Tag Archives: travel

Quick Update • 6 Comments

Kirsty • February 13, 2010

This is a very quick update because I'm meant to be packing. My son and I are heading up to Scotland this evening to visit my folks.

Firstly, the talk went well on Thursday. I was quite pleased with the Powerpoint that I put together - only having a week to master the software made for a bit of a steep learning curve and a lot of late nights but I managed to put a simple presentation together. The talk itself was very well attended & the organiser said there was a good response to it. I think that I did OK, although my mouth was so dry from nerves that I got through two bottles of water in quick succession! But apparently I didn't look or sound too nervous, which was good. I had practised at home a lot, which definitely helped. I also watched this long but fantastic video by Garr Reynolds on how to structure Powerpoint & do presentations, which helped immensely. If you've got a talk coming up, I thoroughly recommend watching it - it'll be time well spent.

There was so much that I wanted to put in but had to leave out - 20-30 minutes isn't nearly long enough to give a good overview of blogging - so I may do some basic intro posts about the subject in the next week or two.

Secondly, I'm taking my laptop up to Scotland with the aim of writing 5 blog posts. I want to take my blogging up to the next level this year and my first priority is increasing the frequency of my blogging. I've been blogging 'hand to mouth' for far too long. I need to get a good backlog of posts written so that my blogging is not dependant on my dodgy health. So, if you've got any burning issues that you'd like to see me address, please let me know and I'll try to write about it. On a related note, if there's anything that drives you nuts about my site, please do let me know and I'll see if it can be fixed.

Lastly, congratulations to Gwen from Murphy Grace Home who won the Gary Vaynerchuk Crush It! giveaway. Thanks to everyone who commented. I wish you could all have won.

Right, I must go and pack, I'm just procrastinating now!

Edited to add:
Oops, I forgot this bit of news. I've changed a whole bunch of my photos over to the Creative Commons license. I'm retaining full copyright on my art photos but the more documentary ones are now available to use. The only restriction is that you can't take them and sell them. I would appreciate a Flickr comment if you do use them but it's not obligatory.

Meadow

Kirsty • June 8, 2009

Last Tuesday, the weather was so glorious that we took the opportunity to visit our beloved Virtuous Well over at Trellech. The joy of working from home is that you can occasionally take a day off in the middle of the week and go for day trips when it's quiet.

And what a delight to sit in blazing sunshine having a picnic surrounded by this!

Kirsty Hall: Welsh Meadow, June 09

The colourful rags were still on the tree, although there seemed to be less of them than last year. But perhaps this mass of green and yellow just made them less visible.

Kirsty Hall: Welsh Meadow, June 09

I left a small offering beside the well.

Kirsty Hall: Small Offering, June 09

Afterwards we walked over to visit the stones - one of these days we'll manage to visit the unusual, historical sundial at the local church as well.

Sort of back • 4 Comments

Kirsty • May 23, 2009

Hey there, I'm back - well, in body anyway, I'm not so sure about my mind!

Amsterdam was an interesting experience; I didn't immediately fall in love with the place but I had a truly wonderful time reconnecting with my friend, Red.

I found Amsterdam quite an odd place; it's very layered and compact and that gives it a strange, otherworldly quality - when I got home I described it to my family as "like an alien spaceport that has somehow been transported to our time zone". I can see how people find it magical but it didn't seduce me as much as I expected it would. However, I intend to go and visit Red regularly and I have the feeling that it will grow on me.

I didn't manage to check out the art galleries because there were lots of public holidays in the week I visited but we did visit a fantastic exhibition about Haitian vodou at the Tropenmuseum. I was captivated by the rough stitching and use of knots, sequins and fabric in many of the objects.

Unfortunately, I caught a nasty cough from Red's daughter that developed into a very persistent virus. Two weeks later, I'm still getting over it. Needless to say, this hasn't been good for my work however, I've been catching up on my reading and watching arts documentaries on SkyArts and the BBC's website. I also started drawing again for the first time in months, although I'm finding my current style rather stilted and tight. I think I need to break out the gesso again. Despite The Diary Project, I still have quite a troubled relationship with drawing and I struggle with accepting my own style.

I've been feeling more energetic in the last two days, so I threw myself straight back into my studio work and gardening. Unfortunately, I drastically overdid it and I've been forced back into bed today, which I'm finding incredibly frustrating. But it was absolutely great to get back into the studio again: it had been ages and I was starting to worry that I would never make art again! But as soon as I was well enough, my 'art joy' came back. I had been doubting everything I make and wondering if any of it was any good but a couple of days of work reconnected me to that deep satisfaction that I get from my own work. I still don't know if what I am currently making is good or worthwhile but I was strongly reminded that the journey is as important as the destination and that it's only through regular making that I'm ever able to get to the good stuff.

In other news, a couple of days after I got back, I became an auntie for the very first time. My youngest brother and his wife had a son on the 8th May. Elliot Fraser Hall arrived three weeks early but was still a very reasonable 6 1/2 pounds. He is apparently a very delightful and good baby and they're coping well. I'll be going up to visit in about a month, once my own son has got through his GCSE's.

And now I must go and rest again because I'm going out to my friend, Camilla's private view this evening.

Off To Amsterdam • 4 Comments

Kirsty • April 29, 2009

I'm off to Amsterdam today to visit my lovely friend, Red. I'll be away for a week and I don't know if I'll get a chance to update while I'm there but I shall certainly be taking lots of photos and journal notes to share with you on my return.

I'm planning to visit some art galleries and I hope to see massive amounts of these...

Kirsty Hall: Red Tulip, April 2009

OK, got to run, I haven't quite finished my packing yet!

London Calling • 6 Comments

Kirsty • March 2, 2009

The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Engines stop running and the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning - and I, I live by the river

London Calling - The Clash

Kirsty Hall: The Thames, Feb 2009

I'm not a natural London person - I usually find it a tiring and challenging place - but it definitely has its charms. And being near the Thames always makes me fall under London's grimy spell.

Kirsty Hall: The Thames, Feb 2009

I don't know what Londoners think about the river but I always experience it as a dark, brooding, magical presence in the centre of the city.

Kirsty Hall: The Thames, Feb 2009

On Friday night I walked along the river between The Hayward gallery and Tate Modern. The trees along the path sparkled with blue fairy lights. It was warmer than usual for February and lovers sat on benches wrapped up in each other and oblivious to the world. A man knelt on a small sandy beach making a large sand sculpture of a face while a woman drew a love heart with a stick and added her own and her lover's initials. A swan flew past with a haunting cry that echoed strangely over the water.

And everywhere the river lapped at the land like a thirsty beast.

Quick London update

Kirsty • February 28, 2009

Having a lovely but tiring time in London. Did some pinning yesterday afternoon, which was quiet but delightful as the sun was pouring in through the pins above my head. Rachael took a photo of me that I really like, normally I don't much like images of myself but I think this one has a very romantic and timeless quality.

Off to pin some more now while waiting for some internet friends from Ravelry to turn up. I feel a little sad to be taking the pins down today; they feel as if they belong here. Although I expect that the lovely people at Prick Your Finger will be finding little memorial pins in their floorboards for years to come!

Pin Ritual Opening • 6 Comments

Kirsty • February 24, 2009

Hey, what the hell happened to February? I know it's a short month but how is it possible that I'm going back to London to take down the Pin show this week? It only seems like five minutes since I put it up.

I've been meaning to blog about the exhibition opening at Prick Your Finger since it happened but for some reason I was finding this blog post very difficult to complete. It's only just occurred to me today that it's because I've been having a CFS crash since London. I've been exhausted, unmotivated, dizzy, getting frequent headaches and crucially, having immense trouble concentrating on words. But because it's not quite as dramatic as it used to be, it's become far easier for me to miss when I'm crashing. Ah, the joys of having a chronic condition - it's a constant education!

Anyway, the opening was pretty successful. Sadly Rachael from Prick Your Finger was ill and couldn't be there but Louise and Rosemary from the shop were wonderfully supportive and we had a lovely afternoon tea party with cake, biscuits and fine company.

Lots of people came, including some people I knew well (thank you, Dave and Daniel for your support) and several people whom I knew online but hadn't met before. I was particularly delighted to meet Felix from The Domestic Soundscape, whose work I greatly admire. I didn't know she was going to be there, so that was an exciting surprise. It was also fantastic to meet Katherine from Making A Mark and Mornington, whom I know from the wonderful LSG group on Ravelry.

Isn't this a fabulous drawing. It's by Johanna, whom I know from the Cafe Kino knitting group. I hadn't seen Johanna for a little while, so it was great to catch up and I was pleased to discover that she'd done a drawing of the event. I always love it when my work gets other people's creative juices flowing and there was a fair bit going on during the opening - as you can see from the drawing, at one point I was surrounded by crocheters.

The show also got some write-ups:
Abi from Craftycrafty.tv is a friend of Dave's. Dave is the best networker I know, his contact list is legendary and he's very generous at introducing people. I met Abi and her friend, Clare at Dave's book launch on the Thursday night and they were both kind enough to come along to the opening. Abi then wrote about the show.

Amelia's Magazine also did a fantastic write-up about the show. And my friend Camilla was kind enough to blog about it even though she couldn't come along. And Katherine mentioned the show in one of her weekly round-up posts.

If anyone else feels like passing on the word about the show, I'd be grateful because obviously I'd like as many people as possible to see it and it finishes this Saturday so it's your last chance to get along to see it.

Australian Water

Kirsty • December 8, 2008

Alas, after a couple of days where I was starting to feel better, the cold suddenly turned into bronchitis yesterday. I went to the doctor this morning and got antibiotics. Hopefully this will sort it out but words are still a bit beyond me, so here are some watery images from my Australia trip in the spring. Ah, how I wish I was back there swimming in the ocean instead of suffering through a cold dark winter in Britain!

Kirsty Hall: Manly Harbour, March 2008