We’re fast approaching the time of year when hares get frisky in the fields. This has prompted me to offer you a closer look at one of the automata that I make regularly - Meadowlands. The automata features a pair of boxing hares and the title is a play on the word ‘ganglands’ (just in case you didn’t get it!).

Wow, geez, this is a tricky old time of year. Dark, stormy, windswept. Energy and inspiration can be quite difficult to find in January and February so I thought I’d give you my take on how to get through it. I’m not one for Veganuary, or dry January as I like to keep my options open in order to keep my spirits up in the depths of winter.

A trip back to my childhood home for Christmas inspires much anticipation. I look forward to spending time with family and old friends. I can’t wait to see familiar places, feel the tingle of the fresh cold on my cheeks and smell the heady fragrance of a forest of winter pines. Another source of excitement is the night sky.

In the sprit of explaining where I get my ideas from I wanted to share some thoughts. My previous post was all about summer activities in Scotland. This one is about an idea that came about during a visit to Brittany.

An auntie once gave me a book entitled ‘Northern Lights. Fairy Tales of the Peoples of the North’. I loved it as a child and hung on to it as an adult. I recently read the stories to my youngest daughter only to be reminded how wild the stories are.

Before I forget what I got up to on those Cultivator Mixers I wanted to share the second 2 workshops I took part in. These happened back in May so I’m stretching my memory a bit - you might need to look at my previous post if you need some background into Cultivator Mixers.

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that I have been fortunate enough to receive arts council funding to support my business.  This came from Cultivator Cornwall, a thriving artistic community which has been a pillar of support for local creatives. Sadly, Cultivator is winding its operations down as funding revenues change.  Rather than organising a farewell party the good folk at Cultivator invited everyone it had ever supported to a series of ‘mixers’.  I was able to attend four of these wonderful workshops which brought Cultivator clients together.

In a world dominated by mass production and technology its great to know that there's still an inherent longing for the charm and authenticity of handcrafted treasures.  In appreciation of this interest, I thought it was about time I applauded the popularity of one of my best-selling pieces.  This piece has captured the hearts of followers, enthusiasts and collectors alike. Its also one of the first automata designs I ever created.

Copper is such a great metal. When its annealed (heated very hot then cooled) it becomes so soft that it reminds me of McCowan’s Highland Toffee. Mind you, that could say more about the toffee than the copper! Anyway, the gist is that copper is happy to be bent and twisted into shape so its a great base for making miniature trees. Happily, the colour of copper is perfect too.