A meeting of Paperlove - Part 2

Gosh - where has this year gone?! While thinking about my next post I suddenly realised I did not return to my trip to Bute as planned. And as this is still in mind and one of my happy memories of 2017, I will put that right. If you missed (or want to be reminded!) of how we came together in August this year you can read about it here.  

I mentioned in that post some of the things that we shared in Ruth's studio. And here is some more:

On our walk to the beach and in the garden we collected flowers and plants for eco-printing. My friends had been generous in their gifts, bringing old books and papers for us to share. These made beautiful backgrounds for our prints. 

We also learnt a new binding stitch.  The instructions were translated from Swedish so there was some confusion over translation, but we all got there in the end, amid much laughter! 

I was also introduced to Litho Printing, using Coca-Cola. This was an interesting idea and my own prints were somewhat dubious. However, some of the other examples were more promising so I need to experiment more with this. 

We also did some stitching. Ideas were shared, fabric and threads exchanged, and more beautiful work was produced. This is such a talented group of people! 

We also got to explore more of the island. One of our members is a poet and university lecturer, who came up with some wonderful ideas during our time together. She was inspired by a poetry form that was easy even for non-writers, and many of us gave it a try. 

We also took photos, sketched, took notes and just sat quietly, appreciating this special place.

One of our other visits was to Mount Stuart House. I had never heard of this house before going, but was amazed by the history, and stunning beauty. Paul McCartney's daughter was married there, and it it was sumptuous without feeling imposing. We were given a tour of the house and enjoyed afternoon tea in one of the private rooms. 

My neck ached from looking up at the ceilings! There was so many with paintings and ornate carvings. Breath taking is the only word to describe.

And the grounds are impressive too, with landscaped formal gardens, woodland and coastal walks, a huge glass house and vegetable garden. If ever you get the chance to go, don't hesitate!! We enjoyed our visit so much that we returned on our own, to explore some more. 

Ruth, our host, booked a different place for us to eat each evening so we were lucky enough to experience more of the island and time together.  Husbands joined us to eat, and then we returned to the studio to work into the evening. Lifts were shared and arranged, and it truly was a magical time. I feel blessed to be part of such a diverse and interesting group, and while we live too far a part to meet regularly we do maintain contact online and there has been some wonderful happy mail exchanged this Christmas. We are also arranging monthly projects and I look forward to seeing what 2018 brings. 

This reminder of sunshine and holidays has brightened my day and if you have read to the end, a big thank you! I hope it triggers your own happy memories of holidays and friendships.