Merry Christmas - Dancing Trees

Merry Christmas from Francesca and the Dancing Trees

Papageno has disguised himself as a bird

My game is catching birds, you know

Here is Papageno, with his beautiful plumage, capturing the lovely Papagena.


It is one of my Operatic Finger puppet gift cards  now for sale through my website.

 Created on waking from deep slumber during Act II of Parsifal,  these gift cards are a unique tribute to some of the Literary and Operatic greats, handmade by me. 

Pay with Paypal, and shop with confidence and joy. 
www.francescakay.co.uk

Love on a muddy path

Here is a heart shape puddle on the bridlepath.

I took the photo from the saddle. The shadow across the bottom of the photo is Thomas standing while I made the image. I pointed out the heart to him, but he wasn't impressed.

Handprint horse

I saw my floury handprint on the apron hanging on the kitchen door.

It's a white horse, with a proud neck and long  face, trotting along with a wisp of tail blowing behind him.

In the dim light it looks like an image from a cave.

A Very Wise Horse

Here is Thomas, looking very wise.

He is enjoying living in a barn, kept warm by two thick rugs.

He's looking across to the snow covered Black Mountains.

Literary and Operatic Finger Puppet Gift Cards

My Literary and Operatic Finger puppet gift cards are now for sale through my website.

 Created on waking from deep slumber during Act II of Parsifal,  these gift cards are a unique tribute to some of the Literary and Operatic greats, handmade by me. 

Pay with Paypal, and shop with confidence and joy. 
www.francescakay.co.uk 

Here are two of the cards. Lots more on the website.
      

 Don Giovanni and the Commendatore

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

                                                              

Santa's Stressful Day

  I am Mrs Santa Claus, tellling the story  
 Santa's Stressful Day, helped by the elves of the Brass Ensemble of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

I wrote the story, and Gareth Wood wrote the music, and the work had its premiere on 28th November. 

Five performances, before the toughest audiences of all - small children!

Here I am with the Head of Elves, Kevin Price, who
conducted the  piece.

And here's the full ensemble.

Christmas Open Studio at The Print Shed

 Fantastic - I have poetry, and literary and operatic fingerpuppet greetings cards in this event!
 www.theprintshed.net

Ampersand - holly and ivy

Here is holly and ivy. I feel red is a little too vibrant, so will reprint with green, and put little red dots for the holly berries. I like the Santa hat though, in green it will look more like an elf.

I propped the linocut up on the laptop to take the photo, and really like the strip of  blue screen at the top of the image.

The Forest King Appears

 

 

 

 

 The Forest King, silhouetted against the trees in his domain.

The rusted iron of an old ornate fence post.

The handle of a giant's sword.

A Forest of Elf Hats

I made 18 elf hats. I realised if I stood them all up, and then lay down to photograph them, they would look like a winter forest.

This photo is the forest from the air

Ampersand - then and now

Another lino cut ampersand, providing the link between past and present.  I am pleased with the headscarf!

Dealing with loss 2

              I have been looking for a way to present haiku, and feel that a lino cut image might be it.

and then - the ampersand

I have always loved the ampersand - not least the wonderful sound of the word. It's a lively shape, and a gateway to the future. If you have access to the word AND then a story can never end.

This is my first ever linocut.
I am rather fond of the ampersand's handbag.

Poetry Reading at the Globe, Hay on Wye. 25th October

Most unusual, and rather fun - I am going to read at The Globe in Hay on Wye on Thursday 25th October - this Thursday! My presentation is called
Mythical Beasts, Haiku and Literary Knitting. 


I am looking forward to reading my poems, which are presented in seed packets, because I don't like putting poems on pages.

And I'll take Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with me too.

 Have a look at all the great events The Globe puts on.
http://www.globeathay.org

Alexander and Bucephalus

Here are Alexander and Bucephalus, represented by finger puppets. The horse's brown eye is visible in the photo, but the other is blue. Bucephalus was blind in one eye, which made him a little spooky when approached on his blind side. Alexander understood this of course.

Found Alphabet. Number 3. The Letter H

Here is a magnificent capital H, photographed at the stable yard this morning. It's formed from the dried mud that has fallen out of the deep pattern on the sole of a wellington boot.

I often see little mud grids and shapes like this, but never before a letter. Fantastic.

Moomin Clouds

I have just rediscovered the Moomin family, reading Finn Family Moomintroll. They are beautifully written stories, full of gentle humour and real warmth. These clouds look very like magical Moomin clouds, but I couldn't work out how to reach up and catch one, so I could clamber onto it, sit down  and float away.

Written in the Sand

Here's my haiku, written at Ferryside.


tide turns -
each day swept clean,
the sand remembers

 I love writing in the sand for lots of reasons, not least because when the tide comes in, the writing is swept away and the poem is gone.

I also like photographing writing in the sand, as it's not possible to stand tall enough to make a clear image.

My words flowed out into the sea.

Found Alphabet. Number Two. The letter T

Here is a very beautiful letter T, the second letter I have discovered for my Found Alphabet.
The first letter, A, I posted on 20.3.12.
This Found Alphabet project is going to take some time!

This letter discovered on the beach at Ferryside, West Wales.

Hi Tech in the Golden Valley

What a fantastic phonebox. Its battered and delapidated exterior with rust, flaking paint and glass pane missing make it an unlikely place to be able to e-mail, text, or phone.

It has a certain grandeur.

Autumn haiku

                                                 The pears are ripe now -
                                                 Each curve recalling blossom,
                                                 Summer sunshine, rain

All is Safely Gathered In - Harvest Time

Now the wheat has been harvested, I can ride in the stubble fields.

The sun is shining and Thomas and I are alone in a gold and green field.

My favourite pictures are those with Thomas's head in the foreground, as I capture the view we can both see.

The view from a horse's back is the best in the world.

Brunnhilde and the Perfect Pony

Here is Brunnhilde, surrounded by adverts from the Horse and Hound magazine. Everyone looking for a horse has a clear  and possibly unrealistic idea of what they want, but a horse not afraid of fire?

I think the horse threw her off into the flames, and then galloped away to find a more sensible owner. 

How to Keep Orchids

Orchids are really easy to keep, if you follow some simple rules.

All these orchids are on a windowsill outside my bathroom upstairs.

Here are my four rules for keeping orchids.

Orchids need a bright windowsill, but no direct sunlight, or at least very little. This is most important.

They need misting regularly.

Outside the bathroom they get some steam from the shower. Or in a kitchen they like the steam from the hot water in the washing up bowl. But you can do it with a mister.

Feed them with a little fertiliser like Baby Bio. I don't think they need special orchid food. Water regularly but sparingly.

Orchids come in transparent pots. The roots like light, so I think it's best not to put the transparent pot into a decorative ceramic pot, even though it may look tidier.

And don't cut off a flower spike when it finishes flowering. More spikes may grow from it. Wait until the spike dies down before you cut it off. The flower spike will need supporting with a green stick.

And if all this seems too much trouble, then treat an orchid like a long-lasting cut flower, and enjoy!

Household Guardians 2

My two cats have very different roles to play in my working life. One likes to watch over the computer, and keeps my poetry warm by sleeping on it as I try to type it out. He wakes occasionally and edits the verses by walking across the keyboard. He is an essential part of the creative process.

The other cat doesn't like modern technology and is outside in the shed, looking after the letterpress machine and art materials.

Lohengrin and his Swan Boat

I have been trying to visualise
Lohengrin floating down the
river, and have had the vision of a swan pedallo in my head, complete
with Lohengrin pedalling like mad.

Either that, or an actual swan very slowly towing Lohengrin who is probably standing in a little flat bottomed boat.

Anyway, Kermit as always has provided an alternative. Just don't ask him anything about himself!

Late Summer Flowers

 There is something wonderful about late summer flowers,
especially those with variegated foliage.

Here are two different phlox, both a delight.

I can't help feeling that they are a mid life crisis last gasp of excess plant.

 "Look at us - the summer's nearly over, but we're still vibrant and colourful!"

 It's not autumn yet.

Dealing with loss

Cecilie's garden ornament

at ease by my pond -
sunlight and shaded green,
a new home, absence

Exotic Creatures in Wales

Madame Butterfly drifts through the crowds at the Royal Welsh show in Builth Wells,

and a flamingo has a chat with two friends in the street in
Abergavenny.

Sleeping goats

Two goats sleeping comfortably together at the Royal Welsh Show.

It is the best way to pass a very hot summer afternoon.

Sensible goats.

And a pig with excellently placed ears for
covering the eyes.

Self Seeded, Blooming Unseen

Behind my shed, where the black wheelie bin lives, and there are some planks of wood I need to get rid of, and a plastic bag of garden rubbish waits for me to take it to the tip, and a kid's football kicked over from next door - the most beautiful self seeded snapdragon has grown in the gravel.

It has grown and bloomed with no help from me. Pale pastel colours lighting up the part of the garden where things are usually left, discarded or stored.

Noon day flowers - mesembryanthemum

Here are mesembryanthemums.
They only open in sunlight, so this year they have not been in full bloom a great deal.
The photograph doesn't do justice to the bright colours.
I grow some every year, as a way to entreat the sun to shine. The flowers stretch up and welcome the light and warmth. I find them heartbreakingly lovely.
The name has a Greek derivation, meaning noon flower.

Astrantia - a star in the garden

Here is astrantia - a cottage garden flower.
The name comes from the
Latin word 'aster' which means 'star.'

I love this starburst flower.
 Its easy to grow and flowers
all summer, the plant
covered in blooms.

I like the little cobweb on this one.