New beginnings

Ruby - mixed media collage 2007

Hello, hello! I'm back! Yes, back with a plan - of sorts ;) It's still very fluid and will probably be subject to lots of change as I go but, hey, the best plans should be flexible! As you can see, I've been doing a lot of procrastinating this week by focusing on updating the blog rather than plunging in the deep end workwise but it has helped me clarify what I'm wanting to do and where I'd like to go with my work and ideas. I've written up a little bit about that in my new 'about me' page, if you fancy a read but to summarise things, I'm going to move back into textile art again and spend more time developing my creative ideas with the ultimate goal of exhibiting and selling work. A big goal for this year but I'm happy just to make a start and see how things go.

This doesn't mean I will be abandoning knitting or crochet - not at all! I mean, who can resist lovely lace scarves and bird in hand mitten patterns?  In fact, that is another thing I'd like to work on this year - designing patterns. I'm going to start small - hats, bags etc - and then work up to some big mamas like lace wraps or shawls. Ambitious, I know! But it will take as long as it takes and as long as I am enjoying the journey then who knows where any of this creative journey will take me?

It's taken me a while to commit to this new path - or more an extention of the old one - and I know the hard bit of just starting is hovering at my shoulder so I'm thinking about something I saw today on Kit's blog Diva Quilts.  She's taking part in a quilt journal where although you don't have to commit to make something every day and you can work at your own pace,  you do have the incentive to upload your work to a flickr group. I like the idea of some kind of structure to work to and a journal type of project seems more manageable to me. I think I would have to commit to a minimum of work per month though or I'd just drift! But how much is manageable? Maybe this week I'll give it a try and see how I get on. Some work may be 'in progress' but thats sometimes more interesting :) It may help me blog more regularly too!

So new week, new year, new beginnings. Let's see how it goes, shall we?
 

Full of sugary goodness!

Alas, no time today to take photos of star berets so here are some yummy pictures guaranteed to make you hungry! It's been such a long time since I had a doughnut and I must admit the blogging part of me eyed these up, thought 'yummy' and then thought 'that would make a good photo on the blog'. A sad excuse to buy yummy doughnuts but I'm not complaining:)

These were not eaten today alas but a week or so ago and looking at them now makes me want to go shopping again. But the mind works in mysterious ways and I took these pictures with ideas in mind for collage. You may well be thinking pink icing to collage?! But bear with me. I haven't got it all sorted out yet but believe me it will make more sense as I go. Sweets and cake decoration are very similar to working with gesso, gel medium and paint. Most mixed media artists are decorators; layers of information collated together to create a whole, yummy conclusion.

So although I don't necessarily want to recreate the pink doughnut, I do appreciate how it asthetically works with its colour palette, texture and its overall appeal. It's no good creating artwork if its not appealing enough for someone to want to buy. It works right up to a close-up level. Still has a yumminess, don't you think? Yup, still want to eat one, now!

So this attention to decoration and detail has me looking at the most mundane or everyday objects/food. Mind you, there is something about cakes and pick & mix displayed in shops. Rows and rows of pattern and detail. Like cupcakes on a tray with individual decorations. Hmmm, there's an idea.

So watch out for cake inspired collage! Meanwhile, I'm sure I have a recipe for cupcakes somewhere.......

Experimental Flowers

Being in the process of producing a report on a printing and dyeing workshop I attended last summer, I realised I hadn't shared any photos at all. I was limited to 4 photos for the report so I cheated a little and used the flickr toy link to make a mosaic. So 20 pics for the price of one! ( it also looks quite smart and peps up the presentation!) But since I'm not quite so limited here, I can give you some larger images to see.

Bleach paste printed through photographic stencil

It was a really interesting workshop that concentrated on photostencils for devore and discharge printing (bleaching out colour) - something I hadn't done a lot of. My main interest was to see if I could introduce this to my students without overwhelming them!

Seed heads - discharge printing (bleach)

The techniques were fun and the devore visually works best with the japanese rose pattern. The shine and two tone colour of the velvet is just lovely.

Each design had to be worked out as a repeat pattern for the design to follow across the fabric and the double dyeing of the fabrics was fun and very enjoyable - instant colour! I had forgotten just how much I love playing with colour and dyeing makes it so instantaneous. You can't see it well in the photos but some are dip dyed and overdyed to get just the right colours. Can you tell I had fun?

Since I was meant to be updating skills for my students to use as a resource, I kept a mini sketchbook of the design and techniques processes as I went. I must admit I was so busy trying to get the huge amount of printing done that I did neglect it a bit and had to add things later...

Working out repeat pattern for lace flower photostencil

As a teaching resource it was an excellent course and now looking back at it, it has sparked lots of new ideas for my own personal development in creative textiles. Hopefully I will have the time to experiment on mixing print and mixed media collage and see what happens.

I'll keep you posted!

La Belle Helene

Hello, I'd like to introduce you to La Belle Helene - the place where I get to play with textiles and create lots of yummy things that I will hopefully sell on my up-and-coming website - http://www.labellehelene.co.uk/ . My intention is that this site becomes my online creative journal, exploring new ideas and techniques while encouraging me to become more structured in my making. But also giving me permission to play! So, here we go and thank you for joining me.