A weekend of giving Aunt Milly some love and attention is enhanced by sunshine. I have a pile of books to keep me occupied and a view to distract me.
I popped into the Royal William Yard to buy some bakery provisions at The Ocean Studios. A home made Pork Pie somehow slipped into my shopping bag. Cue a bit of bakery porn, posing in the old clome oven, giving me the chance to use the term ‘Crumbshot’ which I have stolen from memoirsofabaker.
My reading for this weekend if the sunshine and the views don’t distract me is:-
How To Write About Contemporary Art by Gilda Williams.
Recommended by my art writers group. So far I’ve only dipped but it seems like an easier read than I had imagined.
Long Live Great Bardfield: The Autobiography of Tirzah Garwood.
Edited by Anne Ullman. My entire gene pool comes from the Bardfield area and I know very little about the village. Coupled with the narrative of a female artist, this will suit me very well.
Cant Stand Up For Sitting Down by Jo Brand.
A friend gave me this after I took a shockingly bad selection of books on my holiday. She thought this would chear me up literarywise. She was right. Living near Jo in South London, being grey haired and inclined towards curviness, I am often asked if I am her sister by shopkeepers. I think she would make a fabulous sister but the answer really is NO but if you insist I will sign your till receipt.
The Saturday Guardian,.
Regardless of the general opinion of our newspapers the arts stuff is well written and I enjoy reading it over the weekend.
Living Etc:
A style magazine that offers interior design that can be modified for normal living.
Cornwall Today: July. The Poldark Edition.
Colin and Diana had a copy of this ,when we met them at The Sorting Office Coffee Shop at St Agnes, yesterday. I’m more of a Winston Graham Poldark fan than a BBC fan . I read all the books in my early teens, I’m intrigued to see how Poldark is reimagined within real Cornwall.
Evening Standard Magazine: 07.07.17 London United Edition.
My love affair with London never fades, I voraciously read other people’s stories about their feelings for our capital city.
Now the studio is completely unusable. This will take days to dry and is in the centre of the now tidy floor.
His new book, Naked Truth, was launched tonight. A cornucopia of real women, curves, crevasses, confidence and contradictions, it is simply brilliant.
Early June is the perfect time to hunt for contemporary art. Art Schools and Universities showcase the best that their art students have to offer. Usually held over a week or so the Graduation exhibitions are vibrant , eclectic events. Last night I went to Plymouth College of Art and Designs Graduation Showcase, Breaking Through., Plymouth is one of the few remaining independent art schools. It teaches an eye watering number of creative courses and the end of year show reflects the huge diversity of subjects. The standard of these shows is always high . Proud parents, tutors and graduates rub shoulders with interested art lovers and talent scouts from the creative industries. Bargains can also be found and I’ve bought some lovely pieces from Degree shows around the country. One or two pieces have turned out to be a great investment as their creators become well respected and successful as their careers progress.
In our home we have to find space for ‘stuff’. The belongings or memorabilia from two sets of parents, now dead, and two previous individual homes. That’s a big ask of a small cottage. The sensible answer to this is that you can’t keep everything : recycling out to charity shops is not only the answer , it is also the right thing to do. If we don’t need it then a much better use is to generate money for a charity while getting it into the hands of someone else who can make use of it.
In writing a style and arts blog, I consider I’ve dodged the awkward ball of having to write a critical review. If somewhere isn’t stylish, I can easily choose not to write about it and when reviewing creative subjects, there is nearly always something positive to pull out of the experience. I’m grateful this is not a foodie blog because I don’t know enough about the subject to be interesting. However, I am very aware that style/ decor/ ambience is something that is very important to most people, particularly when considering repeat visits. Style is also about how things are served.
theoldmortuary website and blog is a little over a month old. This was the first person to want to follow us but he has only just got here. Follow us to see all the cool stuff that thrills a snail and a few other people who love the stuff we love.
Last night I set Letterpress for a poster, I’ve had such a great time at the Letterpress Short Course at PCAD. I went hoping to learn a technique to add text into my abstract painting but I’ve learnt to love text printing in its own right.
A trip to Jacka today and this was one of the cakes of the day. I bought it for the coffee addict who is once again checking out the coffee shops of Cheltenham. Check out the following link for the original Jacka story. 
theoldmortuary.design 