June Brought Puffins

June was a month of adventures, amongst which a fantastic trip to the Isle of May off the Fife coast.  It was a magical day, starting with a one hour boat ride from Anstruther.  For once, I'm struggling to put into words the anticipation experienced as we set sail and then the sheer wonder on arrival, seeing puffins, gulls, tern, shags, cormorants, oystercatchers, guillimots and even the odd common seal at each turn.  Two hours was plenty of time to explore the island and take some spectacular close up pictures of the inhabitants (although we would have happily stayed another two).

I suspect that a trip to the Isle of May might become an annual tradition, just looking through my photos makes me want to go back.  I would recommend the Isle of May to anyone who has even a passing interest in birds, it's a memorable day out (http://www.isleofmayferry.com/home.asp).

I'll write about the other things I've been getting up to soon, the next blog post is already forming itself in my mind so you shouldn't have to wait long to find out.

Procrastination & Inspiration

I’ve come to the conclusion that my procrastination is a good thing…it provides tangible and irrefutable evidence that I am *creative*. Great excuse, I hear you snort, but the evidence is there in cyber-space, in blogs of creative folk across the world, all containing at least one post (frequently several) charting individual battles with procrastination.

This realisation is a welcome bolt of lightning which allows me to accept the fact that despite having ample spare time for creative pursuits, I’ve been the least creative that I could possibly have been. I’d imagined dreamy days creating all manner of arty/bloggy/poemy efforts that would provide a useful (or vaguely interesting) outcome for any hours not spent job hunting. Let’s just say that what I have to show for my time is negligible and deserves to remain hidden in my notebook...I’ve doodled some, written zero poems and avoided blogging until a threat to unfollow me prompted action (harsh but effective). In my defence, several blog posts have been mentally composed but lingered in a dusty corner of my mind, this post has been a scandalous 10 days in the making. I’m at peace with this funk though, because I’m *creative* and this just is a well-trodden phase of the journey. [*update* I got a JOB, woohoo! Oh dear, no excuses now :-S]

Have no fear though, life is not all tantrums and frustration; hours of procrastination has led to inspiration in the form of discovering the insanely (in a nice way) talented and über-modest Andrea Joseph, whose illustrations are delightful and awe-inspiring in equal measures. At first glance, the everyday nature of her subjects disguises the effort and attention to detail in every inch of Andrea’s work; footwear is a noted favourite, resulting in a thus-far resisted urge to go shoe shopping myself (how big is Andrea’s shoe closet?). Any item which falls under Andrea’s gaze - the contents of a handbag, with glimpses and hints of past adventures such as bus journeys, cinema outings or recent vacations, newspaper-wrapped chips or a toothbrush - may find itself captured in the flurry of cross-hatches of a nearby biro (has an opportunity for sponsorship gone unexplored?), resulting in intricate illustrations that most mortals could only dream of achieving.

I have been in love with Andrea’s work since first sight, with an enthusiasm which can only be described as evangelical (I wish I knew more people, I fear friends may soon ban me from mentioning Andrea)…I find myself at a loss however (yes, me – lost for words, I know), how I should describe my excitement and admiration for Andrea’s children’s book project-in-progress; stratospheric? I will happily admit to a sizeable art-crush; I never tire of browsing Andrea’s illustrations and her latest project doesn’t disappoint. This is my favourite picture so far and shows just how brilliantly imaginative Andrea is; who among us would know what a pixie stores in its tall hat?

The point of telling you all of this, aside from sharing Andrea’s work with you, is that against all odds Andrea has succeeded in giving me the courage to attempt to overcome the phobia I have over my inability to draw. It is no mean feat to have inspired me to pick up a pencil and ‘just draw’ without worrying about how bad the outcome might be. Everyday objects seem so much friendlier and less daunting than sketching landscapes or wildlife (my blood pressure rose just thinking about it). Drawing the chaos of my desk or the contents of my handbag feels more accessible, and my first effort miraculously revealed that I can produce drawings that don’t need to be labelled before they can be recognised. It’s early days yet but I’m confident that one day in the short to medium-term future I will post a drawing here that you don’t need to squint or tilt your head at to understand. In the meantime, I’ll share the print I bought from Andrea’s Etsy shop…it is the first of many that I intend to own.

I urge you to explore Andrea’s work*, enjoy losing yourself in meticulously detailed illustrations that will make you smile and shake your head in disbelief. If you can’t justify buying a piece for yourself, you will find yourself working out how many of your friends would enjoy a print for their next birthday. Go for it, it’s a purchase you won’t regret; work this fantastic should to be bought and appreciated. An illustrator which such prolific talent deserves to be recognised and rewarded for their efforts. Indeed, if there is any justice in this world, Andrea’s book will succeed in catapulting her into well-deserved literary spotlight…despite any efforts she may make to continue hiding her considerable light under a proverbial bushel.
*I accept no responsibility for hours lost, art crushes developed or impulse purchases made which result from this recommendation.

The Long Beautiful Winter

I chuckle to myself each time I consider the irony that I chose the longest, coldest, snowiest winter in 20 years to move to Scotland…I’ve actually loved every minute of it, revelled in the blanket of snow which made my first Christmas here a white one, secretly hoped the snow would never melt. At times it felt as if I was the only person in Scotland enjoying the snow; my own personal Winter Wonderland. What excitement!

Everything looked prettier and outings felt distinctly more adventurous when every surface was covered in inches of snow and ice. Alas, all good things must come to an end, as the saying goes and after a blissful few weeks of ‘Arctic’ conditions, the collective will of the Scottish population took hold and the snow gradually melted, leaving just the odd pile of ice here and there to hint at the chaos that had receded.

I long for more snow. I suspect you’re missing the snow too, although you obviously can’t admit that out loud, after the number of times you bemoaned the difficulties you had getting to work/ home/ the shops / the pub and groaned each time a new flurry of snow fell during a weekday afternoon, leaving you panic stricken that you would get snowed in AT WORK (yes, the universe would be that cruel to you). Have no fear, closet snow lovers, I’ve compiled a small exhibition of my favourite photos of the season for you to gaze adoringly and daydream of snow days and snowmen. Before you go any further, place your thumb and finger over the ALT and TAB keys to expedite your navigation away from this page, lest anyone you moaned to endlessly about the pesky snow should walk past and see you partaking in such a guilty pleasure….Enjoy!