Elaine Massung

Elaine Massung May 13, 2016

An Ode to Woodpigeons

A lot of people don’t like woodpigeons. Knowing that I had a half dozen feeders scattered around my garden, a colleague once asked for tips and tricks on how to keep them away when he was setting up his own feeding station. Other friends have gone to elaborate lengths to prevent pigeons from perching on their feeders, preferring to allow only the small garden birds grab… View Post

Elaine Massung May 10, 2016

Rockin’ Robins

Since March, the garden has started to come back to life. First, spring flowers like daisies and daffodils made an appearance. The frogs returned to the pond to spawn, and the tadpoles have been getting bigger and doing whatever it is that tadpoles do as they go about their metamorphosis. More recently, the constant to-ing and fro-ing of small garden birds has been added into the… View Post

Elaine Massung May 5, 2016

Wiltshire Wonderland

I wrote on Tuesday about how the hedgehog silhouette was inspired by a visit to the Wiltshire countryside last year, and this is a good opportunity to share a few (or maybe slightly more!) photos from that evening, when a chance hunt for bluebells turned into the opportunity to see a local area in a whole new light. [Insert your… View Post

Elaine Massung May 3, 2016

Sharing the Hedge

The last, but certainly not least of the Magnificent Mammal collection is the hedgehog. It is such an iconic British animal that its absence in the collection would have been noticeable—much like it is in reality: hedgehog numbers are down at least 25% over the past decade, and they’ve been plummeting for the past 30-40 years. Needing a decent-sized territory in which to roam, these… View Post

Elaine Massung May 1, 2016

Wiltshire Wanderings

I am not a morning person. A late night of reading, writing, or working on a current project, followed by long, luxurious lie in the next day is the height of bliss for me. However, there is one thing that will get me out of bed even before the crack of dawn: bluebells. Every year, the woods near Marlborough gain a carpet of… View Post

Elaine Massung April 28, 2016

Observing History

A key part of my PhD dissertation involved creating a working prototype of a location-based guide for a heritage site. Bristol doesn’t have a shortage of these: from Civil War defences on Brandon Hill to the eponymous castle of Castle Park, the difficulty is in just choosing one! In the end, my supervisor and I agreed on the Clifton Suspension… View Post

Elaine Massung April 26, 2016

On the Rocks

I am taking a trip down memory lane this week with photos of Bristol, specifically those inspired by views from the Clifton Suspension Bridge. I spent a lot of time here as part of my PhD dissertation about archaeological interpretation: in addition to the world famous bridge, it’s an area rich in industrial heritage deserving a closer look. The Clifton Rocks… View Post

Elaine Massung April 24, 2016

Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion

I have thousands of photos scattered across a number of computers and external hard drives. I have recently started excavating these as I work on various designs, trying to find just the right image to mesh with my collection of silhouettes. While I am still working to expand the range of wildlife designs, I am also keen to showcase local scenes.… View Post

Elaine Massung April 16, 2016

They grow up so fast …

It was two weeks ago that I posted about watching frog eggs turn into tadpoles, and even after hatching they have been providing me with a great deal of entertainment. The pond is the first place I stop after work; before even going into the house I take a peek to see what’s going on and how the tadpoles are… View Post

Elaine Massung April 14, 2016

Trainspotting

5:30am: Alarm goes off5:30-5:45am: Talk myself into getting out of bed5:45-6:45am: Dress, hair, make up, get ready to face the day6:58am: Train from Chippenham to Swindon This has been my weekday schedule for the past year or so. I am fortunate to have the flexibility to choose my own starting time at work, so these early hours are a deliberate choice. The first hour… View Post

Elaine Massung April 10, 2016

Why MissElaineous?

I have always admired people who know exactly what they want to do in life. Those who discovered their passion at a young age and did everything they could to pursue it. The musician chasing after perfect notes and converting gruelling hours of practice into muscle memory, making their playing look and sound effortless. An artist dabbling in their chosen… View Post

Elaine Massung April 2, 2016

POND LIFE

Spring is a season for new life. Lambs can be seen frolicking in fields across the country, gardens are showing the first flush of colour, and birds are beginning to stake out their territory for nesting. But the sign of spring that had me most overjoyed? The humble frogspawn. Nature’s Calendar, a site run by the Woodland Trust to record… View Post

Elaine Massung March 28, 2016

AN EASTER GETAWAY

Samuel Johnson famously declared that “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” What was true in the 18th century remains just as accurate today. England’s capital city is just over an hour away from home by train, and it’s a place I visit regularly for work and pleasure.… View Post

Elaine Massung March 18, 2016

MEDITATION BY GOOSE

This is Lydiard House and Park, near Swindon in the UK. While the land belonged to the St. John family for over 500 years, the present house was built in the 1740s in the Palladian style, with an adherence to symmetry and use of Classical architectural details. In 1943, the house was sold to the Swindon Corporation, and, for the time… View Post