Design Decisions

Its little wonder it takes me so long to finish artworks when I start contemplating design decisions such as ribbon composition, I do prefer the angled ribbon layout though...

Produce patterns

More progress, these sugar snap pea pods will be joined by a few more in various media

Produce patterns - progress

Here's a little taster of how the lime is progressing...

Produce Patterns

You may remember this post about a painting I started several years ago and always intended (road to hell etc) to finish yet never quite did. Well I still haven't finished it, but it has dramatically moved on from my last post...

I decided that the undertaking of finishing that big canvas was a little foolish on my part, the painting had past its moment and there were practical reasons to abandon it too.

So instead i've hatched a plan to complete the work in a different way:

Salvaging the sections of the painting I was most happy with (and discarding the remainder) and using them in a series of new mixed media works. 

(featured above are two "in progress" shots of the salvaged sections) 

sneak peak- everyday jumble

Here's a small preview of my latest drawing, its an abstract jumble of fragmented everyday objects - I'm revisiting/revitilising some past ideas around the theme of everyday, particularly the abstraction of household objects.

On another note: I think my cross-hatching phase is hitting its peak about now... 

keep an eye out for the finished drawing - I'll be posting it up soon.

Saltram Stairs

Found this buried in my studio stash today. Its a watercoloured photocopy of a drawing inspired by Saltram house ( a local national trust property), in other words another relic of a past project that I plan to revive / rework.

Sewing Snaps

In the midst of sewing...

Posts of the future

A little peak at some of the things going on in my new studio

Flat packed Teddy Bears

I've had these little bear patterns cut out for a couple weeks, I'll probably get around to cutting some more soon ( part of my plans to finally use some of the denim I've had stored for ages), hopefully I'll get round to making them even sooner - they're just like a flat pack: I have the fabric cut out, teddy bear eyes, stuffing, thread and other such equipment all ready to go... I just have to start sewing them, it's one of those 'never enough hours in the day' situations.

Other things to do with half-hitch knots

You may recognise the purple and grey knotted yarn as a friendship bracelet, thats because it's exactly the same technique - the half-hitch knot. Both these items are part finished experimental projects involving the same knot used in the rag rug technique I waffle on about on a regular basis.

The left one (afore mentioned bracelet type) is going to become either a bag strap or part of a textile art piece ( it depends on the length when I run out of yarn).

The right one (the funny shaped thing) is far more interesting - its a piece of leftover balsa wood (from one of those little modelling kits of balsa wood - you know the ones that you use to make strange models of mice, helicopters or skeletons...) which I'm wrapping in a kind of string (using half hitch) that will then have other textile items combined with it to create a experimental art piece. It all sounds very confusing/ scattered I'm sure but when you see the finished thing - currently a product of my imagination- it will all become clear...

Funky Foam trio

This is a little revival of my funky foam work ( refer to my website for images etc of the vases I made last year), a technique which involves covering a surface in sections of craft foam and stitching it together. Here you can see what will become a set of three (currently one finished, one half stitched and one not started). Its the first time I've used this funky foam technique on a flat surface, though I have some more vases and christmas baubles lined up to do, judging from the success so far I'm considering some other flat foam ideas ( maybe some frames of foam - combining this technique with another etc)

finished one

part finished

Pendant Experiment... continued

These are three of the pendant type beads I made from air dry clay on Thursday, I've painted this distressed finish using acrylics and once the others are painted in a similar fashion (though some will be painted in a different style and there will definitely be colour variation) I'll add some coats of varnish.

Because they're made of air dry clay they're not strong enough to be worn as jewellery ( if I wasn't sure of that before I am now) but I plan to put them to less strenuous use - incorporated into wallhangings or some crafty style creation, dangling harmlessly on a wall they should be pretty safe (especially after varnishing) ; plus pretty effective in appearance if any of the ideas floating through my head pan out - I'm feeling a textile collage moment approaching.

Pendant Experiment

I've been having a little play with air dry clay (rhyming that wasn't intentional, but its happened so its staying), making pendants and beads from it, they're now pretty much dry so next I intend to paint/varnish etc. though of course all my efforts might be in vain since air dry clay is not particularly strong (the batch I have is on the powdery/ crumbly side) and may not survive or just simply not respond well to the processes I have planned for it. Either way I'll post the results ...

'Produce Patterns' or maybe I should actually finish that...

Consider this the before photo, evidence for use in the future - to prove how much work is needed on this painting. Its been a few years since I last touched it (literally) and during its exile the canvas got fairly abused, left dusty and dented in my back-room.  A combination of making the canvas bag and a conversation with a student at my work placement has re-kindled my desire to see the painting reach completion; in  many ways the hiatus in painting is beneficial since I can now cast a critical eye upon it and make some improvements, such as making the background not black ( I now wonder why it even started out as black, I must have been having a little moment - to borrow a friend's phrase).

So now I've re-stretched the canvas and removed the pesky dents, I can crack on with painting and with a little luck you won't have to wait long to see the after picture...