our nearby fox family

We have many foxes round here like many cities nowadays. They are safer and more well fed in the city it seams. We have seen lots of grown foxes since we moved here and then we realised we could see a mum and her 4 babies from our bedroom window. They are on the second allotment back from out garden. These photos were taken by the allotmenteer and they seem to be very tame and not too bothered about people gardening around them

Sparrow Hawk in next doors garden

chomping on a wood pidgeon

wildlife seen from our house and garden

We moved in here at the end of October last year and the first wildlife we saw here was a frog. I was so excited as we had already dug a huge pond before we had moved in (for the 7 large and 28 baby goldfish we had bred in a tank before we moved). Knowing that frogs and goldfish aren't always good bedfellows we also dug a small pond.

Winter and Snow
As with Manchester (where we lived before) snow that settles even for a day is rare here, so get a load before Christmas then a whole week where we couldn't take the car out (and to be honest I didn't go out much as I didn't want to fall over!)was amazing.

We were soon aware that a huge tree in a garden 2 doors away was full of birds that I couldn't identify until our next door neighbour took some photos and we could see them more clearly. They were Fieldfares and they were eating the red berries the size of malteesers. There were hundreds of them and they stayed in that tree eating until the snow went and were there from light to dusk each day. I soon heard on various wildlife programmes that other people all over the country were experiencing similar amazing sights as birds like Fieldfares and Redwings took to the towns to look for food.

a visual trip round our garden

All these titles are mixed up - hopefully you can match them to the pictures

the small pond inhabited by 1001 tadpole that hatched from frog spawn in a tank in the dining room and were released away from the goldfish - still no legs!
the view from our bedroom window - this sold us the house
the back of the house and the loggia
my new studio
our pond with goldfish (we brought with us), frogs and newts (that were living in the garden)

We have been here for nearly seven months now having had a winter of builders, rain, builders, snow, builders wind and rain, builders, snow and it's spring and we have no builders. pretty good really

eradicating mice the humane way

Last summer it turned out that my brother and sister in law, in London, were faced with a similar situation to us, in Brighton, when we discovered we had mice in the garden, far too near to the house.

Like them I went and bought the little humane traps that close behind them as they reach and taste the cheese bait. Like them we caught a beautiful tiny mouse in our trap and then wondered what to do with it. Slightly freaked out I sent my husband off to let it go on a piece of spare land near us and then agonized with thoughts about what havoc it might reap there, so a following mouse was blipped with poison I’m sorry to say.

However, my brother and sister in law decided to take their captured mouse for a walk. It’s one they do regularly, along the canal and they planned to let it go there. I don’t know how the walk went but when they got to their designated place they put the trap down, opened the flap and watched the little mouse poke it’s head out, look at them and then start running.

To their amazement the mouse ran straight for the canal and plopped straight into the water and started to swim across. They watched it as it swam away, the small furrow of water following it. From nowhere, down swooped some seagulls, one grabbing the mouse out of the water and the others fighting for it as they all flew off. You can’t help feeling sorry for the little mouse and it’s certainly made us all think again about how to get rid of the mouse in the house.

what's our government called?

We've been discussing what our government is called. When it looked like we were going to get a Labour/ Lib Dem alliance the press called a progressive government. When the other 29 MPs were added the talk was of a Rainbow Alliance. All very good we think but what about now with the Tories and Lib/ Dems 'teaming' up

so far we have heard:
* the Lib/ Cons
* Con/Lib/Dems

and then today on Radio 2 (I was decorating at the time!) someone came up with

the Con/Dems

Definately the best so far

Any more??????

Our New Chickens

I've always wanted to keep chickens and we now have a garden large enough to do so. Last September I was given a days chicken care training at Middle Farm and it was fantastic. Lots of information and hands on experiences by two of the staff and other students, some of whom already had chickens and others, like me, were thinking about it. At Christmas I was given a book about keeping chickens in an urban environment which I read from cover to cover fascinated. I then found I had absorbed huge amounts of information and along with this a sense of fear.

I found myself with a dilemma. On the one hand there seemed to be so much to remember and so many things that could go wrong. On the other hand everyone I have ever known who has kept chickens always seemed so relaxed about it. I couldn't quite marry the two together and started voicing doubts about it within my family. I got ohs and that's a shame for some and then my mum said she had started her life with chickens (kept by her dad during the second world war when she was a child in London) and was hoping to end her life with chickens (mine, she meant). Well no pressure then!

I decided that the bottom line was would I be able to kill a chicken if I had to? I don't mean for food (that's another ongoing debate) but in case one got very ill or was attacked or some other horror that might lead to me having to put it out of some kind of misery. On the course I had learned the principal of killing a chicken and of course I had read about it to. We had been warned that often 'beginner' chicken killers would actually pull the chicken's head off in the fear that they would only half kill it. As you can imagine that didn't do a lot for my confidence. When I voiced this concern to various friends, family and our builder (who was transforming our house at the time) I got 4 volunteers signed up for 'killing duty' in case of need.

Ok I thought, no more excuses so my youngest daughter and I researched chicken coops and runs on the internet and chose the one we wanted, ordered it and it arrived during the first heavy snow before Christmas, and guess what, it was all flat packed. I was stunned! We then had Christmas, lots more snow, lots more building work, lots of rain and mud, lots of other things that needed doing before we could open these 4 boxes. They sat on our loggia (another tale) for weeks until some friends came to spend Easter with us.

There were eight of us in the house a mixture of kids, young adults and adults and we were planning our Easter weekend. Shopping trips and seaside fun was on the calendar for all but me and my friend. She said why don't we put up the coop as she wasn't good at doing nothing on holiday, like me really. So we did and it came together beautifully and we all got very excited.

I would have stopped there for another few weeks (panic building again)but the cry came out 'Let's go and get some chickens' and the kids got on the internet (bloody thing!) and found a farm in the country selling point of lay hens. After a stiff gin and tonic I got on the phone and arranged a visit for Easter Monday. We set off in 2 cars, all of us and my mum with 4 boxes. We drove for hours and got thoroughly lost and all got the giggles as we kept having to turn back or round or something.

Eventually we found this place which was awash with mud, thick, deep mud and lots of chickens and ducks. We bought 4 Warrens (Hybreds - a mixture of different breeds as I had read they are less tempremental, good layers and were less likely to try and fly away. We got home very quickly and put our chickens in their new home.

A few weeks down the line I feel pretty relaxed about having them. Touch wood nothing has gone wrong and although we are surrounded by urban foxes we haven't had any bother, probably because Queenie our dog is out with them most of the time and barks if she senses anything and of course they are locked tightly up at night.

The photos show:

our 4 chickens (May, Mrs Cockerchinska, Peckham and Elvis) let loose in the garden with Queenie for the first time

our first egg

our first fritatta with our own eggs (feeding 8) and cooked by our eldest daughter

Elvis exploring greater heights

I am sure there will be more tales ................... for the blog

and last but least Queenie pretending to be a chicken, or was she stuck in the coop as a chicken was near the entrance. Either way she was very pleased to see me and very happy to be let out the back door

Sorry the list is backwards but I think you get the gist!

mural and diggers April 2010

Why I did the Dyke Road Park murals

Christmas 2008 my daughter gave me a fantastic book on Guerrilla Gardening which I read with great enthusiasm. I had been going through a tough period and was trying to encourage myself out of various things including cycles of depression and artist's block. At this time I spent even longer out walking with our dog Queenie and thinking.
We went all over the place, roads, parks, seafront etc and this inspirational book was playing in the back of my mind and I wanted to paint, paint and paint

One sunny walking day Queenie and I were up at Dyke Road Park and on the playground fence was a very old mural board that was virtually rotted in position and it was difficult to work out what the picture had been. A huge excitement hit me as I decided to paint a new mural for the park and I came home very excited by the idea. At home I found 2 huge boards and started to paint. I had a lovely time and although the final results are not brill (lettering particularly) the process and experience was fantastic.

By Easter I had them ready with drill holes and wire and got up a few mornings very early ready to take them out and put them in place, but chickened out each time. At Easter my brother was down staying with us and said he would help me do it, so the next morning Tom, Molly and I were up early and we hung them on the railings.

I had included my email address if anyone wanted to contact me and sent an email and photos off to my friends saying that there could be a range of reactions to what I had done including: them being taken down, me getting in trouble, getting work through it or absolutely nothing.

It's now May 2010 and I have never heard a dickie bird. The murals are still up and the tatty old one has been taken down. Contractors have been in and completely redone the play equipment and landscaping and the murals are still there.

I have an eye on a second venue for a guerrilla painting by me so I will keep you posted

Dyke Road Park My Guerrilla Art

Here's a bit about work I've been doing for ARKA

Commissions for ARKA Funeral Directors and Ecopod
Over the last year there have been a growing number of people choosing a biodegradable cardboard or ecopod coffin for their own planned burial or cremation or for a friend of member of the family.

I have been asked to meet with families and friends to create their chosen designs and so each one has been very individual. I enjoy this area of my work tremendously and feel it's a huge honour to create a person's last resting place. This area of work has also been a steep learning curve for me, personally, in many ways.

Images of my commissions for ARKA Funeral Directors

Painting Sales

Some of the paintings I have displayed on this site have in fact sold. If you would like to know more about any of my work then please do contact me by email on joanna.martin@tesco.net where I can answer your queries about size, price and delivery.

I also work on a commission basis so do get in touch with any interest or ideas!

Links

Blenio Bistro Brighton

Cow Parade Manchester 2004

ARKA Funeral Directors

Ecopods

Seven Dials Artists Group

Fresh Canvas - Charlotte Brown

Elephant Family

Elephant Parade London 2010

Joanna Martin Facebook

My work on 'Jo Bennett Original Pictures'

My Elephants - "Gloria"

Gloria
Sponsored by Knight Frank

Designed and painted by Joanna Martin
Located on the Kings Road

Elephant Parade London 2010

My Elephants - "Cotee"

Cotee
(Colours Of The Earth Elephant)

Designed and painted by Joanna Martin
Located at the Greenwich Visitors Centre, London

Elephant Parade London 2010

Info on my Elephants for London 2010

Elephant Parade Teams Up With Joanna Martin to Unveil Urban Jungle in London Conservation Pioneers Help Paint a Brighter Future for the Endangered Asian Elephant

This Summer, Elephant Family, the only charity solely dedicated to ensuring the survival of the Asian elephant, is teaming up with Joanna Martin to launch London’s biggest ever public art event, which will see the capital taken over by elephants.

Originally developed in Holland by Elephant Parade pioneers Marc and Mike Spits, to help support the protection of the endangered Asian elephant, this unique event will hit London streets for the first time, thanks to Elephant Family founder, Mark Shand.

The parade will feature 250 life-size elephants hand-painted by an assortment of established and emerging talent from the art and design world, including Joanna Martin. Previous parades have been held in Holland and Belgium, raising over €1,600,000 in total.

Joanna Martin explains,
“ I wanted to be an Elephant Parade artist because I believe passionately about our world environment and all forms of life within it. Although I often feel swamped by the international and national news I watch, read and listen to. I keep telling myself that I can do small things to make a difference. In a small way I compost, re-use and recycle, garden organically, feed the birds, have a pond, confront racism and other ‘isms’, support people working together and I paint and promote my beliefs through my work.

London’s Elephant Parade has allowed me to be part of a wonderfully creative project that aims to raise awareness of the Asian elephant’s plight, by providing me with two model elephants to decorate. The colourful design highlights the Asian elephant’s serene grandeur and, I hope, will remind everyone that although the London Elephant Parade has a serious message it will also be one of the most vibrant events to take place in London in 2010.”

This elephant, destined to become highly collectible work of art, will grace a key London landmark turning the capital into an urban jungle. All of the elephants will then be herded together in one of London’s great green spaces for a magnificent exhibition, open to the public.

After going on display to the public they will be auctioned by Sothebys at a glittering event, which aims to raise over £1 million, benefiting more than 15 UK conservation charities working in Asia. Attracting a veritable who’s who of London society, including the Duchess of York, Princess Michael of Kent and Joanna Lumley, this event is set to be the party of the season.

Working with the Wildlife Trust of India, funds raised by the Elephant Parade will be used to buy and manage vital wildlife habitat across Asia, giving Asian elephants, and the species and people that share the land, a safer and more sustainable future. Elephant Family will also invest funds in community education projects across Asia, highlighting the commercial, cultural and ecological significance of Asian elephants, to instigate a positive shift in local attitudes towards elephants.

Elephant Parade 2010 Website

Paintings

All about me

I have been a freelance, almost full time artist since 2003 starting in Manchester and now living in Sussex. I love to use colour and pattern in my work whether it's still lives, buildingscapes or people I'm painting. Usually I work on canvas although more work is now painting on the 3 dimensional; i.e. cows for Cowparade Manchester 2004, elephants for Elephant Family London 2010 and coffins for buriel and cremation.

I am inspired by nature, colour and the environment. I am a keen organic, wildlife gardener at home and in the community. I believe passionately about our world environment and all forms of life within it. Although often feeling swamped by the international and national news, I keep telling myself that: 'I can do small things to make a difference'. In a 'small' way I compost, re-use and recycle, garden organically, feed the birds, have a pond, grow vegetables and we are about to get chickens. I confront racism and other 'isms', support people to work together and I paint and promote my beliefs through my work.

My Visual CV with detail of past projects