11cm x 11cm. Sakura ‘Glaze’ pen, Derwent Coloursoft pencils, Derwent Metallics pencils and Cosmic Shimmer metallic and iridescent watercolour paints on dark blue drawing paper.
A little birthday gift for my pal Debs.
Arts and Crafts
Crazy Contours
Approx 12cm x 12cm. Black Rotring pen, Inktense pencils with water wash and various iridescent/metallic watercolour paints on Bristol Board.
The shapes and were inspired by one of the previous little textile pieces, the filling patterns by Romanesque architecture, prehistoric pottery, natural forms.
Fun to do something this fiddly and fussy and completely potty!
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Autumn Flow 1 and 2
Two teeny tiny little pieces of textile work. The photo doesn’t really show the sheen on the mohair that has been used in the needle-felting on the black felt background. They are approx 2″ square-ish. Copper thread has been used to add the lines and shapes, along with copper, gold and red beads.
The colour reminds me of autumn, but I also think it may be how I seen passionate love too. It has a wonderfully warm, deep, intense colour to it that I find quite irresistible, not a colour I would have usually loved. I think this could be becoming my favourite colour!
The lines remind me of contour lines on an OS Map. I feel a new source of inspiration for art coming on… maps and satellite and aerial imagery perhaps. I know my fingers have been fair twitching for paper and pens and inks and paints and pencils to use my textile work as an inspiration for other forms of art, so my textile work may become an inspiration for me too. How weird is that?
These may be for sale on Etsy…I’ll have to decide if I can part with them!
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Planting seeds of love work in progress and a new little pretty…
Planting Seeds of Love – Work in Progress
This is a work in progress, and I’m not at all sure about it. I had the title first (I’m working on loving and accepting myself), then a mental image of what I wanted to do, but I’m not at all sure about what has resulted from it. Usually by this stage in a piece of art I know if it’s working or not, and this one … well I’m not at all sure. I have to complete the outlines, add textures/patterns and metallic/iridescent accents, but I’m not entirely sure I actually want to finish this one. I’m wondering how much the resistance to this piece of art comes from my lack of satisfaction with the art itself and how much comes from what it is representing – my inner work at this time… An interesting point to muse, eh?
I’ve had a lot of emotional turmoil in the past few weeks while I’ve been off work with laryngitis, much of it to do with allowing myself to love, respect and care for myself and to let go of various negative belief systems from the past. It’s also involved a change in my value system, and something that hasn’t been easy to do. The words/mental idea sprung up from this work, as I’ve already mentioned. It’s been a bit of a tough time, and sometimes it’s hard to find balance.
It’s also had an effect on my creativity. Instead of painting/drawing/sewing I’ve been lost in either reading or knitting and watching DVD after DVD. A positive from this is that I have created, after 30 years or so, a knitted throw/blanket – which has amazed me as I’ve always got bored with the process after a little while, but not this time. It isn’t a pretty thing, it’s very random in terms of colours and knitted patterns and crocheted squares, but it’s mine and I love it very much, mainly because it’s proven to me that I can persevere with a project such as this, and there is benefit for me in doing something that is simple, creative in a crafty way, and also rather meditative in nature.
I now have another blanket/throw on the go – and it’s certainly going to be ‘different’, but very much ‘me’.
Little Pretty 7April2012
This is a teenytiny piece of textile art, approx. 4.5cm x 4.5cm (1.75″x1.75″) that I completed yesterday. The silver japan threads were added during a sewing/craft afternoon at O’Callaghan’s Coffee House yesterday. The other stitches and beads were added later.
It will eventually be for sale on Etsy, when I work out what price to put on it, and whether to offer it framed or ready to frame … I dislike trying to put prices on my creations.
Why is that, I wonder? I think it’s linked to me still not quite believing my artwork has value, or that my ‘doodles’ are truly art. I have made the leap to the recognition that what I think of doodling is really my version of intuitive art, art that expresses who I really am, what I am inside, and the richness of that inner self and my love of colour and flow and swirl and abstract pattern.
I really do need to work on a statement of me as an artist that fully expresses who I am in terms of art and what my kind of art represents. Now that’s a scary thing to do as it will lay part of me bare -though those who read my art aright will already have sussed that part of me out!
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Releasing Chained Anger
Approx. 11″ x9″
Acrylic inks, technical drawing pens and a few dots of metallic gold ink…but not too many.
As I’ve been working on this today, I realised that it represents how years and years of anger and frustration have been trapped within me, thanks to my childhood upbringing and later life. I’m learning about emotions at my more mature age, having suppressed them for so long in order to, basically, survive.
Even though the structure seems very ordered and controlled, that is how it always has been for me. May the gods forbid that I should show a coarse or ugly display of temper or emotion!
There are cracks there though … and gradually (or not so if the emotional outbursts of the last couple of days are anything to go by) they will be released and healing can properly begin.
It’ll be worth it as I gradually become the person I’m supposed to be, rather than the one that was forced into the wrong sized, shaped and textured hole as a child, young adult, and beyond …
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New pretties…
Approx 7″ square. Needle felting, metallic threads, beads and custom made sequins.
Each approx 2″ square. Needle felting, metallic threads, beads.
A work in progress! Approx. 4½” square. Needle felting with gold threads.
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Cards for Pisces and Aries and a big dose of procrastination!
Pisces
Aries
All these cards have mandalas on them that are approx 9cm in diameter.
The Pisces cards were worked with Derwent Colorsoft pencils, Sakura Glaze pen and Derwent Metallic pencils on black card with metallic watercolour paints providing the highlights.
The Aries card was worked with Rotring Rapidograph technical drawing pens and black ink, Derwent Inktense pencils, Zig Art and Graphic pens and Derwent Metallic pencils on cartridge paper. This card needs some extra work on it to fully reflect the nature of sun-sign Aries.
Procrastination
Writing this post is a bit of procrastination. I have to sort out some artwork and frame it, work out a price for it, and do the same for some pieces of textile jewellery to place in a coffee shop. More about this later on.
I’m actually having a mug of tea after clearing off the table in the back room which I’ll need to cut the mountboard for the artwork on. I’ve also cleared a chair which has been piled high with stuff since I was writing the two archaeology books a few years ago now – “Digging Down” and “A Road to the Past”. I can be really, really lazy about clutter. I have so much more to clear out, but I’ve started now … so …
I’ve also changed the voile curtains in the back room – that’s needed doing for a long while, and the ones that were hanging are now in the washing machine.
I’ve been signed off work for nearly three weeks. I completely lost my voice due to laryngitis just over two weeks ago. As my voice still isn’t fully back, the doctor has signed me off work for another week. As a teacher, my voice is important, and when I can barely be heard sat in the quiet with friends then there is no way I can be heard over a class of 30 or so teenagers!
Right, so about the artwork. I’ve visited a local coffee shop a couple of times while I’ve been off work – O’Callaghan’s Coffee Shop. They have art by local people on the wall, all for sale, as well as other bits and bobs. I bravely mentioned, while knitting and chatting to the owner that I did art, she wanted to look and well … one thing led to another and I said I’d get some of my art framed and some of my jewellery sorted out to go there.
Yes, knitting. I have decided that it’s about time I made myself a fiery throw! I’m knitting squares in lovely warm fiery colours to make a cuddly blankie just for me. I’ve started this many times over the years, but have never got anywhere, but this time I’m determined to do so. I plan on it being the ugliest but most lovely cuddly blankie in my home. I think then I may have to work on one to have in my future hypnotherapy office … for clients …
So I may be procrastinating a tad, but the shock of actually clearing clutter, albeit a small amount of clutter, requires me to have a mug of tea before I retire to do some arty things!
Oh happy days!
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Etsy shop!
I took a couple of plunges concerning my art in the last few days. One was to set up an account with ARTFLAKES where some of my art will be available as printed canvasses, art prints and greetings cards. The other was to open an Etsy shop. I’ve just uploaded my first items to my Etsy shop, and they are three recently created ACEO cards, each of which is just 3½” by 2½” in size. I do have others lurking around the house somewhere, and they’ll be added, along with other arty and crafty stuff I create.
A big step for me, a plunge even, as I need to find outlets for my creations, for others to acquire and share in the enjoyment I experience when I create and the love that goes into my creations.
Here’s the three ACEO cards – very simple, but that’s me at this moment in time as I rebalance my emotions from the revelations and emotional turmoil of the last few days…
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Rainy-day Friday Fish!
Approx 18cm x 13cm. Worked in a fine black Sakura Gelly Roll pen with Inktense coloured pencils with a water wash on white cartridge paper. The colours aren’t quite this garish – I keep saying I’m useless with scanners and cameras!
I found some of my old Art Nouveau books today and thought I’d have a play around with simple line drawings. This fish caught my eye, though I’ve adapted it to suit me.
I’ve always loved the flowing lines and simplified and stylised forms of Art Nouveau; just like Early Celtic Art and Prehistoric Rock Art and ammonites and Romanesque architecture natural forms and so on, the organically flowing curved lines and spirals really appeals to me and they often come out in my work. OK, not often, but most of the time!
This was a really quick drawing to do too – it took around an hour to pencil out, then outline, then colour in and then scan! That’s super speedy for me! Usually my works take many, many more hours.
Now, I just have to decide where I go with this … it really is an experiment.
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Cornucopia 3
4″x8″ in size. Black Rotring pens, Derwent Inktense pencils with water wash and metallic gold watercolour paint on cold pressed watercolour paper.
This was completed while taking a break from reading/researching/note-taking/getting my head around the 2000 word essay I need to write for my hypnotherapist training course by next Saturday. I also need to transcribe my progressive muscle relaxation scripts too… as well as organise the people who’ve volunteered to be my guinea pigs during my training so that I can get some hours of practice logged.
The break was needed; as fascinating as the reading material is, as engrossed in it as I was, my brain was full, I’m still finding myself very tired after the tonsillitis this week and the upset tummy that I’ve had the last couple of days too. I will be retiring to bed as soon as I’ve finished wittering here!
Art is the Adventure 