Under a Musical Sky

This was quite a fun project that I kind of made up as I went along. I would add one thing, then decide to add another, etc etc. In case you are wondering, the part of the sky with musical notes on it is tin foil, the rest of the sky and the paper planes are made from an old torn up copy of Jane Eyre (I know, it is a sad story when I tear up one of my favourite books for art. Don't worry, I do have another copy!), the bird and the girl's dress is from pages of a dictionary (extremely shameful!) and everything else was done in black ink. I hope you like it, even though it is very different. :)

27 Million Voices

Picture drawn by Jess Leigh

Yesterday was National Human Trafficking Day. So I thought I would post this poem I wrote during the week to create awareness on modern-day slavery.

For the 27 million people held in slavery all over the world

Their cries resound all over the earth;

Cries of suffering, cries of hopelessness.

Yet few really hear them, nor are there many left to care.

They are like a vanishing wind;

Whispers of their fate are heard, yet they are left unseen.

They are bound like broods of animals,

Living a life they did not choose;

A life stolen by another.

They are forced to go where they do not want to go,

They are forced to do what they wish not to do.

Their time on earth is a living hell,

Imposed and controlled by heartless ones.

There is no escape, there is no freedom;

They are chained to their unwanted fate

While their souls cry out in agony.

Can you hear them?

Their silent cries are echoing

Against every corner of the earth,

Pleading to be set free

While sinister fingers grip them mercilessly.

Some heed the call and head into battle,

Striving to save the captive ones.

Others turn a deaf ear, a blind eye

And their hearts turn to stone,

While 27 million voices continue to scream in silence.

A Scorching Tyrant

Oh the blistering rays of the summer sun

Beating against my head and eyes;

Whilst my brain fries and my energy is sapped

The sun shines bright with menacing glee.

The scorching heat is too much for me,

It weighs me down like a burden on my back.

Yet the African Sun has no mercy;

It torments those who are utterly defenceless.

Summer is like a tyrant reigning

For as long and harsh as possible.

Summer is like a cruel master,

Casting loads too heavy to bear.

Summer gives no grace to those who wish

For inspiration and consolation,

But instead clutches them in his hot fingers,

Not letting go until clouds and rain and Autumn save the         

    day.

Who loves thee, Oh African Summer?

Perhaps those who have much electrical wind inside

And deep, cool waters outside;

Perhaps those who eccentrically find heat a blessing.

But for us who feel it as a curse

Have to bear up under the weight

Of the scorching summer fire

Until the leaves wilt and turn brown and the wind begins to    

     blow.

P.S. My apologies to those who love summer; we are all different, so I hope you don’t mind me expressing my own opinion on summer, even if you don’t agree ;). 

A Silent Plea

I always like art that has some kind of message. Something that can be powerfully depicted through a carefully thought out picture without the need to use words. It is really true that a picture can speak a thousand words. To me, art shouldn't always just be some beautiful, well-done drawing or painting, etc., though most of my pictures don't necessarily have a meaning. I believe the best artists are able to speak out against something, express something personal or tell a story through their art. That's what I loved about my art exam I did for AS Levels, Cambridge. I did a series of pictures on the aftermath of child abuse (some of you might have seen them). But I haven't really done any more art that has some meaning since (besides a self-portrait I did with lots of symbolism of who I am in the background.) So now I decided to do one. The following picture is a charcoal drawing of a slave (I think the photo I drew it from was of a real slave, but I'm not sure) and you'll see that in the background there are words. I really enjoyed doing this picture and my art teacher did help me a bit, so I can't take all the credit for it. For those of you who have read my other blog Colours of the Rain, you'll know that modern-slavery is something I'm very passionate about.

If you want to find out more about modern-day slavery you can go to Not For Sale or A21 Campaign

All About Elevensies

I've been tagged by Willa Nicole at Willa Nicole Scribblings. Thanks so much! And it's all about elevensies....

Rules
- If you are tagged/nominated, you must post eleven facts about yourself.
- Then, you must answer the eleven questions the tagger has given you and make eleven questions for the people you are going to tag.
- Next, tag eleven more bloggers.
- Tell the people you tagged that you have tagged them.
- No tagging back

Now for eleven facts about myself....


1. I am terrified of frogs (weird, I know!)


2. My favourite foods are pasta, pizza and pie!


3. I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy; the movies are awesome!


4. I am a middle child.


5. I got a haircut last week.


6. I have been blogging for over a year now.


7. I'm trying hard to think of other random facts.....


8. I LOVE anything chocolate-y


9. I ate seven crumpets on Sunday night! (I know, I'm quite greedy, aren't I?)


10. I love vintage or olden-day things


11. Saying 11 random things about myself required some thought.


Now for the questions Willa Nicole asked...

1). What's your favorite time of day/night? My favourite time of the day is just before sunset.
2). What's the favorite stuffed animal you've ever had? I think it was a soft, white monkey (and a stuffed Barney. Did I just put that on the internet?)
3). If you could choose one of the three following places to go, which would it be? Madagascar, Brazil, or Greenland? Brazil.
4). Fuzzy socks or slippers? Fuzzy socks.
5). Can you make up a rhyme right off the bat? If so, write it down here. Ummm......
6). If you could create a phoenix, what color would it's fire be? How big would it be? And would it have a voice, screech, or song? (That counts as one question, right?) Its fire would be blue, it would be big and have a song more than a voice.
7). What is your favorite mythical creature? A Centaur or a griffin.
8). What are four of your favorite books? Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Anne of the Gables series (I’m counting that as one!) and Blink.
9). What is one not-commonly-used or BIG word that you know right off the top of your head? supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (does that count? ;) )
10). If your could have a dream birthday party, what would it be like? Awesomely unique ;)
11). Which one of the following trees would you like to grow from seed: An apple tree, weeping willow, or wisteria? Weeping willow.


11 questions for those I tag.....


1. What is your favourite flower?

2. If you could be any fantasy character from a book or movie, what/who would you be?

3. Would you rather go on a wild adventure (like to Narnia), become a super hero (like Spiderman), save a world from darkness (like Frodo), or become a pirate (like Jack Sparrow)?

4. What is your dream holiday?

5. If you could visit any country in the world what would it be?

6. What accent in the world do you like the most? (I love the British and Australian accent, by the way!)

7. What do you like best: chocolate, cookies or cake?

8. Cozy pyjamas or comfy jeans?

9. What is your idea of a relaxing day?

10. If you could do anything, anything at all (no limits), what would you do?

11. What are your three all-time favourite movies?

Tagging Time.....

Storyteller at Storyteller of Weston Country


Tangerine-Tane at Fifth Out of Ten


Katie at Whisperings of a Pen


Miss Hatcher at the sweet and the simple


Morgan at short sleeved pants


Sarah Jane at Pearls on a String


Britt at Encouragement For Everyday Struggles


Gina at Jars of Clay


Orla at Escape to Vanilla


Keaghan at Whisper Above the Thunder


Cindi at Cotton Candy Clouds

No Turning Back

Light danced across my closed eye-lids, beckoning me to wake up. I opened my eyes to see the first rays of the sun shining through the cracks between my curtains. It was raining gently outside; a strange mixture of rain and shine that gave me a delightful sense of peace. But then I looked around my room and saw the boxes that contained most of my earthly possessions, and suddenly I was reminded what day it was. My momentary peace shattered, I wanted to pull the covers over my head, close my eyes and rewind a few years, even as excitement, simultaneously with fear, flooded my heart. Today I was spreading my wings and leaving the nest.

I could hardly believe that I was leaving a life-time- even if eighteen years is not that much- of memories and my family and friends behind to go to University in another city. It seemed so surreal and, to be honest, I felt old. I wanted to travel back in time and enjoy my childhood of day dreams and imaginary adventures once again. But there was no turning back now; time was marching onwards, whether I felt like joining the ride or not.

Sighing, I pulled myself out of bed, got dressed and walked past the kitchen, where my mother was cooking something delicious for my last breakfast at home.  Noticing that she looked ready to burst into tears, I slipped quietly outside into the cool air and seated myself on the veranda’s steps. The rain and breeze teased my hair as I drank in the sights I would only see during the holidays. The tall oak tree I had climbed countless times, the soft green grass, honey-suckle bushes, tree house and flower-beds all held a wealth of memories. A smile played on my lips as I thought of all the times my brother and I had romped in that garden.

I was called in for breakfast some time later and it was such a dismal meal, despite the scrumptious food. I was the first child to leave home and we all somehow knew, or thought, that our close-knit family would not be quite the same again. Finally it was time to leave. We packed all the boxes we could into my small car and the rest would arrive in a truck. I had never seen my family so forlorn as they were when they hugged me goodbye, tears in their eyes. After all that needed to be said was said and a prayer was prayed, I climbed into my car and, with tears streaming down my cheeks, rode away. I couldn’t believe I was leaving them behind as this new chapter in my life began. I had finally flown away and left the nest; there was no turning back now.

Writing Tips- Literary Humour

First, I would like to apologize for neglecting my blog; I know I haven’t posted in a long time. I won’t be able to blog much anymore because our internet minutes are greatly reduced. However, here are rather amusing “tips” I found in a book on writing. I hope you enjoy it and notice the humour.

The Thirteen Gremlins of Grammar

1.        Correct speling is essential.

2.     Don’t use no double negatives.

3.      Verbs has got to agree with their subjects.

4.     Don’t write no run-on sentences they are hard to read.

5.     About them sentence fragments.

6.     Don’t use commas, that aren’t necessary.

7.      A preposition is not a good word to end a sentence with.

8.     Remember to not ever split infinitives.

9.     Writing carefully, dangling particles must be avoided.

10.   Always use apostrophe’s correctly.

11.      Make each singular pronoun agree with their antecedents.

12.   Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.

13.    Proofread your writing to make sure you don’t words out.

And, above all, avoid cliché’s like the plague.