finding-my-bliss

I spied with my little eye, tiles, trees, triangles... So after I intuited what was already there calling my attention, after I aligned the Divine, I reached for my camera and just went right on ahead and painted...!

My cottage has eleven windows, thirteen if you include the two blind ones on the front. They were to be kept original as our listed property is situated on the The National Trust's Hardwick estate, (see here) the cottage is said to be the original cobbler's workshop to Hardwick Hall.  We resurrected the building from three derelict walls and a date stone marked 1674.  For those of you who are interested I will post pics later, this is a tale in itself .... When viewing the layout of the building one of the main considerations was that each room would have a good view of the countryside fields, woods, and volumes of sky.  Not one window would have any unsightly object to view, but this, the room I'm typing in, the office/art studio/put-u-up room.   Was I going to let this unsightly post put me off!   .... time went by, I began to notice from a distance there was something seemly about this post  perhaps even a little attractive .... calling for a ...

Some people suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) mostly in the winter months due to the lack of light. It is believed that finding alternative light sources will relieve the symptoms. I'm not sure if this is the case with me but I know for sure that when I'm not feeling on top-form light therapy will usually restore my spirits.  So I look for light sources, the sun when out is perfect, I look for where it's shining in my home, the window ledges, on the walls and if I have something to reflect/refract or just filter the sun's rays like a glass vase that's even better.

A grey day again looking through my window - could have had a grey mood to match, but for the Forsythia! The fresh, delicate pale yellow blossom stood out so strikingly against the blanket grey skies. How I thrill at my lens image, I whisk it away quickly to be computed, can't wait for even more delight as it emerges on the screen, I feel frenzied with the results and my day becomes bright even though the skies are heavy with cloud!

As ever the magic of light from the sun, my camera and imagination always does the trick for me! And of course I came across a new way of sharing and receiving a shot of happiness from Jamie Ridler in Happy Fridays.

It all started quite a while ago, actually when I was a child .... "Suzy-cotton-socks" my mother would call ... time for me to climb onto the chairs. Sunday was hair-do day, mum would sit me a-top of two chairs (a baby's chair fixed to the top of a dining chair) to put my rags in before bedtime.  My bedroom window looked out over the fields to the hall in the distance, that's where I would spend wondrous moments on the ledge gazing across, it called to me!   I assured mother "if I stand on two chairs I'm able to reach Hardwick Hall! So my enchantment with the hall and windows started!   'Hardwick Hall - More Glass than Wall'

The Dogwood really stands out through the window today, in all it's winter glory bringing colour to a grey day.

Hello, As you may have gleaned from my profile I'm called Susan Fox, affectionately nick-named Shoes'n'Frocks by my husband on account of my regular consumption of all things feminine. In my creative life I've been drawn towards interior design, garden design, textile art, digital art, printmaking, altered books and other visuals but my abiding passion is for capturing the moments with my camera. Photography is one reason why I'm here writing on a blog, my blog, eventually after many hours of agonizing I finally plucked up the courage to post my first image. So if anyone happens by my blog welcome , I hope you like what you see.