Latest Creation and an Exhibition!

Hello :)

First things first today, I owe you some creativity. Here's some Mini Sock Monkeys I made recently... Like Mr Sock Monkey and Master Sock Monkey made previously, but with smaller socks!

Mini Sock Monkeys by ~bicyclegasoline on deviantART

As with most things you'll see on here, I am always open for commissions, so feel free to contact me and we can discuss your requirements.

And in other exciting news, my photo of Pleasant Street Board School will be on show in the Capture Liverpool exhibition in Liverpool One from 27/05/2011 until 25/06/2011. It's a free event, so I recommend getting down there to see some great local photography! I believe the photos are also open for public vote, so if you think my photo is the best, then be sure to vote!


Pleasant Street Board School by ~bicyclegasoline on deviantART

Today I'd like to take you on a journey...

To a corner of New Ferry, Wirral, and the Butterfly Park that resides there...

Now, I've lived on Wirral all my life, and I had never been to the Butterfly Park until today. So, what made me visit? Well, I'd recently seen a call for an artist in residence over at Art in Liverpool, and I was intrigued as to the results! The artist who received the residency is Carol Ramsay, and she and other artists have done some wonderful installations!

The Butterfly Park itself is based in an old railway siding of the Bebington railway, shown by the ocassional railway sleeper or area of track exposed through the grass, flowers and shrubbery. The area was looking abosultely beautiful in the glorious Spring sunshine. There weren't too many butterflies around today, though I believe I spotted both a Cabbage White and a Large White, but the installations more than made up for it! Here are a few of my favourites:

Towers - Hayley Parfitt 

Several towers of bricks, almost hidden in the long grass behind a fence.

 The Glass Tree - Leandra Holder & Chris Turrell-Watts

A tree full of beautiful glass flowers and butterflies, each unique and sparkly in their own way :)

 Elastatone - Emma Kemp & Chris Colville

A musical structure of tubs, wood and glass bottles - great fun!

The outside of the new caravan-visitor's centre, built by Carol Ramsay.

New Ferry's Butterfly Park is open 12 - 4pm, each Sunday until August, so do head down and check it out :) The people who own the land what to get rid of the Butterfly Park and build houses there, which would be a great loss to the area - they need all the support they can get!

ME Awareness Week 8 - 14 May 2011

This is my third attempt at writing this post. It's so difficult. How do you write about something which consumes every second of every day, yet noone can really understand? Something that affects everything you do, yet isn't who you are at all?

I am many things in life. I am a wife, a daughter, a sister and an auntie. I am a friend and a relative. I am a Christian. I am an artist, a photographer, a crafter, a crocheter. I am a blogger. And I am an M.E. sufferer.

Look at Me - Go Penguins by ~bicyclegasoline on deviantART

George, aka Look At ME, painted by myself (Helen Morris) as part of Go Penguins by Wild in Art. Bought by Phil Redmond, with proceeeds to ME Research UK, and now on display at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Wirral.

To the outside world I show my happy face (well, when it appears from behind the camera!) I try my hardest to act confident, to walk, to create, and to exist. But behind the smile, behind closed doors, the truth rears it's ugly head. The hours spent under a duvet, wondering how to get a drink. The days spent with a parent here to get the housework done. The piles of paperwork to fill in to claim benefits, and the tears when you're told you're "fit for work", just because your disability is invisible. The small painting which takes weeks, because you can't always sit up, or lift a paintbrush.

I've suffered from ME for 11 years. My husband fell ill about 6 years ago. We are dependent on each other, and those around us for support to live by ourselves. We're a young, married couple - unable to earn our own living because we're too ill for work; unable to buy a house and start a family; dependent on our families for so much support... And just longing to be well.

ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) is a neurological illness, with a wide range of fluctuating symptoms. Some people are able to live an almost normal life, whilst others remain bedbound for years on end. Symptoms include extreme debilitating fatigue - which doesn't ease with rest; aches and pains throughout the body in muscles and joints; recurrent headaches and migraines; sore throats; nausea; sleep problems; cognitive difficulties - aka brain fog - affecting memory and concentration; clumsiness; weakness. There is currently no cure for ME, and biomedical research is lacking. The NHS cuts are causing specialist ME clinics to close down, and there is a lack of funding to help sufferers access complementary therapies, such as homeopathy and osteopathy. ME Awareness Week is about raising awareness of ME, and the consequences it has on individual's lives.