Dundee degree show

Yesterday I went to the degree show at Duncan of Jordanstone. I was pleased that the show was back in the art college building this year. The things that stood out for me were:
Zuzannna Bukala's amazing wooden dolls. They are a wonderful mix of traditional and modern, and they are the sort of thing I would love to buy if they ever go into production.
Sarah Bissell's illustrated Synaesthete's Alphabet was particularly interesting to me because I have synaesthesia.
Johanne Cameron's illustrations
Naomi Archibald's paintings
Meg Park's animation Kahani
Kelly Gray's paintings of road signs
Ian Ritch and Alison Mehta's pop-up book
Linsey McGregor's paper jewellery was fantastic - it reminded me how much I enjoyed experimenting with paper at the paper engineering course last year. Her pieces were very tactile and sculptural, and I would have been interested in seeing how some of the shapes would translate into precious metals. I also was interested in the work that she had done within a school, encouraging children to come up with their own wearable paper art.

Just a tiny rant - I really wish that artists who are having degree shows would make sure that they have a website (even a blog, it isn't difficult to set up) and that they have the correct address printed on their postcards. I always like to give credit to those artists whose work I particularly enjoyed, and some of them don't make it easy!

A great weekend

I had a really good weekend - Les Miserables with my uncle, aunt and cousins on Friday night, and my future sister-in-law's hen night on Saturday. Les Miserables was amazing! I've been listening to the music on Spotify ever since. It probably was the first musical I had been to see at a theatre since I saw Annie when I was in the guides (and in the same theatre)! It was great spending time with my cousins on both evenings, and I made some fun new friends.

Christian Aid book sale 2010

This is my fourth year blogging about the Christian Aid booksale at St Andrew's and St George's Church in Edinburgh. I wasn't sure if I was going to go, because last weekend was so busy, but I'm glad I did!

I bought:
A pair of Korean dolls £5
A tiny Swedish Dala horse (I've wanted one for ages) 50p
90-Day Geisha by Chelsea Haywood £1.50
Hotel World by Ali Smith £1.50
Out by Natsuo Kirino £1.50
Kyoto Gardens £1.50
Origami Birds (which is so cute and retro) 50p
The Courtesan and the Samurai by Lesley Downer (which was on my Amazon wishlist, and is by the same author as a book I bought last year at the sale)£2
A Japanese print £30
A pair of Japanese geta sandals £6
A grand total of £49, which is not as much over budget as I thought (I usually try to stay under £40, but the Japanese print pushed it up a bit this time!)

When I sat down to have my lunch, I discovered I was right next to a Japanese print, and decided to think about it over lunch. Then someone bought it while I was still eating! Then I went round a corner and discovered some unframed Japanese prints. The prints were £30 each so I thought long and hard before I bought this one, and I'm glad I did. It's got cherry blossom on it!

And I'm so pleased to have a pair of Japanese geta at last. They are fun to walk around in although I didn't really buy them to wear!

Garden of Cosmic Speculation

My friend Aurora invited me to go to the Garden of Cosmic Speculation with her and some other friends. The garden is just north of Dumfries, so it took us a few hours to get there from Edinburgh. It's only open one day a year. The garden was spectacular, and there was so much to explore.

Herb pots

I've recently been filling up the pots in my garden with some new herbs, including mint, rosemary, thyme, chamomile, lemon balm, sage, parsley, basil, and chives.

St Basil's Cathedral

A birthday card for Mum, based on St Basil's Cathedral.

Radley bag card

Another Radley bag card, a bit simpler this time.

Cherry tree survey

Today I took part in the Natural History Museum's cherry tree survey. I measured my two cherry trees and added them to the map. If you have any cherry trees in your garden or local area, the instructions on the website make it easy to take part.

Blythe dresses

I've made these two dresses over the past few days. The green dress was made for a felt dress making competition, and the blue one is an idea I've had for a while, made from a child's dress.

Visit to St Andrews

I went to St Andrews yesterday, firstly to the botanic garden, and then to the Cathedral where I met up with an online friend, Alice, who also collects Blythe dolls. This was my first time taking photos of my dolls in public, so it was good to have a friend for moral support! We had a great time photographing our dolls, and only got a few comments from passers-by!