The Green Man

There has been a longer hiatus than I would have liked from this blog. Life has been busy and complicated of late and it's left little time for the shoots I have had in mind. Things are now starting to feel a little calmer and I am hoping to have lots of delights to show you all over the coming weeks.

Autumn has firmly set in. October is my one of my favourite months of the year. I love the oranges, reds and greens and the colder air. I also love that it is the beginning of many of the colder season's folk customs; the most famous all being Halloween of course! I do love any opportunity to dress up, 

so Halloween is a big hit in my house (it's really the only time of the year I can legitimately go out in my more bonkers of costumes). To celebrate it's arrival I always plan an elaborate costume. This year I am feeling rather enthralled by Green Men and Morris Men, so I set about creating an outfit which merged these. I really wanted to look like I had just danced out of a woodland. I also recently went to a study day at The Museum of Witchcraft on folklore which left me with a taste for all things spooky! What I created, with a little help from my mum, is far more terrifying than I could have ever imagined, I really didn't set out to scare (although I am of the opinion that Halloween costumes should at least be a little bit scary!)

I managed to purchase rolls and rolls of amazing coloured ribbon from a car boot at the weekend so I spent several hours sewing lines of them to a waistcoat I nicked from my brother. The mask was painted by mum on a blank she bought in Venice. We have lots more, so Mrs MacBeth's Department Store will have a few very soon. All the other components were found from charity shops and The Range's Christmas decoration department.

I was of course inspired by folk dance costumes, in particular those of Morris Dancers. I love these pictures (I didn't actually look at these until after I made the costume 

but I think I'd fit in quite well!)

Sources: 1, 2

Sources: 3, 4

I'm planning on wearing my costume out, although I will paint my face underneath so that I don't have to wear my mask all night (it gets a little hot!) I'm going to make some friends a warming feast before we dance into the night. What are your plans for Halloween? I'd love to hear what you are all dressing up as (that's if you are- I do hope you are!) I hope you all have a throughly spooky one.


Linking to Share-in-Style Halloween special.

Outfit Details

Ribbon waistcoat- re-cycled by me from an old Topman waistcoat

1970s red polyester flares- Barnardos

Suede gloves- gift from my mum

Vintage brogues- Oxfam

Venetian mask- painted by Penny MacBeth

Bells- The Range 

Ivy wreath and ivy- The Range

Floral garland- made by Penny MacBeth

Velvet top hat- Asda

Red and white striped wool socks- a Christmas gift

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CH-CH-CHANGES

The weather has turned dramatically. Long hot nights have been replaced with drizzle and chilly winds. To celebrate this change of season let me present a series of still lifes, or if you like vanitas, including a whole variety of plastic fruits that I have collected over the years and a stuffed sardine. There will be more images in this vein later this week as I'm not entirely happy with the outcome of these; the light was not on my side today.

I'm always very intrigued by the English attitude to seasons. I constantly hear people say 'OH I wish it was Summer' or 'Winter really seems to be dragging on'. Sometimes I wish people could enjoy the moment they are in a little more. Change is a beautiful thing if you watch it. There is something so quiet and lovely about watching the flowers in the garden slowly fall off or the gentle sound of rain. I wish we had a word for it in English but we sadly don't so instead I turn to the Japanese phrase wabi-sabi. I recommend this book to anyone interested in thinking about change in more depth.

The outfit is a little inspired by this, if it had been painted in the late 1960s:

The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein

Source

and a little by this photograph of my dad (sorry for the terrible quality, I photographed it in a frame which should just never been done ever, I hope you get the gist):

As you may notice there was an outfit change. I was actually originally wearing a velvet 1970s jumpsuit but it, although beautiful, is not very photogenic against this fruity backdrop! So I did a quick switch to something a little greener.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments about the magazine! It's making slow (but steady!) progress and I hope we'll have the first issue together by the start of October (fingers crossed). I did mention submissions in the last post, if you'd like to email me (details in my contact page) as I am the most likely to reply hah!

Also a quick plug (again!) I visited The Glorious Art House for their preview night on Friday and it was magnificent, I've scarcely been in more gorgeous and uplifting environment. They open tomorrow (Monday 25th!) so what are you waiting for, get to Exeter!

I hope you all enjoy the long weekend, I wish I could say make the most of the lovely weather but instead read, draw and enjoy the quiet, calming sound of the rain falling. Be happy with the here and now or as the wise Buddha says "Do not dwell on the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment". Enjoy the change and listen to Bowie the King of change.

Linking to Visible Monday

 

Outfit Details

Main:

Green floral Indian silk dress - Gift

Vintage faux fur cap - Gift

1960s white Alpaca coat - Oxfam

1960s purple paisley Cravat - Charity shop

Other:

1970s black velvet jumpsuit - Enjoy Clothing

Floral bangle - Mrs MacBeth's Department Store

Faux suede 1980s hat - Vintage Marks & Sparks

Anna Della Russo for H&M serpent necklace - H&M sale 

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A small amendment, I was V.heavily influenced by Derek Jarman's film Caravaggio (if you haven't seen it stop NOW and WATCH it!!) In my foggy, not enough coffees mind I forgot to include it so here:

Source

La Loteria

In my last post I mentioned that my mum and my shop, Mrs MacBeth's Department Store, would be popping up at our local arts festival for the weekend. It was such a fun weekend, we met so many lovely people and had quite a few sales. Here I am in a dress that I painted especially for the weekend. I took the motifs from the Mexican Loteria game:

Source: 1

The cards have such amazing pictures and brilliant rhymes that go alongside them. One of my favourites is for La Luna- 'El farol de los enamorados'  meaning the lamp or lantern of lovers! They are all very beautiful and poetic. I also recently discovered that often the caller will make up their own riddles or poems- the more oblique the rhyme the better the caller and the harder it is for the player to win! I definitely recommend investing in a set if you haven't got one yet (you can purchase them from Viva La Frida alongside many other delights!)

Our space at the festival was in a window of a new charity shop that has just opened in Penryn. They are encouraging people to make the most of their old furniture and re-paint it, mend it etc. Although I really hate the term 'up-cycling', I do think this shop is a very welcome addition. So much gets thrown away and the comments coming from customers suggested that people were really excited to see the things you could do with old furniture! I painted a table that I got for £15 from a charity shop. I used french enamels and pasted a painting of Frida and Diego that I did a while ago on top. To make it more durable I used Rustins varnish. We used the table to work from for the weekend. 

The rest of our window was decorated with a variety of wonders made by my mum including heart and parrot pinatas, fabrics and soft sculptures. 

It was such a fun event, we had a very jolly time making pom poms, wrap weaving and chatting to everybody! 

Outfit Details

Calico dress hand-painted using acrylics- Made by me

1970s floral skirt part of a waistcoat/skirt suit- Vintage stall at Port Elliot

Peruvian Embroidered Belt- Gift from a friend

Wooden orange beads- Charity shop

1970s Hungarian Blouse- Belonged to my Aunty

Floral and bird patterned tights- Local market

Pom pom headdress- Mrs MacBeth's Department Store

Hand-painted red clogs- From ebay, painted by me

Hand-painted espadrilles- Coming this week to Mrs MacBeth's Department Store!

Birds- Mrs MacBeth's Department Store

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The Virgin of Guadalupe

There are a number of exotic and wonderful discount shops in the area that I live in. My mum and I recently discovered 3 rolls of amazing photographic flower print jersey fabric. Needless to say we snapped it up in an instant! The backdrop to these photographs is my favourite of the three, I love that it looks almost like a painting and the colours are so beautiful (I'm having difficulty expressing in words how great it is!) 

I've always been very taken with the saint cards that are available to purchase in Cathedral shops, particularly their eyes! As a teenager I named their very particular expression 'caring eyes' and ever since my family have enjoyed practising our own versions of caring eyes. This is my tribute to those cards and in particular The Virgin of Guadalupe in all her mystical glory. 

I am about to start some paintings from this series of photographs, so I'll be posting those very soon (I'm going to start posting more of my creative endeavours in general!)

In other unrelated news this week my shop, Mrs MacBeth's Department Store, that I run with my mum will be hosting several pop ups for Penryn Arts Festival. We'll be decorating a multitude of windows with parrots, pom poms and flowers as well as making pom poms and other delights in a new charity shop which is opening this weekend! Should you be in Cornwall (or just fancy having a nose) have a look at the programme of events here. There is so much going on and the great thing is most of it's free!

Linking to Visible Monday.

Outfit Details:

Floral headdress- Mrs MacBeth's Department Store

Russian floral scarf-  purchased by my mum in Istanbul

1960s pink cherub tapestry top- Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair

Edwardian nightie (with collar embroidered by me)- charity shop

Gold and mint green Sari- gift from my mum

Floral Bangle- Mrs MacBeth's Department Store

Necklace- Penny MacBeth

Ring- Portabello Market

Paper flowers made by me

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Glorious Colour

I'm on a bit of an all out colour binge at the moment. Maybe it's the sunshine or maybe it's just the increasing amount of beige I see every day but I really feel the need to stack beads, colours, textures and go for it full whack. This ensemble in constructed from various items from my mum's studio. The jacket is hand embroidered by her and lined with a gorgeous floral fabric she got in Istanbul. The pom pom bracelets have recently been added to our Etsy shop, they come in a whole variety of colours and are so jolly to wear, they brighten my mood instantly. I've always been a big fan of colour, I find it very hard to imagine not getting up and putting on something bright. One of my all time heroes is Kaffe Fassett (a fellow colour enthusiast). I saw his exhibition Life in Colour at the FTM last year and it was so beautiful. I met him too which was quite the dream, I left feeling like I'd visited another world! I recently found that his programme Glorious Colour is available to watch on 4oD, it's so inspiring; I definitely recommend it.  I'm just plotting now how I can get to his latest exhibition at The American Museum in Bath! 

I've had a very inspiring week, I've had so many ideas for new pictures and projects so I'm sure you'll all be seeing some of them soon! 

I hope you are all well and thank you so much for all the lovely birthday wishes on my last post, they really made me smile. 

Outfit Details

 Embroidered jacket- Penny MacBeth

Turquoise dress edged with red pom poms- Penny MacBeth

Pom Pom bangles- Mrs MacBeth's

Various beads- charity shops

Floral Headdress- Mrs MacBeth's

All artwork by Penny MacBeth (similar shrines are available here)

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