Kittens

  I don't usually blog about the household and about my pets, but I had to share the photos of our new kittens! We got them on Wednesday and they are 8 weeks old. We haven't named them yet, they are both girls. Both are very friendly and playful, but the one with a patch on her eye is definitely bolder and more adventurous! 

Tag Tuesday-Tales of the Riverbank

 The theme for this week's Tag Tuesday is "Tales of the Riverbank"

I don't know why, but I seem to find it difficult to find inspiration for river themes. I think it must be because we live 5 minutes walk from the River Thames, and it is very familiar to me, it is hard to pick one subject to work on.

As you saw in my previous post, my art teacher took our class out to sketch down by the river last week. I thought I would stick to what I know, so did a quick sketch from memory of the scene I was painting that day. I used black fine liner pen on Indian paper for texture, then coloured in with watercolour crayon, which I didn't add water to, although I thought about it, and decided it would be too watery and that I preferred the stronger colours of the crayons.

Art class by the river

Last week our art class went down to the river to paint. (It is only a few minutes walk) It was an interesting experience to paint outside. I had a bit of a set-back when the boat I was painting moved off halfway through my picture! It was a glorious day, with sunshine-unusual at the moment. As you can see we had a couple of visitors, a young drake and a swan who settled down right beside one of my classmates and sat for most of the class. That is how I got a close up, it was very close!

Aliums

I bought a bunch of aliums the other day. I am still fascinated by seed heads. Aliums have a particularly interesting structure. Aren't they pretty?!

Jewellery class

I have signed up for a short course on costume jewellery making for next term. I wanted a break from my drawing and painting class, as I have been doing it quite a while now. It looks like fun,  as it involves polymer clay and beading techniques and I am looking forward to it. When I was on the Access Course at TVU I did an introductory course in jewellery, but it was more silver smithing and soldering (at a very basic level).

Unfortunately this course didn't run, as there weren't enough people signed up to do it.

Colouring up fabric

  I have been colouring up fabric  ready to use in my Design To Stitch course. Painting on fabric has to be

one of my favourite activities! Here I used Brusho paints. I love the way they blend together when wet. The colour may fade a little in sunlight, and the painted fabric is not meant to be washed. 

Nuffield Place

At the weekend Richard and I visited Nuffield Place together with my mother-in-law. It is the home of William Morris, Lord Nuffield, philanthropist and the founder of Morris Motor Cars. The house has recently been taken on by the National Trust, and it is like entering a time capsule, as it has been left as it was when furnished in the 1930s.

The house is pretty and surprisingly modest for the home of a millionaire. I thought it was delightful and unpretentious, with some lovely pieces of furniture and  embroidered furnishings. I particularly liked the Clarice Cliff teaset, the blue Bohemian glass and the  flower watercolours on the landing.