poppies

A painting/giclee print from 2009.

I created this as part of the ID project with a group of visiting Israeli artists. Dubi took the photo, and we took them to be made into giclee prints, then I wrote and painted onto the paper around the print.
It was quite difficult to get paint to work how I wanted it to; I'd thought water-colour would be fine. But in the end I used acrylic inks, and ordinary inks. Instead of brush-strokes, I used lots of dots....especially at the top.
Dubi was inspired by the Impressionists, so when we went out into the Wakefield landscape, and we saw this field of poppies, he wanted to stop and take photos.
Poppies are flowers of rememberance; and of the underworld. The words I wrote around the photograph were words of remembering.    

Lucy

We re-homed Lucy, after Jon found her on his allotment, with her 2 kittens. After some adventures trying to trap mama-cat & kittens, my friend Jackie took one kitten, who now prowls the street where I live, and Jon's parents took in the other. Lucy stayed here.
She was a gorgeous cat. 
I toyed with calling her 'Rorscharch', after the blobs you look at in psychology tests, as she had a pronounced symmetrical patterning on her face! And very expressive eyes. This photo shows the black and white pattern really well.
She was always hungry, after having to scrabble about to feed herself and her 2 boys; so after she came to live here, she ballooned in size! It was her weight loss, and lack of interest in food that made me realise she was ill.
Last winter she developed cancer. She had 2 operations to remove tumours, though the vet did say that the long-term outlook was poor.
I managed to keep her going through this horrible, long winter, and we spent some lovely times out in the garden, and sitting peacefully together in my studio; which are lovely memories to keep.
As I got to know Lucy, I realised that she was a 'one-house-cat'; that is a cat who wants to be the only cat in the household. As I have 2 other cats, that wasn't best suited for her. But for the last few months of her life, I shut the door on the other 2, and we spent time together, just the two of us.
 
  

Lucy

Lucy, my cat, who died on Monday 20th May.

sample #3

Batik; painted wax onto re-cycled silk, then 'drawn' into ('scrafito') using a compass point. Not very happy with the result, actually, though I like the technique. Like so much of textile techniques, batik is something one needs to practice and practice to get anything like a good result. And batik isn't the top of my preferred list. I'm trying to concentrate on the textile techniques I want to develop, in this C&G module, though there are things I need to include in my samples; such as batik.

UPS & DOWNS!

I've just been to see the film 'Good Vibrations', about Terri Hooley, and his record shop in Belfast during the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland in the 1970's & 1980's.
What a fantastic feel-good film. Despite the bombings, and the guns, and the gangsters.....the film showed the power of music, and it's transcendant qualities. His face when he found a club where the Belfast punk scene was playing music, was just classic! Like he'd found his meaning of life.
And many of us can relate to that; the moment when I've heard something, and it's just made me pause, or smile, or stop what I was doing; or make absolute sense of what was happening to me. 'My life in music'.....I think someone's already taken that!

And.....'down'......I've just come onto my blogsite, and found all the blogs I 'follow', have simply disappeared! All gone! Google are even telling me 'you have no blogs you're following'....by heck, I HAVE!
I have to say, blogger seems to be a bit capricious; it's not only me who has problems with making it do what I want it to. Hmmm. I've not had many recent updates of blogs, so I'm now feeling very suspicious that google is to blame for this? 
So, if I 'follow' you, please bear with me; I might have to 're-follow' you all over again. This is very frustrating.

sample #2

The second sample I've completed for the City & Guilds course. It's made on a piece of re-cycled silk, a sleeve from a shirt. It was dyed with tea-bags, then printed onto it by transfer paint. Further embellishments were wool corded on (at the top) seed stitching (in the centre) and a strip of rust-dyed silk (at the bottom).

And here is a close up of those seed stitches. I seem to be quite obsessed with this stitch! Not sure why; but I suspect I like the way I can almost freewheel stitch! Can put the needle where I want, then step back, and add, or remove. In this way, it feels a bit like painting? Mark-making.

linder @ the Hepworth

This exhibition ends this weekend at The Hepworth. I've been down twice to see it.

 'Linder (b 1954, Liverpool, UK) has been working with the principles of collage for over 3 decades: from her 2D work on the late 1970's iconic Buzzcocks posters and record sleeves, to more recent collages presented in light boxes.'

Being of that particular age, and 'demographic'! I was interested to discover Linder's work again, after seeing her record covers from the 1970's. At first I didn't make the connection, as these collages on show at the Hepworth have seemingly very little in common with those punk, D-I-Y collages. Her current work is big, glossy, full technicolour, presented in light-boxes. They look more like expensive perfume ads than punk collages. 
Lots of ballerinas, and natural forms such as shells, and animals. Some of them look at bit randomly composed. Others have an internal structure to them; the curves and forms of the nature objects, echo and emphasise the human forms.
I actually liked the old-fashioned photos of the dancers; going into the darkened room where these light-boxes were on display was like going back into the imagery of the 1950's, with added 21st Century technology!  

halo moon #2

Another painting gone.
'Halo Moon #2', above, is another painting from my series '13moons', from 2008. One more, left the nest! Gone to a good home.
It's all to the good to be able to move paintings on. Whether sold, or gifted, it's good to make the space. Artistically, creatively, as well as physically. 
I'm in the process of trying to get tickets to go see the exhibition of Ice Age Art at the British Museum. No luck so far; but we'll keep trying!

'Blue', my textile work, above, has been chosen to be part of an exhibition for the next Wakefield Artwalk, on Wednesday 29th May. It's going to be shown at the Theatre Royal, Wakefield. For the Artwalk I'll be helping out at Westgate Chapel, just down the road, with the exhibition there. 

sample #1

For my City & Guilds course I have to make 7 samples, of A3 size, and a completed piece. This is Sample #1.
It involves pole-wrapping/tie-dyeing; transfer dyeing; stitched embellishments. And at the bottom is a piece of rust-dyed silk, stitched on.
I used the collography plate I made at home, as a surface for transfer printing. 
I also made another collography plate using lace and netting, especially for this process. I've been ironing the transfers onto fabric, ready for use. It feels that the work I'm making for this section of the C&G is showing a development of my skills.  

MayDay

 

When I visited Bridlington last week, I bought this interesting little gizmo! It's a 'Witch Needle Threader'.

You put the needle into the funnel, and placing the thread across the notch at the base of the funnel, press the white lever on the right, and hey presto! the thread is pushed through the eye of the needle. It really is quite magical! 

Today, the MayDay Bank Holiday, has been glorious and sunny!
Traditionally British Bank holidays are wet, with miserable weather; but not this one! Here is how the sky looked from my garden....blue, blue, electric blue! I've been out in the garden with the cats; reading; stitching; listening to the radio; drinking; eating buns brought round by my neighbour Pippa, and her two sons! We all stood gazing into the pond at the tadpoles swimming about.
The studio door has been open, and I've been pottering about. It's been gorgeous. Just how I imagined having a home-studio would be. It's a lovely day! 

paula tod

In March, for the Artwalk, Paula Tod had an exhibition at Westgate Studios Project Space. Here are a couple of her paintings. 
She paints oils on canvas, with wonderful evocative images of landscapes. She and her husband are moving up to Eyemouth, near Berwick-on-Tweed. Where she'll have fabulous landscapes to inspire her! I'm looking forward to visiting her later in the summer.

At home, the garden is greening up; and the rhubarb started to come through, at last. Spring's late this year.

And, some sea holly, from my visit to Spurn Point last winter. I went to see Alice Fox's exhibition from her residency there.
Last week, I went to see the exhibition of the work at the 49 Gallery, at the Old Town in Bridlington. It was a lovely day; the exhibition worked very differently in a more domestic setting than the Lighthouse at Spurn Point. And the light is very different at this time of the year. We walked on the beach; paddled in the VERY cold North Sea, and experienced sun, hail, and snow, all in a matter of minutes!