Literary affairs
It’s been all about ink and paper since Joe’s been back at school: monotype and botanical printing upstairs in the workroom this week (with the little heater and the radio on). I have to be in the right frame of mind for printmaking, and it’s one of those times where I’m not really feeling it.
I’ve realised that I’m trying to squeeze the entire creative process into a few hours each day, and pressurising myself to produce something on a daily basis. For me right now that means looking for inspiration, noting down ideas, making sketches, attempting to develop those sketches into a detailed drawing ready to transfer onto lino, carve it out, and at the very least get a few test prints done. Mixing colours, the dreaded cleanup… none of this can be done quickly.
This approach isn’t realistic, of course. It makes creating artwork feel like a chore, and motivation and inspiration become frustratingly elusive. I need to slow it down and give each part of the process real time and attention. Exploring ideas and experimenting are important. This is supposed to be fulfilling and enjoyable. So I’ll dedicate more time to getting inspired and then to the other parts of the process, each one in turn, even if that means it’s spread out over weeks rather than hours and days. Scratching the surface and not fully immersing yourself in what you’re doing doesn’t work. You’re left feeling annoyed and irritated and dissatisfied with what you’ve made, and that means that by trying to save time you’ve actually wasted it.
The only person pressuring me is me.
I’m also planning a series of monthly workshops for locals, and more for visitors. They’re going to be hosted by a local hotel called Hame and we’re looking at all kinds of things to do, taking inspiration from the seasons and surroundings. I’ll add updates to Facebook and Instagram, and of course, this journal.
And so to literature.
I’m a true bibliophile. I love books, I love reading. Always have. A house isn’t a home without books - you can tell a lot about a person by their bookshelves. Libraries and bookshops are my favourite places to be. I’ve been researching the best ones to visit in New York (and am also on the lookout for stationers and art supplies stores).
Magazines, too - I have a collection which I occasionally clear out, often tearing out any pages I want to keep. Right now I’m reading the latest The Simple Things issue, and an interiors mag I discovered when we were back down south over Christmas, called Scandi at Home. I went to our Magazine Club at the library last night, which has evolved into a Magazine and Knitting Club (I don’t knit there because I can’t knit and talk at the same time). And the latest development is that people don’t actually open their knitting bags now. We just talk about life on this island. And people.
If that suggests ‘gossip’, then… well, I promise there’s nothing very salacious. Although we thought we could maybe create our own version of the West Highland Free Press (the local newspaper), with what really goes on up here…
I’ve just joined a book group. The current book to read (by next week - better get a move on) is The Code of the Woosters by PG Wodehouse. I’ve read a few of the Jeeves and Wooster series before so it should be an easy one. Next up is Brideshead Revisited, which I think I might have tried and given up on in the past. So we’re not an edgy group. It’s basically down to what the library has multiple copies of, purchased with reading groups in mind.
I’m happy with early 20th century stuff; it’s the era I’d choose if time machines actually existed and I could go back (or forwards) for a visit.
The bedside table is stacked high with winter reading; I’m still dipping in and out of Christmas stories as well as a few things I picked up in the church tea room when we were in Lancashire last month. It’s a good place to stop off for a hot drink when you’re out walking, and they have lots of secondhand books for sale. The Robert Frost poetry is one of them and admittedly it caught my eye because of the mid century cover. I do judge a book by its cover, often, and more often than not that works out. Plus, consuming a bit of poetry of an evening is a good pre-sleep ritual.
There are some weighty novels in the pile too. The good thing about having a long line of books waiting to be read is that if you don’t get along with one, after giving it a fair chance you can move onto the next. A tall reading stack is a comforting thing - I hate having ‘nothing to read’. It actually bothers me on a deep level, knowing there’s nothing inspiring to get stuck into and get lost in.
Of course, all this literature has to be balanced out with some TV. Cold Feet’s back on, which is a Good Thing. I love how it always shows Manchester off in a good light, as a cosmopolitan city with some great architecture alongside its leafy parks and suburbs (and of course, all those quirky pubs and eateries). I had some good times working there in the 2000s.
Also, White House Farm because I love true crime. And Deadwater Fell. More dark drama. It’s all proper, if slightly disturbing, winter viewing.
And it is wintry here. Not frosty and clear and bright, unfortunately, but wet and windy. It’s been going on for what feels like ages. Winds up to 80mph which whistle and moan and rage and keep you awake at night, and mean the Skye bridge has been sporadically closed to high sided vehicles. Hail showers and horizontal rain. Joe’s swing in the front garden is being pummelled back and forth, along with the tree it’s hanging from, and two of our chimneys have lost their caps (resulting in a minor leak in Joe’s room and something much worse in the kitchen). Luckily some brave roofers got up there and sorted it out on Wednesday.
It’s supposed to calm down tomorrow so we’re off to the beach. Admittedly if you take the rain and hail out of the equation, getting out there in the wind is pretty invigorating. I’m off exploring the woods this afternoon for an hour or so before weekend really starts with the school pick up - and we’re making curry tonight. The thought of it’s making me hungry but there are shop listings to add before lunch. It’s been beans on toast and mugs of tea lately: easy food which is both filling and warming and transports you back to when you were looked after by your mum and big brother.
Anyway - enjoy your weekend. The days are slowly lengthening.
PS The ‘Librarian’ and ‘Prefect’ pin badges recently resurfaced from a cardboard box stashed in the outbuilding. They date back to my days as a sixth former and suggest I was studious and responsible, when in actuality I was quite the handful (and that’s a major understatement).
