scribe and saw

Northern lights and Australian delights

Just when I think I cant handle another rainy day, grey sky, or windy night, island life throws me something wonderful and I remember why i'm here, and why I love my job.

After weeks of steady rain and dark skies, I had really started to feel disheartened by island life and self employment. Finding the motivation to get stuck into studio time, or to go out for fresh air in the harsh weather has been a hard challenge this winter, but some sunshine and a few surprises has lifted my spirits and reminded me how lucky I am to live and work on this wild Isle.

On Tuesday this week I stepped out of our front door to have a look at the starry sky, and to my amazement I saw the Northern lights dancing above my head. The night was spectacularly clear, with a strong green glow, and pulsing flashing beams of light darted across the sky. We climbed through the woods and onto the hill here at Calgary and watched the aurora, beaming with big smiles. I have never seen anything like this magical sight. We tried our cameras but couldn't capture the lights, so gave up quickly on photographs - in a way i'm glad, it meant we weren't distracted by screens and were able to watch and hold the stunning sight in our minds. For photos of the lights at Treshnish, just round the corner from Calgary, have a look at this great blog written by our neighbour:  http://haunnblackhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/dancing-skies.html

The next morning I headed over to Oban, on a gloriously hazy sunny day, where I picked up a parcel waiting for me, that had come all the way from Byron bay, Australia. Through instagram, I met Margeaux, of Willowynn. Margeaux lives in Australia and makes beautiful sewn animals, dolls and soft sculpture. We don't know each other, but we arranged to swap some of our work and some treasures from our sides of the world. Margeaux had seen some of my work and thought they would make wonderful little crowns for her dolls, so I sent her a collection of tiny copper crowns, some hand dyed fabric, ribbons, and some tiny cowry shells and coral from the local beaches. In return, Margeaux sent me a beautiful handmade bunny, a hand sewn and embroidered purse, a beautiful little star that now hangs above my workbench, a badge, a button, and an incredible banksia seed pod from her own garden!

These treasures from across the world brightened up my day, and it was great to work on a different little project and connect with another maker all the way across the seas.

Have a look at Margeaux's beautiful work here:
https://instagram.com/willowynn_textile_art
https://www.facebook.com/willowynn?fref=photo
http://www.willowynn.com/

......and look out for my little copper crowns!

So for now I am ready again to embrace island life, and throw myself back into work - making new work for my gallery, and working on little exciting projects like this one.

Thanks for reading!

Maike x