So off I went, clutching my purse in hand...
21 September 2014
And first of all I bought this selection of goodies from a local charity shop.
Not to wear, but to break up for the beads. ( I want beads for the 'Seize the Day' book)
And I bought this ( well the one on the right) from Winslow Vintage and Handmade Fair.
And I treated myself to some earrings by Penny Warren ( http://www.pennywarrenjewellery.co.uk ) bought from the lovely Boo Gallery at Castle Ashby. ( http://www.boo.uk.com/boo.html )
And now my purse is empty!
So, being frugal I made these ( for Seize The Day).
Art and Quilts, cogitations thereon: But I can't draw ( the dreaded Dword)
12 September 2014
Bloomin' 'eck!
Well I've failed dismally.
I have an excuse - my holiday. Ok, I took the iPad but the wifi was dodgy, hence blog reading slipped and so by the time I caught up we were well into September. ( that's my excuse anyways!)
So, we started here - Avila, Spain.
And I did take a little sketch book so I drew this.
And then we moved onto a castle just north of Salamanca. Really, a proper castle with a moat and everything ( and, trust me, the wifi definitely couldn't cope with those thick walls!)
And I sketched this
But since I've been back I have failed miserably to do any more. I've been full of good intentions, but somehow the execution of those intentions has foundered.
And the draughtsman ship of Linda and Annabel is, well, breathtaking.
But then I found this, which I am going to print off and frame.
Best drawing tips I've ever come across.
Seize the Day - Handmade book
11 September 2014
But before we get there, here is the making process.
I've been working away quietly on another little handmade book, again based on a bit of recycled packaging as the cover and starting point (but this time much smaller than the Boneo books from earlier in the year).
And this little book has been a long time coming. I knew that I wanted to use words in this one but wasn't sure what and how.
And then, in clearing up, I found a little book of quotes. You know, one of those tiny books that you see all around the place at Christmas time. And the title and the content were immediately apparent.
But let me talk you through the construction.
To start with, I wanted to use some new paper I had acquired - a lining paper from a DIY store ( you know the one, orange and black!)
I don't have the labeling as I shared this with Daughter No 1 but I can tell you that if you go to the wall paper aisles you will find different weights of paper, and this was one of the heavier papers. It has a lovely, almost soft, texture. Ideal, I thought, for a bit of mixed media.
So out came the brusho inks.
Sprinkled dry onto the paper and then spritzed (two colours - brown and aquamarine)
Then I also coloured some pelmet vilene - trimmings from the display folders for FoQ.
The inks work a bit differently on the vilene.
But they colour it beautifully.
However, I wanted some texture too.
So I mixed some Grunge Paste with my favourite fresco finish acrylic paint in Tikka (I am beginning to sound a bit like an advert- sorry) and applied it through a couple of stencils.
I just love the way that the inks bled into the grunge paste, because when I applied the paste the pelmet vilene was still wet. A lucky accident.
At this point, or at least after the pelmet vilene had dried, I got the sewing machine out.
I decided on a zig zag format, and stitched some of the squares onto the paper to make little pockets.
Next I turned my attention to the cover.
So I first of all stiched a piece of canvas, and then gessoed it. Then I added more inks.
But - I could not get the intensity of colour I wanted. Inks and gesso - not a match made in heaven!
So I tried adding paint too.
But no matter what I tried it all looked too washed out. And in fact the colours did not match (which does not really come across in the pictures here). Actually it was yuk!
So I tried a new tack - ink dyed paper towels (previously used to mop up the original surplus ink - especially from the vilene).
Attached to paper with Golden matt medium.
That's more like it.
So more stitching (when it was dry).
Back to the pages, or rather the little tags to go in the pages, and I used snippets from that little book I found to create the words.
Some are straight copies, some are adapted.
The paper was too white so I have coloured it slightly with Distress ink.
You'll have to pop back later to see the finished article!
Being knocked off my feet
25 August 2014
So there I was, dear reader, wandering around the Festival of Quilts, feasting my eyes and generally having a great time.
And then I came upon one gallery that literally knocked me off my feet - Gabi Mett and Judith Mundwiler: Short Stories; Between the Lines.
Judith is Swiss and Gabi is German (I love how FOQ is so international) and as I entered their gallery space I literally gave a little gasp of breath. It was one of those moments. The photos do not do any of the work justice.
I don't know much about Gabi or Judith. They share a website here - it is in German but Google will translate for you (though I fear it does loose a bit in the translation). However, it seems to be a new website and is lacking pictures etc. They do, however, promise an English version - it seems that they had a very good response from FoQ.
While that is in production I can share with you the work that I photographed.
First up, two panels with small hangings.
You may recall that I am always seeking solutions for displaying work. I am not really a quilter - I would class myself more as an embroiderer, so I was intrigued by this simple yet effective way to 'curate' a series of smaller hangings together. That alone set my mind racing.
Then there was this.
And this.
A lot of use of papers, yes stitched together, but still paper so you can probably see why my heart had skipped a beat.
My apologies to Gabi and Judith - i am not sure which work was undertaken by who. Remiss of me, but because I was so mesmerised by the whole gallery I did not get my professional act into gear to record everything properly.
So I will leave you with these images and wander off around the web to explore the work of these two ladies elsewhere.
Celebrities at FoQ - Susan Shie
Much as I love the exhibition quilts at FOQ I have to say it is the galleries that do it for me.
And this year was no exception.
I did not photograph them all - some did not allow photos, and some, well I was just photo'd out - but one stunning gallery that caught my eye was Susan Shie. You can read more about her here.
Now if you google as much as I do, dip into American publications like Cloth Paper Scissors (like I do) and generally fritter away time on the web, then it is likely that you will have come across Susan Shie. She ranks as a bit of a quilting celebrity.
Her style might not be to everyone's taste, but I love the whimsy and the colour.
These three were just some of the quilts on show in her gallery at FoQ.
She was at FoQ in 2010 (how did I miss that?) and in this video generously shares some of her techniques.
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