Turning towards the light

And so the year turns, away from darkness, revolving into light, our blue planet tumbling through the mystery of time and space...

A patch of blue sky

Dazzlingly bright and sunny yesterday, and still able to see my lovely Nutclough Mill through the gap.

The long thin format of the view is growing ever more like my woodcut print of Nutclough though the view for the woodcut is from a high vantage point looking down from Moss Lane , whereas the view from Brooklyn studios is looking upwards.

What I like in the photograph is the glowing orange of the brick side wall complementing the cold blue sky.

Changing Light

Two views from my studio space taken on Friday with a gap of a few hours between shots.  The murky morning turned into a more pleasant if very cold afternoon.

Feeling a little bit sad that the view has been curtailed since then by the installation of our new studio stairs, but on the other hand I've gained a new wall to hang work on and there's still plenty of light coming in from the high window.

Fortunately I can still see Nutclough Mill from my space, I just have to move to a more specific spot to get the angle right.  For 14 years I had a view of Nutclough from the other side, from my rented house, actually one of the original mill workers dwellings.

During that time I took loads of photos of the mill from my kitchen window, in all kinds of weathers and at different times of the day.  I'd like to put together a selection for this blog, but will have to digitise them first as they were all taken on film.  A project for the new year I think.

Its strange how certain buildings seem to follow you around - even though they're totally anchored of course. When I moved from Nutclough City Limits (as we used to call it) I thought thats it I'll never gaze on the mill in the same way, but here I am a few years later still staring.

Festive Open Studios

Yes its that time of year again, when we open up our gallery and studio spaces to our friends. acquaintances and the general public.  I designed this poster over a year ago but it never got used except by me for a few invitations.  So this year its getting a proper airing, or should that be snowing? The lace elephant is from a treasured remnant  I had from my grandmother many moons ago.

It looks as though the heavy snow will put off many of our visitors from further afield, but if any of you are in the Hebden area over the weekend, you're very welcome to visit us and join in our festivities.  I shall be making mulled cider again since it proved so popular last year.  Hope to see you.