Artists of the week - Peatbog Faeries

Probably no-one needs any introduction to the
Peatbog Faeries, but I picked them as this weeks artists because of the title track from their album Faerie Stories. It has a backing track of swifts flying round a house in Nice belonging to a friend - very timely just now with swifts everywhere. I was trying to find a clip of it to link to so you could hear it but I wasn't able to. There are some tracks on their web-site, though - enjoy

Artist of the Week - Christine de Luca

The marigolds are subbing for the sunshine which is currently lacking in our garden. We've had about 70mm of rain this week, and it's only Thursday!

This weeks artist is the Edinburgh based but Shetland-born poet Christine de Luca. She writes in both English and Shetlandic, and you can find my review of her latest book North End of Eden, which was published by Northwords Now

here.
You can also hear her reading at the School of Poets Courtyard Readings
on 16th August.

Artist of the Week - Margaret Bennett

This week's artist is the singer, story-teller and folklorist

Margaret Bennett.

As well as being a wonderful performer in her own right, Margaret is a gifted teacher. In 2009 she was teaching Gaelic singing to a class on Luing, and a blackbird joined in. She stopped the children so they could listen to it, but the blackbird stopped too, waiting for them to sing again. maybe blackbirds sing in Gaelic?

A quick reminder that the Spokes and Spades Renewable Garden tour starts at my garden tomorrow - if you want to join it, be at the Village hall, South Street Cambuskenneth at 10.30.

July garden pictures

The garden is full of sun today, so I thought I'd let you see how things are growing and flowering.
We started digging the early potatoes last week, but these need another week or two.

The sweet peas are just hitting their stride. I got the oldfashioned mix for their scent, but the colours are amazing too. At the end of the season I'll be saving seeds for next year.

These cranesbill geraniums seed themselves all over the garden, but the bees love them.

The gallica roses are over so fast but the scent is rich and wild and heady. I love it.

Poems to the Sea - a tribute to Cy Twombly

I usually find modern art challenging. I like it to be naturalistc and I have a preference for beautiful - which makes me fairly illiterate, I know. So Cy Twombly's exhibition at Tate Modern a couple of years ago was really challenging. But when I got it - I really fell for it. I was sad to hear of his death this morning, and post this poem in tribute to his "Poems to the Sea"

Poems to the Sea by Cy Twombly

Twenty-four slabs of white on white
blue constant horizon paint splashes
faint wisps of pencil

Mediterranean white white white
and when the sun comes up
becoming a lighter white

wave current ripcurl swell
weed flotsam bubbles spume
implicit goddess

painting the process of water
flows and falls of cloud
rain meeting ocean

painting the process of poem
words aimed shifted retracted
mind meeting paper

scribbles arrows overlays
the shape it takes on the page
the reveal in the process

Artist of the week Richard Ashrowan film-maker

Richard Ashrowan is based in the Scottish borders and makes films of intense observation of the natural world. My favourite (so far) isLament,http://www.ashrowan.co a study of the landscape where he lives and which he describes as 'odd and empty'. It is brooding and atmospheric and reminds me of the muckle sangs and the battle-scarred history of that part of the world.

Posting may be scanty for a while. We have major family stuff going on, which may result in a change of emphasis in my work. I'll be keeping up with everyone on line, as far as I can, but possibly not be very active myself.