Artist Books

Thank you for the comments on the bowl. I will post more about it when I get as far as decorating the top edge; I am planning to use paper beads.
Last week I was completely exhausted, we had two main projects, a day on Collage and one on Graphic Design. The Collage experiments were interrupted by workshop induction, and I found myself using a range of saws, hot wire cutters and a spot welding machine for the first time. I was pleased that I had completed the set tasks but my efforts looked pretty grim compared to some of the others.
The Graphic Design topic was artists’ books and altered books, which I was really interesting and I could get completely distracted but I have so much else to do that I had better restrain myself at this stage. We were asked to find 20 words from newspapers and magazines and arrange these into a random sentence. Using photocopies of found items we then constructed a basic fold book.

Some excitement on Saturday as I was pleased to find that someone in California has bought one of my embroidered bags, which was a nice surprise.

Reuse

The main theme for my course until the end of November is Reuse. It is a really wide theme when you start to look into the way artists have reused ideas and cultural norms from the past in their work. I am only just touching the tip of the iceberg at the moment. I had to make something as well, which was a more obvious path for me. It was something of a light relief to be honest.

I collected a pile of packaging, it’s surprising how quickly this is done, and then worked out how to use the plastic instead of fabric to make a bowl. I intend to make some paper beads, probably from colour supplements, to hang around the edge. It actually feels very firm and quite nice.

Derek Jarman's Garden

Last Wednesday 49 of us went on a site visit to Dungeness in Kent. I hadn’t heard much about the place until the visit, but it is a favourite place for photographers and artists. There are numerous images on Flickr of the area and a current workshop on ‘Workshop on the Web’ is by Gwen Hedley who has used inspiration from the area extensively in her work.

It was a gloriously sunny day. We worked in small groups with the brief to make a structure at least a metre high from debris found on the shingle beach. It is the largest area of shingle in Europe and also a Nature Reserve. We also had to take at least 10 photos and make 10 drawings/ sketches. It was all a bit of a rush with no time to really get the atmosphere of the place, but as far as working together and achieving some kind of an outcome it was successful. The topic for the work which will continue over the next weeks is Reuse.
We had the chance to visit the garden of Derek Jarman,artist and Film Producer, at Prospect Cottage. He spent his final years there and used rusted machinery parts and bits of weathered wood to fashion a garden in the flat shingle surrounding his fisherman's cottage.

Enrolment Week

This week I started my Art and Design Access Course along with about 50 other people of all sorts of ages and backgrounds. It was exhausting even though mostly I was listening and trying to absorb new information. I hope to keep up my blog and document some of the work and ideas from the course which is two days a week. There seems to be an overwhelming amount of work this term so we shall see; I hope not to disappear but if I do you will know what I am up to. The project I dread most at this stage is 3DD design, when apparently we have to package an egg securely and send it safely throught the post; I'm not very acurate at cutting and measuring.

Material experimentation on Friday was not too much of a challenge as our group got Hessian, tracing paper, wire, and thread to work with. Not to speak of a needle! We had a list of words to interpret such as layering, scratching, binding, interlacing, transparency. It reminded me of one of my first embroidery experiments which was Drawn Thread Work and we used Hessian then; at that time we went on to needleweaving..

I worked some small samples and then laced them together. I stitched a sort of maths formula and withdrew some threads. I liked the little packages holding the withdrawn threads.

Harvest time.

This weekend was sunny and quite hot, and the fields around here have been harvested. This is the view from my front garden which looks up at the field opposite, every few years there is a crop there and it is quite a sight to see how quickly it is harvested and tidied into round bails.

Can you spot the man with the gun shooting the poor rabbits as they scuttle out seeking safety?
This is small pouch I made earlier this year inspired by the view and practising with Transfer Paints.
If you pop over to Flickr you can see my attempt at practising both my drawing and computer skills on“The Art of Anatomy”. This is an interesting group on Flickr and have a look at Crunchcandy to see a contemporary slant on embroidery.

Clouds

This months Etsy UK Challenge is on the theme of ‘Clouds’. I’ve have made a small bowl, four inches high. I made it in the same way as last months piece but did the shaping round a three dimensional piece,which I haven’t tried before. Once again using beads, this time round plastic ones. I found the trick was to use fine thread rather than a heavy cord to do the tying.

It is made of Merino tops with wisps of silk tops.

I have also been practising with Photoshop as you can see; not in a very expert way but I’m always pleased to get a result.

Pencil Case

I made myself a pencil case this week out of a piece of fabric on which I used up my left over acrylic paint after the monoprinting session. It is a remnant of really heavy duty furnishing fabric almost like a canvas so it is very suitable. It is lined with the left over monoprints on which I practised my digitised designs. The point behind this is that I think it is a sort of displacement activity, because I am getting nervous about starting my Access to Art and Design Course in September, only a few weeks away. This is for two days a week at The University for Creative Arts at Farnham.

If I have a rubber and all my pencils sharpened perhaps it will be OK, rather like I used to feel when getting ready for exams at school.

The other pic is of a small pouch made with some of the brushed cotton which was low immersion dyed and lined with a piece of ordinary cotton dyed in the same way. The lining is lovely shades of acidy green and yellow. I like it and I think the large mother of pearl button works. So why did I make this – well just to keep my mind off other things!

Busy weekend.

This has been a busy time with both my sons visiting. The local Horticultural Society had their summer show, and as my husband organises it I have to try and take part. In the summer there is a photo section but no handicrafts. There were over 300 entries in total for all the classes and a lovely display of flowers and produce despite the torrential rains over recent weeks.

This is a view of our village taken last winter.

This was a scene on the road around the Dingle Peninsula taken during our recent holiday in Ireland. A really dramatic spot, taken towards the end of the day when the light was going and suddenly coming across this group in white set against the black rock.

Medicine

This month’s challenge on the UK Etsy Flickr site was a bit mind boggling.
I decided, mainly because I didn’t have any other thoughts on it, to shape some felt using shibori techniques to look like pills. At first I couldn’t think what to use to get the right size but then I remembered a large bag of beads which were just the right shape and size.

I used white merino tops and felted two layers onto a piece of muslin

It gradually came together then with red beads and some lettering on strips of silk.
At first it was going to be in a frame but I couldn’t get the photo right and so decided to manipulate it a bit in Paint Shop Pro using lights and a jagged frame. So far someone has made a Pill Box felt hat, which is a great idea - have a look.

Have a look at my new link to see if you are featured in my Poster for the Etsy Competition.

Exhibition

This week I went to see the Antony Gormley Blind Light exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London. He is well known in England for his sculpture The Angel of the North at Gateshead. He uses his own body as ‘subject, tool and material’. There was a great deal to see and experience, including a cloud-filled glass box, which you enter after reading a disclaimer to say you have no health conditions which would make it a hazard and are not of a nervous disposition. Unfortunately, reading this made me feel truly full of trepidation, and hanging on to the sides I realized that it seemed to sum up my whole attitude to life - not a risk taker. The aim is to disorientate and increase awareness of ones own body space.

From the viewing gallery you can see ‘Event Horizon’ which consists of 27 fibreglass and 4 cast iron figures spread out across London’s skyscape all facing towards the gallery. Lots of interaction with people trying to spot figures on both sides of the Thames. I particularly enjoyed the groups of photographs which are like the artists sketch book showing how his inspiration for the sculptures came together from views of the landscape and architecture. Well worth a visit if you have the opportunity.

Monoprint bag

I have now managed to finish my green and purple bag. I had a sudden burst of energy and I am pleased with it. I made two short handles from stiffened silk which is a change from a cord, which meant that I had to sew on the tassel rather than attaching it to the cord. The back and lining are of a sort of bluey/purply silk dupion, difficult to describe.

I machined a line of leaves on the handles and also on the bottom of the lining inside. Looking at it now I think I might have gone for some decoration on the bottom edge rather than the tassel.

I have just listed it on Etsy.
I also put a link on there to my blog, as people may like to know how the process started. Some of you may not be aware of the Uk Etsy Challenge site on Flickr. There has been some really interesting work on there as a result of recent challenge themes i.e. Flowers and Fairy Tales.

Ireland

We got back from Ireland on Wednesday. The journey was complicated by the flight being cancelled and then having to get to Dublin via Belfast and a taxi, arriving at 2am rather than 8.30pm as expected. All due to terrible weather conditions in the UK.One of the many lovely spots was the coast line at the very edge of the Dingle Peninsula; here we found the site of the schoolmaster’s house featured in ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ for those of you who may remember the romantic 70’s film. That’s where I collected this wool from the edge of the cliffs. I have washed it but it will need some tender loving care before I can use it in felting.
The purply stones and heather are also from the same area.

Mono print

I am persevering with the pieces of fabric which I monoprinted in various ways.
This one was done with acrylic paint and fabric medium on a piece of procion dyed cotton. I have also been using the Wacom tablet to draw out more images for digitizing. This was one of the techniques encouraged in Thr3fold Journal; although they have much more sophisticated technology than I do.
I have only a small hoop which makes it all a bit tedious, once you are passed the thrill of seeing the drawn image stitch out for the first time.
This piece looked rather drab until I went for a walk and saw purple thistles amongst the grass, which I think was just the colour scheme I needed to lift things. There will be more stitching before its finished.

I will probably make a bag and will have to decide whether to go for a green or purple silk lining and some kind of dangly in one of those colours.
I enjoyed the get together at The Festival Hall; it is a pity a few more people could not have come along. I also went for a taster day for my Access Course in Art and Design which will start in September, a bit daunting but also fun. No doubt you will be hearing more about that in months to come. I expect the stitching will take a back seat for a while.

We are going to Dublin at the end of the week to see one of my sons and partly as my birthday treat. I have never been to Ireland before so it will be a bit of an adventure.

Hackwood Festival

Yesterday I visited the Hackwood Art Festival, which is in about its third year. I have never managed to get there before which is bad as it is literally round the corner from me. As you can see the setting is beautiful, and the work was of a high standard. I was particularly interested in the print room and a demonstration of paper casting.
If I could have taken something home it might well have been the life size giraffe or the tortoise, way bigger than life size with the shiny metal scales of its shell catching the sunlight - I would have needed to take their garden home as well to fit them in.

I have just received the first copy of the thr3fold journal;' enquiries @thr3foldjournal.com'. At first I thought it seemed a little pricey, although excellently presented, however there is a CD included and when you start to work through that and watch the videos the whole thing comes to life. I am hooked and have been trying some of the dyeing and printing techniques. I think it will be really successful. I always look at Linda and Laura Kemshall’s monthly newsletter, and from that I found out about blogging!! This is their newest venture.

I am off to meet some members of UK Handmade in London tomorrow June 12th. 11am at the foyer of Festival Hall if any other Etsians or crafters can make it.

Fabric covered bowl

I’m still trying to work out the best ways of monoprinting on cotton but in the meantime for a break I made this bowl as one of my sons wanted a ‘house’, or I should say, room warming present. I had just enough hemp rope left to finish it off with one join. It was also a chance to use up some paper beads. I am experimenting with trying to set up a home made light box to take better pictures, so the two aims sort of came together. I haven’t quite cracked improving the photos yet; if only I could stick to one aim it would surely help.

May Bank Holiday

It is a Bank Holiday today and I woke up to heavy rain. It was cold and miserable. My husband has gone to Sweden on a course. Rather than be bored I decided to do some mono printing and to try to follow it through consistently.

I have started by using acrylic paint with fabric medium and a retarder. I am working mainly over some Procion dyed cotton.

I also put the central heating back on which helped; not to speak of a large bar of chocolate. Thanks to people who have commented recently, whom I may not have got back to. I agree Raspberry, Craft Shows are ‘pants’ but still strangely addictive. I suppose that I always think the next one will be better.

Exmoor

I have finished the landscape experimenting with Bokhara couching. I really enjoyed the bright, dramatic colours and the stitch is so versatile.
I had a wet and dismal experience at a local Equestrian event on the recent Bank Holiday. I had thought the craft stalls would be in a water tight marquee, but it was a small tented area and when the heavens opened I was really worried that hours of work would be ruined. Fortunately the car was near and it was only me that got soaked. On top of that I was seriously out of pocket, as it was mostly families there for a cheap day out with the kids, and face painting was the order of the day. I will never take the risk of having a craft stall at an outdoor event again as it is just too risky in our changeable climate. One bright spot was a young girl who decided she should do textiles at college rather than graphic design after seeing the various techniques which are possible.