Canvas, Cathedrals, Culture ... oh ... and a bit of shopping!

Recently attended a workshop to create an abstract piece with canvas cutouts.

We started by creating a design for the cut-outs; I decided to loosely base mine on a lotus flower. Then we cut the canvas from the back, and added some bits using Powertex. I used string and some mesh.

Next the texture! Using stencils with paste, dribbling Powertex, and I made some clay flowers.
Yes ... those flowers I seem to have an obsession with at the moment. Scroll back through a few older posts and you may come across them! Created more texture using P/tex with Stone Art (another P/tex product).

Time for lunch!

Now for some colour!

Had to finish at home - I covered the back board with gold mirri paper, then added some gold gilding flakes, and a final varnish before fixing the back board with a staple gun.

Really enjoyable workshop.

Had a trip to Chichester last week with the Arts Society. We visited the cathedral, which is currently having a new roof, replacing the copper tiles with lead. It is swathed in scaffolding, so not very photogenic, so here is what it did look like. You can see the old copper roof, which had turned green.

We also visited the Pallant House Gallery, which features British art from 1900. The main exhibition  at the moment is on Harold Gilman (1876-1919). Not allowed to take any photographs, so here is the front of the catalogue.

Harold Gilman was a British painter of interiors, portraits and landscapes and a founder-member of the Camden Town Group. A group of English Post-Impressionist artists active between 1911 and 1913. They gathered frequently at the studio of painter Walter Sickert in  the Camden Town area of London.

Not one of my favourite artists but I do like his use of colour and thick paint.

The Gallery had a fab bookshop with lots of reduced books, so I treated myself to one ...

Man Ray (1890 -1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. He was best known for his photography, and he was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. Man Ray is also noted for his work with photograms, which he called "rayographs" in reference to himself.

I first came across Man Ray a couple of years ago, when I visited Farley's House, home of surrealist painter Roland Penrose.

Looking forward to dipping in and out of this rather large and heavy book.

Chichester is also good for shopping, so a little retail therapy was also in order!

Another good day.

One step forward ...

two steps back!

Sooo frustrating trying to move, my buyer has now lost her buyer, so everything back on hold and I don't know whether the house I want will still be available once a chain has reformed.  Anyway, my property is back on the market ...  arrggghhhh - need to keep it tidy again!

So, very little happening on the creative front, but the Fearless Four did get together recently to finish a project we started some weeks ago.

You may recall the clay flowers I made (see here).  I made some more, to use on our project which was to create a very 3D canvas.

Because we were using a lot of modelling paste etc. it needed to thoroughly dry - hence our second get together to finish off.

I forgot to take a photo after stage one! So here is my completed canvas. A long thin one, which I don't often use.

Ingredients include thick modelling paste, crackle paste, acrylic paint, gilding flakes; the copper leaves I've had for many years, and finally I've used some - though there are lots left!

Here is a bit of a close-up ...

The others managed to do two projects each -

Linda used some pieces from old potpourri!

Lin used some clay pieces and also some of Linda's potpourri!

Monica has used clay pieces, fabric and also some of the potpourri ...

Another fun day with friends.

Creating happiness ... inside and out

The Fearless Four are half way through a project - in December we got together and made some clay things. Some in molds and some free form. Then we continued this month with using them on a canvas - making a highly textured background. Next month we will finish the project by painting the background and adding our clay creations.

In the meantime, I decided to use some of my clay creations (free-formed flower shapes) in a small glass-fronted box frame.

I cut some mountboard to size and painted the background with acrylic paints - including some metallics and interference paint.

I die-cut some metal to form the stems as I wanted it to be 3D.

You may remember the trip I did recently to the British Museum, where I found the inspiration for my flowers' colouring (see here).

The flowers are painted with acrylic paint, including a little interference, and then some gold gilding flakes added to the centre. The actual clay centres are painted gold. Finally I used a high gloss varnish.

I couldn't photograph it in its box frame as the glass created too may reflections, so this is before it went into the frame.

I was out early this morning, a heavy frost and bitter cold, but an absolutely stunning sunrise.

No photograph can capture the beautiful colours - it just made me feel so happy to have seen it.

Recently discovered Debasish Mridha, an American physician, philosopher, poet and author ...

At sunrise,

The blue sky paints herself with gold colours

and joyfully dances to the music of a morning breeze.

Debasish Mridha