Friday, 12 August 2011

Good Intentions

It was my intention to do another sketchbook post today.
After seeing Tracey Emin's monoprints I thought we could do some monoprinting.
I had everything ready...
But first I had a commission to see to...
A bit last minute as a favour for a friend, but I was certain it would only take a couple of hours.


A book jacket for an album for her youngest daughter's wedding.
I'd finish it before lunch, do a bit of monoprinting and then write my sketchbook post.


But I finished it at 6.40 this evening!
It took eight hours.
So now I have the dilemma of what to charge.
She's a good friend who buys a lot of my work... oh heck!


But the point is, I never did get around to the monoprinting or the sketchbook post.
I did make chocolate muffins though!
(One or two people were disappointed I didn't bring cake to the Festival of Quilts!)


Family here tomorrow for a BBQ so there won't be any sketchbook work then...
maybe Sunday?

Thursday, 11 August 2011

Festival of Quilts

Today I went to the Festival of Quilts.
There were quilts... wonderful quilts.
There was shopping... oh yes... there was shopping.

But best of all... there were bloggers... lots of crafty/textile bloggers!
I would put a link to everyone in the photo but after such a super day I'm shattered... (and I might just leave someone out which wouldn't do) so if you can see yourself... stop by and say hello!
It was lovely to meet you all.

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

Love is What You Want

I spent a thoroughly enjoyable day in London yesterday with my friend Catherina. We met to go and see the Tracey Emin exhibition, Love is What You Want at the Hayward Gallery. I am aware that Tracey Emin is not everyone's cup of tea  but I do believe opinions are often formed from what is gleaned from the tabloid press rather than from a knowledge of the woman and her art. It is often difficult to see beyond the grotesque celebrity status afforded to her (and admittedly also courted by her) in the media. But I found the exhibition to be diverse, interesting, poignant and witty. I didn't like or understand everything I saw but I did enjoy an awful lot of it.


Her range of media is extraordinarily diverse, ranging from neon signs, photography, film, embroidery, applique, painting and drawing but the linking thread is her storytelling. Emin is a prolific and often entertaining writer. Her writing is intimate, autobiographical and intensely personal but touches on those human experiences that we can all relate to.


Her drawings appear everywhere and are quite beautiful and sensitive. She draws most often through the medium of monoprinting which adds a quality of spontaneity to the work. There were also some stunning very large scale drawings worked in embroidery which I hadn't seen before that I found quite breathtaking.


There were two walls covered with her appliqued blankets and these were stunning to see close up. Again text and words are central to all these works - they are like oversized diary pages. For me, one of the most exciting things about Tracey Emin's art is how she uses textiles and embroidery just like she would any other media, elevating it from a position of feminine domestic craft to one of fine art. We wouldn't think to call her a "Textile Artist"


There is no doubt her work is often provocative and controversial but it has enormous integrity and I can admire her for that alone. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and at times extraordinarily moving exhibition.

Saturday, 6 August 2011

Paper Shoes

Long time readers of this blog will know I have a bit of a thing about shoes.
And as well as real shoes I've a rather a fascination with paper shoes too.
One of those things I thought I would always like to try making but I never quite got around to it.


So when I wanted to make a little thank you present for someone else who has a bit of a thing about paper shoes, it seemed an ideal opportunity.


Armed with an old cereal packet, old book pages, PVA, some lace and a glue gun, I set to work.


And believe it or not, they were not nearly as tricky as they look.


And they were loads of fun to make.


And the recipient likes them too!


Don't think she ought to wear them out in the rain though!

Thursday, 4 August 2011

Colour Sketchbook :: 4

In the sketchbook project last year, I suggested using a small viewfinder to isolate areas of your drawings. Another more flexible way of doing this is to use two "L" frames.


Take any one of your previous sketchbook pages.


And move your "L" frames over the page until you find an area you like. The advantage of using the "L"s is that you can change the size and shape of your selected area.


I am trying to isolate areas that are approximately the same proportions as my original page as I want to be able to enlarge the selected area to fill a new page in my sketchbook.


When you have found the area you like take a piece of tracing paper and copy the area of the design isolated by your frames.


We are going to use this tracing to enlarge your selected area. To do this you will need to draw a grid of squares over your tracing. Mine are approximately 2cm square in a 3 x 6 grid.


Then draw a similar grid into your sketchbook but enlarge the squares - this time mine are 4cm square.


Then square by square copy the small design into the larger squares.


The next step is to try to reproduce the colour from your original design. This can be tricky if your original page is in your sketchbook and you are trying to work in your sketchbook at the same time, so use a photograph if that helps. You are not aiming for an identical reproduction but to capture the essence of the original. Feel free to exaggerate or emphasis the colour too.


There are a couple of reasons for this exercise - first of all it makes you really fill up that page with your design, taking it right off the edges. I think this is still something most people find quite difficult as we like to fit things neatly inside the edges of our book. So today's main challenge is to take it off the edge!


And it is also a chance to really look at the colour up close and in detail. Last time I spoke briefly about introducing some complementry colour to give some dynamics to your designs... hence the green above. But complementry colour can also be used to create darker areas without resorting to black. All the shadowy areas below are created by adding green to the red which creates a softer more natural looking shadow whereas adding black tends to deaden areas of colour.


You can see in the chart below the enormous range of colours we can achieve just by mixing each colour with its complementry.


I also spoke last time of tints and shades... a tint is a colour mixed with white.


And a shade is a colour mixed with black.


Really focus on the process rather than the end result. Look closely at the shapes and the colours and think about filling the page. The fear of "getting it right" can be really inhibiting but try not to think like that because there is no right or wrong way of doing this. Don't be afraid of messing it up!

To see more sketchbook work from other bloggers visit:
Angela and

and leave them encouraging comments. It's a brave thing to expose your sketchbook to the world!

Wednesday, 3 August 2011

Things I Can't Show you!

  • I would like to have another sketchbook post ready for you... but I haven't  (maybe tomorrow?)
  • I would like to show you things I've been busy making... but I can't show you yet (the weekend... I promise)
  • I'd like to tell you about my excellent meeting with Jamie from Colouricious... but I can't tell you yet (but I will... over and over again... very soon!)
  • I would like to show you pictures of the apricot and almond cake I made... but we ate it.
So because I feel I need to show you I've been doing something... here's another Julie Arkell style bracelet that I made at the weekend.
This was for Jacob's girlfriend. She requested her favourite colours which are purple and gold .


Which I was quite pleased about really... because it feels a lot more "me" and less Julie Arkell. I do like a bit of bling!

Sunday, 31 July 2011

A Rather Special Day!

My day started just after 7 am with a long drive down the M11 and round the M25 to Sevenoaks where I worked with a group of ladies from the Embroiderer's Guild making landscape inspired, machined textured panels. It was a full on busy day and they worked hard to produce these fabulous bits of work which are in various stages of completion.


















Now much as I had a lovely time in Sevenoaks I had a pressing engagement to return to... someone very exciting to go and see. (okay so the Sevenoaks ladies were exciting too!!!)  So, at the end of the workshop I bid a hasty farewell and got back in the car to head home. And after a quick freshen up it was out again to Audley End.

By the time we arrived the place was already packed... the Welsh dragon on the flag is a clue as to who we we going to see. We found our friends who had been there most of the afternoon and joined them for a picnic supper... while we waited... it was a glorious evening.


And eventually... he came on stage... we were a long way back but it didn't matter. His voice is still magnificent, whether singing new songs or the old favourites. Can you see who it is?


 One of the old favourites...



Tom Jones... you could teach these youngsters a thing or two! Absolutely fantastic!


And there were even fireworks to finish off the day!
(And I'd just like to add... I kept my knickers on)