People Book [48]

Altered Book, painted & stitched figures on fabric or paper

People Book [47] and Illustration Friday

People Book - altered book , drawings, found images

below - Illustration Friday challenge - surrender

Zebra Paper

I met up with some friends last week, who I had not seen since before Christmas and one of them brought some crackers; the paper on the crackers looked like zebra stripes. Well I couldn't just throw the empties away now could I? I removed the backing [soaking in water makes this easier] and then I collaged the pieces together on top of a piece of vilene/interfacing/lutradur I found lying around. The fabric had been dyed or painted and that is why some areas are tinged blue and purple, I quite like the effect, a happy accident. After that I did some sewing machine stitching on top using the decorative stitches, mainly at the joins although I did try a little hand stitching first. My plan was to stitch the outline of a zebra on it, but I don't think it will show up very well so I've still to decide what to do with it. It may end up as a background in a sketchbook if I can't think of anything else.

People Book [46]

Altered book, drawings, collage

People Book [45]

Altered Book. All the people collaged to these pages are made from tags, tickets & other recycled bits.

Butterfly metamorphosis

This stamp was made from a keyring - a free keyring advertising something or other, and consisted of two foam material parts on a cord. One part was a circle with a hole which is obvious from the picture above, and the other was a strange shape. I printed with it but it didn't look very good, so I carved bits from it to make a butterfly shape. The two sides are a bit different but I don't think it matters. More colours and decoration could be added to make it prettier.

People Book [43,44]

Altered book, drawings, collages, found images

Tortoise Drawing

I've started a new project with a few friends, the theme is 'Shelter'. I started by bouncing a few ideas around and one of the things I came up with was shelters for animals. A tortoise carries his shelter around. 

Now the questions are - shall I develop this & how do I develop this? Paper collage, fabric applique, embroidery, paint & embroidery on fabric, watercolour painting, digital ........decisions, decisions......???

People Book [42]

Altered book, drawing, collage, found images

People Book [41]

Altered Book, collage, vintage postcard

People Book [40]

An altered book with drawings, collage etc

Mark Makers

Ideas for mark makers. I used interesting paper/card packaging for the top two.

And the ones below are the plasticky foam protection pads [I don't know the correct name has I don't have the packing they came in] which I bought from the £ shop and come in squares and circles.

People Book [39]

Left - several figures cut in one go by folding the paper.

Right - people & a dress made from recycled photos

People Book [38]

It's a long since I posted something from my people book but I am still working on it now & then. I sometimes do a bit on one page then dart off to another page, so I don't always finish a page at once.

Do you notice the woman with the brown 'dress'? Well it's not a dress, it is actually a metal chastity belt and was used in medieval times. Women were locked into them so husbands insured that their wives remained faithful! Can you imagine wearing one? And I thought ST's were bad.

The Sketchbook Challenge

Well I posted off my Sketchbook Project book and now I've started a new one for The Sketchbook Challenge.
The theme for the month is Highly Prized and this is my drawing. [The farmer with his highly prized pigs]

Since the holidays I have been finding it hard to knuckle down to something, I keep doing bits of things here & there so I'm hoping doing this book will get me into gear. Click on image to make it bigger.

Transfer Printed Shopping Bag

Another bag I did late last year. this one is made up digitally and printed on transfer paper, then ironed onto the ready made bag. It's a bit yellowy, maybe I left the iron on a bit too long! The woman was a photo of a sculpture [it was in a flat my daughter was renting] and there are altered lace images including one I put around the neck, and a vintage letter and postcard

Embroidered Apron

Another item I did late last year was an apron, I didn't actually make the apron from scratch, but I did the embroidery and beading on it. I drew cakes/buns/muffins on paper, cut them out and arranged them on the apron, then I drew around them with a fabric marker and then followed the marks with thread.

Hand made album and covered box

Two things I made at the end of last year. Above is a photo album I made for my sister. The covers are collaged papers [purchased papers - I was in a hurry] with torn edges and distressed with walnut stain, then a couple of coats of acrylic wax. I used a Zutter binder to make the book and I filled the album with vintage family photos. The front cover has a rectangle cut out to show the first photo of my parents with my sister when she was a baby. A vellum page protects the photo.

Below is a box I covered with torn pages of a vintage sewing book. I painted it with a couple of coats of acrylic wax to protect it. It was filled with sewing bits & bobs, lace, trinkets etc

Screen printed & embroidered bag

I screen printed the bag a while ago, but thought it was lacking something, so I did some hand embroidery on it. You can see how it was originally in the bottom two pictures. It does look better I think.

The Sketchbook Project [88,89, 90,91,cover, etc]

The last few pages from 'The sketchbook project'. I only tore out one page from the book after the picture went horribly wrong, but rather than chucking it I painted it with green gouache, cut out a sea weed shape and stuck it in the centre of the page above - the ends move about as if they are in water.

I covered the book with an old transfer print [paper painted with transfer paints then ironed/heat pressed onto some other paper, it is normally transferred onto fabric]. I then gave it a couple of coats of acrylic wax to help protect it.

This is the title page at the start of the book. It was also some transfer prints and a fish drawing which I scanned into the computer, combined and added text, the text has also got a reflection but it doesn't show up too well on the image below.

I also included a list of contents.

All the pages of the sketchbook can be seen on the other blog page, see top right

The Sketchbook Project [24,25,86,87]

More pages from my moleskine for 'The Sketchbook Project'

"Below the surface"  ..... of the sea

On the pages above I used paints - watercolours, metallic acrylics, an ink jet print [trawler], the net is a fruit net. The fish are collaged & I have used painted papers for them - I used a fish skeleton punch and stuck the skeleton shapes to other decorated papers and then cut fish shapes out.

 Below - the pages had a coating of acrylic wax and I used a sharpie, watercolours, brush pens and felt tips. I sent my sketchbook off today to America and I have mixed feelings about it as I had grown quite attached to it. Well at least I have scanned the pictures of it even though I can't actually turn the pages of the book.

The Sketchbook Project [80-85]

Below the surface.....of the banana skin, ......custard,

..............tongue,

.....................shoes

The Sketchbook Project [12,13], & Moss

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is the first blog I have done this year, I have been away, staying near Alston, in Cumbria. The photo above of the moss on the wall was taken there.

Below is a page I did for my sketchbook a while ago, but as it was done on thick paper I didn't stick it in until recently. I have used textured paper, paint, rub & buff and the fruits lift up to reveal the insides of the fruit. They were drawn with pen on the original paper in the book