The Thirteen Moons and the Wheel of the Year

 I have steadily been working away on the Oracle deck.
This project has become intensely personal since it began. There was no 'dipping my toes in the water' with it, but instead I have been plunged deep into the waters of Myth, and Journeying, and Soul Searching. If I had known quite how rough those waters would be at times, I'm not entirely sure I would have taken the plunge, but it's been pretty amazing too, so I'm just sort of hanging on in there at the moment!

When I was first shown the deck, in dream, it was very clearly set out, in 3 layers, or subsets. The first of these is the Thirteen Moons.

 Each Moon card represents a full moon within the year, with the first moon (the Quiet Moon) being the one that falls immediately after the Winter Solstice, the start of the old year. Each moon also has an associated tree/shrub. (Although these are similar to those used in the Celtic Tree calendar as set out by Robert Graves, and also have similarities to the names used in other cultures and localities, it is not an identical list, as I am working very much with my own landscape of Dartmoor, and in my meditation and journeying, the ones I have used are the most appropriate for me)

In order, they run:

Quiet Moon : Pine (Dec/Jan)

Rising Moon: Birch (Jan/Feb)

Travellers Moon: Rowan (Feb/March)

Birth Moon: Blackthorn (March/ April)

Potent Moon: Oak (April/May)

Water Moon: Willow (May/June)

Spiral Moon: Honeysuckle (June /July)

Weavers Moon: Heather/Whortle (July/August)

Harvest Moon: Apple (August/September)

Hearth Moon: Hazel (September/October)

Blood Moon: Holly (October/ November)

Cold Moon: Ivy (November/ December)

The 13^th Moon, the Singing Moon: Elder, does not fall in every year, and when it does, it comes between the Hearth Moon and the Blood Moon.

   Essentially I am trying to capture the energy and atmosphere of each full moon, and it feels really important that I paint them at the actual time of the full moon. (I missed the Weavers Moon this summer, being too too busy, and will now have to wait until next year to get that one right). I don't usually know the meaning of the card much in advance - I may have an idea, but the real meaning comes as I work on the painting.

 This painting, the Lammas one, happened exactly like that. It was slow and tricky to do. I meditated on it before hand, and clearly saw the elements needed for the card. But I scribbled around with them for several days, trying to get them into a pleasing format which also represented 'abundance' which is what I generally associate Lammas with. It just wasn't coming. In the end, I went with the image in my head (the final design for the painting above) grumbling away to myself as I did so, because it didn't really seem to represent abundance at all. As I worked it, the word that kept popping into my head, however much I tried to dismiss it, was 'implacable'. And so there it is. As usual, the card showed me it's real meaning as I worked it. 'Implacability'.

 

The next card is one of the 13 moons. This is the Harvest Moon, which fell on the 8-9th of September this year. I stuck with the traditional name of Harvest Moon for this one, as that is what it is usually called, certainly here on my patch of Dartmoor, but actually, in my head, this one is called something else. 

This is the Witch Moon.

This, for me, is perhaps the most magical point in the year. Of all the turning points in the year, this is the one that calls loudest to me. I can feel it, REALLY feel it  - in my body, and my heart and my soul. It is as if there is a momentary pause in the cycle of the year, as if everything is held in balance for a few days, before the wheel rolls on. Maybe it is simply because mid - September is a time of plenty - harvests are mostly in, the hedgerows are full of berries, the living is easy for a brief moment at the beginning of Autumn, and so perhaps it is just that there is finally a breathing space, a time to be still and listen. Even in a busy 21st century life I feel that, and how much more so must it have been for our ancestors? It is a time of edges, and that is where magic is found most easily. In liminal places and times, it is easy to slip between the edges.

In regards to the card, it means it is a time to cross thresholds and embrace transformation.

 

As well as the 13 Moon cards, there is a subset of Wheel Cards, representing the 8 major points in the Wheel of The Year.

This one is the Autumn Equinox, and it's the point at which I nearly threw the whole card idea deck out of the window! As I mentioned earlier, it has become an increasingly personal journey, and as I work each card, it seems that the meaning of each card becomes an issue that I have to work through myself. It gets a bit intense at times, and this was the worst so far. The meaning of this card is 'Truth', and my, did the Universe throw some stuff at me with this one. I worked through my own truths, got totally sucker-punched by someone else's truth, staggered back to my feet again, to find myself confronted with a whole lot more truth. In amongst this it was pretty hard to find the time or will to work on the actual painting, but I also felt that finishing the painting was the only way to reach the other side. 

Anyway, it got done, and ultimately it was all for the best (yeah, yeah, I know it's all for my own good and growth etc. - but I don't want too many lessons like that please), but it left me reeling slightly, and dragging my heels about tackling another painting!

In the end, the latest card, the 'Hearth Moon' was much more straightforward. The issue here was a more practical one - this card means  'preparation (for a trial/challenge)'. So I can busy myself with practical things this month, and give the soul searching a break ;)

Of Cabbages and Kings

 'January King'  

watercolour

Despite it being half term, I managed to get some serious work done. Both girls are in our local pantomime, performing each night this week, and actually this has meant quiet evenings, waiting up to collect them, so  I worked away at painting purple cabbages. I grow these in my garden because I love the colours so much, and I have been wanting to paint them for ages. The variety is called 'January King', which filled my head with images of other sorts of kings. So here is a white rabbit, with his crown and sceptre.

Half Term and panto has also meant very little time to ride ponies. Sadly Will is lame at the moment, and on box rest with a suspected minor tendon injury. He came in from the field with it earlier this week. However, on the grand scale of things, a few weeks rest wont make any difference to our plans. He has been having foot trouble over the winter, and was only in the lightest of work as I am conditioning his feet (I intend him to remain barefoot). I was more concerned that he would fret about being shut in, as when he first arrived he was very anxious about being stabled. However, he appears completely chilled out about the whole thing so far, and is quite enjoying the fuss and attention!

Local Landscapes Week 6

Meldon   15/2/12

Local Landscapes Week 5

 Across Beechlands to Gidleigh Woods

Ink and watercolour

7/2/12

Sorry, this is a rather poor photograph of this painting. These are just slightly too large for my A4 scanner, and so I grabbed a photo in the halflight this morning. 

The picture below is another I have been working on this week

Landscapes Week 2

 Kestor from Nattadon 15/1/12

Ink and watercolour

Local Landscapes Week 1

 

'Kestor 10/1/12 '

graphite, gouache and ink on Ingres paper

I mentioned new year resolutions in my previous post, when I showed you the ernormous reading list. Now I'm going to introduce the other major resolution I've made! 

I need to brush up my landscape sketching skills, so I have decide to do a local landscape drawing or painting each week this year. They are not intended to be major works of art, simply an exercise for me, where I can be freer and more experimental with materials if I want.

Todays effort was this, a granite outcrop with a lot of strata lines.

For now, I will have to work from photos, as the weather is not conducive to 'plein air' painting, though I hope I might be able to get out and about with my sketchbook a bit more often this year.

New Year, New Energies

'The Red Deer Guardian'
Watercolour and ink
16 inches by 12 inches

£175 + postage

After a prolonged absence, my muse finally returned this morning! The ideas have been jostling about on the peripheral edges of my mind for a while, but I've not been able to see them clearly. I put it down to the general Christmas and New Year 'brain fug', but I just couldn't quite shake it off. However, this morning I woke up feeling energised and vital. Coincidentally, the stormy weather and deafening wind had also gone, leaving a bright dawn and a strange stillness that feels pregnant with life and energy. I keep half-expecting to find that the garden has burst into song, Disney style, next time I look out of the window!
A dog walk and brisk workout digging and clearing debris from the stream in the Further Fields, which had become blocked by the raging torrent earlier this week, and consequently was flooding down the road, shook the remaining cobwebs from the dusty recesses of my brain this morning, followed by a meditation , and the muse burst back in.(No, I don't meditate often, I rarely pause for long enough, and I had almost forgotten how good it is for sharpening the mind)
Those half glimpsed ideas are pouring out, fully formed and brightly coloured! I just need to get them down on paper now :)

So while I'm working on that, I'll show you what I've been up to while the muse was away! The owl-daughter and I made our first attempt at a plush monster. This was a Christmas gift for my nephew (he named the monster 'Mark') and we had great fun making it.

Then of course there was the traditional Christmas lurgy, which thankfully only I got this year. It entailed lots of sleeping and sitting by the fire, accompanied by the cats. (I don't know why Beetle chooses to sleep in this 'face-plant' position, but it is always his sleep style of choice)

And then there were the Christmas books! I got lots of wonderful books this year, and I'm only just starting to make inroads on them. One of my new Year's resolutions is to attempt to read more academically this year. There is so much I want to know, and I have a list as long as my arm of 'wanted books'. One that has been on my wish list for a while is 'Thursbitch' by Alan Garner, and I was thrilled to be given it this year. Alan Garner was one of my earliest loved writers - I'm sure many of you are fans of 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen' and (my personal favourite) 'Elidor'. Aside from the fantasy element, the thing I loved most about his writing was how he evoked such a clear, strong sense of place. However, I only recently discovered his adult works, and this, 'Thursbitch' lived up to all expectations. I can see that it might not be every one's cup of tea, and I'll admit it is challenging, but I loved it, and it's the first book in a long time that has made me want to go and research it's references thoroughly, understand more of the history and folklore behind it, and then go back for a second read. There is a great site here, which points you in the right direction for further reading. So that is more books added to my 'wanted' list!

And finally, a wander around the second hand bookstore at proper job yielded yet more paper treasure. The pile is growing far faster than I can read!

Work In Progress

Just a very quick peek at the next painting on the studio table! Hopefully I'll have more to show you next time xxx

Flames and Feasts

I promised to introduce you to Will in this post, but it's been too dark and murky and filled with magic over the last few days, and these pictures wanted to come first!

First is this wonderful poem by my friend William Todd-Jones, read by Cerys Matthews on BBC 6 music. The music is by Hilary Tann, and the images by Carol Amos. It perfectly captures the mood of the last few days......

We went to a spooky, candlelit apple party .

Where magical creatures lurked in dusty corners

And small ghosts played with flames

And we all threw a lot of apples. Extra cider for the people who managed to get an apple through the smallest hole in the board(I did!)

And yet more cider.......

And a fabulous toadstool cake!

And finally, after a couple of days recovering from the cider, I finished the last Welsh painting.

All Change .... again!

Phew! This is about how I feel at the moment - I could just turn turtle and let everything go.
It's been an exhausting few weeks. Every time I think I've just got a hold on all the different threads, one of them slips, and I have to race to grab it, and try not to let them all get tangled again.
There has been the major issue of a car bill for £1600 - but Thank Goodness I AM mobile again. And vet's fees. And a pony with a sore back that needed a new saddle. The owl daughter rode bareback for a couple of weeks, but Marlene needed a good saddle that was comfy. Studio rent combined with Steve going into hospital for an op (not major, but means a couple of weeks off work). Etc.....




So this meant I needed a rethink, and the upshot of that was the decision to pull out of the nice rented studio, and move back to my shed in the garden. Actually, this doesn't feel like a step backwards - I was struggling to find time to get to the studio, and felt like my whole family was suffering by me being stretched too thinly.Even the dogs were miserable and Daisy was stressy at being left alone all day - she does like company. Instead I have spent the last few weeks madly trying to reline and waterproof the old shed, as well as building a small new extension on the front of it. It's great, and it means I can work in the evenings without abandoning the children.


I even did most of the building myself! I'm pretty handy with a drill and saw :)
Being done on a shoestring meant some head scratching over a few issues - for instance the insulation. But I had a sudden brainwave, and raced down to Proper Job recycling centre where I gathered an armful of old single duvets. These fit nicely, one to each shed panel, stapled into place! It does however make the shed look rather like a padded cell.




So I'm finally ready to work again, and, even better, BT came out and fixed my phone line at last, so the Internet works properly again. To celebrate, I have spent the last 2 days uploading originals and new prints to my Etsy shop. There are still a few more to go, but they should be finished by the weekend. BUT I'm afraid prices of prints are going to go up, as ink and paper prices seem to have increased disproportionately since I last bought them. I wont adjust them until next Monday, and, as a special 'Thank you' to all my blog readers who have faithfully stuck with me despite my appalling lack of updates recently, I am offering a discount code giving 10% off everything in the shop (including originals) BEFORE the price rise next Monday. It's only valid until Monday morning, so now is the chance to grab anything that you really want :)
You need to quote PAYTHECARBILL2011 at the checkout and your 10% discount will automatically be taken off.





Meanwhile, between working in the garden and mending the shed, we have spent lots of time with the ponies. Captain has been pretty much taken over by eldest daughter, and is universally adored. He is beginning to learn to jump, and is enthusiastic about logs and ditches, but quite bemused by coloured poles!





Marlene is working hard, and reaching that adolescent stage where she is beginning to test her boundaries. She is a bright little pony, and easily bored, so we have to keep doing new things with her.


I've even found time to start my baby Piper, who is very keen to start work and go out with her friends. I haven't been in too much of a hurry with her as she is still growing, and higher behind than at the wither.

The exciting news that has happened while I have been busy, is that a fabric printing and transfer company, Kats Magical Patches, has been using some of my images under licence to make a range of printed fabric patches and iron-on transfers. Do have a look at them - they are really coo, and you'll find several familiar artists there :)

Tricksters and Totems : A Virtual View of the Exhibition

So, here we are! My exhibition is up in the Courtyard Cafe, Chagford, for the month of April.
I'm sorry for the colour in most of these photos - they were taken indoors without a flash, and have a very yellow cast!

'The Goat Guardian'

These are the lovely oak frames that I salvaged from the Proper Job recycling centre, which fit the Guardian paintings perfectly.

'Hare Guardian'

'She Waits'

'She Wishes'

And these are a pair of small mixed media paintings which I finished in time for the show. There will be prints of these on Etsy any day now.

Thankyou so much to everyone who leaves comments - I really love to read them, and appreciate them all. I'm sorry I have been extremely slow moderating them recently, but I'm having some major issues with my internet connection at the moment.