stalagmites and stalactites

I really really want to visit Treak Cliff Caven in Buxton which is the closest place where I can go and view crystals which is the only place in the world where you can view blue john stone, and there are also stalagmites and stalactites caves. I am lucky enough to have a piece of blue john rock. I have visited Treak Cliffe in the past with my family and a friend however before we got further into  the caves I got really scared and ran out, but I was only ten so  don't think it will happen again, I plan to go in the next few weeks. Stalagmites are a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings.Another type of stalagmite is formed in lava tubes while lava is still active inside the mineral, formation happens very quickly in only a matter of hours, days, or weeks, whereas limestone stalagmites may take up to thousands of years, limestone stalagmites are the most common stalagmites ,they form through deposition of calcium carbonate and other minerals, which is precipitated from mineralised water solutions.

Whereas stalactites are the opposite they hang from the ceiling. by soluble minerals, they can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension, or is capable of being melted, may form a stalactite. They form from the same materials as stalagmites in limestone, lava and ice.

http://www.bluejohnstone.com/

todays prints designs

The image is secondary as I was unable to take images of ice crystals at this time of year, i used a really good editing software which was free from the apple app store, there was also a image pro however that did cost money but I can't remember how much it cost.

  

Ways of Seeing

Recently I have been reading a collection of art history books which I have found very riveting. The first called Bauhaus by Frank Whitford; which is about the way our environment looks, the appearance of everything from housing estates to newspapers which is partly the result of a school of art and design founded in Germany in 1919 and closed down by the Nazis in 1933. This was the Bauhaus, which has also left an indelible mark on art eduction throughout the world, setting everything firmly against a backdrop of the times. Frank Whitford traces the ideas behind its conception and describes its teaching methods. He examines the actives of the teachers, artists eminent as Klee and Kandinksy and the daily lives of the students. Everything is decided with the aid, wherever possible, of the words of theses who were there at the time.

The second book is by favourite which I have read a lot called 'Ways of Seeing' by John Berger, he identifies 'seeing comes before words. the child looks and recognises before it can speak' however there is also another sense in which seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surroundings world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled . John Berger's book changes the way people think about painting,opening up the mind to the varying meanings and the personable respond to art . Showing how what we see is always influenced by a whole host of assumptions, concerning nature, beauty, truth, civilisation, form, taste,class and gender. Exploring the layers of meaning within oil paintings, photographs and graphic art.

revised for those who are picky about my spelling you know who you are (i cont spel)

Editing images of minerals in adobe photoshop CS5.1 using the filter application I was able to harmonise the images from the plain form but into something more interesting. Adding texture and definition to the quartz minerals 

Daffodils

Their perky March fanfares, from the ochre brass yellow,spring has sprung well by England's standard of spring anyway (moist and breezy)

Bought these lovely zesty daffodils today, denoting the arrival of spring, baaaa to the cold weather. 

current/recent work

 looking at figures of identity in art and design, organic shapes in context of the seaside and natural forms

based loosely on fashion surrealism photography by Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello http://www.sofiamauro.com/fashion

knitted collar based on organic and the idea of using our surroundings an integrating it into
textiles and fashion garments. As collars and statement necklaces are in fashion at the moment. I decided to create something that utilises the current trends in fashion. I uses shells that I collected from the beach in Cornwall and 100% wool. 

The eye make-up complements the cream toned piece of my work and especially stands out again the models skin tone, which beautifully suited.

vintage paper hats. Using paper and candy colours i creative fascinator hats in the form of flowers  inspired my the artist Jill Flower. i created 3 designs of hats. i create the structure of the hat my cutting out petal shapes and machine sewing them together and then applying them to a fascinator base. 

The make-up works in harmony with the models skin colour and the hats .