family | Samantha Humphreys

March 4, 2025

The Benefits of Journaling Through Art

This afternoon was the first of two journaling lessons I teach at The Art and Design Studios in Great Waltham. Today’s task was my favourite exercise, drawing a tree. We draw trees we find pleasing and give thought to their similarities and differences to humanity. There are many topics of discussion to focus on that crop up during the session. I have taught this exercise over many years and each time it differs in content, outcomes and it develops. I learn from it myself, always.

I have many versions of drawing a tree. The one above is the first from today. I have another class tonight, so I will do at least one more. The tree is one I pass at least once a day. It often has a gang of dog walkers gathered underneath, chatting and socialising their dogs. Whatever the weather, they throw sticks in the river for games of ‘Fetch’. This is lovely to see. I manoeuvre my way around excitable pups who sometimes jump up to say hello. This prompts many apologies all round for a variety of reasons. Of course, all are totally unnecessary. But hey-that’s what we English do right?

This was very early morning yesterday and it was particularly tranquil. The weather was bitingly cold. I was so comfortable because I dress in many layers. I always prepare for being cold, especially when out early. The sky was as blue as early summer and I felt the endorphins flood through me. I reflected on how grateful I am to live within walking distance of these green spaces. I am grateful that I am healthy enough to enjoy them. I am also grateful that I have the freedom to do so. I can honestly say that I owe my new positive mindset, to once drawing a tree several years ago.

Time to think is important, even if it’s only for a minute every so often. Gift yourself the time.

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August 14, 2024

Foraging

I love that word, Foraging, it feels wholesome and healthy somehow. I have been a manic forager of late as there is an abundance of blackberries near us. I used to go blackberry picking with my grandma, or ‘Mangar’ as we called her, due to the fact that I couldn’t say the word grandma properly when I was little-so it stuck!

We used to have long walks, along Mersey Rd, along Otterspool Prom and other roads that I didn’t know the name of, we always seemed to walk for miles and there was always blackberries somewhere along the route.

Now the funny thing is, I didn’t like them then, which is what brings me to writing this post. I liked the jam that followed the foraging, I liked the routine that happened in the school holidays, I like the memory of Mangar reminding us often that we mustn’t pick the low down blackberries because the Pooka spoils those ones, she was deeply Roman Catholic, Irish and the belief was that the Pooka was the devils horse. This was a far more exciting way of discouraging us from picking the ones near where dogs may go to the toilet I think.

While on a walk last week, there was a small boy with his family, his cheeks stuffed with the fruit and juice running down his chin, his grown up was telling him that she thinks he has had enough now as he has dinner at home. It was lovely to see.

March 27, 2021

A Big Fat Metaphor

Inspired by a recent mini task on the course I teach on where the students had to bring along a photograph and an object that holds meaning and has impact on their art practice.

The first image is a print I made a few years back, it is my Nans block of flats. At the time of making this piece, my Nan still lived there, and I was starting to think that one day, I would never visit there again. Over lockdown, my nan has become unable to live there alone and has moved into a care home.

As this is all happening over 200 miles away, she has turned 90 over lockdown with only socially distanced visits from family living nearby (thankfully most of the family live nearby) and filmed efforts and cards from the rest of us. It is now very unlikely that I will visit the flat again, however-as long as I can visit her eventually, what does that matter? I look forward to that day.

The second image is my object, it is a paperweight.

When my Grandad was alive, he was the caretaker of these flats and he had a workshop downstairs which was filled with things he was repairing and other paraphernalia. I loved visiting him down in this workshop and I can still remember the smell of it. I have had this paperweight for as long as I can remember, initially it was just special as my grandad gave it to me, for a long time I didn’t even know it was a paperweight it was just a fascinating colourful object-it had been thrown away by someone and he rescued it.

Later on, when I was older, I learned that the pattern I was so fascinated with had been created using a technique called Millefiori, which I taught myself with clay when I used to create dolls house food. The way it works is that you work carefully with a short fat cylinder, making it a long thin cylinder which you finally slice and somewhere inside, there is the perfect slice of orange, kiwi or hot cross bun. Thats how it works with clay anyway, I have less of an idea of how it is created with glass as in my paperweight.

I keep this paperweight on my desk, I see it every day while I’m working from home. I think of this technique as a metaphor for how art practice develops and therefore it helps me both in my art practice and my teaching practice.

As an artist, when you are developing ideas, you have all your thoughts, sketches and ideas rolled up within your fat cylinder of clay, then you carefully and thoughtfully work your way through all these ideas and sketches, teasing out the ideas but carefully preserving the whole idea which will eventually narrow down to one you will use. When you have your long thin piece, you slice away at it with care, then eventually, after much thought, somewhere inside that cylinder, you find your perfect slice of final piece which makes all the hard work worth it.

The point is, there is going to be lots of what could be considered waste at either end of the cylinder, but the final outcome would not be possible without the discarded bits that help you get there.

But also, it’s important to remember that no art is a waste and should not be discarded!