Siobhán Bromley

Soooo,

I know, I know, I have been a terribly disloyal and an uncommitted blogger. A lot has happened since my last entry and to summarise; I got engaged and had a career change.

Quite by accident I began working at a primary school, initially as a visiting artist and then as an education practitioner. I have worked  with people with special needs sporadically for about 15 years and have always loved it, but being a teacher was never a consideration  That is, until I found myself teaching art…and I fell in love with it!

And henceforth I have been on, what feels like, the never-ending path of teacher training. Here I am, still an artist and now also a teacher, hurrah!

I haven’t had much time for my own artwork. I can however share with you this little treat that I did over Christmas as a gift.

Hi there one and all,

This is a very brief post mostly to plug the most beautiful little place I have ever had the pleasure to experience in the UK. Granted, I know as much about plants as I do about chemistry…it’s all voodoo to me. However, you don’t need to understand horticultural happenings to appreciate real natural splendor or applaud serious hard work and commitment.

Set back in (almost) the middle of Norwich ‘ye olde fine’ city, is a house and a garden. But you would be forgiven for missing the house as it lies nestled amongst and half buried by a tropical jungle of the kind one would have to travel thousands of miles to see. Giant parasol-esque leaves, heaven-reaching bamboos, fluorescent flowers, defensive looking cacti and geometric shapes to make you boss-eyed. There is even a remarkable tree house you can clamber up to in order to survey the jungle from an altogether different angle.

The gentleman responsible for such gloriousness is ex-botanical illustrator and horticulturalist Will Giles. Not content with being an extremely talented chap, he also happens to be one of the kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

And guess what?! Will invites members of the public to enjoy the fruits of his labour of love over the summer by opening his doors to Joe public. So I must implore all those in Norfolk or indeed planning a visit this fine way, to make a trip to ‘The Exotic Garden’ and climb your way through thick foliage. The place has the same affect on one as the labyrinth was famed for, you shall forget where you are or whence you came. All that will matter are the moments you spend in the calmness of Will’s garden. And if you’re really lucky you’ll encounter some of the exotic feline wildlife.

Go forth and forage!

www.exoticgarden.com

I think is is actually one of my favourite paintings. I’m not sure why, possibly because there are sentimental reasons behind it but also just because it makes me feel good when I look at it. And that is pretty much what I try to achieve with my work.

(actual size: 2.4″ x 3.1″)

I have been doing a few of these tiny canvas paintings recently and am really enjoying them. They are too rewarding for words and look gorgeous on a mantlepiece.

Please excuse the photography, I need to enlist mr 11thstudio to take some decent shots for me.

(actual size: 2.4″ x 3.1″)

Hello lovely people and very happy sunshiney wishes to you all!

It has been far too gorgeous with my little world being awash with the soft pinks and whites of blossom trees. I t is fair to say that I have been considerably slack with my website of late and for this I do apologise but I have somewhat preoccupied with other changes in my life. No excuse, I know.

So, what have I been up to exactly? Well, most importantly, I have started doing a bit of teaching and I am thoroughly enjoying it.  I can imagine myself in 15 years time having a lovely little studio from which I run fab art workshops for kiddie-winkles where they can be as creative and crazy and wacky as they like.  There was infact a very interesting article on the BBC News website recently which discussed the need for art education in primary schools to be more creative to appeal to more to boys.  I was delighted to see that Children’s minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said: “Learning to think creatively and express your ideas and imagination are, in fact, amongst the most important skills to learn and are indeed needed throughout adult life.” Here here!

Ooo, and lastly, I recently had my book cover design for Trentham Books re-printed for anther of their publications in the series: