LET THE SUN SHINE IN.

Now that the clocks have changed and there is already talk of Christmas it would seem winter is truly upon us and yet today it certainly didn’t feel like it. I’ve still been waking early, and maybe it’s something to do with getting older but I no longer leap out of bed, preferring to spend an extra half hour reading. However I like to catch the sunrise when it heralds a good day. During a recent walk out onto the moor I was reminded that this is truly the rainbow coast at this time of year.

Those angel rays of autumn lift the spirits like nothing else can. Getting over a heavy cold and having to be inside meant that the light quality at this time of year has become very noticeable. The dawn is long and slow with the sun being lower in the sky and it also penetrates further into the rooms, highlighting, reflecting and lending a warming glow. My croft house faces due south and the sash windows are generous for the size of the rooms.

I have never been one who craves the massive glazed façade and have as an artist always worked with the quality of light rather than the quantity. I’ve never been a fan of open plan either, as I need wall space and a sense of discovery that internal walls provide. I can’t imagine not having doors to close, not just for privacy, but to keep warmth within a cosy space. I have in the past tended to live in large houses, which I’ve had no trouble in filling, but often found myself deliberately making a tour of the house simply checking everything was still there. The two up two down is a perfect size for me, and filling it with things that give me pleasure has been great fun. I did a count the other day of how many objects within the house that I have made and it topped 130. Now that’s what I call making a home.

I have three embroidery projects on the go and the studio is a chaotic mess, but out of that chaos I know good things will come. In the barn the workshop is equally chaotic as I near completion of another dolls house. A croft house this time, and an opportunity to whittle away the hours over the next couple of months making miniature furniture.

 

I received my free copy of Banjo Beale’s “Wild Isle Style” book this week and it read as if I was talking to myself so much were the sentiments and thoughts on design and not buying new akin to my own. I realise now having got very little space to change things within my own croft house that to play in miniature is a great alternative.

Daylight hours diminish at a pace as dusk and dawn creep in opposite directions. I hear friends talking of duvet days and worry when they’ll ever get the washing dry, while I look at the remains of my peat stack and wonder how long it will last. Keeping warm was easy when I was physically fit and my body could handle energetic projects, but now I must choose which fire to light and move whatever project I have to it. I flit from the kitchen table to studio and back again, but today the sun had warmth and I only lit the Rayburn late afternoon to bake a cake and take a bath in the Belfast sink. Yes, it is possible.