mosaic monday - contemplation

1. Untitled, 2. 103, 3. universe_speaks, 4. monday, 5. ^, 6. Together1, 7. Scrappy card, 8. muse1, 9. Untitled, 10. new Brenda paintings-2, 11. untitled (auspicious coincidence), 12. dusk whisper

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

A Happy Monday to you - yes mosaic Monday has had its little holiday and is back. In the next few weeks I shall be sharing themed mosaics. This week I have considered - contemplation. An eclectic way in. You are invited to sit quietly for a moment and follow the links to discover more about each artist. Many thanks to my flickr contacts.

When putting this mosaic together I thought of a phrase I often use: 'consider the lily' - not because there are lilies here... the phrase is one I write at the top of a page/screen when starting poetry notes. It is my way in. I write 'consider the lily' and it's my ice-breaker, a way of hoping that I can find a thoughtfulness.... I don't think the phrase has ever stayed or appeared in any of my poems. It's a tool. Consider the lily - contemplate a beauty.

Many thanks to everyone who has visited my shop recently. My next update will be in mid-September - date will be confirmed nearer the time.

I've got small dye experiments in jars on my windowsill, been catching up with gardening, reading, and would like to have a very good book sort-out. It's time too to re-arrange art on our walls. If I can find time for anything else, I would like to share more poems and notes over at nevering. Have a very good week ahead x

how well you know me already

 
how well you know me already
mixed media collage
that red is pale cadmium red....it's a certain lovely shade that seems to work well on yellowed papers

My shop update has happened, you are welcome to take look.

 Oh and just a note to say that this coming Monday is a bank holiday in the UK, so any packages will be sent out on Tuesday - thanks for your understanding.

Have a good weekend

character studies, portraits in stitch

visionary - a character study in embroidery.... a new work, intricate with a touch of gold.... I am particularly happy with her expression. The face is so important to me. If I start a new figure and the face does not 'speak' to me I have to abandon and begin again - that's just the way it is. The many faces of her are quite special, I hope you think.
china blue - also a character study, slightly smaller yet very detailed with her blue and white.... inspired by a classic blue and white you might find on tea cups, or delicate fabrics....but with my own way of telling the story, here the flowers have faces....

( these two new embroidery works for my shop update tomorrow.....)

faces

 



 

a new selection of portraits in black and white.... nostalgic dreamers all.....

(for my update on Friday)

new work

the way of the mirror 


 a new mixed media collage - I'm revisiting past ideas here, with an improvised figure, loose threads etc... But these colours and the combination of - well they are a little different to my work of a few years ago. Then I used mostly vintage fabrics. here I've worked with all hand dyed plant dyed fabrics. The figure is framed by yellowed papers from old books.

This is a new work for my shop update on Friday. I've been paintings some new gouache portraits today and hope to share them perhaps tomorrow.

another mystery

another mystery- mixed media collage

I've been rather quietly busy, busy quietly working on..... It has been a very warm past few days here. I'm noticing threads not just on my work table - spider threads, and fine seed head threads, and threads of shadows....

My next shop update will be next Friday, and I shall be sharing a wide range of new artworks. There are new autumn shades to see, as in the work above.

You may also be interested in a new ongoing series of black and white gouache drawings I am making - the series is called 'tears on your map' and it explores land with abstract mark making, shapes of home and houses, spills in the sky and puzzles of layers.... These are improvised works that allow me to think about marks and composition, exercise my interest in black and white.... See the series (and other gouache works) here

work in progress and sketchbook

work in progress - the reverse side - held to the light.... see the light coming through were the stitching needle has punched tiny holes.... makes for an intriguing image.... still more to do, this larger work is about halfway complete... 


 
sketchbook pages - no.133 in my ongoing sepia series

Monday

tiny fruit - self-seeded strawberry..... (mosaic Monday is on its hols)

The tiny fruit taste like strawberry sweeties, a concentrated flavour.  The plants self-seeded and because of this are very happy in their spot. It was nice to discover the fruit still intact as so much of everything has been nibbled this summer - rain and molluscs! The strawberry has often been used symbolically in art and needlework, suggesting abundance, fertility and innocence - the white flowers becoming scarlet fruit. Little bright strawberries in illuminated manuscripts really do lend a cheerful grace.

*

So - hello to the middle of August already. This week I hope to catch up with my sepia photography series and also share some work-in-progress. I've several days of busy stitching and planning, sketching and stitching ahead and am looking forward to it.

My next shop update will be next week, Friday 24th August. It will be another special one with new stitch, yesterdays dolls (I've been keeping them quiet but will show you before then), and more.

Have a very good week ahead.

portraits on brown paper

42 & 41 in my 100 portraits on brown paper series...... thanks for taking a look this week.

Have a good weekend and more soon.

  

100 portraits on brown paper

no. 40

brown paper series - tuesday

untitled (no. 38 in brown paper series)


 

untitled (39)

Monday - brown paper sketches

we shall grow wings together

(mosaic monday is on holiday)

this week I thought I would share here a new series of gouache drawings/sketches on brown paper. I'm working on many to see what may be seen.... (And a new postcard print set may be in the works.)

I love the warmth of brown paper and the way gouache paint works on this surface. Yes the paper buckles slightly, but I like the overall feel and use brown paper a lot for sketching ideas and improvising. I haven't given up on my '100 brown paper portraits' and am adding these new ones to the collection.

have a good Monday

shop updated

travelling along we go

just to say I have now updated my shop with new new new

The piece above is rather special to me, as I had the sketch idea for it in my sketchbook for a while now - and kept persuading myself not to attempt something 'tricky like that'. Sometimes the 'whatever' attitude lets me have a go at it anyway.

Thanks for bearing with me this week as I showed you so many stitches! Hope you enjoyed seeing. Just a note to say that the next embroidery artwork update will be in about three weeks. Between times I will of course have other things in the works and look forward to sharing.

Have a good Friday and weekend x

new work IV

Nanna - a smaller embroidery artwork.

I have decided this one is another piece to not have a backing - I like the reverse image, the mystery of it. The pale yellow background really sings. I don't often give my pieces name-names, but this figure told me her name was Nanna and she seems to know best:)

Just sharing this one today. Tomorrow is my shop update and I hope you have enjoyed seeing the previews this week. Thanks for all your encouraging comments, it's good to hear from you.
Embroidery artworks that have not been seen just yet will be in the shop too. This is a special update sharing work I have created over the past several weeks. I'm happily convinced that I really do not have ultimate control over who or what I stitch - and go with the flow nowadays. That is the main reason why I cannot undertake exact commissions and I do not repeat designs exactly.

Now for a complete change of stitch - I'm going to spend some time this evening making doll clothes for my niece.

new work III

 Everlasting - a larger embroidery artwork

Today I'm showing here a highly detailed, larger piece. 'Everlasting' started as various ideas in my sketchbook. I knew I wanted to add copper with colour, but in an understated enough way that would please my stitched figures. They know how they like to appear. Here you can see many dreaming characters, with a central character wearing an elaborate gown in orange - many tiny faces looking out. Often I stitch female figures holding a child or doll, but here I decided upon a figure with a little doll motif about her neckline. The copper stitch work catches the light just so. There are many stories to discover here. Perhaps my favourite character is the copper lady to the left, holding a long ladder. She is to me both mystic and slightly comical, and I like that in the figures that find themselves in amongst my stitches.

 

 Everlasting - the reverse or alternate view - with this work I have decided not to add a backing but to keep the other side. I especially like the figure with the white legs and striped skirt. The copper really glisters against the black felt. It's interesting to see the shapes in this abstract way.

And below a detail view. This larger work will be in my shop update which is on Friday. I'm not previewing everything here - so there will be surprises ahead too. But I will be back tomorrow with more to share.