Hiatus without the hernia.

ayjaywebb
4 days ago
2 min read

Some of you who peruse my blog (my dad) may have noticed that it has been some considerable time since I posted on here. I find that creativity, as most things in life, ebbs and flows.

Losing our beautiful Elsie Spindlehound in the summer of 2025 was very difficult, and for a while I felt disinclined to give myself time and room to think. It was far easier to occupy myself with reading books I had already read, comfort film watching and anything formulaic where my mind was kept busy but I didn’t have to put in the imagination or emotion.

Then, we accidentally adopted another lurcher Tess, well, she is a Long Dog to be precise. More about that in another blog, but the upshot is that slowly and steadily I have regained an equilibrium and have returned to something resembling normality.

I have just finished exhibiting at the Broughton Arts and Crafts festival for ten days, as part of Hampshire Open Studios which I have absolutely loved. For me it is an opportunity to spend time with like minded people and talk about all things creative in a supportive community. Working at home in a studio has many positives, but a huge negative is the isolation you can feel. I had a great week and did very well with my sales *Al does a little happy dance, so I feel motivated, fully caffeinated and raring to go.

So here I am, back in the game so to speak. I have a few projects in mind which will be coming up on here and also a return to documenting life with a hound - in this case an enormous fluffy womble.

Until then, here are two really interesting artists whose work I have especially enjoyed in Broughton.

Caroline Green

Caroline, once a potter is now a painter and maker of automata, making quirky characters from dancing mice to ladies gardening, from a a range of materials such as wire, copper and fabric.