The Tree on Epsom Downs.

The Tree on Epsom Downs. 

Made for my son on his birthday this week, and inspired by a photograph I took on Epsom Downs, just around the corner from where he and his family live. I played around with the photo on photoshop, printed it onto canvas, added the low silver moon, and heavily free machine quilted.

Hopefully I'll have more to show next time, but thanks for reading.

Rust and Colour

I made a very small book from a sheet of A4 paper that I had previously rusted and embossed with a large sycamore leaf.

Some pages had less rusty marks, so I tore and stuck down some rusted tissue paper.

Lastly, I hand stitched a continuous line around the outline of the leaf, which covered most of the A4 sheet. This gave me small stitched sections on the pages of the mini book. 

You can see where the embossed leaf left marks from the leaf veining, adding some extra interest and texture.

I also added little snippets of rusted cartridge paper on a couple of pages.

The cover, below, with the title! You can see the size compared with my thumb.....tiny!

I've also been enjoying making some mono prints with my Gelli plate, and then finishing them off with some sketchy detail using my Inktense pencils. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for your company if you've managed to read this far, and hope you're enjoying Halloween.

Talking of Rust!

So, talking of rust, (see my last post), while visiting Wakehurst Place in Sussex yesterday, we found this wonderful sculpture of a beetle sitting in a small pond. He is gloriously rusty isn't he? Made by sculptor Ross White.

Tea, Coffee, Red Wine and Rust!

  Along with 14 other very enthusiastic ladies, I have just spent a very happy Saturday and Sunday enjoying a workshop led by Alice Fox. We were mark making on paper and fabrics with tea, coffee, red wine and a selection of old rusty nails, screws, hinges, nuts, bolts and plenty more weird and wonderful objects scrounged from sheds and garages! Great fun!

Above are some of my efforts, gently (and hopefully), transferring a magical selection of  marks in a variety of oranges, yellow, greys and pinks!

We also wrapped rusty objects in calico, cotton or silk, dunked them in the above potions, and left them overnight, or longer to 'do' their thing! You can see some of the marks this process created above.

You've guessed it, the above  was soaked in red wine! It smelled rather more tempting than the tea I have to say!

Today, I arranged lots of the samples into my sketchbook, with notes, (my memory seems to fade rather fast these days), and then played around with some of the others which you can see below.

Finally, I started a printing class a few weeks ago, and the first couple of sessions were concerned with the techniques of mono printing. I thought my result below was reasonable for a first attempt, so will be having a bit more practise with that.

Finally, an example of my first attempt at 'etching'. My fish was etched into a thin sheet of acrylic, inked up, wiped off and put through the printing press. I will be able to show further photos of some Chine Colle techniques that I used with the same printing plate after half term. They needed to be left to dry under a weight at the college,

Oh how I love a new technique, and the possibilities if offers to combine with stitch!

Thanks for reading.

Blossom, Berries, Trees and Leaves!

I spotted this blossom while out on a walk this morning! I think it's a blackberry, but surely it's the wrong time of year?

Then, these beautiful white berries a few bushes away, we always called them 'snowberries'.

Above, my finished piece that started as a monoprint, and then finished off with paint and stitch. Below is the photo I took recently that inspired it.

I decided to have a play with my felting machine, the result is below.

And finally, I couldn't resist making something to capture the beauty of all the gorgeous Autumn leaves that are floating down at the moment,

 I think our summer is finally over, but Autumn does have a beauty of it's own, so thanks for joining me yet again.

Nature's Totem.

Another finished textile that I stitched today. I made a monoprint first onto some calico, hand coloured it, and then thread painted the whole surface. You can read more details on the inspiration and process here.

It seems daft to repeat myself after writing the process up on my FB page, so I hope you will forgive me for redirecting, Thanks for looking in!

Works in Progress for Autumn

Rag paper, paint, machine and hand stitch.

Cloth, applique, paint, machine and hand stitch.

Rag paper, applique, paint, machine and hand stitch.

And finally, cloth, applique, paint, and lots of machine stitch.

These are all works in progress, some are more experimental, more to come, hopefully!

Prints and Rubbings.

Still playing around with some of my mount board relief plates. After making a print, (see below), I made a rubbing (above), with some graphite onto a piece of watercolour paper that I had previously painted. It turned out quite well, so I then added more paint to the bird and leaves.

I'm still trying to make some prints from mountboard, and below is another attempt with pears hanging from a branch. 

I think the more successful plates so far are from the relief technique, which is where I cut out the shapes from card and then stick them onto another sheet of board. I get confused about what to call all these techniques, but really they are a combination of relief, collagraph or intaglio. I'm looking forward to starting my 'printing classes', which start at the end of this month.

I'm hoping to use some of these ideas on cloth soon, and to then add stitch. Thanks for reading and have a good week.

Still no stitching......yet!

Shhh! ((Christmas)) Apologies for having to mention that word when it's still only the very beginning of September, but it's relevant to this post. I won't mention it again yet though, promise!

 I need a good few weeks to work out ideas, and to then actually make something when it's been commissioned. My local Gallery has a whole four to five weeks of art for sale towards the end of November, that is specifically aimed at ********* shoppers, and this year I've been asked to create a piece of art inspired by trees.

The sketchbook I've been lovingly stroking, and hoarding, for the last couple of months has at last been put to work, and I'm now working on ideas, creating sketches, paintings and prints.

One idea I'm thinking about is of a view between trees, with either an autumnal colour scheme, or an evening/nightime scene. 

I made a mount board printing block for these two, and tried out the two different ideas mentioned above. 

Another idea for a winter, sleety/snowy theme below. The background was created in a very free way, and it wasn't until I'd made this that I realised the white round shape on the middle left looks like a moon with a face!!  Hmmmm!

There's something about prints, especially lino cuts, collagraphs and intaglio that attract me, and I've been experimenting lately, not very successfully I hasten to add, to have a go! Above and below are a few more of my recent attempts, but I've soon realised that I need some proper lessons, so have enrolled in our local adult education centre for ten weekly sessions.

Above is a print that I tried to make on some of that easy carve substitute for lino. but I think I used the wrong tools. My cutters were rather wide, and had to be pulled towards me, when I've since read that you should always  push away! I left too much white around the eyes, and you can see where I've had to touch them up with a permanent marker! Oh dear, I really do need those lessons!

Thought I'd plan well ahead too for that mad season in December, you know the one I mean??

This one needs more refinement too me thinks! ha ha. Hopefully in ten weeks time I'll be a bit more proficient!

Thanks for reading, and hopefully you'll join me next time.