Words of encouragement, written on the bench in an artist’s teaching studio. Image; Su Leslie
Words of encouragement #2. Writ large on the studio wall. Image; Su Leslie
Getting the message out. Bag and image; Su Leslie
Art play. Image: Su Leslie 2020Well, August. A month of two halves.
It started well enough; a visit to the hairdresser, dinner with the boy-child and his partner at a new restaurant, preparing to host a dinner party — even checking flights and accommodation for a trip to Christchurch.
Then Covid-19 re-emerged in the community and Auckland returned to Level 3 lock-down for 19 days, ending last night. Today we begin a period in Level 2.5, and wait to see what will happen next.
Confinement to barracks meant I had no excuse not to embrace my “Arty August” project. If I’d been hoping for 31 finished pieces of work, I would have been disappointed. Luckily my goals were more about process than product and I’m happy. I’ve played a lot with watercolours — trying to understand washes and blending; experimented with some air-dry clay that’s been in the art box for a while, and transformed a pair of thrift-shoes into a … 3D collage?
Embracing process doesn’t come naturally to me; I am very goal-oriented and naturally tend to become incredibly frustrated when my output doesn’t match my vision.
A few years ago my friend Claire — who is both a talented artist and a very good teacher — said something that stuck with me and helps me find value in everything I make, even when it’s simply marks on paper. She suggested that in each piece of work there is something good; maybe just a tiny part of a sketch that really works, or a blob of colour that’s pleasing. The trick is to find that one thing and enjoy it, celebrate it, and use it to move forward. In the last month I’ve covered lots of sheets of watercolour paper with blobs of colour. None screams out to me as the basis for a work in itself, but together, they suggest materials for a collage.
And if that’s good enough for Eric Carle in The Very Hungry Caterpillar –it’s definitely good enough for me.
As always, when I’m at home a lot, I cook a lot.
I am finding more and more that I want to eat a largely plant-based diet, and mushrooms are not only a favourite food, but work really well to provide the texture and depth of flavour found in meat dishes. I also love miso and am experimenting with making a miso glaze/sauce for mushrooms. The first attempt was pretty good, but needs tweaking.
And continuing my obsession with scones; I went right back to basics with a recipe from Maw Broon’s Cookbook. If you’re not familiar with Maw Broon (i.e. if you’re not Scots), she is the matriarch of a comic strip called The Broons which has appeared in the Scottish newspaper The Sunday Post, since March 1936.
Maw Broon’s Cookbook contains recipes that have formed the basis of Scottish cooking for generations. Many were handed down from mother to daughter, and on again.
I was interested in the recipe for Puff Scones because it uses buttermilk, and because it calls for plain flour, baking soda and cream of tartar — instead of the more usual self-raising flour. I’m not sure if it was the combination of ingredients, or the fact of adding the acid and alkaline raising agents as separate entities, but the scones were amazing. Seriously; they were the lightest, fluffiest scones I’ve ever made (and I’d thrown in some cheese which often makes them more dense).
They have the Big T’s approval, so now I have to try Maw Broon’s treacle scones … and maybe a wee Dundee cake.
The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.
If you would like to join in, here are the guidelines:
Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them.
Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.
If you do a ping-back to this post, I can update it with links to all of yours.
Please visit these bloggers to find out how July played out for them:
Pauline at Living in Paradise
Suzanne from Life at No. 22
Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind
Joining us this month is Ann-Christine, or Leya, who many of you will know as a host of the great weekly Lens-Artists challenge.
Tish at Writer on the Edge
Marilyn at Serendipity Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth
Lani at Life, the Universe and Lani
Ju-Lyn at All Things Bright and Beautiful
Brian at Bushboy’s World
‘Breathe’ by John Ferguson. Sculpture in steel; Sculpture in the Gardens, Auckland Botanic Gardens. Image; Su Leslie 2020
Evening light, Whanganui River estuary. Image; Su Leslie 2019
This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge asks for interpretations of the word layered.
Do I approach it literally with the layers of a macaron or a cafe breakfast?
Salted caramel macaron. Not only layering of the biscuits with buttercream, but layers within the baking itself. Image: Su Leslie 2019
Hash-browns, mushrooms, eggs; layered to look good on the plate and distribute those delicious runny yolks throughout the dish. Image: Su Leslie 2019
Or stacked container layers, gone awry in high winds?
Containers, Wellington Harbour. High winds have wrecked havoc with the carefully constructed layers. Image: Su Leslie 2017
More broken layers?
Reflections in the contoured glass exterior of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre, New Plymouth, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2017
Or maybe layers in art?
Detail, ‘Wave 2’ sculpture by Annette Thas. A tidal wave of discarded Barbie dolls installed at Tamarama Beach as part of Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2015. Image: Su Leslie
Layer after layer of discarded Barbie dolls form a wave shape. Layers of plastic and layers of meaning. Image: Su Leslie 2015
And then there are layers created by the two-dimensional nature of photography; compressing landscapes into bands of colour and texture.
Landscape, Canterbury, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2019
Tutukaka, Northland, NZ. Image: Su Leslie 2019
Not to mention layered images; double-exposures, super-impositions.
Double-exposures; a newly discovered camera setting. Su Leslie 2019
Photo-montage. Su Leslie 2019
Obviously, I couldn’t decide which to focus on.
There is quite a lot of evidence that engaging in creative activities improves health — mental and physical. Writing, drawing, painting, making crafts or music, even doodling and colouring in — they can all help to focus our thoughts, increase our happiness, boost our immune systems and even help treat dementia.
I’ve experienced periods of depression for most of my adult life. Of all the treatments I’ve tried, what seems to work best is making stuff; focusing my mind and hands and energy on some creative project, however small. At the moment, it’s Christmas cards.
I’m always a bit reluctant to recommend anything, especially for something as serious as mental health, but there is a significant body of research behind this — and it works for me.
Posted to Six Word Saturday; hosted by Debbie at Travel with Intent.
Aprophenia (see below), or a carefully curated installation? Image: Su Leslie, 2018 (click to enlarge image)
I spent much of the weekend in my friend Claire’s studio, photographing the painting and drawing workshops she was running.
In the quiet moments, I turned my lens on the studio itself, including the contents of a shelf tucked away in a back corner.
And in case you’re wondering, Apophenia (/æpoʊˈfiːniə/) is the tendency to perceive connections and meaning between unrelated things (Merriam-Webster).
Regular Random is a photo challenge hosted by Desley Jane at Musings of a Frequently Flying Scientist. If you’d like to join in:
Blurred, exposed twice, tweaked a bit … Image: Su Leslie, 2017
When photography took on the role of offering verisimilitude from painting, it freed painters to experiment with new forms of artistic expression.
Now, the ubiquity of photo-editing tools offers photographers a similar chance to experiment, play, and test the boundaries of the medium.
Error or art? Moving the camera while the shutter is open. Image: Su Leslie, 2017
In the past, “camera shake” and blurring made a photograph seem less valuable. Now such shots are just a starting point for creative play.
Blurred, another double-exposure and tweaked a bit more. Image: Su Leslie, 2017
Written for Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge at Lens and Pens by Sally.
