Poems in the waiting room

I watched the launch of Spacex' Falcon Heavy the other night. The gap between what I think is possible and what others believe they can do is vast. I generally think I've had a good week if I remember to talc the swimming hats before the next lesson. Reverse parking also brings me out in a sweat. So to watch two of the rocket boosters return to base with pin point accuracy left me in awe. Well, a mixture of awe and feeling like I should set the bar a little higher than swimming hats. Basking in Elon Musk's glory, I felt proud to be human last night. The collective energy, intellect and sheer joy was heartwarming.

 

I feel the same level of tenderness for humanity when I read Poems In The Waiting room.

"Poems in the Waiting Room (PitWR) is an Arts in Health charity, registered in the U.K. We supply short collections of poems as cards for patients to read while waiting to see their doctor and to take away with them. There is no charge to the patient or to the NHS."

I first came across these at St Johns Hospice Moggerhanger and they really do provide a small amount of comfort in tough times. Poems In The Waiting Room is a registered charity and welcomes poetry submissions from all. If you fancy having a go then submit your poems via their website and your words could speak to someone when they need it most. So whether it cost billions of dollars to send rockets into space or £25 per year to stock a waiting room with poetry, the feeling is the same. Look for the good.

Artwork

 

I really enjoyed working on this commission. It was for a surprise gift and Claire, the customer was a delight to work with. Andy, I hope you like it and happy birthday. Thanks Jo and Dan for recommending me. Please accept my witty school run banter as payment. I know you may think it's priceless but in this case it really does have some monetary value.

I had a request for an A2 Roseberry Topping print so I took that opportunity to get some London prints done too. I'm really pleased with the colours.

I was tagged on a post on Instagram showing my Emley Moor Mast print as a card. Always lovely to see my artwork being used on other products. Especially nice as it was being sent with a Yorkshire Tea teabag and a homemade sewing gift. Thanks for the tag SewMuchToLearn.

Speaking of products, Star Editions are currently exhibiting at the Spring Fair and have a few pieces of my work as part of their Love Your Location range. Sometimes I have to draw things and I have no idea how to do it. I wanted to draw a disco ball the recently but I didn't know where to start. This tutorial I found provided the answers, thank you Tony Soh. I'm pretty pleased with the results:

And here are some trainers I drew. I didn't need a tutorial for that. I have the red pair myself so I just stuck them on my desk and copied them. Good fun though.

Other stuff you might like

This article by Hayley Webster in the Guardian was a beautiful read. Another blogger I enjoy following is Bimblings, check her out if you fancy. Homelessness is a complex subject with many causes and varying opinions on solutions. The app Street Link allows normal people like you and I to get involved. I've got it on my phone. It gives people a practical way to help. Download it if you want to take some small action next time you see someone sleeping rough. Until next time. Ta ra.