Category: Serendipity

Pandemic Pondering #157

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

#202 a strange number to write in this Pandemic year of 2020, #202 feels strangely unfinished. Just like the year , four and a bit more months to wonder what will happen next in this seminal year.

Yesterday was a bit of a down day @theoldmortuary and then last night was a down night. Different reasons, one more significant than the other.

The down night was caused by not quite parking our camper van horizontally. Which is lucky because today the Art Group Prompt word is Horizontal.

The van was parked with aesthetic and tea drinking in mind but we failed to notice the tiny slope. Both dogs and humans have awoken with hair pulled skyward by our bodies responding to gravity in our sleep as our feet slither slowly off the end of the bed. No photographs are available

I hadn’t expected to have two reasons to ponder ‘Horizontal’ having already been lucky enough to take a photograph that defied me to find a horizontal line when I came to edit it.

Happy Horizontal Sunday.

Pandemic Pondering #154

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Ponderings have very little planning , just musings about things that come up in daily life. August has been slightly different as I am running the Instagram campaign for an Art Group.Every day for a month a prompt word from a list compiled by someone else is given to members. I just upload an image and remind members what the word of the day is. For ease, despite not being the biggest fan of this kind of themed/prompt style of running social media, I decided to use the same word to inspire my bloggings. It has not been as hard as I imagined. Today is day 20 of the prompts for August and Pandemic Pondering #200. The word is ‘throwback’ . Things could not be any worse. If I dislike prompts I dislike the predictable ones even more. For example Monday Motivation, Throwback Thursday, Friday Feeling.It was with horror I realised that a ‘special number’ pondering #200 would be saddled with one of my least favourite prompts.Crazy really as pondering is an almost constant reflecting back.My relationship with prompt words just reflects a bigger antithesis to being controlled while being creative.I adapt recipes.I dance like noone is watching.I used to reassign colours and numbers with paint by numbers sets.The last one is bonkers 😂. How I wish I had kept them. It was an early manifestation of a curious mind not quite happy to conform.This August prompting experience has taught me to just get on with it. Something I’m more than happy to do in real life but resistant to in my creative space.That’s my pre-pondering over, time to get on with throwing back.Serendipity, a key word in pondering throws me back to last Saturday/Sunday when this crazy arrangement happened @theoldmortuary.Three things with identical colours collided on our coffee table.The first and most permanent one is The Vanity of Small Differences by Grayson Perry.Link to Grayson Perry
https://g.co/kgs/cSpNurAn art/sociological essay style picture book for adults. A lovely book to dip into for lots of reasons. His illustrations are completely engaging, our two year old grand daughter also loves it for the funny stories you can make up using his pictures.The second item creating Serendipity was this unexpected free gift from a coffee roasting company, it had arrived with our coffee bean order and was left on the table.Link to Butterworths
https://butterworthandson.co.uk/The third serendipitous item was this lovely bunch of locally grown fresh flowers, that arrived in the hands of some friends who came for supper on Saturday night.This lovely bunch of flowers pulled the whole crazy colour and pattern match together. They were bought from one of the many road side stalls that can be found in the lanes of the Tamar Valley. Historically the Tamar Valley was one of the very important areas for growing fruit and veg because of its rich soil and gentle, warm and wet, climate. The produce was shipped and later carried by train to London for customers from all over the country. These flowers and the produce stalls they come from are all that is left from a growing region that, relatively, grows no more.Link to Tamar Valley AONB
https://www.tamarvalley.org.uk/about/maps/Pandemic Pondering #200 done. Where will we be by #300.

Pandemic Pondering #153

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Fitness, SerendipityLeave a comment

Wet on Wet is the Art Group Prompt.That is quite a challenge for a blog.Wet on Wet is a painting technique, where layers of wet paint are applied onto an already wet surface. I am not an expert at this technique. I’ve never used it with oil paints . I do use it with watercolour, but I’m not the best practitioner. It can turn out dreadfully badly, or with practise you can get lucky. Having a good teacher helps immeasurably.

© theoldmortuary
This is an infinity pond at The Scarlet Hotel, Mawganporth, Cornwall. Mr Mackerel posed for this painting, below, before supper.
©theoldmortuary
I’ve also evolved a Wet on Wet technique for acrylic painting. This method is not taught but comes from an inquisitive mind. For this technique, as yet unpatented, I mix acrylic paint with a variety of clear fluids. There has been no teacher for this technique, many muddy mistakes.Water.Saline.Vodka.Rubbing alcohol.Silicone lube.When the different diluents meet on a pre-prepared canvas or board they react to one another quite differently and can give some fascinating effects. Sometimes great and sometimes shockingly bad. With a little practice I have learnt what works well together but I can always be surprised and not always in a good way.These two went well.Dungeness
©theoldmortuary
Dungeness detail.Forder Creek
© theoldmortuary
Forder Creek Detail.And finally and importantly.A Left Hand Cleaving Water
© theoldmortuary
Detail.This last picture is an important link to non arty wet on wet.P.SA pandemic revelation! @theoldmortuary have become hooked on wild water swimming. Not something that you expect to read in an artyfarty blog. But with a prompt like wet on wet, added to us living in Cornwall that particular prompt lends itself to wild swimming too. It can rain a bit in Cornwall. We are fairly enthusiastic swimmers in warmer climates but swimming outside in Britain has been pretty infrequent until this pandemic. Without access to swimming pools since March and with no holidays on the horizon, swimming was off our radar until about 10 days ago. Some friends invited us to go to a beach for an early morning swim and we haven’t stopped going. Wet on wet refers to us not caring about rain , which is very curious. We’ve taken the plunge a few times in the rain without any worries.We’ve even talked about wet suits to prolong our season.Pandemic Pondering- exploring Wet on Wet two ways.

Pandemic Pondering#152

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Nature, SerendipityLeave a comment

The Art Group prompt word takes @theoldmortuary to some interesting places. Who doesn’t love a landscape?

My thing for years has been abstract landscapes. For this blog I plunged into my ideas and inspiration file.

I am intrigued and galvanized by nature’s ability to always overwhelm the constructs that man creates or just change the way things look. In doing so there is often unexpected beauty.

The dunes suffocating a beach hut at Wells-next-the-sea, Norfolk.

Here is an urban reclamation. Tarmac in Dulwich Park being broken up by tree roots and covered by autumn leaves and other natural detritus.

@theoldmortuary. The Smith Family Collection.

Nature is not exactly reclaiming this wall, but the Landscape Street Art is so famous as a site for Instagrammers that it is being worn away by sweaty hands and carefully posed leaning. This picture was taken some time after it was painted but before it became insanely popular as an Instagram background.

Alex Croft painted this as a commission for Goods of Desire. Countless Instagram photos feature this slowly fading wall.

©Instagram

Closer to home our century plus garden wall looked like a hedge as ivy took control.

It took quite a bit of effort to bring it back to wall status.

Next up 2 beaches slowly consuming man made structures.

And finally some box fresh images taken on Monday evenings combined swim and dog walk adventure.

A landscape shaped by the sea. Even if you visit this beach every day it will always be different.

Harlyn Bay, Cornwall

Pandemic Pondering #145

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It was all going so well. Pairing Ponderings with the Art Group Prompts. I even felt a little pride that I had knuckled down to prompts after my Prosecco fueled outburst. Then perspective got in the way. I got a bit giddy with excitement and the days and prompts got muddled.

Today at Drawn to the Valley is a fallow day. No prompts while my muddle of Perspective/Moor/River prompts gently and organically settles itself.

By way of apology I posted this image on the Instagram page of Drawn To The Valley.

I’m sure it was the excitement of Perspective that threw me off course.

The plan is pretty simple.

Blogs are written one day in advance to be posted anytime after midnight BST.

A prompt is posted on Instagram on the same day with a similar theme inspired by the prompt word at 7 am .

I’ve no idea how I got into such a pickle but it so happens that Pickle accidentally became the theme of my day. Late in life and in Pandemic Ponderings I have discovered the joy of pickling with a sweet brine.

Pickled grapes have been the excitement of the weekend. Today beyond my Drawn To The Valley prompt pickle I have pickled in sweet brine a combination of Padron Peppers and grapes. Pushing further the flavour combinations of sweet/acidic with some heat.

Pandemic Pondering #143

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Woo Hoo. The Art Group Prompt- Word, are we really only on day 9, lands like a gift in Ponderings.

We have already established that I was a nerdy child.

Reasons in no particular order

An ‘Only’ child.

Precocious reader.

Undiagnosed Synesthete.

Young, clever,working- class parents.

Older than normal for the time Grandparents. Much more normal now. Children seen but not heard style of granparenting.

There is my first use of perspective. Giving you an insight into my little nerdishness. The ponder that follows is a different perspective.

When I was 5 or 6 the ‘seen and not heard’ grandparents gave me this little book.

Its in a pretty sorry state now but when I dug it out this morning it made me very very happy.

I swallowed everything this book had to teach me.

Here is my favourite page.

When I looked at it this morning it was like meeting an old friend.

This knowledge tucked, into a head too young for it, did not do me any favours. The undiagnosed Synesthete was a tricksy old thing to deal with during my formative years. I never quite fitted into the herd requirements of education and although I could adapt and thrive there is always the feeling of being on the peripheral edges of any group activity. Like everyone that enters higher education I encountered reading lists which I diligently read, but I’ve found the books just peripheral to the reading lists were the ones that have formed my personal perspective of stuff that is important to me.

While searching for the delicious book on Drawing Houses by Sydney R. Jones I chanced upon some other fabulous reads.

Art History and Theory.

Life the Universe and managing awkward buggers and situations.

I’m not sure if Edward Dr Bono is fashionable or current right now. I once worked with his nephew who thought I was mad to love this book. Mad or not it has got me though some awkward moments with my integrity intact.

Understanding minds that are wired up just a little differently.

Finally story telling.

My blog is informed by all these books and many more. What I love about blogging is that it is so simple.

Think about something.

Write about it.

Enjoy and do the research in which ever way you can.

Reference, credit and share without ever having to worry about the Harvard System.

Even writing ‘ Harvard System’ brings me out in a little sweat.

Freedom is my perspective on the merits of blogging.

Pandemic Pondering #135

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Family, Gardens and gardening, Serendipity2 Comments

August 1st 2020.

For a month Pandemic Ponderings will be slightly controlled by the prompt list that my art group, Drawn to the Valley is using to inspire a response from members on Instagram and Facebook during August.

As you know from PP#133, I am slightly churlish about prompts but am choosing to see this as a creative challenge not only for art but my creative writing/social history Ponderings.

#1 Gardens

About two and a bit years ago garden design @theoldmortuary took on a new angle when we had to make it safe for an anticipated grandchild.

At the time that little family were living in Hong Kong so we had time on our side for alterations to the structure of the garden.

Then with great excitement they returned to Cornwall to live and our garden plans were properly tested and found to be pretty exciting for someone under two.

Then the Pandemic hit and she couldn’t visit. Then the Pandemic hit in a different way and they have had to return to Hong Kong.

Here she is inspecting the garden for herself, from above.

Then she required a meeting with the Head Gardener to discuss changes and improvements required for when she is able to visit again.

By embracing prompts I have been able to explain in a gentle way why we’ve been a little sad for a few months.

In the future the little person will know that she was loved and we were sad to see her go in 2020.

I’m looking at prompts in a new way let’s hope I am not a recidivist and return to my grumpy prompt hating ways.

For completeness sake here is the picture I’m going to pop into Instagram for the Garden prompt.

Dead heading into a turquoise bucket.

Pandemic Pondering #134

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Making Hay while the sun shines, part 2.

My apologies for the late arrival of today’s blog. After months of insomnia I was able to sleep last night. The usual time for tweaking and posting the next days blog was used for sleeping.

This morning was always going to be busy with good things. An early morning dog walk followed by a swim in the sea. The dog walk gave me this revised blog title.

Our local nature reserve is having a second hay harvest only a couple of weeks since the last.Today was always about making the best of things. We’ve had a sad old week which I’m sure I will touch on in various future blogs. So our is a metaphorical ‘ Making Hay While The Sun Shines’ kind of day. It turns out that is is also an actual Hay Making day.

The early dog walk was planned to facilitate an early swim with some old friends, pre 9am at Cawsand Beach. We found a quiet, almost Mediterranean corner of the beach to swim from.

The access to the sea was easy but very definitely more Cornish than Mediterranean, as was the sea temperature.

We had a fabulous swim, completely life enhancing and happiness creating. Followed by coffee and breakfast in our little cove. Emerging from our quiet spot there was very quickly signs of things to come!

The beach ahead of us was crowded even at 10 am.

Trying to get home involved an almost 10 mile traffic jam or a half hour drive to a ferry with a half hour wait.

Obviously from the picture you can see we chose the ferry.

This was a difficult decision for all @theold mortuary. A much loved family member was killed on the road to Torpoint and we’ve not ever travelled that road since. Some tears were shed.

South East Cornwall is full to the brim with people and traffic. Time to get back to part of today’s original blog.

The only link I can find is friendship.

Apparently government guidelines suggest that gatherings of 30 people are acceptable, with appropriate social distancing. Even with new additions I’m not sure I could gather 30 friends together and certainly not 30 family members. So once again I am unable to comply with new government guidelines. Meeting with a lower number of people suits us just fine. 30 seems giddyingly too many.

Just before lockdown I met two women. One at an art gallery and the other at a gym. Lockdown created a unique time and space to grow new friendships at a distance, we have also rekindled our old friendship with our swimming friends and nurtured existing friendships with the gift of more time. I’m not sure quite why the pandemic promoted the ability to speed up the cementing of really solid and valuable friendships both old and new, it’s a lovely positive in puzzling times.

I suppose that is something to ponder on!

The pictures below are lovely gifts that arrived this week from the Art Gallery friend and the Gym friend.

Lovely bursts of colour from flowers and crocheted bunting.

The pandemic has taught us to value friends and family and everything closer to home. It is a lovely feeling.

Pandemic Pondering #133

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Some days, pondering takes place beyond the blog.
This morning I was pondering or puzzling over a conundrum of my own making. Prosecco was involved.
I’m running the social media presence of an art group throughout August.At an informal planning meeting, I may have drunk a little prosseco.
At the meeting we were planning the August social media activity. I am not enlivened by prompts.In the art group world, prompts can be considered- helpful, inspiring, bonding, stimulating. I find them the reverse, Stifling, controlling, enervating .

Prosecco led me to be particularly blunt about prompts. Understandably, after I left, the others ignored me and went on to plan prompts.

Suddenly this morning I realised the prompt hater (me) would be managing a month of prompt related posts.

Not awkward at all.

Luckily I caught a programme on the radio. Serendipity had struck. the dogs are big fans of BBC Radio 4.
I caught them engrossed, listening to a woman talking about being creative.

In half an hour she cured my awkwardness over prompts. She is someone who embraces and creates from uncertainty.

I completely reccomend sitting down and listening,

30 minutes of down time listening to someone so much better than me at expressing a love of serendipity, or uncertainty and how it can be a positive thing

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000l7zh

More importantly, while listening to Caoilinn a lovely way of coping with prompts has revealed itself. I will embrace my awkward and consider the unwanted structure of daily prompts as my uncertainty and some days even use the prompt to inform and structure the blog.

These two morning events and the bees on the Artichokes are a fine example of a blog falling, unexpectedly into my head and then into the blog world.

Pandemic Pondering #129

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Accidental Christmas in July.

Today we hosted a family gathering and at one point the impromptu junk band started playing a Christmas tune.

I joked that it was like Christmas in July in the U.S, which we had experienced once . TV channels playing Christmas films, large family gatherings in parks. At the time it was explained to me that sometimes families who are widespread across the U.S have trouble getting together for actual Christmas because of extreme wintry weather. It all seemed pretty sensible to me.

Discovering that Saturday was actually the 25th of July and that we were having a family gathering with too much food and the obligatory walk prompted some pondering and research.


https://lifejourney4two.com/christmas-in-july/

The internet gifted me the above article that didn’t list the weather as a factor in the U.S but did baffle me with the information that Christmas in July is actually a thing in the U.K.

Not anywhere near me at any time ever!

I completely get the Southern Hemisphere thing. The need to celebrate/perk up the midwinter season was understood by primitive man and just hijacked by Christianity with some judicial juggling of dates.

The link below really takes Christmas in July seriously.
https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/life/2020/07/22/25-ways-celebrate-christmas-july-2020/5427258002/

After reading this I realised our accidental gathering was pretty amateurish. We do have solar powered lights for the summer season so I’m including these in the blog to give us a little more authenticity.

Also accidentally some sunflowers were bought which is a great way to end both this blog and retrospectively enhance yesterdays.

Time to start getting Christmas in July Boxing Day organised…