And so to bed

It's been a very arty sort of day today: I went to Truro this morning to buy a new sketchbook and spotted the bunnies below; this afternoon I tidied up the studio a bit and this evening I went to a private view in Redruth to see Sovay Berriman's latest work The Great War. Great it was too.

She'd made a large, black 'mountain range' from timber, chicken wire and newspaper that was laid out on the floor, from where you could peer over the peaks and troughs like a bird on the wing. It reminded me of a computer model, but the relative crudeness of its construction was far more satisfying. There were several small but mountainous drawings on the walls, as well as a mysterious piece of sparkly black 'rock'. Staring at this paper and glitter construction I began to worry about the magpie feeling I had rising in my stomach. Hmmmm, that would look really good in my bower.... Resisting the urge to steal it while Sovay's back was turned I picked up a short narrative piece that was also included in the exhibition. The couple of lines printed in a courier font on thin, yellowing paper made me feel like I'd stumbled into someone's journal of strange landscapes and for me gave colour and meaning to the whole exhibition.

After a bit of socialising I drove home thinking about birds and glittery things and when I got back decided I would go straight up stairs and try out an idea I'd had earlier in the day. I decided I'd sit in bed and work on it. The great idea was to attach one of my waxed birds to a string of child's beads that I'd picked up last week. The most practicable way of doing this was to use a bradawl to make a hole through the bird. So there I sat, tucked up in the duvet with a robin and a bradawl and I took the plunge. At the moment the sharp point penetrated the wax and skeleton of the bird I was almost asphyxiated by a noxious smell. I probably deserved it, but why did I have to be in bed at the time?! The smell (I couldn't decide whether it was of burning or putrefaction) permeated the whole room for an hour. It was totally gross. And to top it all, I'm not sure that the resultant 'bird on a pink beaded necklace' was quite what I had in mind after all...