Mystical Thistles

Mystical Thistles

Twist their silver

Bristles.

Sycamore keys

Kiss in seed

Filled mists.

Fairies in gilded rickshaws

Ride at a lick on

Chamomile lawns:

Admired by

Nymphs

Tooting silver

Horns.

Victorian town Parks such as this one near the stunning Embankment in Bedford,  offer beautiful borders along pathways  to explore, abundant with nature, away from the hustle and bustle of the town.  I enjoyed a lazy summer afternoon here with a friend after a leisurely lunch. I expect these thistles will appear in my design work soon!  🙂

Rowing on the River Ouse at the Embankment, Bedford

Enjoying a leisurely stroll on the Embankment, Bedford

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Flower magic solar printing

Solar print of teasel drawing.

To get a solar print, I drew my lovely seed heads from my garden, onto acetate with permanent black ink. The drawing is then transferred onto a light sensitive plate which is then exposed to UV light and then developed through tap water. It is very experimental as you try different exposures to get different effects. Once the plate has been dried in sunlight then it can be run through the press.

Ghost of stocks solar print

This one is my favourite. Can you find the fairy? This is my Arthur Rackham style ‘ghost’ solar print. The first print was much bolder so I decided to run the plate through the press again and I just love the antique effect.

Both of these prints were done at Susan Erskine- Jones’ s workshop. Thanks to Susan for sharing her skills and experience,  it was a most enjoyable day.

Focus

 

This week’s writing prompt from Club Introvert is ‘focus’.
Edward de Bono’s quote was a great source of inspiration.
“Focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity”.
In these seed heads I noticed their form, texture and patterning. In the landscape they add structure. They are last summer’s flowers, autumn and winter food for our birds. Even where there is now an abundance of spring colour and seed heads can be unnoticeable, we can focus on their understated beauty and usefulness.

“http:61musings.com/2014/04/09/ibq-writing-prompt-focus/”

Found in nature

This photo was inspired by Cee’s black and white photo challenge, found in nature. I discovered these teasels whilst walking my dogs near an old sand pit, reclamed by nature, I feel that these spiky seed heads add structure to the landscape. Originally I shot colour and then used Snapseed to change my picture to black and white. I hope you enjoy it.

“http://ceenphotography.com/2014/03/12/cees-black-and-white-challenge/found-in-nature”