Pier and Pattern.

The new theme for our Tuesday art class is inspired by structure, and something associated with whatever we choose. Pier and pebble was suggested as an idea, or maybe tree and leaf, you get the idea! I decided to go with Pier and pattern, mainly because I can see so much pattern within the structure of Eastbourne pier.

From the photos I have taken, (above) I decided to make some small sketches by isolating areas with a small paper viewfinder.

I had previously sketched the image above from one of the photos, but felt it was a bit too involved.

Keeping the idea of pattern in mind, I also decided to explore the diamond shapes from the edging above the pier strutts. Some of the internal structures are visible through the apertures, giving some interesting opportunities for design.

I have tried to simplify the arches and struts under the pier, using a background of pastel colours for the collaged metal arches to stand against.

Rubbings, or frottage from the collaged areches have given me further options for development. 

Adding colour and texture is giving me yet more interesting options. 

I have also made a collagraph plate from the diamond shapes, with some of the structured shapes I can see through the apertures. I used yellow and dark blue ink, which when overlaid with each other has given me areas of green.

Lots more ideas to work on from all of the above, I'm really enjoying the process of playing around with it all at the moment.

The rough sketch above was made during today's class, and each one of us had to think of an object that can be found either on the beach or the pier. We then made a quick sketch of each with our chosen drawing tool, without taking it from the surface of the paper. I must confess that I made another one when I returned home, before isolating areas and sketching them into small squares.

Plenty more work, (and fun) to be had from this yet, and I'm looking forward to finding out where it will all lead me!

Hope you've enjoyed reading about it, and thanks for joining me.

Dreaming of Summer.

This very prolonged cold, wet, grey winter has put me in the mood for cosying up indoors with some hand stitching! Having printed the image below onto some cotton fabric (above), I added some simple hand stitching to the larger areas. I have also free machine stitched the outlines around the shapes.

As I said in my previous post, these shapes remind me of beach huts, so I decided to transform an area into just that, without being too obvious......I hope! Only problem is, the round topped shapes towards the bottom are also now reminding me of lolly sticks! Oh well, beach huts, iced lollies, both appropriate for the seaside I suppose! I think I must be really trying to will our summer into being, soon! Hand stitching will also be added to the larger areas, which should also help to disguise those wrinkles.

Finally, below are five postcards I have made for a small exhibition of artists postcards to be shown at DC3 in Eastbourne very soon. To be honest, apart from the bottom one, they are all small pieces of discarded/unfinished textiles that I had given up on. I tend to keep these bits though, as sometimes, they can come in useful for small projects like this. They measure 6" x 4".

Thanks for joining me again, and I hope your creativity is in full swing too.

An enjoyable and successful exhibition.

Alongside our exhibition, we ran workshops for all ages. I'm only including a very small percentage of what was available, mainly because I was involved in these, and able to take some photos. Live chicken, and owl drawing was also included, plus clay work. All proved to be very popular.

These photos show some of the work in progress for the felt book wrap workshops.

There were also some simple printing workshops, and the results were wonderful, I just love those owl prints.

Children were also involved, and I think that one little four year old decided that 'birds' were definitely not his thing, so he produced the joyful sunny day at seaside above.

Well, we were all delighted with the response we had had to our exhibition, so many lovely compliments, with the bonus of some healthy sales. It was very successful, albeit hard work, so I think we are looking forward to a well deserved Easter break.

Thanks for joining me once again. 

Latest Developments of an Original Idea.

This is something I've been working on during my Tuesday art class.

I've been developing an idea from a piece of artwork that I made some time ago, and if you regularly follow my blog, you may remember it as you scroll down.

These photos show areas I have isolated from the larger image at the top.

I can see shapes that remind me of beach huts and deck chairs! Maybe a bit of wishful thinking for summer to hurry up and arrive!

Below are photos of what I did to arrive at the images and ideas above, which were achieved by making a rubbing from part of the cutout areas below.

I traced off the lines and shapes from the original piece, (below), and then reflected them to make a repeat. This elongated everything, which I folded into a concertina book, after I had cut away some of the 'window' shapes.

I placed some hand painted papers behind the pierced areas, and the light from the window behind created some interesting shadows.

My version of Eastbourne Pier, using the original image underneath to form the pier supports.

Above, the image printed onto cotton fabric to cover a small book, and below the original image that I painted with acrylic paint. I wonder where else this simple image will take me?

I know this all sounds a bit upside down, but hopefully you get the idea! My next post will be a round up of how our Gokotta exhibition has gone. We take it down this week, so watch this space for updates!