Memories of Home - Mixed Media House Series

Memories of Home - 5 x 7 in mixed media painting

Memories of home, is a weekly series of art and reflections of home.  I will be sharing a selection of mixed media 4x7 houses that I have been making, that capture different elements of home either that I currently enjoy or that I remember as a child.  I had originally started making these as one of the monthly challenges on Motley Soul, but the challenges of life got in the way!    I have decided to continue to make and share the houses, which are made from a selection of materials.  As I continue to make the mixed media houses they take me back to times past and in contrast how very different things are now.  I chose a selection of words that all bring back memories of home life, or how I wanted my environment to be ie 'nurturing, relaxing, a sanctuary' things that I want to experience at home and I am sure that others too want to have that place where they can be themselves.  I will share a memory or thought whether from growing up as a child or where I currently live with my family.  Along with the mixed media house, every now and then I will add a journal page or a piece of art around the word for that week.

Earliest Memories

Parliament Hill Fields - age 4

 

My earliest memory of home was when I was around 4 years old.  We lived in 2 rooms on the 2^nd floor of a house.  My mum, dad, me and my brother who was a baby occupied one room and my sister who was 10 years old occupied the other.  A large fireplace dominated the room and at bath times we had a large tin bath which mum used to fill with jugs of water.  I never thought about how it would be emptied, but I guess there are a lot of things that you don’t question as a child you just know that one minute it is full and we are playing, splashing and laughing and the next minute you are being wrapped up in an oversized towel looking forward to the night time snack.

The house that mum currently lives is where I grew up in from the age of 7 until I left home.  As a family we faced the normal ups and downs, the challenges and triumphs and came out the other end.  My sister was the one who started our quest for adventure, if you were bored and wanted something to do when we were kids you went outside and played.  My sister would take me and my brother all over London going to museums and galleries and exploring the sights that people come from around the world to see but many who live here take for granted. When my sister went off to University it was just me and my brother Robert.  We didn’t have the technology they have now and our entertainment was playing outside with a football, or making it up a game as you went along.  The storyline for our adventure games always involved a space ship, aliens, saving the world and low food supplies!

Gardens on our doorstep

 

View from Parliament Hill

We had to make use of our environment, we had Parliament Hill Fields and Hampstead Health on our doorstep.  From a very young age it was one of the places my dad would take us on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and we relished being out in the wide open space.  

Me and Robert continued to use it as our back garden and when we weren’t saving the world we would frequent the adventure play ground with its climbing frames and tyre swings.  We had loads of great memories of our adventures during our 6 week holidays, riding out on our blue scooters and facing the world of ‘aliens’ –  the sweets in our pockets acting as our cloaking devices and energy packs.

Traditions handed down

Back at home, finished your homework, cooked dinners and all of us around the table, the chatter of our voices excited to share what we had done.  Mums cooking could rival any chef and she could put her hand to an amazing array of dishes - the tastes, the aromas, the combinations, she was an amazing cook.  She passed on those skills to us as we developed our own specialities.  Robert mastered making deserts, pies, - mums famous fruit spiced cakes and his custard with a dash of mixed spice and vanilla which he would make from scratch - he made it an art, he made it just right with the balance of texture and flavours, it was on his 'to do list' at every family dinner. My sister mastered fine dining and I was always a ‘lets see what we can make out of this’ type of person.  I love the challenge of learning a recipe and making it my own, altering and creating and entirely new dish.  I like the spontaneous and it depends how I feel what I will cook.

I think back to those days with fondness with the family - no elbows on the table mind you!  but you spent time sharing about your day and more time was spent, listening, laughing and relaxing....

I hope you join me each Wednesday on my journey over the weeks, as I share my mixed media houses and some art journaling and look back to the memories of home, and look forward to you sharing some of your own memories.

Wind - Creating in Faith

Wind - Creating in Faith

Creating in Faith bookmark holder

I am like the gentle breeze blowing the dandelion stalks

taking them to their new destination and home. 

I move through the trees rustling melodies each singing their own song,

I gently tug at the clinging leaves, ochre, reds and golden browns.

I am the icy winds rushing through the roof tops,

it’s time to rest a while, dream my dreams of tomorrow,

wrapped up warm, there is a different crew, time for the layers

and don’t forget your ear muffs and snow boots!

I blow away the fallen leaves, time for a spring clean,

can you hear my new song of fresh beginnings whistling

as I breathe new life, whisperings of new growth. 

We dance again among the palm trees swaying as I greet you on the beaches,

warm currents carefully caressing your skin,

winter long forgotten enjoying the harvest.

But I am unpredictable

I can soar across the oceans

and bring tales of devastation to everything in my path,

bringing the thrashing waves

while I spread the forest fires, blazing in defiance. 

I can uproot trees and send buildings to their destination of rubble. 

I come by many names, breeze, wind, gale, tornado and hurricane

each variation in degree,

in its season,

in and out of harmony with the earth.

 Yes I can bring much pain in the flash of a moment and in the next

I remind you of summers filled with aromas, perfumed flowers and

 tomorrows that have yet to come

new growth, new life, new grace.

 © Amanda Trought

He who dwells in the shelter of the most High 

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty...Psalm 91:1

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind James 1:6

I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart Psalm 40:8

Sometimes I Write Poetry..

Sometimes I write poetry.........

when I cannot find the words I am seeking I let them flow from a place that has not yet been hit by the critic, via the back door where the meaning can be felt, when the mood takes me and the murmerings of my heart want to be heard from a different place. Where the soul and the spirit is illuminated and can just be......

I hope you enjoy my offerings when they come...

Heart...
Didn’t realise until it started, 

out of the blue, 

dissatisfaction ebbed its way in

then came the sadness and the loneliness.
Despair had crept in through the back door.

Now there is the longing yearning at my heart
Reminding me of what has not been said,

those missed intimacies,

now two strangers,

glances exchanged

will my life ever be the same?
What is it?

the longing

weighs me down
Where is it,

where does it live,

I try to identify make sense of it

My heart,

I hear a faint cry,

my heart is crying out to be heard,

I thought I knew what I wanted
I sigh,

my heart was never involved

only thought it was,

made practical decisions at the time
No one was supposed to get hurt

Amanda Trought

Gratitude and Celebration Journal - Week 12 - Brave

Gratitude and Celebration Journal - Week 12 

You are Braver than you think you are

Brave

Would you ever consider yourself to be brave? when you look back at your life and experiences have there been clear examples that you can think of?  There are people all round the world who do brave things that go unnoticed, whether it is speaking up against injustices and standing up for your beliefs to making a difference in your community and being a helping hand.  This page is a reminder to me how far I have actually come.  There are so many things that we dream of doing, and each and every day can be a challenge.  We have to be clear about where we would like to go then pick ourselves up and take another step.  Boldness in my work and confidence to share has been something that I have been working on, especially when it comes to the journal work.  It is in our braveness that we pave the way for someone else to shine their light. I celebrate and am grateful for the many opportunities to come.

Gratitudes and Celebration Journal - You are Brave!

As this week draws to a close can you think of examples where you have had to be brave?  Remeber if you made it through that day then you can make it through many others.  Have a blessed weekend!