Acts of Beauty

When we walked in fields of gold…

This post is somewhat out of seasonal step – I made this last August.  The weather here yesterday was so beautiful, the cats were lazing in sun patches, and it reminded me that before we know it the heat of summer will have arrived.  Until then though, I am enjoying the February stillness.  It doesn’t yet feel like the year has quite started, instead the seeds are germinating under the surface of my self – all the work is happening underground, like duck’s feet underwater.

To remind you about summer then…

One green meadow,

some Red Valerian heading for compost,

take a line for a walk,

follow the trail further and further with the Catstails bobbing in the wind,

sit and breathe for a while.

After this, I lay down in the grass and reaching up above my head I absent-mindedly picked a clover leaf.   I brought it to my face and discovered it was a four leaf clover.  Yes.  The very first one I picked.  I sat up and straight away spotted another one -  and then another.  I had laid down in a whole patch of them -  some had six or seven leaves.  Magic!

Last night would have been the closing night of WiLD at Chapter.  I’m not sad anymore, as I’ve had plenty of time to think and make new plans.  I’m actually really excited about this coming year.

When someone you love gets ill it definitely puts things into perspective.  Rob, my partner (in life, crime and theatre-making) was the team member who spent the New Year in hospital.  He is getting better, and we’re all in fine spirits.  Thanks to everyone who has offered their support during this time.  I sincerely wish you good health in 2012! 

January is a wonderful month!  I focus so strongly on re-aligning the tracks of my life, it feels like there’s an abundance of positivity and motivation to live well.  I’ve done more yoga in the past fortnight than I have in months.  The question is how long will it last?  I’ve given up writing resolutions, instead I’m making goals and then scheduling them.  Sometimes I wish we could have another January sooner than 2013, to stop the inexorable drift of good intentions.  Maybe one in May and one after August?  As it is I need to charge up a whole year’s worth of motivation right now to keep me going.  I might add a pretend January into my schedule.

Looking back, since starting working on this play in October 2010 I have gained more skills than I thought imaginable.  The habit of Getting-Things-Done is the best of them.  I wasn’t setting out to learn anything, I just wanted to make and perform a one-woman show (just!)  Nevertheless the learning kept coming.  Here is a list of what I learned last year making WiLD (since the end of the Aberystwyth performance):

How to video edit
How to use graphic design software
How to make a website (using Xara)
How to make and use my own font
How to scale down ambition when necessary
Knowing when to scale down ambition (having run out of time was the main reason)
How to set up a fundraising campaign
How to go busking for the first time despite The Fear
How to book a theatre tour (still have a lot more to learn!)
How to recruit a team and interview people
How to (successfully) apply for Arts Council funding
How to overcome my nerves about making important phone calls
How to be an employer
How to write contracts
How to draw animation storyboards and make an animatic
How to Get Things Done
and finally
How to re-make plans when they fall apart

That’s probably enough for now although there are many things in that list only half-learned and many more not on the list.  It has been an epic year, not what I expected at all and I feel good.  So onwards to those re-made plans (news of which to follow)!

Happy New Year!

Thanks to everyone who’s donated so far!  I am still bowled over that anyone at all will reach out and click through all those online buttons to help me.  THANK YOU.

Also thank you to those who have given me donations in person.  I’m really grateful – not quite sure how to put it into words.  Thank you!

I’ve also been touched by the kind words I’ve heard about the video and the work I’m doing.  It really does help.  I think having cheerleaders as a part of your creative work is so important.  I have to remind myself sometimes when those nearest to me are having a difficult time that sometimes they just need to hear “You can do it!” 

In that spirit, if there’s something you’re working on and finding hard “You can do it!”
And if there’s something you have completed – bravo! Brava!  We need more of you!

There’s still more fundraising to do of course, and if you feel like you can help financially, then, words will fail me again, but thank you.  And if you just want to stand and cheer me on, then – you have no idea how much it helps so thank you too.

Photos by Puffalicious.  Yes it was cold, but sooooo good.  I love jumping in rivers.

The moors near here sometimes encourage incredible fungal growths on the trees.  I hope the trees are ok, but in the meantime, I missed an opportunity last year to photograph some enormous bright orange ones, so when I saw these small yellow ones (small compared to the previous year’s ones) I jumped at the chance.

They seemed to have a velvety-waxy texture although I didn’t check to find out.

They remind me of a terrifying episode of Round the Twist where giant fungus grew in the forest and exploded slime over everyone.  I think I had nightmares about that as a child.  (2.03 on this vid for an image of the exploded ‘Yuckles’)

Somehow though, these ones are friendly.

A wonderful day in August, just when I needed a break.  I had been working too hard, and neglecting to breathe, sleep and have relationships with the people around me.  This turned out to be a perfect day.  Walking, talking, exploring.

Beach with magic island,

Welsh waters,

a broken heart, although in reality it was very much a heart healing sort of day,

friend,

hundreds of apples ripening,

forest,

In the middle of our walk we came across a Mediaeval jousting tournament festival, with mock hangings and dressing up.  Not what I was expecting.  Festival season is wonderful.

Viaduct for trains,

At the end of the walk, sat eating an ice cream, a plane flew low overhead,

I tried to capture the plane with the ice cream in the same frame, but my camera was too slow (bloody digital technology),  you can just see the plane disappearing behind the trees.

It was strawberries and cream.

Red flowers and berries,

Where in the world could all of these lovely things live together? 

On a walk in the park today I discovered that there are many yellow flowers who all work together to make magnificence -

and also that daffodils look good even from behind.  My cat came out to join me in the park which was unusual.  I naively did not suspect a motive behind this other than “cuddle me”. 

However it soon became clear that all the rolling at my feet, following and leading me on ahead back home was in fact just “feed me”.  He doesn’t usually come to fetch me from the park for dinner.  I was dawdling in the flowers so he emitted a rare “Miaw” to let me know the urgency of the situation,

Dinner time.

But wait!  Behold the Great Supernatural Daffodil of Greatness!

See how he (she/it?) glows with the Light from Another Universe and how all the other daffodils avert their eyes from his (her/it’s?) Glory!

Never underestimate his (her/it’s?) powers!Q!!!!!11!!!

Ah the spring!  It’s so wonderful to have more warm pink snow to play with this year.  I watched this shrub dropping it’s first clean pink petals onto the back alley on the way into town.  Several days later and those petals had already gone brown, but the pink ones keep coming.

I decided to leave something for people to see as they walked along.  My first instinct is always to do a heart, but I tried to do something else this time…

It just wasn’t complete without the heart

Wanna try one?

Stepping into this wonderful woods is like walking into another world,

you could climb inside this giant knot

there are many rabbit holes to fall down…

The first catkins of spring always take me by surprise, and are always such a pleasure,

and there are bushes which grow fluff (especially harvested for fluff needs the world over.)

Other people’s journeys

I stopped halfway to look where I was going,

and where I had come from,

Although the view behind was nicer, that same sun was on my face when I went ahead.  I kept wondering what was over the edge, but the edge just keeps moving.  Then I remembered there are incredible things all around me, so I went to explore,

Golden light and a carpet of green emerging,

green shoots which I think might become bluebells,

and my favourite thing, moss,

One last look…

I was on my way out for a walk, when my mum reminded me it was International Women’s Day (100th Anniversary!) and that women all over the world were congregating on bridges to symbolise peace.  Well that was easy for me as I knew I would be crossing a bridge in a few minutes time and I could congregate there by myself – how marvellous I thought.

Here are the arches of the handsome bridge,

some speckledy lichens on bobbly branches,

and here I am congregating on the bridge,

Further down the road I encountered another bridge – definitely the kind that Goblins live under – but probably very nice ones.  Just imagine the tinkly sound of water that makes you want to linger and you’ll be there.

Then I went on my walk to a wonderful woods, and I’ll save those pictures for tomorrow…