Tag: dailyprompt

#1527 theoldmortuary ponders

On By Juliet CornellIn Hybrid Printmaking, Serendipity1 Comment

Tell us about your morning routine.

or yesterday mornings routine.

In fact yesterdays morning routine was a monthly routine. Once a month a group of artists get together to chew the fat , plan exhibitions and share tips. We are encouraged to be creative at the same time. Multi tasking, with cake eating and coffee drinking is also integral to our decisions.

I was painting a water-colour layer to enhance a photograph that was taken two days earlier after a really lovely swim in Firestone Bay.

Water colours* combined with a photograph are how I produce my Hybrid prints. The watercolour is how I add emotion, atmosphere and vibrancy to the experience of being there in that specific moment. I also use watercolour to add the complexities of the weather and temperature of that moment.

*I mostly use a watercolour layer but the additional layer can be a monoprint,another photograph, textiles anything that can create the essence of what I am striving to capture.

The photograph this watercolour needed to enhance was good enough in its own way.

But it was bleak and chilly as is entirely normal for 5pm in mid-October. The swim one hour earlier had been unseasonably warm. We had all stayed in longer than you might expect for October. The whole experience felt like a warm summer evening, lots of chatter, a good bit of exercise.The harsh reality of the landscape felt softer and more vivid than it really was.

I trace the point where I will register the two images and then forget all about the photograph. Painting entitely from memory/imagination the sensation of the moment. Everything flows from the register point. In this case it is also the vanishing point but that is accidental

Then I just have to photograph the water colour and stick the two* images together.

*Sometimes I create three or four images to stick together. Nothing is guaranteed, the whole project can be a disaster or turn out nothing like as well as I had hoped. This one came out just as I had hoped.

The Watercolours are not wasted. I can work into them later with pen and ink.

The reason I am sharing the somewhat ponderous technique I am evolving was an on-line conversation I had yesterday with a schoolfriend.

Funny how a chat with a lovely man that I have known since we were both 11 made me distill my thoughts.

Even funnier is the realisation that only came from that conversation.

At no point in my medical imaging life did anyone accuse me of not being a ‘real’ radiographer or not giving them a ‘real’ diagnosis because I was using digital skills.

Plenty of people have exactly that opinion of using digital skills to produce art…

Plenty of people are incorrect.

The finished article.

3pm The Swim zone.

And because digital can change a mood.

5pm An early evening dog walk. Reflecting on an unexpectedly lovely swim.

#1524 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn Hybrid Printmaking1 Comment

What’s the most underrated life skill?

I am uncertain if being kind is the most underated life skill, or the most easily forgotten. Many people view it as a weakness or something that need not apply to them. Others think it is a selective skill used sparingly at times and then gushingly like an incontinent water main. I find this sort of person somewhat awkward to interact with.

That being said I do possess some unkind bones in my body , everyone needs just a few for protection or good comedic moments. But a whole skeleton of them is not a good thing in my opinion.

People with full skeletons of unkind bones see kindness as a weakness. I think of it as a bit of a superpower. Kindness brings warmth into most situations.

Humans are funny old things we tend to remember the bad stuff or the sad stuff: the unkind words and deeds much more readily for some reason. Which is why kindness is just so important, used effectively it can make the sad and bad stuff just a little bit more tolerable and balance, where possible its nemesis, unkindness.

#1522 theoldmortuary ponders

On By Juliet CornellIn art, TravelsLeave a comment

What’s the best way to explore a new city?

Not ‘the’ best way to explore a city, but my way.

Without too much of a surprise I explore anywhere new with an urban environment, by heading to an area known locally for being arty and supportive of independant shops and cafes. If a visit can only ever be brief I feel closer to the heart of a place where Street Art, quirkiness and originality are the the first impressions. It is there, through conectedness, that routes into the more interesting facets of place can be identified. I am never interested in slavishly ticking off the top ten tourist destinations unless I am genuinely intrigued by something or someone connected to the top ten destination.

Somewhat more controversially I like to explore places after dark or in the really early mornings. There is nothing to beat watching a place wake up or to vicariously experience other peoples night lives.

#1521 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn autumn, Bobbing, Urban Jungle, Yardening1 Comment

What’s a moment in your life that made you feel truly alive?

Waking up in the morning, needing a wee and a cup of tea and having the good fortune to be able to achieve both with ease. I have no need for fireworks or sequins to feel alive. Just being it is enough.

Our yard has largely been put to bed for the winter but last night she was quite gorgeous for an October night . The studio light was on, the washing was drying on the line and the sculptural plants were being sculptural throwing extravagant shadows onto the laundry. Everything has sprung back from being baked to a crisp in the hottest summer on record. The yard is feeling truly alive too.

Boring as it may be, but October the second was a day of being truly alive. Something I will always be until I am not.

I went swimming with some of the bobbers, the sun was out, the tide was high and really very bouncy.

The water was warmish and swirled us around like grubby clothes in a washing machine. One of those days when it was tempting to stay in too long.

One of those days of many moments of feeling truly alive.

#1518 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn Lightbulb moments, SerendipityLeave a comment

Which relationship has taught you the most about yourself?

Relationships are, by their nature, an organic and evolutionary, emotional or functional contract between sentient beings.

It would be easy to write about all the lovely, succesful, joyful relationships that feed my soul. But a bit like failure In anything, there is a lot to be learned from the relationships that don’t go so well. Or even dark times in normally delightful relationships How we survive those relationships or passages of time where good has become bad is what teaches us the most about ourselves. It is easy to be in loving or cordial relationships. Not so pleasant, at all, to be in one with unkindness, manipulation, disinterest or aggresion.

Such a complex subject really. I hadn’t expected to sum it up quite so succinctly. I surprised myself. A lightbulb moment.

As someone who knows an awful lot about the structure and function of the human heart and head. The sciency bits.The arty bits, the creative, no proof bits of me think that the scars I have gained in either essential part help in some way. My heart beats a little more strongly and my head thinks with a little more clarity because difficult or awkward relationships have challenged me along the way.

Below is my lightbulb moment in Sarzeau last week. Who could possibly have guessed that I would need such an image so soon.

#1513 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn blogging1 Comment

How do you write what people actually want to read?

The sun sets on the Autumn Equinox. When day and night are equal. Daylight wise it is all downhill from here untill the Winter Solstice. We filled our twelve hours of daylight wisely, finding a camping pitch with an excellent sunset and swimming in a big sea pool in the heat of the day.

This sea pool was the main reason for us to want to visit Etél.The pool is so big I couldn’t fit it into one shot.

Unlike my, almost daily swims, this summer at Tranquilty Bay, there is almost nothing to consider when swimming in the peace and warmth of Etél. No waves, no currents, no rips and, protected by a lock, no massive tide height changes. But all the challenges of Tranquilty Bay have trained my swimming head to just let go and be in the moment which is still entirely doable in an ultra safe environment.

Swimming at Conleau Sea Pool yesterday. Caught in a sunbeam…

So back to the question. How do I write what people actually want to read?

Do I even do that?

Most people who read this blog are completely unknown to me and have stumbled on it. Some have had it reccomended to them. Others know me in real life and a few know of me from arty meetings. I must presume all of these people like that I write a blog about hyperlocal ordinary life.

This blog would not suit anyone who enjoys sea fishing, mixed martial arts or crosswords paricularly, but it might, you never know.

I jusr witter on about normal, often mundane life. Some people seem to enjoy that. To be honest I dont really try too hard, this is a diary of sorts. It is what any reader wants it to be.

#1512 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn SerendipityLeave a comment

What’s the most thing spontaneous you’ve ever done?

Spontaneousness and serendipity have been a constant in my life. Which is odd because I am also quite risk averse. If spontaneous action has a good result I almost forget that it was spontaneous and consider it a good decision or plan even, forgetting that there was no planning involved. If spontaniety turns out not so well I will judge it as a poor decision. A long winded was of saying my spontaneous acts are not judged and graded.

This current holiday was planned to only have spontaneous decisions. To travel on a whim and the hunt for a week or so enjoying a French Indian summer. Camp site owners however had their own ideas of enjoying Indian Summer without guests. Many of them closing on the 20th of September. Like a massive and motorised game of musical chairs, huge numbers of campervanners are chasing down less and less camping spots.

Booking is off line and in person. Luck has been on our side for three nights of glorious camping by a beach. But last night we failed epically and could only manage a dull roadside Aire. This morning we put on our competive heads and have again scored 3 nights by a beach. Not much ‘entente cordiale’ it must be said, wiry old Frenchmen sending out their ferocious female companions to bang on any part of our van to point out the perceived error of our ways in the queuing system. Believing, as some men do, that size matters and if that fails to impress then knuckles can reiterate the message. Our little brown van knew she was not doing anything wrong and the men, their womens knuckles and their behemoth vehicles just had to remain behind us. We are, after all, from the nation that knows how to queue and even in difficult unruly gatherings know the exactly who we are behind and who should follow us.

So most spontaneous of the day, join a queue, know our rightful place and stick with it.

#1509 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn SerendipityLeave a comment

What’s one thing you wish you had started doing earlier in life?

Not so much me as an individual but my birth family as a whole. I wish I had had holidays with my grandparents and foreign holidays with my parents. I am just being whimsical really, but this morning’s dawn picture is from a campsite founded in 1963. It is obvious that people have been coming here for many years. Some of them from the day it opened. The small beach bar buzzes with conversations that bounce from table to table. Not pretentious Bar Fly type boasts and swaggers. Just people catching up with people they have known in this particular holiday spot for many years. We are here on the last week of the holiday season but nothing feels like it is winding down. A fishmonger arrived last night selling freshly harvested oysters, there was no announcement and yet there were queues of people, both campers and locals excitedly buying oysters for their supper. Maybe that has always happened on a Friday night.

The toilet and shower block is very modern and high tech. A tree has been preserved in the atrium entrance and there is recorded birdsong. Presumably the new building replaces a smaller one that was more open to the elements. Birdsong whilst abluting is curiously relaxing. I think having this location as a regular holiday destination would be fabulous.

This was our second choice of camp site. Our original choice had excellent on-line reviews. But just driving into the reception area made us reconsider. It was very busy, full of people bustling about and doing performative activities, bikes, kayaks and alpine walking sticks were everywhere. Strangely and worrisomely like a cartoon version of a camp site. A lot of Lycra. I don’t need lycra to do not very much, although for the good of other peoples holidays and nostalgia, I am not skinny dipping near the convivial beach bar. A little lycra was a good thing in that instance.

#1407 theoldmortuary ponders

On By Juliet CornellIn art, bloggingLeave a comment

If you had to switch lives with a fictional character for a week, who would you choose?

Absolutely and without a doubt, a privelidged and well educated male spy or diplomat. I want the connections, an elegant apartment in central London and most importantly I want an extensive tailored wardrobe. If possible I would like my week of being a privelidged sort of fellow to be a week off , so no actual spying or diplomacy are being done. Just a week of hanging with my equally elegantly dressed chums, doing chap stuff like watching a top level sports match in an exclusive box, whilst sipping or quaffing a drink or two, and still have a razor sharp mind for a witty or erudite conversation, about my latest motorbike adventure and the pitfalls of a damaged sprocket. I would take my mother out to dinner and actually spend time talking and laughing with her.We would travel on a London night bus in our beautiful clothes to prove how in touch we both are with all levels of society, and we would go to a delightfully retro all-night cafe, to top up on unsophisticated calories because our dinner choice was so beautiful, exquisite even, that it failed to fully satisfy us.

At the weekend I would go to the countryside wearing tweed or to the coast wearing quiet luxury, and meet more well connected friends.Mindful that I would be running out of time as an extremely lovely and likable Alpha Male impersonator. My Saturday and Sunday would be spent talking about anything other than myself, in order that my week-long research into being a very lucky man has been as well used as it possibly could.

Would a week be enough? Could I become addicted to a life of testosterone and privelidged living?

Would my vocabulary alter to use words like rusticate or flunk instead of chucked out and fail.

Could I possibly wear waistcoats more often in daily life? Calling the garment a ‘weskit’*

Obviously before my week away as a chap or chum I would do some homework. The Guardian article above would be invaluable.It is well worth a read even without a fictional adventure into manhood. Pull up a chair and relax.

What would be my takeaway from this tiny adventure. Without it ever likely to happen, it would absolutely have to be the clothes. I worry that the combination of privilege and testosterone might quite turn my head, and no self respecting woman wants to run the risk of being a knob. Thank goodness for all the lovely men in the world who prove that that outcome is not always inevitable.

#1404 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn Serendipity1 Comment

What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?

I am not someone who habitually hands out unsolicited advice. I don’t always like to receive advice or instruction that I neither need nor desire, so out of respect to others I limit my offerings to those who ask. That is not to say that unsolicited advice is always a bad thing, but too much, too often is just patronising.

However, the question has been asked and I would say to younger people,try to develop a positive outlook on life. Wear rose tinted spectacles when you can. Try to find the sunspots in a field of gloom.

Constantly negative people are not my tribe, now I am semi-retired I like a life topped up with positive energy. Not everything in life needs to be polarised or adversarial. We do not always have to agree with someone to find some common ground that is relatable

Practice makes perfect. Pink lenses can help you focus on the one good thing, the beautiful thing, a small kindness, an act of love, the inappropriate giggle even in the darkest of places. Pink lenses are a metaphor for finding something good in every day and the more you do it the better you become at it. In my humble opinion, if anyone is interested.