#naphopomo Day 30 The ending up

Today, the last day of naphopomo, began with a smile
whilst meeting up with a best friend and reading the
names of the boats at the fish market.
 'Doggy Style' caught my eye!

'T', having finished selling in town when we caught up with him,
was selling for other people and behind him, through the wire
fencing, I saw

another time, lives lived before on Melville Street.
It has been enjoyable, this daily posting of 'something'. 
I have not always risen to the ocassion, but the naphopomo
challenge was interesting.
Our 'day to day' (isolated within a frame) spoke of inner
things that we were unaware of, attuned to a moment
that otherwise may have passed by, unnoticed. Thanks
again to Karen aka Chookooloonks who brought us all
here , to this wonderful space where many lives,
lived in numerous places,that have been
shared through a lens,
with lessons loved and learned, united creative souls
of many persuasions.
It takes a special kind of person to do this, a person
who can see beyond her own boundaries to embrace,
inspire and include one and all. 
Much love Karen and thank you xxx

#naphopomo Day 13 'tis the season

Christmas arrived early this year, lots of sorrel juice in the
making from now until...

#naphopomo Day 12 Things that make me go mmmmm

Got batteries today, which are
the same useless ones that
only last a couple of days and to be honest, having got
over the initial,"Oh no,how am I going to continue with
#naphopomo?" without them, I have really enjoyed what
the webcam took, although it felt a little like cheating.
No doubt the webcam pics will return before the month
is done.
However, this particular image I wanted in full focus,
well, at least for the first glass. It is my monthly ritual,
once bills are paid and debts settled and I can go......
'mmmmm'.
Time for some music me thinks. :) cheers E and Zozo
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
love you.x

#naphopomo Day 6 On the Line

#naphopomo day 4 What's Cooking

First proofs drying, dough rising, sun shining. Finally
worked out why the first 2 photos for #naphopomo
failed to send and reset my security settings, I now
find all is getting a bit 'precious' and am second
guessing everything! Not going to be deterred though,
I really want to see this through.

Playtime

 Coconut flower stalks, coconut flex, banana straw and raffia.

Between projects and a little out of sorts, I spied the bag of
booty I had brought down from Corn Buck a few weeks ago
and looked inside. Play, the doing of something for the sheer
pleasure of it, is a pastime that I have forgotten to indulge in.
Work is worthy, as is cleaning, cooking etc. but play, as with
sticks in mud or a stone skimmed, has somehow become
something that I find myself either never having the time for
or feeling guilty about.
The very word 'indulge' suggests a secret vice.
I was surprised to realise this about myself, surprised by how
serious and earnest I had become about 'the work' and even
more surprised by the fact that I was surprised that the flow
of creativity had dried up.

The crock of gold

Once upon a time, a long time ago, or it could have been the day
before yesterday, a woman looked out from her front step and
wondered,"Shall I dig for it now?" She checked with the moon
and watched the weather and decided it was time.

The flowers
were almost
done and the
leaves had
turned yellow
and wilted

and with the
turn of the
fork, which
was easier
said than done,
the buried
treasure was
revealed.

She carefully teased the soil from the roots and left them in the
sun to cure. The next day she sat by the pipe in the yard with a
scrubbing brush and a bucket of water and washed and scrubbed
and washed and scrubbed and washed and scrubbed some more.

By lunchtime all her golden nuggets were clean and shining.

With an aching back and a painful posterior, ('is how you sit on
the bucket' her lovely husband told her later) she settled
down on the floor upstairs in the little house, with a sharp knife and
a silver bowl, and began to chip, (just like Miss UG had taught her)

and chip and chip and chip and chip and chip and chip and chip.

Finally, her work
was done. She
put everything to
dry in the sun
next to the
cocoa beans
on the
veranda.












Naturally, despite scrubbing and soaping

she was left with the Midas touch and went to bed to dream of
Rumpelstiltskin.
To be continued...................

Parcels, Packaging and Gifts

The gathered
dried seeds of the
Bixa tree are
covered in a
red pigment
that I am
hoping to use
for an art project
in the near future.

I also love the gift
wrapping provided
by Mother Nature.

My Desk

Being allowed to nose around in other peoples' work places
is one of my favourite pastimes. To be invited to peek into
a private, creative and intimate space of those artists I admire
is such a treat.
That is one of the many reasons I invite you to visit
Jackie Morris
who is hosting "International Desk Day: or, nosing around other
peoples' spaces" on her blog. There, not only will you be able to
see her wonderful artwork, kittens, cats, bears, dragons and
home but also the delightful desks and work of others. You
can also join in the fun by posting your desk on your blog.

Calabash

During a recent downpour a 'boli' came floating down the drain. T, knowing a gift when he sees one, brought it home for me. Having been at a bit of a loose end all  morning the unexpected arrival of a 'found thing' lifted my spirits no end. Not being able to find my hack saw, T's electric jigsaw came to mind. Having drawn the circle I wanted to cut and made the initial incision  into which to slide the blade , cutting the hole was a piece of cake. The boli must have been adrift for a while as the exposed innards were a black mush. I meant to take a photograph of this stage but they didn't smell too good and I was a bit hasty in disposing of them, jettisoning them from out of the studio window to a shady spot where hopefully the seeds will sprout.(More likely than it sounds, most everything pelted from a window seems to grow, - lime pips,avocadoseeds, papaya,blackeyepeas,passion fruit- all have sprung happily to life from where they have landed, as opposed to all carefully cultured and nurtured attempts which, more often than not, fail miserably.) I digress. The inside of the shell needed a good scrape with a spoon and then it sat in a sink of full of water with a bit of bleach overnight. I'd been reading about the Amazon recently and with this in mind and the tribal connections to river and Anaconda, the design took shape. A friend had given me some lino cutting tools a while ago,(lino.... does it still exist?) and they worked well, providing texture and preventing me from being too careful and precious. This took most of the day, such fun and I was pleased with how it came out, especially the negative space which I hadn't thought about at all. The idea was to make a salt holder, one that requires putting your hand into the mouth of the beast. On reflection, I wasn't too sure how T would react to this. There are no poisonous varieties in Grenada but historically, Grenadians do not like serpents. Over time, we have come to an understanding, regarding all those that slither on their bellies.T is now able to resist the urge to exterminate them on sight and I am able to not be so dismissive about his cultural feelings towards them.
 Now all that is required is to sand it  and let it sit a while so it can tell me whether to paint it some, add shells, seeds, beads or just let the natural patina develop as it dries and matures. T likes it.

El Diablito and the Book of Possibilities

I started working on some ideas for a still life painting this morning.  I like planning things out in a sketchbook. Using watercolour and with no particular discipline or end result in mind at this stage, I usually stick on some music, (it was The Incredible String Band today) and dive in to see what happens. It's a lovely feeling, there is no pressure or expectation as the water and paint mingle freely. I am besotted with the combination of Paynes Grey and Burnt Sienna, oranges with crimson, deep blues and emerald green. El Diablito, who believes that my work table is his, came to see what was going on and lend a paw. I imagine he'll work his way into the painting too.

La Sagesse

Thank you.

Bistro

In the heart of the city
on a cloudless,
sun hot,
breeze free day,
we slipped through
the arch
on Young Street,
behind the museum.

Passion fruit
was the juice
of the day,
sipped to a serenade
of national folk music
being rehearsed
behind
these doors.

The aroma of
a sumptuous feast,

escaping the
proprietor's
inner sanctum,

enveloped us.

Spellbound,
with the scent
of culinary alchemy,
we sated our thirst
with one last swallow.

The unseen musicians
dispersed,
giving us
a timely cue
to leave,
the way we had come.

Happy Monday

We started the day in Corn Buck. It has been a long time since we went up together with lunch and a purpose. The weather was kind, no rain, and a cloud filtered sun . T had begun work up there already and invited me to join him 'just to see'.

I saw

and set to, freeing stones. There is something delightful about cutting this bush, there are no monetary rewards, no fanfares or applause but once free of vine and vegetation, the stones stand for something that I cannot explain other than to say it matters.

T took the opportunity to wash the dogs' bedding in the river, spreading them out to dry on warm river stones, which have totally different personalities from the ones in the bush.

Once home I did my share and washed the white things, a task
divided into manageable bites by frequent internet visits and refreshments  between rinses, combined with some lively music to maintain the momentum.

Weekword!

This week found me feeling a little lazy, but then I read Peggy's post and her delightful choice of word and illustration for Weekword, 'Sloth'! I remember thinking how nice it would be to join in,  and then she tapped me for this week! Thank you Peggy.

So, energised, enthused and honoured,  my choice for this week's 'Weekword' is:

'Glimpse'

I do hope you will join in the fun and share what you can glimpse.

Oh and by the way:

How to Weekword

Each week (hopefully on a Monday) the week’s host will choose a word to be the Weekword.
All you have to do for Weekword is to respond to the word in any creative outlet you would like – painting, writing, poetry, lyrics, music, photos, collage, mixed media, drawing, verse, dialogue, videos, anything really, and post the results on your blog.
Let the host know you’d like to play in their comments, and the host will post links to the blogs of all the participants on Friday.

 

Is That Time Again.........

This year's cocoa
was dry and ready
to roast.
We had to wait for a
hot, sunny and breezy
day.

The trusty
Porkert grinder
was dusted down
and assembled.


and the
still warm beans
shelled,
 (by him with
the big hands)
ground.
 (by her with
the muscle)

and then
rolled into balls
in the palm of my hand.
The house was full
of the scent of
chocolate.
Our ears rang with the
sound of people passing
and saying
"I want some of that
when you're done."

Decisions Decisions

Painting

drawing

sketching

research

experimentation

illustration

construction

cooking

looking

erasing

finding

losing

thinking

doing

taking

 

 

all of the above, flicking through old magazines and making a scrap book to remind me of where to put the energy.

 

Fun

When I made my New Year's Resolution, I knew then that, as flippant as it sounded, it was not going to be an easy one to keep. I know that fun can be found in everything that we do, from washing wares and clothes, letting the suds foam in our hands, feeling the stream of water from the pipe flowing through our fingers, to the  watching of stars and playing cards by candlelight to the sound of the river and the song of the tree frogs under the moon.
The thing is, for some reason, sometimes I forget. I forget to get up,step up, lighten up. I forget to step outside my head, that tangled interior which is mostly full of dreams and incessant narrative, and look around. This year I promise myself to remember, to deliberately set aside time for, to partake of this small sounding thing that costs nothing and yet is priceless.

Pet Projects

I give you Buffy and Max, the source of my resolution for 2011, .....to have fun!

Acrylic on canvass 11" x 14".

Of football and flights of fancy.

We went up to the pasture to watch the football on Sunday. We had a great time, our team won 5-2 and the commentators were as colourful as the game.

The pasture is up the road from where we live and it was lovely to have a change of scenery and a day out.

On the way to the rum shop, with the promise of music and talk and lambie waters, T showed me this.