© Alison Day
Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flowers. Show all posts
Thursday 6 August 2015
Monday 11 May 2015
Blooming Interlude
As lovely as having a garden can be, they involve a great deal of work to keep them looking effortlessly beautiful.
Yesterday, sporting pink gardening gloves, I freed a small patch of its carpet of weeds. A weed which initially looked pretty, with shiny green, watercress-shaped leaves and tiny, fluorescent yellow flowers, but ended up with the whole garden in its grip.
After that, the next step was rejuvenation, as I removed the dead plants and filled the space with several, rather funky, red-tipped grasses called: Red Baron (Imperata cylindrca). Buster, my tom cat, helped—digging, peering into plant-ready holes and pouncing on earthworms, as they wriggled out of clods of earth.
But that wasn't the end of it, because once you start, something else will need attention. The vegetable plants and herbs that had been dominating the house for so long, were clamoring to be let out to play: courgettes and gerkins, aubergines and tomatoes, basil, coriander, cumin etc—they all received their wish—sunny spots in pots.
Today, with my coffee, I relax and admire the results of my labour, resigned to the accompanying aches and pains, from all that bending and crouching—right to my very fingertips. Although my efforts are but a scratch on the tip of an iceberg—the weeds have been warned!
Hmmm, what's that noise? I'm sure I can hear the sound of tiny, revving engines...
© Alison Day
Saturday 21 March 2015
The Queue
At last, the first day of Spring and there's already a queue in the garden ;)
For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and coverBlossom by blossom the spring begins.
—Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909)
© Alison Day
Friday 13 March 2015
Gold Springtime
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
—William Wordsworth
© Alison Day
Friday 8 August 2014
Pastel Landscape
Landscape by Alison Day
Day 4. Prompt 4: Landscape - #spoonchallenge via @spoonflower #illustration #alisondaydesign
Tuesday 17 December 2013
Bloom Society
Hollyhocks
'... The mother loved them years ago;
Beside the fence they used to grow,
And though the garden changed each year
And certain blooms would disappear
To give their places in the ground
To something new that mother found,
Some pretty bloom or rosebush rare—
The hollyhocks were always there. ...'
Beside the fence they used to grow,
And though the garden changed each year
And certain blooms would disappear
To give their places in the ground
To something new that mother found,
Some pretty bloom or rosebush rare—
The hollyhocks were always there. ...'
- Edgar A Guest
Alcea, commonly known as hollyhocks, is a genus of about 60 species of
flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. They are native to Asia and Europe.
For prints (watermarkless!): Here
Illustration: ©Alison Day Designs
Verse via: All Poetry
Saturday 2 June 2012
Millefiori
The art of Millefiori —Thousand Flowers, dates back to sixteenth century Venice, in which coloured glass rods are fused and cut to create flower patterns and incorporated in glass to make beads.
Alison Day Designs
Friday 18 June 2010
Jessica Lelieveld
Jessica divides her time between a house in the
countryside, situated in Norg (which she shares with her family and two dogs)
and her studio in Groningen. With two such different worlds at her
fingertips, she finds plenty of influences, which can be photographically
captured. After much contemplation, an idea will emerge and this she then
interprets in clay.
Particularly interested in the transience of
existence, she is fascinated by the process, structure and colours in nature
when something dies away. Layers and organic forms are recurrent themes in her
work and with this in mind; her interpretation of the four seasons has emerged.
This consists of twenty clay panels (mosaic-like in their layout), depicting
the flora and colours typical of each season. During my visit to her studio,
winter and summer were laid out on display, ready and waiting for the panels to
be joined together with a copper-coloured wire to make a wall hanging.
Other current works include lamps; one of which has
as its base form, a large stripped walnut tree trunk, encircled by metal
swirls. The finished product will symbolize the relentless continuance of life.
On display in windowsills smaller works can be seen, comprising of a series of
clay tiles, some displaying cross-section slices of a small tree trunk, some a
procession of pebbles, ever increasing in size. The roundness of the forms she
uses symbolizes nurturing whilst the tile procession that of evolution.
With beautiful high ceilings and ornate decorations,
Jessica has renovated her studio-house, imprinting on it her signature style,
with a touch of the modern here and there where appropriate. Future plans are
to decorate every room, door and space with her work so that it becomes an
artistic house, where it would be possible to spend the night, or artistic
companies could come and hold workshops and inspirational events.
Apart from the natural world, another inspirational source (as well as his philosophy) comes from the Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He was best known for the colourful buildings he designed as well as being a champion of human and environmentally friendly construction.
Jessica is a member of a collective of artists, Galerie Huis ter Heide, which can be found in a converted stall of a farm in Drenthe. The exhibits are refreshed every couple of months with new work and all works are for sale. More about the collective can be found at: Galerie Huis ter Heide.
The aftermath of the economic downturn has had its effect on every walk of life and particularly that of the artist. I asked her what kind of effect it has had on her and her work. From her reply it seems that art fairs have become more important as venues for artists to show and sell their work, as well as making a concerted effort to offer a selection of work in a broader range of prices. Jessica intends to show her work at a couple of these fairs, as well as taking part in Art Explosion, a platform for artists, which occurs annually in Assen.
She has no issues about parting with her work when it comes to selling it, for her it’s the process that is important, particularly whether her idea is feasible, not only from the design perspective, but within the confines of the size of her clay oven. The biggest ‘present’ for her is that she can make people happy with her work.
Monday 14 June 2010
Vertical Gardens
With the ever-diminishing urban space, created by an ever-increasing world population's demand for more living space, plus the already sprawling cities, space is at a premium often leaving little room for the inclusion of a reasonable amount of greenery. For those fortunate enough to have a garden this is not such a problem, but for those with little space or any kind of garden area to speak of, vertical gardens could be an interesting proposition.
Being myself the proud owner of one such pocket-sized space in the form of a balcony, I am well aware of the limitations when it comes to planning one’s greenery for the summer. What to choose, flowers or edibles or a mixture of both? It only takes a few strategically placed terracotta pots and the space is full, leaving only enough room for a small table and a couple of chairs.
So, why not plant upwards, vertical space is plentiful? In doing so, a living wall can also transform the whole side of an ugly concreted and blokish building just by the use of greenery. This is a visually more pleasing picture to the eye and is environmentally friendly too. Possible on any type of wall this can be applied not only to the outside but also the inside of buildings as well. For example to residential courtyards, shopping malls, businesses - just about anywhere with a wall and access to a water supply.
As far as setting up goes, using soil is optional and plants don’t mind growing vertically without it, as long as the all important irrigation system is in place. Plants used are dependant on what is seasonal and available in the area. This is according to the findings of Patrick Blanc, a Frenchman and artistic pioneer in this field.
The increase of green areas within the urban grey, are important not only environmentally, but as people friendly spaces inviting people to linger a while. In this day and age we need more places where it is possible to pause for thought, away from our frantic lifestyles and soaring stress levels, and what could be better than being surrounded by vertical gardens.
Back to my balcony, so how does one realize a vertical garden on a postage stamp? Easy! No, it’s not the trellis/plant rack option. Take an old bookcase; lay it flat on the ground and drill holes in it so that a hosepipe can be threaded from top to bottom in and out of all the compartments. Puncture the hosepipe at intervals to ensure that every compartment will be irrigated. (It would be at this point if I was on the craft section of Blue Peter, a children’s TV programme in the UK, I might say ‘and here’s one I made earlier’, but I digress…) Fill all the compartments with soil and then cover the whole thing with a hessian sheet or sturdy gauze and staple round the sides. Lift up the bookcase to an upright position. Make holes in the hessian at intervals, and now you’re ready to plant plant away in abundance!
As a thing of the future, vertical gardens (also known as sky farming), could provide city inhabitants with a source of fresh herbs and vegetables in limited space, although levels of pollution in some cities might be a cause for concern. As for me, although I like the idea, right now I don’t have a spare bookcase kicking around to give this idea a whirl, and storing one’s books in terracotta pots just to realize this project, just wouldn’t look quite right.
© Alison Day
Tuesday 1 June 2010
The Language of Flowers
The language
and the giving of flowers (known as florigraphy) can be said to have started as
far back as the 1700's by the Persians, as discovered by Charles II of Sweden,
who then introduced the practice to Europe. But it was the Victorians (during
the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901), who developed this into a whole
new language and their practices are best known today, because much of it has
been well documented in books and journals of the time.
In their
very protocol dominated society, the Victorians often replaced words with
symbols and gestures, and flowers became an integral part of being able to
express one’s thoughts and feelings to loved ones. The species, colours, number
and grouping of the flowers were of great importance and as there weren’t as
many flower species as there are today, each flower had a specific meaning. A
particular favourite was the red rose, symbolizing passion and love, and
meaning “Be mine’, whereas primroses stated, “I can’t live without you,” purple
hyacinths, “Please forgive me,” and pink carnations, “I’ll never forget you.”
For roses
there is a particular coding, but this can also be applied to other flowers as
well. Red roses mean romantic love, purple signify that the giver had
fallen in love with the recipient at first sight, coral and orange means
desire, yellow is joy and friendship, pink roses express gratitude and appreciation,
light pink roses show feelings of admiration and sympathy, peach can either
signify either sympathy or gratitude and white roses show reverence and
humility.
The
messaging didn't shop there, how the flowers were worn or presented was also
highly charged with meaning. If the flowers were presented upright it was
positive, upside down and you were less fortunate. Also, how a ribbon was tied
around the flowers was of importance; it referred to the giver if tied to the
left and the recipient if tied to the right. A question could be answered
depending on which hand the bearer had presented the flowers with. If it was
the right hand the answer was "yes" and the left hand "no".
Should you have the misfortune to receive a bunch of dead flowers then not only
did you now have nothing for your vase, your love had been totally rejected.
In order to
attract positive chi in Feng Shui, flowers and their placement within the home
play an important part. Dried flowers should be avoided at all costs as they do
not ensure a good energy flow. Sunflowers bring stability and endurance,
cyclamen bring passion and romance, the spider plant encouraged calmness,
whereas African violets attract fame, or recognition. For calm regions of the
house such as bedrooms, pinks are best for harmony, for busy areas,
balance-inducing lilies and orchids are suggested.
These days,
giving a bunch of flowers is more about the sentiment behind the gift than its
actual meaning. We seem to have all but lost (with a couple of exceptions) the Victorians’
language of flowers. So go on, next time you give a bouquet, really say it with
flowers.
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