#1253 theoldmortuary ponders.

On Apr 10, 2025Apr 10, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Serendipity1 Comment

I have had a few bubbling ideas for an upcoming exhibition. Ideas are one thing but they can be tricksy things, soon enough something will come along to whip the ideas into shape. I have known for a while that an exhibition to celebrate JMW Turners birth, 250 years ago was coming up.

As I have lived, off and on, in the Tamar Valley for 35 years. I have always been aware of the artist’s relationship with this location.

Taking Turner and the Tamar Valley as inspiration is quite a daunting thought. Last week I narrowed down my thinking to two Turner Tropes. Mist and red daubs.

This week I received the information sheet.

Some of my ideas fit the brief, others don’t.

A sensible woman would write down everything important and only allow her creative thoughts to meander along the paths set out by the information sheet.

On this occasion the sensible woman will prevail.

Some of my creative time will be spent creating a schedule, a work list and some deadlines. Oh how drear!

For now though, turquoise sea/ river mist and some red daubs.

#1252 theoldmortuary ponders

On Apr 9, 2025Apr 9, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Concatenation, Serendipity1 Comment

This peaceful picture was the product of concatenation. So much unrelated stuff came together. There were flurries of noisy activity, to-do lists and then a sailboat with red sails.

No sooner had one art exhibition finished than the next one peeped over the horizon.

Yesterday was actually an admin day with lists and agenda’s to be compiled and emails written. Alongside some being on hand to give access to some tree surgeons at a tennis club I do some work for.

So while my head was full of mundane stuff my other head wanted to create art in homage to Turner!

There was a cacophony of garden hardware, mowers, scarifiers and arboricultural machines, chainsaws and branch shredders. And just like that a small sailboat sailed past wearing red sails.

The noise and niff naff of the day wasn’t silenced but just moved out of focus for the few minutes this sweet little boat sailed past.

Whenever I look out over this patch of sea I think about the 600 known shipwrecks that are under this stretch of water and the floral tributes and ashes that are regularly set free on this coast.

All of this fed into my current, since yesterday, work in progress.

The location has been anonymised and the reality significantly altered but this will be the foundation of a picture called Crossing the Bar

Which led, of course to Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

And then with the serendipity of Dr Google to The Spooky Men.

https://spookymen.com/a-history-of-the-spooky-men/?v=7885444af42e

And that my friends is how a day that started with paperwork and chainsaws ended with deep and sonorous harmonies.

If you never click on any links I share on these blogs just do it this one time. Your ears will thank you for it. Meanwhile back to the work in progress.

And I am back to a Spookyman playlist.

#1251 theoldmortuary ponders.

On Apr 8, 2025Apr 8, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn Books1 Comment

What book could you read over and over again?

I am not much of a repeat reader. If I reread a book it is often circumstantial rather than a choice. Book Club is a good source of a re-read but with the added benefits of being able to talk with a group of fascinating people about the book. This last month I read the book club book twice and I had also read it a few years ago. 3 times for a book I consider to be not worth reading. I probably didn’t finish it the first time. I didn’t plan to give it such diligence this month but after the first read I researched the reviews from when it was first published and gave it a skim-read second/third go.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/may/22/beryl-bainbridge-polka-dot-dress?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I am an ardent reader for pleasure. The more I read this book the more I took from it, but pleasure was not something extracted on any one of my three adventures between its covers.

I feel I have failed by not thinking that this book is an insightful and fitting final novel by a great writer. But in truth this is not her final novel. She didn’t finish it and her hastily written manuscripts fueled by end-of-life medications were assembled by her much respected editor. Would she have sent it out in that form to her adoring public?

Could it ever be accurately judged as it was published after her death. Once one critic, from an unreliable cohort, mostly white men, had said it was her masterpiece ( mistresspiece) could anyone have disagreed?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/jul/02/beryl-bainbridge-favourite-book?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Much better to read this article and the books mentioned. Written a day after her death the article mentions my personal favourite The Birthday Boys about Scott , a local Plymouth hero. But read by me long before I lived here.

I am going to read it again now. I suppose despite what I said earlier I am a re-reader. Just not over and over again. Life is too short!

#1250 theoldmortuary ponders.

On Apr 7, 2025Apr 7, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity3 Comments

If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?

I think I would be the character or role that might be nominated for Best Supporting Actor. I think they always seem a little more interesting and perhaps better written than the lead roles. There is also a good chance that your character survives for most of the narrative. I like survival and longevity.

Having had a week of really interesting conversations with artists and art lovers at an exhibition for the last week. I am certain the book or film would need to be literary or arty. I don’t think I have action or thriller in my bones, although they are genres I can enjoy.

If this question was, what plant would you be? The answer would always be a border perennial, by the sea.

#1249 theoldmortuary ponders.

On Apr 6, 2025Apr 6, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn Art for sale, Drawn to the Valley, SerendipityLeave a comment

Waking up to the last day of the Spring Exhibition at Ocean Studios in the Royal William Yard, Plymouth. Megan Hall’s Sea swimming print sets the tone for the last blog of the exhibition. Today we are chasing orange. From the bitter cold of a dip in the sea to the gentle warmth of a barn in the countryside. Maya Sturtridge makes a little orange go a long way.

A different orange of the country side is represented by a pair of owls eyes by Lucy Griffith’s

Harm to the countryside is represented by Janet Brady’s evocation of our changing climate.

A reason, perhaps why, tulips bloomed before daffodils in some places.

A garden image leads us to the garden studio of the artist, who created the last image of orange and ends the last of these Exhibition inspired blogs.

Last but not least in any sense. All of the paperwork and record keeping admin for this exhibition was created by Lynne Saunders. It worked like a dream.

Lynne’s Studio is called Figtreeshedstudio. Set in the countryside of the Tamar Valley. Her orange abstract is The End.

P.s there might be a clearing up ponder, who could possibly predict.

#1248 theoldmortuary ponders

On Apr 4, 2025Apr 5, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn Drawn to the Valley, Drawn To The Valley Artists, SerendipityLeave a comment

With a gallery roof that looks like this and a sunbeam catching my glass of Prosecco.

The only possible colour to chase is Aqua, hard to define. Is it blue or is it green. Does it have to have a watery element or can it feel substantial?

Estuary Blues by Nuala Taylor, links perfectly to the River Tamar and the Valley that gives our art group its name.

The northern reaches of the Tamar, nearer to Launceston is particularly known for having a thriving Otter population.

The abstract nature of Shari’s water eases us into the world of Jane Athron’s Abstract Number 3.

Jane’s pinks and aqua lead us colourfully to a Storm Brewing

And if a storm were brewing an umbrella might be required.

Which leads us down the aqua path to somewhere with not a storm in sight.

Which is quite a way to travel from the roof of a gallery.

And a glass of fizz.

#1247 theoldmortuary ponders.

On Apr 4, 2025Apr 4, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn Anecdotes, blogging, SerendipityLeave a comment

It has been a really busy 3 days setting up and running an art exhibition. Hardly time to draw breath or write a regular blog that is not exhibition centric. But today we hit the halfway point. The Private View was held last night and now we have 3 days of welcoming our guests and taking some time to enjoy the experience that has been created. I have lost count of the fabulous and fascinating conversations that I have had, but one when the hanging team were exhausted has stuck with me. Almost as a mantra for life.

We were installing art within two huge spaces in a Grade 1 listed building. The obstacles and impediments of the hang were demanding and often required improvisation.

Two artists, up high ladders were nattering as they worked.

“We are just going to have to bodge first and finesse after”

Bodge and Finesse. My new favourite word pairing.

So much of life could be described in that way. I would argue that often, to finesse is bodging and that bodge is the epitome of finesse.

Normal, less arty blogging starts next Tuesday.

#1246 theoldmortuary ponders

On Apr 4, 2025Apr 6, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

Chasing neutrals and texture, starting with a controversial one. Fashion declares that leopard print is a new neutral, so here we are with Steve Savage’s beautiful Leopard. Instinct. Below is a different type of camouflage. The perfect location for Jillian Morris’s delicate woven piece. The walls and windowsill are a perfect spot for her weave.

Similarly Nuala Taylor used the same neutrals for her seascape.

And Pippa Howes using the same neutral hues with Spring Light.

The subtle orange of Spring Light is reflected in Anne Payne’s Citrine set in Silver.

Silver merged with sea glass is the inspiration behind Kathy Lovell’s bracelet.

Leaping effortlessly from Silver to gold. Perfect beads of gold on Alison Freshnay’s Cradled leaf.

Tiny blobs of gold take us to bold ceramic blobs on Judy Haringtons tactile Yin and Yang.

Never underestimate the value of a bold, pink coated, art lover when viewing neutrals.

Then a small black blob is the link to Celia Over’s peaceful print. Moorland Texture

One last neutral. A detail from a Gill Manning Cox work. Full image later in the week.

The Plymouth Breakwater. Visible from the Royal William Yard the location of the Exhibition.

Two final neutral notes. The exhibition co-ordinator, co-ordinating with the neutral theme, while up a ladder.

The blogger/photographer fighting with sunshine, shadows and shiny surfaces.

#1245 theoldmortuary ponders

On Apr 3, 2025Apr 4, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn Drawn to the Valley, Serendipity1 Comment

Green is the Colour to Be by Ali Fife-Cook,our chairwoman, suggests the colour journey today at Drawn to the Valley, Spring Exhibition. Ocean Studios, Royal William Yard, Plymouth.

Followed swiftly on with Spy by Debra Parkinson the exhibition Co-ordinator.

The greens of Sally O’ Neill’s work brightly demonstrate the quirky nature of this gorgeous space. At different times of day the shadows are just a memory.

From moor to river with Anne Blackwell-Fox and Plymbridge.

And then the garden at Aberglasney with Sarah Grace. ( A small detour to Carmarthen but when I need green, I need green . It was almost certainly framed in the Tamar Valley)

And where there are gardens there is a rabbit from Rosemary Wood.

Before we sweep down to the coast with Hannah Wisdom and her wonderful green seaweed.

Before landing at the foot of Smeatons Tower with Jayne Ashenbury.

A green sweep of the Tamar Valley with the Artists of Drawn to the Valley. It took us a little longer to set up the exhibition than usual. 40 artists and the potential of 640 pieces of art arriving. Not everyone submitted their full quota, but it was close. A challenging two day hang completed by a diligent team. One of them wearing green.

#1244 theoldmortuary ponders.

On Apr 2, 2025Apr 2, 2025 By theoldmortuary.designIn Drawn to the Valley, Serendipity1 Comment

In praise of red. @theoldmortuary is part of a team running an Art exhibition at Ocean Studios in The Royal William Yard, Plymouth.

Blogs for the next few days will take a peek at the artworks on offer following a colour theme.

First up a blood red, bullet shaped, paperweight from Yvonne Morrissey.

And what better to follow a bullet than a knife.

Followed by 20 shades, including red.

Geoff Dodd’s painting, Sunrise at Belliver shows both the glory and the challenges of hanging art in this beautiful,renovated, military warehouse.

Grade II listing makes gallery wires essential. The proportions and light of the spaces combine to create a unique gallery-visiting experience.

Next, the word red in Christine Smith’s mixed media work.

From one bird to another. A Pheasant, resplendently red.

Not a brace of birds but a trio. Carole Cox created a splendid Electric Blue Cockerel who, as luck would have it has a splendid red wattle.

And finally, another Geoff Dodd image hanging with an @theoldmortuary original. Daffodils and Moonflowers.

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