Hi Everyone! As a heatwave has taken over where I live, I am hiding inside, working away.  Last weekend, I set up my printing press and pulled a couple of thistle prints.  Then I remembered that I carved this block last year and I never got around to writing about the prints or the books I made from them.   I would love to share them today along with another tip on block carving.

Continue reading Printing And Bookbinding – Enduring Thistle at InkTorrents Graphics.

Welcome to this month’s Wandering Camera.

Thistles are not what one would necessarily call very pretty flowers.  They are a wild sort that grows on invasive thorny plants.  Yet the fuchsia colour is undeniably vibrant and beautiful enough for me to seek out and photograph them, and paint them afterwards as well. 

A few months ago, on our third road trip in Scotland, I was looking forward to spotting and photographing them on walking trails.  I found quite a few variations of the flower in different areas. 

I hope you enjoy this set of my photos of wild thistles.

Continue reading Wandering Camera – Thistles at InkTorrents Graphics.

A couple of years ago I decided to take one photo per day for 365 days to expand my photography skills.   At the same time, I also hosted a linky party called Wandering Camera and invited you to join me by linking up your monthly photos.  Project 365 ended, and so did Wandering Camera.  Since then I have travelled quite a bit and have taken a LOT of photos.  Sadly though, they have stayed locked up in the darkness of my digital storage.

Continue reading Wandering Camera Revival at InkTorrents Graphics.

Purchase Scottish Penguin Glen Pattern

On Monday I sat down very decisively to work on something happy.  Meet the newest member of my penguin fold – a little Scottish penguin named Glen.  When I shared the initial sketch, Kris asked what a penguin keeps in his sporran.  As I was sewing, I thought of a little story.

Glen had always loved wearing his kilt, but the other little penguins made fun of him.  Instead of changing himself to fit in with the others, he spent his days roaming the hills and dales alone, having his own adventures.  Although he was happy to go about on his own,  he sometimes wished he had a friend with him.  During one of his excursions, he found a new hill.  As he walked up the hill slowly – he was a little penguin after all – it started getting colder and darker.  Rain clouds covered the sun and very soon, strong gusts of wind started blowing him all over the place. 

He hurried up the hillside and found an old broken ruin there.  The hill was in a remote area and the entrances to the ruin were all overgrown with brambles.  He took a little knife out of his sporran to clear a path so he could get in without spoiling his clothes.  As he was cutting the brambles, something pink plopped down along with a few Thistle flowers.  He loved Thistle.  When he bent down to pick up the flowers and put them in his little sporran, he found a small pink stone among them.  By this time, big raindrops had started pelting down on him.  He hurried into the ruin to sit inside a big stone fireplace.  There he sat, thumbing the stone and looking at the sky, waiting for the rain to let up a little.

Continue reading Scottish Penguin Glen at InkTorrents Graphics.