pleased that Jane is so delighted with what I’ve come up with – I wanted really to do this thrilling project the justice it so richly deserves. Jane is one of only a small number of UK-based CZTs and it’s very good to be able to support and encourage her in this way, and to give her a bit of publicity.

My original thoughts on a suitable design for this ZIA (Zentangle-Inspired Art) came to nothing and got chucked out – my thinking was too literal, and my initial sketches were a disaster! I spent most of that first morning trawling the Internet for inspiration until I decided to look on my own Pinterest boards to see if anything struck a chord, and I found this image of the most amazing and beautiful spiral staircase.

I have no idea where this staircase is located. I have always been fascinated by spiral staircases and the intriguing shapes they produce, and in this context, I could see this as a picture of my journey – a journey of the heart from darkness to light.

Here are some pictures showing the progression from initial pencil sketch to the finished drawing.

 

 

The initial pencil sketch shows the spiral staircase emerging from a 3-D heart, both of which feature prominently my tangle “Y-Ful Power.” I wanted the bottom part of the picture to be dark. The small heart on the right is an attempt to get the perspective right – I had some trouble with this!

The next picture shows how I began the first tracing of the shapes, using my light pad – a flat panel illuminated by LEDs for the purpose of tracing. This is an extremely useful tool which I acquired a few months ago on Ebay, and had yet to put through its paces. I have wanted a light box for many years, and am very glad that I did not invest in one at the time because these new panels are so much more convenient – lying flat on the table with very little thickness, and the LEDs do not make it hot.

The next picture shows the first tracing complete.

 

 

I have drawn a pencil grid over the spiral staircase and the heart, for the placing of the dot grid to construct Y-Ful Power, which you can see complete on the first draft I made from that tracing, on plain paper.

 

 

I was still not happy with the heart, which looked rather flat, but which I thought might be improved with some shading. I made several attempts at drawing the heart, using different grids, until I was satisfied.

Here is the completed draft.

 

I didn’t like the overlap of the rays of light from “Footlites” on the left, and these needed to be altered.

My first “fair copy” of the drawing did not pass muster because the bottom of the heart was very dark, and there was not enough contrast with the background, into which it appeared to merge without trace! It looks better on this photo than it does in real life. I had put too much in the way of embellishments on the Y-Ful Power on the bottom of the heart, and this needed to be reduced. I wasn’t keen on the way that the embellishments followed the line of the handrail of the staircase, either. There were some other problems too, such as the hole in the centre of the spiral coming out too small and losing the impact of the spot of light towards which the butterfly is moving. Also, I didn’t like what I’d done with “Finery” on the bottom right – the black embellishments were too strong. (I edited this scan and made it come out a bit too dark – the shading isn’t that strong on the original.)

So I re-drew it, yet again. This next photo shows the final drawing complete, or so I thought until I realised that I had left out some shading that I wanted to put on the underside of the spiral staircase. (The rest of the shading shows more true to the original than on the previous photo.) I was a lot happier with the heart, “Finery” and “Footlites,” in this final rendering.

 

By this time I had scanned the image, and done a bit of digital tidying up, and I didn’t want to do all that work again, so I printed it out, and attempted to add some shading to this scanned image, which I then scanned again. This was a mistake because the result came out very grainy, so it was “back to the drawing board” as I had to decide what to do. To save myself a lot of work I decided to add the shading digitally, to the underside of the spiral staircase. This is the final drawing.

 

 

I was a little concerned at how blue the shading (real and digital) appeared in the image – I tried desaturating it and converting it to greyscale but the result was the same. I am hoping that the printers will get a true greyscale image when they prepare it for the book. I have now sent the files of the drawing, the 2 step-out sheets for Y-Ful Power, and the text to accompany the drawing, to the publisher as well as to the author, and the publisher says that the scans are fine, so presumably the picture prints out OK in a true greyscale.

Looking at these pictures, superficially they appear pretty much the same, but it’s a bit like those “spot the difference” pictures! There are subtle differences which probably only my perfectionistic nature would fuss about, but this is going to be published, and I wanted it to be the best I could make it – I’d never be satisfied knowing that something I had drawn was being published, that I wasn’t 100% happy with.

A Word about Shading

In the past, I have always shaded my Zentangles with a soft (4B) pencil and then blended it with a paper stump. However, being graphite, the shading didn’t usually photograph or scan very well because it is slightly reflective. I have wondered for a while about suitable alternatives, and recently discovered soluble graphite pencils – watercolour pencils in shades of grey that can be applied and then blended with a water brush. I bought a Derwent Graphitint pencil recently in Warm Grey (Shade #19), one of a range of greys that they produce, which I think probably doesn’t have any graphite in it because it is completely non-reflective. Blending with the water brush is easy, and the results are very good, so this is going to be my shading tool of choice for the future.

The symbolism in the picture

You can see that there is an emphasis on upward movement throughout the picture, from the dark beginnings to the light in the centre. The symbolism is best expressed by quoting an extract from the text which will accompany the image in the book (this may be edited by the publisher for length):

“My piece of Zentangle-inspired art depicts my journey from my bowel cancer diagnosis in January 2015, which is essentially a journey of the heart – it is all about attitude. It is not the circumstances and events in our lives which define us, but our attitude to them – we can either cave in under them and complain and be miserable, which will affect everyone around us in a negative way, or we can face them head on, and make use of them, to help us become a better person, which will have the added bonus of inspiring those around us. This second choice is the one I have made. Only once, on the day of my diagnosis, did I say, ‘Why me?’ and immediately afterwards asked, ‘Why not me?’ A positive attitude also helps towards a positive outcome to the illness and its treatment…

“This has been a wake-up call and a life-changing experience, which I have attempted to express in my art. The upward journey has not been a straightforward one but has taken some circuitous routes. From a relatively dark and cluttered existence I am rising towards the light; the butterfly represents metamorphosis from one state to another, taking flight from a lowly existence into the brighter light of hope and joy. Before this event, my life was going on much as before, in a fairly chaotic fashion, and looking back I realise just how much time I was wasting, and how little I was doing for – or even thinking of – others. This journey has changed my priorities.

“The upward journey is from a heart full of gratitude, and a desire to make a difference in the lives of others. My new motivation is to help others, to inspire them, and to become a better person…

“Where will this journey lead? Who knows? Hopefully to a cancer-free life, but to have made a difference is all I ask.”

Tangle Patterns Used in the Piece

I included a list of the sixteen different tangles that I used in the piece:

Y-Ful Power, Cvetic, Lily Pads, Lotus Pods, Footlites, B’twined, Miander. Copada, Bilt, Intwine, Finery, Zinger, Verdigogh, Float Fest, Barber Pole, and Heart Rope. I wonder if my fellow tanglers will be able to spot them all!

Details of the Book So Far 

The book title will be “Inspiring Zentangle Projects,” and will be published in May of next year, all being well. Jane has now sent me a jpg of the cover. She says that between now and publication, this may be changed, but this is the working version.

 

 

It is being published by Arcturus Publishing – I visited their website today and they’ve got some very intriguing titles on there, including several adult colouring books, and to my great delight, an adult dot-to-dot book! I used to love doing these as a child, and the adult ones look highly complex and interesting. Definitely something to try! I expect you could colour them afterwards, too. They do quite a few art and craft books, and one of Jane Marbaix’s earlier Zentangle books is in the catalogue, too – “Mandala Zentangle.”

I hope you will all buy a copy of her new book when it comes out!

“New Patient Talk” Appointment

Today I went for my pre-chemotherapy appointment in the day unit at the hospital. It’s a beautiful unit, very bright and airy, with attractive pale wood everywhere. We saw a specialist chemotherapy nurse who went through everything with us and told us what to expect.

On Wednesday afternoon I have a pre-assessment appointment with the radiologist in preparation for my appointment with him early on Friday morning, when he will install my port-a-cath under anaesthetic.

My chemo begins at lunch time on that day, Friday 22nd May. I will be having a treatment every three weeks for the next six months.

I have detailed this in full on my Cancer Diary page.

I now have only a few days of “normal” life before this ordeal begins, and I have done an online Tesco order this afternoon, so that tomorrow when it arrives, I can begin preparing some food ready to freeze, to have when I am not feeling well enough to do anything. I also have an order of wholefoods arriving in the next day or two, and shall be able to make delicious and appetising smoothies to see me through! I shall make another great pot of clear chicken soup, as I did before my operation.

I need to keep thinking positively about all this, and not to think of the stuff they are going to pump into me as “poison” (which, in actual fact, it is!) but as something very good, which is going to eliminate any possible remaining cancer cells in my body, and ensure that I have a long and reasonably healthy life from now on! The idea of six months of it is pretty daunting, but when I think that if I don’t go through this, and the cancer does reappear, I may end up with only six months, or less! After all, what is six months of one’s life, as long as I continue to have a life to live! My hubby continually says he is glad I had such a big operation, and glad that I am having the chemo, which may sound strange, but the alternative does not bear thinking about. I must be continually thankful that this amazing treatment is available for me, free of charge, and could be saving my life. This year may seem to be a washout, and all the plans I made at the end of last year have so far come to nothing, but if it simply means that they will take place next year, it really doesn’t matter.

This past week I have really started to feel better after my operation, and it’s a bit galling to think that just when I feel like doing things again and picking up the threads of my life once more, they are going to zap me down with chemo and make me feel dreadful!! This past week, I have been in my studio again, and in the evenings, having been doing Zentangles, working on more ATC-sized designs for my Zentangle sample album. I shall be uploading some photos soon. I have also made my hubby’s birthday card, and have his anniversary card to make, too, and if possible, a very belated Valentine card which I promised him!

So – those of you who pray – thank you for your wonderful prayers going up from the four corners of the globe, which have so far carried me through marvellously well, and I ask you to continue to pray! We will get through this. There is no way round it, over it, or under it. The only way through is through! I do pray that I shall be a good witness for the Lord by how I deal with it all, and that I don’t give my hubby a bad time.

Visit from Shaz

Today we had a lovely visit from Shaz and her hubby. Shaz and I first met on WOYWW, and when she was diagnosed with rectal cancer she started a cancer page on her blog, and I have been following her progress with great interest, and sending messages of support and encouragement whenever possible.

Little did I know that I myself would soon be treading the same path, and facing many of the same challenges that Shaz has faced – and faced with great fortitude and humour. She has been of immense support and encouragement to me, and recently, particularly this last week which has been so difficult for me, we have been emailing back and forth several times a day! Truly this cancer journey is an emotional rollercoaster and I have been experiencing some real highs and lows in the past weeks, and it is great to know that one has friends and allies rooting for one. On her recommendation, I have started my own Cancer Diary page on this blog (tab below blog header).

They arrived mid-afternoon and we had a great chat all together, over cups of coffee and tea. Our hubbies were getting on like a house on fire and my hubby ended up giving hers a pair of motorcycle boots – sadly my hubby has reluctantly agreed that he really should give up motorcycling after his broken wrist in the autumn. He has realised that he has caring responsibilities these days and it’s just too risky – his accident could have been an awful lot worse.

Shaz and I hit it off straight away, which I knew we would because we’re already great online buddies! She and I went upstairs for a chat and left the boys to it, and she has encouraged me greatly about having a stoma and managing the bag. There is nothing like chatting with someone who is already dealing with it, and she reassured me that it can all be dealt with quickly and easily, and become part of one’s daily routine.

I showed her round the house, including my gorgeous girlie bathroom as my hubby calls it, and of course showed her my ARTHaven, and we agreed that Really Useful Boxes are the best thing ever! Unfortunately I didn’t have much in the way of projects to show her – my desk is bare at the moment, in the continuing absence of Mr. Mojo and Mrs. Muse. I am not pushing for their return and they can continue with their extended holiday! I am sure they will return once I am out of hospital and well on my way with my convalescence.

We had such a lovely time all together, and hopefully we will be able to meet up again in the future. Shaz and I both agree that we have the best hubbies ever, and how wonderfully supportive they are being as we both go through this ordeal of cancer, surgery, and having a stoma.

Here is the picture I took – the two hubbies took some too but I haven’t got those yet.

I also took this one of Shaz because she’s got reeeaaally cool hair!!

My hubby is into treats mode at the moment and has got a few “spoilies” up his sleeve for the days before my hospital admission, and one of the things I am doing is to have my hair done the day before I go in. It is getting rather straggly so I’ve booked to have it tidied up a bit, and I want some streaks of colour – I am going to print this photo out and say “I want one of these”!! Actually, it won’t be all over – I am having streaks, but I’d love the dip-dyed look. If I keep my roots my current colour I won’t get a line as it starts to grow out, but if I can have sections with the dip-dyed look, starting a little way down from the roots, this should look good, and I will also be able to continue touching up the roots at home as the grey appears.

You only have to look at Shaz with her funky hair and clothes, and her wonderful smiling face, to know that she’s one feisty lady and great fun to be with! She’s a real friend.

Their visit was one of this week’s “spoilies” for me – what a lovely afternoon we all had!

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For details of how to join in, please click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, which will take you to our hostess Julia’s blog, where all will be revealed.

My first WOYWW of 2015! Sorry not to have been around, but despite my hopes to the contrary, 2015 has kicked off with a whole raft of problems, starting with difficulties with my very elderly mum, and there’s been a lot of stress in the house. My hubby has managed to set up a care package for her now, and we have a team of simply wonderful carers coming in each morning to help her get up, and they are such a great support to us, too. We have had the doctor and the district nurse, and at last the pressure is somewhat off, but in his own wonderful way of trying to shield me from stress, my hubby has taken on much more of the caring role, and now that Mum is more vulnerable, is finding it hard to find sufficient time away from home to enjoy his own pursuits.

As if we haven’t had quite enough going on over the past year, to cap it all, I had my regular two-yearly colonoscopy yesterday (part of the management of my ulcerative colitis) and we were presented with the devastating news that it is almost definite that I have bowel cancer. They have sent the biopsies they took during the examination for pathological analysis, and ordered a CT scan to take place in the next fortnight, and these tests will confirm by science what they know to be true by experience.

I have written a full blog post about this, giving all the details, so I won’t repeat it all again here.

I feel very, very sorry for my wonderful hubby. He could do without this extra burden – will he never be able fully to enjoy his retirement after so many years of hard work in the service of others? He has been thrown willy-nilly into a full-time carer’s role and it seems so unfair – especially after this latest news.

However, no point moaning – together we have to face this, and get through all the various things they throw at us, and I am determined to be a Good Girl and do as I am told, and take all the treatments and examinations and surgeries they deem necessary, and above all to try not to get ratty and difficult with my hubby when the going gets tough – he has enough of that from Mum!! I pray for a thankful heart at all times.

As a result of all this, my mojo has taken a bit of a bashing. Here is my desk this week.

Nothing very exciting on it, is there! You can see the alcohol ink and embossed backgrounds I made a while ago, ready to make into cards for my stash (still not made up) and a doyley and some paper napkins ready to be put away, and the rest is general detritus and my usual regular-use inks and other materials. I simply must organise a better system for the heaps of partially used pieces of kitchen paper on the left (mostly just out of shot – I wouldn’t inflict it on you!) – it’s a horrible mess that irritates me every time I work in there!

Just so you don’t feel totally deprived, I have managed to do a bit more on my embroidered pieces for the bed decorations, which I’ve already posted about, but here’s an example:

Hopefully I’ll feel like working on these a bit more this week.

I have also acquired some more RUBs (Really Useful Boxes) and have been having fun doing some reorganisation of storage in my ARTHaven. It’s a great improvement on the messy piles of workshop tools, where I’d never be able to find anything.

Not too much time or inclination to be in my ARTHaven over the past few days. Over the weekend I was going through the dreadful preparation for the colonoscopy, and I have been very busy on the computer since yesterday afternoon, contacting various people to tell them my news, and filling in my various forum friends. I am overwhelmed by the amazing and wonderful support I am already receiving from so many lovely friends around the world.

With your prayers and support, I am sure my hubby and I will beat this. Today I am in fighting mood, but am realistic enough to know that this won’t necessarily last. I have decided to clamp down on my imagination to prevent it running riot and leading me into worst-case-scenario situations – that way leads to despair, and that is NOT Shoshi’s way!!

I have been in contact with our own wonderful Shaz, and she agrees that it will help me a lot, as it has helped her on her ongoing journey, to create a diary of my experiences, not just to help others going through the same thing, but also to help keep my own thoughts in order, and keep abreast of the various events which will take place. With my M.E. brainfog, this is a very good idea because I’m quite likely to get totally confused by it all! I have therefore begun a new page (see tabs along the top of my blog) entitled “My Cancer Diary.”

Today my hubby took me out for lunch, as a special treat after my colonoscopy, planned in advance. To see where we went, have a look at this blog post from the summer, when we went with friends, and I took loads of photos – it’s such a fascinating, quirky old place, full of intriguing things, with fine old beams and crooked walls. We had a lovely meal – a real treat, especially as I haven’t been out of the house properly for several weeks, except to visit the hospital.

Have a great week, everybody, and may our mojos never die or go on holiday.

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For details of how to join in the fun, please click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, which will take you to our hostess Julia’s blog.

Still working hard on the recycled mini-album, which I am determined to finish by 11th December!!

You can see it lying on a scratch paper that I’ve made from the background of this page and previous work. The page I have just completed is on my dad’s interest in astronomy. You can read more detail about the creation of this page if you scroll down to my previous post, and the posts below that, which deal with other pages I’ve been working on since last week’s WOYWW, for those who are interested in following the progress of this album.

Also on the desk you can see the inevitable dirty paint water (different colour this week!), the paints I used for the background for the page, and my glass bead gel medium, which I also used on this page. Various pens, paint brushes, gel mediums, spray sealant, bubble wrap printing blocks, distress inks… the general detritus of a busy art desk lol!

Not a great deal of other news this week, apart from the fact that we’ve again been having major problems with mum and her awful behaviour… it is really stressing me out, but as always, she is behaving quite well following on from the latest row, although she did have a blip with my hubby while we were out for lunch with a friend today. She gets extremely difficult if she isn’t constantly the centre of attention.

I have been reasonably well this week, apart from a couple of evenings with a weight on my chest and palpitations as a result of said stress, and an M.E. crash on the recliner yesterday afternoon and evening. From now on, of course, there is lots going on, but as long as I finish the album in time I’m not too bothered!

I haven’t forgotten that I didn’t post about last week’s soap making class – too many other things to post about! I will try and do it together with tonight’s class.

I haven’t done much knitting this week, and am still picking up stitches around the neck. Nearly finished now! Watch this space.

My diet continues to go well, although the weight loss is pretty slow these days. I have now lost 2 stone 1 lb (29 lb) since I started back in June, and I am now officially no longer obese, but merely overweight!

Happy WOYWW everybody, and have a great creative week. Again, my apologies for not visiting as many of you as I would have liked, but not much time to be on the computer at the moment.

Disabled-Friendly Housing

For several years I have subscribed to the newsletter of the Leonard Cheshire Foundation, and yesterday I received an email detailing a petition for the provision of disabled-friendly housing, that all new houses should be built fully accessible for disabled people. I would also add that I think every new building should be built like this – if everything was suitable, and every loo accessible, there would be no need for “special” facilities for what is actually a large proportion of the population, and we could be fully integrated. After all, if we can go everywhere the able-bodied population can go, there is then no difference between us. I have heard it said that it is only the attitudes of the able-bodied that make disabled people “disabled” at all! Fully accessible facilities would also benefit the elderly, and mothers of small children – every level of our society, in fact.

The lady who started the petition is living in a council house totally unsuited to her needs. A few years ago she was able to access every part of her house. She suffers from fibromyalgia and one day she fell down the stairs which led to a worsening in her condition, resulting in her having to use a wheelchair full time. From that day forward, she could no longer go upstairs in her house. She sleeps in the living room, and every day carers come in to strip-wash her at the kitchen sink, in full view of her neighbours’ houses. The toilet door has had to be removed because otherwise she cannot get the wheelchair in, and if anyone is in the house with her, she has to ask them to leave so that she can go to the toilet in privacy. She has access to only 3 rooms in her house – the kitchen, the lounge, and the downstairs loo. She cannot even get into the garden because there is no ramp.

Is it right for someone to be so completely imprisoned in their own house, with all her privacy and dignity stripped away? She spoke at the recent Conservative Party Conference and was encouraged by the response.

You can read her story, and view the short video she made, here.

I should like to encourage as many of you as possible, who read my blog, to sign the petition. I have always said that a civilised society should be judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. With a change of attitude, this lady, and many more like her, could be living full, dignified, independent and productive lives. The Leonard Cheshire Foundation, which campaigns for the basic human rights of disabled people in this country, states that there are thousands of people living in Britain today who cannot access their bathrooms and who have to wash in the kitchen.

Daily I count my blessings. We live in a beautiful house which we were able to adapt to suit my needs when we first moved here. Most disabled people are not nearly so fortunate, and today live on a knife-edge financially, as well, with the reform of the benefits system, which while it seeks, quite rightly, to weed out the criminal abuses, is also adversely affecting the lives of thousands of vulnerable citizens who depend absolutely on benefits in order simply to survive, let alone live a life of dignity. In a programme broadcast shortly after the Paralympics in 2012, Ade Adepitan (ex-Olympic basketball player) stated that the majority of British Paralympians were in receipt of disability benefits, and could not have made it to the Olympics in the first place without them.

Something to think about, isn’t it. We so often take our circumstances for granted and forget the incredible hardships our neighbours endure on a day to day basis.

Lunch Out in a Fabulous Place, and a Stressful Afternoon

Yesterday we met some friends for lunch at Churston Manor, a local restaurant. The house has a chequered history going back to Tudor times, and it is a fascinating place, built before the invention of perpendiculars! It is filled with artefacts from many periods and from around the world, so there is plenty to look at. Mum doesn’t like going there because it’s so dark and her old eyes can’t see what she is eating! We love it, though, as it’s so full of atmosphere and character – and the food is first class, too.

Here is the main dining room, where we had our lunch.

I love the bowed wall, as if some mediaeval knight has leant on it for too long!

The fireplace at the far end of the room:

In the small dining room, there are some oriental artefacts, including this beautiful carved piece from S.E. Asia – possibly from Burma or Thailand. It is resting on an Indian toran, or doorway textile (I have one of these over my ARTHaven door).

Throughout the house there are many portraits and mirrors, and also tapestries. I love the warm glow of these red walls.

The small dining room is dominated by this massive open fireplace.

There are several intriguing little doorways, and the funny little grille, behind which is a tiny room accessed from another small doorway to the right.

A small alcove dining room. Note another toran.

A suit of armour in the passageway.

Looking back along this passageway towards the hall, you can see the bowed wall of the main dining room.

Beautiful oak panelling and portraits in the hall at the bottom of the staircase.

Across the hall from the main dining room is the bar, with a heavily beamed ceiling. Note the carving over the doorway, and the pistol!

The staircase, complete with another suit of armour.

Finally, a view back into the main dining room, with a view of the beautiful red and gold ceiling.

We had such a lovely time together, and it seemed like a perfect day until we got home to discover that the scaffolding men were there, taking down the scaffolding that had been up for the installation of the solar panels. I had phoned a couple of days ago requesting that they phone us before coming, so that we could be prepared, and shut the cats in to keep them safe. We always keep the garden gates closed, top and bottom, to prevent them getting out onto the road, and so far they have never been beyond the confines of the garden. Coming home, we found the gate open at the bottom, and the scaffolding being carried out. We scooped Beatrice up and shut her in straight away, but there was absolutely no sign of Phoebe.

The scaffolding man said he’s never got the message about phoning us first, so I telephoned the solar panels office and told them what had happened, and expressed my annoyance, and extreme concern about Phoebe. Almost immediately they phoned the scaffolding man, who then admitted that he had actually received the message but had forgotten all about it. When I took him to task about this he said he couldn’t be expected to remember everything as he was so busy, etc. etc. His attitude was very offhand and he was obviously not prepared to take responsibility, and both my hubby and I went round the block calling Phoebe, but there was no sign of her. By the time the scaffolding men left she still hadn’t appeared, and I was very upset, and the man still refused to take responsibility, and simply walked away from me and drove off.

Eventually, to my extreme relief, Phoebe miraculously appeared, and I’ve never been so relieved! I phoned the office straight away to let them know, and left a message as it was after office hours, and soon afterwards I had a return call, which I thought was good – they were just packing up when my message was received. I told them how unimpressed I was with the scaffolding man’s attitude.

There’s nothing to be done about it, of course, because they’ve now gone, and are on another job, and as far as they are concerned it doesn’t matter a bit. The whole thing has left a nasty taste and caused me a huge amount of stress, which has resulted in me having a bad day with my health today, and unable to do anything much but lie on the recliner and try and survive the heat.

I’m just glad we’ve got Phoebe back safe and sound. I was imagining the worst.

I think one of the worst features of our modern age is that people no longer take responsibility for their actions and always try to put the blame on somebody else. It appears that to apologise is looked upon as a sign of weakness, and they won’t apologise because it means admitting liability. I have always believed that to face up to one’s mistakes and admit them honestly, and apologise, is actually a sign of maturity and strength. People don’t seem to give a damn these days, as long as they themselves are comfortable and secure, and they seem to have no consideration for the feelings of others. Maybe I’m old-fashioned but I think this way of carrying on is unacceptable, and especially so when dealing with customers.

Rant over.

Are You an Artist?

Today I viewed the latest Youtube video by one of my favourite artists, Jennibellie. You may remember I featured another of her videos recently, on the subject of comparing oneself with others, and this latest one is another of what she describes as her “pep talks”!

Again, it made a huge impression on me, as she was speaking right into my situation, or my situation as it was last year.

She made this video while visiting York, and staying in what she described as a haunted house! It all looked very charming to me.

Anyway, back to the pep talk. For some time I had been feeling less comfortable with the description “crafter” for what I do – this is no slight on those who do consider themselves to be crafters and are happy with that, but I felt I was moving more into an area where I was creating a lot more from scratch, rather than assembling ready-made materials, and as I pushed the boundaries, needed to start calling myself an artist.

However, for some time I felt very uncomfortable using this word to people because I thought they might think it pretentious of me, and the worst stumbling block was that I don’t get paid for what I do – my feeling was that most people who describe themselves as artists are “serious” artists who make money from what they do! Jennibellie points out that if you do art, then you are an artist! Why do we have no problem with the doing of art, but the personal description “artist” causes us such problems?

I think I am over this hump now. I am finding it easier all the time to describe myself as an artist. It doesn’t matter anyway what other people think, and if they assume that I am a professional artist, that doesn’t matter either. To be exact, I suppose I could always describe myself as an “amateur artist” but that rather implies that I just mess about and am not serious about what I do, or that I am not very good.

I am not as good as I would like to be, but then I doubt if you’d meet many artists who think that they are as good as they should be!

The name I give to my studio is my ARTHaven, a name I borrowed from Penny Duncan. It is indeed a haven where I do art, and the capital letters imply how important this art is to me. I get quite uncomfortable and a bit annoyed when I hear my hubby describe it as my “craft room.” My beautiful room in our new house, all fitted out to my own specification and design, is definitely my studio, the place where I make ART.

This whole issue is another facet of the issue Jennibellie addressed before, that of lacking confidence in ourselves which manifests itself in the comparing of ourselves with others. I don’t know if it’s a particularly British characteristic to be self-effacing and modest, and not to trumpet ourselves lest we appear brash and boastful, but false modesty is nobody’s friend in the end! It’s time to step up to the mark and say it as it is!

Are you an artist? If you are creative with your materials and produce work that is unique to you, and which expresses something of the inner you, then you are. Don’t be afraid to say it!

Salisbury and Cotswolds Holiday–Day 2: School Reunion–Post 2 - Art

Warning – Picture rich post!

As I mentioned in my first post, I took so many photos today that it was impossible to include them in a single post. I decided to dedicate a separate post to the quite astonishing art which is being created in my old school. The old science block has been converted to an art building with spacious, well-lit studios and a full staff.

On entering the building we were presented with a display of finished works by the girls. The ages of these girls ranged mostly between 15 and 18, and at the end of the day I was completely amazed at the extremely high standard of work, which in many cases was easily diploma-standard, from such young people. I learnt a lot today, about techniques and materials, and about attitudes to art, and about what it is possible to achieve with hard work and perseverance.

A small installation inspired by a field trip to St. Ives in Cornwall, the site of the famous art colony and the gallery, Tate St. Ives.

The next picture was of particular interest to me, having recently read Edmund de Waal’s book “The Hare with Amber Eyes.” This installation was inspired by the ceramicist and consisted of vessels made of ceramics and textile.

One of the main aspects of the art education at the school is the inviting to the school of established artists, who share their work and experiences with the girls. They are then asked to set the girls assignments based on their work – not to copy or slavishly imitate, but as a springboard to their own creativity. The ceramics teacher who showed us the delights of the art block said that although they have a fairly extensive library of art books for reference, he does not encourage the girls to use these as a first port of call; he said that nothing beats meeting real artists and seeing their work first hand, in the flesh – he said it also gave them the opportunity to meet lots of lovely and interesting people! Edmund de Waal’s assistant recently visited the school and inspired that particular piece.

A project wall in one of the studios.

I had to photograph this working sink! I love all the paint spatters, and the stained palettes drying on the rack. One day my ARTHaven sink might look like this!

Today I came across a material entirely unfamiliar to me – a substance called Puff Binder. It gives a soft and flexible texture, somewhat bubbly in feel and appearance.

Experiments adding urea to ink.

One example of the amazing results achieved using scrunched up cling film.

Another project wall, this time in the textile studio.

Amazing ceramics.

A small room off to one side (originally a science lab prep room) was dedicated to the teaching of the history of art. I was immediately drawn to this picture, a photograph of one of the famous mediaeval stone carvings in the French cathedral at Autun. (We always say that the figures in these carvings all look like the actor Anna Massey!!) This one is a particular favourite of mine, and I once did a line drawing of it to use as a Christmas card. It depicts the three kings after their visit to the infant Jesus, being warned in a dream by an angel, not to return to King Herod, who had evil designs on the baby. In this carving, the eyes of the king whom the angel is touching gently with his forefinger are open, while his colleagues sleep on. What particularly charms and amuses me is the fact that the kings have gone to bed with their crowns on! Of course, no self-respecting monarch should ever remove his or her crown.

Further pictures on the wall of the History of Art room.

More amazing ceramics. Remember, the girls who created these were only in their mid-teens.

The next picture was of an amazing piece of work. Unfortunately because it was hanging in the stair well I was unable to get a full picture of it, straight on. It consists of a number of fish of various sizes, laser-cut from paper. An original was designed and photocopied, and duplicated many times in different sizes before being cut, and then mounted in an open frame between criss-crossing threads.

The teacher showed us the working book and portfolio of one of his most accomplished students, who undertook an exercise in distorted images; faces drawn from unusual angles, distorted through glass, etc.

Her final piece, a drawing of her grandfather, was the most arresting portrait I think I’ve ever seen, and was hanging in the stairwell.

There is no way in a million zillion years that I could achieve work of this standard, and especially not at age 15 or 16.

I was particularly drawn to the mixed media textured pieces inspired by visits to St. Ives and other seaside venues. Textures inspired by rock formations:

I was intrigued to see how much work was being done using corrugated cardboard – something I have recently been experimenting with myself.

One of the most promising students had conducted a study on animals and birds, and was working on textures and patterns inspired by the plumage of birds of prey. This piece was made from felt, inspired by the breast plumage of a kite, after a visit to a falconry centre where she took numerous photographs.

One of my favourite of her pieces was this amazing texture created from burnt corrugated cardboard, inspired by the wings of a vulture.

We had a long chat with the teacher when we returned to the art building after our tour of the school, and he gave us many insights. I mentioned that these girls must have amazing natural talent, and he shook his head. He showed us the portfolio of one particular girl whom he described as having natural talent, but her arrogance (she knew she was talented) and possibly laziness held her back. Her portfolio was full of good work, but it was slim in comparison with those of her contemporaries, and she limited herself to a small number of projects which she photocopied and re-used, and her exploration into different media was very limited.

The teacher then said, “Compare that with this,” and opened a large portfolio. This girl had pages and pages of preparatory work, photographs, research, etc. before she even began work, and she explored the texture or colour of what she wanted to achieve, using as many different media as possible. The teacher said this was the result solely of extremely hard work and dedication, and a desire to do well. She had no previous experience of art, but achieved so much.

This got me thinking, and I wanted to share this with you as a follow-on from my post about Jennibellie’s recent video about the dangers of comparing ourselves with others. So many people fail even to start with art because they think they are no good, or “can’t draw.” Through the work of his outstanding students, this teacher proved that with the right attitude, perseverence, hard work and a desire to achieve one’s desired end, nothing is impossible.

Last year, he told us, of the total final group (not sure how many girls, but I think about 25?), one achieved a grade C, another a grade A, and the whole of the rest of the group the top grade of A*. Each one could take their pick of any art school in the country.

Having done “embryo” art during my years at school, encouraging my infant creativity which has then developed to where I am now, I am very grateful for the start I had. However, the standard of teaching, and availability of facilities, were a fraction of what the school is now providing. Both my hubby and I were left completely gobsmacked at the high standard and maturity of this work. I hope this glimpse of a small fraction of what I could have photographed had I had a week in the place, has convinced you of this, too, and encouraged any who think they can’t achieve such things, to have a go, work hard, build on ongoing experience, and just see what happens!