Springtime.

I have spent the last week catching up on the garden before the spring growth really starts. I also had to remove a large portion of the weed from my pond, the lack of frost this year meant that it hadn't died back over the winter.

Now all that has been done I can think about my invitation to take part in the 4th International Ex-Libris biennale in Serbia this coming November. The print needs to be sent early April as the deadline for receipt is April 30th. The subject for this years Biennale is Communism, so I have one or two ideas I am working on but they are still in the planning stage.

The execution of the lino-cut is relatively easy, planning the artistic side of the work can be difficult due mainly to the small size of the piece. The dimensions must be no more than 15 cm by 7 cm. This limits the amount of detail I can use, so the piece will need to be bold and strong while relying on simplicity to express the meaning behind the artwork.

I have been sidetracked a little by the antics of the Blue Tits nesting in the nestbox outside the window, and the tendency of the male to attack his reflection in every reflective surface in the area. Every time I move one, he finds another to deal with..