Genius

On the way home I stopped at Jaffe and Neale for presents for my children and my dad. I do love real bookshops, though I walked out with heavy bags and a light wallet. And needless to say I managed to find a thing or two for myself.
One of my favorite illustrators and authors, Shaun Tan, is on this side of the world soon for the launch of his film of The Lost Thing. So, how many favorites can you have in a short space of time? Well, the story and pictures are by Shaun Tan, the music by Tim Minchin. And I bought The Bird King, published by Templar. Beautiful. It has got me doodling again as I am more and more drawn into drawing!
And then I picked up an older copy, of Tales From Suburbia. This is one I dip in and out of like a swallow.

I always pick up shopping lists in supermarkets when they have been left in trolleys. Always try and work out who left them, how they live, what they do. Curiosity. But here Shaun Tan has done so much more with that. Read these, words and pictures.

The Illustration Cupboard has an exhibition to coincide with his visit. It will be in August. It will be astonishing.

London

Before I went to London I played with my new desk, making a space for it and myself in a jumble of rubble and stored things. It now looks like a shrine to Robin Hobb.
On my return I found ruby jewels in the garden.
And London? Well. The Pop Up Festival began this week and they have so much planned. It is ambitious, expansive, inclusive, exciting, enticing, informing, playful and much much more.

 

I met and talked to children in a library, The West Library, in Islington ( and in my mind, Neverwhere by Neil Gaimon). Then the next day I went to The Grant Museum and as a result am now haunted by a jar of moles. So many stories tied up in this place. I think for me the most disturbing thing I saw was the Tasmanian Tiger skin and skeleton. For the children the most disturbing thing was probably me telling them how polar bears lick the ice clean after a kill. Perhaps a bit too graphic and I don't think any of them will ever ask for one of those slush puppy things you get in newsagents again.

 

And meanwhile I found that my garden obsession could continue as Robin and I wandered a wonderful city allotment while Robin's brother Jeremy picked strawberries for our supper.

 

I have so much work to do. And supper calls. In the oven, butternut squash, bright golden, roasting to be made into soup, and beetroots also roasting in their deep red for a beetroot and yoghurt creation tomorrow.

A test, a competition, a question: or, what is in the bottle?

When I visit schools I take with me a number of 'props'. One is a necklace that I wear most of the time anyway, a silver bottle with red stones. At some point in the day a child will ask me, "what is in the bottle, please?"

My reply is to ask what they think is it it before I reply. This is a test, though not of the usual kind. There is no wrong answer, and my answer is always different.

Once it held kisses my children had poured in when I was going away to work for a few days, so that if I was lonely away from them, if I missed them, I could un-stopper the bottle and let out the small flutters of kisses. ( And what does a kiss look like, miss?)

Once it held the 6 o'clock misty morning air of a Venetian square.

So, my question to you is, what is in the bottle.

It is a competition.

There will be a prize, which will include an (elaborately) signed copy of The Cat and the Fiddle.

Post your comment below or leave a comment with a link to your blog and write a blog post about what is inside ( don't forget to link to the specific blog post).

I will decide the winner as I choose, depending on the post that I like the most, be it short, long or visual.

Please spread the word about the competition by blogging with links, on facebook and stumble, tumble twitter diggit etc.

Let your imagination guide you, and your wishes and desires.

( Will decide on September 8th- and link back to this posting)

Beautiful Distractions

The day began with walking the dogs ( and Elmo). I then became trapped in the garden. I was distracted by:

potting seeds, salad leaves and coriander,

 

courgettes,

planting tomatoes and watching the butternut squash grow,

 

hanging up washing in sunshine,

butterflies,

 

Tirion's flowers, planted in my garden by her dad, because they are her favorite and reminded her of him.

Finally I made it into my studio where I drew for a while, before becoming distracted by blogging, taking in the dry washing, planting out the baby leeks and weeding one of the raised beds.

Bags of bags

New bags have been added to the House of Golden Dreams Gift Shop. To buy go to cafepress.co.uk/JackieMorrisArtist.
Or go to cafepress.co.uk and do a search for Jackie Morris.

Lynx

Distractions no 4

I met Kevin and Claire through rowing. I think we had moved to the area at a similar time. Kevin was running Sigma and I talked about getting a van and having it wrapped and he said he wanted things for his campsite and we wandered off in different directions.
We came back together again. 
Kevin and Claire have the most beautiful camp site in Abercastle.
Now they also have a yurt and teepee manufacturing company.


And we have done this:

The images are from Starlight Sailor, written by James Mayhew, published in US and UK by Barefoot Books. 

Not quite finished, as Kevin is dressing the yurt up like a dream, but some time in the next couple of weeks I will get more photos. And I am looking forward to working on more with Kevin and Gary and Claire. And teepees. Because Kevin is giving me something I have always wanted, a teepee and next year, with his help, I will dress it in a new skin, with wolves and hares.

Meanwhile I am looking forward to spending a night or two in a yurt just reading and listening to the wind in the leaves and the birds in the trees, watching the light fade out of a day and back in again and seeing the stars and the turning world.

Distractions no 3

There are many ways to distract myself from work. I bought an iPad this week and went online to try and find a case, but all that I could find were masculine, functional and ugly. So I decided to make my own. One thing leads to another and now I find that I have a shop at Cafe Press, and it is to become the gift shop for The House of Golden Dreams. As time goes on the stock will grow, and it can also grow by request, so, if you see an iPhone cover but have a blackberry, just email to request something.
I haven't yet bought anything from cafe press but hope to get badges made in time for Art in Action and iPad cover when I can decide what I want on it. And with luck I will put a whole range of things on to coincide with the launch of the Cat and the Fiddle.

Studio, Thursday.

On my desk today, cats and owls.

Yesterday I took Pixie to the vet. She is the star of my book, I am Cat, that I am working on. Her face will be on the cover. She told me what to write and the cat curl dreaming is ammonite Pixie. But, she has been ill off and on for a few years now. She has colds that she can't shake and no amount of anti-biotics seems to shift it. For a while I stopped treating her, but yesterday took her again to the vets. Such a sorry state she was in, it did not seem fair. And she is such a dear and beautiful small creature.

By the time I got to the vets she was not only crusted with snot but had been sick in the cat basket. She hates cars. Moira was unsure what we could do next but decided to just throw everything at her.Nothing to loose. Pixie couldn't go on like this. 

So, I came home with the prospect of having to work on a book built around the memory of yet another dear, beautiful dead cat.

At this moment though Pixie is in my studio, curled on my knee. I have not heard her sneeze once today yet. She does not smell. She is not completely clear with her breathing, but so much better.

And I have hope.

I want I am Cat to be a celebration of her, and her brother, Maurice ( I miss him so much it hurts) and not a memorial to them.

He sings his song in May.....

Walking at the airfield today and there were so many skylarks. We heard a churring sound, like a blackbird alarm call, but different. A little way on a bird was being chased over the commonland, calling again. It was a cuckoo, female. The sound we had heard was the cuckoo's alarm call.

Soon I will be moving my blog, taking it in to my website and gathering in the cat blog too, and blogging on wordpress. A new start for me, lots more learning, but hopefully a good change.