FMS photo a day March photos.

I have had a busy month this month so all my March photos are here together.

Day 1 - L is for lemon.

Day 2 - I made this.

Day 3 - Key

Day 4 - Lucky - to be flying to Tobago.

Day 5 - Under..undersea Tobago.

Day 6 - Chair - with a view.

Day 7 - Fear - of falling.

Day 8 - Favourite - table for lunch.

Day 9 - Faceless self portrait.

Day 10 - I want - to enjoy the sunset.

Day 11 - Important - ingredients for a holiday.

Day 12 - In the distance at Gatwick.

Day 13 - Sound.

Day 14 - Tasty - papaya.

Day 15 - Explore - for a lost credit card.

Day 16 - 9 o'clock in the morning.

Day 17 - Green -fields.

Day 18 - Shoes - in the shop window.

Day 19 - A sign in Abingdon

Day 20 - Clean.

Day 21 - Working - on the lime scale.

Day 22 - About you.

Day 23 - What you do for fun.

Day 24 - Up - on a cold day.

Day 25 - In your drawer - messy makeup drawer.

Day 26 - Lunch - out with my lovely husband.

Day 27 - Pair - a cruet from my mother in law.

Day 28 - Mirror - on my dressing table.

Day 29 - Good night - from Bongo.

Day 30 - Relax - with a cuppa.

Day 31 - Stuff - for altered art.

Another month completed.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

 

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Artful Readers Club

My book review for March is not going to be a long one even though the book had 60 chapters.

Book ... Fast Friends

Author ... Jill Mansell

Published by ... Headline publishing

I found this book in a charity shop and thought it would be a good holiday read, therefore, I took it away with me this month on a trip to Tobago. Lucky me to get a bit of winter sunshine I know!

The book reviews on the back cover were pretty good. They ranged from 'Fast, furious and fabulous fun. To read it is to devour it,' to 'An exciting read about love, friendship and sweet revenge - fabulously fun.' I think this will be the last time I take any notice of such reviews.

The book is about three old school friends and their relationship with each other and their complicated and intertwined love lives. I found the characters rather irritating and shallow and some of the situations they found themselves in totally unbelievable. An example of this is when Camilla Stewart, the main character leaves her husband and children when she finds out that her husband is having an affair with one of her friends. Up to this point she had been portrayed as a loving but dowdy mother and wife whose children meant the world to her. Her children where not even spoken about for weeks when they suddenly seemed to have been remembered and even then they seemed of little significance!

The importance of designer cloths, handbags and shoes seem to dominate these women's lives along side romantic encounters with handsome pop stars and rich men. if I had not been on holiday and had plenty of time to carry on reading the book I would have given up and dumped it in the hotel's library. However, I did continue reading until the last page but felt a bit annoyed with myself for wasting good reading time!

Obviously other people have enjoyed this book, looking at the reviews on Amazon, I am in the minority in not doing so.

My book 'inspired' artwork:

My artwork, a collage, was done using a glossy fashion magazine that was free at the Airport and seemed to fit with the theme of overpriced clothes and makeup.

Thanks for visiting, I hope my next month's read will be much more fun as I have chosen 'Steal Like an Artist' written by Austin Kleon.

Definitely no 'Chick Lit' for me for a while.

 

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A Photo a Day Challenge February week 4.

Here are my week 4 photos:

Day 22 - Playing ... Party games.

Day 23 - A word...Home.

Day 24 - Cloud...on a dull day.

Day 25 - On your bedside table.

Day 26 - Quiet...when I need it.

Day 27 - Playing...where I play.

Day 28 - Upside down... Book.

February completed.

 

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A Photo a Day Challenge February week 3

Here are my week 3 photo's:

Day 15 - Inside my fridge.

Day 16 - Perfect.

Day 17 - In my hand.

Day 18 - Something I don't like ... Cold callers!

Day 19 - I am ... Waiting for a bus.

Day 29 - Where I stood ... In Snazzys.

Day 21 - Full ... Tin of colour.

 

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Artful Reading Book 2

The Tin Ring ... Author - Zdenka Fantlova

The Tin Ring starts off very gently with Zdenka Fantlova recounting her childhood in Czechoslovakia. Painting a vivid picture of country life spent with her family, although her childhood has some sad moments she was obviously happy and enjoyed her life. Things changed rapidly for her when she, along with the rest of her family, were sent to Terezan concentration camp. Her first love Arno was also sent to the camp but sadly they were soon parted and on the day that Arno gave Zdenka a home made tin ring he was sent to a penal colony in the East. That day was the last time they would be together.

The book is Zdenka's memories of her years spent in a number of different concentration camps. She spent the final days of WW2 in Bergen-Belsen where she was found by an unknown British soldier. Throughout the time she spent in the camps she managed to keep Arno's tin ring, often risking death by keeping it with her. It is this ring and the hope that one day she would meet Arno again that gave her the strength and will to live.

This book is obviously not going to appeal to everyone but having seen Zdenka Fantlova being interviewed on TV I was motivated enough to read her book. She does share many of her harrowing experiences but not in a sensational way. It is an easy read as far as the style it is written in and can be read in quite a short while but that maybe because you just want to keep reading the book anyway. I did find at the beginning of the book the chapters seemed a little short but once I overcame that slight irritation I was fine with it! I can not say it is a book that I enjoyed reading because of the subject matter but it is a book that I am glad I have read. I would certainly recommend it if you are comfortable reading about this era in history.

For my artwork inspired by the book I have roughly drawn the ring to give the impression of the tin ring. I then made a light background using Tim Holtz distress ink and stamped and embossed the heart image. I wrote Arno's name below the heart and then masked off the circle. I proceeded to make a darker surrounding background with the distress inks and a red Dylusions mist. My choice of stamps for the background were selected to depict various moments in the book. The numbers are to indicate the endless times Zdenka had to be counted by her prison guards. The butterflies are my addition for hope and remembrance as there was a butterfly project a while ago to commemorate the victims of the holocaust. The other images are self explanatory. I drew the barbed wire frame using a silver gel pen.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

 

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A Photo a day Challenge February Week 2

Here are my February Week 2 photos:

Day 8 - Something Orange.

Day 9 - Guilty Pleasure.

Day 10 - 3 o'clock.

Day 11 - Entrance...lots in Oxford covered market.

Day 12 - where I ate lunch.

Day 13 - Walking...in the snow.

Day 14 - Love is...saying I love you everyday.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

 

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