Spring seasonal notes

A wee look at my studio

I started sharing my studio space a while ago as a way of getting to the essence of how I see the seasonal creative world. As a new season begins I change my studio to reflect it and this simple act inspires me continually throughout the new season. For me, natural finds are an important element but there are other elements just as important. References beyond natural finds include a colour palette that weaves through the space to welcome new seasonal colours. I also include some of my own work. This is very important for me as I continually try to connect my work from the same season the previous year. A strong artistic voice has always been part of my being and this is one of the ways I ensure it stays intact.

The theme for my spring work both here and on Patreon is ‘renew’ so I have included some reference material that reminds me of that theme. Pride of place is an old photograph of my grandparents out on one of their wee picnics complete with giant teapot! In between them is one of her brothers who remained unmarried so grandma would include him in their trips. My grandma was the queen of recycling so she is welcomed into my spring space.

I have an old wooden fruit box as a wee bookshelf and I change my reference books with the seasons. Some of the highlight books for this season are -

• Earth Pilgrim - Satish Kumar

• The Wild Handbook - Emily Thomas & James Weston Lewis

• Seeking Slow - Melanie Barnes

• The organic artist - Nick Neddo

• In and out of the garden - Sara Midda

• Flower Fairies - the meaning of flowers - Cicely Mary Barker & Fredrick Warne

• The handmade grimoire -

  Laura Derbyshire

I will be sharing the place these books and more have in my season as spring takes hold.

Arguably, dominating the space this season is the most beautiful of journals with a hare illustration on the cover. This was gifted to me some time ago by my daughter and I have held onto it until the time felt right. For reasons that will become clear at the weekend this is the time for this journal…….

I am creating bunting flags, one per month so I will soon be able to add some spring tones to my bunting. What joy. In a wee bowl towards the front are handmade paints made by two friends that I have already started using. I usually also buy a new handmade paint from small businesses on Etsy as it is not something I have tried yet and so it is good to support other artisans. I do, however, make my own botanical inks and in my book arts project we will be making ink through the spring and into the summer. It is a relatively accessible process and the colours produced by plants are just so right in so many ways. First up is daffodil ink, which is actually one of my favourites of the year. We all need more yellow in our lives.

Despite the space having different elements it is how we put them together that speaks with the loudest voice. For me, this takes time as I strip the space back to its bare bones, dust (because I fail to dust through the season) and then build up my new seasonal offering. This is a seasonal story that is unique to that particular season in that particular year and, therefore, can never be repeated. I wouldn’t want to repeat it.

You will probably have spotted the old glass bottle stoppers dotted about the story. I have collected these (and many others) over the years of living on the island and all from the same stretch of beach. I find that completely fascinating. Where have they come from and why the stretch of beach just down the hill from my house? Objects from the past often tell us great stories but our pursuit of ‘new’ means these stories often get swept aside. I am not a fan of new. I am, however, a fan of mend, repair and repurpose and you will see that in my work as the season unfolds.

In my paid subscription book arts space we are taking an old damaged book en route to the recycling and breathing new life into it. We will, no doubt, be drawing on some of our own special memories as we do. We are just completing our third season wandering along making book art that speaks to our creative voice. I thought you might like to see what we have been up to. In the summer (our first season) we created a scroll book. In the autumn we created a concertina book and in the winter we made our own paper and then created a library of small books.

This coming weekend I am going to be sharing something that will shift my work into a new space but it is also something that will allow you to come with me if that suits? I am more than a little giddy about it. All will be revealed in my Sunday morning post…..

Until then,

Fiona x

Welcome to my wee corner of Substack. I am a seasonal artist living on the Isle of Arran, off the west coast of Scotland. I am the custodian of approximately two acres of land that includes a woodland, a meadow and my wee garden. I offer a seasonal book arts project for paid subscribers if you are interested and you can read more about that HERE. Grab a cuppa and lets delve into our relationship with the shifting seasons….