Gillian Lee Smith

Philomena

Philamina, originally uploaded by gilfling.

Philomena’s favourite sound is that of echo’s, gliding footsteps on stone floors; the drip, drip, drip of rain that comes through the gaps in the roof of her 645 year old miller’s cottage. She delights in the shadows cast by moonlit flowers and often takes walks at unsociable hours just to watch and listen.
The sound of echo’s and the sight of shadow’s.

Philomena is the other character that I mentioned now resides inStudio 61 awaiting a new home.

Can I let you into a little secret? Promise you won't tell? Every time I come to paint these faces....and I mean 'every' time.... I have that absolute panicky feeling as if I have never painted before. I feel as if I will make a mess and I just cannot fathom out how to go about it. It often takes me 2 or three attempts to get them just so. So there you have it, the trials of a sometimes incompetent painter!

Hope you have had a lovely start to your week! I will be busy as ever and plan to start transforming some of those ideas into my sketchbook into finished pieces. I also have a whistlestop visit to look forward to from my dad and my aunts as they come to me for morning tea and cake on their way back from southern england for a funeral on their way back to Scotland. I haven't seen my dad since late November so I am excited! (Oh and if you remember this post about my hand-made gift for him, the updated report is that he has ditched the scraggy plastic coin bag and now loves his new personalised coin purse! - progress indeed)

Mosaic monday 23rd March

Mosaic monday 23rd March, originally uploaded by gilfling.

Many thanks to all the artists, artisans and crafters for sharing their work as ever.

Verity

Verity, originally uploaded by gilfling.

As nocturnal as an owl, Verity fills her garden with flowers that only bloom in the night. She wanders through the fragrances that sift into the moonlit air, stopping to listen for the other characters that only come out at this time. A constant tune can be heard from her lips as she dreams whilst awake and waits for dawn.

Verity is one of two new dolls now residing in the Studio 61 gallery in Lea, Derbyshire. I had a lovely trip out there last week - delivering her and a collection of (oldish) framed originals which are all being displayed for the next two weeks as I am guest artist. If you are in the area, it is worth a visit as it is such a lovely gallery with a wonderful coffee shop with the best coffee or chocolate cake!

I do have a few other exciting things in the pipeline that I will reveal as and when they come to fruition. One collaboration in particular I am beyond excited about but I shall reveal all as and when!! (sorry for the secrecy....)

Other excitement is that I have just had it confirmed that my part time job as 'Memories are made of this project co-ordinator' (my job working in reminiscence work with older people) which was initially only a year long post and due to finish in August - has just had funding which will enable the project to be extended for another 2 years!!! This is incredible news, for the district, for the project as a whole, for me and in particular for the wonderful people I am lucky enough to work with. It is such an exciting and much needed project - I work in care homes, day centres and community projects as well as training staff in reminiscence work and really this extra funding is validation that the project is going well and that I am where I am supposed to be.

Also........... sadness that my favourite, favourite TV series has just come to an end and I have to wait goodness knows how long for the next series. Seriously, this was one of the highlights of my week and made me cry with laughter as well as brought me to tears of sadness. Sunday evenings will not be the same!

and................. I am just loving this new album ....... seriously....buy it...... and just sink into it. Wonderful.

I do hope you have had a wonderful week and have a wonderful weekend to come!

march 9th - mosaic monday

march 9th - mosaic monday, originally uploaded by gilfling.

1. maybe home was always here, 2. Book of Tranquility 01, 3. 恩光, 4. mrbear5, 5. most conversations with Sir Winnipeg ended this way...., 6. we have the leans, 7. pun2, 8. Untitled, 9. miniature abandoned house sculptures - about 3" tall


Many thanks to all the artists and artisans for sharing their wonderful work as ever!

Right speaking of work....... I better get back to it. Enjoy these images and click through to find more of their wonderful creations.

Fingerprints included - Growth

Fingerprints included - Growth, originally uploaded by gilfling.

New work - read my last post for more information! Available here

Fingerprints included - This Light

Fingerprints included - This Light , originally uploaded by gilfling.

Hello! This is a busy week as ever with preparing new work, catching up on all that I am behind on and spending some time with Mark who is on holiday. Although I am working less hours at my Memories are made of this job this week I still have lots of the little jobs to be getting on with and one of these is showing these new pieces!

Fingerprints included - some new little works that originally began as sketches for larger pieces (still to come to life) but ones that I am actually quite pleased with. The title of the theme comes from the fact that they are a little 'rough'. They are worked oils and graphite and coloured pencils with torn edges to the paper and the distinct marks of my hands in the form of fingerprints. Normally I try to keep my work as 'clean' as I can (in that I am messy but then try to remove the evidence of this by rubbing away hand-marks), however with these I enjoyed the tactile quality of working with the oils and the smudginess of the pencils.

Although I have been working away in my journals and sketchbooks in order to develop new work and ideas that have been arriving at a fast pace, I have been slow to put these ideas into practice. I am feeling really inspired by my reminiscence work and the way in which we would like to see ourselves represented, the objects and ideas that are important to us and of course there are little details of costumes and the past in there too.

I am looking forward to creating more of these and eventually making larger pieces based on the ideas, but mostly I am just enjoying putting my ideas onto paper. So much so that these will be available in my etsy shop! This Light is available here
Thank you so much for your wonderful comments on my dolls. I love hearing peoples views on them. I am not interested so much in whether they are 'liked' or not, more the reactions, whether of connection, discomfort, or even feeling unsure about them. So I do very much appreciate you taking the time to leave your comments.

Right back to work for me!