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Today’s walk: A return to West Dean Gardens
When we visited West Dean Gardens in the summer it was too warm to get out to the arboretum and we pledged to return. Today we did that.
It was a lovely day to be out among the trees and the art. Breezy loved the arboretum. Or maybe the sheep. Either way, it confirmed our July decision: the arboretum would have been too exciting for her in the heat.
I enjoyed the three sculptures, Regeneration, Calm in Chaos and Portal by James Wild, which I think have been installed since our previous visit. Although Regeneration and Portal look similar, the scale is different. Portal sits on top of a plinth, while Regeneration stands on the ground and is taller than me.
On our last visit we were impressed with how dog friendly the gardens were. We tried the café today and found it dog friendly throughout, with no segregation required. One of the waiters even came and made a fuss of Breezy.
The shop is a lovely place to browse too, with a great collection of well-curated items. We left with a couple of gifts for friends and family.
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Lino printing week 3: Combined colour
Week 3 of the lino printing class at Waterstones. This week’s skill was Combined Colour. Today’s class started with a fun bit of colour play. We were each given a small solid piece of lino, a sheet of acrylic with some inks on it, an inky roller and a dry roller. We made three or so prints and then passed the tools on to the person on the left. Some of the inks had been mixed with a translucent solution which would affect how the colours interacted.
I was intrigued by the idea that a “magic” additive could make an ink translucent, so the colours underneath show through when you print over them. The inks on our sheets were already mixed, so I couldn’t tell which did what, and I’d have loved more time to test it properly. Something to come back to.
Then we got to work designing and cutting. I went super simple today, despite having a more involved design in mind earlier in the week. I figured it was better for me to spend the time playing with colour rather than cutting, so I could learn from the skill of the day. The other design gets tucked away for another time.
I decided to cut some trees into one block and left the other as a solid base colour on our tutor Zara’s advice. As she said, I could always add detail to the second piece if time allowed, which it didn’t today. I also used scissors to cut the top of the lino away, leaving a white sky. This saved me cutting time, which left more for printing. Another good tip to remember for future designs.
I was still inking up my final prints while everyone else was packing away, but I did end up with a design that looked roughly as I’d envisaged. With a little more time I could have got the inking just right, but it felt wrong to add ink to my acrylic sheet while everyone else was busy cleaning up. I learned a lot this week.
There were, as there always seems to be, some people more talented artistically than me, so I have to focus on what I can do week by week. I find coming up with a design on the hoof quite difficult. I suspect that, having spent so long appreciating prints, my tastes and my skill level are not balanced yet. I might have to invest in some equipment at home so I can finish some of these pieces off to my satisfaction and continue my learning.
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Ivy as adornment
Spotted in St Nicholas Rest Garden this morning. The brightness of the red against the tree trunk made it look like someone had decided the tree needed a bit of adornment. But no, it’s ivy growing up the tree. Nature doing its own decorating.
