The Earthly Paradise

I recently spent the weekend in London. Whilst there I visited the William Morris exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and it has re-ignited my love for Morris and his band of merry followers. If you haven't visited (and are able to) I thoroughly recommend it. Not only are there a delightful and delectable selection of objects but it is all curated in such a loving and thoughtful manner, it left me feeling utterly inspired and with a long list of people, objects and themes to research!

I particularly loved two items; this beautiful iridescent vase by William de Morgan and this sweet wallpaper designed for a nursery by C.F.A Voysey called The House That Jack Built.

Sources: 1, 2

On my arrival back in Cornwall, the tree branches were bare and a crisp chill had set in the air; winter had arrived. These photographs were taken in my mum's garden and are very much inspired by the pictures of Morris, his family and friends in the garden at The Red House. 

 Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

I wanted to celebrate that beautiful cusp between Autumn and Winter and my mum's garden is the perfect place to engage in such celebration. My mum's grassy lawn is a wonderful array of moss, clover and strange yellow mushrooms which make padding across it like walking on thick pile rug, close up snaps of it form the border for these photographs.

The outfit was inspired by Morris and Burne-Jones in the picture above and a little by the outfits of the children in The Secret Garden (both book and film).

 Source: 6

  I've been after a pair of velvet breeches for many years, these ones were a recent find at a Vintage Flea Market and they are an absolute dream; the perfect fit and colour. The tweed waistcoat is another recent find. Purchased in Oxfam, there is also a matching tweed jacket, I haven't taken them off since I bought them last month. I've recently taken to a sort of dapper gent look, I've always enjoyed dappling in cross-dressing but for some reason this year I've felt particular drawn to menswear. The shoes were also from Oxfam, a lady had donated her entire collection of brogues to the shop and I bought two pairs, both hardly worn and only half a size too big (one has to suffer for dandyism!) There were another pair, a slightly lighter brown, which I wish wish I hadn't left behind, I'm just secretly hoping somebody I know has bought them for me for Christmas!

The shirt is Bavarian, I bought it in the summer from a friend's car boot sale stall. It's striped cotton and has little embroidered chickens on the front; I love the voluminous sleeves, they feel so theatrical. The cravat belonged to my mum in the 1980s and has been the source of much fighting between my brother and I. I originally owned it, then he nabbed it for a Halloween costume (a dead Lord Byron) and now I have reclaimed it, all be it with a little more fake blood attached.

This post has taken inordinate amount of time to put together due to a number of dull details that I shan't bore you with but I will say that over the last few days I have gained a greater appreciation for the transiency and effervesce of life and objects. This weekend for several reasons I will be staying as far away as possible from my computer. I'm going to take a long walk, inhale deeply and appreciate the details because as William Morris said 'the true secret of happiness lies in the taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.'

I hope you all have happy weekends and enjoy being outside: the crunchy leaves, the damp dusky smells and the crisp, fresh air.

Linking to Visible Monday

Outfit Details

Striped and embroidered Bavarian shirt - Car boot sale

1950s tweed waistcoat - Oxfam

Ex-theatre green velvet breeches - Vintage Flea Market

Cravat - belonged to my mum

Vintage brogues - Oxfam

Vintage faux fur hat - Car boot sale

Red Christmas bow - The Range

1960s reversible tartan cape - Charity shop

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Work in Progress

I've been so busy lately painting for my exhibition at The Glorious Art House next year and also for a Christmas art fair in Falmouth that my mum and I were asked to join. I'll be selling smaller canvases and maybe prints too.

I've been working in my mum's studio which is at the bottom of her garden. It's been great having the space and time to just get on with things and not be interrupted by daily life. There is also a wood burner which is SO nice; being warm whilst working is a definite luxury.

The photographs above are for the Christmas show and below are for the exhibition in February (using my Virgin of Guadalupe series) All these photographs are of my work in progress, they are still to be resined and then overpainted.

My mum's studio is the most wonderful place to work in, there is so much to look at, it's a very enriching experience. I never wear anything fancy for days in the studio as I am commonly recognised as the messiest person in existence; I end up with paint on my sleeves and in my hair! I always wear one of my two pairs of jeans (501s of course!) and a nice printed tee (helps mask the paint better!), this particular one is Celia Birtwell for Uniqlo which I got for a meagre £2.50 in their sale last year. Red lipstick is about my only attempt at looking less messy.

Right! It's back to studio, I have lots to do. I'm off to London tomorrow and I want to try and get a few canvases resined so they are ready when I return next week. I'm so excited to catch up with friends and see lots of exhibitions (particularly Anarchy & Beauty: William Morris and His Legacy at the NPG). I love London at this time of year, it's much colder than Cornwall, I've been finding it odd how warm it is here so it'll be nice to feel the crisp chill!

P.s spy my mum right at the bottom, painting away!

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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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It's The Great Pumpkin

I've been feeling extremely under the weather for the last week. I spent an entire day in bed yesterday which I hardly ever do. Anyway enough of the woe is me. When I'm feeling crummy (v.punny) I like to bake: cakes, bread, puddings- it all brings a little cheer to an otherwise dull day. 

Pumpkin pie is something I've never made before today. I had a rather bad run in with it as a child when my mum forgot to put the sugar in (whoops!) and for a number of years I avoided nibbling on any pumpkiny products, deeming them all flavourless and bland. However, last year I was invited for Thanksgiving dinner by a very good Canadian friend of mine and there I sampled the most delicious pumpkin pie; I was converted, it is light, delicious and full of complex flavour. I truly do love it, and for the last week I've been craving a slice. So today for a little light activity during my bout of flu I decided to bake one.

 I followed a recipe from The Guardian which actually turned out to be very time consuming (I'd probably do it a little differently next time). Ever the maverick I made a few additions in the way of adding ground ginger to my pastry (adds a lovely warmth) and nutmeg to the filling as well as substituting the evaporated milk (yuck!) for whipping cream.  I also added much more of each spice than stated as I feel English recipes often tend to under spice. I think next time I might not blind bake the pastry as I'm really not convinced it needed it.  Overall, the results were pretty tasty! It had a lovely colour and the the pastry was delicious; thin and crisp (no soggy bottoms here!)

What recipes have you all tried out recently? I'm always after inspiration!

I'm hoping to be back on my feet next week; I have an exciting project in the works and lots of photographs to shoot!

Happy pumpkin season all! I sadly can't find the full episode online but here's a clip from It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

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