If I had a little house...
...I'd pop it on my windowsill obvs!
Greetings all! It’s been quite the week since I last wrote…but first a reminder that if anyone does want to order some lovely nature based art for a loved one (or themselves) for Christmas, last posting date is Friday 20th Dec! (I’ll even chuck in some lovely greetings cards if you do…)
What’s been happening then?
What, aside from standing up for 56 hours over the course of 7 days chatting to all sorts of folk about art, printmaking, moths, Christmas hats and who makes the best mince pies? The Bath Humbug Market introduced me to a whole bunch of brilliant fellow creatives, and a fair few thousand humans who were busy shopping at the phenomenon which is the Bath Christmas Markets (and huge kudos to those traders who had to stand outside in the cold for nearly three weeks…I wore all the clothes I own and I was still shivering indoors!)
My stall looked pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself…
There were moths, butterflies, beetles, cards, folktale illos made into gorgeous archival prints, gingerbread houses (more on that later), even my 3D cutout moths and butterflies made an appearance…
Now, my work can be a bit love or hate (yep, some people actually recoil in horror at a mothy print), but I had some truly lovely conversations with people who genuinely love Lepidoptera, and its good to know there are a fair few nature lovers out there…now, an artist may never sell enough to cover their time and effort and learned skills (ha, maybe mine is a niche too far), but making those connections is something money can’t buy.
It was hard work being a market trader. Sometimes soul destroying, sometimes elating. Constant. Having to be extroverted when your nature is to put on a fan heater and depressing music and paint giant intimidating pictures of yourself nestled amongst dead birds. But it was a massive learning curve and I’m glad I did it.
And I’ll be doing it all again at the On Paper festival on Saturday June 21st, so see some of you there!
I printed more moths…
Good grief! Like I haven’t done enough! Well, no…I’m only now at 97 of my intended 100 species you see…so I took along my mini press to the market and cracked on with a few more…I’ll be delving into all 100 in a post next year, and I bet you just can’t wait!
Triangles Moth (go figure which one that is!), Eyed Rustic moth and Oleander Hawkmoth. Gert lush.
Flippin’ heck…It’s all moths with you…
How very dare you! I’m also passionate about tiny 3D paper houses, thank you very much. My gingerbread houses might just be one of my favourite makes ever…(it’s the simple things…) I spent an inordinate amount of time this year making a little village from terapak, and my heart and windowsill are a lot happier because of it…
What is not to love about this! Lasts longer than a real one and is extra cute coz its so tiny…
And here they all are lined up in all their glory (with a few added fake plastic trees)…
Just look at this row of absolute festive joy!
And here’s a video, just so you can experience the sparkly, flickery light festivity (just indulge me, then I’ll stop, ok?);
Here’s a special treat for you…
And because I really want to share the festive joy…if you’ve read this far, I have a special little download for you so you can make your own little festive house for your windowsill this Christmas… who doesn’t love a Christmas craft, eh? Print it out on some thick paper or (even better) card, colour it, cut out & stick and pop a little LED light inside if you so desire! Share your pics, as I’d love to see them…ENJOY!
Thanks for reading all….speak to you very soon…(and of course, if you’d like to support my work in the form of a paid subscription, to fuel my tiny tetrapak house addiction, I would be forever grateful)
I too am having a little house obsession moment, so of course I will make one of yours - it's gorgeous! Merry merry festivities to you Caroline ✨
Such a generous gift to share your gorgeous little house 🏠 (and where is the gingerbread man emoji!) Your work may be niche, but it's also spectacular. 🪲🦋