Versatility Greetings Cards

These cards are based on designs I created for my WebFlowers web-graphics project. The website graphics weren't going anywhere so I took the elements and created six sets of six cards in six different colours. These were also not too popular, so although I still stick to the six designs and six colours for my card designs, I use more variation in them and sell them individually, an idea which seems to have much more mileage. Below is a summary of my ideas behind the different greetings on the cards

8Track Music Mixes by AmiloFinn

I've been thinking about and listening to a lot of music lately and decided to put some more music mixes on the AmiloFinn 8Track channel at http://8tracks.com/amilofinn . I already had music mixes for 'Music from the Movies', 'My Music Collection' and 'Lorna's Songs'. I have now added 'Travelogue', 'Out of this world' and 'Music from the Dawn of Time'.

  

'Travelogue' is a selection of ten of my favourite songs about places and travel, starting with Northern Lights by Renaissance and ending with Empire State of Mind by Alecia Keys. It also includes Egypt by Kate Bush, Penny Lane by The Beatles and Kashmir by Led Zeppelin.

 'Out of this world' is a selection of songs I like listening to when I want to escape my everyday earthly worries. It features songs about the stars, the moon and the planets and includes Space Oddity by David Bowie, Walking on the Moon by The Police and Champagne Supernova by Oasis.

'Music from the Dawn of Time' features renditions of some of my favourite Baroque, Classical, Romantic and early Twentieth Century keyboard music that I found on the SoundCloud, including Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Chopin's Revolutionary Etude and Debussy's Arabesques.

Rainbow Ballet

Rainbow Ballet is based on one of my earliest animations, Ballet Class, which has been on my LornaJHart YouTube channel since 2008. It is set to a song I wrote in the early nineties called Jazz. I recently updated some of the images from Rainbow Ballet to use at the start of a new ALF Creations compilation film, Showcase, which is available on the AmiloFinn Vimeo WebPage. Below is a picture of my original rainbow ballerinas from my Webflowers Webgraphic project.

Secret London Part Two



In my short story 'The Assertiveness Group', the heroine, Madeleine, and her lover, Dorian, visit three unusual London museums: Leighton House Museum, John Soane's Museum and the Hunterian Museum. On 25th March 2015 I visited the three of them with my mum.

I'm not sure what I was expecting in the Leighton House Museum apart from the Arab Hall, however what I received was an unexpected treasure. Beautiful, sumptuous and amazing are just three of the adjectives I would use to describe Leighton House. The museum is an exquisitely kept artist's house, full of rich colours, deep reds and vivid blues, polished tiles, Arabian rugs, stained glass and heavy wood. Our visit coincided with an exhibition of Victorian romantic art; the pre-Raphaelites, Edward Burne Jones and John Waterhouse. We were also fortunate enough to have a very informative guide who was telling us how important the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition was to artist's reputations, careers and fortunes. It was all very illuminating.

 

John Soane's House is the London residence of a well known nineteenth century architect. As well as his architectural plans and drawings; it is stuffed full of 'things' he collected throughout his life, including sculptures, plaster casts and cork models. My favourite part of the exhibition was the guide's explanation of the Hogarth series of pictures 'The Rake's Progress', which follows the antics of a rich young man from inheritance to madhouse; a sobering tale indeed.

The Hunterian Museum is the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. It has a large collection of specimens in preserving jars from the insect, animal and human worlds. The two aspects of the museum that meant the most to me were first the art collection and the view that medicine and art were once not considered to be the poles apart occupations they appear today, but once doctors and artist worked together particularly in the field of anatomy. The other part of the museum that moved me most was the part devoted to the pioneers of plastic surgery in the first world war; the surgeons who worked at putting injured soldiers' faces back together. It was marvellous and humbling to see how the doctors helped the wounded soldiers get back some semblance of normality. The overall feeling I got from the museum was the ides of how fragile human beings really are.

Digital Collage

I have long been a fan of retro and vintage digital collage and recently started to create my own digital collages. I had a feeling that although they have an 'easy' feel about them they would prove to be more difficult to do in practice and this has been the case. However I do feel I am beginning to get the hang of them. There are some good on-line tutorials about creating them and I have a board devoted to my own digital collages on Pinterest.

Craft stall at URC Eastcote

I took part in the URC Eastcote Charity Morning on Saturday 21st March, in aid of the Macular Society. The event was quite well attended and I managed to sell some of my craft items, the cards were the most popular, followed by the gadget pouches and the lavender scenters. I was working on Christmas cards at the beginning of the year and look forward to having them on my stall in the Autumn.

Secret London Part One

In a short story I wrote called ‘The Assertiveness Group,’ my heroine and her lover visit many Secret London locations. The descriptions in my story are mostly imaginary, but I have a small ambition to visit these places in real life, this is an account of four of the sites I visited on 16^th March 2015.

Dennis Severs House is near Liverpool Street and Spitalfields Market, past the gherkin, it is open regularly Monday lunch time and not much outside of this time. Before we were allowed inside we were given a short introduction and told the rules of our visit; to be quiet, no phones and no photographs. The house was best appreciated in silent contemplation. The tour began in the basement, in the kitchen. The rooms were cluttered, but it was carefully, thoughtfully arranged clutter. The atmosphere was enhanced by smells, musty and aromatic and noises, bells ringing, old conversations, a death knoll. Each room showed a different aspect of the imagined life of the Jervis family. The boudoir of Mrs Jervis was filled with delicate ladylike things, a fine dress, ornate mirrors, jewellery and toiletries. In one of the bed rooms we were greeted by a very handsome black green-eyed cat, a lovely live addition to the antiques of the house. At the top of the house was the shabby rented room of an imaginary family of poor silk weavers. There were old clothes strewn around the place and part of the ceiling had collapsed. Back on the ground floor our visit ended with a look at the Jervis family parlour. This room was elegant and well-kept, a contrast to the messy, decaying aspects of the rest of the house. I’m so glad I made it to Dennis Severs house. It is quite a special treasure.

The Candid Café is at the back of the Angel, Islington, It is part of the Candid Arts Centre. The café is on the second floor, up many stairs. I wasn’t disappointed when we reached the top, the café was bohemian and decadent, it had proper red velvet armchairs. There was a large modern painting of a large breasted nude woman on the far wall. Elsewhere there was an intriguing overflowing bookcase, framed art work and fairy lights. Mum and I sat near a window that overlooked the courtyard. I had an avocado baguette that was very appetising.

I visited Somerset House, along the Strand, primarily to see the Dead House, which is mentioned in my short story. However the dead house is only open on certain occasions, so this special visit will have to wait. While at Somerset House I enjoyed a recycling exhibition and a look at all the different and elaborate stairwells that dwell there.

Our visits ended with Gordon’s wine bar next door to the embankment. Ignoring the boarded up front, we ventured into the side entrance, down some stairs and into the old fading but lively interior. Past the old framed newspaper front pages that decorated the walls I ordered two glasses of Madeira wine from the friendly bar staff. Mum had found a nice spot for us to sit, at the back of the curved ceilinged candle lit cellar. It felt a little like we were sitting under the Thames itself. We talked of the past and the future while really enjoying our present, the wine and our very atmospheric surroundings.

Lurkers

I wrote this poem over a decade ago about the shadowy people in cyberspace who look and listen but don't contribute. I suppose with the arrival of Web2 and Social Media more people have become participants rather than merely observing, but I'm sure there are still ample opportunities 'just to lurk'.


Lurkers by L J Finnigan

I imagine you

In the deepest, darkest corners
Of cyberspace
With wide open eyes
And tight shut mouths
Looking, listening

Or are you just lurking

In my unconscious
With ghostly faces
And spectral features
Nightmarish visions or soft dreams
Floating away into nothingnes

I wonder what your lives are like

Just the other side of another screen
Lonely, quiet, contented, full
I wonder how you are feeling
What you are doing, thinking
What kind of a heart you have

I wonder how it would be

If you stepped out of the shadows
And shared yourself with me
In some small, virtual way
Or is it vitally important
For you just to lurk

 

Tudor Montage

My daughter and I have long been fascinated by Henry VIII and his six wives. In junior school Amy drew so many pictures of the Tudor kings and queens I decided to put them into a montage accompanied by one of my songs 'That Far Away Look'. I feel the song is quite apt in reflecting the lusty and flirtatious nature of King Henry.

Lorna's Songs on 8Tracks

Something I have been meaning to do for ages is to put eight of the best songs I have written on the 8Track Internet music channel. I have finally done that, you can find them here at http://8tracks.com/amilofinn/lorna-s-songs . I hope you enjoy them, a little more about the tracks is written below.

'For what I am' was written after my first experience of work, trying to do a job I found particularly difficult.

'Stargazing' was my attempt at a space song. Sitting by the window and looking out at the night time sky was as far as I got.

'Island of Happiness' was inspired by a magazine article which recommended that the search for constant happiness was futile and we would do better to appreciate the islands of happiness we are fortunate to encounter along our way.

'Alive at last' was written after a dismal relationship break up. It was used in about 2005 at a friend's baptist church baptism.

'Jazz' is about a popular, beautiful college acquaintance I was particularly envious of.

'That far away look' is about a particularly romantic evening I enjoyed with my soon to be husband.

'Scorpio Eyes' is a mysterious astrologically inspired song.

'I can see you' was written when I was seventeen. It is about the scary business of falling in love for the first time.

Videos for these songs can be found on the LornaJHart YouTube channel.

Through the seasons features 'For what I am'

The Planets features 'Stargazing'

In the cafe features 'Island of Happiness'

On the ice features 'Alive at last'

Rainbow Ballet features 'Jazz'

The Tudors features 'That far away look'

Halloween Party 2 features 'Scorpio Eyes'

Another day, another place features 'I can see you' as well as 'Waiting for me'

The Feminine Virtues

I drew an A3 picture of a blonde, a brunette and a red head ages ago, when I was a teenager. I recently thought of developing the girls a bit more and started to think about what virtues they might represent. These are the virtues I think best suit them, the brunette is Modesty, the blonde is Kindness and the red-head is Patience, I've called them the feminine virtues.

Hearts and Flowers

'Hearts and Flowers' is the sentimental violin or piano tune played in old black and white films at moments full of pathos like when Charlie Chaplin's character is at his saddest and most downtrodden. I recently rediscovered the joy of working with felt, it is very forgiving as it doesn't fray and have only recently learnt basic crochet. I enjoyed making these felt hearts and crochet flowers, but can see that they could benefit from further development.

Craft Stall Coming in March

Over Christmas and New Year I have been working on various crafts for a spring charity morning on the 21st March at the Eastcote URC. The morning is in aid of the Macular Society. My dad suffered from macular degeneration in the last few years of his life, so this cause is close to my heart.

I have been creating new sleeping angels, more gadget pouches and overhauling my cards and books, as well as developing my Star Heart Dolls. It should prove to be a busy day as Amy is performing in a Stagecoach production of Annie in the afternoon.

In Concert

I was very pleased to take part in the NGhaSaid concert last October. It made me think of other times I have performed live sets, in music events around South East England. I used to perform my music live much more regularly than I have done in recent years.

I now mostly perform once a month at St. Mary's Church Informal Music Evening. I recently came across notes I'd written in the early nineties when I used to perform my songs about once a week at various folk clubs in and around London, on my own mostly but also with other people, other singers, a guitarist and a flautist.

I find performing in public, my music or anything else is a bit stressful, however if you do a good job and other people appreciate it, it can make you feel quite satisfied and pleased with yourself. These pictures showcase my music making on both sides of the millennium.

Beatle Dreams



 

I didn't know much about the Beatles until John Lennon died. After he died his music and the music of the Beatles, seemed to be everywhere. I was soon a big fan, falling in love with songs like A day in the life, Strawberry Fields Forever, Eleanor Rigby, Blackbird, Penny Lane, In my life, Tomorrow never knows, Here comes the sun, the list goes on and on. I won the 1984 Feltham Art competition with this  painting of the Beatles in their Sergeant Pepper outfits. Below is a picture of my small collection of Beatles' memorabilia.

 

 

These are two copies I painted of the 'Illustrated Beatles' lyrics 'You won't see me' and 'There's a place' and also a sketch I drew of John Lennon which I'm quite fond of.