We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
"Little Gidding"
T S Eliot

Sunday 26 July 2015

Blooming circles!

I'm just in time for this week's Craft Barn challenge, which is circle and flowers.

Had a lovely day on Friday, crafting with friends.  I finished this card at home, which consists of a Brusho background on watercolour card.  The Brushos were already diluted.  Then created the bokeh effect with a white Brilliance ink pad, and added some silhouette poppies - one of my favourite Memory Box dies.


Such a miserable cold and wet day, think I'm going to do my drawing homework now!

Bring back Summer ...

Saturday 25 July 2015

Exhibition time!

The current Paper Artsy challenge is all about time.

This is an experimental small canvas, using disassembled watches.  The first clock face had a couple of cracks in it and I managed to chip away the surface to reveal a copper surface.  I love all the teeny tiny screws and other bits.



This week I went to the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, which I thought was fabulous this year. Over a thousand exhibits - this is such a amazing show for inspiration with so many diverse artworks. Here are some of my favourites.

In the courtyard - this stunning metal construction - The Dappled Light of the Sun - by Conrad Shawcross.  In weathering steel, consisting of triangles.










Main staircase - Zobop by Jim Lambe - made from vinyl tape.

This is fun - OK going up, but felt quite precarious coming down!

















Babel London (after Bruegel), transparency on LED lightbox by Emily Allchurch

Fabulous composite photograph, the detail is amazing.












Asylum, copper wire, medical plasters, pigment, feathers and silk, by Cathy de Monchaux

I first saw this artist's 3D work at last year's exhibition - stunning.







Mahe, acrylic painting, by Angela Braven

I am drawn to the vibrant colours and detail, this is a large canvas.













And finally an awe-inspiring work by Tom Phillips.  In 1966 he wanted to find an old book for threepence and alter every page with various techniques to create an entirely new work.  The book he chanced upon was A Human Document (1892) by W H Mallock.

He decided to call his treatment A Humument, a contraction of the original title.  The first reworking was printed privately in 1973.  Almost 50 years later he continues to revise and develop it.

This is page 303.  Enlarge the photo to read the words.

I fell in love with this work, there are over 100 pages showing in the exhibition.

To find out more go here.
















The Summer Exhibition is on until 16 August - go if you can.

Happy weekend!




Saturday 18 July 2015

Winged beauty

I have recently been inspired by the Sunset Moth, which Ryn (of Designs by Ryn) told me about in a recent comment on a previous post.

The sunset moths (Chrysiridia rhipheus) are native only to the island of Madagascar. It is the most stunning moth, and deserves as much fame as the most beautiful of butterflies.

Anyway, I've got Ryn's Moon Wings moth set, and I wanted to use a couple of those on this card, using Brushos.

On a piece of watercolour paper I did a simple wash background, and stamped and embossed two moths in white.

I then flooded the area within the stamped images with water - the wing areas - creating small pools, into which I sprinkled some Brushos - turquoise, purple and sea green.

I then did not touch it - but walked away. I was itching to push it around a bit with a brush, but didn't want to diminish the strength of colour, so I left it to dry.  Next, I used a little of the grey Brusho mixed with water to fill in the moth bodies and also used a little round the outside edges.

Finally, I added a little random embossing powder.


My tribute to the fabulous sunset moth.

Also entering this month's Craft Stamper Magazine Take A Stamp challenge.

There is a quote by Aristotle which I use a lot, but it says it all -

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.


Thursday 16 July 2015

Buzzy as a bee!

I'm a couple of weeks into my drawing course, so have less time for other stuff at the moment, though I have several projects on the go, nothing is getting finished!  I'll be writing about my drawing course once it is over, but I'm finding it exhilarating - and mentally exhausting!

So I'm sticking to making cards - useful mini canvases that don't take a lot of time.

This week's Craft Barn challenge is to use background words.

Some of my favourite things are poetry - particularly Emily Dickinson, and bees.  I've had this stamp for some time -

The pedigree of honey
does not concern the bee
A clover, any time, to him,
is aristocracy.
Emily Dickinson

So I've used it for the background, created with Distress Inks.  I then stamped the clover onto a separate piece of card, again using Distress Inks, and heat embossed it.  Finally, my favourite bee stamp (by Stampotique).


Bee happy!

Friday 10 July 2015

Lucy in the sky ...

The weeks seem to be flying by, and another weekly challenge from the Craft Barn, which is to feature playing cards - hearts, diamonds etc.

I would think a lot of people have that grungy diamond shape stencil; I've had mine for years and it is a well loved stencil, looking a bit more grungy that it should!

With watercolour paper as a base, I created a background with Gelatos for a change, (but I don't have that many colours), using the diamond stencil, and a little stamping.

I then die-cut a butterfly to use as a mask, and darkened the surrounding area.  Finally, added a few words and tiny butterflies.


Happy weekend watching the tennis and eating a few strawberries (haven't got any Pimms though)!




Wednesday 8 July 2015

Just another day in paradise ...

The Craft Barn calendar challenge continues with the July prompts of turquoise and beach huts.

The Brusho turquoise is a fabulous colour, so I cut a 10 x 8 sheet of watercolour paper, and mainly used the turquoise Brusho, together with a couple of the yellows.

I then found a beach hut in some clipart, printed out a few, coloured them with Copic pens, (to avoid any reaction with the printer ink), and added my chosen words.

A few stamped seagulls to finish.



Brings to mind those long lost childhood days on the beach, with my bucket and spade, building sandcastles.

Write your secrets in the sand and trust them with a mermaid.

Friday 3 July 2015

So many paints - so little time!

We went to the Craft Barn at the weekend for a Brusho workshop with Kay Carley - good fun!

So, yesterday, my Brushos nudged the oil paints out of the way!

I laid a stencil onto a piece of card and sprinkled some orange, purple and violet Brushos, then a quick spritz.  Removed the stencil and laid another piece of card on top of the still wet stencil.

Now I have a positive and a negative. Two subtle backgrounds, which is what I was after.

I decided to use the negative one.










When I was clearing stuff out for the craft room make-over I found a paper bag with some felt and tyvek experiments.

This one is layers of felt, bondaweb and painted tyvek, covered with some paper, and ironed. The tyvek reacts with heat and starts to break up - fascinating!






Anyway, I cut some flowers out, used some of the felt edges to create some stalks, and added some purple half pearl centres ...

My entry for this week's Craft Barn challenge, which is stars or stripes.


Happy July!