Notes from our world

Nature. Art. Making. People. Places. Materials. Ideas.

A collection of things that inspire, intrigue and move us, added to slowly, as our world keeps turning.

Coral dyed cloth carrying the ghostly prints of leaves

Craft

What the leaves left behind

Four unglazed stoneware vessels on a wooden table, seen from above

Making

Four vessels, waiting for the kiln

A pendant built from pale scallop shells arranged as a hibiscus, flecked with gold leaf

The coast

A scallop becomes a hibiscus

Models lined up on stage at the close of a fashion design competition

Archive

Ten finalists, out of eighty three

Hand painted wooden earrings showing butterflies, irises and poppies

Colour

A morning spent painting earrings

A market stall of handmade soaps, candles and hair oils at a Sri Lankan craft fair

Markets

The stall, on market day

Fresh petals and flowers scattered across a white cloth before bundling

Nature

Petals, laid out before bundling

A pendant of gilded cowrie shells arranged as a star, on a gold chain

Gold

Cowries, arranged as a star

A glass candle topped with dried orange, cinnamon and cloves, held in one hand

Slow making

Orange, cinnamon, clove

A brooch of ribbed cockle shells scattered with gold leaf

The coast

A brooch of ribbed cockles

Hand painted wooden earrings with tulips, lilies and marigolds on dark grounds

Colour

Tulips, lilies and marigolds

Pale soap rounds and hearts on a white dish beside a cut aloe leaf

Slow making

Aloe, cut the same morning

An unshaded pen line study of a corseted top with flared trousers

Archive

A line study, before any colour

A gilded shell dish painted with fronds and set with scallop shells

The coast

Seagrass, painted onto pearl

An unglazed square clay tray with a starfish and coral relief in one corner

Craft

Starfish, pressed into wet clay