A blog about making art and other things using cloth, paper, paint, colour, stitch, and all sorts of exciting techniques, some of which I'm sure I still have to discover! I hope that the joy all this gives me is visible in what you can see here.

Tuesday 26 March 2013

My little book of Dungeness


I bought a tiny set of six boxed childrens' books for £1 in a charity shop. I wanted to have a go at making some altered books. I roughened the cardboard page surfaces with sandpaper, and them gave them a couple of coats of white gesso. A couple of years ago I spent a day in Dungeness, and took loads of photos. I decided that this beautifully desolate coastal place would be the theme for the first of these six books. Above is the first ink drawing for the front cover.


An ink drawing of some rusted sculptures I saw n a garden.


The book open, showing another page with a drawing from the inside of one of the deralict fishermans sheds., looking through the the doorway to the distant rotting fishing boat with the sea behind.


The box, waiting for more paint and some decoration on the outside.

The last page, with a small stitched piece inspired by another broken shed with a glimpse of the beach beyond.


This is a section from a textile that I made a couple of years ago, again, inspired by my visit to Dungeness. It's a paper lamination, but I prefer to have the papered side as the right side, so that I can sketch into it as well as using stitch. It should be viewed turned 80d to the left, but for some reason Blogger insisted it should be this orientation! Very annoying. Anyway, I'm also showing this, because I'm now also working on a challenge piece for the  Contemporary Quilt group, with a theme 'Horizons'. I've started on an idea, and the technique I'm using is the same as the piece above. I won't be able to show it yet, but if it ever gets finished, and turns out to my satisfaction, then I will hopefully show it on here!

That's it for now, but I sincerely hope that when I next blog, we will be enjoying some warmer, spring weather, and the snow will have disappeared until next winter!!

Keep snug!

 p

7 comments:

  1. Absolutely Fabulous Cath!

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  2. Once again inspiring and entertaining besides being beautifully worked Cath! Luv Row. x

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  3. Love what you have done with the book. They were a real bargain. Your Horizon piece is going to look really good if the previous piece is anything to go by. Looking at the white outside and the fact that snow is coming down again you'll either have to wait a long time to blog again or do another post in the wintry weather!

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    1. Thanks everyone, it's good to have a play with something new sometimes, and when I'm feeling 'stuck' it's good to know that I can go back and work on one of my little books. I need to think about themes for the other 5 now!
      Oh dear Maggi, I really REALLY hope that spring arrives soon, we are all in desperate need of some vitamin D I think!!

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  4. Someone sent me a link to this page and I'm so happy that they did. Your book is fabulous and I think it is a great idea.
    If you have a need for Spring type things, why not draw some flowery type pictures in one of the other books? :0)

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  5. Thank you Twinkle Toes, a very good idea, and then maybe it will coax spring along a bit!

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  6. Dungeness is a wonderful inspirational place, I too have a stash of 'one day' photos taken from a holiday in the area. Great idea to rework the books, will keep that one in mind. Thank you for a nudge in the right direction xx

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