bridget martin

Have you ever watched a heron on a river bank or shoreline? Poised and balanced on reed thin legs, elegant and still as a statue, eyes bright and focused, waiting for the flicker that may mean dinner. A heron will wait for what feels like an age before suddenly striking the water to grab its prey. Or else taking flight and moving to a new waiting position. This is the patience of a heron.

I think of the heron as I impatiently wait for paint to dry. I want to build some textural layers on backgrounds before adding collage elements and stitching. In the colder weather the drying process takes longer and I need to learn from the heron. Patience.

Whilst layers are drying I unfold the crumpled collage papers that have been soaked in tea and dried. These provide lovely, textured, worn and torn pieces to use in collage and mixed media.

This slow process, slow working, slow art is soul soothing. A quiet revolution. A soul whisper.

Patience provides.