Saturday, 7 November 2009

Thursday, 5 November 2009

Friendly Plastic and Embroidery


This is a City & Guilds sample using friendly plastic [it comes in strips & you melt it to make shapes - strange stuff] with embroidered french knots and running stitches.

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Tiger Sketch


My attempt at a tiger [one of my favorite animals] sketch using pilot parallel pens  [they are a kind of calligraphy pen with a parallel nib structure and come in different widths]

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

Simple Running Stitch Sample



Just running stitches across a square of metallic organza [? can't remember what the fabric is called]

Tuesday, 27 October 2009

The Natural World - Sea & Fish





This is a layered peice - the bottom layer is a light weight fabric which has been coloured by transfer print [painted paper transferred with heat press], on top of that is very thick tracing paper which has been painted, then it has freehand machine embroidery through both layers. The fish are paintings from a sketch book which have been scanned and then printed on transfer paper.

Monday, 26 October 2009

Hello Sweetie


Sweet wrappers trapped behind organza with machine embroidery and in several layers

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Bayeux Bird


Inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry and stitched in Bayeux laidwork, one of the stitches used in the original tapestry.

Monday, 19 October 2009

Layered Mixed Media Sample [C&G]


This is a sample piece I did for City & Guilds many moons ago [1995-99]. The background layer is handmade paper [probably from egg boxes] The darker red, green & blue shiny stuff is [I think] glass paints applied to plastic, removed when dried and placed under a peice of chiffon headscarf, then handstitching - running stitches and loose french knots were stitched thru the lot. On the lower photograph I have played with the colours as it was a little dull and it makes it clearer to see everything. Which do you prefer?

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Batik samples


Marks are made with a fork dipped in hot wax [kitchen type, not garden, ha ha]


Monday, 12 October 2009

Altered Book - Bows


I'm not sure what my grandma would think of her outfit (or new body) if she were still around?!? [bottom picture]

Sunday, 11 October 2009

Reflections from a boat


These are a series of photographs of the reflections in the sea taken one after another at the same spot, but with different settings on the camera. They are reflections from a colourful boat similar to the boats in the background on the photo from yesterday.

Saturday, 10 October 2009

Malta - boats


I've just come back from a lovely holiday in Malta. The place in the photo is called Marsaxlokk and there were hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes and different colours. I love the two little ones in the front of the picture, the one on the right looked a bit like a box, it makes you wonder what it would be like to use it.

Thursday, 1 October 2009

Dominoland [Altered Art,3D Art]


This is a painted and collaged games board with domino animals and creatures made from modelling clay

Wednesday, 30 September 2009

Vintage Health Poster


Do's and don'ts of good health and long life or consumption and early death. A poster in the school at Beamish Museum.

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

Friday, 25 September 2009

Illustration Friday - Pattern


Although this is an old 'altered book' I've altered it again today as I thought it would fit in well with this weeks challenge - pattern.

Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Altered Book - North East [ATC's]

the 2 page spread



below - the ATC's can be removed -
the dragon is the Durham Oriental Museum logo, the sea horses are part of a sculpture on Newcastle quayside, the angel of the north has changed its head with a rock sculpture at Herrington Park & the horse statue is at Alnwick Castle.






Monday, 21 September 2009

Inspiration from Paper Beads

Below is the original city & guilds (embroidery) sample - handmade paper & clay beads on cord -
it's so awful, I thought I would mess about with it - resulting in the picture above.


Sunday, 20 September 2009

Do Not Spit

A sign seen at Beamish Museum. [a working museum which recreates how the people of the North of England lived and worked in the early eighteen and nineteen hundreds]

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Lizard on Rolling Stamp Background

Mixed Media - rolling stamp background (acrylic & dye)
[see 'handmade rolling stamps' in August], CAD lizard