Granny Chic
14 April 2015
I don't crochet.
But I can sew!
Daughter No 1 crocheted these large squares ages ago, and I got my act into gear for her and stitched them onto some rather ordinary cushions. What a transformation!
This one was actually done by her Grandmother. It is lovely.
And talking of loveliness - in the lawn!
And finally a random chair (which I rather like) which would just look so great with one of those cushions!
Revisit to The Garden Studio
11 April 2015
I have blogged about it before - The garden studio of my good friends Rob and Andy.
On my last visit things had progressed. There is now an asparagus bed alongside the studio with two climbing plants ready to take off and cover the walls in a rampant, lush growth. (Ok, so you have to use your imagination just a tad).
Two of Robs amazing heads now hang either side of the entrance door together with two topiary trees to give it all a bit of class – in fact, the entrance is really welcoming.
So I herded troops and took the opportunity for a group photo.
That's my boy (blond one), their stunning dog Molly looking up adoringly at Rob and my daughters dogs Koda (ther big ginger one) and Little Lola - I was dog sitting them.
The shed, sort of reminiscent of a classy railway carriage, is 6 m x 3 m. They have divided The space in half. The section nearest the door is to be a display area with free standing shelving and hooks to hang all the mugs. The area at the back, which has a working sink with running hot and cold water (luxury), will be of the working area. The kiln is not housed in this shed. It is a beast and will reside in the garage.
It feels a lovely place to work already, even though it is still being set up. They white washed the walls which gives a lovely airy light feeling inside. There is a lovely white vinyl flooring, which does rather show every paw print, but also adds to the airy feel.
And just to tempt you!
You can buy online or, if you are in the vicinity (Gosport, Hampshire) pop round for a browse. They are lovely, welcoming people.
And if you fancy a Garden Studio of your own, here is the link. (and also a demonstration of how a bit of imagination can transform a rather ordinary looking shed!) By the way, if you are tempted, they invested in additional insulation in the roof and floor - this has to be an all year space.
Spanish Courtyard II
2 April 2015
Do you sometimes find that when you should be doing other things (tidying the unholy mess that I seem to create, finishing work already started, preparing for the Altered Books workshop with Laura Kemshall, working out how to send framed embroidery pieces to a show - rashly I did not think that one through!) suddenly, wham, you have to start a new piece.
I often seem to work in a series now. I should probably do more sketchbook work, but tend to just dive straight in when I am working in a series - only using a sketchbook when I start something really new, and even then probably not with the discipline that I should (all part of the untidy mind I guess).
Well, after my session with the paints (the neat rows of blobs) and the treasure gold, I was looking through my stash of mono print tissue papers, the ones I had already stuck onto rag paper, and another image jumped out at me.
You might remember this one. Before stitching.
Anyways, I had made more than one print from this image. I know the technique is called mono printing but just sometimes you can squeeze a second print from the plate.
Here is the second print with some stencilling started.
Building up the diamonds with small paper diamond shapes stuck on (chocolate wrappers, since you ask).
Building up the paper collage, the strips of paper are painting dictionary pages (a bargain from the chartity shop for a £1.00 because some one had already cut some pages out).
I often seem to work in a series now. I should probably do more sketchbook work, but tend to just dive straight in when I am working in a series - only using a sketchbook when I start something really new, and even then probably not with the discipline that I should (all part of the untidy mind I guess).
Well, after my session with the paints (the neat rows of blobs) and the treasure gold, I was looking through my stash of mono print tissue papers, the ones I had already stuck onto rag paper, and another image jumped out at me.
You might remember this one. Before stitching.
And after stitching -hmm not sure this is the best pic I could find. In reality it is better than this.
Here is the second print with some stencilling started.
Stenciling with paint then using treasure gold as you can see.
Building up the diamonds with small paper diamond shapes stuck on (chocolate wrappers, since you ask).
Building up the paper collage, the strips of paper are painting dictionary pages (a bargain from the chartity shop for a £1.00 because some one had already cut some pages out).
This is a work in progress. Moving onto the stitching next. I will be using organza again.
Look out for the next instalment (which reminds me that I haven't shared Alchemy with you either, but that is ramping along and I did not take many photos as the work was proceeding).
Designing a print from commission to finish
31 March 2015
As you know, I love a good wander round Blog Land.
So much lovely stuff out there. Things to explore, things to try out, things to admire and things to just gawp at.
One blog I follow is Purple Podded Peas - the blog by Celia Hart who is an illustrator and print maker.
To be honest with you, I am not sure how I found Celia, but I like her style very much. To me it has that 'mid century' feel to it. I am not sure where she studied or who her influences are, but she lives in rural suffolk and grows purple podded peas and other unusual things in her vegetable patch.
Recently she had a commission to do an illustration for an article in a magazine - in fact I believe it is a column in the magazine and she will be providing a regular illustration.
She very kindly and generously shared the process of ideas, through the sketchbook development to the final print here. Go and have a little look. Worth a read, I think.
And she has a little on line shop too. You can buy cards and fabric. How lovely is that!
So much lovely stuff out there. Things to explore, things to try out, things to admire and things to just gawp at.
One blog I follow is Purple Podded Peas - the blog by Celia Hart who is an illustrator and print maker.
To be honest with you, I am not sure how I found Celia, but I like her style very much. To me it has that 'mid century' feel to it. I am not sure where she studied or who her influences are, but she lives in rural suffolk and grows purple podded peas and other unusual things in her vegetable patch.
Recently she had a commission to do an illustration for an article in a magazine - in fact I believe it is a column in the magazine and she will be providing a regular illustration.
She very kindly and generously shared the process of ideas, through the sketchbook development to the final print here. Go and have a little look. Worth a read, I think.
And she has a little on line shop too. You can buy cards and fabric. How lovely is that!
Getting organised (a bit)
29 March 2015
The creative muse is having a wee break - probably something to do with lack of sleep again - but I did manage to drag my weary body into the studio one evening this week.
This is a lovely reference collection.
The metallic Glaze gives a lovely subtle sheen. It does alter the colour of the underlying paint slightly but that varies in the light. I think there are tiny flecks of mica in the paint which is where the sheen comes from so the effect varies depending on the light source. Real potential with this product, though not sure where yet.
But the Treasure Golds -oh I am in love! I think possibly the nicest 'gold' products I have come across. Here I applied the colour with a small brush. You don't need much, th pigment is so thick. If you use too much you block out the colour underneath - not the purpose of the exercise.
You can see from the photographs how the different golds work so differently on the same colour paint. This is very exciting! And I only have two colours from the whole range. There are 21!
I could get dangerously tempted!
Right , I thought, time to get organised.
But don't worry, this isn't going to be a post about tidying up.
Instead, I thought I should start to creat myself a product reference book.
Somewhere on the web I have seen a lovely blog post by someone who has done just this. And if I could remember, I'd share that with you.
But I don't! Sorry.
Anyhow, this artist (she's out there somewhere. She might even be reading this post.) had a lovely little sketchbook kept for just for this purpose.
Somewhere on the web I have seen a lovely blog post by someone who has done just this. And if I could remember, I'd share that with you.
But I don't! Sorry.
Anyhow, this artist (she's out there somewhere. She might even be reading this post.) had a lovely little sketchbook kept for just for this purpose.
But no nice new virgin sketch book to hand - so I used paper instead. I think I will have to make a file.
I got out all of my Fresco Paints - those I already had in stock and the new ones I received the other day - and I painted them onto the paper.
I did five 'blobs' for each paint colour.
And then, when dry, I coloured one column of blobs with the new Metallic Glaze, one with the Amber Green Treasure Gold and one with the Florentine Treasure Gold.
And here are the results. The first and last columns are just the colour - the finishes are 2nd Column, Metallic Glaze; 3rd Amber Green; 4th Florentine. The photographs are taken under an electric light. And I thought I would spare you the whole collection. A choice few photos.
I did five 'blobs' for each paint colour.
And then, when dry, I coloured one column of blobs with the new Metallic Glaze, one with the Amber Green Treasure Gold and one with the Florentine Treasure Gold.
And here are the results. The first and last columns are just the colour - the finishes are 2nd Column, Metallic Glaze; 3rd Amber Green; 4th Florentine. The photographs are taken under an electric light. And I thought I would spare you the whole collection. A choice few photos.
This is a lovely reference collection.
The metallic Glaze gives a lovely subtle sheen. It does alter the colour of the underlying paint slightly but that varies in the light. I think there are tiny flecks of mica in the paint which is where the sheen comes from so the effect varies depending on the light source. Real potential with this product, though not sure where yet.
But the Treasure Golds -oh I am in love! I think possibly the nicest 'gold' products I have come across. Here I applied the colour with a small brush. You don't need much, th pigment is so thick. If you use too much you block out the colour underneath - not the purpose of the exercise.
You can see from the photographs how the different golds work so differently on the same colour paint. This is very exciting! And I only have two colours from the whole range. There are 21!
I could get dangerously tempted!
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