STITCHWORKS

'Transform,Change,Disintegrate'.

2012-02-11T16:24:00.000Z

I am enjoying my workshop with Louise Baldwin at City Lit. in London; it is over three Saturdays but with a one week break for half term, which is nice as it gives one time to think things through a little.

The theme is Transform, Change, and Disintegrate. In the first session we were shown pictures of work by artists who work with this theme, starting with a time lapsed film made by Sam Taylor-Wood. There was also a good list of artists whose work we could research, of course the internet now makes this so much easier. I particularly liked this aspect of the workshop because when you are out of the loop it’s good to be reminded of all the inspiring work which is around.

We then picked a few words to illustrate in samples. I worked with ‘peeling’ and slashed, and tore various papers before waxing them.

Louise suggested that I look at the work of Antoni Tapies. I had never seen his work but this week he has been in the news having just died.

I then burned and waxed various papers to play around with. The resulting sample was not really successful, but the resulting photographs are interesting. There was also a lot of wire brushing of fabrics.

Peeling

2012-02-07T15:33:00.001Z

Peeling, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

Paper, paint and wax.

Just messing.

2012-02-05T12:51:00.000Z

Just messing about with this drawing from my bones and fancying doing some stitching, I decided to colour one of the monoprints using Ink Tense crayons.

I can’t say it was altogether successful, but fun to do and interesting to see what resulted.

Here is a link which my son gave me to an artist who does amazing paintings, you can see his fascinating process here.

Monoprint

2012-01-27T12:41:00.000Z

I have had some fun with monoprinting some of the images from my rabbit bones.

If you follow the blog you probably know that I am a fan of monoprinting which can be done in a number of different ways and with varied media In fact my workshop on ‘Stitched’ (Click here to visit Alma Stoller.) is based on monoprint and stitch.

A couple of weeks ago DMTV showed a slightly new version to me and I have been trying that out on some hand dyed fabric.

The results vary depending on how much paint is used. I think I may prefer the slightly squashy look to the
clearer line. I used acrylic with a medium rather than fabric paint as used on DMTV..

You will note that so far I am sticking with colour. I start my course tomorrow so I do plan to be more monochrome.

Bones

2012-01-23T16:47:00.000Z

I have been trying to do a little sketching from my ‘bones’, as however difficult this is it does mean that you look more at the source. So here I, quite bravely, share some of my sketchbook work so far.

I couldn't resist making a printing block even though I was all set to keep to sketching.

I am lucky to have a new computer which is presenting something of a learning curve, but it is so fast and I at last agree with my sons, who have been telling me for a long time that I needed to get rid of the old one.

Lace

2012-01-21T13:27:00.000Z

Marianne de Wit from the Netherlands was kind enough to comment on some of my work on Flickr. She also asked me about a possible swap. I am not involved in any swap groups at the moment and have no plan to be, but I was pleased to offer her a swap as she had been so pleasant on Flickr.

We both put up photos of items we were prepared to swap and I chose a piece of lace, as other than being a self taught tatter years ago I have never made lace other than a needlelace bag for a City and Guilds piece years ago.

Marianne was kind enough to include these three pieces of very delicate and intricate lace.

In exchange she chose a really chunky and shaggy felted bag. The main body of the bag being merino wool and the outside wool being some I collected washed etc. from the fields on the cliff tops on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. I was told by an experienced spinner that it was poor quality wool, only fit for rugs. But it was special as I gathered it from a special place, near the derelict schoolhouse where the film ‘Ryan’s’ Daughter’ was made.

Here is a link to Moira, a lady who made my day by having enjoyed the STITCHED workshop and producing some really imaginative work. Take a look.

'STITCHED'

2012-01-17T09:51:00.000Z

In the first month an amazing 117 people have joined STITCHED. With 20 plus video workshops to watch, a wide variety of techniques are covered. So far I have had time to watch only a few. I think because it is the first video venture for many of the tutors they are really generous with the amount of time and detail they have included in the workshops.

I have found a number of good tips and ideas already.

My contribution is Make Your Mark with Stitch (Lets Play Noughts and Crosses) and I had some fun showing a simple monoprint method and adding stitch to make a stitched panel which could be used in a number of ways. Here I show it used as a bag front.
I realised part way into organizing the workshop that in some parts of the world they don't have any idea what the game of 'noughts and crosses' is, and not only that X's are not called crosses and 'noughts' is so old fashioned its like a foreign language; so as people have joined from all over the world its probably a mystery to them. Thank goodness for Wikipedia.

A number of firms have become involved and are offering prizes for the regular draws which Alma is organizing.

The registration is open until May and the workshops available until June.
Click here to visit Alma Stoller.

Some burning will be involved.

2012-01-10T10:21:00.000Z

Its interesting reading peoples’ New Year resolutions and aims. Most of us seem to start with the idea of a clean slate and some excitement at what we can achieve, lots of talk about getting those creative muscles working again. The trouble is that the internet, with all its great attributes, is such a distraction and consumer of time. Time I can usually justify as being well spent. It comes so much easier to flip through other people’s work, sometimes baffled, often in awe, rather than sit down and get myself to draw - even though this is usually where the real inspiration will come from.

These are my vague plans for the start of 2012, although I expect to get nicely sidetracked at some point. I received gift vouchers for the City Lit in London and have booked a short course, three Saturdays with Louise Baldwin. The theme is Transform/Change/Disintegrate. On a recent walk I was excited, yes its true, to find a partly decomposed rabbit skeleton. Wrapping the remains gently in dry grass I brought it home and gave it a good dose of disinfectant, I’m sure you are pleased about that.The ligaments contracted and were a bit eerie, and mostly I cut them off.

It really is almost painfully beautiful.These are some of the pictures I have taken so far.

I have a top of the range wood burning tool regifted by my son, who bought it for himself and thought I would make better use of it. So some burning will be involved.

I am inspired by Dorothy Caldwell’s work. I bought a Surface Design magazine recently in the hope that it would really feature her work, but there was not much about her. That is something that the internet is excellent for, as I can search through images of her work.

So, mark making, batik, encaustic and bleach.

I plan to keep to a neutral colour scheme, but as I am so drawn to using colour that will be really difficult.

So now I've put it in writing, some sort of commitment - we shall see.

'Memories are made of this.'

2012-01-04T12:41:00.000Z

A little bit of tidying for the New Year. Feels better.

Link to Free Tutorials

2011-12-31T09:55:00.001Z

Alma Stoller is the guest curator this week on CRESCENDOH(click on this link to have a look).

She has chosen a number of tutorials from a variety of artists. If you haven't heard of the site it has lots of interesting bits and pieces and a regular selection of free tutorials.The header itself is really clever.

I am pleased to have one of my mini tutorials on decorated papers featured.

I have been lucky to have a preview of some of the Stitched videos, and I can tell you that its probably worth joining just to find out how to make

Karen Ruane's Funky Puffs.

Click here to visit Alma Stoller.

Liebster

2011-12-27T16:03:00.000Z

Earlier this month I was pleased to have been given this blog award by Deborah of Art Threads. It is always nice to know that someone out there is reading the blog and enjoying it

The Criteria: The Liebster is meant to showcase bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. This is all done in the spirit of pay-it-forward.
The Rules: You must mention and link to the person who awarded you the Liebster, and mention 5 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers who you think are worthy of the Liebster!

'Liebster' means "favourite" or "dearest" in German. This award originated in Germany.
I thought I would try and give you a variety of blogs. I do hope they have less than 200 followers, which is sometimes difficult to work out.

Small Caps is an interesting German letterpress blog.

Rough Around the Edges is Robin Olsen's blog in Oregon.

Emma is a true blogger, always out there commenting and full of enthusiasm.

Alisa Golden's blog is about handmade books; like me you may have some of her books. She is very generous with tips and techniques.

Noela Mills' work on Wabisabiart, is always worth a look to see her work,enjoy her travels and follow her links.

Don't forget that you can have six months of video fun with Stitched Workshops:

Click here to visit Alma Stoller.

Sketchbook Challenge

2011-12-20T11:22:00.001Z

Sketchbook Challenge, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

Trying for a weathered decayed surface look. Acrylic rolled off the block, tissue and a scrap of fabric on cotton rag paper.
I plan to stitch into this.

A nice surprise.

2011-12-13T10:55:00.000Z

It was a surprise to be asked by Alma Stoller to be part of her Stitched workshops which starts in January 2012 .She had been reading the blog and suggested that a focus for the workshop should be mark making with stitch, and as this is the way I usually embroider I was pleased to take up her suggestion.

I decided on a project using monoprint and stitch, to make a panel suitable as a bag front, a cushion/pillow front or as a picture added to a canvas panel.
Access to the video workshops is over six months, so I am looking forward to dipping in and out of the varied textile art sessions. I find this by far the best way to learn and have taken a few classes this year, as well as obsessively watching Encaustic DVDs and demonstrations.

I’m sure there will be more encaustic experiments in 2012 and I really must do some more felting.

So much to look ahead to, and no doubt I will get even more and varied inspiration from the Stitched workshops.

Click here to view more details of all twenty workshops.

I wish you all the best for the Christmas season and lots of creative inspiration for 2012.

Don't bin it.

2011-12-07T10:07:00.002Z

Recently we had a bit of a sort out of our clutter box, you know the place where you put all those odds and ends and then completely forget not only where they are but when you see them what they were for in the first place.

Always be aware of the potential of these oddments for printing. These are some experiments on a sketchbook page first coloured with watercolour paints, but this could just as easily be done on a piece of fabric, perhaps coloured with a ‘thin’ fabric paint and printed with acrylics or fabric paint.

The sort of flower shape is a plastic insert from a jar of peppers; I suppose to stop the liquid inside spilling. This worked best with a stencil brush, although a piece of sponge is usually adequate.I have no idea what these other bits are.

In a paint programme you can use photos of these ‘prints’ to make digital brushes and then have hours of fun playing around with patterns and varied colour combinations.

If you are not sure how to do this, I’m sure many of you know much more about it that I do, but for the rest do a search on the internet and you will find instructions.You could then take it further by treating your fabric with Ink Aid, or using ready prepared fabric and printing out your ‘designs’.

Endless cheap fun.
For more about Stitched video workshops click below or from the sidebar.
Alma has just announched the first giveaway, a Janome Sewing Machine.

Click here to visit Alma Stoller.

The Sketchbook Challenge

2011-12-05T14:47:00.000Z

The Sketchbook Challenge: Images in a pile of plastic...: Sue B here... Sketchbook Challenge participant Jackie Bowcutt recently came across a pile of plastic waste that turned out to be inspir...

Sue was kind enough to highlight some of my pieces for December's challenge.

'Stitched' Workshops

2011-12-01T18:08:00.000Z

I am delighted to have been asked to be part of Alma Stoller's new venture for 2012, 'STITCHED'.
She has set up a site for fabric art videos which is crammed with information and just the thing to start the New Year with a creative rush.

STITCHED is a collection of 20 online video workshops by fabric artists with varied interests and talents. Alma's aim is to provide workshops offering high-value and high-content information to get you sewing, designing and creating.

Alma also has the support of some well-known companies which will be providing giveaway items and products for several lucky STITCHED members.

In addition, Alma is providing a full video workshop about Fabric Jewellry;you have probably seen her unique fabric beads.There will be 5 additional mini video workshops.

Each of the 20 main workshops has a printable pdf file which includes patterns and related instructions.
The workshops will be available for six months and through out that time there will be online support from each of the experienced tutors.

Click here to view more details

Progress of a kind.

2011-11-28T09:57:00.000Z

I seem to have galloped ahead with finishing the throw and think it will be a present for some unsuspecting person come Christmas.

I write with this little room in utter chaos as a BT engineer is due to arrive at the end of the week to upgrade our Broadband. I live in hope but not expectation of great things. My room is packed to the smallest corners with very useful bits and pieces which in no way can be thrown away and in the midst of this is the cabling for the computer, so I will leave the picture to your imagination. Its rather like an archaeological dig, going back in time with all the levels of 'experiments'. I even found a half finished 'knot garden' and marvelled at my tiny stitches.

If you would like to know how to tie a square knot properly, something which I think I have done incorrectly for years, and also why you should make the effort to get it right – then follow this link and if you are like me spend quite a bit of time until you get the satisfaction of getting it perfect. You will feel so proud of yourself! The whole site is worth a look and you can listen to Susan Mills book artist talk about her work.

Sketchbook Challenge - The Book.

2011-11-22T13:23:00.000Z

Sue Bleiweiss

'my book!

I’m calling it my book but it really wouldn’t be a book without the generous and gifted artists who contributed their time and artwork to it. You could say that I’m excited about seeing the cover out on Amazon but that would be a pretty big understatement…

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jill Berry,Jackie Bowcutt,Laura Cater-Woods,Violette Clark,Jane Davies,Jamie Fingal,Judi Hurwitt,Tracie Lyn Huskamp,Susan Brubaker Knapp,Lynn Krawczyk,Leslie Tucker Jenison,Lyric Kinard,Jane LaFazio,Kim Rae Nugent,Kelli Perkins, Carol Sloan,Carla Sonheim,Kathy Sperino,Diana Trout,and Kathyanne White. Their contributions to the pages of this book make it a work of art. The book has a publication date of June of 2012 (hopefully it will come out a little sooner than that) but you can preorder on Amazon .'

So sometime in 2012 I'll be in print!

On with the Throw.

2011-11-19T12:32:00.000Z

I am continuing with finishing the throw along the lines of Alisa Burke’s Free Motion
Graffiti class. It now has a blue backing, which was nearly fleece but then I found quite a heavy suiting material which feels like wool but is a polyester blend.

I decided that the best way forward was to ‘tie’ the three layers together; which I have now done and am sewing on the binding. So this week it could be finished. I could have gone on with the free machining for weeks but decided enough was probably enough.

I have just bought some jewellery as presents from an Etsy seller in Holland. I can’t tell you more about it as I don’t want to spoil the Christmas surprise for the recipients, but I want to tell you that not only is it unique and lovely, but also thoughtfully and beautifully packaged. I found out about http://www.etsy.com/shop/jmsstudio from another blog but can’t unfortunately remember whose.

If I have not got back to new followers or people who kindly left comments it is most likely down to the vagaries of Blogger.

Stitch Interval.

2011-11-13T20:53:00.000Z

A little bit of hand stitch for a change.

Variegated thread is so useful.

I want to share a link to Noela Mills' blog. She is a visual artist working in Queensland, Australia and her blog entitled WABISABIART features her interest in Wabisabi, finding beauty in the old, worn, rusted and patched. I am paticularly taken by her artists' books, as I think you will be,paticularly if you have not seen them before. It is also worth following some of her links to some of the interesting work being done by Australian artists.

More Free Motion Graffiti

2011-11-04T13:08:00.000Z

A few pictures of the Free Motion Graffiti throw as it progresses, slightly interrupted by an exciting project this week. I’ll tell you about that in weeks to come, enough to say that I have been working away very hard on it.

There is now a catalogue to go with the ‘Crop’ exhibition which you can get from the previous link. MagCloud also offer a digital catalogue for a few dollars which is a bargain I think if you are interested in artists’ books.

crop exhibition in situ

2011-10-30T10:54:00.001Z

crop exhibition in situ, a photo by rejectamenta on Flickr.

Mine is the one with the apples; there is a life drawing on the inside, looks as if they were shy of showing that side!
http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/283676
Digital catalogue for under $4's.

'Crop Exhibition'

2011-10-28T22:11:00.000+01:00

‘Crop’: An Exhibition of Experimental Artists’ Books

Avenue Campus reception and gallery corridor

The University of Northampton 31 October—16 December 2011 Open daily 10am-4pm

Opening Event: Tuesday 1 November 5-8pm

This is the seventh annual exhibition of experimental altered artists’ books, curated by Dr. Emma Powell (de Montfort University) and Melanie Bush (The University of Northampton). Work by international book artists will be on display alongside students from both institutions. For more details see the ‘We Love Your Books’ web site.

I'm pleased to say that my 'crop' book is amongst one of the 50 books chosen from the online exhibition to go on show at the above venue. I am hoping that there will be a catalogue as I have no chance of going to see the exhibition this year.

FreeMotion Graffiti

2011-10-20T20:21:00.000+01:00

There are a number of good reasons to stop by Alisa Burke’s blog at the moment; one is to congratulate her on the birth of her baby girl and to' oooogh and ah’ over the photos of the new baby. The other is to take a look at her new class Free Motion Graffiti. I was tempted and joined recently. I have been free machining for a long time, in fact back to the days when I had to take apart my old Singer to disengage the feed dogs – the machine itself was so heavy that my husband had to lift it onto the table for me. I think of free machining as a skill that takes some time to master, yet I have recently seen people new to it sit at an up-to-date Bernina and get going straight away with not one broken needle. Life moves on.

Anyway, back to the class. It is not expensive and frees up ones approach, and is fun to take part in. First of all I went back to Alisa’s DVD which I downloaded from Quilting Arts quite a time ago, and painted some fabrics ready to cut up.

These are some bits and pieces from the small throw I am making. I am also using both string and Quick Print blocks to show the different type of marks they make, as a group I am teaching are in the process of making various types of simple printing blocks at the moment.

'Fragments from a Life'

2011-10-10T10:10:00.000+01:00

As promised some time ago I am posting more details of the pieces I exhibited earlier this year for the exhibition ‘HerStory’. I made two pieces. The first was a fabric book. I used pieces of rusted fabric together with various fibres and scanned notes bonded with cocoon stripping. I also incorporated pieces of waxed paper which had been distressed with a wood burning tool. I wanted the book to look and feel very fragile and used ‘fuseFX’ a gossamer bonding mesh which was helpful to get the effect I was after. I was given a pair of rusty scissors the builder found in our garden which came at just the right time. I also added some pine needles which came from the road in Bournemouth where my mother lived.

Here are the notes for my submission for the exhibition:

‘Fragments from a Life’
When someone dies one can wish that, like the great diarists, they had left fulsome accounts of their life, telling all, answering all the unasked questions; however, most often we have only the odd fragments of fragile lives from which to try to piece together a story.

‘Fragments from a Life’ One and Two are based on this theme.
One piece is an artist’ book and the other is a small wall hanging.
Scraps of recipes, misspelled notes about how to manage a pension, very little is left, yet saying so much.

The second piece was a hanging loosely based on an open book. The pleated spine is padded. Some of the added elements use sheer fabric printed using a foam block. You may recognize the woman from my drawings of people in Dubrovnik last year; which shows that sketchbooks are really useful.

I thought I would post these here as now the excitement of the exhibition is well over it seems unlikely that they will see the light of day again for some time.

Rare Bird

2011-10-07T11:38:00.001+01:00

Rare Bird, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

2011-09-30T21:46:00.001+01:00

The paste papers dried nicely, almost their best property being how nice they feel.

I wanted them to use for the spine cover of the two books I intended to make from the For Sale board.

I have to show the sewing cradle as usual just to prove to my son that his efforts in making it were worthwhile. By looking at some other sites showing paste papers I moved on to draw into some of them, and on one that I didn't like particularly I used a string block to make an additional pattern. It improved so much that I put a piece on the front of my sketchbook. Another thing that came to me this week was to use a stamp pad with a string block; it works well. No doubt some of you think this is a pretty obvious idea anyway.

I like the new lightbox feature on blogger, and there seem to be a number of updates in the pipeline, but I do wish they would sort out the commenting problems. Sometimes it takes me ages to make a comment, and often I have to start all over again, which makes it easy to give up at times.Well I've now discovered that the Lightbox feature has been scrapped as it broke a number of blogs. Shame, I was in the minority who thought it worked well. It does make one a bit unsure about trying any of the other new features just in case all is lost.

'For Sale'

2011-09-25T11:51:00.001+01:00

The house we stayed in near Windermere, in the Lake District, was for sale. The weather was rainy, with the wind literally howling round the house. An old for sale board had been knocked down and was in a broken state by the rubbish bin. Well ,just imagine my excitement. My husband just could not unerstand why I wanted to find space for it in the car with the inflatable boat, bike frame etc...

After a good shower it is perfect for making book covers.

I decided to make some paste papers as part of the binding. Here is a link to a really helpful tutorial.

Be aware that I only made half the amount of paste mentioned and still had enough to take into my day centre group for them to have a go. It really works best if you use your fingers and enjoy the tactile quality. You will need plenty of paper and space to spread it out.

Close up.

2011-09-19T13:56:00.000+01:00

Here are a few more pictures of my work from West Deane practising with my macro lens this time.

The next sample seems to have lots of potential for a fabric tunnel book.

I received my sketchbook and textile piece back from Sue Bleiweiss today. The book is due out in April and at some stage will be available for preorder on Amazon; how exciting is that! You will, I am sure, hear more about this. It is kind of strange to get it back and to think of it over in America, being photographed etc... Hard to explain, it’s like it had another life I know little about. I suppose its something to do with what you create being part of you. I had a similar feeling when I sold something in an exhibition and never met the person who bought it.

'Unfurled' Sketchbook Challenge.

2011-09-13T22:16:00.001+01:00

'Unfurled' Sketchbook Challenge., a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

September's challenge. Digital stamps made using a photo of a paper spiral combined with some doodles.

Samples

2011-09-10T17:06:00.000+01:00

Back from holiday yet again, this time a family gathering in the rainy Lake District.

The giveaway winners have all been in touch and I will be going to the Post Office next week.

Here are some photos, taken during the course at West Deane, of my samples.

The course with Dionne Swift focused on 3D structures and there was an emphasis on working with the sewing machine and the cloth itself. Dionne is a fan of going back to using the treadle sewing machine and, therefore, feeling more in tune and part of the machine. Now having used a hand machine and briefly a treadle I can’t say that appeals to me but I get her point and I think it all tunes with the ‘slow stitch’ idea, the use of natural dyes and generally a move away from throwing lots of paint and goo at the fabric; not that that wasn’t great fun at the time!

Dionne was an excellent tutor, particularly because of her enthusiasm and fresh approach. I would recommend a course with her if you get the chance.If you look at her Facebook page you will find more work from the course,in particular the samples from odd bits from the £ shop, which were made by the jeweller on the course and were very intricate and fascinating.

We used a number of transparent fabrics as backgrounds. It doesn't show up well here, but the use of a shiney transparent fabric gives a new twist to this old favourite.
One lady came all the way from Dublin for the opportunity. Next time I plan to post a few macro shots of my samples.

Giveaway Draw.

2011-08-26T12:18:00.000+01:00

A few photos of West Deane, unfortunately photographs inside the house are not permitted. This is understandable as the house is not open to the public and contains many treasures which could not be replaced. This is the view from my room.

Along one corridor are artworks mostly of the Surrealists collected by Edward James who was a sponsor of the group.

The sparkling lights are from a row of chandeliers down one corridor.

So these are a few random views before I get together some pictures of the samples from my course.The course was excellent and I feel really tired today as there was plenty to work on and try out.

The West Deane Festival starts this weekend on the parkland infront of the house.

The Giveaway winners are:

Chrissie

Lynda Howells

Robin Olsen

You will need to email your addresses so I can forward the small pieces of work.

Thank you to all those who took part and became followers.

Finished growing.

2011-08-19T15:41:00.001+01:00

Finished growing., a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

Up-date on Summer Giveaway.

2011-08-17T09:45:00.000+01:00

These are pics of the Summer Giveaways.

I shall be away next week on a course at West Dean College . Follow the link if you want to know more about what they offer. Its exciting just looking at the images and colours.The title of the course is 'Exploring Stitches to Create Structure in Cloth' with Dionne Swift, whose work I have seen at Knit and Stitch. I particularly liked her work with felt.
For those of you who have no idea about West Dean it is a wonderful manor house, the former home of the eccentric Edward James, who set up a fellowship to support artists and craftspeople. He was a sponsor of artists such as Rene Magritte and Dali. His final years were spent in South America buiding a series of follies in the form of towers.
The house is amazing with lots of history and attached to this are very modern studios, including a professional weaving studio where the tapestries for the new Houses of Parliament were woven.
Then there is the food!

It is a real treat to myself to go there again, and I am telling myself to enjoy every minute. I do get a bit driven on courses, rather than just enjoying the moment. We shall be making a number of samples using 3D structures as inspiration, hopefully you will see the results here.

So,if you want to join the giveaway scroll down to the original topic,(July 12th) leave a comment there and join the followers list.Be in it to win it. I am thinking of adding a extra freebie too.

Be part of THIS.

2011-08-11T10:05:00.000+01:00

‘A collective charity project directed toward children and education.
This is a community ‘stitch a magic feather’ project’'

Spirit Cloth has started this project and put a video on her blog to guide you as to how to stitch the basic feather.

If you go to her blog ( see my links) and click on the side bar it takes you to the video and the instructions for taking part in the project.

Her plan is to post information about the Magic Feathers each Friday.She is hoping for at least 1000 feathers.
It is a good cause and a cheerful project to be part of, so take a look and join in.

Next week I will post pictures of the giveaway 'prizes' and it will be coming up to your last chance to have a go.

August Challenge

2011-08-06T13:24:00.000+01:00

Still having fun with the Sketchbook Challenge; this month’s theme is Every Day Objects. It is quite difficult drawing in my tiny bathroom but I made an attempt to sketch some of the bottles.

Eventually the two orange flannels turned into two women in burqas rushing across the room. Can you see them?

I printed the background with the top of an old deodorant tin. It works quite well and the side of the cap can be used for a lined effect.

I would like to recommend you take a look at the work of one of my new favourites on Flick ,an artist from Israel Sharon Pazner. Her work appears simple but the images are really fascinating. She uses rust, old nails and wire in her images. I found her via Cathy Cullis’ Mosaic Monday; she usually makes some excellent finds.

Don't forget to look at the Summer Giveaway post.

Blogger has been playing me up something awful today, but I suppose I will forgive and forget,eventually.

Poppy

2011-07-30T14:08:00.000+01:00

My header image which I have now decided is finished, I will probably make it into a little lined bag at some point; I am quite keen on these at the moment and I have been collecting nylon zips in Charity shops.

I have mainly used Cretan Stitch, some of Spirit Cloths' method of backstitch, and some triple seeding stitch, on a backing of thin wadding.

These bags are always useful, and the last one has made a good case for my Kindle; using a piece of indigo dyed on my Access Course and a piece of cyanotype print, which I was into the last time we had a sunny summer; how long ago was that?

One of my books will be in the Sheffield International Artists' Book Prize Exhibition being held at Bank Street Arts in Sheffield, from 11th October to 5th November. Take a look here for details.

I will show you some images if any come on line, as I shall not be able to get up North to see the exhibition myself. There is no selection process, but you are encouraged to donate the book to their growing collection of books. A good thing about the exhibition is that it is an exploration of the way in which to display artists’ books as much as anything else and all books will be there for visitors to look through.
Don't forget the Summer Giveaway - see my side bar.

Brushes

2011-07-27T19:35:00.001+01:00

Brushes, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

They are dirty and old, which I suppose proves I use them sometimes.

Bala

2011-07-18T10:53:00.002+01:00

We spent a recent long weekend in North Wales centred on Lake Bala for the long distance swimming and boating which I took no part in, despite encouragement to have a go. I did take lots of photos of the beautiful scenery; we were in a house high up overlooking the lake and hills.

I used one of my photos for the sketchbook challenge, July’s theme being ‘Elements’ and I sort of stretched the idea for Earth to use the shapes in the distant fields.

‘Design Matters’ TV has had a recent episode showing how to use water soluble pencils and then InkTense crayons on fabric. I having been using these for some time and my book for ‘We Love Your Books’ made use of them but one useful tips was to iron the fabric onto freezer paper first in order to make it easier to work on the surface.

Drawn with ink, crayoned,' activated' with fabric medium, machine and hand stitched.

Still lots of time to join the Summer Giveaway mentioned in the previous post.To be clear you need to comment on the Giveaway Post to be in the draw.

The cucumber ‘paper’, despite some good tips and advice, was a disaster. We have lots of home grown cucumbers so if we get a glut I may have another go.

Summer Giveaway.

2011-07-12T15:42:00.000+01:00

It is time for a summer giveaway. I promise it will not be one or even two of my old tin cans, despite them being part of a valuable collection.

To be in to win one of two prizes you will need to:
1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Join the Followers List if you are not already on it.

I will make the draw, which will be random, at the end of August.
If you have trouble with Bloggers’ vagaries re commenting you need to sign in and untick the ‘stayed signed in box’, which will then take you back to the comment box.

Again my annual grouch, if you are kind enough to like my images so much that you wish to download them, it would be nice to comment and say ‘hello’. I know these remarks make no difference, because I am regularly aware of downloaded images, without the recipient bothering to comment. I suppose I should just be flattered.

I want to recommend a book by Julia Manheim called ‘Sustainable Jewellery’ published by A&C Black, London. It was a random find in my local library and is all about jewellery made from ‘found’ materials, including old cans. There are some fascinating images in it and it is well worth a look.If you follow the link it will take you to the book on Amazon, where you are able to have a look inside.

Bath time

2011-07-04T16:38:00.001+01:00

Bath time, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

Paper

2011-07-01T13:31:00.000+01:00

I had a go at pulp paper painting at the Hackwood Festival; these things are always so much easier when someone actually shows you how to do it, rather than reading a book which seems to complicate matters. I once tried learning tatting from written instructions and although I mastered it in the end it took me hours(by the way, I have not idea how to do it now, though I still have the lovely little shuttle somewhere).Well painting with pulp is child’s play, at least how I did it. Especially as the tutor had already spent hours pulping the recycled paper and colouring it!

I was inspired to make some paper, which I haven’t done for a long time, and with the tips given me by Anita Bell the whole process was less messy and more successful. Firstly keep all the equipment damp, including the cloths and deckle, and best tip, use a sponge to take off some of the water before couching the paper, not too much as otherwise the paper will stick on the frame.

The first time I tried this process I remember having pieces of wood and bricks in the kitchen to make a sort of press. Now I layer in between my blankets and there is less water about in general.

I did get air bubbles, and some pieces not pulped sufficiently, but I like my paper, so much so that it may take some time to actually work with it. The colour came from teabags and turmeric boiled up together. I also have an old liquidizer which works better than the food processor.

If you would like to see some excellent images of work by paper makers take a look at IAPMA..

I am also trying to make some paper from cucumber slices, but I don’t think my little book press is man enough for the job; I suspect it may go mouldy before I have a sheet of ‘paper’.

Shoes,paper, and a Chinook

2011-06-25T18:46:00.002+01:00

This display of shoes is part of the permanent display at The Link Gallery, Winchester. I thought that it was a perfect fit with the theme of ‘HerStory’.

Don’t forget that if you are in the area the exhibition continues until July 8th.Scroll down for details if you missed the previous posts.

Today I went to the hackwood art festival which is a biannual event; this year held in a marquee in a lovely setting, and with the chance to stroll enviously around the hosts’ garden. As usual there was a range of workshops led by exhibiting artists. I chose to go to the ‘painting with paper pulp’ workshop run by Anita Bell. I think it says a great deal about the area in which I live that I was the only participant. Lucky for me, but a lost opportunity for others. There were lots of inspiring samples to look at, suggestions for books to read about the subject, and, of course, individual attention for me.The festival continues on 26th June, so if you are in Hampshire check out the website for details.

I have made paper before, but never done any pulp painting or made a bowl, which I had the chance to do today. Needless to say, another creative pursuit that I will not be able to resist. Fortunately I already have all the equipment needed, except for the turkey baster!

When I got home I nearly drove head on into a large tanker coming down the lane leading to my garage, which I did think was strange, and stranger still to see a Chinook in the field behind my house. It had attracted quite a crowd, who were all ushered away as it prepared for take off. I think the pilot may not get any dinner tonight.(Correction,I am informed,by he who knows best, that this was a planned stop to coincide with Armed Forces Day).

Crop 'We Love Your Books'2011

2011-06-17T16:32:00.000+01:00

You can see the online exhibition of selected books for this years exhibition on Flickr.http://www.flickr.com/photos/rejectamenta/sets/72157625363065320/with/5709023029/
Mine is an interpretation of crop using an image from my life drawing class where we focused on the body almost as a landscape. I played on the words apples and pears, and used InkTense crayon and fabric medium to work on fabric.

Private View

2011-06-11T13:40:00.000+01:00

Here are some photos of the Private View for ‘HerStory’; I was impressed with both the work and the professional way in which it was displayed.

I was especially pleased that the organizers listened to me and took the trouble to construct a wall case so that people can take out my artist’s book and look through it; so much more appropriate than putting it in a display case.

It was good to be able to discuss the work with a few of the artists, and to know more of the back story, which helped the pieces to come to life.

This year there were no constraints on dimensions, and this produced a wider variety of media used, textiles, ceramic, prints, paintings, jewellery and the indefinable!

'HerStory'

2011-06-06T16:02:00.000+01:00

I have been to Winchester this morning, up the hill past the prison, to The Link Gallery, part of Winchester University where Women's Work are holding their exhibition entitled 'Herstory'.
I have two pieces in the exhibition. This is a brief view and I will show more of my work, and
hopefully some views of the exhibtion later.
If you are anywhere near do try to go, as I am always impressed by both the work, often many prints, and the way the exhibitions are presented. The Private View is on Friday 10th June from 6-8.30pm and you are cordially invited.

I mention the prison because I once did a placement there and have visited many times; on one memorable occasion showing my library card by mistake for my pass, and getting in with no problem.
Not that one would want to go there by choice!

MadLab Exhibition

2011-06-04T09:17:00.000+01:00

Here is a link to photos of the preview of the User Generated Art exhibition which the Flickr Response(VS) Group took part in:

http://www.flickr.com//photos/gazh1/sets/72157626749804857//show/

More photos and information here:
http://usergeneratedcontent.posterous.com/

Stroud Part 1

2011-05-28T11:16:00.000+01:00

I feel that I really didn’t do justice to the Stroud Textile Festival as I was only able to get there on the last weekend but here are a few photos of the work I saw.

In the Lansdown Hall and Gallery the work of Corinne Gradis and Elodie Watanabe was on show. Initially inspired by a herring bone motif on an African cloth and basketry motifs their work was both intricate and eye catching. There was also a mouth watering display of textile related books by The Chrome Yellow Bookstall. I resisted, because like many I know I can get books so much cheaper on line; which is a shame but true.

The South West Textile Group was showing in the Subscription Rooms with the theme Talisman. They obviously enjoy their textile work and were extremely welcoming and ready to describe every step and dyed thread used. They reminded me of myself when someone shows some interest in a piece I am trying to sell on a craft stall.

The students from Somerset College shared design briefs to produce their very professional pieces.

I was interested in the piece below as I am attending a workshop based on fabric manipulation in the summer.

In the Museum in the Park was a collection of work by some well known artists, some of whose work, like that of Tilleke Schwarz, I have only seen before in magazines. Sorry no photos. I particularly liked some of the small pieces of slate and stone held together by stitch, shown by Clyde Olliver.There was a large wall displaying a thread and pin installation by Debbie Smyth whose work I have seen before at Origin. The amount of work and detail is breathtaking.Here is a video of her working.
Also interesting was the work of Jessica Turrell who uses vitreos enamel to make what are decribed as veils of word; I was fascinated by the text and the shadows cast by the pieces.

What I most missed seeing was the open studio of Matthew Harris, whose work I really admire. Here is a link to his website, if you have not seen it before.

The Flickr Response Project (VS) will be exhibiting at MadLab Manchester from 3rd to 16th June;here are details of the exhibition entitiled 'User Generated Content'.
Most importantly Sarah of Guerilla Embroidery would like people to know that this is only the first venture, if you want to take part you may still do so and there will be more exciting projects to follow.
See my links bar.

Textures

2011-05-24T15:16:00.000+01:00

I have been away last weekend at the Stroud International Textile Festival. We missed the Open Studios and some of the other events unfortunately due to it being late on in the Festival. There will be a few photos to follow.

In the meantime here are a some shots of textures from around my studio, or rather the small room with a view which serves as my studio. I should not be like that as having seen, at the weekend, some of the actual small studio spaces which people work in I am really quite lucky. I am always envious of those studios though; the work always appears to be so focused. Anyway, the point of the photos is that I have been practising with my new lens and I am really pleased so far.

Cathy Cullis kindly included me in last weeks’ Mosaic Monday. If you have not seen her mosaics they are usually interesting, and worth a look, as is her work if you are not aware of it.

Finished piece - The Lay of the Land

2011-05-18T18:39:00.001+01:00

Finished piece - The Lay of the Land, a photo by Guerilla Embroidery on Flickr.

Take a look at the finished pieces on Flickr.

Guerilla Embroidery vs Stitchworks Jackie WIP

2011-05-18T10:59:00.001+01:00

Guerilla Embroidery vs Stitchworks Jackie WIP, a photo by Guerilla Embroidery on Flickr.

Take a look at how the Flickr Response Project is coming along.

Rare Bird

2011-05-15T12:59:00.000+01:00

Trying to be good and contribute to the groups’ bird theme, I decided to subscribe to Spirit Cloth’s Patchwork Beasts video series. I admire her work,which is informed by her skills in illustration, and her general approach very much. Mine is I hope a humorous little bird. The videos can be watched at any time which is nice if you just want to dip in and out. I had made some sketches for a series of funny birds, but I doubt this is going to happen.

I have a new lens for my camera which is something I have wanted for a long time but it is proving a steep learning curve. There is a danger of becoming distracted with reading about how to take pictures, particularly on the net, rather than actually taking them, which I am sure is the way forward.

On Friday I am off to Cirencester with a plan to visit the Stroud Textile Fair on Saturday, which should be good as it was interesting and very varied last year.

By the way,I can highly recommend DMTV which is excellent, great entertainment, informative and with plenty of new content added regularly. Instead of a binding on this piece, I have followed their instructions for adding a tidy facing.I dithered for some time about treating myself to a subscription but I think I am hooked now.

If you want a laugh on a Sunday morning, picture this, I am back from last nights Hen do, partying with a group of beautiful young Polish girls, all dressed as Pirates complete with parrots, and then there was me with my plastic cutlass - a rare sight!

Manuscript

2011-05-09T15:09:00.000+01:00

I was asked by Sue Bleiweiss to contribute to her forthcoming book which will be linked to the popular 2011 Sketchbook Challenge. If you haven’t had a look at the blog the idea is that a theme is set each month and then people share their efforts via Flickr. There is always something new on the blog and it’s usually very entertaining and informative. There is also a monthly set of prizes which can be won via tagging one example of your work for the monthly draw.

The book will have a similar idea with each contributor working on a sketch book to a set theme and then producing a piece of art related to the sketchbook work.

It was quite a tight deadline to work to, but I like that as it gets me focused. The sketchbook and stitched piece was sent off to America, and now Sue has put it all together and the manuscript is on its way to the publishers.
Contributors are:
Carol Sloan, Jane Davies, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Lynn Krawczyk, Laura Cater-Woods, Jackie Bowcutt, Jill Berry, Judi Hurwitt, Lyric Kinard, Jamie Fingal, Diana Trout, Kelli Perkins, Jane LaFazio, Kathyanne White, Kathy Sperino, Violette Clark, Carla Sonheim
Susan Brubaker Knapp, Tracie Lyn Huskamp, and Kim Rae Nugent

We have to wait until this time next year for the book to be published.
Don’t worry, I will let you know when it is, as I shall not be able to contain my excitement

Can't Resist -Sketchbook Challenge

2011-05-06T11:44:00.001+01:00

Can't Resist -Sketchbook Challenge, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

May Challenge. Acrylic medium as a resist.

May Day

2011-05-02T11:27:00.000+01:00

Apart from all the holiday distractions, not to speak of the Royal Wedding, I have been making a start on my submission for this years’ ‘We Love Your Books’ exhibition, which has the theme of ‘Crop’. I need to submit that by the start of June and feel that I am well on my way with it now. This year it will be an online exhibition only. I am quite pleased with my idea and hope the execution will be OK. You will get to see it here whether I am accepted or not; lets wait and see.

I have also been messing with bits and pieces of felt and working on some machining to raise the surface following Lisa Klakulak's methods. She uses a ‘leg lifter’ on her machine but as I don’t have one I use my embroidery unit foot which has a very small hoop on the end. I have done a few small samples, and I think I need to make sure my prefelt is a little more substantial than in this piece. It is nice and tactile.

Flickr Response Project

2011-04-27T09:27:00.003+01:00

Flickr Response Project, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

Hurry up,join this project to help Guerilla Embroidery get together work for an exhibition.

Spring Felt

2011-04-18T12:08:00.000+01:00

I haven’t made any felt for nearly a year; I don’t quite know why, just too many other distractions I guess. If you would like to look at some amazing felt garments, wonderful colours, shapes and textures I would recommend ‘ Felting Fashion’ by Lizzie Houghton; once again try your local library as I did.

I wouldn’t dream of trying any of the exotic garments shown, or even the hats, but it is a book which makes one itch to have a go at some basic felt. In the bits and pieces section the author shows some examples of how to make spiky brooches, I sketched some notes about how to add spikes at a Knitting and Stitching Show once.

They are quite easy and provide a quick fix if like me you are not up for trying one of the daunting jackets.

I combined the author’s method with that of Lisa Klakulak's (see links) free machining ideas.

.

By the way I am finding using Picassa Albums first and then downloading to Blogger to be a much faster and painless option,rather than downloading from my computer to my blog. Probably 'dear reader' you knew this already!

Sketchbook Challenge

2011-04-15T15:02:00.002+01:00

Sketchbook Challenge, a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

Using up Procion dye on my sketchbook page.

'Feathered Friends'

2011-04-09T21:07:00.025+01:00

I worked on the various dyed pieces, writing, stamping and then cutting up.

I have used the curved seam method shown by Alicia Merrett in her videos. I’ve decided to put them together and make a small quilt. Its many years since I made anything like a proper quilt, and I had already read that the sort of polyester wadding that I can find in my local shop is very old fashioned, and I noticed how ‘flat’ the wadding used in the DMTV videos looked. I emailed Linda Kemshall and she kindly told me the type of low loft wadding they used and gave me the name of a supplier. It came the next day and I am quite amazed how different it is from the wadding we used to use when I made a number of quilts, from cot to double bed sized many moons ago. In fact, patchwork and quilting was my first venture into textiles and tended to be quite traditional at that time.

It would have looked nicer with a curved seam across the middle but I felt that I was going to lose too much material if I did that.

I have dyed the backing material using the last sample of dye which I was given by Dylon; hassle free, but hardly as much fun when you get such a predictable outcome. I do like the colour combination though.

If you follow Flickr you may be interested in Guerrilla Embroidery’s ‘Flickr Response Project’ which she kindly asked me to join. Why not join in or follow its progress here.

I am having a great deal of trouble uploading photos, it seems to take forever and to get 'stuck'.
I uploaded these first to a Picasa album which seemed to work much better.

'Branching Out'

2011-04-08T11:41:00.001+01:00

'Branching Out', a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

April Sketchbook Challenge.

Spring colours.

2011-04-02T11:49:00.000+01:00

Mostly images today. I had a dyeing session yesterday using thickened Procion MX.

I decided to work out one method which I could try to stick to. I even wrote it all down. Dyeing strikes me as being very much like felt making as far as different peoples’ instructions go; they are all different, each person or book has its own pet suggestions, which are usually given as rules, and in the end, speaking personally, are completely confusing. I tried just to think it through and find my own logic.

I tried soy wax resist and general mark making. I found some syringes I had years ago and used them for some of the lines.

One tip from Ruth Issetts’ book ‘Colour on Cloth’ which is new to me is to place the dyed fabric in a low oven for five minutes, rather than batching it. Obviously not for the waxed material. I like her book and it has some excellent colour advice and exercises. She is also not too prescriptive about her methods, which she simply says have worked for her over the years. Try getting it from the library if you are in the UK; use your local library before it’s taken away.
I like the spring like colours, but I was trying for a more striking purple than the pinky shade.
If you go over to Melanie Testa's blog, see my links, you will find a list of tutorials, including her video one on making foam stamps.

This post has taken a little longer than expected; naively I had always thought of Blogger as absolutely free and marvelled at that, but I know that really there is never such a thing as a free lunch. I tried uploading photos only to be told I had reached my limit. For those of you who haven't got to that stage it doesn't cost much for a year to upload far more storage space than I will need. There is however a delay when you have paid; I was reluctant at first because I had to give my card details,I thought it could be a scam, but I checked through Blogger Help and this is how the system works. Hence a delay.Then even more delay as it took so long to upload each photo- but that was sort of OK as it gave me time to do some more pieces, and take more photos.

I have just signed up for Design Matters TV and the latest episode is about line on fabric. As I particularly like using text it was very timely.

Well a much longer post than expected, in every way. I won't knock blogger though as it has given me hours of fun.

Zips, Keys and the swish of paper.

2011-03-19T09:41:00.000Z

I have actually been quite busy getting some pieces ready for submission for an exhibition and thinking through ideas for another piece, but in-between I have had time for some light relief. If you want a quick fix I have two great links for you.

One is for the best tutorial I have found for putting a zip in a lined bag or purse with no fuss or problems. I used to have what I thought was a simple way but this one is definitely the best I have found and is a video which helps. It is good way to use up bits and pieces of fabric which you have experimented with and on. I made a small purse and a new pencil case. I may try and source some fancy zips; like the ones Melanie Testa uses.

That link could well send you into frenzied activity if you are anything like me and just have to do something creative straight away. So now I have a lovely contemplative break for you, that is if you love the swish and sound of books and handmade paper. Take a look at Susan Mills website, it could make you drool.

I have finally finished the hanging and added keys along the bottom. They are old family keys so it is a bit sentimental. ‘She will need help in the Persian Palaces’, I think there is a fire and her old retainer is off to find the keys to the locked tower- or something like that!

We recently visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and because I was with my husband we looked in galleries that I would probably not have visited, for instance the ironwork gallery, where there is a whole display of keys from over the ages. They were really fascinating. These small keys don't give the clang that you get with larger ones; I know because we have just added some to a hanging at the day centre where I work. There has just been a survey which has, for some reason, found that most homes have a hoard of keys with long forgotten origins.

'Spilling Over' detail.

2011-03-14T09:10:00.002Z

'Spilling Over' detail. a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.
Printing with my coffee cup lid using gesso.

DBO's Big Lake Swim

2011-03-10T10:46:00.001Z

Swimming the length of Lake Windermere, in The Lake District, in September, you guessed right again,not me.
I will be cheering on the family team, one swimmer and two rowers.
You can sponsor the team in aid of the Macmillan Cancer charity by clicking on this
link; I will also put a link in my sidebar.

I'm not allowed in the boat because,apparently, I would be too soft and let him give up too easily.

'Spilling Over' Sketchbook Challenge

2011-03-07T08:47:00.002Z

'Spilling Over' Sketchbook Challenge a photo by stitchworks-jackie on Flickr.

'Spilling Over' Sketchbook Challenge

A few of the saved bits and pieces I will use one day, from cereal bags, brown paper to washing machine hose. Its all spilling over.

More birds.

2011-02-28T12:15:00.001Z

I started the week by working on the bird sketchbook, I’ve been a bit distracted since, but at least I have done something for this year’s theme. A year goes so quickly, and last year I sort of stopped and never really got into it again.

I have done some brief sketches of birds illustrated in the book 'African Textiles' by John Gillow.
For anyone near enough there will be an exhibition of bags (last year’s project) in various styles made by ‘Material Girls’ in the library Tadley (Hampshire). The exhibition will be put up today, Monday, so look out for it. There are some very well made and nicely stitched bags, so do take a look if you are local.

I did some monoprinting; one of my current favourite things using water based printing inks.

This one is pretty rough but fun, done on the back of a used envelope.

I also made a cover for my sketchbook; this bird was drawn with Derwent Ink Tense crayons on cotton and then covered with fabric medium. I then washed it to remove some of the plasticy feel of the medium, which took away some of the colour and gave a nice fresco like look. As it is not going to be washed I suppose, thinking about it, I could have just used water to bring out the colours

Christine has asked about Egyptian applique, sorry I can't get back to you, but hopefully you will see this. P150 in John Gillow's book he has a whole illustrated section on this style of applique, which apparently used to all be made in the Street of the Tent-makers.It seems to have mainly been turned hem work using figurative, geometric or calligrphic motifs. I'm sure you would find some examples on the net.

Wax and Rust

2011-02-19T10:12:00.000Z

There used to be four guinea fowl in the garden where I work. From a distance they are a very cute and characterful bird, following each other in line like hunched backed old men. Closer up they are really strange, wearing what looks like white masks. Now there are only two and at times they seem to be quite viscous to each other. Their black and white spotted feathers are beautifully patterned.

A group that I belong to have the theme of ‘birds’ this year and are working towards a group display of some kind. Now I have quite a phobia towards anything which flutters, but I have braced myself to collect a few feathers and am making an effort to accommodate the idea of our feathered friends as a theme.

This is a combination of rusted paper, with some branding with a wood burning tool and wax. I have bought some dharma crystals and following instructions on You Tube have made my own encaustic medium. The only difficult bit was straining the black bits out of the dharma. I found that only a very thin layer of material is needed for the filter otherwise the wax cools quickly and and seals the filter. I am using an Batik beeswax, which is actualy much yellower than the pictures show. I like the yellow tinge, but I know that I probably should use refined beeswax. I will not be adding pigment so perhaps it doesn't matter.

If you want to have a go here is the link to the video. I left my wax in the wax pot rather than making little ‘cakes’ as it is the only way I can melt the wax at the moment. I painted on the wax with a brush and then ironed it flattish. Making the medium is quite a smelly process, so you need to have good ventilation in case of fumes. Also stir the beeswax and dharma well; otherwise it tends to congeal at the bottom of the pot.

The January session of my course consisted of making a lino cut having made a pattern from a randomly selected postcard. The results were limited but I made a couple of birthday cards for my sons and a sort of pouch bag from the material I printed on the day. I can’t say I that I felt satisfied by the day, and didn’t feel I learned much or came away with any new ideas or inspiration. Perhaps it was just down to my mood?

Its just occured to me that the bird may swallow the spider; I hope not, I feel quite protective of my new pet.

Nearly finished, Persian Palaces.

2011-02-09T17:01:00.000Z

I’ve been doing little bits of stitching each day on the hanging. One day last week I had a burst of energy and decided that I had done enough and it was time to tackle the backing and binding. It went well using 505 spray which is one of my favourite products to attach the layers before adding the binding. For both the binding and the hanging sleeve I referred to a CD which came with one of my copies of ‘thr3fold journal’. on which Linda Kemshall demonstrates how to do these finishes, which it is easy to forget when you don’t do it very often.

I have read Design Matters monthly newsletter regularly for a long time, and have a copy of their book ‘The Painted Quilt’. I haven’t succumbed to their TV show on-line, but that may happen one day. So for their help with this project I will make them both my blog heroes for February.

It is not quite finished yet, a few more stitches needed on the hanging sleeve, and we have agreed some kind of dangles on the bottom edge, what these will be I have yet to decide, washers or beads??

Welcome to people who have recently started to follow the blog, I try to get back to people to say 'hello' but that's not always possible.

By the way I hope you are not frightened of spiders!

'Black and White' detail.

2011-02-05T14:58:00.001Z

'Black and White' detail.
Originally uploaded by stitchworks-jackie

For the February Sketchbook Challenge 'Opposites'.
Geometric with a hint of Klimt pattern.
Black and white gesso,and a white gel pen.

What do you do with your envelopes? Part Two.

2011-01-28T17:04:00.002Z

This was just a whim and a distraction, an enjoyable one. I have made a book with old envelopes before, where it is I do not know; perhaps I gave it away, who knows?

The trigger for this little book came from the work of an Australian book artist Adele Outteridge. There is a good video of her talking about her books made of recycled materials on You Tube.

I made the covers from an old For Sale board and that idea came from the tutor on my medieval book binding course.

Ever since then I have been looking out for old boards, imagine my frenzied excitement when I saw one at the recycling centre near our local library. It was a pity that it was attached to a large post with huge rivets. Would that stop me, no way. I went into the library and asked to borrow scissors, and then set about detaching all of the board that I could manage. They probably thought I was crazy and perhaps they were right! The first job was to get out the baby wipes and give the board a good clean.

Today I went to see the exhibition of Alice Kettle's work in the local museum.It is certainly the most impressive show of her work which I have seen. I particularlylike the way she is now combining textiles with ceramics, and painting. The colourswere very strong, particularly with the winter sunshine streaming through the front windows.

Do something interesting with your envelopes and I will link to your work here.
Lin Artiblobs, see her work here.

Mosaic Monday

2011-01-24T09:04:00.001Z

Mosaic Monday
Originally uploaded by Feltbug

Feltbug kindly included my work.Take a look at Flickr to follow links to interesting work chosen by her.

'Persian Palaces' 3

2011-01-17T10:02:00.000Z

These are some images of the free machining I have done on the Persian Palaces hanging. It is not really quilted but backed with a piece of brushed calico, which is almost like a thin blanket.

I also used my free sample of Dylon in ‘Goldfish Orange’ to dye a piece of cotton poplin for part of the binding. It was so easy, but the colours are more limited than using Procion MX. I love the burst of colour on my wall.

I have a new sewing table bought with Christmas money. Don’t you think it is smart? With the castors taken off it almost aligns perfectly with the computer table I have used as a sewing table for years. I was given sewing table envy by seeing the one Melanie Testa uses; I had no idea I needed or wanted one before seeing hers.

Then I found my blog hero for January Leah Day. She has wonderful videos of free machine quilting on her blog,from which I sort of got the patterns I have used. Even if you never want to do this, they are so relaxing to watch.

She became a hero when I watched her video in which she advises cutting off part of her darning foot to make seeing what one is sewing easier. It made me laugh and admire her nerve too. The sewing table is advertised on her blog, and I just had to get one after viewing the demonstration numerous times. It really does help to have a nice flat surface.

To Christine who lurks, I appreciate your comment, please keep coming back. I’m so pleased to have any lurkers, it’s the people who download numerous images without a thank you that I feel the urge to get at occasionally.

Tutorial

2011-01-04T15:42:00.000Z

I am taking part in the 2011 Setchbook Challenge;see the badge in the side bar.
Each month there will be a new challenge set by a different artist. Images are
uploaded to Flickr. For January the theme is 'Highly Prized'.
I have been asked for a tutorial on one of the images I added, so here it is.
Bleach discharge as a sketch technique.

Colour you sketchbook page using ink. I applied mine with a piece of sponge.

I used a blue/black drawing ink, but try what you have.

Decide on your subject matter and make a quick sketch.

I cut sponge shapes using the sketch as a rough guide. I have used compressed sponge, which looks like sheets of thin cardboard but when soaked in water expands and has an interesting texture. You can, of course, cut up any cheap sponge.

Next pour out a small amount of bleach. You may like to wear gloves for this part.

Dab the sponge into the bleach and make marks on the coloured page.

As you watch the bleached surface will change colour, in my case from green to white.

Apply the bleach gently. Try not to dribble the bleach and beware of getting it on your clothes, as it will quickly discolour whatever it touches.

Additional marks may be made using a cotton bud.

The next step is get out your pens and work into the sketch outlined with bleach. Try out various pens and see if you can get some interesting results. My white pen resulted in an attractive blue line on the ink. You need to experiment here.

'Persian Palaces' 2

2010-12-31T12:10:00.002Z

Coming up to Christmas I was working hard on the Persian Palaces hanging and even liked it at times, but I must say that visitors ,eating, eating and more of the same has certainly slowed things down and I will now have to make a real effort to get going again. Not that I won’t be working on something but I could so easily get distracted; it will be easier I think to keep focused as I am making the hanging for a definite audience.

Isn't one of the best parts when you see all the possible colours and threads together?
I put the sari ribbon up against the background and decided that I liked the idea of an almost stripped affect and have stitched words onto some of the strips. These came from a random book page I used in my sketchbook. In some ways the figures are making their way through the Persian Palaces, and it is hard to say if they are threatening or coming to help, but certainly ‘She will need help in the Persian Palaces’. Perhaps there is a fire.

More in 2011.

This year I have particularly enjoyed the blogs of the people in my links, I am quite addicted to Melanie Testa’s blog and do tend to look in on her ‘Every Single Day’.
The work of Jude Hill on Spirit Cloth and her atmospheric videos are inspiring.
Many more have suitably distracted me and given great pleasure. I thank them all, as I do
those who follow my progress and keep me blogging.Also a big thank you to the buyers of my book.
To those who stay a matter of seconds, manage to download several images, and never even comment - well the less said the better, but of course they will have no time to read this anyway!

'Persian Palaces'.

2010-12-11T15:46:00.000Z

I am working on a hanging for my greatest critic; it is also quite large for me, so all in all a bit intimidating. I have used some images from one of my life drawing classes, and transferred them to cotton poplin using monoprint and foam stamping. I used liquid acrylics with an Open Medium so that it was not too harsh on the cloth.

Figures added using foam stamps.

I dyed the background using Procion MX dyes and a low immersion dyeing method.

I mixed the colours, teal and jade, but I think the result is a little too much on the green side. I plan to dye some fabric orange for the border. I will probably use Dylon when my washing machine is repaired, as I was kindly given some by the company and it is waiting to be used. The sari ribbon is just there for colour inspiration at the moment.

Well that is as far as my thoughts about it have progressed, so we shall see what happens, probably in 2011.

A productive workshop.

2010-12-01T15:52:00.001Z

I am really pleased with the work done by the people on this five week workshop
which finished today - despite some heavy snow in my local area. I came down
the slope along the track from my garage with great trepidation, but the main roads
were clear. On the way back I got half way up the track when my poor car refused
to go any further and we had to back down. Still it was a good morning.

Here is some of their work. I was particularly pleased with how sketchbooks
were started with samples to go back to for the future.

Melanie Testa has been inviting people to join in with her project sketching

with a ruling pen on fabric. I haven't joined in but it has been interesting to see the

results.This week she extolled the virtues of the Rapidograph pen and reminded me

that I had one some twenty years ago. I spend many hours finding it, working out

how to put it together and finaling cleaning the nib,which involved shower gel and a beading needle. Imagine my thrill when today, after a long soak it worked.

So this is for Melanie(see my links).

I know this post is set out very strangely. Blogger is having a

strange afternoon, and I have given up trying to set it out more neatly.

Inspiration from Ethnic Textiles

2010-11-23T15:02:00.000Z

As some of you may know, I just started running a workshop at The National Needlework Archive based at Greenham Common. The plan has been that over five weeks we will use my collection of Ethnic Textiles as inspiration to design an embroidered panel. The idea has not been to copy the textiles, including mud cloths, Kantha pieces and Indian hangings, but rather to use them as a jumping off point for original designs.

I have worked alongside the participants, and started with a small counted thread piece which I brought back from Dubrovnik.

Initially each person chose a textile, used words to describe them before making some quick sketches.

We then worked with twigs, sponges, feathers etc. making marks using Indian Ink.

The next session was used to colour varied papers, such as brown paper, greaseproof, magazine pages etc... We then looked at ways of making stamps to transfer the designs from the initial doodles and mark making.
This is my final design.

In one session we looked at working with Shisha both in traditional and non traditional ways. I decided to incorporate my working examples in the stitched piece.

This is how far I have progressed. The course has two more weeks to go, and all being well I would like to offer it again in the Spring.

What are you doing with your old Envelopes?

2010-11-15T11:57:00.001Z

I know that people have been saving the varied papers from the insides of envelopes for quite some time and a while back I posted about a photo book I had made from old envelopes. I still have a large‘collection’ and continue to find them useful.

This is a sketch of the view from my window and one interpreted in ink and stitch using envelope paper.

Ro Bruhn has done some lovely paintings using her old envelopes, take a look at her post for 30th September and she may inspire you. This is one of mine on a journal page with a monoprint in the window made on magazine paper.

'Hens Teeth' on Flickr has done some of my favourite monoprints using the cellophane windows in envelopes.

Recently I found Carrie Holder's blog; she does some interesting experimental work and this is a link to her blog where she shows some of her work using envelopes. I’m sure you have come across loads of different ways of using envelopes on blogs or Flickr. Leave a link in your comments and others can go and have a look.

Here is a link suggested by Jackie the Prepaid Envelope Art Group on Flickr.

Pattern and a book

2010-11-08T12:31:00.000Z

On Friday I went for the second session of the Contemporary Textile Workshop which I am going to for six sessions during the academic year. There were a number of design exercises using a piece of fruit or a vegetable. I must tell you that I was very late having missed the train due to my bus being half an hour late. I don’t cope well with being late as I am usually a' first there too early type’. It completely put me off for the first exercises, but I was ok later and enjoyed the afternoon exercise. I had no idea that Klimt was our inspiration, having missed the introduction, but enjoyed looking at his wonderful pictures full of pattern during the lunch break.

Basically the exercise in the afternoon consisted of making a sandwich of coloured papers and cutting through the layers, and then rejoining them. Confusing but worthhwile for the unexpected results. I don’t have any plans to use the resulting designs at the moment, but it would be an exercise worth repeating with other images.

I made a little book using some of the waxed paper experiments for the cover. Thank you all for the various suggestions about using wax. I am continuing with the experiments on paper.

FOREVER LONDON EXHIBITION - Moscow (26)

2010-11-03T15:29:00.001Z

FOREVER LONDON EXHIBITION - Moscow (26)
Originally uploaded by DBO PONDERS

DBO in Moscow.

Wax and more.

2010-10-30T17:42:00.002+01:00

I just bought WaxWorks’ West DVD about Encaustic on Paper. A real impulse buy. The ladies give an awful lot of information, but I really had not thought it through, I was taken by the idea of wonderful waxed papers, and the emphasis is on encaustic, using lots of equipment I don’t currently own – though I could be seriously tempted. If you read this regularly you will know how fickle I can be. So a bit of a disappointment, which is not really to do with the DVD but my expectations. Anyway, it has encouraged me to play with the wax pot again. I have decided that on the whole I prefer beeswax to soy wax, although the latter has great advantages when working with fabric and is environmentally good, but it does have an unpleasant smell; at least I think so

These are some papers I have worked on. My favourites are the coffee filter with holes and graphite powder, and the pattern on teabags using a batik tool.

Here is a link to some lovely work by patti of Missouri Bend Studio. I particularly like the beaded book page; I like the work so much that I am jealous that I didn’t make it. By the way she does have an etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/missouribendstudio

Here is another link to some experimental knitting by' Wax and Wool' on ordinary objects such as bus tickets ,take away cups etc. which is fascinating. She has a new blog so drop by and leave a comment.
This is the very last chance to book for the course starting on November 3rd at the National Needlework Archive. If you are anywhere near come and join in; it’s a real bargain and hopefully lots of fun. I'm just about to go round the house taking down the mud cloth, kuba cloth etc. to use as our design inspiration.

'Stitchworks' book on Blurb

2010-10-24T16:28:00.001+01:00

Untitled

Make Your Own Book

The first few pages of my blurb book. Available over at Blurb.

Collage and Stitch

2010-10-18T15:42:00.000+01:00

At the start of the month I went to the first session of the Contemporary Textile Workshop I am attending twice a term. I went on the train and got thoroughly soaked before I found the college, but apart from that it was a good start.

We were asked to take a colourful object and then to draw and paint a still life from the grouped objects. We went through the process again from a different angle and added one colour to each piece of work by the other participants before joining and cutting up our collages into four six inch pieces.

I printed out two of the ‘designs’ using ink aid and added some hand and machine stitch.

On the second one I added some pieces from old book pages using gel medium.

A while ago I was given some T-shirt transfer paper and as I had never used it thought I would have a go using the other two ‘designs’. The outcome was not so good as the colours are not true and the texture strange, but I have used them to make a small book. I sewed the pages onto cable ties using the method I learned for medieval binding.

The Found Object

2010-10-12T15:07:00.000+01:00

I started this piece after reading Cas Holmes’ new book ‘The Found Object in Textile Art’. I used her basic process of layering papers and fabric onto a piece of cotton using wallpaper paste.

I have a fairly large collection of sweet papers etc so it was no problem finding the papers. My theme is Dubrovnik in case you had not guessed and I used one of my sketches, machining from the back which is one of her tips. Another suggestion from the book was to soften papers by using a form of a Japanese kneading method called 'momigami'; I used this on a piece of brown paper which had been layered with paint and acrylic wax, and it did take on the feel of fabric.

I also used foam stamps of faces for the crowds which are ever present in the old town.

At this point I really didn’t like it, so having added a layer of net in places to knock it all back a bit, I then followed the advice in the book and cut it up. Val Campbell-Harding would have been proud of me.

I used a layer of Japanese tissue from Faulkiners in the gap and have now machined and hand stitched a new image of the cathedral emphasising the crosses made by the building planks. I will have to leave it for a while now to hang on my wall and see what I think when I come back to it.

Workshop at Greenham Common

2010-10-08T13:49:00.000+01:00

For anyone in the right area you may like to come along to this five week course in which we will use a collection of ethnic textiles as a design source for designing and making an embroidered panel.
For the first session all you need is paper,drawing materials,a camera if possible, and an apron.
The first sessions will play with design methods which could be applied to any source.
I want people to be creative and have fun.

Ethnic Inspiration for Textiles

Five weeks.

Starts 3rd November 2010

10.30-12.30pm £60

Details here.

The Old Chapel Textile Centre

Newbury

Tel: 01635 38740 email: octc@live.com

More stamps.

2010-10-04T10:39:00.000+01:00

My husband was fascinated by this fisherman, who seemed to come down to the harbour in Dubrovnik every day with his rod, a bucket and a cat. We never worked out if the cat followed him for the fish or was his own cat. It was a good ‘friendship’ as the cat regularly got fed.

I am still enjoying playing with foam stamps which have so much potential.

These are the goodies which I received from Diane in the USA for the paper and ephemera swap. Not sure how I will use them at the moment, but at some point they will be just what I need.

I went with a friend to Origin last week and admired all the wonderful craft work on display. I also managed to buy some presents, lucky people. Spitalfields Market is much posher than when I last went, and I do suspect it may have been tidied up too much.

Scene in Dubrovnik

2010-09-25T12:48:00.002+01:00

Some of the people eating at the cafes or round the statue in the square
just below our apartment in the old town Dubrovnik.

Congratulations to Blogger for dealing with the large amount of spam which has been causing a problem over recent months, for now, at least, the spammers seem to have given up. The new uploader for photos is also good, but placing them is a bit of a nightmare. Perhaps I just haven't got the hang of it yet.

Dubrovnik

2010-09-21T10:51:00.000+01:00

As requested a few pictures from my recent holiday, already becoming a
distant memory.
I did some sketches for my homework whilst I was there, but I still find it intimidating to sketch outside in public. Fortunatley we had plenty of life and activity in the market square just below our window.

A view down Stadum which despite the huge volume of crowds every day remains quite breath taking and beautiful.

Many of the roofs had to be rebuilt after the city was shelled in 1991, and from the walls you can see the contrast between the old roofs and those that have been replaced.

Either someone preserving their summer crop or doing a bit of solar dyeing.

There is plenty of design potential here and below it looks like the washing has been colour co-ordinated with the walls.

The day that a man came round to feed the pigeons; I missed the best picture as a cat pounced on the pile of pigeons feeding on the grain.

Guess who swam the Channel!

2010-09-16T10:02:00.000+01:00

You are so right, it wasn't me.
I'm just the proud mother. After a years' training and lots of hard work
my son's relay team of 6 completed the swim in just over 16 hours.

With jelly fish,container ships and the dark to cope with I sort of hope he doesn't try it again.

A lucky day to be called Penney or even Penny.

2010-09-13T13:58:00.000+01:00

Thank you to everyone who joined in the Summer Giveaway. I made the random draw today and strange to say but both winners are called Penny, but the first out of the number generator was:
Penney from Woodlawn, Virginia, USA. I will send you this piece when you let me have your address by email (see my profile). As you may know the material came from Ger and I have added stamps and writing by her. You may like to add something of your own.

Second was Penny from near Victor Harbor, South Australia.

Again let me have your details so I can forward this Birdie Pin.

'Summer Giveaway' last chance.

2010-09-11T11:09:00.001+01:00

This is the last chance to join in the ‘summer’ giveaway.

Scroll down to the post for August 9th to see how to join in before I draw the two winners on September 13th.

I came back from my holiday in Dubrovnik in Croatia last night.
We stayed in an apartment in one of the main squares and it was great to see and hear the fruit and vegetable market setting up every morning but like NY Dubrovnik never seems to sleep, so I must admit it was good to be back in my sleepy part of the world.
I will post some photos later.

These are pictures of what I will be sending for the Vintage and Ephemera swap this month; I don’t regularly contribute but thought it would be fun this month and just collected bits and pieces over a few weeks and then this little book came together. See the link in my sidebar.

Waiting on my doorstep was my copy of ‘The Found Object’ by Cas Holmes, which I had preorderd. I opened it in bed this morning feeling quite excited. A book about all the things I love to do, collecting papers, printing, stitching. I wondered if it would disappoint, as at first it seemed quite a slim book, but page after page seems crammed with information to stimulate even more creativity. I started by just looking at the images, which are almost enough in themselves. I like to eat my boxes of chocolates slowly and savour every mouthful, and that’s how I plan to enjoy this book, if only I can stop myself from being greedy.

(e)motive

2010-08-31T08:37:00.002+01:00

(e)motive
Originally uploaded by stitchworks-jackie

Exhibition at Milton Keynes until 25th September 2010.
For more images and details see:
http://weloveyourbooks.com/page15/page15.php

Stamps

2010-08-23T14:13:00.000+01:00

I have been working on my sketches, but I do get carried away. I have been using

some images from my Life Drawing Class to make stamps from ‘fun foam’. It nice and easy to cut and gives plenty of scope to play around with the shapes.

I have used an ink pad, gouache, printing ink and acrylic. Acrylic has the advantage as you can put a wash over it easily. The ink pads are very tempting as they are so easy to use, but as I only have one colour this limits me. I have plenty of paint so I should stick to that.

For lots of information about stamp making you can look at Melanie Testa’s blog and a video by Diana Trout on You Tube

An issue you may like to remark on, I have a new Stats Counter now. It’s always fun to look where readers come from. One of the categories that can be tracked is the material which readers download. I was surprised to find how often this happens, I have never thought to download from a blog but I have done so lots from Flickr; especially when ‘gathering’ images for a project to show people with whom I work. I must admit to not having always thanked people, although I do try to do so. I am pleased readers like my images enough to want to keep them, and they are there for anyone, however, my point is that I now notice that readers regularly come along, download an image and never even comment. Thank You is recognisable in most languages I think. Moan over. The good news is that Blogger is now making an attempt to stop and track spam, which has become more of a problem recently.

Definitely my last post for a while, so don’t forget to sign up for the Summer Giveaway on the August 9th post before I draw in early September.

EXHIBITION: Inkygoodness 4 - 'Play'

2010-08-18T09:01:00.003+01:00

EXHIBITION: Inkygoodness 4 - 'Play'
Originally uploaded by DBO PONDERS

Click on link in sidebar for more details of this exhibition in Brick Lane, London, starting early September.

Workshop

2010-08-17T11:23:00.000+01:00

The next workshop at Doodles, Tadley (UK) will be on Wednesday 1st September from 1 to 3pm... We will be working with brown paper, wrapping paper or brown paper bags, to transform them to lovely pieces for book covers, cards etc..

Bring along your own paper if possible but paints, oil sticks etc. will be provided.

I have found some more images of stitched circles squared for my mosaic on Flickr.
I keep finding them all over the place now. These are all in my own work.

Don’t forget to enter the Summer Giveaway on the last post to be in with a chance of winning one of two stitched items. Thank you to those of you who have joined my Followers List to keep me blogging.

Summer Giveaway

2010-08-09T16:07:00.000+01:00

I promised a blog giveaway for the summer and here it is. There will be two stitched items. One will be the piece made with Gerdiary’s avocado dyed fabric; basically she gave the fabric to me when I won a virtual voucher for her shop, so I will be passing it on. Except for the backing it is completely make with the fabric she provided and parts of the envelope from Berlin. The other item, well wait and see.

To be eligible for the draw you need to leave your comment here and sign up on my Followers List if you are not already there. I will let you know if you win and you can then let me have your contact details.

I will not be drawing this until 13th September as I shall be busy for a few weeks.

'Contemporary-Medieval'

2010-08-03T12:00:00.000+01:00

I had a treat last Friday spending the day at City Lit on a one day bookbinding course. The course was called ‘Contemporary-Medieval’ and the tutor was Ina Baumeister, a professional book binder. I think most of us there were attracted by the idea of the book as sculpture and the idea of using old tyres as covers. Well, there were no old tyres, except in the tutor’s examples, but it was still a good day.

We started with a basic format, sewing the sections onto cable ties, with instructions on raised band sewing styles.

In the afternoon we saw the tutors work and were given a range of materials, shoe laces, rope, wire, strimmer tape, and old house signs from which to choose in order to make our own book design. I used a piece of black and silver plastic, not sure of its original use, wire, and plastic thread to work on. It was a packed course, which shows the current interest in book binding and the company was good.

2010-07-29T16:32:00.001+01:00

The Squared Circle Group on Flickr is fun. Stitched circles don't really fit neatly, but no worry as someone has started a group for those photos which are 'dumped' from the original group as not being entirely to the rules.

Life Drawing and Monoprints

2010-07-27T16:25:00.001+01:00

Over the next academic year I am going to attend two workshops a term at a local college, a ‘Creative Textile’ workshop. I think the idea is mainly to concentrate on design work and it will be good to work with other people. It is a local education college so, at the moment, relatively cheap compared to some of the London courses. I have also signed up for a short course on’ getting to know your DSLR’ camera, which hopefully will leave me less confused.

Back to the course, we are asked to produce a summer sketchbook with a hundred ‘sketches’ which has a wide definition including photos and stitch. So it’s likely that you will be seeing some of the pages here.

At my last life drawing class we did some contour drawing and some monoprinting, both of which were really enjoyable. These are some of the monprints I made at home using water based printing inks. Some on magazine pages.

I have just organized a morning workshop on Transfer Paints for a mother and two daughters. They were v. enthusiastic, which was nice, but I must say that I feel tired out now. I think it may be time for a cup of tea!

Avocado and Flowers

2010-07-20T10:18:00.001+01:00

Some of you may remember that not long ago I won a virtual voucher from Gerdiary to use in her shop, I’ve used it now to purchase a pack of her pretty pink materials dyed with avocado skin. Take a look at her posts for more information about this process.

Before using the material I decided to experiment with ‘flower pounding’ which I have been reading about recently. There is plenty of information on the web about it. Basically you take a flower and place it carefully onto your material, put a piece of baking parchment or similar over it and gently pound with a hammer; I only had a piece of heavy metal. Then I turned the sandwich over carefully and worked on the material side, increasing the pressure slightly. The results are pretty, and quite detailed. I have no idea how long they will last and that isn’t too important to me.

I decided to use the material to make a mini long cloth and have very much enjoyed the process. I used every scrap of the material and also the stamp and pieces from the envelope sent from Berlin. I think it was particularly enjoyable as I don’t usually do ‘pretty’ and apart from the pinkness all the fabric was also light and delicate to work on.

As you see I harked back to some of the patching and darning of fabrics we had to do at school but never put into practise. I coated the paper with Acrylic Wax before machining it.

I just have to finish the edges and put on a backing now.

Look out for a blog giveaway in August.

I had a stall at a craft event this weekend, my first since Christmas. It was an enjoyable day, I sold enough at least to cover the cost of being there and had lots of lovely chats, including one with someone who reads my blog.