Do writers and artists think about the colour of their skin or what is inside and outside it?

Ruth HartleyArt Process, Racism, Southern Africa, Visual Arts2 Comments

Right and wrong writing and art My last post had some very interesting comments made about it. I also had follow-up by email and I was sent this NBC News article from the USA which contains a quote that seemed very important for me personally. Thank you to those who sent and forwarded this article. Here’s the quote but the […]

Photo Children

Ruth HartleyFamily, Journey, Photography2 Comments

I don’t change but the photos of my children grow younger all the time. My children are ageless too but their recorded images alter every year The photo children become thin or fat They wear braces or smiles, spectacles or scowls. Their hair is straight or curled, but in their present flesh they are constant. My heart holds them so, […]

My story, is it a memoir, an autobiography, or a novel?

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Graphic Novel, Memoir, The Tin Heart Gold Mine, Writing Process4 Comments

What is my novel? “How much of your novel is an autobiography?” It’s a good question to ask a writer. A good question It was asked at the launch of The Tin Heart Gold Mine, but it’s not a simple question to answer. I immediately wanted to ask the other writers there what they thought. It’s easier to answer this […]

Paris, Africa and Otto Dix’s war paintings

Ruth HartleyBook Launch, Graphic Novel, Southern Africa, The Tin Heart Gold Mine, Visual Arts4 Comments

I have just returned from two nights in Paris where I visited a museum exhibition about Africa, saw paintings, and was reminded of Otto Dix’s war paintings — and his paintings of war injuries in particular. We travelled there by train, which gave me many lovely hours of dozily dreaming and reading. It was a foggy, misty day so staring […]

Writing and Art – Therapy and Resistance

Ruth HartleyArt Process, Creativity, Visual Arts, Writing ProcessLeave a Comment

Corpus “Corpus”, my art installation was shown at Peleyre in September 2016. Its theme may be summed up as the search for the spirit in the flesh. It was well received which pleased me no end as my work is sometimes regarded as challenging and unconventional. I always hope that my art will be the start of a conversation between […]