This week I'm talking about creativity having been inspired by the Wisteria bush at Loseley which is just about to show off it's perfumed jewels, tumbling vines of abundance and lilac deliciousness ( http://www.loseleypark.co.uk ) I try to write this post about a week before things happen. This means that if you live locally you can join in what I am writing about. But as seems to be the pattern of 2017, nature is one step ahead of me. The Wisteria doesn't usually come into full bloom for a couple of weeks but this year it is on the edge of opening up a little early.
The Wisteria at Loseley is an ancient old bush and it stretches across one half of the wall at the entrance to the walled garden. I like to sit on the stone bench placed alongside it and examine the detail of this huge sprawling mass of purple and green. Looking carefully and tracing the twisting stem across the wall I can follow a path of leaves and flowers. There are nooks and crannies. A shadowed cup of darkness where a bird might shelter. A flurry of bright purple flowers from where a bee flies. The shifting light and whisper of a breeze through the foliage. It is hard to capture and my photos don't really do it justice.
Happily this year the blooming of the Wisteria bush coincides with the Spring Garden Show at Loseley which is happening this weekend, Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd April. The walled garden will be filled with stalls selling plants, gardening items, wood sculptures and food and every visitor will be able to stop and admire the glory of Loseley's Wisteria bush.
In preparation for the Spring garden show the garden has been buzzing with activity. The ducks have been surveying the labours from their vantage point on the wall. I was taking a photo of the ducks when I noticed what I thought was a levitating wedding dress until I looked closer. ( I always presume that a flash of white in the garden is a happy bride, I see so many of them taking their wedding photos amidst the roses.) But this was no floating wedding dress, this was one of the gardeners in a white boiler suit spraying the greengages.
When I started this website and this blog I wanted it to be a celebration of creativity. My way of sharing all the beautiful stuff that surrounds me every day and I don't just mean in the countryside. In light of that I wanted to give a mention of a few things that are inspiring me at the moment.
I was recently browsing the Etsy website to see what art is for sale and how much artists are selling their work for. I came across this artist and loved his oil landscapes and flamboyant use of colour. George Miller is a young man living in Singapore. He is a self taught artist and I recommend you take a look at his art shop on Etsy if you like what I have posted.
It's so easy to get lost online, there is a wonderland of creative expression to be explored out there. A second inspiration as far as colour goes comes from Kim Keever, a former NASA thermal engineer turned full time artist who empties paint into a fish tank of water and captures the colourful images as they unfold.
(Thank-you to Miss Moss for the discovery of Kim Keever.)
missmoss.co.za is a South African blog written from one of the most beautiful spots on planet earth, Capetown. Diana has inspired me with her images of fashion combined with paintings.
Take a look at her website for creative inspiration, she features so many beautiful artists, photographers & designers.
Finally I want to mention an inspiring invitation brochure I picked up a few weeks ago. I was blown away by the photos and the theme 'be found in the field'. The brochure was shot in China and depicted huge rolling fields of abundant harvest. It featured women who are found in the field of life - labouring, harvesting, creating, celebrating.
For me it was an encouragement to keep on growing and blossoming where I find myself. To pursue the dreams planted in my heart. Take some creative risks. Labour in the specific field I find myself in.
The brochure I mentioned was commissioned by Bobbie Houston from Hillsong Church. I need to point out here that when I first met Bobbie Houston I was a student in South Africa and she was the speaker chosen to speak at a seminar on 'singleness.' She was the most ridiculous choice of speaker because she had absolutely zero experience of the subject having met her husband in her teens and marrying very young. I was so offended by her lack ok knowledge on the subject that I nearly walked out of the seminar. ( Next time ask me to speak, I have refined the art of singleness having nearly 30 years of expert experience under my belt in that particular field.) Seriously, can you imagine the reaction from expectant, frantic, exhausted parents looking for some help and hope if I, a single woman with no children, was asked to speak on 3 keys to good parenting based on my babysitting knowledge!
Twenty or more years later and I thought I'd mention that because in an ironic twist of fate, here I sit this morning admiring Bobbie's leadership and promoting the invitation brochure for the Hillsong Women's Colour Conference. 4 - 6 May, Wembley Arena, London. ( https://hillsong.com/colour/london/ )
I also wanted to copy out this section of the brochure because it made such an impact on me. These are questions asked of the young Chinese guide who was helping the group while they were in China shooting the images for the brochure ....
I asked her about her governement's "one child policy" that was in place when she was born and its impact on people. I asked her what happened if you fell pregnant accidentally with a second child. She said, "most women had surgery." I asked what happened if the baby born is a girl - " a lot had surgery or sold them to the people of the mountains, so they will work on their farms." I asked our little friend, "So, you're a girl ... why are you here? Why didn't your parents give you away?" She replied - "Oh I'm very lucky because my parents love me." In tears she repeated , " I am very lucky, but other girls are not so lucky."
So what about the girls who aren't so lucky, do they ever try to run away? She said that because they've been sold, they don't have ID, therefore the government doesn't recognise them, making a future impossible for them, so basically they don't exist.
I asked her could the trafficking situation ever change. her reply was that the problem was too big and impossible.
Reading this was humbling. I come from a family of four kids. I can't imagine how life would be without my brothers and sister.
Bringing myself back to my reality, let me finish where we started with the Wisteria bush and my beautiful sister. I took these photos of the Wisteria when I first moved to Loseley and had the delight of meeting my sister for lunch or a walk since she was working only a stones throw away in the Loseley Estate offices. She is the reason that I live at Loseley and for that I am very grateful.
