Pumpkin

In my art class we have been doing acrylic painting, which is something I haven't done much of before. I do like using acrylic for mixed media and things like gelli printing, but have never actually painted a picture on canvas before.
We did a study of a pumpkin in chalk pastel and charcoal , and then worked from our drawings to do our acrylic painting.

Here is my pumpkin!

Tag Tuesday-Pleats and Folds

The theme on Tag Tuesday this week is Pleats, Folds and Tucks

I was very pleased with this week's theme, as I love everything to do with fabric!

For my tag, I used an image from my book of Victorian costumes, which I went over the detail of the folds and pleats with a black fine liner. The background came from a pattern book of Victorian dresses, and is the template for creating a dress with many pleats. I made some pleats in a similar checked fabric and finished off with a lace trim.

I have photographed it on textiles book by Colette Wolff, called The Art of Manipulating Fabric. The reason for this is, when I was doing my City and Guilds (Embroidery and Stitched Textiles) at Windsor, I spent several weeks studying this book,and made quite a few samples from it. If you would like to know more about folds and pleats, (it doesn't mention tucks), this book has an incredible amount of information about them. Did you know how many different kinds of pleats there are? I haven't counted exactly, but Colette Woolf has seven sections on pleats!! That is quite a lot!

Mapledurham

Here are some photos of the River Thames at Mapledurham, where, like everywhere else, it has burst its banks. 

Mapledurham Watermill

Nearby fields

The church of St Margaret, Mapledurham

Inside the church, which is believed to date from  14th and 15th centuries

Sunflower 2

Sunflower 2, my second commission for a client is finished! I printed the background on a gelli plate, stamped on a sunflower design and embellished with embroidery and buttons. It was bound with a ribbon and mounted  and displayed in a pale pine frame. The finished piece measures 6"x6".

Tag Tuesday-Insects

This week the theme for Tag Tuesday is Insects. I chose to make a Ladybird tag, as I found one on my kitchen window sill yesterday, and felt inspired.

I used red card stock and buttons for my insect, and placed it onto a garden themed background. The tag is trimmed with spotty tape.

Signs of Spring

Here in the UK we are experiencing terrible extremes of weather. In addition to large areas of flooding,  we have had high winds and storms. However,  occasionally the sun peeks out for a while and signs of Spring appear. This illustrates why British people talk about the weather so much, as it is so changeable and surprising! 

I expect you have seen footage on television of the flooded Thames Valley. It is a relief to know that we are safe from the water, as we live on a hill, but I am very conscious of the river which is very near by, and I really feel for all the people who are affected by the floods.

Hearts for Valentine's Day

Tag Tuesday-Hearts

Today the theme on Tag Tuesday is Hearts.

For my Hearts theme, I have made a  heart in the style of a Victorian valentine. I like the romantic cards they produced.They used layers of fabric scraps, paper lace, fringing, feathers, tinsel, glitter and other ephemera  for their cards, and included images of flowers, figures and animals, and some pieces of text.

For my tag, I have layered coloured papers and lace (I couldn't find any paper lace, so the one on the left is cotton lace, the one on the right is plastic). I added butterflies, paper flowers (hand coloured) and some pressed  wild roses. The text says  "Give me Thine Heart", and it is finished off with a pink ribbon, and photographed on a heart plate. I was rather shocked at how pink and sugary sweet the finished heart was, but putting it on the plate has softened it. I don't normally make such pink things!

Tag Tuesday-Australia

On Tag Tuesday this week our prompt is Australia

For my Australia tag, I did a lot of thinking! It took me a while to produce a tag which represents Australia to me.  I have always wanted to go there, and maybe one day I will. I have always liked looking at maps, particularly old ones, and for the background I have used pages from a 1949 atlas ( found in a skip at my sons' school, when they were having a clear out!) , which has lovely images. Then I made a boomerang, an iconic image of Australia, decorated in my version of aboriginal dot painting. Some dotty tape makes a suitable frame!