Say what?

 Three years since I last blogged? Surely not!

Seems I fell through the space and time continuum because I would have said no more than 18 months tops. But then again, this lack of time awareness is rather commonplace these days. I blame turning 50 earlier this year. I'm in denial.

That's another matter that needs addressing. Where did that half century sneak up from? I certainly don't conform to my view of what a middle-aged woman looked like when I stared ahead into the future 30 years ago! 

No frumpy clothes and Woman's Weekly for me - who cares if I look like mutton dressed as lamb (I don't think I do - just to be clear.... but even if I did - if it makes me happy then why not!).

I have taken myself away to perform the proverbial 'finding of oneself'. It is the time of the Corona and with another lockdown looming, I have escaped from the temptations of housework, gym and grocery shopping to lock myself away to write and let a bit of creative flow loose.

It's amazing what a troublesome companion Procrastination can be. She whispers in your ear to check your emails, log on to a game on your phone, scroll through your Instagram feed, put some washing on... anything but actually tackle the elephant in the room - the one sitting on the keyboard getting in the way! I used to be able to just sit down and write but good habits are easily broken and this putting fingers to keyboard for pleasure has become a whole lot harder than it used to be.

Of course, not all distractions from writing are bad. On the contrary, family time, doggie walks and exercising are a tonic in and of themselves.

However, writing used to bring such joy - mixed in with a bit of art making and I was a happy lass. Does playing time-wasting games on my phone provide the same pleasure? Not a jot. Is it easier. Well of course. Writing has become the route less-travelled. It is full of tangled weeds that need to be hacked through and I am here armed with machete - albeit a trifle tentatively at the moment.

Let's see what happens!

Fact or Fiction?

 

I love to draw and paint faces. It’s an act of creation, of bringing a person to life. I rarely paint ‘real’ people though, instead preferring to allow a form of fiction to tell its story through colour and line. Seeing an eye peer at me from the page really does open a window to a soul revealed. I like it when they smirk at me too as if hiding their secrets from the vessel that pulled them from a hidden place and gave them form.

Last week though I took a break from pencils and brushes and my ‘art’ came to me through my fingertips when personalities were created by tapping out their DNA on the keyboard.

When I’m in the fiction flow the characters more often than not create themselves. I sometimes read stuff back and wonder where on earth it came from. These mystical folk seem to tell me who they are and who they are going to be. Their features take shape in my imagination without any help from me. It’s as if they have been waiting in the wings for their cue. They know their lines, their costumes and make up is in place. I just have to give them the signal to step onto the stage.

I love it! It feels great … when it happens … when I let it …

Why then is the dressing room so crowded as the novels I keep starting or dream of writing stay back of mind? Am I scared of failing my characters, of drying up in front of my audience and turning into a gibbering wordless wreck?

Writing these daily prompts are at least helping me to put a spotlight on my stagnation and scare the fear back under the bed where it belongs. I have managed three short stories in the last week. But then, in the last couple of days, stage fright hit again. It is so much easier to write a blog post or a silly poem.

Is ‘fiction’ actually the story I tell myself as to why I can’t get that novel down on paper?

Creativity, The Muse & Me - Part 1

This week I'm interviewing myself (as Graham Norton and Oprah still haven't called...). It's all part of a lovely little blog hop. I was nominated by Latisha Guthrie of Petal and Moss. I met Latisha last year on Pilgrimage - she's a special lady.  Go visit her blog and find out more!

Anyway, I started answering the required questions and got totally carried away with my answers, so I am going to split them over a few days so you don't get sore eyes reading it all or, worse still, nod off!

So, without further ado, let us begin at the beginning.

What am I working on?

Now there's a question! It might have been better to ask what I'm not working on! I'm one of those people who likes to have a whole pile of irons in the proverbial fire. Some might say I take on too much, which is often true (and I never learn!). I go through phases of frenetic activity followed by a bit of singe-ing around the edges that threaten to ignite to full-blown burnout. I am getting a little better at managing this ... or at least I am trying my hardest ...

So, let's focus on a few of my current rash of projects:

1. Online art courses

I am a self-confessed art course junkie; but this is an addiction of which I have absolutely no intention of quitting. You'll see a recurring theme here for a passion for learning - more on this later.

So far this year I have been taking three courses:

Studying under the Masters led by Jeanne Oliver and a host of passionate artists. We have imagined ourselves into the art studios of the geniuses of Matisse and O'Keeffe, sitting alongside their ghosts and feeling our way into their paintbrushes. We didn't just restrict ourselves to those of bygone eras and centuries though. One of my favourite modern artists is Francoise de Felice and I loved the week we played with her soft techniques and beautiful ladies.

With Misty Mawn's Full Circle, we have journaled, sculpted, snapped, painted, drawn, collaged and gone digital. I have gone through nearly a vat of gesso and filled my phone's memory with photo manipulation apps. If it's captured... I'll grunge, double expose and recolour it!

Finally, the smiley face of Carla Sonnheim brightens my inbox with a monthly dose of fairytale magic in the Year of the Fairytale. This month we are building up mattress layers of story in our illustrations of The Princess and the Pea.

2. Collaborative Art Journals

I am a joyous participant in two of these projects. The Magical Journal Journey is now in its third year and iteration. This year our themes centre around our favourite artists. Matisse is my man. I created the first few pages then sent it on its globe-trotting way to receive my friends' art!

The second of these collaborations involves around 25 artists. This Saturday I am getting to meet many of them for the first time - I can't wait! We might all be relative strangers to each other - but I know we will have PLENTY to talk about!

3. My book!

Yes, those that know me well will be aware that I have promising to get myself published for centuries... But at last I may have actually made a start with the semblance of a plan, and as fortune would have it, there's ... you guessed it ... another online course to help me get there ... Christine Mason Miller's Conscious Booksmith course will help me launch my words from head to page and to take the plunge into becoming a bona fide author. Who knows, I may even write two - depending on writer's angst...

4. Continuous bookish learning

I have a recurring dream that I am back at University and realise far too late in the term that I haven't attended any lectures or written my essays. I think it's a form of regret that I didn't study harder. I did OK, but didn't exactly set the academic world on fire - I kept all that passion for the social life to be honest... They say education is wasted on the young and I would have to agree. Now though I devour 'text books' - on business, marketing, creativity, positive thinking, self help, motivation, organisation, feminism and magic. I just can't get enough of this learning malarkey!

Well that will do for today - come back tomorrow for the next question and the line up of bloggers who will take up the baton next!

Today, here's a quick link to the other two bloggers on the hop with me this week - Lisa Hofman and Eileen Nishi.

 

eRROR

Having an error message pop up on screen just as you are about re-start your blogging habit is not terribly auspicious is it? Plus, it appears I left cAPS-lOCK on too (and I've got a sore throat and aching limbs but that's a whole other topic).

Is this a message from the stars or simply just an unfortunate quirk of fate?

I think I'll go with the former as that sounds far more intriguing (and allows for a long and rambling blog post!). It could be the title of my new book. One of the main characters whispered his secrets to me last night as I lay in bed listening to explosions that were seeing in the New Year. I did watch for a little while as the sky above my town lit up in celebration but my bed was just so cosy and tempting... Maybe it's going to be the recurring lyric in a catchy tune set to take the charts by storm...

OR - it's the clanging chimes of doom? I mean have you read what it says? The compile time user-agent  is gonna get me!

I was going to write about my word for 2014 in this post, but got distracted (an all-too-regular failing which I will try to remedy at some point this year too). However, ANTI-PROCRASTINATION is not my word of guidance, much as it runs of the tongue so delightfully. You'll just have to wait until the next post to find out what is!

Tootles!

I'm published in Wild Sister!

Ever since I came across this inspirational magazine last year I've been wanting to write something for it. But you know how it is, you think these things, but never quite get around to doing... It's so easy to let opportunity slip right on by.

So, I wrote it down on my goal list for 2012. I got myself a plan. I made the first move and contacted the editor. They accepted my idea for a story. I wrote it. Got published.

I'm one proud Lisa.

As a certain Meerkat would say... "Simples"

If you want to know why you need to 'be nice to your Muse', then download your copy here and turn to page 43 or, even better, join the Wild Sisterhood on Ning! Members get free copies.

Something to do with the cheese

Well, that's it. I can relax for the rest of the year now, my resolution is complete - I am about to be published. Initial print run of 500 with potential readership of 2,000 once we release the international and online versions. Impressed?

Well, it probably sounds better than it is. I have been published like this before. It's a work thing. I've just spent the last week writing and producing the 2nd issue of our corporate newspaper. It has been something of a labour of love, an all-consuming marathon of interviewing, researching, writing, procuring  images, proofreading and liaising with designers. In fact, it says it all that I am writing about it here - there's no time for anything else happening in my life to talk about!

I would share some of the contents with you here, but it's all secret internal stuff and not for consumption by just any old person. My favourite line though I will divulge - must be something to do with the cheese.

I do rather love my job sometimes and putting this baby to bed (that's media speak for giving it the OK to go to the printers) was immensely satisfying. I feel a bit like the Piers Morgan of the corporate tabloid - but hopefully prettier.

Meerkat in a smoking jacket picture highlights another aspect of work today. (Probably best that you don't actually ask!). The plan this evening is to draw the doyen of the Muscovite Meerkats as a journal page entry. Simples ;)

If you're looking at a sketch then time has passed and I have actually succeeded in this task. If not, I am passed out on the sofa softly snoring and dribbling onto a cushion.

I'm rather fond Aleksandr Orlov. If you've missed the chance to get to know the pride of meerkat aristocracy, then you can find some of his finest works on YouTube.

Woo, how spooky is this. While searching for a portrait of the furry one, I found an interview with him and... Piers Morgan?!

The Book of Lisa

This is very much how my book looks at the moment. It has its heroine and some words but the story is all jumbled and seems destined to remain so. Yet time... in that way it has... is slowly ticking away... Has the moment now arrived to put all this talk into substance?

 I am deep in thoughts and plans for the New Year. I have even put to work a new notebook on the subject Lists sit neatly and safely within a pretty cloth cover tied with a blue bow). My ambitions and goals are written in blood (well ink from a Bic actually, but that doesn't sound quite so melodramatic!). I feel that the last year saw a massive growth in my creativity. There was more focus, loads of learning - I dare not calculate how much money I spent on all those online courses - and so much practice and, above all, fun!

In the last two years I've written over 500 blog posts. I make my living by writing and thinking creatively. Yet I feel there is still so much to be achieved. It has been noted that perhaps I hide in my art away from the tricky task of book writing and publication. You see, picking up a pencil is much easier and requires more relaxed thinking. I can watch TV at the same time or natter to the family. I can listen to music and go from start to finish in as little as half an hour.

Beginning to write a book however, is the first brush mark on the Forth Road Bridge! Chapter after chapter stretches out across the horizon, empty and waiting for its piece of the story and then when I finish, what then? Statistically unlikely to be snapped up by agent or publisher first go, so it will be back to the beginning... Is it any wonder I keep putting it off?

The clock keeps ticking though. The next 12 months will see me submit short stories and artwork for publication (the first one actually went off today!). My word for 2011 then? Well, it can only be one... PUBLISHED!

I was planning on writing this post anyway, but it ties in very nicely with two wonderful challenges. The Three Muses - Book and Inspiration Avenue - reflecting on the last and future 12 months.

She is my Muse - an excerpt from a painting I did last night, with some digital additions of words and time piece.

Finished! and... a collaboration...

Well look at me - a whole month of blog posting and art. Yup, every single day my fingers ran across this keyboard, picked up pencils, splashed paint and played in Photoshop. What an adventure!

You know, it really was. I'll admit that the blog posts were far harder than the art. Art can after all be a doodle, a dab, a splash (not that it was ever just that to be honest - I always got far too carried away!). I did learn though that sometimes we make our best art when we just play and don't try too hard.

Of course, we can't let this month go by without some more serious introspection. Why do I love art and blogging so much? Is it escapism? Well, it certainly stops me noticing the housework that needs doing! More seriously though sometimes I wonder if my dreams of creating my own art business and my focus on constant improvement and learning are not an excuse for avoiding more difficult things - like trying to find new business for my 'day job'.

I was a networking event mid-month and going through the usual spiel about what I do. By day I am an internal communications specialist, a corporate journalist, a creator of presentations - but I also confessed my dreams of becoming an artist. The lady I was talking to told me that when I talked about my painting, my whole face lit up, she said she could see the passion burning inside of me. I know for sure that creating something from coloured water and a sheet of paper makes me feel so wonderful - a narcotic for the soul to which I am truly addicted. Is there any hope?

There's no reason why I can't do both of course and that's the plan. I see myself running a little portfolio of businesses - all focused around some form of creation.

So perhaps, it's OK to keep up this dream; to search for enough hours in the day to make it work! I do really believe that if you write down your goals you will reach them. A few weeks ago, I put out an idea into the blogosphere of doing a guest post somewhere and guess what... It happened! This very day you can see my collaboration with 'Healing Woman' Cheryl Dolby. She creates the most wonderful sculptures and jewellery and I've written a little story to go alongside one of them. Do pop along and let us know what you think!

Finally finished this piece I started last week. A little bit here, a little bit there. Really pleased with the finished outcome.

Putting it out there

The time has come to procrastinate no longer. The stars are in alignment (or so the delightfully named Shelly von Strunkel told me on the radio). I want my want and I'm gonna go out and get it. Even Wishcasting this week is pointing me in the right direction! Jamie asks: What do you wish to enjoy? Why everything about life and that includes how I earn a living!

I am a writer. I accept this now. I want to write more. I need to write more. I have been earning my living from writing. I need more clients. I must build my business. I want to pull that book out of me (kicking and screaming if necessary).

The most important thing to remember though is that this is what I know I will enjoy. It's my passion. Whatever I decide to do, I must hold onto that emotion and never let it become a chore.

So, here's what I'm going to do next.

1. Update my business website with all the things I've done and can do.
2. Tell people about myself - turn myself into a mini 'celebrity'. Become known in the right circles. Market, market, market.

[Back you demons. I can hear you saying "you can't write that. You're not good enough. Who would be interested in you anyway?" Go away. I'm not listening. I'm talking to the Universe, so kindly don't interrupt]

Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, getting my name out there. Well, just wondering if anyone would like me to do a guest post for them on their blog? I'd also be interested in finding other blogs and sites that look for guest writers, so if you know of any, please do share!

Eek, I asked! I am prepared for a deathly silence, but if you don't ask you don't get. No charge or catch for this - just a hint of what to write about.

I hope you're listening Universe!

You can contact me via my email link in my profile page or just leave a message in comments.

Art Every Day - Day 3. Some playing in Photoshop today. I went to a posh garden centre last week and took a stack of photos of all the lovely things they had on display. I couldn't afford to buy them, but anyway, how much more fun it can be to play artistically with their images! Expect to see a few more...

And why a picture of pots today? Planting idea seeds my friends. I wonder what will grow?

Farumph

I've been struggling creatively for the last week. A mixture of a heavy workload, a head cold, travel and generally not enough hours in the day. I began to fret. I began to itch (metaphorically!). I had to be creative... But of course, when you're thinking about it so much and then finally manage to grab that illusive hour what happens? Block naturally! I didn't know what to create, I couldn't think of what to blog. Had I forgotten how?

Then I realised what I've been doing all day at work. Writing! Being creative! I might not share those fruits in this particular salad bowl but I would like to assure you they have been happening. And, what is more, I appear to be making my living as a writer! I still feel a bit fake - suffering from those fears that I'll suddenly be found lacking, that everything to date was a fluke. I have to confess I'm feeling the pressure, especially as a freelancer it often feels like you're only as good as your last piece of work. I think we all go through that. I watched incredible singers on the X-Factor cringing with a lack of self belief. I shout at the TV telling them to pull back their shoulders and ooze confidence, to believe, but I guess we rarely listen to our own advice!

I think I've got to 40 and finally figured out what it is I want to do with my life and now I'm in too much of a rush! Right now half my mind is on an unfinished piece for tomorrow's Three Muses challenge - I'm painting a Victorian lady - and fretting over whether it will be good enough to post. The other half distressed that this written piece isn't flowing the way it should, that it seems to lack something... Am I becoming too much of a perfectionist?

Aghrrrr. I'll just post a picture I made yesterday and get myself an early night I think .... after I've finished my painting .... and read this through a few more times ... and ...

(This was also a creation for the Victorian challenge - a digital collage inspired by Victorian wallpaper and those delightful painted ladies that blend into the backgrounds.)

Postscript: A day later and I came across this post on Amelia's blog (a favourite place to visit). She shares some tips on overcoming that creative block.

Alignment

It's been a day where the universe seems to be slipping into alignment. Just as one thought flows through my soul, so someone pops up to affirm it and tells me "Yes, you're doing the right thing". I feel like I'm on the edge of something special today and it feels good.

I lay in bed last night thinking - which itself was something as I was so tired, I thought I'd be more likely to drop into an abyss of sleep! Earlier this week I'd revisited a page in my notebook where I'd written some goals a couple of months ago. I came across them by accident and they seemed suitable distraction from what I was supposed to be doing so I read them through. Something incredible happened. I ticked things off. Yes, I had written goals and achieved them. I hadn't just thought about what they might be or considered writing them. I'd done it and... I'd done it!

I'm going to write some more this weekend - keep adding to that magical list. My current contract at work is shifting slightly so I'll have a bit more time to focus on other aspects of my business. I want to take a bit of risk (time when I'm not directly earning money) to lay down some future investment (when I hope I will be). I'm going to have some faith in myself and listen to my heart before I suddenly wake up one day and realise that I've let opportunity stroll right on by without even being invited in for a cup of a tea and a natter.


I started thinking too about my blog profile - the one where it says "I'm going to be a writer". Lots of people tell me I already am one and deep down of course I know I am. It's how I earn a living for a start! Why then does it exist here as 'future tense'? I resolved to make that change.



This morning I logged on for a breakfast blog browse and what do I find? Jamie Ridler giving out these buttons? Is this not cosmic karma (whatever that means?). It feels like the creative fairies have taken out a billboard ad that's screaming at me - Hey you! Wake up and smell the coffee... Jamie wrote her post for Happy Friday and I'm going to join her with mine. Let's all grab the buttons our hearts tell us we are and wear them proudly!

But that isn't all. I met a friend for lunch about to make career changing decisions. I preached what I don't practice - guiding her to follow her heart and grab opportunity by the neck (never mind inviting in for a cuppa, tie it down and marry it I say!). I realised what I was saying. It's what I know deep down. My heart is calling - very loudly and incredibly insistently...


But it doesn't end there... Oh no.... I bought a book (admitedly on this subject, so this isn't quite the coincidence it might first appear...). Here's the opening quote from Creative Awakenings by Sherri Gaynor which I read for the first time not half an hour ago:

What in your life is calling you?

When all the noise is silenced,

the meetings adjourned,

the lists laid aside,

and the wild iris blooms by itself

in the dark forest,

what still pulls on your soul?

In the silence between your heartbeats

hides a summons.

Do you hear it?

Name it, if you must,

or leave it forever nameless,

but why pretend it is not there?

The Terma Collective, "The Box: Remembering the Gift"

Could there be more? Why yes, and it's not even half past three... Sophia at Blue Chair Diary poured out her heart on her blog today too. I sat here to write this post but got distracted enough to visit her site on my way and just you read what she wrote...

The Universe does indeed work in mysterious ways. Perhaps I should check out my stars for today... Mystic Meg says:

Your mood is determined, your mind focused and you can take control of your future instead of being swept along by events. You can handle fitness plans and get valuable information about the kind of work you want. Tonight is a mix of fun and surprising love developments.


Hmm, interesting, very interesting... Watch this space...

Finding stories

With just one texture/background I got from Playing with Brushes on Flickr, I grabbed some holiday snaps and created these evocative 'old' postcards!

Top original was over-exposed, but layering on this background and blending with a linear burn gave it a real vintage feel. It reminds me of old cine film my Dad took of my sister and I in the 70s. If you listen carefully you can hear the camera tape whirring around the projector...

This one turns from an overcast beach in July last summer into something far more atmospheric. But perhaps the colours are too bright. Shall I try adding a sepia filter?

Ah, now we're talking. The filter on its own didn't work. First I took out the saturated colour then adjusted the brightness. Then a warming filter added the effect I was after. Now there's story. What do you think? A postcard from Gladys to her best friend Edie in August 1939 telling about the incredible German artist she met while on holiday in Cornwall and their whirlwind romance. He's gone back to Berlin for now, but she carries his ring on her finger and the result of their love inside her. It will only be a matter for time before they are together again...

A little celebration giveaway

I'm rather chuffed. I hit my 200th follower, well 201 now. Can't be bad.

As promised, I shall treat one lucky reader to a giveaway now I have achieved this somewhat historic milestone. Yes, I painted something especially for you. Before we go on to the entry criteria though I am afraid I shall subject you to more ramblings (you are of course free to skip to the end, but then who knows what you'll miss - there might be ice cream!).

So, we begin... It seems only natural at this point to spend some time reflecting on how far I've come since I started this 'little writing exercise' about 18 months ago. In the beginning, it was all about the writing. I wanted to write a novel, but they do take rather a long time and considerable effort. I discovered that penning a blog post was actually much simpler and satisfied my urge to create prose in a far shorter timeframe and word count. Then, suddenly people started finding my paragraphs, and... commenting on them! Here was some fun. I began to feel like I was writing my very own column in a daily paper - childhood dreams realised.

And while I was regressing back to youthful dalliances with literature, I was reminded of my love of illustration. No story was complete back then without a picture. A bunny here, a cute little cottage there with roses around the door. It was time to get my paints out again. I had forgotten the sheer unadulterated pleasure to be gained by creating. Over the years we seem to feel that we can't paint unless we're brilliant artists, but we couldn't be more wrong. For me painting, drawing, making and just creating is my soul food, my rocket fuel and this online forum for sharing and learning alongside like-minded individuals has been more inspiration than I ever could have wished for. I have to confess to being rather addicted to blogland. If I'm not writing my own, I'm hopping around others, sometimes taking a crazy route through a maze of links until I end up whole worlds away from where I started. I just love this magical exploration and all the treasures it unfolds. The writing and the art have become intrinsically linked.

Then, finding that people actually like my work and even claim to be inspired by it was truly a revelation but also just the encouragement needed to keep on creating, to push myself. I still see huge room for improvement but knowing that at least some people like what I do and enjoy my words is quite the creative tonic. Making friends and sharing the creative journey sure has proved to be a rich mine of happiness. Through these friendships I've been able to find the confidence to open my own Etsy shop, join groups, take courses and even set my own creative challenges for others. Membership of Inspiration Avenue for example provides a worldwide creative support network - and some great places to buy pretty things!

Taking the regular art challenges often forces me outside my comfort zone and sees me far more likely to complete something - the element of 'getting my homework done' is another childhood throwback I think! I always was such a girlie swot! I love pushing myself though.

I could ramble on for hours, but do pity my poor readers and wouldn't want to log on next time and find I've put half of you off...

So, without further ado let's explain how you can win. Just leave a comment and share with us one of your favourite artists - with a link if can. Simple as that. I'll draw the winner by random generator on 1st September.

'Every woman blossoms' started off as an interesting background. There's some newspaper, dribbled inks and lots of acrylics. Then the face began to take shape but she kept shifting and changing. At one point, she became Frida Kahlo, then, somewhat bizarrely Minnie Driver made an appearance. Finally she blossomed into her current incarnation.

Mixed media on canvas block - mainly acrylic with a bit of ink and some collage. Measures 12cm x 18cm.

And, if you like a giveaway then do pop over to Plumrose Lane for the chance to win some stunning jewellery. As a customer, I can highly recommend Sharon's wonderful creations. She currently has a closing down sale in her jewellery shop with up to 85% off. Pick yourself up a bargain friends. There's a link direct to the sale at the top of my blog.

Tattoo tales

OK, deep breath.

This is the opening page or two of a story I've been working on... and I'm keen for a bit of feedback. I never felt comfortable posting it before, but my creative ramblings have led me in the direction of another weekly challenge - Sunday Scribblings. Their theme this week is tattoo and since a tattoo of sorts featured in my story, I thought maybe fate was nudging me to dangle my characters into blogland and see if anyone bites!

It's strange, because I don't feel nervous writing blog postings. In fact, as you may have observed from the prodigious quantity of posts (particularly this month when I've purged out more posts than there's been days in the month - with even more 'waiting in the wings'). I quite happily pour out my heart for all the world to see - from Moldova to Brazil if my little widget is to be believed - I tell it how it is. Yet, posting up a little fiction is an entirely different matter. Anyway, enough procrastination. Here is my entry for:

Sunday Scribblings: Tattoo

“Scratch my back will you”, murmured Tabby as she rolled over in bed shrugging off the last vestiges of an alcohol-fused sleep. The returned answer was more of a grunt as Mark flung a hand in the general direction of her back and gave a half hearted rub while desperately trying to regain sleep.

“I had that weird dream again” Tabby said to the hand doing its poor job of relieving her annoying itch. Giving up hope of getting back to his dream of playing alongside his hero Thierry Henry, Mark gave his girlfriend his full attention. “Not dungeons and dragons again?” he smiled at her, marvelling at the powers of her subconscious imagination which was currently conjuring up the contents of a Tolkein novel most nights.

“Dragons and unicorns actually” Tabby remonstrated, “as well you know, and don’t laugh. I’ve never had such vivid dreams, they’re freaking me out”.

“I keep telling you… too much cheese… “ laughed Mark stumbling out of bed towards the shower. “If it bothers you that much, go and see the doctor, though be prepared to leave in a straight jacket!”

Tabby sank back under the duvet consumed by thought and duck down. She had no intention of going to the doctor over a series of odd dreams but they bugged her none the less. What she might see a quack about though was her birthmark which seemed to be changing. Climbing out of bed she tried to peer at the unusual markings on her back which had begun to itch and become inflamed in the last week or so. Her fingers traced the strange pattern at the base of her spine. She was rather proud of it in a way, it was certainly unlike any birthmark she had seen on anyone else – more like a tattoo, a mixture of swirling lines forming what seemed the beginnings of a pattern. Mark, an artist, had even created a series of paintings based around it. He came out with some supposedly romantic notion of it forming a bond between them., but Tabby didn’t need a painting to know that they were meant to be together. She blew an invisible kiss towards the steam filled shower and headed off to the kitchen to make the love of her life a coffee.

***

Tinker glared at Tony, his eyebrows knotting in anger and frustration.

“There’s nothing wrong with it, just do the tattoo” he ordered, but the artisan sat firm on his artist’s stool and stared back with as much determination.

“I’m telling you man, see a doctor, then I’ll do the last part. There’s definitely some inflammation around that mark that’s nothing to do with my artistry. Probably nothing, but I have my reputation and more importantly my insurance to think about.”

Tinker leapt up and got dressed wearing his frustration and disappointment alongside his leathers and filthy jeans.

“Looks bloody stupid now,” he bemoaned. His hands smoothed over the intricate design on his lower back made to match his weird birthmark. It was starting to look really cool, much better than the dumb mark he’d had to put up with all these years. Tony had skilfully mirrored the strange markings creating a labyrinthe design. It was too big a job for one session though and he’d returned for the last part today only to be turned away for “medical reasons”. He slouched out of the tattoo parlour and headed for the doctors. Might as well get the all clear today if he could, maybe Tony could fit him in later…

***

Words and pictures

I've been participating in a number of creative blog challenges lately. As I love the power of the written word, I personally find it difficult to just post up my artwork without some sort of accompanying text, and when I'm visiting other sites I do so love good read alongside the eye candy.

It struck me that we don't necessarily see enough of this combination of creativity. I visited the Tate Gallery in St Ives when I was on holiday. Did I enjoy it? Not much, I felt I was missing something as I stared at some boring-looking shapes and tried to figure out why they merited a place in such an important Gallery. I know art is for personal interpretation but when you just 'don't get it' does that become a wasted opportunity? Can the addition of prose intensify the colour in paint splashes? And, likewise, do rich hues and evocative texture acting as neighbours on a page enhance the written word?

Obviously it's not always required, because that would be ridiculous and we'd be talking serious overkill. But think of how well it works when art enhances words - take a children's book where the illustration helps communicate the message to the reader alongside the prose. Watch the expression on Babbity Rabbit's face as his mood changes from grumpy to joyful; see the terror in Sammy's eyes as he peeps from under the bedclothes to investigate the mysterious growling coming from the corner of the room.

I'm not necessarily talking about requiring some sort of physical description to sit beside the art along the lines of "this piece represents a stormy sea throwing its aggression alongside the frustrations and anger of the sailor". More playing with words, being poetic, telling a story...

The wild ocean matched his stormy mood as he faced life without the one person who brought it meaning. With every wave crashing and destroying his flimsy craft he felt the lifeforce she had given him washing away...

Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Should art always be interpreted according to the individual - leaving them free to make up their own story? What do you think? Is there room in galleries for more 'illustration'? I just love words I guess. Share some words with me - let's discuss...

Miss Writer

It's late, I haven't blogged for a few days and I'm getting kind of antsy. I want to write! I want to do lots of things but unfortunately there aren't enough hours in the day. I did do a spot of writing today, work stuff. I managed to get away with writing complete fiction though. Don't worry, no fairies or mystical worlds (which is rather a shame), I just mocked up some sample content for a newsletter I'm working on and crafted some interesting stories in a style which breaks from their usual tradition of 'bore the reader senseless'. I'm working on them, it's taking longer than I would have hoped but I will get there.

I have this real niggle at the back of my subconscious. It's my book. I still haven't done anything. However, what's interesting is the avoidance techniques I have been using. Rather than busy myself cleaning the house (I mean... come on...!), or watching TV; I have instead been doing the creative thing which is a hugely positive step. And I am loving it! Writing the blog is great practice, many of my 'creations' have a fantasy element to them. I guess you could scrape the barrel a little and call it 'research'. Having great fun with the new camera too - look what I spotted hiding behind the foliage and fairy dust in the garden...

The N-Factor goes on a diet

As in novelty and yes, it's wearing a bit thin. I appear to have discovered a limit to the interest I can take in broadcasting, digital switchovers and transmitters. And, far worse, it is making me so tired that I have neither energy nor inclination to pick up a paintbrush or put pen to paper. In fact, yesterday I received a sternly worded letter from my poor fledgling characters who have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to stretch their wings into a fantastical land of adventure and mystery for weeks. They were not happy I can tell you. I mean imagine, there you are poised on the cusp of a life-changing experience; ready to fly with unicorns and dragons and fight for honour and justice and what happens? Well, nothing that's what. Doomed to spend what could have been a magical existence trapped instead between the pages of a notebook (and not even one of my inspirationally designed ones either!). I feel quite sorry for them. I'll come and get you out soon... I promise...

Teleport is like it is

Excitement builds as I anticipate throwing myself into a new writing challenge. I won't deny that getting to grips with the likes of spectrum and earth stations is going to be easy, but then where would be the fun in an easy life?

Had a meeting today with one of the directors who talked about being happy with a 'small' improvement in communication. "No, no, no", says I - we go for the enormosaurus increase in engagement, we aim to both surprise and delight, we create a communicating company with the right messages flowing seamlessly across the organisation. Small improvement indeed...pfft.

I'm a firm believer in the removal of corporate spin in internal communication. I treat employees like thinking human beings - they know when they're being lied to, or only given half the story (they've seen enough politicians demonstrate the technique after all darling!). If I do this well, I'll gain trust and that means more attention paid to my outputs which leads inevitably to a greatly engaged workforce - well, that's the theory anyway.

I'll soon have them whipped into shape. I'll be out there like the corporate newshound I am, sniffing out the stories in amongst the technobabble that is gradually making sense (apparently, despite what Scottie would have you believe, you can't 'teleport' people, which is a damn shame). The task is many-fold but primarily it's essential that everyone understands what the business is trying to achieve, how it intends to get there, how their role fits in and, essentially, 'what's in it for them'. After all, it's the people that make everything happen - without them you don't have a business. So, I ask: Who are the people? What do they think? How do they react? Perhaps communication is as basic as satisfying that question every toddler asks repeatedly as they try to fathom the world out - Why?

• Why are we doing this?
• Why aren't we making enough money?
• Why is this good for me?
• Why should I bother?

The role of the internal communicator is also great in finding out just what is going on... what do people know? What happened to this team to make that happen? In my view, there's always something interesting and useful to talk about - you just have to go out there and find it and then, most importantly, share it. I want to enrich the organisation with what it doesn't know it knows! Knowledge should be flying across the company faster than a radio wave (these can be dangerous if you get too close for a long period of time which is a health & safety issue for engineers).

I have to go now, I'm worried I'm turning into a techie nerd...

The best kebab?

Is there a chain of kebab restaurants called the 'Best Kebab' or is just the name of choice for the doner chef? The reason for this somewhat left-field question is that yesterday, while in the vicinity of Old Street, London, I saw no less than two such establishments. Now, not wishing to cast aspersions on the quality of offering, somehow I do doubt that these are indeed the best kebab restaurants in London or indeed the known Universe. And let's face it, they can't both be the best can they? Perhaps that title resides with the Best Kebab in Kilburn High Road where I went once on a date (boy, do I know how to pick them!). OK, it was the end of a date, that time in the wee small hours when after a belly full of merlot and vodka and with legs aching from dancing, the idea of a [best] kebab seems so 'perfect' and so you put aside thoughts of romantic ambiance and settle for greasy formica instead. This was nonetheless hardly the perfect end to the evening I had been hoping for, particularly as said 'date', a certain Andy, decided to invite the cab driver to join us for our supper - cabbie then proceeded to take a joint out of a battered tin in his pocket and explain that this wasn't his first smoke of the evening (yes, he had apparently just driven us all the way from the West End while stoned out of his mind*).

Just did a quick mental calculation of when this story took place ... err about 14 years ago. I feel old ... Those were the days.. when I stayed up past midnight, before premiership footballers were born in the 1990s and long before I found it necessary to buy moisturisers that mention words like 'regenerist'.

The point of this blog was not really to critique kebab restaurants (don't worry, this isn't my long-promised food journalism piece), nor even to feel my nearly 40 (eek!) years. It was just an excuse to write something for the fun of writing! I'm off to sleep now, it's well past my bedtime.


* Young people, please note: - this is the reason why you should stand around in the cold waiting for a black cab and not accept lifts from dodgy blokes in beaten up, invariably beige, saloons.

Pelargonium

My love of writing began young. I remember as a devising my own magazine called Pelargonium when I was about 12 (I was an odd child!). I set myself up as editor and encouraged my sister and other kids in the street to send me in their contributions. Naturally they were far more interested in playing with their Barbies or charging about on bikes to sit around writing columns on the topic, so I wrote the whole thing myself. I seem to recall it had an ongoing piece of fiction about a girls' boarding school, illustrations, competitions, word searches and general life observations. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get into writing professionally, perhaps it was a lack of confidence. Why didn't I join the magazine at Uni or better still, set one up myself? Still, it happened eventually and once I had drifted into internal communication and all the tools that involves (creative writing, naturally included) I knew I had found my niche.

I have just started reading Gary Barlow's autobiography and what's interesting is understanding how he became famous. It wasn't about turning up for an audition one day and being on Top of the Pops the next. Since his early teens he worked his guts out becoming a musician and a performer - the magical mixture of hard work, determination and raw talent is what took him to where he is today. Good things come to those who wait (and while they are waiting they do their prep!).

Inspired to paint again this evening as I wanted to illustrate this posting with a piece of my own work and painting a pelargonium seemed a sensible choice. Naturally, because I wanted to use it for something it didn't quite turn out as good as hoped, but I shall keep practising - can't expect to put my brushes away (or lose them!) for about 10 years then suddenly expect to be Leonardo da Vinci... (or I may turn into a Mona Lisa - sorry, couldn't resist a bad joke at this late hour!)