If in doubt - shop (part 2)
27 July 2016
Well, did you rush out and buy Textile Nature yet?
I promised you part 2, and here it is.
(If you've just stumbled across this blog you're probably wondering what I'm talking about. You migh want to pop back one blog post to Part 1)
So, dear reader, my other bookish investment is Making Art From Maps by Jill K Berry.
In all honesty I'm not quite sure how I found out about this book. I thing I was meandering round the blogosphere when I tripped over a reference to it.
But what a great trip. What a fabulous book!
But what a great trip. What a fabulous book!
Bit of background.
Last year my father died and I helped my Mum do a bit of clearing out. We found a box of maps in the loft. A few vintage, but mostly just out of date. But I've always loved maps, and never one to miss a mixed media gift horse ( think there's a metaphor lurking in there somewhere) snatched it up.
I've had a bit of a play but nothing too serious to date.
But I'm planning some work for an exhibition later in the year entitled "Transformation". And the whole idea of reusing, recycling and changing landscapes got me thinking. I have done a few sketches using the maps ( and, by the way, the paper is lovely to work with. It takes wet media nicely and stitches well. I guess maps are designed to withstand folding and unfolding) but need to get somet more substantial work made.
So when I found this book it was definitely one for the library.
This book is divided into 6 chapters. Each chapter focuses on a 'use for the maps' - Decor; Books, Journals and Boxes; Fashion; Collage and Illustration; Sculpture and Installations; Interiors and Lighting; - with an initial chapter discussing techniques and materials and tools.
The book is peppered with art by other makers and artists.
And I loved the fact that one of the first artists features is John Dilnot - a lovely chap. Now I have met John very briefly a couple of times but my lovely friends Rob and Andy have some John Dilnot work in their home (which reminds me - they have finished their renovation and now live in a gallery. I must post a tour for you some time).
And I love these 3 dimensional pieces by Deedee Hampton . They are based on Pajakis - Polish paper chandeliers used as decoration at Christmas.
If you are tempted I found this book on Amazon (yes - I know!! Please forgive) but it is published by Rockport Publishers . The author is Jill K Berry - not an artist previously known to me but someone I need to explore further.
This book is divided into 6 chapters. Each chapter focuses on a 'use for the maps' - Decor; Books, Journals and Boxes; Fashion; Collage and Illustration; Sculpture and Installations; Interiors and Lighting; - with an initial chapter discussing techniques and materials and tools.
The book is peppered with art by other makers and artists.
And I loved the fact that one of the first artists features is John Dilnot - a lovely chap. Now I have met John very briefly a couple of times but my lovely friends Rob and Andy have some John Dilnot work in their home (which reminds me - they have finished their renovation and now live in a gallery. I must post a tour for you some time).
And I love these 3 dimensional pieces by Deedee Hampton . They are based on Pajakis - Polish paper chandeliers used as decoration at Christmas.
If you are tempted I found this book on Amazon (yes - I know!! Please forgive) but it is published by Rockport Publishers . The author is Jill K Berry - not an artist previously known to me but someone I need to explore further.
If in doubt - shop (part 1)
24 July 2016
Dear reader did you think I had abandoned you?
So very sorry - a few technical hitches and life curve balls have rather scuppered the flow of creative witticisms I post here. Nothing major (though I have had a couple of those this year) just little niggles that eat into time.
And a technical hitch with the camera! I do post pics taken with my electronic gizmos but nothing beats a proper pic taken with a proper camera don't you think?
But I have been shopping!
Nothing too extravagant - instead a couple of books.
And I thought I should share them with you just in case you want to indulge.
What can I say? Everything about this book screams class and quality (actually I think that's true of everything they produce. Even the cover is printed on fabric).
I met Anne Kelly at her open studio in June. What a lovely lady she is. And that is reflected in the book.
The content is divided into 5 Chapters:
- Drawing From Nature - getting you close with the natural world and suggesting how to organise your resources (Nature table anyone?)
- Planting in Cloth - exploring the endless possibilities for print, stitch and dye with flora imagery
- Taking flight - bird and insect motifs and how to incorporate them in your work
- Working with green Spaces - exploring your environment, artists residencies in gardens and expanding beyond your locality
- Nature in Context - symbols from nature and exploring further ideas. Also some ideas for working when travelling.
As well as Anne's own work, the book is liberally peppered with exquisite work from other artists.
And the photographs are stunning.
And the photographs are stunning.
Definitely a worthwhile investment I suggest.
Right - I'll call a halt there. Pop back for part 2 of my recent shopping extravaganza in a couple of days.
Finishing, mounting and presenting
11 July 2016
Which is a rather cryptic title for a blog post.
But what I mean by this is how you actually present your work.
So, most of what I do is two dimensional. Sometimes, but if I am honest rarely now, I produce a 'traditional' quilt with bound edges and a hanging sleeve (there is a whole piece to be done on hanging sleeves!) but more and more, and especially because I tend to use fragile papers, my work is intended to be framed and hung behind glass.
Which of course can make the whole thing a bit pricy!
Of course for special pieces I will shell out for a commissioned frame and mount.
However, more and more, and particularly for the smaller pieces that make up the bulk of the work that I sell, I start with commercially available frames and mounts.
My go to store for these items is The Range. There is one here in Milton Keynes and one in Gosport, my real home. (If you are interested, I have just checked the website and they are all over the UK except Northern Ireland). Their wooden frames are, in my opinion, pretty stylish.
I always keep a huge stock of their mounts in the studio, and now when I am making a smaller piece often have the mount in mind from the get go.
The range of sizes is limited and the colours are cream and white, but for the most part that is what I want anyway (sometimes I will paint the lip of a double mount with acrylic for added interest).
Which reminds me, The Range is pretty good for artist materials too. It's not a specialist store but I often prefer it to Hobby Craft if I need basic acrylic paints in a hurry.
They have also got (very) basic haberdashery but no where beats IKEA for calico on the roll.
And when I started these pieces, that was what I had in mind - mounts.
But then my lovely friend Rob commented that he thought that perhaps I could try a different way of mounting this little series - showing the edges.
Now his original idea was that I should show all the layers - these are, after all, technically mini quilts. But I had not started out this way so the felt and the calico backing were rough old scraps. So, I bottled out.
I did however keep the edges of the organza and mounted the whole piece onto rag paper.
These are really experimental sketches for 'Transformation' - the exhibition I am participating in later in the year. But this has got me thinking.
But what I mean by this is how you actually present your work.
So, most of what I do is two dimensional. Sometimes, but if I am honest rarely now, I produce a 'traditional' quilt with bound edges and a hanging sleeve (there is a whole piece to be done on hanging sleeves!) but more and more, and especially because I tend to use fragile papers, my work is intended to be framed and hung behind glass.
Which of course can make the whole thing a bit pricy!
Of course for special pieces I will shell out for a commissioned frame and mount.
However, more and more, and particularly for the smaller pieces that make up the bulk of the work that I sell, I start with commercially available frames and mounts.
My go to store for these items is The Range. There is one here in Milton Keynes and one in Gosport, my real home. (If you are interested, I have just checked the website and they are all over the UK except Northern Ireland). Their wooden frames are, in my opinion, pretty stylish.
I always keep a huge stock of their mounts in the studio, and now when I am making a smaller piece often have the mount in mind from the get go.
The range of sizes is limited and the colours are cream and white, but for the most part that is what I want anyway (sometimes I will paint the lip of a double mount with acrylic for added interest).
Which reminds me, The Range is pretty good for artist materials too. It's not a specialist store but I often prefer it to Hobby Craft if I need basic acrylic paints in a hurry.
They have also got (very) basic haberdashery but no where beats IKEA for calico on the roll.
And when I started these pieces, that was what I had in mind - mounts.
But then my lovely friend Rob commented that he thought that perhaps I could try a different way of mounting this little series - showing the edges.
Now his original idea was that I should show all the layers - these are, after all, technically mini quilts. But I had not started out this way so the felt and the calico backing were rough old scraps. So, I bottled out.
I did however keep the edges of the organza and mounted the whole piece onto rag paper.
These are really experimental sketches for 'Transformation' - the exhibition I am participating in later in the year. But this has got me thinking.
What is your solution for presenting work?
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