New Etsy listings over the coming weekend...

These are a selection of small affordable pieces on wood that will be available in my Etsy shop this weekend.  They are a continuation of my exhibition theme "Nothing but a House"

Each piece has been created with texture in abundance.  My aim was to create an old abandoned feel to the house, or a house that's been untouched for many years by it's owners.  The peeling paint and layered papers are perhaps suggestive of neglect, abandonment or perhaps sorrow.  These images give me great joy, i love the haunting eeriness of them.  

 Alternatively, a neglected house can also suggest the love of a home, perhaps a wish to remain in the past. bringing memories that may be forgotten otherwise, neglected in some people eyes but loved nonetheless.

"The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind."

- Khalil Gibran

Quiet reflection

It's a time for quiet reflection as these summer months come to a close and the air takes a decidedly chillier turn.  Coats and boots stand waiting in the wings ready to appear on lifes stage...but not just yet.  I love the late summer days turning into the Autumn months, the change of colour as leaves fall softly and or wildly from the trees, the subdued evening light, anticipation and excitement about what's to come - it's very mystical.

I'm enjoying some rest and relaxation before the onslaught of trade shows and the Christmas rush! (well...one can hope)  and quietly thinking on what's next for me.  

There are signs that the retail trade here in Britain is slowly picking up and our business here in Montgomery requires constant development to keep on top of things.  We tend not to work on retail trends, which are constantly thrown at us at the shows, preferring to listen to ours and our customers ideas and go for what we think would work in rural Montgomery.  

Being busy through the Spring and Summer months have kept me away from my blog more than i'd anticipated but some quiet, reflective Autumn and Winter months should restore the balance I think.  So to start these (more) regular posts i thought i'd show you some of my recent finds:

 Five beautiful old ledgers from a garage dating between 1919-1923

 Full of beautiful handwritten pages with columns of figures

 and delightful scribblings...

I swapped these with a fellow dealer for some old stamped envelopes he'd been coveting!...i did like the envelopes and it was hard parting with them, but worth it.  I've sat for hours poring over these, they truly are exquisite things.  I will enjoy them a while longer and then use them in my art.

and...

Nine fairytale stories/books

 I found these in a shop in Ruthin last week and couldn't leave them behind

 Each book has about eight pages the inside pages being black and white and the covers in colour

They all stand independently and the door opens on the front, i adore them.  I'm not sure of the age but it would have been exactly what i would have loved to read when i was a little girl!

I'll post again on Tuesday or Wednesday with perhaps another show and tell as i'm off to the Malvern Flea Market with friends tomorrow....hope the weather isn't as bad as they say it will be!!!

bye for now

XOXO

"I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death".

- Leonardo da Vinci