Have You Discovered Your Universe?

THE LETTER  Digital Collage

What warms your heart on a blustery wet weekend? 

The weather here in the Eastern part of the US certainly is reminding us that a seasonal change has taken place. The leaves are slowly adding vivid hues of gold and orange to their pallet. The constant rain of the last several days has added a bone chilling dampness that is difficult to shake off.

This feeling of restlessness and foreboding was just what I needed for our next Lunagirl Moonbeam Challenge: Gothic. The selection of images available are bewitching...dark, moody, and brooding. It was hard to choose, but I decided on a lovely woman wrapped in a cloak clutching letters close to her heart.

Instantly I was transported back to "The Dark Arches" of Granary Wharf in Leeds, England when eclectic shops and restaurants were part of the underground life in the Victorian tunnels beneath the Leeds railway station.

In a small shop window I saw a magnificent black hooded cloak...with a story even more fantastic. A man had it made to order for his wife as a surprise gift. The lining was a deep violet satin embossed with roses, her favourite flower. Near the hem of the lining was hand embroidery intertwining their initials caressing a single rose. The cloak fastened with an antique silver rose clasp and a single silver rose bead graced the tassel. The ardent gent was going to bring his wife down to the Arches later than evening and casually stroll past the window, knowing her heart would do back flips when she saw it. His plan was to get her to try it on and then say..."It's yours!” She was his universe.

I often wonder about the couple and their life after the cloak. Seeing the Lunagirl image made all the romance of their story warm my heart.

The collage used several Lunagirl images: the woman, the background, and the letter I added to the papers in her hands. The remaining images are from my conventional and digital collection.

What does warm your heart? Is it a letter, a gift, a kind word, or knowing that you are the Universe in someone's life?

My Tea with Agatha

My Tea With Agatha

Keeping on a Food Theme...I am an insatiable reader. I usually have at least two or three books going at the same time. I normally read non-fiction...but I do love the twists and turns of an Agatha Christie story. My Mom is a great mystery reader and she introduced me to Agatha and her ingenious plots.

For many years I lived in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. Agatha went missing in December 1926. A manhunt ensued and she was discovered at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel registered under the name of Mrs. Teresa Neele. The Old Swan, as it is now called, was an easy walk from my house. I would stop there or at the Royals Baths, or Betty's for tea.

I loved using the photo of Agatha as a young girl. With her faraway expression, was she  searching for her own Muse? She did inspire me.

My collage again has canvas as the substrate. Included are a photo of a young Agatha Christie, tea stained cloth, dictionary pages, handmade and found papers, and....tea bag tags. There's even a Taylor's Tea tag...a right old Harrogate tea...and a company I had the pleasure doing business with when I was a commercial screen printer.