A clock without hands

At Nottingham train station they have a clock with no hands. I thought this was a particularly peculiar place to have such an object as most of the people there would be waiting for a time to arrive. The clock would never provide the time and so people could just keep on waiting. (If by a freak occurrence no-one there owned watches or mobile phones!)

A clock without arms is surely just a circle or is it a symbol for the lack of time we feel we have, or don’t have. I liked it. It made me feel calm. Time wasn’t flying by. I was departing and had no-one to meet, so time was washing over me. I think more clocks should just be circles. It would make for a less pressured environment.

In a past office job of mine there used to be two clocks at either end of a corridor, both stopped still. One stated home time and the other stated lunch time. It was cruel, as my mind would always register them even though I knew they were broken and wrong. This corridor showed the time you wanted it to be but it was only right twice a day. On reflection I should have made them handless.

Chairs and tubes

On Sunday, after a huge Sunday lunch I spotted a chair with a cardboard tube on it. This was a joyous combination for me!

I think I would like to show these photos as a collection or give the image a new lease of life by printing it on other things that are viewed as useful. I would like to complete my map too so you could see where they were located.

Specimens

For my lovely Mum’s birthday, I decided to paint some watercolour butterflies. I had painted backgrounds but decided that I liked the idea of suspending them in glass so they looked like specimens.

I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of butterflies. I think they are so elegant and beautiful. I have become a slight butterfly addict and unlike drug addiction, or an over zealous attitude to booze, my friends and family completely support it. I would go as far to say that they encourage it entirely by buying me anything butterfly related they see.

Below: I bought these hand painted butterflies from the history museum in Birmingham. £1 each! Absolute bargain.

Circumference, Width and Length

I have gathered most of my cardboard tube collection and decided to order them. I’m still not entirely sure what I find so attractive about cardboard tubes but I really do like them.

Circumference

Width

Length

My house is my new studio space and it is working a treat so far. Just in the process of sorting out the spare room too.

Roadside

The fence round the corner from my parents house has various interesting features.

Riverside

Al and I went for a walk down the river Cole in the morning before breakfast. The light is incredible and creates great shadows. Every time I go back to Birmingham I visit ‘down by the ford’ as we call it in our household.

I like this one as it looks like a Pigeon without an audience.

Canalside

I find the ruin and decay in cities beautiful. Birmingham has some really amazing industrial looking areas. We walked from ladywood to Bindley place and the contrast from one to the other is extreme.

Beautifully taped

Rebecca Ward makes beautiful tape installations. My friend K sent me the link today and I cannot get over how long this must have taken, and the patience too. As someone who has worked with tape before, I know the furstrations it brings all too well. She uses a mixture of duct, electrical & vinyl tape. I think you’ll agree these are great!

A folder named random

I have a folder on my laptop that’s named ‘Random’ where a lot of photographs I take just because I like them as sights or images are kept. I think it’s about time I unleash the random upon you!

Birthday tea

For Caroline’s birthday (Hope you had a lovely birthday!) I painted a tea cup for her birthday card. I have got a long way to go before I am any good, but buying a thinner brush meant I could capture more detail.