Tag: dailyprompt

#670 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Serendipity2 Comments

What motivates you?

I have a butterfly mind, unusually I can easily harness my butterfly when needed but like a parachute my mind works better when it is open. My motivations are sometimes opposing to one another.

Here is my list.

1. Kindness and care to those around me.

2. Deadlines.

3. Serendipity. Nothing is more inspirational than the unexpected.

4.Procrastination. or creative preparations as I often label it.

5. Concaternation.

6. Lifelong learning from all of the above.

Today I am on the final phase of, 4- Procrastination. I have an exhibition opening tomorrow. And yet there are still 2 solid hours of Studio tidying before I can hit , 2- Deadline.

The butterfly above was, 3- Serendipity when a stencil fell on an old watercolour doodle.

The 2 hours of studio tidying could have started 3 hours ago. I could already be at Deadline, but no, Procrastination was in full active mode.

I checked in with some of those I care about.

I walked the dogs, luxuriously in the sun.

I went back to the sea for a swim.

I wrote this blog.

Every one of those things will make today more productive and motivated. And that is Concaternation at its finest.

And just like that the final tidy is complete, let the artwork commence.

Extra #688 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn blogging, Serendipity1 Comment

https://theoldmortuary.design/

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Writing my blog is possibly the most joyful thing about writing. There is something calming and meditative about writing daily and finding a positive in the often mundane pattern of normal life.

A tiny percentage of my life makes it into the blog. The blog is repetitive and often has fairly dull subject matter. But writing daily for several years now has taught me to look for nuggets of interest and pleasure in everything I do.

#688 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Home, Serendipity3 Comments

What do you love about where you live?

What do I love about where I live? Where I live gives me my little fix of zen just five minutes walk from my front door. All of my life the coast has been my fixer of woes. I have never lived more than two hours from the coast. So always accessible easily. For two years that accesibility has been a five minute walk.

But I am a picky coast lover. I really dislike seaside tat. Garish shops and arcades, horrible mini fairgrounds, crazy golf, the list is extensive.

What I love about my current location is that for centuries it has been a key maritime military defence area and has been protected from typical coastal development. Only fairly recently completely accessible to the public there are walks and a park that overlooks the sea with not one bit of traditional seaside tackiness.

All of the bright colours in this blog are provided by my early morning dog walk.

It is not just me that loves the peace snd simplicity of our early morning walk.

Hugo and Lola are dogged in their quest for tranquility.

Why do I love where I live? Because this locationion suits me very well.

#686 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn pondering, SerendipityLeave a comment

Happiness is my commonest positive emotion. It is my default setting. I have recently been made aware that I rarely show ecstatic emotion. I laugh a huge amount and do genuinely take great joy from many things. But I am not sure I know how to express the increased level of joy life brings me when my regular happiness levels get a boost. Misery or worry are also less obvious to other people, for me the indicator is insomnia. If my happiness quota most days were a colour it would be a variety of shades of orange. Extreme happiness would be yellows and crossness, irritation, sadness or anger would be many shades of red. Perhaps I need to show more yellow and some red instead of occupying a mostly orange mindspace.  Always something to learn, always room for improvement. Perhaps a little blue or green should be added into my outwardly projected emotional serving.

What positive emotion do you feel most often?

#683 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

What brings you peace?

Nothing specific brings me peace but I find that peace often just finds me, sometimes in unexpected moments. This morning the Oosterschelde set sail from Plymouth on a two year voyage to replicate the journey of Charles Darwin.Who sailed from Plymouth on Beagle 200 years ago on the journey that inspired his work The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

https://maritime-executive.com/article/200-years-after-darwin-tall-ship-recreates-hms-beagle-s-famed-voyage

Seeing a Tall Ship up close is very impressive. As she slipped anchor to sail the world I felt a tiny stab of sadness.

But then seeing her sail by and gently raising her sails there was a moment of quietude and graceful momentum.

But soon enough the boat, that was so large and imposing in the harbour started to lose significance in Plymouth Sound.

And in moments was lost in the low lying sea mist that was further out . Peace came gently, just watching a tall ship quietly slip into invisibility

#681 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell?

I really don’t have the skillset to open a shop but I know absolutely what it would be and what it would sell. Books… Cakes… Coffee… Art…

It would be in the old waiting room of a railway station and would flex as the day/days progress. Early in the morning I would sell coffee and croissants to commuters. By 10 am the cakes of the  day would be delivered and people who wanted books and a place to  gather would start to come in. The sun is always out and people sit outside overlooking trains or countryside. By 5pm the book browsers are gone. Some evenings in the month cooks rent my fabulous kitchen and create ‘Pop-up’ events. Similarly poets, musicians and comedians rent the space to perform intimate gigs to knowledgable audiences.

My space would be a community hub and by owning it I would meet eclectic and fascinating people every day. My idea of perfection.

#680 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment
Daylight through my pocket, the one with my phone and optimism in it.

What is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?

Optimism is the most important thing to keep in my pocket, along with my smartphone.I don’t quite understand the point of pessimism. I am not rude enough to cancel pessimists,they have some valid views and can be interesting to talk to, but draining at the same time. I am pathetically optimistic although completely accepting of the serendipity of life including the, sometimes unpalatable, negative aspects.

Another genuine and unplanned pocket picture of optimism

#679 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn blogging, Serendipity1 Comment

Describe your life in an alternate universe.

I have no idea when I last updated my Facebook Avatar. More than six years ago for certain. I have paid her very little attention. Today I was surprised when she popped up next to a comment I was about to send to a friend.

I have morphed into my Avatar without even trying. I own those glasses, white t shirts and a Chartreuse Cardigan.

Twenty years ago this was her.

Nothing more to be pondered. I am a woman who ditched a Basque for a cardi !

#676 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Lost Gardens of Heligan1 Comment

Describe one habit that brings you joy.

We have a family habit that has brought joy for more than 30 years.sAnd We are lucky enough to live within easy reach of all of the great tourist attractions of Devon and Cornwall. The place we visit most often is The Lost Gardens of Heligan near Mevagissey. We go so often we almost certainly don’t take the iconic pictures the location deserves but we do get some quirky shots most times we visit.

Today the mud maiden looked very relaxed.

And the Head Gardeners office never fails to charm me.

There are places to find peace, like this simple white greenhouse.

But for the most part today we did what a small person wanted to do and that meant hide and seek in all of the varied garden areas and dog walking on the beautiful lawns.

Somewhat amazingly we were there, almost when the doors opened until closing time.We would actually have been there at opening time but we had a traffic hold up on the way.

Action shot of us overtaking a steam engine on a narrow Cornish lane. It all added to the joy of the day. Link below to the Website of the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

https://www.heligan.com/

#675 theoldmortuary ponders

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

What are you curious about?

This is the very best sort of reading to start the day with, curiosity in book form. Since leaving the committee of Drawn to the Valley last year, I have had very little to do with the nuts and bolts of organizing the current programme of events. For local readers there are two more days to visit the Summer Exhibition in Tavistock.

This book is a joy to read and shows exactly how far Drawn to the Valley has come from those dark years of the Covid and post-Covid complexities of running a fairly large arts organisation in a geographically widespread location.

After 5 years as a member of the organisation these pages are now filled with the work of artists that I have met and shared creative journeys with. Many of them are my friends and teachers.

The page below shows how successful one of my projects has become.

Creative Tables has spread over the length and breadth of the Tamar Valley. Started to bring artists back together after the isolation of the Covid Lock-down in Plymouth. Creative Tables now operates monthly meetings in several different locations.

This book also shows how one life feeds into another as some of the people in the exhibition photographs are also bobbers and one artist has painted gig rowing the only team sport I have ever loved.

I was never quite so glam in my rowing days. Another curiosity for me is which piece of art will tempt me at Open studios.  There are many walls in my house with work by Drawn to the Valley artists.

Curiosity is a superpower, it can take you to the most fabulous places even when sat in bed with a cup of tea and a fabulous brochure.