Autumn is suddenly very much here (hey, what happened to our non-existent summer?) and I have been gleaning.
Jean-François Millet: The Gleaners, 1857
OK, not literally gleaning from the fields but definitely harvesting.
Several days ago I pulled up the dying dill plant in my windowbox of herbs, cut off the fragile seed heads and sat them in a bowl to dry.
Kirsty Hall: Dill Seedheads, Sept 2008
Kirsty Hall: Dill Seedheads, Sept 2008
Yesterday morning I sat, half asleep, and gently plucked aromatic seeds from tousled umbels. The ripe ones fell off easily, any that felt silky under my fingers I left to dry out further.
Kirsty Hall: Dill Seedheads, Sept 2008
I ate one at the end of the task and the taste exploded in my mouth – one small seed so much stronger than a handful of the leaves.
Kirsty Hall: Dill Seeds In Bowl, Sept 2008
This morning I collected seedheads from the two poppy plants that arrived unannounced in my garden – in entirely the wrong place naturally! I cut them over a bowl to catch the tiny black seeds that spill everywhere with the slightest provocation.
I have been gleaning in my art as well. I am in a research phase so I’ve been reading a lot, using tiny scraps of paper to mark pages and then transcribing found words, phrases and ideas into my sketchbook. I’ve been searching through my boxes of images looking for just the right combination of visual information and trawling through ebay for the materials I need to start my next project. All seeds that will grow into something new.
Everywhere in my life; gleaning, gathering, hunting, harvesting, searching and storing.
Hi Kirsty, I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blogs, thank you! Do you know the artist Rivane Neuenschwander? I think she is great and thought that you might find her work interesting too. I hope to comment more one day, I have ment to for a long time but !
Happy Gleaning!
Marianne
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Hi Kirsty, I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your blogs, thank you! Do you know the artist Rivane Neuenschwander? I think she is great and thought that you might find her work interesting too. I hope to comment more one day, I have ment to for a long time but !
Happy Gleaning!
Marianne
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You’ll be storing nuts next! ;)
I love looking at the shapes created by plants when they come to the end of their active life and start to seed and die back. They make great shapes for drawing
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You’ll be storing nuts next! ;)
I love looking at the shapes created by plants when they come to the end of their active life and start to seed and die back. They make great shapes for drawing
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Beautiful fall photos! Our summer seemed very short this year as well, today, first day of fall … cold and rain ;)
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Beautiful fall photos! Our summer seemed very short this year as well, today, first day of fall … cold and rain ;)
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Thanks for the comment, Marianne, I’m glad you enjoy the blog. I wasn’t aware of Rivane Neuenschwander’s work but I’ll look it up, thanks.
Kirsty
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Thanks for the comment, Marianne, I’m glad you enjoy the blog. I wasn’t aware of Rivane Neuenschwander’s work but I’ll look it up, thanks.
Kirsty
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@Katherine.
Well, in the last week or two, I have gone through all my kitchen cupboards, tidying and sorting and decanting things nice new matching boxes (the Lock and Lock ones, they’re amazing). I’ve labelled everything with my nifty little labelmaker and yes, some of the things that I stored, were indeed nuts! I feel that I’ve been a good little squirrel so hopefully I won’t starve over winter!
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@Katherine.
Well, in the last week or two, I have gone through all my kitchen cupboards, tidying and sorting and decanting things nice new matching boxes (the Lock and Lock ones, they’re amazing). I’ve labelled everything with my nifty little labelmaker and yes, some of the things that I stored, were indeed nuts! I feel that I’ve been a good little squirrel so hopefully I won’t starve over winter!
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@Kim
Thanks, the loveliness of September almost made up for the depressing summer but as the month has switched into October, the temperature has suddenly plummeted and now we’re all wandering around complaining of the cold, putting on jumpers and drinking lots of nice hot cups of tea. I’m still knitting little baby things but I feel that I should be casting on for thick woolly socks and cosy jumpers.
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@Kim
Thanks, the loveliness of September almost made up for the depressing summer but as the month has switched into October, the temperature has suddenly plummeted and now we’re all wandering around complaining of the cold, putting on jumpers and drinking lots of nice hot cups of tea. I’m still knitting little baby things but I feel that I should be casting on for thick woolly socks and cosy jumpers.
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