Sometimes it is Joy, Sadness, Happiness but always Love

A few days ago I got my quilt back from the festival of quilts. At first I was hesitant to open the box as I had not been able to visit it whilst it was on display at the quilt show. There was a lot happening in my family that weekend. In my mind I could see every last mistake magnified and I imagined the comments would have been just OK, but after much hesitation I opened the box, unfolded the quilt and then opened the envelope. After reading the judges comments I felt quite good and relieved. I was pleased with their response to my work. I felt even better when I saw photos kindly taken by my friend and fellow artist Margaret Holder. It was not as bad as I had imagined, Thank you Margaret.

A few days ago my father in law Dr. Sydney H Scott passed away. He had been ill and we knew he was going, he knew he was going but it was still very sad,  for everyone. Dave's comments immediately after  made me take note " 'the process of death is ugly', however 'he died with dignity' and 'it was a beautiful death." Life has so many lessons to learn and somehow we never seem to get it, it is always about love. I wrote these words down in my diary and will go back to them later.

A few days ago after quite a lot of emotional trauma, Joyce sent me magazines, my friend, teacher, mother figure, always making contact just when I need it. Magazines which have already begun to  inspire me and my girls (all three). The only way that I can describe what I felt when I got them was LOVE. Thank you Joyce.

Creating goes on

What a month it has been so much has happened that I found it impossible to post or read any blogs. Today as I logged on and started flicking through all that I have been missing, my "Mojo" returned.

Today is the first day of Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham, for those who kindly made encouraging comments about my mother's Alzheimer's and my response to it with a quilt - Thank you all very much. I did send it off without taking a photo, I had to just let it go.

In June I met up with Catherine and Alison, two art teachers who are friends of mine and we had a sharing day. It was wonderful and we enjoyed just playing and experimenting.

In July artist in Cambridge have Open Studios I visited my lovely friends John's, Gina's and Deanna's Open Studios.
John Wiltshire's studio showed the most detailed and interesting paintings and drawings of insects. His work inspires me in the same way that the old masters do. The work shows his attention to detail and his complete mastery of the media which he chooses to use pen, watercolour or paint. Gina Ferrari's studio showed a wide range of work displaying her skill and mastery of many textile techniques, it was pure delight to see those pieces which I had glimpsed on her blog. Deanna Tyson showed her work along with other artists at a quaint gallery close to town, I loved her textile portraits and the kimono on display was absolutely exquisite. I look forward to catching up with blogs and hopefully posting some too.