Walking on Thin Ice

There was thick ice on the car last night and wintery weather forecast; I want to grow my winter coat and sleep in a nest made of wool until spring.

” In a little woollen box..On the peg of a small cloud…

I’m writing this over a hasty cup of tea before going out to work. I just put some Christmas cakes in the oven so the kitchen smells lovely; only trouble is, they’re never going to be done before I have to leave… oh what bad planning.

I’m really disappointed that I’ll also be working tomorrow so I’m going to miss out on the Designer’s Marketplace. I have to take next Sunday off instead, for the Osmotherley Extravaganza where I’ll be taking all the cards and other bits and pieces that I’ve been making.I’m having a “Craft Fair” phobia at the moment though after wandering round the bleak affair at Helmsley today …good grief.

I cleaned the windows so that the winter sun would make rainbows on the walls, shining through the hanging crystals, like Pollyanna playing the “glad game”!

Well,time to head down the hill to work… x

Kitchen Confidential

Here is the corner of my kitchen with pin-board and wine crate bookshelf. Sometimes it feels as though my whole world has shrunk to just this room and the ever changing view from the window…today mostly obscured by misty condensation. This time last year it was getting ready to snow but hopefully this year it’ll wait awhile…at least till I sort out why the car is rattling and find some hay for the ponies!

Today I have been catching up with Lyndsay McBean and wondering yet again if we’ve all been heading in the right direction. College now seems SO long ago.Lyndsay has been working on her online portfolio at Carbonmade so lets hope lots of job offers come flooding in :@); I particularly like her nightclub promotion posters…

The Zillah Bell Gallery e-mailed me yesterday because they had been sent a piece of my work by Les Prince. A nice surprise and beyond the call of duty ( he really is a remarkable man). So anyway, I think its going to be in their Christmas exhibition which opens with a private view tomorrow night. I also finally got around to contacting a few other galleries ; so I’m kind of hoping that in the new year things may start to look a bit brighter.

Well, the stove is almost out and the last dregs of coffee have turned to syrup in the pan so I’d better head up the apples and pears to bed. I finished reading “About a Boy” by Nick Hornby this morning ,which means I’m heading back to the magical world of Tove Jansson and “The True Deceiver” . Then what? Any ideas?

“Wild is the Wind”

Wild and windy up on Witchmountain today… I just looked out and saw some kind of hawk ( Sparrow Hawk?) balancing in the air outside my window…so beautiful and amazing to see it holding itself so steady when even the big Oak is struggling against the wind .

I’m still slowly gathering a few things together to try and make some pennies. This purse is another early “zip  experiment” involving a vintage tablecloth, some print and stitch.Its a bit wonky but of course this is part of the CHARM of “handmade stuff”…thats what I’m saying anyway!

My lovely stickers came from Moo. We are all raving about this company with its friendly and quirky style; everything from the packaging to the e-mail confirming your order just makes you smile. I have no plans for my stickers yet , I’m just a sucker for stationary !

So, upcoming events…Lindsey is at Worsall Village Hall on Friday night with her stall and on December 6th we are at Osmotherley “Christmas Extravaganza” along with Jane Thorniley-Walker and Heidi Turner. Don’t forget the Designers Marketplace in Middlesbrough Town Hall on The 29th. I’ve done NOTHING about Christmas yet which is terrible ,so hopefully I’ll be able to get lots of lovely things from there.

Time to get the stove going now… x

 

“A Heart Needs a Home”

I can’t believe its the weekend again already…does time speed up as you get older? Even the children have noticed it!  Anyway, time to take stock , work out what I’ve actually achieved and the plan of attack for next week …

At least I got those pieces to the framer yesterday, and on the way back picked up a cheque for the one I sold at the Saltbox ( goodness knows I need the money but I almost want to frame it just to prove I actually sold something in a gallery!!).

These two drawings are things I did for the Gocco printer and although I haven’t tried to print it yet, I have burned the screen for the bear one and it seems to have worked perfectly…I think we’ve cracked it! Such a shame that Gocco supplies aren’t easily available and affordable.

I found out last night , while browsing about the internet, that the artist Rob Ryan has an exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, until early next year. I’ve never been there ( hey, Yorkshire is a BIG county and Witchmountain is in the North Riding) but may have to plan a trip ,as having visited his shop in Columbia Road (and seen some amazing paper dresses in Vogue a few years back), I’m a bit of a fan.

Home IS where the heart is….and a heart needs a home. x

( Reading: “About a Boy” Nick Hornby and “The True Deceiver” Tove Jansson. Listening to: ” Earth to the Dandy Warhols ” Dandy Warhols )

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

I bet the suspense was killing you…did the big red hen lay me an egg? Well, yes she did and very cross she was too when I tipped her out again to retrieve it. I haven’t made a cake though, I’ll have to wait till Friday when I should have three!

Tonight I’ve been finishing off these pieces because tomorrow I’m going with Jane  to see Les Prince, the  framer, who will probably curse us,as he’s the busiest (and best) framer in the North.

I’m wondering if my obsession with bears will ever end. Last night I Googled “Bear Art” and found some really lovely images, many of them illustrating a Norweigian fairy tale called “East of the Sun, West of the Moon”. Ok, I’m a hopeless romantic but I just love these Northern myths of trolls casting spells on people and turning them in to bears ; until love breaks the spell and sets them free.(Sometimes bears can be trolls in disguise though!!)

The wind’s getting up again and the plumber failed to mend the heating so I’m off to bed, to hibernate and lose myself in a bit more Tove Jansson. x

Something Wicked In The Woodshed…

Today I ventured out into the garden, its pretty overgrown, I’ve been neglecting things I’m afraid. The shed was dark and gloomy and in the corner in an old lawn mower grass box I discovered someone hiding… no, not this bear…my neighbour’s big red hen. She’d obviously been there some time because when I tipped her out ,about 20 eggs fell out too! I wasn’t going to risk eating them (we once found a big hen sitting on about 40 GREEN eggs ,down the side of the oil tank!! eugh!) but tomorrow I’ll have a look to see if there’s a fresh one to make a cake.

The cards I ordered from Moo arrived this morning and I’m really pleased with the quality and super fast service.I’ve got quite a stock of cards now, including the Gocco owls, which are all hand coloured and over printed with heat transfer and collage.

Right now I’m doing some pen and ink drawings for the Gocco ( fingers crossed they work….) and trying to make up for the lack of heating by baking bread and pies like a slightly flawed domestic goddess!

Thanks for reading. x

Bleak House

Driving in the dark; the black road is edged in orange and russet as the larch needles fall like snow.Its wild and windy and a catalogue of small disasters has made it a bit bleak up here on Witchmountain ( the heating has stopped working, the washing has blown away and Jake accidentally knocked over a bottle of water in my room so that it has actually been raining on me ,INDOORS, smudging my drawing and almost killing my poor old computer!!)I can’t stop eating toast either, I’m going to end up big as a house.

Apart from all that, my new Gocco stuff came the other day ,so tomorrow I’m going to have another go with a new design and some fabric inks…as well as continuing to play with the old heat transfer dyes. This bird is a little doodle I’m going to try out tomorrow as well…that’s if I can brave the freezing house and don’t get tempted to stay snuggled up with Tove Jannson. I’m watching for the postman too because my Moo cards should be arriving soon….

( Reading “Who Will Comfort Toffle?” Tove Jansson. Listening to: the wind)

Snow Bear

Today I have: – made bread, cleaned the leaves out of the drains, designed and ordered cards and stickers from Moo, done a mass of washing and eaten almost a whole packet of Oreos. I decided to use this image for my cards as it’s one of my favorite pieces and I miss it since the Golden Lion bought it for their guest room.I know you’ve seen it before but its so dark today I couldn’t take any pictures.

I found a lot of hoof prints near the car when I ventured into the ” lost world” behind the house to investigate the drains. There must have been some sort of stampede this morning while I was snoozing;I’d been reading “The Summer Book” by Tove Jansson and was therefore miles away in a different nettle patch altogether.

Lindsey and I made cards and drank whiskey coffee all night, oh and great news… Sara came home from college with a new printer and an ipod which she had won! She got second prize in a mural competition for BT , hurray!! I’ve never won a thing in my life ( except a tray of meat at pony club when I’d just turned vegetarian!!).

Well Done Sara, have a great weekend everyone.x

 

Little Pearls

Last night I nearly ran into an owl sitting in the middle of the road in the thick fog…he was lovely, with giant eyes and he didn’t move but just gave me a look as if to say “please dim your lights I’m very busy hunting for my supper”. November is grey, green and rusty brown; everything seems to be covered in spider’s webs and little pearls.

My Gocco owl prints needed jazzing up a bit so I added a bit of heat transfer,water colour and random bits of collage.Maybe I’ll be able to sell a few at the Christmas Extravaganza in Osmotherley Village Hall on December 6th if Lindsey will let me share her stand.

Since I last wrote I’ve been having another look at Holly Flanagan’s blog and  Facebook group, discovering her fantastic success since leaving CCAD. She’s designing for Hugo Boss and meeting all sorts of famous artists and designers so HURRAY for a Textiles and Surface Design success story!! I think she might be at the next Designers Marketplace in Middlesbrough so grab a bargain before she gets too famous!

( Reading: last weeks Guardian!   Listening to: Dandy Warhols )

 

Fly Me To The Moon

Today was the first day of ice and mild panic about Christmas…there were also ants in the kitchen and sheep in the garden.

I had a first attempt at making a lined purse with a zip and it kind of worked so hopefully I’ll be able to make a few to take to a couple of craft fairs and re-stock my Etsy shop which is looking a bit empty. I want to do a simple print and a tiny bit of embroidery on them , then I’ll have to set up a production line on the kitchen table. This one has some machine embroidery doodles I did ages ago and was just a quick experiment to see how long it took .

Now I have to go and get some sleep , its been a long weekend…but here is an image by the artist Peter Callesen , whose cut paper work is AMAZING. I loved this piece called “Alive, But Dead”. I struggle to cut out a simple stencil without chopping off the wrong bit but some of Callesen’s  work involves the cut out part becoming a three dimensional object such as these flowers or an angel in a cage; take a look at his website, I’m adding him to my wish list for when I get rich and can actually afford ART !!