Tag: journal

Winter Solace

On By EmmaLeave a comment

A New Year collection of writing celebrating the winter months.

Is anyone struggling with the cold damp weather? It’s so easy to feel dragged down by it and to trudge around with our heads down focusing only on placing one foot after the other; however if we stop to notice and observe – there are so many beautiful things around us in the natural world to notice.

This was the theme for a workshop that I ran in October with fellow writer Nicky Hutchison. Nicky creates and produces her own books which are beautifully hand-bound. We invited all workshop participants to submit their work for inclusion in a Winter Solace themed book as part of the NatureWrights online community involvement.

We are very proud of the result. Nicky will be making more of these publications to go on sale to the public soon!

Our resident artist Sharon Williamson did a really beautiful job of creating the art for the books. We are excited to run more workshops like this in the future 🙂

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Exploring the work of Constantin Guys…

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Yesterday I picked up a book of sketches by Constantin Guys on a second hand shelf at the City of York Art Gallery.

I had never heard of Constantin Guys before, but the drawings and ink washes immediately caught my eye.

‘…born in a Kissinger, Holland, in 1802, the son of a chief commissioner in the French navy. In 1823 he joined Lord Byron’s and expedition to fight the Greek war for independence.’

His artistic career didn’t fully flourish until he was in his 40’s and in 1854 he was sent ‘to the Crimea to cover the movements of the English, French and Turkish troops in their fight against the Russians.’

He was famous for his illustrations of life in Paris, as well as his war drawings. I love the immediacy of the work and the way that simple mark making has created the energy and movement of the soldiers and horsemen on the page.

Although a very random book to find and purchase, I came home inspired, wanting to learn more and to practice capturing movement through simple lines and mark making.

All quotes taken from: Smith K, (1978) Constantin Guys, Crimean War Drawings 1854: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio.

Mini Adventure: The Sumptuous Dyls Cafe in York

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I can not encourage you enough to visit the gorgeous Dyls Cafe in York. Saturated in beautiful colours and a range of art work and graphics it’s a visual feast.

Based in a small tower that held the motor for moving Skeldergate Bridge in York, the cafe now has a fairy tale quality. Plants trail from windows, you follow a tight winding staircase to each floor, the top floor is a tiny round room at the top of the tower, it feels like you have been transported to another time.

I love the quirky style and humour of the decor. It’s a little adventure just spending time soaking up the atmosphere. I don’t get to go that often, but I have to say it’s my favourite cafe in York based on the interior and setting – great coffee and food too!!

Hermit Crabs – a new favourite!

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A couple of weekends ago we travelled to Fife and spent some time along the rocky shores of the villages along the Fife Coastline.

My youngest child adores rock pooling and her absolute obsession was to find a hermit crab. Luckily, there were many! Imagine her surprise when this little fellow ( I have no idea the gender of this little crab) thought he was about to be eaten and shot out of his shell to make an escape back to the rock pool!

Don’t worry we placed him back where we found him and the crab slipped right back inside the shell. We were really surprised at the long soft tail of the crab – I’ve since discovered that hermit crabs are more closely related to lobsters than crabs. There is a great article here

A final gorgeous note. I once read somewhere that larger hermit crabs often have a sea anemone attached to their shell. The anemone feeds off the debris from the crab’s meals and in return protects the little crab from predators. When the hermit crab moves shell the anemone will move to the new shell too! Buddies for life ❤️ A quick google search brought another article up all about this – for anyone intrigued click here.