Autumn Leaves & Studio News
“I will make you a pillow of leaves – leaves yellow and red, fallen from trees that are dreams imprisoned.”
– Patrick Kavanagh
I’m still holding on to that Autumn spirit and have been trying to enjoy as much of my favourite season as possible. The season began with the publication of my very first fully illustrated picture book – ‘Secrets From The Fairy World’ by Saskia Gwinn. I received some cute promo materials from the publisher, including fairy badges and bookmarks. I also photographed and filmed the book for social media, and of course Billie the cat had to come along and investigate what I was doing. She tried to eat the leaf props, and play football with the chestnuts and pine cones (she’s actually a great striker). Luckily most of my filming was nearly finished by the time she arrived on set.
With the colder weather returning, one has to stay warm in their studio space, and a French toast water bottle is the most obvious choice to achieve optimal warmth. While packing wholesale orders, I watched ‘East of Eden’ to pass the time. It was beautifully shot and so addictive to watch. I’ll have to read the book someday soon. My birthday also falls during this wonderful season, and along with the hot water bottle, my sister completed her gifts to me with a cute New Yorker birthday card, which could only be inspired by a certain football-playing cat!
Studio days can get quite lonely and overwhelming, so I’ve been making more of an effort to enjoy going places. This meant becoming a tourist in my own city of Dublin, and rediscovering beautiful places to visit and be inspired by. I visited the Botanic Gardens, Rathfarnham Castle, Glasnevin Cemetery, Kilmainham Gaol and Arbour Hill Cemetery. As a lover of Irish history, old architecture and nature, these places helped to reinvigorate my senses, and brush away any studio cobwebs.
I hope you enjoy the following photos. ~ Rachel x
