Sunday, August 1, 2010

HAPPY LUGHNASADH



"LUGHNASADH" by Ruthie Redden

Having written three posts about Lughnasadh already, it's hard to come up with something new to celebrate this August 1 holiday. (One of the eight Celtic holidays of the year, Lughnasadh - or Lammas - celebrates the beginning of the harvest.) I was especially greedy with using Internet images in my posts and haven't been able to find any new images that I liked for Lughnasadh 2010.

That is, until I came across this "Lughnasadh" portrait by my Scottish blogging friend, Ruthie Redden. Ruthie paints "tales of folklore and myth, traditions and custom steeped in the Scottish and the Celtic". And, she has just opened her own website through which to sell her art! I am so pleased to use this Lughnasadh Day post to introduce you to her site, "Ruthie Redden": http: http://www.ruthieredden.com/.

Ruthie offers prints and originals of paintings in these themes: Celtic, Fantasy and Fairy, Folklore and Myth, Nature, Creatures and Bits and Pieces, and also offers prints of her fine photography. She also has a "bespoke" design service, for which she does portraits, calligraphy and stationery, including birth and wedding announcements.

Ruthie hasn't added a dollars-to-currency conversion to her site yet, but a British pound is approximately $1.57.

"CARRICK MERMAID"

Ruthie paints beautiful red- and auburn-haired ladies, and this mermaid is no exception. The painting was inspired by "dusky, evening walks along Carrick shore, Kirkcudbrightshire, when sunsets glinting on swirling sea set imagination alight."




"CARDONESS CASTLE HARE"

My witch's purse seems to be unexpectedly empty right now, but as soon as it refills itself again, I'm ordering this print. A Celtic totem (hare), Scottish thistles and a castle - What more could a Scottish lass ask for? "Cardoness Castle, Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries & Galloway, is the 15th century ruined tower house of the McCulloch family".


"MUSIC IN THE FOREST"

Ruthie's paintings speak to my love for Celtic fantasy art. This one was inspired by "walks in the ancient Castramont Wood, Gatehouse of Fleet, listening to the music of the trees."




"COMING HOME"

This painting makes me think of the Scottish tinkers and travelers (sometimes also called gypsies) that I have written about in this blog and my book blog. In fact, it was through Ruthie's blog that I first found some information I had been searching for on the subject of tinkers. This is a portrait of "A gypsy girl amongst the Galloway Hills."

Ruthie's blog, "5 Precious Things" is also delightful. Here is the link: http://5preciousthings.blogspot.com/

Here are my Lammas posts for 2007, 2008 and 2009:




http://celticanamcara.blogspot.com/2007/08/lammastide.html

And here is a Lammas poem:

http://celticanamcara.blogspot.com/2007/08/lammas-poem.html

10 comments:

  1. Blessed Lammas!! What a great site, thanks for sharing Julie!

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  2. I love ruthie's hare painting too, beautiful and perfect for Lughnasadh.
    Nice to see a post from you again.

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  3. Wonderful - so much to read. I spent a very enjoyable time reading all your blogs. Thank you.

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  4. Dear Julie, wow, thank you sooo much i am bowled over that you gave me such a write up and thank you to for the idea of the currency converter, i have added one at the top of the info page on my site, a useful tip ( i hope it is as useful to you too, do let me know what you think! Lammas blessings to you too dear friend, i hope the week is full of happiness for you & yours. I am off to begin making a "tattie bogel" for our village fair x x

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  5. Ah, but her work is indeed fantastic Julie. Thank you for writing about her! I am going to visit her now. I hope that things have eased up a bit for you and your husband. We are currently in the same boat; neither of us are working so life is racing scarily at us right now. Hopeful he will find something soon or I'll be blogging at the library myself!

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  6. Harvest blessings to you. So thoughtful of you to share Ruthie's fantastic art! She is amazing.

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  7. Love Ruthie's art work and your posts!
    August 1st was a grandmother's birthday and my new daughter-in-law's also. A lovely, significant day!

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  8. Lovely post Julie and I did go visit Ruthie's blog about her shop which looks wonderful surrounded by that Scottish countryside. She is definitely talented - love the little hare sculptures as well as her redheads in the paintings.

    How are you dear? Hope the Summer has been pleasant for you all.

    Yesterday I purchased a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird so will be reading it soon thanks to all the info. you shared earlier.

    Are you looking forward to Autumn as much as I am? Oh for cooler days and fewer biting bugs!

    Hugs - Mary

    P.S. And what is a "tattie bogel",
    do you know?

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  9. What beautiful work I am going to have to check her out her blog. Good to see a post from you.

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  10. OOps, Mary, i should have said, sorry, a tattie boggle is the scottish equivelant to a scarecrow, the village have a competition each year where they make "tatteibogles" and put them on display outside the cottages. Thank you all for the lovely comments re my work!

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