Watching the wintery world
Through a frosty window
Dear reader, how are you? Have you had a good week? As I sit and write this to you, I’m babysitting the rats. Yes, you read that correctly, the RATS. Princess and Ruthie - the rats- have taken me by surprise. Intelligent, inquisitive, very clean, and more timid that I expected - they look but they keep their distance. I was very wary of allowing rats into our home and resisted for a several years - but Alice is very persistent and in the end she won. They’ve been here for nine months and they are adorable. Who knew you could litter train a rat? Well of course, they are fancy rats! When Alice moves around the house with them she typically has a rat on each shoulder, they stay close to her, hiding in her hair or her hood. Caring for animals is a big responsibility, and Alice is currently cleaning and no doubt rebuilding the rats luxury condo-cage. They need new things all the time to satisfy their curiosity, so she builds them little houses and ladders and climbing frames. They are very lucky, these rats.
Apart from rat sitting, the closest I have to come to the great outdoors this week has been early morning drives to North Wales. Last Saturday a thick layer of frost coated everything we could see in glittering crystals, and as we drove east the sun, low but rising, seemed almost to pulsate, the intense liquid glow of fire a breathtaking contrast to the sharp tang of the icy air. Later in the week, again, early, as the sun rose, the fields were covered in thick, rising mist - in Denmark we say “ mosekonen brygger” (the bog wife is brewing). As I reached Wales, thick patches of fog appeared, against which the wintry grasses and skeletal seed heads stood silhouetted, sharply defined, crisp and beautiful. Cocooned in the warmth of my car, I missed the sensation of the morning on my skin, but I was grateful to be out early, witnessing the conditions. Reader, I was driving, so no pictures, I am sorry to say. I’d love to hear what you have seen when you have been out and about this week. January can be rather grey and grim, but these frosts and mists add atmosphere and intrigue and keep us connected.
So, I have not set foot on the tip path this week. I’ve been driving towards Wales to visit a school where I’ve been teaching the Y6 classes - and their teachers - how to make wildflowers. I do love it, I go into the sessions with a loose plan for the patter and a tight structure for the make, and I come out energised. This week we made four flowers with very different shapes and details - the point being to examine the real flowers (being January, this was all from pictures) and discover the intricacy of the different configurations of style and stigma, anther and filament. How do you like our flowers?
I’ll leave you for this week with an update on my second piece for the Floribunda exhibition. Here is Calluna Vulgaris, shown alongside the last heather I made. The original one which was created for the Eurovision/ Euroflower project was coloured with a beetroot stain - most of which has faded now. I’m trying new techniques for these new flowers, experimenting with different papers, so these petals are made from light weight watercolour paper, painted. Let me know what you think!
Tomorrow, I’m off on a special trip over to Hilbre Island. I promise to take lots of pictures to share with you next time.
Until then, with love, Ling
AND IN OTHER (STUDIO) NEWS:
BLOSSOM AND CREATE : TWO NEW PAPER FLOWER CLASSES FOR TUESDAYS Classes at both 11-1 and 7-9 every Tuesday, it’s your choice to fit around your busy life! Come along to the studio and make flowers with me. On Tuesday 4th February we will be making Paper Whites, a pretty little spring flower, perfect for pots and for livening up winter days! All tools and materials are provided. Classes are £25, and with the loyalty scheme if you come to four classes the fifth class is free. Totally flexible booking to fit around you 💚🌿 now open for bookings.
For the paper-flower-curious, join my Facebook group: The birth flower for January is the snowdrop - a little early yet, for these pretty little white flowers, but not too early to chance your hand at making some! If you’d like to try, head over and join “The Paper Wildflower”, my group on Facebook. I am leaving the (free) templates in place (under the ‘Files’ tab) until the end of January. They are accompanied by a live demo (recording) - and I’ve included a really simple way of making snowdrops using nothing but a paper clip, plain paper and glue. Oh, and a green felt tip pen! A thoughtful, last minute, January birthday gift, perhaps? Snowdrop kits are also available!
PAPER WILDFLOWER CRAFTKITS AVAILABLE ONLINE with ten different flowers to try, you can build a beautiful display for yourself just like this!
Unless stated otherwise, all images are taken by me, Ling Warlow. Thanks for reading!
Lovely flowers, and ling, your namesake. I shall try to remember mosekonen brygger; she may be stirring her pot here tonight.