Month: Mar 2025

#1232 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Spring1 Comment

Pondering the Spring or Vernal Equinox with a dark image of  Spring while listening to the dawn chorus with the first caffeinated cup of tea of the day. I hardly have a rock and roll lifestyle, but I am nursing a small lack-of-caffeine headache, so there is a touch of angst in my early morning perfection. But with proper darkness into a light celebration of the Vernal Equinox, I have another vase of spring flowers to illustrate this blog of the changing season.

Aesthetically the womanliness of this vase is the star of this image.

Happy Vernal Equinox to those in the Northern Hemisphere. Happy Friday to all.

#1231 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Concatenation, Spring1 Comment

It doesn’t take much consistent Springiness to make me adopt Springlike behaviour. No coat for most dog walks this week, sometimes regrettable.

Early morning bud watch in the yard. Coffee in hand. Page turning moments while reading pruning guides with the last cup of tea before bed.

And the urge to book tickets for outdoor events.

After last week’s success at a Silent Disco, the bobbers are planning another Dry Bob at the Tinside Lido soon. A Silent Disco at a swimming pool. How appropriate is that?

Spring is really in the air.

#1230 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, South West Coastal Path1 Comment

What is one word that describes you?

In defence of my inquisitive nature I would say I never slip from curiosity into prying.

These steps had been away to be refurbished over winter. I was curious to know if they felt any different on their return. They form a vital link on the South West Coastal Path near my home.

The sound of my feet on the metal structure has changed very slightly. More importantly a favourite circular walk has been restored to me. Curiosity satisfied.

A prying person might demand to know  exactly what Civil engineering and refurbishment tasks have been undertaken.

Curiously inquisitive, but not in a prying way.

For curiosity’s sake I flipped these two images. I don’t think I can begin to describe how uncomfortable these stairs feel to me running in the opposite orientation.

Curiosity taken one stage too far.

#1229 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn pondering, Procrastination, Serendipity1 Comment

My phone is my on-the-go note book. Photographs and screenshots remind me of all sorts of thoughts that need to be followed up. I try to clear up my archive on a regular basis, trying really hard not to delete any gems. I have also been having a radical digital Spring Clean of the images stored on my phone. Only time will tell if I have been too brutal.

Monday started bright and early with a swim with the bobbers.

A new bobber joined us, the first in a long time to commit to regular bobbing after her first dip in Firestone Bay. She is wearing the green hat. Brave to join us when the water is almost at its coldest of the year. Brave to agree to join the  Bobbers WhatsApp group which carries eclectic messages, only 50% of them stick to the topic of cold water swimming.

I took photos for stereotactic image making later in the day.

The exhibition season is nipping at my procrastinating ankles.

My evening was spent making images as above. Walking my dogs and finding the most beautiful Magnolias and watching TV and finding a friend on screen.

The rest of the undocumented day passed off without need for notes or photographs. Happily all dull tasks and domestic admin were achieved with a sense of a list well achieved.

#1228 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Hybrid PrintmakingLeave a comment

Whatever blog was going to flow today has been bounced by a fellow artist sending me this page from a local newspaper. Not exactly headline stuff but page 5 in a local newspaper is still page 5 in old media. For some reason the free newspaper rarely makes it through my letterbox. There was every chance I would miss my moment as yesterday’s news.

In other news we spent a pleasant hour crafting with our two year old grandaughter in the local museum and art gallery.

I did all the right things assembling materials and sharpening pencils but was not allowed near any of her creative space and could only use the glue stick under her supervision and tear paper to make a picture. Which she needed to finesse before it was done.

Thank goodness for Hybrid Printmaking, which allowed me to sail abstractly into the sunset.

#1227 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Hybrid Printmaking, Serendipity1 Comment

How would you rate your confidence level?

I believe my confidence levels are at about the right place. But I would say that wouldn’t I?

Like many people I am a little in awe of hugely confident people but I am wise enough to know that massive confidence in others is built on foundations that are often less than desirable or wealth and status.

I am a lover of moderate confidence x compassion and interest in alternate ways of doing things. With a specific ratio of 35:65

35 being confidence and 65 being all the other elements of thinking, including doubt.

Clearly I sit comfortably on this ratio in my own opinion. It doesn’t mean a 65% lack of confidence. More like 65% opportunity to learn new things, see a different point of view or be flexible.

These images are 35% of my creative output of the last 2 months. The other 65% will never see the light of day but that 65% made these what they are. Less is more in confidence and creativity.

#1226 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, Spring2 Comments

I sense that I have hit visceral Spring in the last couple of days. Caught between  Climatological Spring on the 1st of March and Astronomical  Spring on the 20th of March. I am both behind the game and ahead of it at the same time. Actual Spring Cleaning occurred yesterday. I am on the steps of pastel colours and fresh greens that ultimately lead to summer.

Summer and Winter Solstices are the big ticket events but I think I prefer the softer transitions into Spring and autumn.

Visceral Spring is an entirely emotional and personal response. The point when layers of clothes become intolerable and my feet protest at the thought of socks and boots. Visceral Spring is not without discomfort. Toes in sandals are nipped by 1 degree temperatures and cold winds find their way into spaces where thermal underwear is missing but that discomfort is my small celebration that winter really is behind me, and that is a good thing for a winterphobic soul. Even one who has done her very best to find the positive in the dark months.

Time to lay a tribute on the steps towards Spring, Summer and Autumn. Longer days and sunlight.

#1225 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn abstract photography, Hybrid Printmaking1 Comment
Devonport Park.

Some days are just so full of lovely conversations that it takes a while to sort them and file them appropriately in my memory bank while extracting the nuggets of gold to be used immediately.

One such nugget, is that my evolving photographic technique is called Hybrid Printmaking. Using printmaking knowlege combined with digital techniques ,my analogue skills just happen to be medical imaging, to create unique artworks.

Following on from that conversation was an explanation, see below, which I possibly cannot recreate as succinctly as it was explained to me.

“When an analogue skill becomes redundant it can become an enlightenment in the digital world”

Wow!

Less wow was my choice of clothes yesterday. Back buttoned dungarees on a day when I knew I would be using public toilets for a large part of the day.

What was I thinking??

#1224 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn pondering, Words1 Comment

When I discovered Venn diagrams at Primary School I became a little obsessed and created intersectional circles as doodles when I should have been doing something more meaningful in class. I would create figures and shapes with intersecting circles filled with words and thoughts. This image popped up yesterday on a science website and it just makes me smile inside at my much, much younger nerdiness.

The more mature me loves the associated word, Intersectionality which is most commonly used to describe the less admirable facets of society.

But Venn diagrams and Intersectionality can also be a way of quickly identifying positive and joyous connections in the world and are really useful in decision making and design. A Venn diagram is fabulous for colour mixing too.

John Venn has a fabulous alternativeblue plaque which also makes me smile.

Wikimedia Commons

Which neatly brings me back to the first diagram.

A man who is an acknowledged Logical Thinker is also an Anglican Priest. That’s a whole new Venn diagram for me to ponder over.