Jean Rhys

another writer i have been reading is Jean Rhys. This pocket sized book, La Grosse Fifi has four short stories; La Grosse Fifi, Vienne, Tea with an Artist and Mixing Cocktails. Due to the fact that all eight-five pages had caught my attention, i found this...

Tigers Are Better Looking; first edition, 1968, Andre Deutsch Limited. Not only does it have the four short stories from La Grosse Fifi, which were a selection of stories from The Left Bank. It has fourteen other short stories.


During World War One Jean Rhys volunteered in a soldiers canteen. While her third husband was in jail she went to go live with English writer Ford Maddox Ford, whom she met in Paris, and his long time partner, Stella Brown.   Soon after an affair ensued. By 1940 she seemed to have disappeared from the public eye until she published her novel, Wide Sargasso Sea in 1966. For which she won the W.H. Smith Literary Award for in 1967. 

Street Songs

after reading about Edith Sitwell i was determined to find some of her work. and i did just that. i found this 1943, second edition of Street Songs. not handwritten, it is dedicated to her brother, British writer Osbert Sitwell and contains the poem Still Falls The Rain, about the London blitz. the book only has 34 pages but the collection of poems are beautifully crafted. interesting note about Sitwell, she would knit clothes for her friends who served in the army. one of her friends was actor Alec Guinness for whom she knit a pair of sea boot stockings.  - jw    

being a person who writes and paints, i am always searching for new places where i can write, sketch and read. being inspired can happen anywhere and anytime. new surroundings can help refresh. while the repetitive places can hold you ransom... harbouring your ghosts. i try not to be so frequent with my visits to certain places. making them more into a cycle. one big loop. i used to go to one place religiously and now almost everything about that place irritates me. for me, nothing flows there. in the pursuit of new places to resume the creative flow finding them has it's obvious advantages. - jw        

open mic night

last night i took the stage at Cha Island Tea's Open Mic Night. i was smack dab in the middle of the show with a whole bunch of musicians around me. the entertainment was plenty and rockin'. my segment went very well and so did the others. months ago, Cha Island was the place where i had my art up and i managed to sell three pieces! what a great way to end the month!!!   

this non-descript book i found is a poetry book by Welsh poet and writer W.H. Davies. this copy of Nature Poems and Others is a fourth impression printed in 1922. the 62 pages are filled with lovely prose on nature and life. Davies was a part of the Georgian poetry movement and lived most of his life as a tramp or hobo. he was related to the famous British actor Sir Henry Irving. his most notable work is The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp. Davies also lived in the United States and made a brief appearance in Canada, which cost him his leg from the knee down. 

the world is round

in my travels i also found this book by Gertrude Stein. it's the first Camelot printing, 1972 and if you can believe the spine hasn't even been cracked. which made taking photos of the illustrations hard. i wonder if someone bought it with the intention to read it, never got around to it and realised they had the book when doing some cleaning and decided to give it away. a shame really. books always have stories of their own. another reason why i bought this book was because of who illustrated it, Clement Hurd. he illustrated many children's books. Goodnight Moon and the Runaway Bunny are the two he is most famously known for.

just a sample of Clement Hurd's lovely illustrations that round out this tale about a girl named Rose.

Robert Burns

Last week i decided to go to one of my favourite secondhand bookstores, The Bookseller and browse the poetry section. I found these little gems. A three volume set of Robert Burns by Morris, all leather bound and in great condition. Lots of poems and songs to read. At the back of volume three there is a Glossary of Scotticisms. Which seems to me to be like a glossary of terms, of Scottish words from A-Z. Just in case you need brushing up on.

guess who's coming to dinner...

my owl design on a plate. here is the first of my designs that will grace a plate. i am sure my other designs will serve up well. - jw

© copyright photos and artwork by Jacqueline Williams. publishing prohibited unless with the author's permission.

three tulips

here is the lovely little tulip bud vase i have painted. simple but sweet. -jw

little blue bird

most recently i started painting on ceramics. i have painted my artwork on vases, tiles and plates. the little blue bird trinket box is the latest and ever so cute! painting on canvas and painting on ceramics are two different things. i had to reverse some of my thinking on how to approach drawing and painting with ceramics. with a canvas i feel i have more control. ceramics less so... drawing, painting, the number of coats of paint and once it hits the kiln equals accepting what is handed to you when you pick it up. all of this continues to be a learning experience for me and something i am enjoying quite a bit. -jw

© copyright artwork and photo by Jacqueline Williams

my poetry reading went very well and i enjoyed reading at Greenwoods' new location. very cosy and intimate. the weather has warmed up. my art is no longer up at Cha Island Tea Co. it was up for four months, i think that's a pretty good length of time. i will venture along the Ave and see where else i may hang my art. i am also working on some new designs/paintings for this years artwalk. i have been painting ceramics too! many projects are on the go. no wonder it feels like spring is here! - jw