Happy Solstice!

A day early I know but I'll be too busy tomorrow to post. Have a wonderful Winter Solstice! And I hope you all enjoy the festive season however you might celebrate :) Now off to make vegetarian sausage rolls and much more, a day of baking awaits me :))

Winter Solstice 2011: Card design and Artwork: Tanith Hicks & Chris Dean

Siren

                                     Photographer: Chris Dean. Mask & Model: Tanith.

                           Materials: Paper, wire, copper sheet, acrylic paints, bronze powders.

The Countess

Photographer: Chris Dean.  Mask & Model: Tanith

Materials: Paper, wire, polymer clay, glass beads, crackle glaze.

Lilith

Photograher: Chris Dean.  Mask & Model: Tanith

Materials: Paper, clay, crows feathers, snail shells, rabbit breast bone (found on a walk), fox teeth ( from skull also found whilst out walking), faux opal and pearls, lace.

Changing Times

Just to let you know that I am closing down my website. In future all new work and pieces  for sale will be displayed here and in my Etsy shop :) In order to continue having an accessible display of earlier masks I shall be putting up a series of  archive posts. Don't worry I've not stopped creating and I hope to have some new stuff to share over the coming months!

                         Photograph by Chris Dean featuring  Morpheus mask.

Sleeping Beauty

My poor neglected blog, so grown up with brambles and undergrowth........ so I blew the cobwebs away, hacked my way through that spiky wall and discovered a slumbering castle within :)

 

 Creeping closer, all was so peaceful. 

 

Not a soul to be seen except a single bird high in the perfect blue sky.

A fairytale castle sleeping soundly. 

 

 

Carisbrooke Castle is one of my favourite places and between all the gales and rain we managed to pay it a little visit last week . We didn't go inside this time but to walk round and explore outside is still a treat.

   Photo: Chris Dean

Here is a little bat I made who I think would have felt very at home in the castle but he has already been snapped up and is flown off to his new home :)

Exhibition

I am currently part of a  group exhibition at Ventnor Library, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, featuring pyrography, photography, textiles, paintings - and, of course, some of my masks (both exhibition-only pieces and for sale).  There are pieces there that are currently not to be seen anywhere else - even on this site! It finishes at  the end of September.

I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who came to the formal opening evening last Friday (15th July) it was a fun evening !

The exhibition is proving very successful so I'm working on some new pieces for it at the moment. Crows and moths seem to be tempting me the most :)  My jewellery creations have been rather delayed but I do hope to have something to show by the end of August, sadly as always time is just not on my side!

Strange Times

My creative work has been sorely affected by happenings during the past 6 months or so. It has been a really difficult time and has had a big impact on me creatively, so that I felt I lost my way rather. I am trying slowly, but hopefully surely, to find my path back.

One thing I've been tentatively working on are some jewellery pieces. Something new for me, but something which has been calling to me for a while now. I have sketch pads filling with tiny creatures, it's very theraputic. Just the roughest sketches but they are now slowly being transformed into tiny vivid paintings, like scraps of illuminated manuscripts.

For my masks.... well if you are planning to visit the Isle of Wight, England, next month, then be sure to check out the Isle of Arts festival weekend in Ventnor from 15th to 17th April. Alongside works from other local artists, created in a variety of media, you'll also see a few of my pieces on display - and for sale - at the Wight Light Gallery just off the High Street. There will also be other attractions including music, drama, film, workshops, etc. Come and help make this new event a great success! For more details see The Isle of Arts.

Best Wishes to you all
T x

The Cat of the Wood

                                          

Photograph copyright: Christine Gregory  used with her very kind permission

'The scutter, the fellow in the dew,
 The grass nibbler, Old Goibert,
 The one who doesn't go straight home, the traitor,
 The friendless one, the cat of the wood,
 The starer with wide eyes, the cat that lurks in the broom,
 The purblind one, the furze-cat,
 The clumsy one, the blear-eyed one,
 The wall-eyed one, the looker to the side,
 And also the hedge-frisker,
 The stag of the stubble, long eared..........'

 Translation from Middle English by Professor Alan.S.C.Ross.
 From the book 'The Leaping Hare' by George Ewart Evans and David Thomson

 The above is part of a long  poem written in middle english (and dating to the late thirteenth century) called 'The Names of the Hare in English' . It's an amazing piece containing over 70 names, and when read aloud has the most beautiful  pace and rhythm.

I have been intrigued and utterly beguiled by the enigmatic Brown Hare for as long as I can remember. For me (as I know is true for many others) there is something so otherworldly, so enchanting about this intriguing and sacred creature . It has a joyous and powerful hold on me, too difficult to put into words. I'm obssessed with  them :))

So imagine my delight to discover a marvellous new  book that's been recently published, called  'Brown Hares in the Derbyshire Dales' by Christine Gregory. I had to treat myself to a copy and what a wonderful volume it is!

The passion that  artist, photographer and writer, Christine Gregory has for these fascinating animals just shines out from the pages.  The book contains over 150 gorgeous original photographs (all taken by the author) of  brown hares and of the stunning Derbyshire countryside that is their home. The text is bursting with information and has a very strong conservation theme exploring amongst other the things, the effect that our modern agricultural methods, hunting, coursing etc are having on these magical creatures.

This book is an absolute labour of love, I wish Christine  great success with it!  I know I will return to it time and time when I need another hare fix ;)

If you fancy a copy  you can buy one direct from http://www.lepusbook.co.uk/ .  And please note that all profits from the sale of this book are being very generously donated to The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust .

Also if you want to find out more about helping  hares then pop over to the Hare Preservation Trust .

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend :) x