On a Sunday evening, I like to clear the shelf next to my desk, in preparation for the week ahead. There will always be a pile of books that have accumulated beside me. These will include stories my daughter has brought over for me to read to her and those that I have quickly grabbed…
Author: thetinypotager
Mindful, Seasonal Living - with a family of seven 🌿
tinypotager.com
Almanac: A peaceful start to the new year, fallen branches and a priceless treasure
The seasons turn, a new year arrives. My Christmas gift was a traveller’s journal which is why my story begins here. I carried it around in my backpack and to and fro between my desk and bedside table for weeks before beginning to use it. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. We were living…
Almanac: The story of a year
This is the story of a year. In March 2021 I started creating my own almanac. The weather reports are always a little hit-and-miss where we live. Predicted storms often swirl around below the hill and fail to touch us. Late frosts often do not happen, as sheltered as our little garden is. I wanted…
Art Journal: The Peony Collection, a little shed and a magical cat
Completing my collection of three hyper-realistic flowers, drawn between January and May 2021, is the delicate pink peony. The photographic reference was kindly given to me by my lovely friend Sally who has the most beautiful garden full of flowers. She has been so supportive all the way through the creation of this artwork; a…
Art Journal: Peony petals, the first flowers of spring and a teapot
Welcome to my art journal, where I write about my drawings and how my little garden, the fields and woodlands close to my home and the seasons influence my art practice. My screen this week has been filled with the blossoming petals of a peony. I try to concentrate on the clouds of colour, working…
Art Journal: The Kate Dahlia
Welcome to my art journal, where I write about my drawings and how my little garden, the fields and woodlands close to my home and the seasons influence my art practice. My art time in March was spent immersed in the intensive drawing of a Cafe au Lait Dahlia. My friend Kate very kindly gave…
Art Journal: The Audrey Rose
The Audrey Rose Collection is inspired by and named after my lovely friend Audrey. She was kind enough to give me permission to use a photograph of her favourite David Austin rose as a reference for my work. Audrey is the founder of the weekly #FlowersOnFriday Twitter event. Gardeners from around the world share photos…
Almanac: Autumn memories and a distraction of flowers
We have already passed midwinter and yet I have so many memories of autumn that I want to preserve. September, October and November brought with them a time of intense creativity as I worked on my illustrations, commissions and the launching of my little art shop. I kept taking my daily photographs, though it is…
Almanac: Embracing Winter with Six Health and Healing Preparations for Autism
How to care for someone who cannot tell you where hurts This has been my most requested post and there seems no better time to write it than as we enter the colder months, amidst the coronavirus pandemic. I am a mother of five and two of my sons have profound non-verbal autism with high…
A Week in Books: Star gazing, poetry and Advent begins
On a Sunday evening, I like to clear the shelf next to my desk, in preparation for the week ahead. There will always be a pile of books that have accumulated beside me. These will include stories my daughter has brought over for me to read to her and those that I have quickly grabbed…
Art Journal: The Creation of Mister Meadowson
Whilst I was working on my winter collection for the little art shop I had a request from a young girl in the United States for a tiny fox with glasses to be included somewhere in one of my illustrations. She wears glasses herself and thought it would be nice to have a character to…
Art Journal: The Victorian Halloween Stage by Stage
For this artwork, I first sketched out the rough shapes onto a piece of A3 (poster-sized) paper with a light 2B pencil, and then gradually added the finer features with a graphic pencil. One of the first items to be detailed-in was the marionette stall. I had put out a request online for suggestions and…
