quietly creating

Barbara Wanhill

recent posts

  • Photogenic fibre

    12 17 kerfuffle spin 2
    Handspun singles from a “Bubblegum” Kerfuffle Batt by Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works.

    Have you ever been surprised by a habit you didn’t realize you had until someone points it out to you?

    It appears that this year, I formed a mild habit of handspinning fibre. Until I started organizing photographs, I hadn’t realized I was spinning something almost every month of 2017.

    I think of it as meditation in motion. The by-product just happens to be pleasingly tactile, beautifully coloured yarn that also looks great under a camera lens (phone camera lens that is).

    Below are some of the images I recorded. I am still learning to chain-ply, took a great class on hand carding with Diana Twiss and practiced a bit of knitting too. (All images photographed with iPhone 5 or iPhone 6S. Notecard in mail image by Susan Stephen.

    Fibre sources include Crafty Jaks Boutique, Northern Bay Fibres, Legacy Studio, Kinfolk Yarn and Fibre and Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works.

  • Small offerings

    Christmas snowflake 2017
    B. Wanhill, December 2017. Linocut. Caligo relief ink on Strathmore. 3.25″ x 3.5″

    I’ve always been drawn to small. Takes up less space. Economical. Energy efficient.

    As I reflect on another year gone, I see that this size parameter also measures the amount of posts I have added to this site and the amount of mark making I produced this year. So realize this entry won’t take up much time… and look closely!

    For a month I was diligent about keeping a daily sketchbook practice. I spent 20 minutes to 2 hours every night recording mostly pieces from my garden. As garden specimens dwindled, I turned to recording words and other items. I am glad that I recorded a beautiful brooch my Mom gifted me, as it became the inspiration for the linocut Christmas card I designed this year.

    I hope in the coming months I will pick up a more frequent drawing practice, but I know that work will be demanding between January through to March and then it will be garden season once again! (I have also continued with spinning, which I will record in another post.) Best wishes for a bright New Year. Peace and creativity to you – even if you find it in small ways.

    Sketchbook Sept 28_17

    Sketchbook Oct 1_17

    Sketchbook Oct 4_17

    Sketchbook Oct 13_17

    sketchbook-oct-18_171.jpeg

    Sketchbook Nov 13_17

  • Creating with Joy

    Creating with Joy

     

    One way of creating that has helped me deal with the challenges of a demanding teaching profession is spinning. It is highly process oriented and basic in its reduction of form through texture and colour. It is a linear (no pun intended) way of working through thoughts and can be fit in a few minutes here and there without feeling I’ve lost track of what I was doing (as happens when composing a drawing).

    Today I thought I would pay tribute to the beautiful wheel my parents bought for me almost 20 years ago: An Ashford ‘Joy.’ Sometimes the things we need to help us settle into ourselves are right there waiting for us to pick them up again. I digitally processed the photographs in black and white to draw the eye to the elegant, minimalist curves and natural wood grain.

    Joy 5Joy 3Joy 2Joy 4

    Joy 1
    All images, Canon T3i. B. Wanhill 2017