thread, wire & cloth

Christmas Project for Illustration Practice one

2012-01-19T22:04:00.000Z

Desirable- Undesirable.

The brief included the option to rebrand and promote a twelve inch piece of string or a box of drawing pins, or a box of paper clips or matches.

I chose to rebrand a twelve inch piece of string and advertise it as a measuring implement.

Puppets

2012-01-19T21:51:00.000Z

My puppets have taken on a new style of late. I have begun needle felting the heads and bodies and have also been knitting bobble hats and jumpers.

I had a lovely commission from The sweet shop to make Hansel and Gretel puppets for a window display. Claire, the owner of the sweet shop was delighted with them and we are now talking about making puppets for the cast of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

This puppet is going to the craft shop to be sold. She has now had her Fimo shoes baked and shoelaces added. I will photograph her when she is in Situ along with her other chums who are " under construction."

Machine Stitch Pictures

2012-01-19T21:29:00.000Z

I am making some curtains. But they are going to be artistic wall hanging style curtains. On Voile and with machine stitch pictures from scenes of family life. Here are a few panels that are coming together so far.

This picture above I have stitched out but am going to colour in the Underground sign.

This Is not a panel of my curtain but is a commission I did for someone just after Christmas for a fortieth birthday present.

This is my son in stitches

These are my daughter - I am trying to create the image walking away.

This was from a drawing I did of somebody sitting reading. Although not directly a member of my family we do have a lot of avid readers! The stitch work is done on vintage fabric.

Working in Craft Days

2012-01-19T21:08:00.000Z

I have recently begun working in a craft shop which is new to Saffron Walden. The shop is called Craft Days and due to a spot of being in the right place at the right time I was able to secure a job teaching needlefelt.

My ladies hard at work learning the addictive craft of needlefelting.

The finished robins. What amazed me was how the ladies all used the same templates and yet everyone ended up creating a very different robin.

The first class was held in December and we made the very popular felt robins as seen on Kirsties H andmade Britain. I made a prototype of the robin which was then on display in the shop. The photos above show the work shop in full swing.

I have since completed another needlefelting class and an applique class. The needlefelting class was a choice of hearts or birds. The birds were exotic birds rather than robins this time. The hearts had beads sewn on them and would be lovely if stuffed with lavender.

The applique below is the one I made to entice people to book for the course. the ladies on the course all made very different things once again. One lady made coasters using applique, another lady made a heart shape embellished with lots of buttons. Sadly I forgot to take any photographs of this work shop and must remember to ask Jane for some! The next course is next Saturday and is needlefelting again..........

Exciting Times

2011-10-25T22:41:00.000+01:00

I am beginning this blog post with some of my latest Instagram offerings. I have got a new app called Photoforge 2 which allows the most wonderful filters and effects. Combined with Juxtapose and it is one big addiction. Fortunately studying for my degree and parenting four children my addiction is confined but I hope you enjoy the following photographs.

Anna walking in to the rainstorm.

Lyra in the autumn garden.

A black and white tonal drawing done for my collection of 40 for my life drawing class. Inspired by a photograph I saw on Instagram.

The filtered image once it has been through the photoforge/ instagram process.

Anna - my sunshine.

Anna " Where shall we go today?"

Anna and Lyra. Cookie.

The following photographs are of hairclips I have made using a selection of liberty fabric, limited edition "hello kitty" liberty fabric, vintage fabric and some modern spots and florals. They have been mounted on fabric sewn on to cards and are going to be on sale at the RA Butler christmas fair on November 11th along with my badges and a few other bits and pieces currently in development.

The following photographs are from my sketch book at university. We have been continuing with the pet shop project and that is now culminating in us making a puppet................

The dog chews and toys in detail.

In the pet shop- Making a rabbit hutch.

In the pet shop

Outside the pet shop.

This picture was done at the beginning of our colour project. we had to go to a location of our choice and do a drawing and then illustrate it with two colours only. I drew Hayley in the Elm Tree pub in Cambridge. A lovely afternoon.

This was the beginnings of mark making and colour in the grave yard near college a couple of weeks into term.

This was done in our third week at The Fitzwilliam Museum. Tonal drawings.

One of my "drawings of Cambridge - Kings College" Using brush pens and collage.

Pen and Ink and Brush pen. Cambridge terraced houses.

This was our first project during our first week of term.

Terraced houses in Saffron Walden. During the first week of term.

I shall be writing up the progress of my latest project including the pet shop puppet and six book covers. Plus a local comission .....................

Back Soon!

College so far .......

2011-10-09T22:48:00.001+01:00

I am three weeks into my university degree. It's been really enjoyable so far and my drawing has come on leaps and bounds. I think. We have had our first two assignments. The first was all based in Cambridge and we had to draw the college buildings, the gates, the Market square by day and night. Rose Crescent ( which I have drawn so many times now I'm dreaming about it!!) the river and boats and boat houses. We did this on a Friday in late September during an unseasonal heatwave and it was totally idyllic.we also have been asked to include scenes from student life - mine include my family having dinner......

last week we were sent out into Cambridge near the Grafton Centre to draw. These are a couple of images from one of my pictures.

I must have been doing something right as the lady below recognised herself as did another man who came and asked if I'd drawn him. He then went and got his wife to show her! Whilst he had gone to find her another man, a Cambridge Professor no less came and enquirer if I was a professional artist and whether I would like to have commission to paint his house! I have his card and need to email him to go and have a look.....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

This week we have also been given our second project which is to take a shop and draw various aspects of it. I have chosen the pet shop in Saffron Walden. So far I have made three detailed drawings, two of which are here. The one of the outside of the shop has been a useful backdrop for some juxtapose photographs as well.

We have also taken a trip to London this weekend for the Big Draw - Elliott and I went to a fabulous talk by Posy Simmonds all about characters and expressions which was fascinating. We then took part in some workshops including mono printing, drawings for a washing line of washing and lightbox drawing as well as your ideal house.

We then went for a delicious Spanish lunch and then headed to St Pancras for ice cream and photo taking of the amazing architecture.

Which I have then edited and added water too...... Of course!

And the eventful tube journeys .......

Near Kings Cross we saw a fabulous shop called Drink, Do &Make. It is exactly the sort of shop I would love to have where unusual hand made things are sold in the shop and then to the back is a cafe where people San knit, sew drink cocktails & coffee and eat lunch. They have work shops going on as well and when I plucked up courage to enquire about the shop stocking my badges I mentioned the Bygone Veras and my dolls and the lady behind the till said her business partner was thinking of holding a paper mâché class and might be interested in the dolls. So I have been busy today creating Northern Caroline and her dog Scowl.

I am finding it a lot of work juggling college work, family life, badges and now puppets but I am lucky that Matt is so supportive and that I enjoy it all so much I actually wouldn't want it any other way........

Postcards have arrived.

2011-09-23T21:54:00.001+01:00

Today my postcards arrived for my badges to be mounted on ready to sell on etsy.

I have begun mounting each unique badge onto my own collage designed postcards.

-

Etsy here we come.....

Drawing. #1

2011-09-22T22:03:00.001+01:00

This week we have had our first session of drawing at university. We were sent out into the middle of Cambridge and split into two groups. The first place we were to draw was the road byKings college namely Kings Passage. This was picturesque and interesting with lots of perspective and different fonts.......... I learned a great deal about perspective and enjoyed just indulging myself in drawing. We then swapped locations and I drew in the Market square where I had another lesson in perspective from Pam. It was a totally exhausting day which I was surprised about!

I have avidly been drawing in every spare second at home ever since in order to fulfill the first brief - the brief is predominantly located in Cambridge and so I'm heading there tomorrow with Hayley who is the other part time student on the course.

I have been so busy with my constant drawings that I haven't had time for any other badges or creations. Except. A bobble hat. For Anna.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

My other love is my wonderful photo apps which create all kinds of super collage images....

More to follow........

Location:Gold St,Saffron Walden,United Kingdom

Module 2:2 Debbie Smyth

2011-09-22T21:33:00.001+01:00

The third artist I have collected images from is Debbie Smyth. In complete contrast from the two illustrators whose work I have shared in the previous two posts Debbie is much younger, female and works with pins and thread.

She has kindly given me permission to show photographs of her work here and I hope that you find it as interesting and inspirational as I do. I absolutely love the fact that it is such a simple idea and yet becomes so intricate and so impressive.

Debbie often works on a really large scale which must be incredibly impressive if viewed in real life. Sadly I have not seen any of her installations yet but I hope to do so as soon as the opportunity arises.

I am not entirely sure why but the three installations above make me feel quite melancholy and that is in a way a compliment to Debbie rather than a criticism. The building and pylons have an almost abandoned feel with their cobweb like threads hanging forlornly down. I'm drawn to the juxtaposition of the core strength of the buildings and structures and the seemingly wilting facades.

In these pieces the shopping trolley and the chair they are beautifully drawn with the thread and pins and then the loose threads cause a delicious extra dimension and texture that would be irreverent and pointless if these objects had been drawn in pencil.

The threads create a feeling of movement and make these seemingly innocuous, utilitarian objects immensely watchable.

I really love the polar bear shape and like how even though there is the chaos of the threads you can still see the birds legs clearly defined.

The images created of the cars is superb, again they have an air of atrophy and wear and tear and feel slightly abandoned but in contrast the shape is wonderfully defined with the lively spikes of the pins adding a sort of fine hair on a usually sleek, metal object.

Scenes taken from the Threadbare exhibition that took place in Manchester. The people are so beautifully defined with their extra thick black mass of threads following them around like a hairy aura. The medium of pins and thread lends itself wonderfully to the linear shapes of the buildings and steps and railings. These are so marvellously illustrated it is hard to image that it is the humble pin and black cotton holding it all together. This is truly inspiring work and made me want to try and create something along these lines too which I will reveal in the next blog post. It was not terribly successful and if I attempt it again, which I would very much like to, then I would research much more into getting the groundwork perfected such as what to put the pins into! If they wobble about the whole project becomes unhinged and the thread cannot stay taught which is vital for a definite shape.

It is also incredibly time consuming, Debbie must have the patience of a saint. It must be incredibly satisfying to see it all taking shape though.

The final two pieces are my favourite, with the girl on the swing being my favourite of all. The movement is palpable in this piece, you can almost reach out and push the swing away. There is no doubt that Debbie is extremely individual and talented in this field and I will be keenly looking forward as to where she takes her thread and pins next.

More badges.........

2011-09-17T19:54:00.001+01:00

My creative energies are all consistently circular at the moment. Partly due to the fact I have my first university assignment being assigned on Monday and I do not want to start anything big that will get sidelined and partly due to the fact that I keep having more and more ideas for them that I just have to get down in circles.

There is something so satisfying about producing each one by hand individually - each one is a little piece of art. Each one is individual and cannot be replicated, another detail which I love.......

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I have also been planning the cards that they are going to be mounted on which are going feature collage pictures from my latest exploration.

The badges are going to go on sale on my etsy shop as soon as the cards arrive. Although quite a few are escaping out onto the streets before then........... Let the badgefest commence

Bygoneveras@gmail.com

Bygoneveras.etsy.com

The greatest invention ever made.............

2011-09-14T22:07:00.001+01:00

I have a new love. And it's circular. Badges are my new obsession and I have sold quite a few already before I have even prepared myself properly which is great.

These badges are in a variety of designs. Collage, fabric, word collage, sewn on people, maps. All of life is here.

The best way to show them is in photo form :

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

These are the designs I have photographed so far...... Many more will be available on etsy. I am waiting for some postcards to arrive which I have designed to mount them on so the finished product should look great.

I have also completed two collages for a friends birthday. These were made using found pictures cut out and stuck on to a screen printed background.

The following collages are created using drawing, graph paper and found papers.

The following pictures are photo college pictures using a few apps on my iPhone.

New beginning

2011-09-14T21:49:00.001+01:00

Today has been my first day at University - taking part in various seminars during Freshers Week. The real work begins on Monday afternoons for me and all day every Tuesday and I can't wait to get started. Today was interesting. Not least because I managed to go to a lecture aimed at MA students having previously been tipped off by my friend Trudi who is studying the MA in Childrens Illustration.

The lecture was by Oliver Jeffers who is a wonderful childrens illustrator who has created such gems as Lost and Found and The Heart in a Bottle. The talk was Beautifully illustrated, as you might expect and was wonderfully descriptive and very funny. Oliver is such an engaging Man and it was such a treat to sit there with my new friend Hayley listening to this talk. I felt really proud and fortunate to be in this lecture hall at University. It was a wonderfully inspirational feeling.

The other parts of the day were filled with lectures and talks about our timetables and how everything all fits together. This was all interesting and valuable information and it was lovely to meet some of the other students who I am sure I will get to know better as we continue into our studies. Hayley is the other part time student on my course and fortunately we got along really well and I'm really looking forward to spending the next few years with her.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

What have you done for me lately....

2011-09-07T22:57:00.001+01:00

I have got my place at college sorted out so university here I come next week!!

I have been fortunate enough to find a huge pile of practical photography magazines in our local Oxfam bookshop which have the most amazing photographs to use for altered or collage art.

I have yet to make a full collage piece but I am working on a couple using some of these images aswell as images drawn on to graph or tracing paper so the original image can be seen through.

The other pastime I have been enjoying is the juxtapose photographs. I'm trying to combine the two so I'm only using my own photos and often my own collages as well.

I have also, in the style of the new school pencil case, been getting ready for college with the designing and making of a new apron....... Well I don't want to get covered in charcoal or paint........

I have used my machine embroidery pictures to adorn the apron which I think is very effective. I'm thinking of making some for my etsy shop.

So.......pencil case packed and satchel at the ready......... University here I come ( or another round of collages if I have time.....)

Collage art

2011-08-29T17:26:00.001+01:00

This collage art business has gripped me completely and I've been learning lots of new tricks.

Most of my pictures are created using paper ephemera and Backgrounds that I have designed using either more ephemera, found paper or objects or watercolour paper with masking tape and paint - whatever is to hand really.

I have also got three fantastic apps for my iPhone which are pixlr- o - matic, juxtapose and Instagram which I have been using in much the same way as people would use photoshop. I don't get as much satisfaction from these pictures as you can't actually hold them but all of the photography is mine including the background pictures so even if I use the odd image from an old magazine or annual I do mainly use images that are all my own work not sourced from google.

Masking tape on watercolour preparation.

"a quiet night." collage on watercolour paper with paint/ ,masking tape effect and found paper. 29/8/11

"Walking for pleasure."

Collage using found papers on watercolour paper. August 2011

"walking for pleasure." collage photographed and filters added and "dirt" frame from pixl-o-matic app

Section of collage using found papers and mounted on watercolour paper using paint and masking tape effect. August 2011

Section of collage using found papers and mounted on watercolour paper using paint and masking tape effect. August 2011.

Entire collage using found papers and mounted on watercolour paper using paint and masking tape effect. August 2011.Collage title Interchangeable with each other.

Section of collage using found papers and mounted on watercolour paper using paint and masking tape effect. August 2011.

Mr invisible....... I am very keen to use the pieces of paper left behind. And I am very interested in the correlation between words and pictures and phrases.

Collage and college............

2011-08-23T20:37:00.001+01:00

Well, it's been a jolly long time since I wrote about anything creative but it's been a productive summer so I will attempt a round up.......

I had a fantastic trip to India which was extremely colourful and inspiring. Travel always helps to stir my mind and helps to get the creative juices flowing.

I had, previous to going to India been Exploring the stitch women, screen printing and collage work. I can't remember how many of my screen pictures I had posted so forgive me if this is repetitive but I was exploring some images I had taken of my son Henry and my friend Jasmine who had kindly allowed me to use some wonderful photographs of her and her boyfriend on their youthful adventures....

Ever the hoarder - my catalogue of images is growing and growing - when will I ever find the time to use it all.......

Screen print with fabric and 3d figures

Screen print Henry.

Jasmine.....

Collage "it's all very tedious"

"it's all very tedious" extended version.......

I have also begun Instagram which is an app for photography but one with a social interaction part to it..... With the combination of the collage art and the apps of Instagram , juxtaposer and pixl-a-tor I have made some interesting photographs which have ignited my imagination further with a view to working with collage art. I was also lucky enough to be able to work on an interesting piece based around a big top. The initial piece was a photograph posted by a fellow instagrammer...

Screen print and acrylic

Screen print on fabric with collage added. I'm going to add some stitch work to this as well. One day.....

Whilst I don't get as much individual satisfaction from these collage photographs As I do from actually cutting out paper and sticking I do love the Visual images and the fact that you can easily alter proportions...

The other excitement this summer is that today I have had an interview at Anglia Ruskin University to hopefully do an Illustration degree. The interview went well and the man who interviewed me liked my work and I think enjoyed the fact that it was a "prescription" portfolio from a sixth form or college. But just me and my sense of humour and imagination in my room......

Anyway can't say any more about that now as I'm waiting for the outcome but I hope it's positive as I'd love to have something to channel all of this into.....!

Varanasi - cremation site and river Ganges

2011-07-18T21:08:00.001+01:00

The river Ganges is the most important river in India. The river runs from East to West and Borders Varanasi on the East side.

The river is sacred to the Hindu population and is used for prayer, transport, washing and death rituals.

Last night we went to the Hindu prayer ritual on the river. It is conducted by seven priests. The priests are all young men who are in training at the temples. They are chosen for their youth and energy as the ritual is extremely physical and would exhaust an older priest. We did, however see and older priest perform the ritual in a smaller shrine this morning and we could see his movements were not as exaggerated as the young priests. We travelled to the ceremony by ric shaws.

The seven priests stand on low tables covered with magenta coloured petals and have a bowl of water from the Ganges, a conch shell which they sound at intervals. A fan is used to cool the deity down and there is also Candles and Frankincense. The Frankincense is used to ward off other spirits so that the mind can focus on praying to the river and giving thanks. There are lotus shaped candles floated down the river which are used to call upon the god. The gods cannot be summoned from human will. They need a medium to go through such as fire.

There is a lot of chanting and use of the water, incense, shell and fan. There are people sat in boats and we wondered if, when the current was lower these boats would set sail. There are a great many pilgrims who make this trip sometimes once in a lifetime. There are also a great many beggars and street hawkers who are constantly trying to sell you postcards, necklaces, metal sun shapes with bells hanging off, hand massages, really the list is endless. This does detract somewhat from the spiritual feel of the place although one cannot help but feel sorry for these people who have nothing.

The passage that bought us to the Ganges was very interesting. We went first by bus up to a lay-by where our guide had arranged some ric-shaw men to be waiting for us. Then we went by ric shaw to a large busy roundabout which was jam packed with people. Imagine the equivalent of getting off of your bicycle in the middle of the road at Oxford Circus to then continue walking down the road whilst motorbikes, ric shaws, tuc Tucs all try and mow you down along with a million other people including street hawkers and beggars. Yum. Well that was us.

Once we had arrived vaguely in one piece the next job was to climb up some steep steps. Get confronted by a cow with huge horns and then to climb up some more steps to a wonderful view. The kids were all told constantly to sit down as they might fall off the edge but in the end we all settled down and enjoyed the experience.

We then had the walk back up with the constant harassment of beggars and hawkers to contend with before meeting our ric shaw men again up a dark alley way. After picking our way through the cow dung thatbis covering the streets we mounted our ric shaws and were off to the hotel.

The evening meal was delicious. Curry of course. I then Went to bed as soon as I could as we had a 4.30 a.m wake up call to cope with to get us ready to leave at 5 to go to the river Ganges again to see the sunrise and watch the pilgrims bathing in the river which was actually a disturbing sight as the river is full to the brim of ashes and effluent.

We walked to the river and for once, between 5 and 6 the streets were much calmer and there was hardly any traffic. Sat by the sides of the road were many women with mats laid out in front of them. On the mats were twigs, some with leaves on the ends. I am not sure of the name of the plant but this is what the Indian people use to brush their teeth in the morning. It was very interesting to see the difference between. The street people here and at home. The people here were quite civilised in their morning ablutions. Most people were rising around 6 and were found either brushing their teeth with twigs, urinating into the open sewers that line the streets, sitting watching the world go by or Drinking chai from terracotta pots. There are open stand pipes with taps where people were washing and i found it quite moving to see everyday rituals for caring for ones self and personal hygeine being quietly carried on in the street. There were whole families collecting at basins with taps to wash them selves or utensils. These people are obviously extremely poor and many do not even have shelter, but no one is rolling around drunk or on drugs, in comparison to the tramps on our streets in London!

We walked on down to the Ganges and watched the pilgrims bathing, there was a priest there sat on a low table to bless anyone who wanted to be blessed. There was also a shrine in the wall of one of the Hindu gods and this is where we saw the old priest performing the rituals that the seven younger priests had performed the evening before.

We then walked to the cremation site passing a long line of beggars who were waiting for the free chai which was being handed out. They were also waiting for another man who was giving them each a coin. I am not sure who he was or where the money was from and our guide only said that " the poor are given a little money each day.". We then had to literally walk into the traffic mob handed in order to get across the road before continuing up a weaving mass of alleyways which were lined liberally with cow pats and dog turds. There were cows everywhere and the mangiest dogs. The dogs would have been better being put down to be honest as many were lame or had gaping open wounds. But as the idea is live and let live they are left to live and probably suffer.

Finally we reached the cremation site. It is surrounded by large wooden logs on which there were lots of monkeys and even mangier dogs fighting ( not each other. The dogs were the only ones fighting. ) The air was thick with the ash from the funeral pyre which we could not see at present, and all of our eyes were stinging and watering. The smell was unpleasant but I couldn't say it was a smell if burning flesh. This was probably because the body that was burning at that time was nearly burned and when we got closer we saw the fire rackers raking up the ashes to put into th river Ganges.

The crematorium operates 24 hours a day and seven days a week. When someone dies the family wash the body. They then lay a White shroud over the body before placing them on a wooden " ladder" construction. The body is then wrapped in a shroud depending on who they are. Yellow for a man. Red for a married woman whose husband is still alive. White for children and widows, gold for very old or holy men. If a man dies his eldest son shaves off his moustache in honour of his father. Women are not allowed to the cremation site to honour the dead although today when we saw a family with their dead father the mother was present which our guide was not happy about at all!

The body is carried to the cremation site strapped to the ladder construction and because of the heat and tradition the body must be burned within a few hours of the person dying. The family does have to obtain a certificate from the doctor to show the guy registering deaths at the site. The family we saw carried their fathers body to the waters edge and immersed the body into the water. We left at this point, it had felt wrong to watch up until then anyway but also fascinating to observe such a sacred ritual taking place. Two things which were quite disturbing as well were that even amidst the heat and the smoke there was still a guy trying to flog postcards and another with necklaces. We also found out to our cost that you cannot talk to anyone at all without them trying to get money out of you. One of the fire rakers was hanging around attempting to show us where to stand even though our guide had already shown us. He was telling us about working there and his living conditions and that he had no family etc etc. He then, predictably I suppose asked us for money and when we refused he swore loudly at us telling us to "F***off". Which we happily did. I couldn't believe that people actually in paid employment who are supposed to be at work would beg for money and also speak to people, who are innocently being shown around your place of work, in such a way. The whole place left us all feeling rather miserable and disturbed. Luckily we had to concentrate on walking back to find the bus, running the gauntlet of more beggars, hawkers, cows, cow pats, hoses as people hosed down shrines and temples ( they might want to also take a look at the streets!!), and on a happy, positive note children walking, cycling and travelling by "school bus ric shaws" to school. Yes, out of all this chaos and depravity at 7a.m suddenly out popped these immaculate children who were all in a wonderful aray of school uniforms, all going to school. There was a glimmer of hope.

We then got back on the bus and travelled on to the university which our guide had attended. It was a beautiful place and taught 25,000 students on one campus. The fees are extremely low to attend the university, about £100 a year but the entrance is really competitive with about 100,000 applying for 10,000 places. Our guide showed us the temple in the university grounds which is a Hindu temple. There were a great many students praying. By now it was about 7.30a.m.

We then returned to the hotel for breakfast and to pack and rest. The children seem to have been very unrest less from the shouting I have heard coming from Mrs Bailey plus I have had Dr O Connor in to complain about Henry which I think was fairly trivial but I can see I'm handy to have a word. I do think that this trip may have been a bit much for Chris who is the youngest member of our group. He has been alarmed and worried much of the time and is finding the whole event quite a strain.

This afternoon we are going to a silk factory and a glass bead factory where I hope we don't get sworn at if we don't buy anything.

The. We are off on another overnight train. This time we are all together and our destination is Agra.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

India - Delhi - Varanasi

2011-07-16T15:37:00.001+01:00

What an adventure the past 24 hours have been. We left our hotel in Delhi at 9.30 after breakfast and squeezing everything into the case.

First stop was to Red Fort Gate. The drive to RedFort was more interesting than the place itself. On the way we past the daily lives of people living in Old Delhi. There were the usual juice stalls and olive bowls and people sitting crouched arms outstretched watching the world go by.

There were, as usual, five people doing a job that would take one person at home, for instance repairing a puncture at a " by the side of the road bicycle repair shop/ shack" was a man holding the tyre, a man fixing the tyre and two men watching. This is normal - everybody is busy busy doing nothing. They are fruitlessly hacking away at areas of soil near the road side with pick axes creating nothing but mess. They are often to be found urinating or sleeping. In fact the air hangs heavy with the scent of urine,sometimes worse than other times but it is all pervading and always there.

There were also a few by the side of the road barbershops. When not cutting hair or shaving the barbers would crouch down by their mats with neatly laid out shining cutting instruments, scissors and knives and combs glinting beside them. When administering to a customer the barbers would be stood cutting or shaving, barefoot, under a tree or canopy but literally on the pavement with the traffic rushing past. It would not be unusual to have someone asleep on a rickshaw inches away or someone asleep on a mat under the other side of a tree.

There were also people mending and making shoes, giving foot massage and reflexology and selling chai in little terracotta pots. There were also a larger amount of children on the pavements than in New Delhi. They were begging, sleeping, some girls were in a field making garlands for the temple. It was heartbreaking to see them, often being encouraged to beg from car windows by their mothers who would usually have another baby in their arms. We saw a whole family, two older daughters playing drums while their impossibly cute but filthy, (the dirtiest most unkempt children I had seen,) younger brother and sister performed all kinds of back flips and contortionist positions just to try and coax a few rupees out of the traffic jam of cars that were in the road. They were shouting up to the windows of the bus crying for money. We had been advised not to give anything to any beggars by our guide through fear of an onslaught and in any case we were locked in an air conditioned tourist bus so their cries were in vain, but I wanted desperately to give them something, anything, I would have gladly taken them home! This time the mother was a little further up the road another sibling running along the pavement with her. She looked rather sheepish about begging and although still beautifully dressed in a Pink Sari she was obviously under strain and her hair was dirty, I would have loved to have helped her too. There is something very disturbing about seeing all these children poor and hungry on the streets when you have the knowledge and power of birth control and the education to realise that if you have lots of children it is very expensive to keep them. It is most oftenest the womens fault that she has got pregnant repeatedly but she is the one who ends up responsible and forcing her children into begging.

After a quick look at the Red Fort, which was being cleaned, using a very flimsy method of scaffold, a construction of ladders of bamboo poles tied together with string, we bravely took rickshaws through the narrow streets of Chandhi Chowk.

Chandi Chowk means midnight Market and was once upon a time the sole preserve of women only. The "Market" is actually a street which is crammed full of shops and perfumeries. The street smelled heavily of incense as the shop keepers light a joss stick upon opening up at around 11 a.m. The shops are then open until late in the evening. Each shops also has a lemon and chilli hanging from the front window or door. This is to ward off evil or bad luck fro their shop. To see the electricity wires are worth the trip alone. They are hanging in immense bundles all tangled together and twisted up. There are hundreds of wires all going in every direction and often just ending in a tangle hanging down from a building. The cables are at times fed through huge thick yellow tubes but really this is ineffectual as the unfed wires just loop and twist around them. People seem very happy to simply chop into a supply and divert it to their needs at any juncture so the whole thing is completely chaotic and looks very dangerous. I was in the rickshaw with our guide and he was explaining to me that the only dangerous time for the possibility of electrical fires is during the monsoon season. Just what we are entering now.......

We arrived at the Mosque, the largest in India. It was predominantly open air although there was an inside main prayer area which had marble prayer mats lined up on the floor. I hadn't realised quite how much a mosque plays such a daily part in people's lives. The mosque, like everywhere else, was full of people sleeping, sitting, obviously praying and carrying out the rituals of washing their hands, feet and mouths. We ladies all had to wear huge floral overcoats to completely cover our arms and legs and bodies and everyone took off their shoes outside.

We ran the gauntlet of the beggars and hawkers to get back on the bus. One little girl was heartbreakingly bold at begging and I thought she might actually wheedle her way onto the bus.

From here we went to a Sikh temple. First passing India Gate and some of the most expensive houses in Delhi. The houses which are residences of the government officials, and which our guide ,( who has never been out of India) exclaimed as very smart and expensive, looked a lot tome like the sort of semi detached 1930's suburbs houses but these were White and without bay windows. One of the striking differences between these houses and many of the houses we had seen already was that these houses did have windows!

On arrival at the beautiful Sikh temple which was all made in White marble we had to go first to a special office to remove our shoes and don headscarves. Even the men as Sikh men wear turbans and so their heads are covered at all times. The office was very friendly and we had a rare treat of using a western style loo. No paper though but by now we are wise to this and carry our own!! As well as antiseptic hand wash and wipes which are whipped out at any moment.

The Sikh temple was built on this site around a special lake which is now encased in marble and has fish swimming in it. The lake is said to contain the cure for smallpox which is why the temple was created here. It was certainly cooling to dip our toes in.

We went into the temple and sat on the carpet among the people who were praying. There was loud Indian music blaring out from a speaker and the whole room smelled strongly of feet. This made a different change from wee but was not altogether much improvement. People were trailing in all the time, in silence but the music was so loud it wouldnt have made much difference. It was quite hypnotic sitting there listening and watching everyone having items, flowers, jewellery etc dipped in to Holy water by volunteer priests who were situated in a real gold cage with the holy book in the centre. The book is what the Sikh religion believes in, no gods or idolatry. The book even has it's own room which it is placed into at night. There were a great many people praying to this room also.

The Sikhs are very charitable people. On the way to the temple we had passed a Sikh man sitting on a platform with a huge copper kettle at his side. He was a volunteer and was there to provide clean, purified drinking water to anyone who needed it. People were often coming up and he would tip the kettle up and pour some water into their mouths.

At the Sikh temple we saw another way in which the Sikh community helps to provide sustenance for free to people. This is in the form of three meals a day. On the right hand side of the temple there was a huge room. Outside the room people sat in orderly lines chanting along to a priests words. These people were waiting for their lunch. Behind some glass doors and once again in orderly rows were hundreds of men, women and children all eating lunch from metal trays. All for free.

We were then allowed into the kitchens to see the huge vats of vegetarian curry being made. We were then invited to join a group of Sikh elders who were all sat about making chapatti at a long low table. In the centre of the table were hundreds of balls of dough. A boy was liberally sprinkling them with flour so that they did not become too sticky. There were also little round wooden boards and rolling pins. You took some flour, floured the board, took a piece of dough, rolled it flat and floured it again before adding it to the enormous pile of unbaked chapatti.

Henry particularly enjoyed this, in fact he told me his aim one day was to drive to India in a camper van and to pitch up at the Sikh temple to offer to help in the kitchen.

After we had returned our headscarves and said thank you and goodbye we headed back to the bus and proceeded to a restaurant for lunch. Again there was a western style loo so we were all happy!

Following lunch we went quickly to a government approved cottage industries Market which was in an office block. The goods were not that inspiring unfortunately, I think a few people bought some souvenirs but on the whole the most difficult part of that bit was getting on the bus again as a crowd of children had gathered around the bus and were grabbing everyone who tried to board begging for money. It's so distressing, and confusing as we had just left the Sikh temple which was only a short walk from here where they are handing out three square meals a day for free so why do the mothers not take the children there? The whole reason for the Sikhs food give away is to unite people of every race creed, class, or colour in sharing food together, so these mothers would not be turned away but welcomed with open arms. All very confusing and upsetting. It made me think of my three I has left at home and how unimaginably lucky they were staying in warm houses with plenty of food, clothes, their own rooms, windows, warmth and people who love and protect them at every turn. I do miss them a lot as I'm experiencing all of this but I think my life and understanding of other cultures will be richer for this experience. It also seems to have had a deep effect on Henry, the one child I have bought with me.

Our final port of call was to visit the Ghandi memorial museum and to see where he spent his final 144 days before being assassinated at 5pm on the 145th as he walked to take evening prayers. The museum was fascinating and very well presented. I hope the photos which I am going to add explain the story and show you a little of how he was living. He was shot by a hindu man who didn't agree with Ghandi about the relaxing of the movement between Muslims and hindus between India and Pakistan.

Following this very interesting and moving place we were driven around all of the embassy buildings of Delhi including the enormous Government buildings.

We then began to head for the station where on the way Peter informed me that I would be in a bunk on my own away from all of the others as I was an adult but not a teacher. Now the only stage of this epic adventure which I had been slightly apprehensive about had been the train journeys. Having travelled by train in Europe I was already aware of the cramped conditions that awaited us and I accepted the toilets were going to be horrendous. However I had not bargained for sharing an area with one other person who was most likely to be an Indian man. All night. I burst into tears. I was tired, stressed, confused, had all sorts of terrible memories and scenarios rushing through my head and sobbed uncontrollably. Then I felt guilty that I hadn't even asked where Henry would be, more sobbing. Peter had looked stressed beyond belief all day about the train situation and looked as if he might break down also. I swore. I said point blank. I am not doing that.

He went away and returned saying that he had moved things around and that I could now share with him and his girlfriend, Romana, as well as five other interchangeable Indian men. We were also assured by Neeraj, our guide again and again that we people are always helpful on these trains and it would be no problem for people to swap seats about once we were all on board.

We were then instructed to put our rucksacks on our fronts. Keep tight hold of them all of the time and to follow in a close packed group to the platform. We stood on the platform to witness the impressive sight of the porters all carrying our suitcases two high on their heads coming down the stairs. I was still too shaken to get out my camera but it was a wonderful sight to witness.

Whilst we were watching this someone dropped a box near us wrapped in a blanket. It stank and presently urine leaked out and ran down the platform. this was disgusting, as usual but luckily we didn't have time to worry about what the box actually contained or whose it was as we were ushered on to the train by the ever helpful porters.

We found our seats and also found that the actual layout was not as bad as we had first imagined. We were all in one tightly packed carriage at least. I was still pleased though that I had opted to stay with Peter and Ramona, even though the bed size I had turned down was considerably bigger. Knowing that Peter would be asleep directly below, Ramona directly at my feet and Phil diagonally a bit down the corridor was a comfort. The kids were all interspersed around the carriage with all the girls together and the boys in twos but spread about. Henry as usual was having a whale of a time.

We were sat in very close quarters with, initially four men. The man sitting next to me was to sleep on the bunk we were sat on which was below Ramonas bed. He spoke no English, had one eye which kept swivelling out of focus and was incessantly on the phone or listening to really loud Indian music from his phone with no headphones so the whole part of our carriage was subjected to this noise as well. The men sitting near where Peter and Ramona sat were probably about 35-45
And were chatting amicably to each other. They did stare at us quite a lot when we first sat down but by then I was such a complete state of running makeup, sweat and tears and greasy sweaty hair I probably would have stared too.

After a few conflabs with Neeraj it became clear that people were not friendly or willing to move. In fact they were adamant they were staying put. There were two men in the girls compartment who were clearly delighted that they were going to spend the night with some young European girls. As our other guide ( the one who looks like he should be in films, or at least Eastenders!) said. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for them so they are not going to move. Nice.

One interesting observation I did make in Delhi was the affection of men with other men. Now I dont know if there are a lot of openly gay men in Delhi, I doubt it somehow given the religious views and the way men regard women, but I have noticed a lot of men who seem very effeminate holding hands or with their arms round each other. I wonder if this is seen as a more acceptable way of releasing the urges bought on by testosterone or whether these men are gay or whether they are simply friends and that is the way they show it in much the same way French men kiss.

None of the men in our carriage looked as if they wanted to hold hands. We had had a new arrival now, a man with a red Mark on his forehead such as we received when we arrived at yesterday's hotel. He was very smily and happy and like the man next to me constantly on his blackberry texting. He also produced a computer and proceeded to delight the other men with extremely violent shooting games reminiscent of call of duty. He was harmless though and after we had had our quaint picnic tea bought to us by Neeraj we chatted until about 8.30 pm and then having said goodnight to Henry who was entertaining the troops, Romana and I braved going to bed.

I foolishly decided to climb into my bunk to sort out the sheets and pillows before going to the loo or brushing my teeth. Once I was up there I was kind of stuck so I just made a pillow out of my bag and read my book. I fell asleep to the sounds of gunfire from the computer. Bursts of Indian music coming from phones and the incessant chatter from my fellow travellers.

I awoke at about 10.30 desperate for the loo and would have loved to have brushed my teeth. Romona woke up too so we decided to brave to the loo together fearing it would be highly pungent by now. We also observed the Indian men having a fine old time below me. Quite a party was going on and the saving grace of it all was that nobody drinks alcohol so at least they weren't drunk. Peter had vanished but we soon found him curtains tightly drawn and tucked in under the bunk where Ramona was. I momentarily panicked as I swiftly deduced that as he was there then the only people left in my compartment were five Indian men. By now, whilst I was sleeping one man had departed and been replaced by two men who seemed fine but who I hadn't had time to observe and get the measure of. I felt decidedly uneasy.

Ramona and I went to the loo and were met by two men from our compartment who were smoking. They repeatedly offered us cigarettes which we politely refused although I must say the smell of tobacco was such a welcome change from the urine in the loo and the stale sweat building up in the carriage that I was tempted to have one just for the smell. They asked us what we were doing on the train and where we were from and then inexplicably asked me if I was from Scotland. I went back to bed chuckling to myself. When I got back Neeraj was there and he said that the man on the bunk next to mine had offered to swap as on my bunk the adder was missing so getting up and down was quite a feat. I declined though as I had made quite a nest up there and so I struggled back up into my turret and once again read "Maxwell Sim" by Jonathan Coe until I fell asleep. This took ages as at about 11.30 the party below me decided to buy another full curry meal from the buffet car and noisely eat it whilst entertaining themselves with a little light Bangra music. Then they made a great noise with lots of laughing about getting their beds out and then the guy with the computer lay diagonally below me playing his shooting game under the covers while the other guy next to me was constantly texting, the blue light from the screen illuminating his face. by now the curtain was closed and I was in a compartment with five Indian men all in close proximity and I was supposed to go to sleep ???!!

The next time I was properly woken was at 2.30 am when a new arrival came into The carriage. The guy with the computer had alighted and the new occupant for his bed had arrived, turned on the light and was making a great fuss about settling a huge bag of mangoes onto the shelf next to me, while the porter fetched him clean sheets and blankets. He looked in curious horror at me, at White western woman apparently travelling alone in a carriage of men and then proceeded to strip his portly frame down to his boxer shorts and Hoike his hefty frame into the middle bunk. There were annoyed cries of "turn out the light" and then silence and everyone went back to sleep. I must have dropped off again at some point but had a fitfull nights sleep before finally waking at 7.

I climbed down and sat with Ramona looking out over the countryside. There were people washing their clothes in the rivers, children running along side the train on the tracks. The houses were very simple with iron doors on the gates but then no further doors or windows. There were a great deal of cows wandering about and people cycling to work. It was a lot greener than Deli with lush green crops growing in tiny fields. But it was hot and the sun was already blazing down. This was at 7.30. Heaven knows how hot it will get later on.....

Finally we alighted the train at Varanasi station. There was the usual hustle and bustle of station life but this time in a much more rural setting. Again the porters bustled up our cases and walked to the coach with them piled high on their heads. We made our way up and over the footbridge only to come face to face with lots of monkeys. Some with young but all sat on the steps and the iron railings. It suddenly caught me by surprise that these animals less than an arms reach away are usually in our country kept behind bars. We moved on down the steps and I noticed the beggars here are more old women and disabled men, their limbs contorted and twisted. At least that was who was begging at the station. It was still hard to walk by though. Eventually we got on our bus. This time with cool air conditioning and to Peters joy seat belts. ( as it turned out SOME seat belts ) but enough to go round. We drove through Varanasi which is smaller, hotter and more rural than Delhi, obviously, but still with it's unique points of interest. Fewer cars and more bicycles and tuk tuks. Still the incessant sound of horns.

We arrived at our hotel which on the first impression is very palatial and then you use the loos and even though the are western they still stink of wee. Have wee all over the floor and no toilet roll. We are still very very much in India.

This blog post has taken me all of my rest time to write. From 10-1. I wanted to get it all down though as the past 24 hours has been extremely memorable and certainly an experience I will never forget. I can't say I don't want to experience the train again because we are going on one tomorrow night but it's always easier when you know the ropes.

I am going to try and post this now. Excuse the lack of photos at present they will follow on once I am home.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Stitch work women

2011-07-02T23:21:00.001+01:00

These are three images of women who are taken from a 1970's sewing pattern. I drew the images onto thin paper which I pinned to the fabric. I sewed the outline on to the fabric and these are the finished pieces.

Again I haven't made them into a final considered piece yet but I like the preparatory images which they create.

Final screen print image

2011-07-02T23:13:00.001+01:00

This is the finished screen print of Henrys photograph. I have also tried some collaborations with other images and objects but nothing concrete yet.

Another print I made was of a picture taken from Elliott looking out to sea. The drawing of Elliott acts as a stencil.

I need to watch that I don't use too much ink though.......

This is the photo transfer of the image of Henry. Waiting to be stitched up....

Stitch in time.......

2011-07-02T22:25:00.001+01:00

I have been creating these stitch pictures with a view to selling them in my etsy shop.

They were originally intended to form the final part of module 3 which was in colour however once my course finished abruptly and I completed these in black and White I really liked them and found them more effective like this.

The pictures which inspired this sequence were taken by my husband on holiday in the Isles of Scilly recently. They are of Elliott standing on a post on Tresco while we were waiting ( ironically in the wrong place) for a ferry back to St Martins.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I drew the pictures on to a thin transfer type paper and then pinned it over the fabric. Then using an embroidery thread I followed my drawings and "drew" with the sewing machine to create these stitch pictures. Below are first the images I drew and then below each one is the corresponding stitch picture.

I'll Screen and I'll screen til I make myself sick.

2011-06-18T23:12:00.001+01:00

Hopelessly addicted to screen printing. I am in love with another skill. I know, another one. But this is the real thing. And I can combine it and it's versatile and and and.............

This new love affair began ages ago with the photo transfer images, Lino cut prints, potato prints, and reading reading reading about screen printing. Oh the excitement.

I then visited my dear friend Jules in Cornwall and had the opportunity to try out screen printing in her studio. These are a few results.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

My wonderful, talented, inspirational friend Jules.

Elliott had a go too.

Imagine having all this glorious space........

A screen prepared with a photo image. I am hoping to go on a course to learn this properly.

Shiny happy prints.

Anyway. Completely addicted I returned home and sourced some of my own equipment which I have only begun to have a little play with so far because of the ups and downs of the course and the fact that it takes time......

Today I managed this print. This is of Elliott looking out to sea and was inspired by a photo taken on Dunwich beach. I think it would be a great image on a bag, tea towel, t - shirt or beach towel. We shall see.......

I then began on a project that has been building up in my head for some time. A picture of Henry.

I got him to do lots of poses but I loved this picture of him in my shades.

Using drawing fluid I have drawn this picture onto my screen. I am waiting for this to dry to prepare it for adding screen filler.

Photo transfers

2011-06-18T23:11:00.001+01:00

I am always inspired following a trip to the Isles of Scilly. Matt and I took lots of photographs but these are two that I have so far made into photo transfers. I have lots of ideas about screen printing and stitching into these pieces. I will post the results when I have finished them.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Course closed

2011-06-08T21:26:00.001+01:00

I am in shock. This evening I have learned by email that the Julia Capara college of textile art with which I have been studying has closed!

With only one module to complete and one module still to be marked I am in no way near as bad situation as people who have actually begun the degree course. In terms of money I am only a little out of pocket, I had already decided not to start the degree course in September for three reasons - 1) the monetary impact at present on our family. 2) Anna is still at home all day with me and doing the pre degree has been a fantastic experience and I have learnt lots of new skills and tried lots of new ideas. I have had my mind stretched and my eyes opened. But it has been very time consuming and I have thought about it constantly, I am now able to concentrate on my family and then do my own projects in my spare time without the time constraints which will be more relaxed. 3) whilst my tutors have been great and have constantly asked me to look at things differently I have missed the human contact which one gets at college. For this reason, when I do finally try and embark on an art degree I will be applying to colleges where I can go to a site and have teachers I can have eye to eye contact with. I have made a friend on my course who I will remain in contact with but ideally if I was to go to college you would meet multiple people and would be able to build up friendships and inspirations.

However tonights news has left me feeling really shocked and sad. I feel cut adrift and whilst I am determined to carry on with my art work and my adventures in textiles I really like the pressure to deliver and having my work "marked" or constructively criticised.

So, with this in mind I have decided to complete the course myself. I have been given the final module which is all about creating a portfolio so I will be keeping my usual diary of this on the blog. I would really really welcome any constructive criticism as in the true spirit of blogging you, dear readers, can be my " tutors".

I am also going to carry on as usual with including any extra creative experiences I have or make and do on the blog. The blog title will slightly change to reflect the new way of working and hopefully encapsulate whatever new course or college I take on next. Thread wire & cloth will carry on creating.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Assignment 5. Back from holidays.

2011-06-05T22:09:00.001+01:00

I have returned from my idyllic holiday and have managed to finish three of the six pieces for assignment five whilst on the beach.

This is the appliquéd houses in the style of Janet Bolton. I was inspired to use the photograph of the houses on the beach at Aldeburgh. Little did I know how much inspiration I would get from this photo. Having spent a happy hour learning silk screen printing I would like to get that photo put on a screen - but more of that later......

The second piece I completed on the beach was the scene from Thorpeness mere which I had pinned out in an earlier post.

The final piece is the cut through piece which is inspired by the sunset photograph.

I dyed the material by hand using Dylon dyes and different amounts of dyes and dyeing times.

The bottom photo is showing the finished cut through appliqué piece with the hand stitched boarders. The photo was not very successful as it was taken at night and the piece unfortunately has a crease as I was rushing to get this post done. I will try and post a better picture eventually!!

Assignment 5. Six pieces inspired by different textile artists such as Janet Bolton and Alice Kettle.

2011-05-26T22:46:00.001+01:00

The second part of assignment 5 is to create six pieces inspired by textile artists we have been studying. We are to use the photographs from assignment 2 for inspiration.

This is the first piece I have planned. I am going to sew it whilst on the beach on holiday next week. As we are going to the Isles of Scilly that coiuld well be in a cagoule!

It is in the style of Janet Bolton whose work I have long admired. I love the simple shapes and stitches as well as how she puts colours together. I also like the way she incorporates little found objects into her work such as buttons, shells, stones, plastic creatures or objects. I plan to add some pieces at the end of stitching.

The photo which inspired this piece Is taken on the mere at Thorpeness in Suffolk.

I will post a final picture when I have finished it.

The second piece is inspired by the work of Alice Kettle. It is a photo I took at my sons football match.

The background material is a green cotton which I dyed myself. The red is strips of ribbon and the blue is again, cotton dyed by me. I then freehand embroidered the football players on to the green after I had machine stitched in blue lines across the red and blue. This stitching gives a feeling of movement and space.

I really like this piece, the colours, the machine embroidery I think works well together.

The third piece is of the field in Aldeburgh with the amazing sunset which I did a pastel drawing of in an earlier assignment (2). The cottons are all hand dyed by me and then machine stitched onto the deep pink fabric, also dyed by me.

The photograph is on it's side in this post which is all I have available at present. I machine stitched the cowslips and the seed heads on to the fabric.

The fourth piece is using the technique of cutting through. It uses several different layers of fabric. The technique a reverse appliqué. Instead of the pieces of appliqué being laid on top if the fabric the shapes are cut through the layers of fabric. This piece is taken again from the sunset photograph and shows a cut through of the sun. The pieces will be sewn together by hand next week. I used fabrics I had dyed myself in the deep oranges and pinks of that beautiful sunset.

The fifth piece I have prepared is another appliqué. This time it is of the houses on the beach at Aldeburgh. I used this photograph in assignment two as well and have found it extremely inspirational. I will post the sewn up version next week.

The finished words.....

2011-05-25T22:24:00.001+01:00

gathered

Density

Structured

Delicate

Assignment 5 - words and pictures

2011-05-23T22:45:00.001+01:00

Assignment five is one I have been really looking forward too. We look at work by Janet Bolton, Audrey Walker & Alice Kettle. All people whose work I have long admired.

First though we explore words and textiles. We are given a list of words from which we must pick four. I chose the following words:

Density. The piece I have begun for the density word is a tightly stitched machine embroidery piece. Inspired by this card which depicts the rooftops of Paris.

I have begun this piece with a black and White drawing and machine stitch.

I have begun to fill this in with colour but will unveil this when I've finished.

The next word is gathered.

Following my successful dyeing experience in assignment 3 I decided to dye a piece of cotton pink. I did it gradually. Taking out sections of the fabric gradually So that the fabric had a deep pink at one end through to a pale pink at the other end.

The fabric is then pleated and sewn loosely together. This is the gathering although I also feel that the gradual deepening of the colours is a kind of gathering too.

I then sewed three pebbles into the folds. These were wrapped in wire. This is another two types of gathering. The gathering of pebbles in what looks like folds of waves. All be it pink ones. The pebbles are also special to me as they were collected on a special day out with my family so they are also gathering memories which I think is a lovely image.

The third word I have begun to create in textiles is delicate.

The wire is strong and yet once knitted looks fragile and delicate. I like this imagery of something that we know is strong, although wire is not rigid, but in this format it is looking delicate.

The fourth word that I have chosen is structure. I was going to use wire and paper mâché to make a building ( small scale!) however I have changed tack as this is an ideal excuse to create one of my paper mâché ad wire puppets. The Bygone Veras!!

Here is the very beginning stages of the wire/paper mâché doll who has been painted. The creation will be unveiled in the next post.

Saami quilts

2011-05-23T22:15:00.001+01:00

The area I am drawn to for this textiles of the world assignment is an indigenous group from India known as the Saami people.

This indigenous embroidery belongs to the tribal community of snake charmers in the Thar Desert region. The colours, motifs used, and the texture (given by the quilting and stitches) reflect the influence occupation played in traditional art and craft practices.

The quilts are made by lots of different women in the tribe. They work in family groups and dye the old salwar kameez and rip them up and sew them back together. They use cheap fungicidal chemical dyes The quilts are padded with old rags and the quilts are backed with old scarves and saris. Often old antique materials and silks are found on the reverse of new quilts.

The quilts are usually made as a wedding present so are not often for sale to the public. If they ever make one not specifically for a couple they are sold on the open Market in Karachi.

The quilt I have chosen is a bright blue and green quilt. It has little in the way of prints, designs and patterns but the closer you look the more detail there is to be found.

I first of all did a pastel drawing of this piece. I was aware it might not be the best one to use because of the lack of pattern but I was so drawn to the colours and stitches that I knew no other piece would grab me in the same way. It made me fall in love with the whole assignment.

As we are asked to choose three to copy from initially I also investigated some quilts that have pictures on. I like fabrics that tell us something about the history or area that the piece has come from. So my next choice was this piece -a Kantha quilt depicting fish, fowl animals and buta cones with a lotus in the centre.

The Kantha quilts are from Bengal. They have figures and narrative spread across the quilt. Up to seven layers of saris are quilted together to make warm weather quilts. The embroiderers use lots of different colours of thread to build up the colours in the quilt.

I was very excited about using this project as a means to teaching myself some new skills - namely dyeing.

I had already decided that I was using the first Saami quilt for my detailed piece and so I wanted to dye some cotton to achieve the depth of colour seen in the quilts.

I also tried some tie dying and wax blocking which is where you put wax on to prevent the dye from taking in some areas. The wax is called a resist.

Tying the stones or rice into the material in balls with the string. The string acts as a resist.

The spots are wax on the material which is turning blue. This is going to be the piece I used to replicate my trousers.

This is the copy I made ( below) I made a Lino cut of the shell shape and printed it on top of the wax relief.

I love all the new skills I've been learning on this assignment. It feels great to amalgamate skills learned from previous assignments too such as the Lino cut.

Following this dyeing process I used the fabric I had dyed to create the replica quilt.

This is my finished interpretation of the Saami quilt.

The next part of the assignment was to create a piece out of waste materials. I used cut up magazines, bits of wool and cumin. The cumin is not waste material as it is but I have simply by passed the cooking and not eating part! The Indian tribes people use turmeric to colour yellow so I thought I'd add a spice to my picture.

The next part was to create something in 3D inspired by the quilt. And what better 3D medium is there but paper mâché. So I made a blue horse......

He is in the colours of the quilt. But I also used the horse image as these tribal people would use horses or donkeys to get around.

This is the much smaller textile piece which is the next interpretation we are asked to produce.

And finally the Useful artefact inspired by our chosen textile. A tent.

I have really enjoyed this assignment and am really pleased again to have learnt some new skills. Dyeing is now firmly featuring in my work. I have wasted no time in trying this out for assignment five.......

Hotel international. By Tracey Emin.

2011-05-16T12:59:00.001+01:00

The piece of textile art I have chosen to critique is Tracey Emins. Hotel international. 1993

Emin grew up in the Hotel International, a seafront hotel in Margate owned by her father. This work, composed of letters sewn onto a big blanket and handwritten texts, is a kind of curriculum vitae, detailing episodes in her childhood and youth.

Material: Appliqué blanket

Tracey Emin is renowned for her autobiographical appliquéd blankets. With their bold words and phrases they tell a story of a chapter in her life. At first glance they appear innocent and happy, naive even. On closer inspection they often reveal a dark and sometimes disturbing life. I find this juxtaposition humorous, but I do find much of what she writes about sad and I think it is curious that she has chosen this way to use her work as a catharsis, maybe a therapy. I can relate to this emotion, even though I have not experienced anything like her tortured times I do have a need to get my thoughts and experiences "out there" and have also found, recently that my textile work is a good outlet for this.

I really enjoy the homespun visual imagery of her appliqué. I like the way she uses colour linking the pink from the heavy impact piece at the bottom to the smaller squares at the top, this makes your eye travel down through the picture which would otherwise be extremely chaotic to "read". The small bits and pieces of words and smaller squares are again balanced by the heavy pink block at the base of the blanket.

The use of many different styles of fabrics is also interesting, you might not necessarily expect these colours and variants of floral, stripes and plain colours to marry well but overall they do and I think the fact that there is an overall muted colour tone so that joins everything up.

The use of handwritten notes and letters on paper is an interesting use of other materials and I like the combination of mixed media. I also really enjoy the way that the words are spelled out and " written " in felt and backed onto different fabrics. Some letters are the wrong way round, in other works of this type she often misspells words too. This adds to the personal, unique touch of the piece.

The blanket is well balanced visually and draws you in to read the small print whilst at the same time makes you stand back to take in the full impact. A criticism would be that it is very hard to read the words HOTEL INTERNATIONAL at the bottom of the work as the stripy black and White fabric gets lost in the blue background. I think if you are going to the bother of writing words you should be able to read the text!!

I don't know, but it makes me wonder if any of the floral or non felt fabrics were reminiscent of the style of fabrics that would have been in the hotel or reminds her of her childhood. The brown square that reads "Pam Cashin loved Envar Emin so much" is on a brown floral pattern that is very evocative of the 1970's! The blanket is 260x240 and so is very large and would be very striking in real life.

I had not considered the unconscious connection before but I have made my son a crochet blanket backed in a tweed. Each time we go on holiday I have sewn a machine embroidered tag on the back of the date and the destination which hopefully he will keep forever. Emin works in the reverse by putting down her past events in the writing on her blankets.

I have collected all of my favourite items of my daughters clothes since she was born and have always planned to make a patchwork blanket for her out of the clothes. Since looking at Tracey Emins work I am now inspired to add words and phrases in a similar style relating to my daughters first two years. I am going to use words she has learned in the first two years and the special names she has for her brothers and things like milk ( for which she says loke!)

I am very excited about going to the Hayward gallery to see Tracey Emins latest exhibition which starts later this week.

Module 3. Assigment 4. Artist who use textiles

2011-05-14T12:49:00.001+01:00

Sonia Delaunay-

Jewish-French artist who with her husband Robert founded the Orphism movement noted for it's strong colours and geometric shapes. Her work included stage set design, textile design and painting.

In 1911 Sonia made her son a patchwork quilt which is now in the Musee National d'Art Moderne in Paris. This quilt uses geometry and colour.

Around the same time Cubist art works were being shown and her husband had been studying the colour theories of Michael Eugene Chevaraul, Sonia and her husband created a technique that they called " simultaneous deign".

Simultaneous design occurs when shapes or designs placed next to each other affect each other. This is similar to the theory of colour. Pontilism which was created by Georges Seurat, using primary coloured dots next to each other are mixed by the eye and affect each other.

Sophie Tauber - Arp-

Sophie Tauber- Arp was a Swiss painter, designer and dancer. She was a member of the Zurich Dada movement and was also interested in using geometric shapes. Her textile and graphic works from the 1920's are among some of the moat sophisticated of the Modernist period. They reflect an understanding of colour and form and how they relate to each other.

Judy Chicago -

Just Chicago is an artist, author & feminist. She is from Chicago and has been exhibited all over the world. She also writes books about her art and philosophy. These too have been published world wide.

She has taught along side Miriam Schapiro in the 1970's bringing together a collaboration called Womanhouse.

Her most famous piece of work is entitled The Dinner Party - it represents 1,038 women in history. 39 women are represented by place settings around the triangular table. Another 999 names are inscribed in the Heritage Floor on which the table rests Each wing of the triangle is 48 feet long.

Miriam Schapiro.

A Canadian born artist based in America. Another pioneer of feminist art. She is also part of the pattern and Decoration movement.

She created collages assembled from fabrics which she called " femmages".

Tracey Emin-

Tracey Emin, famously from Margate, Kent, England. Part of the Young British art Movement along with Damien Hirst.

Has gained mixed media exposure, not always for her art. She once appeared drunk and swearing on a live Channel 4 discussion. Tracey Emin is a painter, textile artist, often using words and phrases which are frequently mis spelled. Tracey Emin has often created debate and discussion. Not least from her Turner nominated installation - My Bed which was her own bed complete with condoms and blood stained underwear.

Often autobiographical, she has been labelled as a "triumph in feminist art." to " a purveyor of vulgarity.". Her work turns introspection into a spectacle, the piece which bought her to the forefront of the publics consciousness was a tent with the title-" Everyone I Ever Slept With. On the interior of the blue igloo tent she appliquéd patches of felt letters spelling out the names of everyone she had shared a bed with. These included her mother, family friends, past lovers and her aborted foetuses.

The viewer was required to crawl into the tent to read the names which mimicked a child at play. She divulged her darkest, deepest secrets through painting, sculpture, books, poetry, photography and video.

Polly BInns-

Polly Binns describes her work as a hybrid spanning Fine Art and textiles. She is pre occupied by landscapes and likes to get out into the landscape and nature to absorb herself in it and then express the results through canvas, paints and thread.

Caroline Broadhead-

Caroline Broadhead made the move from jewellery designer to develop her practise beyond this into textiles, light and space and in collaboration with choreographers for dance performances.

Sally Greaves- Lord-

Hand painted silk banners smaller textile pieces. Fashion, theatre, window installations and, tents, exhibition designs.

Carole Waller -

Another contemporary visual artist who works with light, colour, glass, dyes, paint, she makes unique painted clothes, sculptures using glass and paints and textile hangings and installations.

Module 3. Assignment 4. The little house of wire.......

2011-05-14T00:13:00.001+01:00

The next question asks us to interpret the style of any of the artists we have looked at in this module and to come up with an interpretation in our own style using any materials we like. The subject of the picture must be taken from, or relate to one of the photographs used in assignment 2.

My first Photo I chose was the Aldeburgh sunset.

I adore everything about this photograph. It was taken at the start of an idyllic weekend. The sun was bright orange, reflected here in the grass, the sky was pink and the cowslips in the foreground were luminous green.

The style I have chosen to follow with this painting is probably closest to Matisse. The vibrancy of the colours are in his style as is the fact that the composition is kept simple. I have kept the colours fairly accurate to nature but they look pretty unnatural and were a rare sight to see so I think he may well have painted them as seen as well. I have used soft pastels which I think keep the colours nice and soft and they are obviously easy to blend together.

The second piece I chose to make struck me after reading about Alexander Calder. His wind defying sculptures were wonderful to see and I especially liked his earlier work of scenes of people, circuses etc all in wire and found objects. The work by artist Lucy Casson whose work I so greatly admired at the recent Smile exhibition is very reminiscent of his work.

Alexander Calder was a great friend of Miros. I found this out today whilst listening to the excellent audio guide at the Tate Modern. In fact you could probably imagine they were friends as some of Alexanders sculptures look like 3D Miro pictures.

In fact Miro was inspired to paint Message from a friend after receiving a letter from Alexander Calder. Alexander had put an arrow on the front of the envelope pointing upwards to indicate that the letter should go by airmail.

Miro liked this imagery and painted a huge black mound with a red " tail" on his canvas. The black mound and the red tail, or point were symbolising the arrow. Miros pointed down. I wonder if that was because that was the direction the letter would have had to end up going to reach him.

After reading about Alexander Calders work I immediately was inspired to use wire work for my next piece. I was once a florist and also have done a jewellery making course so wire is something I have quite a lot of. I have attempted to make sculptures and things from wire before but not so complicated as this piece which was actually supposed to be recognisable.

The picture I chose was the seafront at Aldeburgh again. This photograph to me is so inspiring and also represents somewhere I am very happy.

These I images and Alexander Calders wire fish were to be the inspiration for my wire houses.

Here are Alexander Calders wire fish:

And here are my wire houses in all their various stages until they reach the sea shore.

The coloured areas they are sat on represent the colours of the houses in the photograph. The buttons are the muted colours of the stones on the beach. The two outside houses are made in Copper wire and the prominent. Central blue house is made from green florist wire. I like the effect of the different colours although if I did it again I would probably use a darker wire as it is easier to see in the finished article. The copper is much easier to work with though so I was thinking about wrapping masking tape around it and painting it.

I am really enjoying the way my mind is expanding in a sculptural way and I hope to use wire again very soon.

Module 3. Assignment 4. Artists

2011-05-13T21:10:00.001+01:00

For this module we are first asked to make notes on the following artists and discuss their painting styles.

Gauguin - Believed in "pure colour-everything must be sacrificed to it."

He lived for a long while in Tahiti and painted a great many scenes of people in everyday life. The colours are deep and vibrant and heightened if not sometimes completely inaccurate. He paints the feeling of what he sees rather than the accurate colours. The result is stunning and immensely enjoyable to look at. The colours are rich and of a similar tone and depth. He used muted tones

He regularly used Prussian and Cobalt blue,Emerald Green, viridian, Cadmium Yellow, chrome yellow, red ochre, lead and zinc White.

He painted in oils and typically painted the outline of the subject in Prussian Blue. He then filled in using opaque colours rather than building them up. The colours are separately defined and do not run into one another at all.

He liked to use an absorbent ground as it created a Matt palate, he used rough, unprimed canvases and usually painted with a brush, occasionally using a palte knife. Gaughin painted with flat, even application rather than lots of small brushstrokes.

George Seurat- Invented the style known as "Pontillism" with Paul Signac. This style uses tiny, tightly packed dots. Painted close together to create objects, from a distance this creates a stunning visual impact. When looked at closely you can still delineate the objects but you can also pick out the colours that are so cleverly used.

Many artists followed him in using this technique. Above is one of his most famous paintings. The banks of the River Seine. The painting is done in oils with a tiny brush creating a dot, rather than a stroke.

Henri Matisse- painted in the style of "Fauvism" which translated means wild beasts. The style is to paint subjects in a simple style, the colours were bright and wild. He used oils and later changed to gouache but had little regard for the subjects actual colour. The paintings show a lot of detail, window views, paintings within paintings, details on fabrics, all simplified but evident nonetheless.

Mark Rothko - Heavily influenced by mythology, Philosophy and the work of Nietzsche. He insisted his work was full of content and brimming with ideas.

He began painting figures in estrain stations. He enjoyed the straight lines of people in queues and observed how you could pick out straight blocks of colour from these queues with the facial tones all going along in a strip and then below the dark stripe of the suits. He liked the straight lines of pillars and railway stations orderly concourses provide many blocks of colour and ordered shapes.

He then began to build on the colours and took out the multi forms of the subjects preferring to concentrate on blurring greeters blocks of colour. This is when he became more influenced by philosophy and even though his paintings contained great colours and tones he believed the viewer should see beyond that.

He painted in oils but used a lot of thinner so that the brushstrokes are not evident and the blocks are more solid. The edges of the colours blur into each other.

He also used minimal brushstrokes, just applying a line without repeatedly going over and over it. He ended up sadly committing suicide and for the last ten years of his life worked only in black. This seems a great shame as he puts colour together so well and I could look at his paintings for inspiration for hours.

Jackson Pollock- Famous for large paint splattered canvases using enamel paints which he would drip over large canvases pinned to the floor.

His paintings are created using paint tins with holes in the bottom to drip or splash over the canvas. He would swing them across in linear or circular motion. When he did use brushes they would be used in a forceful, rapid, impulsive way. He used sticks, knives, trowels and would often walk around the edges of his paintings and leave his footprints in the picture.

Bridget Riley - She works meticulously achieving precise hues and density of colour. Her paintings are abstract, sometimes views, such as the sea.

Her paintings are first done in gouache in small scale before building up to an often enormous size. These are painted first in acrylic and then finally in oils.

Her painting style is also, as Rothko, to thin the paint to such a consistency that you cannot see the brushstrokes. Unlike Rothko the colours have a strict boundary and do not bleed into one another. This makes them very striking to look at and I imagine the straight lines are very hard to achieve. All of her paintings are painted freehand although she often has other people paint the large final pieces which she oversees.

Joan Miro - used the style known as " Automatic drawing" - a way to undo previous established ways of drawing, developed with Andre Mason this was the first step towards Surrealism.

He used heavy, bold primary colours, black geometric shapes and used colour independent of it's nature, similarly to Gaughin and Matisse but you would not say their styles are at all similar.

Module 3. Assignment 2. Aldeburgh circle section

2011-05-08T21:45:00.001+01:00

I took a circular section from the photograph of the beach front at Aldeburgh.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The photograph shows the houses behind the wall along the beach front at Aldeburgh. When you view the scene through the circle the images that leapt out at me most are of the straight lines of the houses versus the pebbles in the beach. The colours are very striking. This scene was taken at dusk and all of the colours had a muted look about them. The sky was pink.

I decided to use the shapes as my starting point which I planned out in pencil.

Then I decided to make the picture more abstract literally using the lines as shapes rather than windows and houses. I also made the decision to use gouache paints in seaside shades.

Gouache is a new medium for me and I love them. They are not as heavy as acrylic paints and do not dry out as quickly. The colours are wonderfully bold and yet they combine easily too. A new favourite!

The finished painting makes me feel very sea sidey and happy. It is very simple and bold. I used the same colours on the blocks and squares as on the pebble shapes to balance the painting. I have used a palate of colours which I see at the seaside on buildings and on the shingle beaches but have spread those colours all through the painting rather than limiting them to their normal areas.

Module 3 assignment 2. Tube journey cross section picture.

2011-05-06T22:35:00.001+01:00

The second assignment is based on taking photographs of our surroundings, then taking a section of these photographs using a rectangular window, a circular window or a 3'square window.

In the previous post I showed you the photographs I was considering using for these cross sections. The final photographs will be explained in this blog post and the next. The first photo that I have chosen is:

Anna & Elliott on the tube train......

The section I took was through the rectangular window:

First of all I drew an A3 pastel picture of this section. This picture does not depict the whole sequence as I found it hard to condense the rectangular image onto the square paper which was a totally different dimension.

Then I decided to make a textile piece as my final conclusion for this photograph. I picked out the strong, vibrant colours and shapes and placed them in blocks on a piece of denim. This was all stitched by machine.

To unite the pieces I used a blue embroidery thread.

This is the final piece. I really like the shapes and colours and enjoy the visual impact of the blue and red ( squares) and then the red and blue (spots). The orange contrasts with the blue and the green with the red. On the right hand side I like the quieter theme of the blue denim and the brown felt. This goes well with the blue and White spots and creates a strong but quiet contrast to the brightly coloured opposite side.

I was talking in my last post about making this piece up using machine embroidery. I think this would be interesting but would take much longer than using blocks of felt as I have done. I think it would look similar to Mark Rothko's style of painting but in machine embroidery( although I have not seen him use spots!!)

Module 3 - Assignment 2 Photographs

2011-05-03T22:06:00.000+01:00

Attached are some of the photos I am considering for assignment 2. I have also attached some of the details that i have obtained from the square and the rectangle. I havent done the circle yet.

the photograph on the right is the original size and the left hand side is the rectangular section. This photograph was taken at dusk and I like the colours that the setting sun is throwing out. The colour of the road looks to me like an almost direct contrasting blue to the orange of the sun. I was thinking of making it more narrow to just encapsulate these contrasts but I like the green as well. The orange sun is the focal point but the green leads your eye to the orange and in the left hand photograph I like the fact that this is slightly to the right of centre.

The above photographs are from a football match that my son was playing in. The colours have been enhanced on the computer and I particularly like the contrast of the green and red. I also really like the yellow of the field in he distance. It is quite hard to pick out a strong focal point. I did wonder if it was the yellow when I took the photo, when it was developed the green tree in the centre stood out. The central players in red also stand out although that is because they are slightly closer to the country rather than their colour as there are plenty of other red players! This represents Ittens law well with the contrasting colours.

With the detailed sections I have taken a section of the more dominant top half with the yellow and the bright green and the reds. I can imagine this becoming a striking machine embroidered piece and I am strongly considering using it as my considered piece for this assignment. The other photograph which features the legs is less striking and I was disappointed that the daisies that were so prevelant in real life were not present.

The photograph I am looking at next as a potential piece is this photo of my two youngest chidren looking very unexcited about a tube ride homewards. I like the striking colours Anna is wearing against the colours of the tube seat material. The orange and blue contrast beautifully. I am drawn to that colour contrast and interestingly blue and then orange are my favourite colours ( I wonder if that means I am well balanced!!)

The section that i have taken from this photograph looks very striking with the myriad of colours. I think this would be interesting in any medium, Machine Embroidery/painting in gouache or acrylic/ an applique piece/pastel.

This piece has so much potential I am almost decided that it will be the one to explore further.

Another photograph taken at dusk. This is the beach scene in Aldeburgh where we spend a lot of family time. The colours of the buildings are very seasidey and I love the tones of the blues/ yellows and pinks on the houses. The photo we have here shows the sky in a striking pink colour as the sun sets. In the detailed photograph I like the juxtureposition of the coloured houses and the shingle on the beach . If enlarged further these stones would throw up a lot of interesting colours.

This photo to the left was taken on our way home, again in Aldeburgh.The sun was bright orange in the sky. However when you take a photograph the colour seems to leave the sun and disperses into the sky. Among the cow parsley you can see the orange glow of the sun which my be a reflection of some sorts. I love the pale interesting colours in this picture with the bright green of the cow parsley.
In the detailed section I love the colours of the orange sun reflection and the green of the cow parsley together with the muted colours of the landscape. I would like to explore the potential of this photograph in textiles as well. Maybe it would lend itself to an appliqued or painted background with a machine embroidered or lino cut foreground.

New Still Life in green

2011-05-01T22:08:00.001+01:00

I have not yet spoken to my new tutor but we have corresponded by email to arrange appointments. Sheila has looked at the blog and although we haven't discussed any of my work she did correctly observe that it was incorrect of me to begin a watercolour painting with a charcoal drawing.

I think I did know this but I find charcoal so much easier to draw with than pencil and would use pastels over paints and pencils any day! So to remain, clinging on to my comfort zone I sketched out the original still life in charcoal. Having barely used watercolour since I was at school I was also curious as to what effect it would have with the charcoal. When I use paints it is nearly always acrylic and lashings of it so I was confident that the charcoal would soon be submerged. But water-colours aren't like that and I do freely admit the final picture was not as good as it should have been had I started in pencil. Also I am not very keen on the colours and think that the theme of having one colour running through the picture is not as strong as it could have been. The background is too strong in the wrong colour as well!

The one thing I do like very much is the table cloth!

So I decided to begin again.

I set this still life arrangement of green objects up outside and photographed it.

Unfortunately this arrangement soon got blown over by a very strong wind and the table I was using is our only table outside and as a barbecue was planned for this afternoon then I knew that this still life's life was short lived!!

So I recreated it in my art room and promptly forgot to photograph it. But here is a first draft in pencil (hb, 2b & 5b)

The composition is similar to the previous one but I think is more balanced. I think I have drawn it with a good representation of perspective and the objects are of a good size so that much of the papers space is used up. I am not used to drawing still life at all and I am quite pleased with the results of this drawing. It has given me the confidence to draw more and even though I like to draw from imagination I can appreciate that it is good practice for correlation of size etc as well as shapes to regularly draw still life's to practice drawing techniques.

This is the green still life with colour added in the different shades of green. I have tried to pay attention to the shadows and light and the shapes that the light creates and the colours this causes. This picture is about two thirds of the way through. I will post a picture when it is finished but I wanted to get this post done ready to speak to Sheila on Tuesday.

Still Life

2011-04-18T22:29:00.001+01:00

The last part of 1:3 is to draw a still life of objects of one colour ( mainly)

My charcoal drawing has begun like this.

The jug is the wrong shape and in real life I have rectified that on the drawing. I have begun to add a colour wash onto the background. I am using my Dads watercolour paints and I am pleased to report that he has a complete spectrum of the six paints we were advised to use to make your basic set. I am also using brand new brushes which he had bought to use at an art class he and mum were attending together. I am sure he would be pleased they were being used. I dedicate this still life piece to my Dad.

Hopefully I will have time to add the colour tomorrow. I shall keep you posted. Got to get some White watercolour paint, no mean feat in our town with a pushchair in tow. Luckily I might have a boy or two on hand to help as they are still on the Easter holidays!

Colours :3

2011-04-18T22:14:00.001+01:00

The next episode of the coloured pages was to add a textured coloured piece in the same colour tones as the original. They could be any texture but no more than 4 inches all round. They were to form an intense focal point.

This intense collection of flower shapes was created by needle felt which, if you read my blog a lot you will know I use this method a lot.

The colours are from the "Rich" piece and attempt to add a focal area.

I think it worked best in the second picture when it is just dipping into the already focal centre piece. It draws your eye slightly right which I like in this otherwise distracting piece.

At the other end of the scale is the calm piece where I have made a little appliquéd square in the style of the brush strokes and in similar calm colours. I have used a variety of textures such a felt, linen, webbing, and cotton. It is all machine stitched on. I really like this piece and feel that the focal point adds an interesting dimension.

In the bold/ space piece I have added a piece of green felt whose colour is midway between the two greens already in use. I have then attempted to machine embroider similar style stitches to the piece of felt and I have stitched vertically in grey to add in the newsprint.

I like the effect of this piece and I really love machine embroidery. My favourite machine embroidery artist is Linda Miller. Her work is very colourful and inspirational. I was lucky enough to see some of her work at the Smile exhibition and it always brightens your day!

For the warm squares I made a smaller square in lines of the colours in pastel. This is probably my favourite medium to draw with and I adore the colours created. The trouble with this piece being so bright was to pin down an image to use. I also made another in pastel to see what other shapes would look like.

I must say I prefer the first one but I do like this one too for an alternative shape style!

Needle felt adventures

2011-04-18T21:54:00.001+01:00

My needle felt ladies are taking off! I have had orders for them which I am trying to complete and finished one this morning for a birthday present for Donna. This means this blog will be posted late but hey ho.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

This is she. I have called them collectively All the Better to See you With.

The needle felt horse now has a sturdy rump and middle. So this is a long on going project but that's ok as the rest of the little kingdom that she will live in is shaping up nicely in paper mâché and on paper in my sketch book.

In fact since writing this post she is now finished so Ladies and Gentlemen this is Ivy. She is going to be a kind of Nigella Lawson of the horse world....

For someone so static she is remarkably hard to photograph as she is compact and dark. I hope you can get an idea of her. I am keeping the rest of the plan under wraps for now.........

Colours module 3:1 and Elephants never Forget

2011-04-13T21:12:00.001+01:00

The third colour sheet I decided to make was calm. I am such a big fan of colour I thought it would be a good exercise to make myself use pale neutral colours. I particularly like blue as a colour. And so that was my starting point, I began with a pale blue acrylic paint and added white acrylic and then gradually built up the layers adding a little black to make a grey colour at times. I let it dry between layers and used a large household brush to paint. The final layer was added with a thinner artists brush of small strokes of White paint.

It was unintentional but it does remind me of water, I suppose this is a fairly usual conclusion when painting "calm" but I like the look of it all the same.

Following on from this I decided to tackle "Rich" and so created a paper mâché board of mounds on card.

These took 24 hours to dry out and then I applied a coating of acryli. Paint in circles to contradict the lines of the raised mounds. For me, the word "rich" in this capacity implies all encompassing and of many shapes, colours& forms, in fact the opposite to calm.

The final piece that I created is "warm". As I have said I love colour, I find putting colours together very satisfying and I would say that I look for colour first in everything and if that is pleasing to the eye I will look at what objects the view holds!

When getting dressed I am governed by colour first and depending on what the mood is will depend on the colour combination. Nearly always contains blue somewhere which is my favourite and a colour I find uplifting and positive, like the sky or my children's eyes. So my warm palate contains blue , in fact it was my starting colour. It isn't even a purple/ blue really but I find that alongside the other colours the overall effect is warm. For me the word warm also means comfort or familiar or cheerful and I would say that even though I have Neots painted it before this picture is all of those things.

It is slightly reminiscent of Elmo the Elephant which is a story that all my boys adored but it was by no means a starting point. Maybe just maybe though as Elephants never forget it was somewhere in the back of my mind what with my eldest about to take his GCSE'S and my youngest suddenly talking 19 to the dozen and suddenly not a baby but a little girl..........

Colour. Module 3:1

2011-04-11T23:33:00.001+01:00

Hurrah! Our next assignment has arrived and it is called colour. Colour is one of my favourite things in life. I am deeply affected and moved by it. I really enjoy it and I love putting colours together. So I am determined that I will enjoy this assignment.

First of all we are asked to express some words such as "calm" "bold" "merge" "rich" "sombre" in colour form. We are to use a wide decorators brush, large sheets of paper and can incorporate other mediums such as papers or studies or wax crayon.

My first picture was going to use the word "reflect" and to a certain extent it does but it also represents the word "merge" so there you have it. Breaking the rules already!

The picture started out life as some wax crayons grated on to a sheet of A2 cartridge paper.

I then placed another sheet on top and placed a hot iron on top of the two sheets.

They looked really greasy through the paper and I was really worried as they had looked so beautiful before. I was also aware of the reason I was trying to create a reflective piece which is that sadly a friend of mine, who I have known since primary school died of a brain tumour recently and all the while I was making this piece I was thinking of her and remembering happy times such as learning to horse ride together, or the fact that she was always thoughtful and kind and bright and sunny.

So you can imagine I was really upset when they peeled apart to reveal this horrible mess. There were unsightly lumps of wax sticking to one half and bare patches on the other half. The colours were not what I would choose for reflection either. It was so sad, not least because I had grated my daughters wax crayons it seemed in vain!

I thought about chucking the pages in the bin, painting over them or adding another medium. But something told me that this Should have worked. so I added a little more wax crayon and ironed it all again. And then left it for about 3 hours.

The results were fantastic! Very reflective with tree like shapes in front of dappled colours - all very thought provoking. I felt close to tears and felt I had made a fitting reflective piece for my friend.

Some areas, such as the one above are still a bit murky but for me that is where the "merge" comes in. So it depends really which area you look at as to which word or mood you can take.

The next piece I started was going to be "space" the holes sewn by sewing machine without thread, the different areas with the newspaper and purple stitches at the top. This was spacious indeed. I then added some bright green stripes of paint. I love green. It makes me think of spacious fields and countryside and gives a feeling of space and freedom. It is an uplifting colour and I think the feeling of having enough space is uplifting too.

Once I had added the green paint however I was undecided as to whether it should be "space" or "bold". I think it is quite bold to use just one colour on a piece of work. You have to be confident about the colour and even though I have used different tones there is no mistaking that the overriding image of this picture is green. The holes and stitches and newspaper that I had so carefully planned and separated and laid out had all but been swallowed up by the vivid green! But I like it. So "Bold Space" it is!

Miles and miles for Smiles

2011-04-09T23:53:00.001+01:00

This week I have been fortunate enough to travel around the midlands and visiting two textile exhibitions. The first was in Stafford at the Shire Hall Gallery. This beautiful building is in the Market square and houses a museum and gallery as well as a sensory room and cafe. We had come ostensibly to view works by Caroline Kirton

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Caroline uses mixed media, appliqué and machine embroidery to create scenes with narrative based around phrases and events in her teenage daughters lives. They are enchanting and much bigger than I had imagined them. Henry, 14 on Monday, and Elliott, almost 9, were fascinated too. Henry has since imagined what situations he has been in would look like in Caroline Kirton style pictures, such as today when he was hanging out by the canal with his friends " Because we are cool!"

The other artist I had particularly wanted to see was Debbie Smyth. On this blog I have already devoted a whole post to Debbies thread and pins work so I won't devote too much time here suffice to say she had created a wonderful installation on a wall of a street scene and then had smaller framed works for sale.

The other artists at the exhibition included Morwenna Catt who makes weird and wonderful creatures and 3 D pictures with birds heads protruding out and strange looking rabbits. I was interested in looking at her work and I like the turns of phrase but I wasn't drawn to it and wouldn't want it hanging on my wall!!

Another artist we saw work by was Cas Holmes. I have recently bought her book The Found Object which I have found to be a very interesting and useful tool. I liked her work of mixed media, fabrics, paper, found objects with embroidery.

I also enjoyed the work by Rosie James. She works in the " drawing" style of machine embroidery that I like to do and she also "draws" figures as I have done. I really liked her work and the way she incorporates other fabrics as backgrounds and builds up crowds with her people.

We were fortunate then to visit some friends in Leek and to take a bracing walk/ hike/ climb along the Roaches and stay overnight before driving across the very foggy Peak District bright and early the next morning.

The second exhibition we went to was at the Harley Gallery in Welbeck, Nottonghamshire and it was the Smile exhibition.

There were a great many pieces by artists whose work I adore such as Julie arkell

Janet Bolton and her wonderful naive appliqué pictures. These were among my favourite pieces of the day.

The wonderful work of Lucy Casson whose tin creatures and found objects are simply Devine.

I think her pieces were my favourite. Closely followed by Abbott and Ellwood who work with similar materials. And in a not dissimilar fashion and yet both are unique!

The lost adults tent was one of my favourite pieces in the show.

Another artist whose work I have admired for years was Linda Miller with her machine embroidery. These are the pieces that first inspired me to colour in pictures with thread and so it was such a treat to see Lindas latest work here.

The exhibition was enjoyed by Henry, Elliott and Anna and afterwards we had a delicious lunch in the cafe and then journeyed home. I was so glad I had made the journey for these very interesting and stimulating shows. I was also glad I had taken the boys. For Anna, I want her to think it's completely normal to go to galleries all the time(!) and for the boys it provoked lively discussions and have got their creative minds ticking over now too.

Needle felt

2011-03-31T21:34:00.001+01:00

These are some of my latest needle felt projects. I began making the lady felt brooches as a continuation of my Bygone Veras.

The next project I have made is a needle felt rabbit which I made for a friends birthday. It is holding a balloon which is wire covered in felt.

I am really enjoying needle felt at the moment and am planning on incorporating it into my next module which is all about colour. The needle felt fibres I use are wonderful vibrant colours and it will be an interesting medium to use.

Assignment 6 -The Finished Article

2011-03-22T22:00:00.001Z

This is the finished article for assignment six. I am thrilled with it ( even if I say so myself!!)

I can see all sorts of possibilities for this type of pattern - fabric, wrapping paper, bags, I am making lino cuts of forks, tables, whisks, bicycles, cups and umbrellas now.

The above photo is of the reverse view. I think this is quite effective too.

I really like the Machine embroidered chairs randomly situated as well. I think they add an extra dimension. They could be used if the piece was to be framed. But left out if it was to be printed up as fabric.

I would also like to see it produced in other colours too which I will attempt at some point!

All in all a good module where I have learnt some very valuable new skills.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Blocked up!

2011-03-21T23:26:00.001Z

This past week has been difficult. It has been fraught with problems at home due to two teenagers at large! They have nearly finished their punishments and have settled back down as far as I can tell.

But this had all taken it's toll on my creative juices, I suffered a massive block of ideas and a crisis of confidence last week which was very unpleasant and unsettling - this may have been in part to do with my crazy family who took up literally all of my time. But I also think I was exhausted anyway without their 'help' and so despite a promising start with two friends at the beginning of the week ( making chocolate and admiring needle felt animals) once I arrived home I was devoid of all ideas and even doing relatively simple things which I usually enjoy as part of unwinding in the evening such as knitting and needle felt drove me nuts!

It was fairly stupid of me to try and start assignment 6 which is the final piece of this assignment and is a piece inspired by one of the methods previously used in the module.

I had really enjoyed the photo transfer method and have actually produced a piece which I have now framed of my husband and daughter. So I was confident that using this method it would all flow seamlessly.

This is the original photograph. I photo transferred it on to a piece of linen which is by Cabbages & Roses with the black Hatley, roses design.
The finished product looks like this :

Spurred on by this successful piece I decided to make my considered final piece using photo transfer images using my eldest son in 'photo booth style photos. I was then going to Machine embroider or make a lino cut print of a photo booth shape around the four photos which would be placed one under another.

I drew masses of sketches but none of them particularly leapt out at me. I wasn't deterred at this stage though as I was confident that once my pictures had finished transferring I would be away with the ideas. Then disaster struck. I had made several photo transfers of Hayden onto a White brushed cotton. Together with these I had staged and transferred several photos of two bears that I had knitted, they were posed in all kinds of ' photo booth' poses which had taken ages as they were most uncooperative !

Anyway, the disaster was not the misbehaving bears but the photo transfers them selves which just sort of dissolved and rubbed off of the sheet completely.

I was so upset and disheartened and together with all the other real life stuff I was dealing with I felt overwhelmed. Trying to work out logically why it had not worked I decided it was probably the brushed cotton so I fished out some linen which had previously been so successful with the other transfers including the one I had proudly framed of Matt and Anna. I was still undecided as to what form they would take next and was also panicking about the fact that large amounts of the module had steered us towards minimalism and simple abstract shapes. Would this photo booth idea be way off the mark? Was it neither minimal or abstract and so would my tutor think I had disregarded all that we had learned? I needn't have worried as this set of photo transfers was also a complete disaster.

They were extremely blurred and most of them had great lumps that peeled off. How disheartening. I had left them for well over 24 hours and had dabbed and dabbed so gently, reminiscent of an archaeologist, with a damp sponge which was definitely not too wet. It was so upsetting as I really liked the images and even though I was unsure whether they met the criteria I liked the idea of a machine embroidered 'booth'!

Well. That was my brick wall. I tried to console myself with some knitting but this just went all tight and fussy and made me panic inside about the insurmountable mountain I had to climb with finding ideas for the final piece. Finding ideas with a blank mind. Blank and black.

I tried to throw myself into needle felt but this too was becoming a chore. Maybe I should just forget the whole thing. Who was I kidding anyway? Was I actually pretty rubbish at this whole creative thing and had I wasted all that time and money when the elephant in the room was that I was simply hopeless and to top it all I had taken my eye off my teenagers and they were running amok now too.

So I took a couple of days off completely and waited to see if the creative urge would find me.

I was so fortunate that my sister and friend Andrea raced to my rescue on Friday. My sister took Anna off to play school and Andrea swept me off to Cambridge for coffee and an inspiring look round the shops. It was just the tonic I needed. I felt as if I had been on holiday for a week by the time I returned. Yes, I may have made a few little purchases, but it was mainly the opportunity to laugh and talk honestly with a friend without the distraction of my darling daughter! Before we left I did have a final wobble about going saying "I should be doing my college work!!" But since my mind was a whirling black hole it would have been a pointless exercise. It felt so indulgent having a whole day just wandering around the shops but it was exactly what was needed to spur me back into the creative process.

The city of Cambridge is very inspiring in itself with it's architecture and cobbled streets, not to mention the bicycles everywhere and the constant hum of vibrant people. The shops are full of inspiring new ranges for summer, the colours, patterns and shapes everywhere are wonderful and immensely cheering. I loved The White Stuff clothes shop especially for vibrant colours and inspiring patterns. Also Orla Kiely 'home' range in John Lewis was very welcome. In fact most of John Lewis was pretty uplifting - even the bedding department where Andrea and I sourced some new sheets!!

Following this wonderful day out I came home and did masses of needle felting which flowed beautifully and felt my confidence creeping back slowly.

Sunday morning dawned and I was struck by the beautiful image of a chair I saw in the style pages of a magazine. They were vintage Ercol Quaker style chairs and were just stunning. I decided there and then that they would be the focus for my considered piece. I also decided that lino cut prints would be the way forward. My tutor had been very encouraging about my earlier lino cut prints and I had enjoyed the whole process considerably.

I drew my Ercol style chair on to lino. And began to carve it out.

I printed lots of prints on paper. Slightly tweaking the lino cut at various intervals until I was happy with the consistency of the print.

I also made lino cuts of a cup, jug, window, brick wall, bicycle and teapot.

I also made a reverse transfer of the chair.

I then decided to incorporate some machine embroidery as I really like the look of it with loose threads hanging down. It made the chair shape have movement and look looser than the lino cut shape which is rigid.

That was as far as it got yesterday. I was really happy with how it was all going and felt very positive.

Today I began the printing process on White cotton and used black fabric ink. The gaps are where I am going to insert the machine embroidered chairs which I will embroider straight onto the cotton using black embroidery thread.

Hopefully I will finish the piece tomorrow and will post a final picture then. This evening has been another eventful evening but from the younger age group this time as Anna has an awful cold which is preventing her from sleeping. I am slightly apprehensive how I am going to fit in the work required for the degree course although she will be older then, and so will the wayward teens!!!! Deep breaths. Take one module at a time. Goodnight.

What happened to paper mâché?

2011-03-11T21:48:00.001Z

I have also been enjoying needle felting immensely lately. I have started on a series of people following my tree

And my fox

I have created this little face which has a body and is actually much improved since this photo shoot. But I just wanted to record this now to keep it all in my creative journal.

I will post a picture of the finished one eventually. I am considering how to combine paper mâché and needle felt although I have yet to workout a strong enough method of joining the two together.

I have also immensely enjoyed machine Embroidery

I have several others in this series that are nearly completed.

And the photo transfers. These have been really successful and inspirational I will definitely be taking this further.

So far I have found this module very inspiring even though at first glance I wasn't sure. What a super find!!

Assignment 5 -lino printing

2011-03-11T21:33:00.001Z

I have always wanted to try lino printing and so was very pleased to find that assignment 5 invites us to do just that. We were able to use any medium we wanted for the piece for example - rubber, polystyrene,wood, cardboard(varnished), potato or lino.

The initial preparation involved obtaining some lino and some cutting tools then I drew my first design onto the lino and begun cutting.

This was great fun, very smooth feel to it and quite easy to control the knife. However I soon became complacent and forgot the 'golden rule' -always cut away from you.

This was the resulting disaster which got steadily worse.........

Anyway the final first lino cut looked like this.

This is my attempt at a minimalist representation - this picture represents the picture of my father and his brother and sister sitting on a log pretending to be horse racing.

This is one of the photographs I used or the image transfer on to fabric as well. It is one of my favourites for various reasons, the people, the composition and the fact that I think it gives a funny indication of the characters of the three children in the photo. Very special.

This is the page of the printed lino cut print using black ink.

The second and third represent something that grows from the second assignment.

Flowers in a vase

This picture is upside down. My iPad won't allow me to rotate it so you will have to turn it yourself. Or stand on your head!

These are leaves on a stalk. I love the effect of the lines that were able to take the ink in the background. I am really really enjoying lino cut and even though I have kept the shapes very simple at the moment I have big plans for a more in depth scene.

Also, as I just said, I am really enjoying the extra parts that you learn to plan such as different depths of the cutting technique to get these extra lines and areas of interest.

The next one I did was a dog. I am slightly obsessed with dogs, this is a Scottie dog like my friend Rachels. I have even tried to add texture to his coat - without drawing blood! I like English Setters best even though our dog is a wire haired dachshund ( he is wonderful too, and given my husbands extreme indifference to dogs I am very happy to have Jumble!)

Both of those would make an interesting lino cut shape. I have not really included dogs in my work yet but they are a huge part of my life and so I am determined to get them in somewhere!! ( This is quite a good reflection on my real life!!!)

The final one is a piece saying ' you are my sunshine' my favourite phrase and one I used in assignment 2. It was quite fun writing back to front and the result was very pleasing.

Assignment 2:3

2011-03-07T23:32:00.001Z

Photographs in black and White inside and outside. With different contrasts in tones and shades and light.

My sister and I went with two of her children and Anna to the beautiful Bridge End Gardens which is an area in our town that has been lovingly restored to the glorious victorian garden that it once was. The gardens have a maze and a vegetable garden as well as a series of box hedges that lead to an ornamental fish pond. The whole area is really well maintained and seemed the ideal backdrop to my pictures using shadows and light and dark.

This picture shows my sister on the viewing tower in the centre of the maze. I like the shadow cast from the standing stone at the centre of the maze and the black of the steps and platform against the leylandii hedge of the maze Walls.

This was whilst walking in the maze and I like the contacting line between dark and black.

I love the shadows from the trees and the bright White light that is coming through the trees.

I love the shafts of sunlight break in through the branches of the cedar tree which dominates this garden.

This picture is more about the dark green of the had sculpture in box against the lighter green of the tops of the maze wall.

Wonderful shafts of sunlight pouring down over Suzie as she goes through a gateway.

Anna and the stand in stone compare shadows at the centre of the maze.

Finally, my favourite photograph which was walking away from Bridge End Gardens and up a little passageway leading to the Fry Art Gallery. The side I was standing on is sheltered by trees and it was wonderful to see the sunshine through the gate way inviting us through.

The next series of photographs are the ones I took inside to show different light tones and shadows.

I like the different tones and shades in this picture. The window sill is clearly defined by the White wood but behind we have a darker view if a White window frame if the back door going out to the garden where the sun is shining.

I also like the White of the soap dish and candle.

This lamp is one of my favourite items in our house. It is a 1930's metal and Bakelite base with a glass globe light. Here the light appears huge and almost exploding thus illuminating the little ornament of the dog and the picture above the mantlepiece.

We are fortunate to have large sash windows ( although unfortunate when you realise how much hot air escapes through them!). Anyway for this purpose they are wonderful. In this photograph I am showing the light coming through the window and the darkness inside the living room.

This same window lightens up the mantlepiece which is a black metal with a striking black vase on top.

In this picture our kettle was unusually clean and sparkly and reflected the light of of it beautifully. It contrasts well against the black granite work surface, the grey glass surround and the White leads from all the gadgets that make our existence run smoothly.

I had to sneak them in somewhere. I love bears as ornaments, especially stately old bears. The one on the right has been mine since birth and he now graces this window sill up high in the kitchen with his new friend who is an old bear I got from a friends sale. He is also old and they complement each other well. In this photo they are accompanied by. Mouse whonis usually among Annas soft toy collection. I can only imagine he was rescued from the jaws of the dog and put there for safe keeping.

Anyway I like the tines and shades of the bears and the checked blind as well as the contrast with the sunlight coming through. I don't like the bush outside and coincidently it is being removed tomorrow and replanted at my mothers house. Maybe I will re photograph the site then.

The other part of this assignment was to make an image transfer of a picture using a photocopy of a photograph and some acrylic gel. The process is very simple and very effective. I had two practice runs with pictures I will use for another project. One was on beige linen, the otherbon a rose patterned piece of liberty fabric.

This is of Anna

This is an old photograph of my Dad and his brother and sister on a log.

I then made a series of small photo transfers to use in assignment six.

The final considered piece I did for assignment 3 was the gateway through to the Fry Art Gallery to which I added a stitched outline of a duck. The duck appears to be coming through the gateway. There are no ducks in the garden but I think they would look very at home.

I think this image looks very effective and striking. My husband compared the image transfer to Rothko's work. I'm not sure what Rothko would make of the addition of a duck but I think he blends in well and lends a depth and perspective to the picture.

Donald Judd and Sol Lewitt Images for assignment 2:4

2011-03-07T22:24:00.001Z

The assignment asks us to make notes and record images by the work of two minimalist artists who also work in sculptures.

The two I have chosen are from the early minimalist movement in the 1960's and 1970's They started out as artists on paper and moved into structures or sculptures. These structures often used man made materials such as fibre glass, concrete and plastic as well as wood and metals including steel and copper.

Donald Judd described his free standing sculptures and furniture as "specific objects". He designed and made very unfussy stripped back functional furniture which was very unusual at the time as most people were used to ornate or comfortable furniture. Having spent ages looking at images of it today I feel like I have been looking at the main influence for Heals, Habitat, Conran, Geoffrey Drayton, Ikea, Phillip Stark, Ercol and Ligne Roset and much of the contemporary furniture designers of today, many of whom would have been formulating ideas from the 1960's and have created timeless pieces that many of us enjoy in our homes today.

I am very interested in furniture design and functionality and so was interested to look at the work of Donald Judd. I find a lot of minimalist sculptures quite boring and cold, although I can see that years ago it would have been forward thinking and progressive as well as unseen. I also find the fact that behind many simple, repetitive pieces there is often a complicated meaning which requires a lot of knowledge or reading up on.

The masters, Vermeer, Velasquez and Rembrandt, to name a few, who painted before the minimalist movement were storytellers and the journalists of their day with all the news easily decipherable in their paintings.

Anyway I am now going to show you a selection of the works I have found by Donald Judd

- Posted using BlogPress

from my iPad

The second artist whose work I have collated images of is Sol Lewitt. He is recognised as one of the founders of minimalism and conceptual art.

In the mid 1980's he worked with concrete blocks and then in the 1990's he moved on to large, bright, jazzy geometric shaped canvases in gouache.

If I were to develop my own three dimensional sculpture I imagine it would be something functional such as a piece of furniture. A table with green fibre glass on top and White metal legs maybe or a series of wooden chairs or bookcases. I have drawn some images in my sketch book journal.

The idea of an outside structure, or climbing frame appeals to me, one that the children could climb all over and play in and explore with different levels and compartments. It could be made in brightly coloured fibre glass and be constructed of a series of geometric shapes. There are often structures such as this found in the children's play areas and as I have mentioned earlier much of today's furniture is designed in the minimalist style so really this style is all around us.

Module 2:2 Drawings

2011-03-02T23:31:00.001Z

The second part of this module is five different drawings that must all e in Black and White.

1. Something that grows.

This is a broad topic. My mind was full of things that grow literally as well as organically and manually.

I immediately thought of trees. I have always loved trees, drawing trees, appliqué trees, needle felted trees, sculptured wire and paper mâché trees. Hugging trees!

An appliquéd tree that I created a long time ago and never finished popped up during the thought process for " something that grows".

Obviously not black and White but rather beautiful in it's shape is a needle felt tree that I created while thinking of how to draw something that grows. I did print a picture off in black and White to see if I could adapt it to use in the assignment but I settled on a different piece as my final, considered piece in the end although I may explore this idea further and will include it in the package I send to my tutor.

Again not black and White here but can be edited are the ever growing collection of soft toys my daughter takes to bed. Their shapes are something else I may explore but I think I prefer them in colour. There seems something sad about a collection of black and White teddy bears.

A growing collection of bottles waiting to go to the recycling centre ( these have since been recycled so will not feature again!)

The growing collection of potions and lotions that are left in the shower tray, many with only a last gasp of shower gel/ shampoo in them, but who has time in the morning to stand there waiting for that last drop to work it's way out?

The final idea I had before I decided upon my final piece was to make a textured piece using moss. I really like moss, I used to be a florist and it is widely used in floristry to cover up mechanics as well as being a feature in its own right. It has many interesting textures, colours and shapes and is incredibly versatile. Anyway, much as I love working with moss it was not to be used in the considered piece. I was working my way back round to the tree theme though!

So, what was my final considered piece of something that grows? Well, it was tree shaped but evolved out of a cabbage. I quite enjoyed the humour in " something that grows creating something that grows!"

I used a permanent black ink and a roller to cover the stem and the veins of the cabbage leaves. The remainder of the cabbage that we hadn't eaten was covered in ink as well and printed at the base of the " trees " looking remarkably like earth.

I think the finished article is very effective, I did try and add a print of the same leaf print in White over the black to add a contrast but it did not come out successfully.

2. Something mechanical.

This did not throw up any obvious images or ideas and my sister and I had a brain storming session about all the different things we considered to be mechanical. Did they have to have an engine? We decided it had to have something that would keep the " mechanics" running without the aid of constant human intervention.

I really like the mechanisms of a watch with all the intricate cogs and wheels so I looked on the Internet for pictures of watch mechanisms.
I then decided to try and create a picture using the method Debbie Smyth uses - the pin and thread.

I first drew my cog out on paper and in retrospect I was too firm and apparent with my pencil. Also paper is not the ideal medium in which to keep the pins firm, although it turned out to be more successful than the second medium I decided to use which was a canvas.

This is the cog drawn out and pinned.

I began adding thread. It was hard to know how to create the fuzz and blur of the loose thread effects and as this was my first attempt I decided to stick to primarily trying to get the shape nice and sharp and the pins and thread taught.

This is the final cog with thread. I would have to devote a lot more time to create the loose thread effect and this project does not allow for this length of time. I also wanted to try another cog shape which is shown here on the canvas.

This was very precarious and the canvas was with hindsight a ridiculous thing to use as a background as there is nothing solid to ground the pins into. I have since invested the princely sum of 50p for a piece of chip board that I am going to attempt another thread and pin drawing when time permits.

I really enjoyed the new challenge of the thread and pins. I think they look striking in black and White. I would like to try White thread on black as well.

3. A shoe.

I first drew Matt, my husbands trainer in pastel. I sat on a chair and the trainer was on the floor. The brown scribble at the bottom was courtesy of my daughter who thought she would enhance it.

I thought this shoe was ok and it fits the black and White criteria and it's a different medium from the previous two but something just didn't feel exciting enough. I don't really like trainers, to wear or to look at and this shoe had been picked purely on the basis that I had decided to draw the first shoe I had fallen over in the hallway!

I decided to do a textile, machine embroidery drawing of my daughters shoe. Anna is 18 months old and obsessed with shoes. She says " shoes" as her opening gambit first thing in the morning and spends much of the day taking off her shoes and swapping them for welly boots and vice versa. It seemed only fitting that during yesterday evening, while she was sleeping ( the only time she takes them off!) I copied her shoes onto tracing per and then pinned this paper to a piece of White fabric.

This was then embroidered on the sewing machine. As you follow the lines on the tracing paper the paper sort of dissolves and comes away easily.

I then removed the paper completely and shaded in the two holes in the front of the shoe.

I really like the final piece and I am going to do something with this shoe for Anna to keep. I am also going to incorporate this type of machine embroidery into the wall hanging or blanket that I am going to make her from her old clothes. I think it would be lovely to have images fro this time in her life that she won't really remember embroidered onto the blanket.

I also like the effect of the loose threads. I have see this effect used on machine embroidered pieces before but it was also reminiscent of Debbie Smyths loose embroidery threads hanging down.

4. A part of the body.

I love hands so I decided to go straight with that instinct and use wire to create hands.

These I pinned to a White sheet.

I then made another hand and a foot and have pinned those on top of the original hand. I have another plan to use shades of great to paintbthe shapes created by the overlapping shapes which I will post when I have done that. I also am going to add to the hands and feet with some charcoal sketches which I will post to my tutor.

5. The view from a window.

This final piece was initially my husbands idea which I developed. He had bought home a pressure washer to clean our patio and was outside in the rain drawing shapes in it to relieve the monotony. It then struck him that I could have a once in a lifetime opportunity to use this medium which reminded us both of Rolfe Harrises style and " draw " with the water pressure in the algae ridden patio. I decided that a mountain scene would lend itself best to this medium. It would also be Matts ideal view from a window although he doesn't get to enjoy that as often as he would like as I suffer terribly from altitude sickness!!

I then set about crafting a mountain scene, applying harder pressure to different areas of the mountains so that it would look as if the sun was catching one side of the snow. There were areas washed off on the mouton to give the impression of rocks emerging. All in all I think it looks pretty striking and for a few hours Matt was able to enjoy a mountain view from his own bedroom window!!

Module 2:2 Debbie Smyth

2011-03-02T21:53:00.001Z

The third artist I have collected images from is Debbie Smyth. In complete contrast from the two illustrators whose work I have shared in the previous two posts Debbie is much younger, female and works with pins and thread.

She has kindly given me permission to show photographs of her work here and I hope that you find it as interesting and inspirational as I do. I absolutely love the fact that it is such a simple idea and yet becomes so intricate and so impressive.

Debbie often works on a really large scale which must be incredibly impressive if viewed in real life. Sadly I have not seen any of her installations yet but I hope to do so as soon as the opportunity arises.

I am not entirely sure why but the three installations above make me feel quite melancholy and that is in a way a compliment to Debbie rather than a criticism. The building and pylons have an almost abandoned feel with their cobweb like threads hanging forlornly down. I'm drawn to the juxtaposition of the core strength of the buildings and structures and the seemingly wilting facades.

In these pieces the shopping trolley and the chair they are beautifully drawn with the thread and pins and then the loose threads cause a delicious extra dimension and texture that would be irreverent and pointless if these objects had been drawn in pencil.

The threads create a feeling of movement and make these seemingly innocuous, utilitarian objects immensely watchable.

I really love the polar bear shape and like how even though there is the chaos of the threads you can still see the birds legs clearly defined.

The images created of the cars is superb, again they have an air of atrophy and wear and tear and feel slightly abandoned but in contrast the shape is wonderfully defined with the lively spikes of the pins adding a sort of fine hair on a usually sleek, metal object.

Scenes taken from the Threadbare exhibition that took place in Manchester during 2010. The people are so beautifully defined with their extra thick black mass of threads following them around like a hairy aura. The medium of pins and thread lends itself wonderfully to the linear shapes of the buildings and steps and railings. These are so marvellously illustrated it is hard to image that it is the humble pin and black cotton holding it all together.

This is truly inspiring work and made me want to try and create something along these lines too which I will reveal in the next blog post. It was not terribly successful, but immensely enjoyable and if I attempt it again, which I would very much like to, then I would research much more into getting the groundwork perfected such as what to put the pins into! If they wobble about the whole project becomes unhinged and the thread cannot stay taught which is vital for a definite shape.

It is also incredibly time consuming, Debbie must have the patience of a saint. It must be incredibly satisfying to see it all taking shape though.

The final two pieces are my favourite, with the girl on the swing being my favourite of all. The movement is palpable in this piece, you want to reach out and push the swing away. There is no doubt that Debbie is extremely individual and talented in this field and I will be keenly looking forward as to where she takes her thread and pins next.

Quentin Blake 2:2

2011-03-02T21:05:00.001Z

The next artist I have collated images from is Quentin Blake. His illustrations are also highly popular, are used widely from books to greetings cards and following the " match made in heaven" with Roald Dahl he is another illustrator whose timeless appeal spans generations. He was also made the first ever Childrens Laureate in 1999 in order to promote literature among children, I can think of no one finer to inspire a love of books and art in children.

I first " discovered" Quentin Blake and his unique illustrations when he would draw pictures to go with stories on the BBC childrens television programme Jackanory. His pictures would come alive on the screen without the need for animation. The characters all danced before your eyes. The style of drawing looks fast and has a kind of scruffy unorganised feel which I love. It creates a fluid illustration, you also completely fall in love with the characters who are not conventionally pretty or dainty but who have an enchanting quality. I used to stare transfixed at the screen, drinking in every line.

He has created such delightful characters such as Mr Magnolia and Mrs Armitage and the witch Wizzel. They do have words to go with the pictures but really the are almost incidental as the pictures tell the story themselves.

Quentin Blake often uses colour but he has a fine repertoire in black and white as well. The drawings are in pen and ink but he also has a prolific use of watercolour and uses shades of grey to colour in as opposed to the cross hatch method used by Norman Thelwell.

I have had the privilege of meeting Quentin Blake when I took one of my sons to an exhibition of his where he was signing his books. I was so excited and so nervous. I was so in awe and bizarrely terrified of meeting this man who had "drawn the illustrations of my life", ( even though I had heard from a friend who lives near him that he is incredibly unassuming and gentle).

We queued up clutching our books, Henrys eyes shining. " Fancy that Mums, you are going to MEET your hero, what are you going to say??" Henry chirruped away in the queue.

As it turns out when we reached the front I meekly handed over the books, "Hello." That was Quentin Blake.
" Would you like me to sign this to anyone?". Him again, I just stood rooted to the spot the colour of aubergine.

Me - beetroot coloured now, very meek. " To Henry please, he loves drawing."

What was this? He does love drawing, but was that really the pathetic sum total of what I was going to say to this lovely man whose illustrations have inspired so much of the way I create and " live life" today, (yes, my life often feels as if it moves at the pace of a Quentin Blake drawing with the same style characters, slightly eccentric, slightly dishevelled!) And that was that. Henry was askance and I was kicking myself for being so ridiculous. Hopefully one day I will have another chance to meet him, or perhaps I should simply do as he does and let the illustrations do the talking!

Location:Quentin Blake module 2:2

Module 2:2 Artists in black and white. NORMAN THELWELL

2011-03-02T14:21:00.001Z

For assignment two we are first asked to collect some black and White images of paintings or artworks that we like and write a short section about them. I have chosen three artists whose work is often shown in black and white, they do also work in colour but I am concentrating on their black and White imagery for this write up. Two of them are artists who I have loved the work of for the whole of my life, this assignment provides me with the perfect excuse to spend some time looking at their pictures!

The third artist works in another medium and I could get lost in her work all day, it is very inspiring and unusual, completely different from the pen and ink drawings of the first two and not as full of fun in an obvious sense, however I think you will find the overall concept of her work to be quite amusing.

I am first going to talk about Norman Thelwell. His work famously shows countryside pursuits and his most famous collection is of course his ponies and the determined little girls who accompany them.

Since childhood I have been obsessed with Thelwells ponies. Indeed when my sister and I were children we, and many of the girls in our village learned to ride on ponies identical in stature and with a naughty, crafty, sometimes bewildered nature.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

We would spend hours cajoling them through such hair raising pursuits as walking past a crisp packet in a hedge or over a drain cover, quite ofetn in torrential rain! We would then cling on for dear life as they dictated the pace and direction over open countryside, usually in the direction of food!

After they had been tucked up in their warm stables munching on their stuffed hay nets Suzie and I would be sprawled on our stomachs in front of the fire tongues sticking out, deep in concentration, scribbling and copying the pictures out of our many Thelwell books, the taste of a thawing hot chocolate lingering in our mouths.

Thelwells illustrations are highly commercial and feature on a great many household objects. These we would desire and if obtained they would be highly prized, in fact they still are! And I am lucky that my children have all inherited the same love of horses, we do not yet own a Thelwell style pony ( I am hoping my daughter will pester us into that in a few years!) but the boys all learned to ride on mischievous fat little ponies when they were younger and appreciate the drawings and humour of Thelwells drawings.

With regards to the actual illustrations they are drawn in pen and ink and do not have any different tones of grey as such but shaded areas are illustrated by crosshatching. The scenes have plenty of movement and you can almost feel how bouncy those ponies would be even if they are round little barrels!

I am sure that my love of horses and riding, a pursuit that has stayed with me as a lifelong passion, was enhanced and romanticised by the illustrations of Thelwell and during moments of extremely stubborn behaviour or torrentially wet and freezing weather I can imagine how this would look in pen and ink. Thelwell style. So I fix my face with the same dogged determination as the little girls and Sally forth!

Module 2 assignment 1 -Apeture drawings

2011-02-24T22:06:00.001Z

The following stage of the assignment was to draw through the aperture from the previous module.

I was apprehensive at first about doing these drawings as I am not terribly confident about drawing facial features from a photograph. Especially not my family. But then the technical realisation hit me that it was not the actual picture of the face we were drawing but the tones and shades and shapes. Well, that's what I drew!

Above is the first view through the apeture from the family values picture. I soon got into my stride and drew exactly the shapes and tones that I saw and really enjoyed it!

The following pictures are from the section that I took from the second collage which had the thick black words applied in pastel.

This was my favourite as I really like the image of Anna from behind and I think it is very effective contrasted with the black pastel line of the words. The black pastel line upon closer inspection is obviously not thick black and the fact that it is drawn on to the bumpy texture of the cardboard helps to bring out lots of different tones and shades of grey.

I have really enjoyed this assignment a lot more than I initially thought I would, on first inspection I was dismayed about it being all black and White because I Love Colour!! But once I got stuck in I have realised that there is a lot of " colour " in black and White with all of the different tones and shades of grey. I really loved working with all of my photographs and although I could be criticised for using the same sized and slightly similar styled I did attempt some different styles with the second stage by using paint and permanent marker pen on one and pastels on the other. This created very different results in the end and I was extremely pleased with the results of these pictures. I shall continue to "embrace black and White as the new colour." and cannot wait to start assignment 2 .

Holding Up Traffic - Videos - 48 Go Green

2011-02-24T19:26:00.000Z

Holding Up Traffic - Videos - 48 Go Green

Module 2 assignment 1 - Value Family - Family Values Part 2

2011-02-24T12:18:00.001Z

The next stage of my development of the family values piece includes some addition of black permanent marker pen outlines around saying Value Family and Family Values again.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

This looks interesting and I like the contrast. It actually forces you to look closer at the pictures rather than not being able to see them which is what I thought would happen! I did not block the black pen in as I wanted to be able to still the photos behind even if they now have black lines on them.

The other picture with the Apple of my Eye writing has had apples chalked in White pastel added all over the photographs. These were just outlines as well - I am finding it much harder, mentally, to draw over the top of photographs of my family (even though they are just photocopies) than I would with any other images.

The reason I have not used very many images of other peoples art work or magazines is two fold. The first is that in magazines it's proved actually quite hard to find any black & White photographs, and the second reason is that with the Internet at ones disposal you can find ANY image within seconds that you require. I find this overwhelming - I feel like there is too much choice which can make your mind go blank. Also if I use my images then it's all my own work ( except for the Snoopy images and Ruth Orbach drawings) and cannot be easily found anywhere else.

The picture below shows the original lay out.

I took the plunge next with bold black pastel graffiti style words on top of the apples. I used pastel as I had done with the apples. It was psychologically easier to do this rather than paint which seems more suffocating to the pictures. The pastel is chalky and as the whole thing is based on cardboard which is a bit bumpy it has now got lots of texture!

I am in two minds as to whether I like the black words- We Live Like This written over the apples and photographs. It fits the brief and does cause contrast and tonal changes but I'm not that keen on the actual final look of it. I think that is because of who is lurking underneath!

I actually prefer these photographs to the finished piece! But that's ok as the next task is to take a section through the Apeture and draw the section so the indication is good that I might like those pictures!!

Module 2 assignment 1 - Value Family - Family Values.

2011-02-23T21:43:00.001Z

This assignment is in black and White. I am using old family photographs and images that are particular to me in relation to my family.

The first stage of the assignment is to arrange the images that are in black and White on a sheet of A3 card or paper.

Above is the first collage which I wrote about in the previous blog post. Below are the sections that make up the second collection. The second collection is made up of photographs of my children, my husband and one of me. They are all taken fairly recently ( within the last 6 months) and are all favourites! The other images I will explain later on.

This first section shows photographs of Anna, my husband and a collage I made of the phrase ' apple of my eye' which I particularly like - this section is laid on a black background with images of a lady putting on stockings. ( This is from a blouse that I own and really like, I was also imagining me as the woman putting on my clothes ready for another day with the family -who are -always- on -my -mind.) I see myself as the "engine" and co - ordinator of the family. I am the person who fits all the daily jigsaw pieces together and no matter what they are all independently doing I am in the background, like the lady with the stockings!! These are photos of Anna that I adore, her asleep after a dancing lesson. In Daddies arms on the beach at Dunwich, a place my family have been going to for over 50 years so my Mother probably has photos of me in my fathers arms on that beach. At the top of the stairs, not only a great perspective shot but the light works really well behind her and she was so engrossed in trying to put a teddy on every step she wasn't interested in what I was doing. There is also the collage from the previous assignment and her hand prints from a painting session last week.

In the section above there is a couple of flower brooches in felt which I made, a section of my workroom, a picture of the silver wire shoes sported by many of my dolls. One of my Bygone Vera dolls which are paper mâché puppets. The crochet blanket I made for Anna, there is also a section from the back of it with the word ' scream' embroidered onto ribbon.

In the section above we have Snoopy dominating on a pure White background. The significance of Snoopy looms large in my life. My sister and I are massive Snoopy & Charlie Brown fans and love the tv cartoons as well as anything Snoopy related.

It was also the nickname we gave to our Dad as he managed to walk through the noise and chaos of the house populated by three women completely absorbed with his task in hand and oblivious to the noise around him. This was how Snoopy always struck me in the shows and so my Dad became Snoopy from when I was about 12 years old!

Also in this section is a picture from the book " One Eighth of a muffin" this was our favourite book from our childhood, sadly now unobtainable.( My sister does have our copy from our childhood which is priceless!!) Suzie and I have refered to the story and the illustrations from this book the whole of our lives. The beautiful images of the girls in the book are drawn by Ruth Orbach and my sister recently got in touch with her and she kindly allowed Suzie to reproduce prints of some of the images from the book from her originals. Suzie had these images framed for me at Christmas which was one of the most treasured and fantastic presents I have ever had.

There are also two more puppets as well as two of my eldest sons and my god son in the snow.

This section shows another puppet, brooch, picture from ' One Eighth of a Muffin" and Anna on the stairs.

In this final section here is a very handsome photo of my second eldest on Henry in a crowd at a football match. Also one of my teacup appliqués and dog appliqué and a picture I made for Suzie of a man with a penny farthing. A pair of Elliotts boots cast aside on the middle of the kitchen floor, I also like the way they are sat the wrong way round- typical boy!!

The first collage has now dried and I have written in White acrylic paint over the top of the images. Now I will explain why the images are all this size- don't get excited though as it is simply the size my printer turns them out if I place them on a contact sheet. The quality of the definition between black & White has not come out as I had hoped either as everything is really different shades of grey. I am not sure if this is down to my printer or whether I need to edit them more definitely although at this stage I didn't want the photographs to be abstract.

The contrast between the White acrylic paint, with a black border of marker pen, works brilliantly on top of the photographs. I have chosen the words Value Family and the upside down it reads Family Values. I think these phrases speak for themselves.

Another interesting development has risen from this project as I have had a request from one of my cousins to develop a cushion using a print of the first stage of the college of photographs. From this request another friend has asked me to develop a collage using her own family photographs and in turn to create a cushion or wall hanging. I have suggested that some areas are enhanced with machine embroidery or fabrics with colour ( I will not be confined to a brief set by the college then!!) Someone else has suggested I could make a commercial enterprise out of this which might be worth looking into!

I am going to develop the second piece with either apple shapes in outline over the photographs or the words " We live like this" maybe an amalgamation of the two - apples in black, words in White?

I have also got a plan from this idea to do knitted squares sewn together or individually framed, with a photo printed on fabric sewn on to occasional squares and they would be titled " tight knit family,"

The following phrases are ones that I like and would like to incorporate in a family based textile piece:

Chip off the old block

The family that walks/ eats/ holidays/ etc together, sticks together.

Let's stick together.

In my other creative journal I have an extensive list of family phrases that we put together which I think would be great to use in a textile piece, maybe with the words machine embroidered or appliquéd on. I was thinking about sewing onto the paper in this project, I may do that on the second piece which is drying as I type, or I might do a third piece which is completely different, if not at this time then in the future. I like the pieces Tracey Emin has done with appliquéd words and phrases such as " All the people I have ever shared a bed with."

Conversely I am not usually keen on words and phrases on clothes at all and often on textiles I find them twee. There are a few artists who do use words beautifully in textiles, one lady whose work I especially admire is called Caren Garfen. Her work is all hand embroidered pieces which are based on domestic home life, exquisite!

I will be following up this post with what happens next to the second collage.

Module 2 - Black & White ( or the therapy post!?!)

2011-02-20T23:38:00.001Z

I have started in earnest with module twos first assignment which asks us to explore pictures in black and White and to create a collage which in turn will have graffiti style words again in black and white on top.

The first set of photographs I have chosen to use are a selection that my Uncle Jeff has archived from his childhood, he was my Dads brother. Very sadly both my Dad and my Auntie Linda together with my Nanny and Grandad have all died and so these photographs have a very special significance in our family. They show Martin, Jeffrey and Linda as children, and as teenagers and young adults. There are lots of the three of them together and several with one or both parents present. There are photographs of my Nanny as a very beautiful young lady in the fashions of the day and several of my Nanny and Grandad together on a beach in Suffolk and in front of their house in Holly Drive, Chingford.

There are a couple of pictures of my Dad and me and one of my sister and I when we were very young outside the house where my parents had their honeymoon on the Isles of Scilly. I have often wanted to do something with all these photographs, I have quite a collection from my mothers side of the family too which need to be organised. But something along the lines of a wall hanging, or as my cousin suggested a cushion would be in order. I have decided to use this assignment as their first outing in the medium of textiles!

The pictures are interspersed with crosswords and photos of black and White fabrics aswell as collages made up of newsprint on fabric saying
"You are my Sunshine" and " Apple of my eye" both of which were expressions my Dad used. My Dad was also never further than a few feet away from a Telegraph crossword so I put some of those in too ( although mine are the Guardian but I think he would approve of the irony!)

I am always shocked at how much time is taken up by the actual mechanics of putting the work together - the photography, printing, editing, printing again!, the layout, design , collating other materials, the planning of where it all goes and finally putting it down with glue. I seem to have this idea in my head that once I've visualised it there then I've seen it as finished and the actual process of getting it down on paper shouldn't take as long as it does - and I am a fairly efficient and effective worker.

I must get over this problem I seem to have in my head that it isn't ok to actually enjoy doing it, that it should feel like work and it doesn't, it feels like heaven! I think it's that typical age old mothers guilt and I can appreciate why I feel that way but also I find I have creative bursts and you have to go with them and make everyone fall in to line. Luckily most if my family are old enough to appreciate it and actually for Anna, she doesn't know any different and so when Mummy is drawing Anna now sits and draws too! There are are times, such as now at 11O' clock at night when everyone is in bed I can create without anyone wanting me and without interruption or feeling guilty. I usually find that is when I write my blog and commit it all to the Internet!

You are my sunshine. Could there be a nicer saying? On liberty fabric in newsprint and on a blackboard in newsprint.

Nanny and Grandad in front of their house in Holly Drive, Chingford. Near Epping Forest where my father & uncle would swim in the ponds with their Dad and he would invariably lose his glasses!

Nanny and Grandad on the beach

Nanny and her classmates I think at Lady Eleanor Hollis school for Girls.

Nanny in a glamour pose, I wonder who got her to do this as I wouldn't have thought it would be in her natural nature!

My Nanny and Joyce her younger sister.

Nanny. Florence Ethel Nicholson. Or Nicky to her friends. Inexplicably my father called her "Elaine"

My Nanny, one of my favourite people ever in my life and a truly inspirational character.

My Dad and his Grandmother, she had fostered 13 children!

My Dad on his beloved scooter

My mum and dad when they were courting!

Linda, Dad and Jeffrey on a log in Epping Forest.

Three in a boat, Dad with the oars!

In Epping Forest with Grandad.

Dad, Jeffrey and Linda as a baby with Their parents.

These two girls on either end were family friends. Look what happened years later when they were asked to recreate the photo!

Don't they look jolly!?!

This is one of my favourites. Suzie, my sister and I can see all our children in these three here.

Jeffrey and Lynne, my Uncle and Aunt who have been together since about age 15!

Lynne ( on the right) was Lindas friend at school. The first time she came round Jeffrey hid in the shed!!! You can see he was happy to come out eventually!!

Finally my Nanny and Grandads wedding. They courted for nine years before she finally said "I do!"

I miss my father, Nanny and Auntie Linda more than words can say every day but I am so fortunate to have such a close immediate and extended family who all keep in touch on a daily basis! My sister & I together with our cousins and all our extended families have a weeks holiday together every year, which is something we did as children and is something which is fairly unique now, I think!

And we are so lucky to have Uncle Jeffrey who has archived all these wonderful photos and more, which I hope to reproduce into something fabulous and eye catching in the world of textile art.

I am aware that this post has become rather personal than artistic but that is the meaning behind this piece and it felt important to me to introduce them to you and to give them character. As the piece develops the people will be slightly hidden by the words I am going to add on top, but I'm sure these wonderful pictures will surface amongst my work again and again.

Royal Academy Sculpture Show

2011-02-20T22:27:00.001Z

Today we went to the Royal Academy. I have recently joined as a friend of the RA and I am keen to make this a regular place to visit and hopefully with all of the family. After the success of today's visit I think it will be a popular place to go for a day out!

We were here for the sculpture exhibition which is

Showing exhibits from artists such as Anthony Caro with his" bright red, industrial, Early one Morning, " as described by Henry aged 13. Tony Cragg with his cube of recycled " rubbish, but look how exact and square it is!" as described by Hayden aged 15.

The boys were really enthralled and inspired, right from a small square piece by Ben Nicholson which caused a great discussion about colour and form - I was enjoying the exhibition so much through their eyes I almost forgot to look at anything myself!

Unfortunately Elliott was feeling unwell the whole way round and Anna had been whisked off to Pret a manger by Matt so I was looking after Elliott and listening to the boys. They loved the Barbara Hepworth piece that dominated a room titled Single Piece and were fascinated by Damien Hirsts Abandoned Barbeque - that man makes art purely for the fascination of teenage boys - they were obsessed with looking at the dead flies and rotting corpses of cows and a chicken. They were wondering how on earth the installation would ever be disbanded and what would happen to all of the flies!

Every exhibit brought fresh ideas and new comments and different angles,this was one of the most interesting couple of hours I have spent in the company of teenagers for a while and it was so interesting to hear them articulate about the pieces. They loved the half pear/ half apple suspended from the ceiling by a thread and we discussed whether the shadows that fell from it were an important part of the visual impact and make up of the piece.

Another favourite was the basketball in water by Jeff Koons which I thought was ridiculous but the boys thought was really cool.

All in all and with a quite unwell Elliott in tow the exhibition was a great success and there was a lot of inspirational food for thought as well as some things which were quite frankly ridiculous such a a line of White chalk boulders and a neat retangular and symmetrical arrangement of 120 bricks entitled Equivalent V111. The bricks are low lying and adjoining but not attached. These, the boys observed were not dissimilar to the bricks we had seen stacked at a builders merchants just the other week and even the book guide suggestion that there was a correlation between this and the cenotaph was absurd! This exhibit prompted the boys to pause dramatically at very piece of road works on the way back to the car and ask the question " road works or sculpture?" and sometimes it is hard to tell!

Helena Rigsby and Jessica Harrison

2011-02-16T23:33:00.001Z

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

This is Helena Rigsby. The latest Bygone Vera. She can be found on the Bygone Veras facebook page. She is going to live with my Sister Suzie.

I have today received my second module. It's all in black and White and I have started collecting images already. This evening we watched a great programme about modern sculpture and I downloaded some pictures and sculptures by a fantastic artist who was featured she is called Jessica Harrison. I am going to research her further and may use her as an artist to study in a further assignment. For now though this is some of her work aptly in black and White

Very inspiring. I can't wait to find out more!

Assignment 6. Create a fabric

2011-02-08T20:42:00.001Z

I have been thinking very hard about this assignment and have had various ideas such as:

Collecting milk bottle tops and sewing them together, and then attaching them to a background of either squares from plastic milk bottles (!) or a paper collage of labels taken from tins.

Collecting Indian restaurant take away menus and making a collage with them amalgamated with the tin foil tins that the take sways come in perhaps also mixed up on laid on to some sari silks ( which I have a few sample squares of.)

Threading together tin cans to make a platform which could be used as a table or storage ( with open tin side up!) - I would really like to try this project out and am going to tray and save tin cans of the same shape. I am not sure how they would fix together yet but am keen to investigate this idea further.

Yoghurt pots either melted down and then glued together. If they are not melted they are probably capable of being punctured and then sewn together but if they are melted down they become very dense and quite slippery - like a stone tablet and so would be difficult to join. However I think the structure would be able to float and this is something that interests me a lot.

I have decided to develop ideas using the following materials.

A smashed up bottle

A broken and smashed up cup

Corks

Odd socks - these are a big feature in family life - especially with four children including two teenagers whose drawers I have raided to find these lonesome or hole filled socks.

I was aided in the sock collection by my daughter............. A creator in the making!!

A pair of old school trousers with a broken clasp and holes in!

A red plastic bag

A piece of wood

Newspaper

Tin foli

The socks and trousers are going to be made in to a patchwork fabric which will have a stretchy quality I hope! Although the addition of the trousers will limit this.

The smashed up bits of glass and bottle are going to be grouted onto the wood and this may incorporate material scraps too.

The corks are going to be paper mached together to the plastic bag to create a floating object (I hope!)

It is now some time since I last wrote on my blog about this assignment as I have been battling with the materials to re create fabrics. They have not been recreated in quite the same way as suggested above. I will go through each individual reconstruction to explain the procedure.

THE CUP/ BOTTLE

The cup and bottle were smashed by dropping them repeatedly on the patio while they were wrapped in two plastic bags.

I then took a yellow cardboard box and covered some areas with the outside of a tomato soup can with the iconic ' heinz' picture and logo. This would provide an interesting background to the glass pieces instead of White cardboard. The blue cup pieces would be predominant as I love the colour and they have broken into the most useful sized pieces. They would be ok onto the White card.

I then placed the mosaic pieces all over the bottom of the box.

I mixed up flour and water and made a paper mâché paste. I decided to paper mâché between the gaps for two reasons.

1) This would stick more rigidly to the brief as using grout would not be using found materials and I could just about get away with flour and water!

2) The paper between the pieces would be more interesting if newsprint rather than plain White grout. Also I hoped it would make the whole ' fabric' slightly more malleable and flexible.

The whole thing was then left to dry and the final result is actually very hard but interesting. It would be an interesting 'fabric' to use for modelling, more with regards to using the paper mâché and the mosaic pieces than the cardboard base.

This would not be able to use outside I don't think as it would go soggy when the flour and water got mixed up with rain.

As I have said in earlier assignments I was interested in using the forms of mosaics and I have enjoyed this experimental attempt. I would like to pursue it further with grout and I will definitely be using paper mâché again and again!!

THE CORK AND PLASTIC BAG

The corks were cut in half. They were then laid in a 4x4 formation on a section of red plastic bag. The bag is then cut to be folded into a neat parcel over the corks which had been attached by hot glue gun to the bag.

This makes a neat, waterproof square in a lovely bright colour. You can see the lovely circles of the corks through the red and the shadows between each cork are interesting shapes too. I think this is potentially a really good idea for all manner of things that require floats. Child swim float suits at present are very bulky and I wonder if it would be possible to make a float suit out of this sort of material that floats and is a lovely shiny red colour. You could also add or take away squares as and when you need them.

This was my favourite piece to draw and despite, or possibly because of it's simple corroboration of squares and circles I found it the most inspirational. I have done several different drawings of this piece in various guises.

This is my favourite interpretation of the corks and bag. I have made a repeat pattern of a photograph of my sister and I when we were very young outside the cottage on the Isles of Scilly ( St Marys ) where my parents had their honeymoon.

The picture was printed on to paper and then circles cut from these sheets. They were stuck next to each other on the A3 sheet and then I painted using yellow acrylic around the outside ( to represent the plastic bag)and between the gaps of the shapes. I then used a yellow acrylic wash to go over the pictures and then enhanced the 'shadows' with a grey.

I am sending the original to my tutor. It hasn't translated as well as the photographs usually do in the blog as it really is very striking.

THE SOCKS

The socks were sewn together in a patchwork form. I finally chose to just use the orange and black socks. This was for two reasons.

1) Practical - the White socks were very worn and hard. They also had holes and were not as flexible as they should be due to extreme wear!! These are teenage boys socks don't forget!!

2) Visually- the black and orange combination is very striking and looks much better than with the White combined. I think the White may have worked better if they were very white and better quality!

This is the final sock patchwork.

These are the final pieces together.

I have long had an idea for making either a wall hanging or a blanket out of patchwork squares of my daughters clothes that she has grown out of. I would like to do this as a project to develop further as part of my portfolio. I have now added the idea of possibly incorporating circles- maybe instead - maybe as well as squares and I would like to incorporate embroidery on to the top of the blanket. Maybe also incorporating felt letters and words. I feel that this would be developing the socks and the corks ideas.

I would also be interested in taking the corks forward into making more and more squares to use in sculpture - not necessarily floating!! I think these cork blocks are an interesting first prototype in the early stages of developing a new block for building, possibly in construction but certainly in sculpture. I think it could also be interesting to further develop this idea for a Childs bath toy as well.

This assignment was interesting and it does make you think about developing fabrics and not simply using what is commercially avaliable now. I have really enjoyed the first module and am enthusiastically sketching and looking at things in a different way on a regular basis.