The Times They Are a-Changin'

The last twelve months or so have probably been, and will be, one of the biggest years of changes I've every had. From a very grotty start to 2017 with two operations and being very poorly, to the wonderful surprise of getting engaged in Scotland, surrounded by family, by the beginning of summer. I have also started a new 'day job' which takes up a lot more time than your average day job, with lots of truly lovely people. In a few months' time Sam and I will be getting married in the woods at home on the farm, and we know have a newfound respect for everyone who has tackled the logistical minefield of organising a wedding! It's hopefully going to be a very relaxed and quirky wedding mixing both our Chinese and English traditions. I've used the drawing I made for our invitations in this blog post. To top it all off, and because we don't do things by halves, we're also going to be building our first home at the end of the summer too. We've certainly had a few 'What are we doing?!' moments but it's all very exciting! Unfortunately, all of this means that art shows have been rather on the back-burner this year. However, I am still at the Teme Valley Market on the second Sunday of every month at The Talbot at Knightwick and write the monthly newsletter for the market stallholders. We will also, of course, be having our annual Christmas Open Studio- I know that some of you will recoil in horror at the thought of Christmas during all this beautiful sunshine, but that others, like me, will be starting to feel the very early beginnings of festive excitement! We're channelling our innter swan at the moment and going for the calm and serene exterior whilst peddling madly under the surface so I'm sending a very heartfelt thank you for 'bearing with' as Miranda would say!

In the Forest of the Night Exhibition

I'm absolutely delighted to be in the Art in Action Gallery winter exhibition entitled 'In the Forest of the Night'.

I really admire the work of Catherine Hyde and Flora McLachlan (the other two artists taking part) and am honoured to be in their company for the exhibition. I've seen Catherine Hyde's stunning work at Blue Ginger and bought some of her cards at the final Art in Action show. Her paintings are like scenes from stories of myths and magic of old. See more at her website here. I first saw Flora McLachlan's work through the Art in Action Gallery. It's hauntingly beautiful and makes you feel like you've stepped into a fairy tale. Find out about her here.

'In the Forest of the Night' is running from the 5th November to 24th December. The Art in Action Gallery (open daily) is a charming converted barn amongst the grounds of Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire. There's also a gift shop and tea room, so it's well worth a visit for an autumnal or wintry day out.

The exhibition will feature original artwork from my 'Winter' collection as well as a good selection of prints and cards.

'Dashing Through the Snow'

This painting is inspired by the deer seen on a wildlife tour in Ardnamurchan off the west coast of Scotland.
 I visited during the summer, but couldn’t resist the idea of turning these magnificent creatures into a wintry scene.

'Winter Moon'

There are stories linking the hare and the moon from all over the world.

The hare was believed to be the sacred beast of an Ancient Saxon goddess, Eostre. 
These mysterious creatures come out at night when the moon is full and became
 associated with life and re-birth.

'Midwinter Messenger'

There are stories linking the hare and the moon from all over the world.

The hare was believed to be the sacred beast of an Ancient Saxon goddess, Eostre. These mysterious creatures
 come out at night when the moon is full and became associated with life and re-birth.

He was thought to travel between worlds under the cover of darkness when the moon was full.
 In some stories he is seen in a positive light, and in others as a trickster.

'Mr Fox'

There are folk tales across Britain of a cunning foxy gentleman who tricks a young lady 
into agreeing to marry him with his elegance and fine manners. Little does the lady know that 
Mr Fox is planning to murder her. Foxes often represent male predators hunting female prey in 
these stories. Thankfully in most of the tales the lady is usually more cunning than sly Mr Fox.

'Robin Redbreast'

During the Victorian times, postmen wore red tunics as part of their uniform and
 were nicknamed Robin Redbreasts. Postmen delivered cards and presents 
over the Christmas period and the robin was used on cards to represent these 
bringers of festive cheer.

'Mab’s Mischief Maker'

Squirrels have long been associated with faeries, particularly Queen Mab. Mab was queen of the faeries
 according to British folklore and was believed to be accompanied by a bird and a squirrel on each shoulder. 
She was thought to be fond of mischief, including swapping human babies for changelings (faerie children).

Christmas is Coming!

We've had a fantastic h.Art, and that can only mean one thing…

Christmas is coming!

I'm in full preparation mode for some very exciting events to close the year with. Firstly though, we'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to support us during h.Art. We really appreciate it and couldn't have done it without you. It's very special for Mum and I to be able to take part in these events together and we're already looking forward to our Christmas Open Studio.

Here are just a few photos of our lovely visitors this year.

I'm currently feeling a little like Home Alone's Kevin as I prepare for my first ever show at the NEC, Birmingham- Crafts for Christmas.

This will be far and away the biggest retail event I've taken part in and is the biggest stand I've ever been able to fill. I'm at the scary stage of ordering vast quantities of stock, display materials and stand decorations and hoping it is all worth it!

Crafts for Christmas is a fantastic show. Alice and I have visited the last two years for 'research' purposes and have been thoroughly swept up in the festive atmosphere so I decided it was about time I had a go myself. 

The show is on from the 3rd to the 6th November 

9.30am-5.30pm (5pm Sun)

Click here for tickets which are £12 for adults when booked in advance.

Your ticket actually allows you entry into 4 shows on the day: Crafts for Christmas, The Stitching, Sewing & Hobbycraft Show, Art Materials Live and Cake International.

You can find me at Stand C04 where I will be demonstrating!

I will also be taking part in another very exciting event which I will be able to tell you more about at the end of the month.

The other main places you can find me before the end of the year are:

Saturday 29th October, Hereford Art Market, High Town 

Thursday 3rd-Sunday 6th November, Crafts for Christmas, NEC Birmingham

Saturday 12th November, Malvern Arts and Food, Abbey Road

Sunday 13th November Teme Valley Market, The Talbot at Knightwick

Saturday 26th November, Malvern Art Market and Christmas Lights Event

Saturday 3rd- Sunday 4th December, h.Art Christmas Open Weekend at Goose Farm

Saturday 10th December, Hereford Art Market, High Town

Sunday 11th December, Teme Valley Market, The Talbot at Knightwick

Be like a Swan!

Do you ever have one of those periods of time where it just feels like everything is going wrong?

This Summer has certainly been one of those. Firstly, I lost my beautiful cat Mia to foxes which left me heartbroken and feeling completely uninspired, particularly by the fox I'd only recently painted.

After months of living in a very wrong-feeling house, we decided to adopt three rescue cats, including an only five week old kitten. They are wonderful but two had cat/kitten flu and needed treating for that including some very gunky eyes dripping all over the house. Then somehow they also managed to get fleas despite not going outside yet! 

They have fully infested our bedroom so I can no longer lie on the floor with my yoga mat because they have been crawling out of the floorboards. We've been using every treatment we can find and although we seem to be making a little progress, the little delights just keep coming. 

The poor cats have had to be quarantined in the (thankfully large) bathroom. We chatted to the vets on the phone and found out we're doing everything right by combing them as often as possible and keeping them away from the main infestation in the house. We can't use any other treatment on them yet as they had already been treated. I've become an expert at extracting fleas and drowning them in boiling soapy water. I've never been so well acquainted  with my hoover and I've discovered a strong obsession with steam cleaners.

It's a horrible feeling when you can't relax in your own space or even work productively because you're constantly worried about where the little critters are coming from next although thankfully we haven't had any jumping on our bed recently.

My usual go-to is to have a bath when I feel a little overwhelmed with everything and it really helps me wash everything, mental and physical, away. But I can't do that at the moment and I must admit, it's really getting to me.

Last night, the lovely Whisper decided to completely miss the litter tray and we ended up with cat pee EVERYWHERE including up against the wooden cladding of the bath tub. It's taken a lot of cleaning up (mostly by wonderful Sam because I was teary tired by this point) and the smell is still lingering. Any flea and cat odour tips gratefully appreciated!

The cats are all absolutely gorgeous though and such a great mix of personalities. I cannot wait for the day when we are flea free and able to cuddle them all without immediately washing our clothing and getting into the shower!

I had perfectly timetabled my summer so that I would be well ahead of schedule for the rest of the year and have written so many blog posts, but thanks to this curveball that hasn't really happened. We have two days until one of our busiest weekends of the year. I had my stock all ordered and ready but had some damaged mount boards which were very promptly replaced. I'd kept these safely in the box until today when I discovered that they'd been dropped in transit by the courier and were all unusable. Steve from Cotswold Mounts is fast becoming my hero because he is sending some replacements out to me for tomorrow.

I'm writing this on my lunch break from our final two days of prepping for h.Art. It's been a bit of a rush, and I keep remembering things to add to my to-do list but I'm sure we'll have everything ready in time... I'm channelling my inner swan- serene and graceful above water, but paddling furiously underneath!

Dratsie

My latest work features an otter, or ‘dratsie’ to use its Scottish name.

Otters usually offer help to humans in folk tales by bringing food so are usually considered to be animals symbolising joyfulness, playfulness and happiness. Their Anglo-Saxon name was the ‘water-snake’ and in Celtic folklore they are referred to as ‘water dogs’.

Irish and Scottish highlanders believed that otters had other-wordly powers and that they secretly lived as part of kingdoms, like humans. Their rulers were called ‘otter kings’ and were thought to be accompanied by seven black otters. It was thought that the Otter king’s skin was magical and could protect an entire household from harm, but this came at a price. The person or beast who killed the otter king would die shortly afterwards. Legend says that the few surviving suporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden were all carrying king otter skin to protect them from harm.

This new design will be available as cards and prints at my open studio as part of h.Art from the 10th-18th September. Please see details below.

My Final Fox Design

Earlier in the year, I created this new piece of work entitled 'Mr Fox'. Foxes are very much out of favour with me at the moment after losing my beautiful cat Mia to one a few months ago. Unfortunately, I don't see myself painting any more for the foreseeable future but 'Mr Fox' was already finished and in my batch of recent work to be scanned and made into prints.

'Mr Fox'

There are folk tales across Britain of a cunning foxy gentleman who tricks a young lady into agreeing to marry him with his elegance and fine manners. Little does the lady know that Mr Fox is planning to murder her. Foxes often represent male predators hunting female prey in these stories. Thankfully in most of the tales the lady is more cunning than sly Mr Fox.

This picture is now available as a greeting card and print and is the second fox in my collection along with 'The Kirtlington Vixen'.

In British folklore witches were rumoured to be able to turn themselves into foxes, amongst other creatures.

According to the story, there was once a vixen in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire which no huntsmen were ever able to catch. Once day they finally tracked her down with their hounds and chased her for many miles. They thought they had her trapped when she ran inside a small cottage. By the time they reached the cottage, the only living thing they found inside was an old woman, slightly out of breath.

Please visit my Etsy shop or get in touch to order any foxy related products from me. I always have them with me at art markets too. The next one will be the Teme Valley Market at The Talbot at Knightwick on Sunday 14th August.

Herefordshire Art Week 2016

It's that time of year again when Mum (ceramic artist Lit Smith) and I start preparing for this year's Herefordshire Art Week.

This will be our third year taking part in the fantastic event. If you've never heard of it, h.Art is a prestigious annual event across Herefordshire (and some parts of Worcestershire) during which over 150 artists open up their studios to the public. You can meet the artist, chat to them about their work and even make a purchase directly from them.

This year h.Art is from the 10th-18th September

11am-5pm

Follow the pink signs for Venue KLS

Every year a guide is produced with all of the venues featured plus a little information about them. The guides are free and will be popping up in shops and galleries around the area over the next few weeks but you can find more information on the website here. You can also contact us if you would like a copy of the guide.

Here are a few pictures from last year to whet your appetite. We hope to see you there!

And if that's all not enough to tempt you, I bake a cake every day for our visitors to enjoy!

The Magic of the Hare

It seems like hares are having a bit of a moment; Every art show and gallery I go to features some kind of beautiful representation of these mysterious animals, yet we still can’t get enough of them. My hare designs are by far and away my most popular prints and cards, and I absolutely love to paint, draw and read about them.

So why are we so drawn to the hare?

'Midwinter Messenger'
Kate Betty Smith
Coming Soon as original, greeting card, small & large print

The hare features in many myths linked to the moon from all over the world. He was believed to be the messenger of the moon in many ancient legends and was linked to many gods and goddesses such as the Anglo Saxon goddess Eostre. In some stories he was though to travel between worlds under the cover of darkness when the moon was full. These mysterious creatures become associated with life and re-birth due to their appearance when the moon is full.

'Winter Moon'
Kate Betty Smith
Available as greeting card, small & large print

As well as being seen in a positive light, there are many myths and legends featuring the hare as a trickster closely tied to witchcraft. According to ‘The Lore of the Land’, almost every rural area in the country has stories of a witch able to shape-shift into a hare. The hare always managed to evade the local hunters but on occasion would become wounded and a trail of blood would lead back to an old woman’s cottage. Inside there was no sign of the hare, but the old woman had an identical injury. At this point her identity was usually revealed and her powers broken.

My favourite variation of this tale is from Tavistock where an old woman’s young grandson used to make a fair amount of pocket money by tipping off the local huntsmen as to the whereabouts of a particularly tricky hare to catch. They would always reward him for spotting the hare but could never catch her. One day, however, the hounds were too close to the hare for comfort and the boy was heard to shout,

“Run, Granny, run, run for your life!”

His grandmother arrived home panting, bleeding and exhausted, but safe and with her powers intact. There are also tales of children warning the witch in Breamore and Longtown, Hereford.

'The Messenger'
Kate Betty Smith
Available as greeting card, small & large print

There was said to be a very well respected and powerful witch in Zennor, Cornwall. Well, she was treated with great respect by all but her own husband who did not believe in her magic. One night he threatened to kill her because his supper wasn’t ready. She put on her cloak and left the cottage, but there was no sign of her, only a large hare where she had been. She appeared soon afterwards with a hot and steaming feast and the husband, unnerved at what he had seen, never dared cross her again.

The feet of rabbits and hares were also used as good luck charms, with the foot being brushed against a baby’s face to ward off misfortune. Actors also used them to apply stage make up and kissed them for good luck.

'Moon Gazing'
Kate Betty Smith
Available as greeting card, small & large print

In Cornish legend if a young girl dies of a broken heart, she is said to return as a white hare to haunt her former lover. There is a particularly grizzly tale of Lord Pengersec- a man who sailed to a distant land in search of adventure. He met and fell in love with a beautiful princess and promised her his heart but returned home to his wife in Cornwall. He was horrified when the Princess appeared at his castle with their newborn child and turned her away. The princess cursed him and he pushed her over a cliff to her death. Her ghost came to haunt him in the form of a white hare with blazing red eyes during a storm whilst he was hunting. His hounds and horse abandoned him in fear and he woke half dead, without his sword and full of terror. He went on to live a cursed life and his only son Marec disappeared and was never seen again after seeing the same spectre one stormy night in a flash of lightning.

My dip pen and ink drawing from Hallmark's 1999 version of
'Alice in Wonderland'

Perhaps the most famous hare in literature is the March Hare- companion to the Mad Hatter in ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. The phrase ‘mad as a March hare’ is thought to originate from their strange behaviour, such as boxing and jumping, during their breeding season. During the 18th century top hats were manufactured using hare skins. To prevent the fur from becoming matted, the skins would be kept in a bubbling vat of mercury nitrate and as we all now know, that’s quite enough to turn anyone into a ‘Mad Hatter’.

Messenger of the gods, moon gazer, trickster, shape-shifter, the ghostly form of the slighted lover. There’s such a rich history of stories surrounding the hare. I think they remind us of deep-rooted legends of the land and will always fascinate and inspire us.

If you would like to find out more about the folklore of hares, I thoroughly recommend two books I use to find inspiration for my work, as well as to write this blog post:

'The Lore of the Land' by Westwood & Simpson

'Spirit of the Hare' by Karen Cater

New Work: Highland Tiger

I come from a family of cat ladies. When it comes to our feline friends, the love is very strong which is why I was heartbroken to lose my beautiful cat Mia a few months ago. I miss her very much and keep expecting to see her around the house- my mind has even played tricks on me a few times when I think I’ve seen her lying on my bed, or coming in through the cat flap.

I decided that I wanted to paint a cat piece of artwork whilst the house feels empty and wrong. I like to focus on painting wild animals so I chose the elusive Scottish wildcat. 

Wildcats only remain in northern Scotland (they have died out in other areas of Britain) and are under threat due to a variety of factors including hybridization after breeding with domestic cats. There’s a fantastic program underway to try to conserve the Scottish wildcat which you can find out more about here. I was lucky enough to hear about the project on a wildlife tour in Ardnamurchan last year. I’m returning again next year and hope to learn more about how the project is progressing.

Known as the ‘Highland tiger’, the wildcat understandably has many folk tales attached to it and is an icon of the Scottish wilderness. It was even used in clan heraldry in the 13th century. The Clan Chattan Association (‘Clan of Cats’ formed of 12 different clans) use the wildcat in their badges and have the ominous motto of ‘Touch not the cat bot (without) a glove’. Be warned!

Charles St John had this to say of the wildcat,

“When caught in a trap, they fly without hesitation at any person who approaches them, not waiting to be assailed. I have heard many stories of their attacking and severely wounding a man, when their escape has been cut off... If a tame cat has 9 lives then a wildcat must have a dozen”.

There are tales of a Cat Sìth which was said to be either a fairy creature or witch. It appeared as a large black cat with a white spot on its chest and is said to haunt the highlands. It is thought that these stories are inspired by the Kellas cat which was possible a cross between a wildcat and domestic cat.

I really enjoyed creating this painting and the finished piece, entitled ‘Highland Tiger’ is going to be available in original, greeting card and print form very soon and I will be making a donation from every sale to the Wildcat Haven project.

Information from this blog post is from 'Scottish Wildcats: Naturally Scottish' by Kerry Kilshaw