Today it has rained and rained all day the stream is full the hills are silver with lights playing on the water and the world here is beautiful and reminds me so much why I wished to live here in the solitude of those hills.\

The world is a very sick place and there are not many places now I wish to see unless they too are wild or in the wildernesses that we have left.

Nature and solitude cannot be underrated and the pretense made by man to sort his greedy world by recycling and conserving makes me cross,because whilst money and time is spent on this,children still starve children are still abandoned and old people are just left to fend for themselves.Anyway enough of that today has been away to walk in this rain and marvel at the power of water and the power due to lack of water.This evoked all kinds of thoughts regarding my future work and where I want to be this time next year, for to grow we must not stand still or look back but keep moving and developing.

I have been offered quite a few opportunities of late and maybe I found myself swept up in the moment of these without actually deciding what I wanted and what my spirit needed to develop my art more.Certainly plenty to think about   and I do feel that next year will be my last year of travelling to teach.

I will still take my few individual students who wish to learn properly certain techniques but not be on the merry go round around the globe .I also feel as artists we should begin to be more thoughtful of our carbon footprint when thinking of teaching .Of course it is lovely to have friends well acquaintances around the globe but soon the bubble of it all being a small world will burst.

love to see new lambs and especially my friend The Zwartble

That said I am starting work on a new body of work and whilst in Ireland and talking to people at various centres I see a way forward for the Dutch felting exhibition to maybe gain funding and travel to Ireland and other cities so it can be viewed by oh so many more people.

My design brief for the Danish knitwear is almost complete and ready for their shows and very soon we will be in 2013 when I will teach abroad twice that year.

Rain is reflective and seductive and today for me has been beautiful to see the reality behind our time here.Beautiful pieces from the Dutch felting exhibition