At the bottom of my garden...

Phew, what a busy couple of weeks! 

We have finally finished the landscaping around the barn...

 ...and the garden has had a bit of a makeover too.

 You may have noticed a new tab at the top of the page - images and info to follow...

 Well, I have got together with a friend and have been producing hand painted signs for weddings and anniversaries for sale on her website...

It seems to be the perfect time of year for it...

I've had quite a few orders to fulfil...

But it seems I'm not the only 'Busy B' around here!

Back soon with more info - what have you all been up to?

Hugs, B  xxx

A beautiful find...

Today, while reading the paper on-line, I came across something that took my breath away...

'Gammelyn's Daughter'

Kirsty Mitchell is a talented photographer, who lost her Mother to a brain tumour in 2008. Her Mother, Maureen, was an English teacher who would read wonderful stories full of fantasy to Kirsty as a child. Unable to deal with the real world and the loss of her Mother, Kirsty retreated and created a fantasy world of her own that is now a collection called WONDERLAND.

'Euphaeidae'

'A Floral Birth'

'Lady of the Lake'

'The Lavender Princess'

'Spirited Away'

 I think these are some of the most stunning photographs I have ever seen. I have been back and looked at them over and over again and never tire of them. She has lots of other amazing work over on her website;
Kirsty Mitchell Photography.

I wait with baited breath for a chance to see them in the flesh at her next London exhibition.

I hope you enjoyed them too.

Hugs, B x

Vivian Maier - A Life Uncovered

Last week I went to a lecture at the National Portrait Gallery. It was part of a bigger exhibition, about Street Photography. It was incredibly interesting and I thought I would share what I learned with you.

This is Vivian Maier. Born in 1926, Vivian was of French-Hungarian heritage. She was employed as a nanny for many years but was rather reclusive and didn't have any family or friends. All through Vivian's adult life she took photos. Photos that captured American life from the 40's to the 90's. She also travelled extensively and always took her camera, recording what she saw.Vivian didn't share her photography with anyone. She died alone and penniless in 2007 and her boxes and boxes of (some undeveloped) work was put up for auction in a Chicago auction house. On that day a young historian, John Maloof, put in a bid for a box of photographs by an unknown photographer and left the auction house. He later found out he won the bid and after leaving the box in a closet for several months he decided to take a look at what he had bought...

Maloof discovered that there were more boxes out there that had been sold at auction and set about tracking them all down. He now has all but one of the boxes which amounts to hundreds of thousands of shots. Only about 10% of which have been developed so far. It's sad that Vivian had to die before we got to see the beautiful work she created. However, John Maloof is compiling a book about Vivian's life and work, which will be out in November and a film will follow next year. I find Vivian's work fascinating and I hope she knows how much joy her photography has brought to so many people.

Hugs,

B x

All images are from http://www.vivianmaier.com/