So, I have been thinking about smaller pieces of work.

In the last post I mentioned some smaller postcard sized images.  They were not great on their own so I have mounted them on canvas with a view to them going into mount frames 16" x 12".

I am still not sure - outside of the mounts they definitely do not work, but inside?

Hmm

Anyway, what do you think?

In the last post I explained that my last flourish before the Open Studios was to create a few pieces at a more accessible price point.

I have a little range on the go created from a series of mono prints.  I described them in the last post.

But I also had some background papers (collaged dictionary pages, gesso and paint).



So I am also creating a few even smaller pieces with embroidered hearts.  Again, I am using nylon organza to tie the colours together.




My initial thinking was to put these into tiny frames - you know, the little frames you can get at places such as IKEA etc.

But I might change my mind as I don't think they are going to work so well.

If that is the case - I might think again and perhaps put them into a larger mount but somehow mounted onto different paper - perhaps rag paper.

As you can tell, I am sort of making this up as I go along!

The Open Studios is now less than three weeks away.



It is interesting to try to imagine how this will work - how will it look (there are 3 of us sharing this space and to be honest I don't know how our work will look together.  We are all quite different - more traditional, vintage and me!)

Talking to my lovely friends Rob and Andy last weekend, they quite rightly said that we need to have some items at more accessible prices.

So this weekend, I set to to create a small range of pictures that have a more accessible price point.  It will be interesting to see how that works.

So first of all I dug out a batch of mono printing tissue papers.  I did these ages ago. Simple mono printing using a heavy body acrylic paint loosened up with retarder so that it does not dry too quickly and stick the tissue to the printing plate!




I stuck the tissue down to khaki paper with matt medium.

Then I painted the image with slightly diluted Fresco Finish paints - choosing colours that are opaque so that the shadowing from the printing is not obliterated.  In my opinion, it is the smudges that give the printing the character.



Once painted, I emphasised the leaves by sticking little pieces of printed paper cut from the pages of an old dictionary.  (That was fiddly but there was a good play on the iPlayer!)  Again I used matt medium.

Next stage - audition some sheer organzas.  I love stitching through organza - cheap nylon organza nothing fancy and certainly not silk (not for this anyway) and it ties the whole thing together.



Machine embroidery.



And then finishing with hand beading. Those threads are still to be tidied up.



Right - still not quite finished, but they are smaller (they will be mounted in display mounts with 10 x 8 apertures) and actually could make quite a nice statement if displayed together - though I am not intending to frame them at the moment.  I might, though, change my mind about that!  We will have to see how it goes.

And just look at this messy corner of my desk!  It was all tidy a couple of weeks ago!

I have been fiddling about with the look and feel of this blog (as I am sure you have probably noticed).

Sorry to confuse you (if you were confused). I needed a better header photo and I was hoping that I may have cracked that one now.  The last one just did not quite work as a header.  This one, I thought, feels much better.  What do you think?

But then I showed my good friends Rob and Andy, they of the shed, and Rob said it was too bland. I was being too timid. And he's right - when it comes to art I am. I hide behind this eccentric blog title (though I am rather fond of it) and you have to dig a bit to find 'me'.  And, if truth be told, I am not 'out' with most of my work/day job colleagues.

This is going to be a bit of a random, all over the place kind of post!

Partly because I have been in a random, all over the place kind of mindset for all sorts of reasons - personal, day job, family etc.

But I feel to day as if I will have a spring in my step and can focus on my work again.

So first of all, 'In A Spanish Garden' - this is an embroidery that I finished a few years ago, had framed and hangs in my hall.

Well, a couple of blog posts back I mentioned that I had been to the Quilt and Stitch Village at Uttoxeter Racecourse.



I think I omitted to tell you that this won 3rd Prize in the Innovative Embroidery Category.

Now, I find these competitions fascinating, because in my view the other piece I entered, Abscission II was the better piece.  But hey, what do I know?  I don't judge!  These competitions are great because they have given me the confidence to put my work out there.

This photograph is pretty dire - I had to take it at an angle to try to stop the glare on the glass in the frame. But you can still see me in the bottom left hand corner!

My friend Rob and Andy (they of the beautiful bone china ) have a little corner in their new studio set up for photos with black out blinds etc. I need to think of a similar rig to take my own photos.

But talking of putting my work out there, the Open Studios is looming.

So I thought a bit of a spring clean and tidy of the studio was in order. We are actually going to use the hall and dining room to hang and display work - principally because the studio itself has limited hanging space - all windows and doors - but the plan is to have people wander around the ground floor and Jane is all for setting up demonstrations (rather hoping her Indigo Vat will make a star appearance in the garden!)

Anyway, as it was the studio was not fit for anything!  (this Photo is taken part way through the re-organisation - which lasted over 2 days!)



And a trip to IKEA was in order.


To procure this little beauty. Not cheap, but I thought I would treat myself.  I find I don't put my paints away - I seem to just want them to hand.  And the dimensions and height of this looked ideal.

To give me a spring in my step there is an old apple tree in the garden here - and just look, it is laden with blossom. And the delicate pink reminds me why apple blossom is the queen of blossoms.


And here is a detail from 'Alchemy' - it is pretty much done I think.  I really haven't shared this at all have I? It has kind of happened without my documenting the process.  I am going to try to finish it today - assemble the component parts (it has two layers) and then perhaps I will revisit it in a proper post.



And finally, for no reason than I was sitting drinking a cup of coffee, a detail from one of my table cloths.  I just looked at the print and thought how lovely, simple and effective it was.


It's a bank holiday here in the UK today, a day to myself and a day to crack on with stuff.