Seeker

I was full of hopeful expectation. This time I would create a painting I wouldn't be too ashamed to show in the art class exhibition in August. I love wet-in-wet watercolour landscapes, so was pleased that was what we worked on in the "Watercolour Improvers" class this week. I started with a photo like this, by Iain Macaulay taken in 2007 at St Fergus Links, Aberdeenshire. I assembled my watercolours for a wet-in-wet painting. I liberally soaked the paper in clean water as instructed by my tutor. I tentatively dropped in phthalo blue, raw sienna, raw umber to create my interpretation of sky, sea, sand dunes and grasses. The lesson was about moving the paint around the paper while still wet, learning both to control and go with the flow. The tutor had made it look so easy in her demonstration. I was so disappointed with my efforts. The tutor took pity on my cry of 'this isn't working' and with my permission picked up my biggest brush and continued ...

This poem by Brenda Marshall made me laugh last night. It's published in 'Nubs', The Dappled House 2004. The Sting Two queue. She said, "We'll wear our best: The stripy vest That's gold and dark With pointed pin. We must get in This ark." Oh, Noah, Victim of a con, If you'd been smart Wasps could be gone. Would the world be better without wasps? For people like me who have severe reactions to their sting, a wasp-free world sounds good. But would it be? According to entomologists, even wasps have a useful place in the ecosystem of which we are all a part. The many species of wasps control many other insect species including those that may devastate forests and food crops. Like their bee relatives some wasps are pollinators. OK - they have their place, but I still don't like them and would prefer them to stay away from my place. Image Credit: Flickr, CC License

Wanting to think about celebrating Ascension Day, I did a Google search. Glancing over the first few results, I was startled to read that,  "Ascension Day is like a narcotic, laced with danger, and totally addictive." This was a million miles from my experience today or any other Ascension Day that I remember. Was this why some of my stricter Scottish Presbyterian ancestors refused to celebrate this or any other holy day apart from the weekly 'sabbath'? Was this 'danger' associated with those places that used to mark parish boundaries on this day by ritual beating of young boys? I went to the website with the quote. It was Amazon advertising 'Ascension Day' - a novel by John Matthews and quoting a review by John Jordan in Crime Spree Mazazine. The review continued,  "Impossible to put down. This is what thrillers are meant to be."  2000 years ago, religious and political leaders thought they could put Jesus down permanently. The...