Bumblebee spotting and photography

Just a few photographs to share with you my progress in recognising different bumblebees. There are lots about at the moment.

This is a buff-tailed bumblebee queen I photographed in March. She has golden yellow stripes and a buff tail.

This is a tree bumblebee worker with full pollen baskets on a raspberry flower. This is a relatively new species to this country. It colonized the south of England in 2001 and is working its way north.

click on the photographs for a larger view

Tree bumblebees have a gingery brown thorax and a black abdomen with a white tail. There are lots of these in my garden.

Here is a mystery bee. The only all black bumblebees are rather rare so I think this is probably a tree bumblebee. I have e-mailed this picture to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust as they will identify them for you.

It was very dull when I took the last two, so I used the in-camera flash. The shutter speed was too slow to catch really sharp shots and the little bees won't keep still!!

As you can probably tell my love of art is only matched by my love of the natural world,  photography is a great way to bring both together.

Fly away with me

When you were  a child did you lay in the grass and imagine you were as small as an ant walking through a jungle? Well I guess we all did, which is why it is such a popular idea for stories and films, but when you were young, you felt as if you were the first to have that feeling. I really wanted to believe in fairies too. I just knew where they lived in the nooks in old tree roots and ivy clad walls. It was the sort of thing you kept to yourself if you didn't want to be laughed at, but my friend and I knew where to leave them gifts of flower petals and little bits of bread and cheese.  I would love to think of children today having such innocent and imaginary play, and I am sure some do. I re-lived some of those moments today. It was so beautifully warm and sunny so I popped the macro lens on the camera and got down on the grass. I guess my neighbours have seen it all before, the far from slim lady with the camera, laying on her belly on the grass, and then having trouble getting up again.

 But how small do you have to be for the daisies to tower over your head?

Or look a speedwell in the eye?

There are aliens too...

or you could catch a ride 

and fly off into the blue...

...and thank you to you all who commented so kindly on my previous post, allowing me to let my imagination fly away with me today, with no fear that anyone was going to laugh, unless it was with pleasure.

Jill

On my art ' career' and the passing of time ...

Here is my completed May page...

and here is June.

I made my first calendar in July last year, but didn't post them on my blog so I have nearly completed a whole year. These are more accurately a diary as they are a record of my days rather than a calendar of appointments etc. But I have found them useful to look back on - when was it I went to visit so and so etc? The June pages are in my new journal, my third since starting to keep an art journal about a year ago. The first one I filled up really quickly, the second has been going since last August. Most pages I have not 'published', they are usually of no real interest to anyone but me, or a bit too personal. However I have found the whole idea very liberating. I will share a few pages with you as I reminisce.

Journal page - January 2010 'Action is necessary' self motivation

When I first started keeping an art journal I was rather in the doldrums having retired from teaching, which I loved, but had in recent years drained me, I found myself in the position of wanting to do something creative, but did not know what to do. I was brought up to be full of self doubt. I also felt that although I knew I had a talent for drawing I did not have the passion or confidence or the know-how necessary to follow a career in some form of art. When I was fifteen - at a secondary modern school (11+ failure) I told the careers teacher I wanted to be a 'Window dresser' and I remember he laughed and said "Window CLEANER! - better stick to your shorthand and typing" I hated shorthand and studied hard and achieved enough qualifications to get into Teachers Training College. I did study art at college, but not at a high level as I was training to be a primary school teacher, and although I never stopped drawing everything went on hold. In the late 80's I went to watercolour evening classes with Gerald Kent Wood (now deceased) who changed my life. He taught traditional watercolour, which really was tinting pencil drawings. He had trained as an architect and produced wonderfully detailed drawings and had exhibited at the RA summer exhibition. He encouraged his students to submit work at the highest level and through his encouragement I had work exhibited in open exhibitions with The Society of Botanical Artists ('88), the Pastel Society ('88&'90) and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours ('89) However at about this time the impact of the National Curriculum hit and my spare time vanished and I found it harder and harder to find enough time, not only to paint, but to take time to get up to London to submit work.

Journal page November '09 as a means of recording interests

That really put a stop to a lot of my art although I did manage to go to evening classes in Life drawing and was constantly encouraged by my friend Sally who is a practising artist. My 'artistic' life changed again when I began to study photography with the Open College of Art. When I gave up work, I had no excuse - I could do what I wanted, but all the old inhibitions came crowding back. I am sure it will take longer than a year to undo all the gremlins about worrying if my work is 'worthy', that I could be doing something more useful with my time and what am I going to do with it all? And what is it all for?

Journal May '10 'Nothing seems to work'

But I keep on telling myself I am doing it for myself, that I don't have to do anything 'with it' and above all I should just enjoy myself without inhibition or worrying about what anyone else thinks. It is still hard. But keeping a journal is a great outlet. Keeping a blog has also been liberating - meeting so many women who are on their own art journeys.

April into May '10 Journal page

I  hope I haven't lost you along the way of this rather long piece, everyone's comments are highly valued. I love to hear from the confident folk who don't give a 'feather or a fig' to what others think and I also love to hear from those who feel like me, still groping in the dark.   I am looking forward to another year of journal keeping and sharing my adventures with you. I hope you will be with me on the journey.

Jill

Figgy Pudding

I rather liked this old fig tree at the Walled Garden.

But what really attracts me are the figs.

I photographed them and did some on the spot sketches

This led me to play about with their shapes and draw them in pen

I thought they would look good as a lino print

(Whoops - that last one looks quite good up-side-down)

I don't know what the weather has been like with you, but here it has been rather chilly and wet, so it was a good opportunity for me to practise my free embroidery skills.

I am finding free embroidery a bit of a thrill - take off your foot, drop your feed dogs, and put your (other?) foot down - hard!!  The trick is to run the machine fast and move the cloth slowly. It is a bit like learning to drive. At first I just watched the line I'd drawn and tried to keep to it, but that is a bit like driving with your eye on the kerb - I am beginning to look ahead and follow the line a bit more instinctively, but I broke the cotton umpteen times (thank goodness my machine as a built in needle threader!). The damp weather also gave me the opportunity to have a play with Photoshop Elements and a technique featured in this months Digital Photo magazine.

"Oh excellent! I love a long life better than figs"

William Shakespeare - Antony & Cleopatra

This was the best 'fig' quote I could find - most of the others were long and Biblical, but perhaps it indicates how highly prized figs were, in fact even now fresh figs are something to be relished when they come into season. (I don't care for the dried varieties too much but Mr T hankers for fig crumble like he had at school. Does anyone have a recipe? I can only find 'posh' ones)

Mr T is cooking dinner this evening,  but no figs or pudding!

ERRATUM - it's date crumble he wants not fig! I've still no recipe.

Let us hope the promised fine weather returns tomorrow for the holiday weekend. Luton Carnival is on Monday and so much effort is put into it, it is a shame when the weather is wet. (A couple of years ago it rained so much they had to cancel it). Last year I took lots of photographs, but not sure whether I shall go this year, but it is a wonderful colourful family day out for anyone in the area.

Hope you are having a great weekend, Jill

Happy to be cool

How pleasant it is today, warm enough to be out with bare arms, but not so hot I break into a sweat emptying the compost bin (Just adding to my green credentials).  It is MrT's birthday so we have been out to lunch, he is watching some cricket he recorded and I am fiddling about. As I have been posting a lot of photographs lately I thought I'd do something different. Firstly some embroidery. This piece I finished sometime ago in April, the last of my colour doodle stitchings.

The scanned colour has not come out very well, what looks orangy/brown here is much paler and the real colour range is  from deep acid yellow to pale straw.

After this I thought I would try something more representational and took this doodle -

and turned it into this

My embroidery skills are improving, but Cathy at Menopausal Musings has set the embroidery bar high so I am still reeling in admiration of her work.

Emma is a more recent blog friend. She lives on the Isle of Skye and creates all sorts of lovely art pieces from what she has around her. No popping down to Hobbycraft for her. She has a significant birthday in June and to celebrate being fifty she is arranging a fifty postcard swap. It is always fun to send and receive so I was more than happy to join in and this week I received this -

 A great little multi-media piece of art. Emma's blog is A Little Bit of Everything and I am sure she would be delighted if you took a look or even joined her in a birthday quest.

I have also been doing some art journaling and working on my 'Garden Book', but more of them another time. I hope the sun is still shining with you, Jill

PS. Blogger is really messing about today with positioning pictures - so if it is happening to you, you are not alone!

In my garden today...

I actually took this picture last year on the 10th of May. The yellow poppies, aquilegias and knapweed have only opened this week so I guess everything is still a week to ten days behind after our late spring. 

Since I have received my bumblebee chart all the little 'b's' seem to have disappeared from the garden and if I do spot one by the time I have got my chart it has disappeared! Hopefully they will be back later. The garden is full of flowers but not the sort they like. 

I was pleased to find several frogs in the garden although we have had no frog spawn this year. I managed to snap this one before it hopped away.

I still had the macro lens on the camera and had to hand hold it so only its further eye and mouth are in focus. This one is better but the iris leaves were in the way.

Click on the photos for a really large version.

Several of you have mentions my new banner - the clematis bud. I must say I am very pleased with it. It has also gone 'ballistic' on flickr. If you are familiar with flickr you will know that they have a page called Explore which has several hundred of the millions of photographs which are uploaded every week which are designated the most interesting. The clematis bud made it to Explore a week a go and has had continual views and comments made on it all week - it sort of snowballs.

Marvin like most cats hasn't really been enjoying the heat but here is a snap from the archives for Jane who I know is a Marvin fan. He has been spending most of his time dozing in the shade.

Meanwhile I have been doing a little bit of sewing, I've half made some curtains for the bathroom, and been experimenting with some free form machine embroidery. I've also working on a few ideas for my walled garden project, but everything is a bit unformed at the moment.

So today I sat in the shade and tried to finish 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel which my friends and I are supposed to be chatting about next Friday. It is taking me an age to read but this week I have managed a few good long chunks which makes the story much easier to follow - I am enjoying it.

Tomorrow I collect my photographs from the Walled Garden Exhibition, and Sally tells me that one of them has the red spot!! 

Wishing you all a good week, and hope you are able to make the most of the gorgeous weather.

Blues

No photography tips today but I have been searching through the photograph files on my laptop as they really need culling and I came across this group from last year. I took them for a flickr photography challenge on - guess what - the colour blue! This little group features two of my Bakelite pots, a bottle lid, periwinkle and bluebells. I have been in the creativity doldrums this week so it is good to look at the archives for a bit of inspiration.

For this still life I looked at some Dutch masters whose still life paintings are fabulous in detail. Very often they would feature some draped fabric and a bowl spilling its contents. I must say that mine is a very humble interpretation. I set up my little still life in a box with lots of blutac and masking tape.

With this final composition I was playing with shape. It may have been better if the crease in the cloth had been vertical. At the time  you don't notice how important these details are.

I went to the Walled Garden art exhibition  Private View this evening and I am pleased to say that my photographs had been selected. The venue was fabulous - an enormous marquee in the walled garden called the Conservatory, which is being used for wedding receptions. There was quite a mixed selection of work and some of an exceptional standard. Organising and managing such an event is a minefield and they had said that everyone that submitted would  have at least one piece hung so some pieces were of a dubious standard. The boards used to display the works were rather wobbly and my pieces were rather in a corner (well somebody's had to be). I am not expecting to sell, but I hope the organisers manage to make sales as it is a fabulous idea and the garden is desperate for funds for the restoration work. It is always great to be part of such an event and my friend Sally, who has helped with the organisation was interviewed by the local press. The publicity will be too late as the exhibition closes on Sunday, but let's hope they get enough interest to decide to repeat the event.