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

Flowers and Journals.

This is a mixed media piece that I've made for a 'Flower Exhibition' at The Corner Gallery at the end of March. Lots of art for sale there, by a wide selection of artists

Two more journals that I made for my sons. You can see an example of the insides below.

Below are the two journals that I made for my son's partners.

I used watered down acrylic paint on smooth lining paper for the pages inside their journals.

Finally, my journal quilt for March, and I'm still exploring the frosted seedheads idea. I've made a stylized version for this one, but somehow I don't think it has been as successful as the first two. Still, we can't win them all I suppose, and after all, the whole point of these tiny quiltlets is to experiment with new ideas and techniques.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that by the next time I add a post, it will feel as though Spring has finally sprung!! Keep snug until then.