The ACME Experiments Part 1.

Life has returned to “normal” today with everyone back at college and daytime solitude restored. Getting up in the dark was a shock to the system, it seems to have been the longest Christmas holiday ever, I’ve lost track of time, days of the week and all pretense of routine! Now it is time to snap out of it though and get things whipped in to shape. I visited two friends today who both inspired me in their own ways; one with tales of adventure and yoga retreats in India and the other with a box of leather off-cuts. I’ve mentioned Angela James before but today I visited her new studio in the village and came away with a box of jewel coloured off-cuts and serious studio envy!

Meanwhile, in the magnificent Witchmountain Studio I have been getting to grips with my new ACME mangle which is supported by a red wooden “A” frame that looks like it’s been pinched from a coconut shy in a fairground. Angie’s space is like a set from an interiors magazine shoot while my kitchen now resembles a pre-war hovel; casual visitors assuming I have no electricity to run a kettle or washing machine! Anyway, it works and it’s fun. Carving the designs into the lino satisfies any destructive urges I may have gained over the holidays and I’m sure it’s good for the little grey cells ( working out which bits to remove and which to keep and all in reverse).

I need to keep experimenting with the amount of ink/pressure of the rollers and type of paper but so far I’m quite pleased with the results.

Maybe one day , if I try hard enough I can produce something as beautiful as these …

Clockwise from top left :- Kay Nielsen , Angie Lewin,Kay Neilsen, Angie Lewin, Amanda Colville, Amanda Colville,Angie Lewin.

 

Now I really must say bye for now; I’ve been without a computer for a week after I melted the power cable ( and a mouse- a real one, but we won’t go in to that…) so I have places to visit before I switch off and return to my mangle.

Oh, I also need to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been leaving lovely comments here, subscribing to the blog and following on Facebook and Twitter; you are all very much appreciated.

“Who Knows Where The Time Goes?”

Ahhhh! Look at this picture my brother sent me last week.It must have been taken in about 1972, judging by the collar on my dad’s shirt, his hair and me being about 4 or 5! How time flies, and I’m not sure my painting skills have improved all that much!

I’ve been adding a few more things to my Etsy shop and have entered some of them in tomorrows “Childrens” showcase; just to see if it makes any difference. The detail above is from a T-shirt with printed silk appliqué and embroidery.I had to test that it was washable because one of my fears is that everything I make may fall to bits as soon as I’ve sold it! ( It didn’t and they won’t so don’t worry)

Highlights of the weekend included the play “Busybody” which was very funny and starred the multi-talented Angela James. I also had a lovely afternoon of tea and Twix’s with Tom Hutchinson who showed me some Illustrator tricks and talked about life after graduation.He’s just set up a new website so take a look.

I still love this heat transfer on wool technique , I’m definately going to have to make some more of those little baby shoes using this fabric.

Now I must set my mind to doing a few more designs for New Leaf as I seem to have gone off on a tangent the last week or so.

Alban Elued

Happy Autumn Equinox! ” The Earths Cycle of Celebration” by Glennie Kindred suggests this is a time to “connect to your inner pathways,rest, re-charge, slip out of time ,dream awhile” This seems like a good idea so I’ve lit the fire and I’m sitting with a big mug of coffee, a stack of biscuits and some half done embroidery. Actually, rest is the last thing I’ll be getting as I need to finish another six design samples by Wednesday, in time to catch the post, and I’ve had to take on a few shifts at the pub due to extreme credit crunch!

So today’s offerings include a sketchbook page and a product board from my Lonely Hearts project.Lately I’ve been digging into these old college sketchbooks for new inspiration and feeling quite jealous of friends who are still at college and just setting out on new projects and shiny new sketchbooks!

Now I’d better get on with some work so I’ll leave you with these beautiful images of the work of Heidi Turner. Heidi is another of Osmotherley’s creative stars along with Jane Thorniley-Walker,Angela James and Lynne Hugil. She won the Hand and Lock prize in 2006 and is now working on commissions and teaching as well as being a constant source of support and inspiration.

Designer Bookbinders

Here is just a quick post to say that there is a small piece in this month’s “Crafts” magazine about our local bookbinding star Angela James (see archive ” A Walk In The Woods” May’08 ). Along with 30 other members of the Designer Bookbinders group Angela was invited to design a cover for an exhibition celebrating the work of Welsh landscape artist Kyffin Williams. Her work will be on show at Contemporary Applied Arts this August and has inspired me to take a look at Kyffin’s painting which I am not familiar with.

Also today I have spent money I don’t have on paint so that I can try and do some designs on paper. I’m also looking into getting some lessons on Adobe Illustrator which seems to be what people “in the industry” want.

A Walk in the Woods

I’ve just got back from a lovely evening at the opening of Jane Thorniley-Walker’s exhibition at Mount Grace Priory where the paintings competed sucessfully with the amazing surroundings.
We walked down from the village through the woods which were full of Bluebells, Forget-Me-Nots and my favorite wild garlic flowers. No bears to be seen but there was a family of mice which hopefully didn’t all get eaten by the owl that was hooting on the way back…
Later, Becky let us have a go with the “Bat Detector” which means you can hear the bats as they flutter about overhead.I got talking to a friend from the village who told me about her upcoming exhibition with the Designer Bookbinders in London.Angie studied Textiles but has since become a well respected bookbinder and has published books on the subject which I hadn’t realised ( Angela James “The Handmade Book” New Holland Books) Not for the first time I felt so lucky to live in this place which is not only beautiful but full of wonderful creative and inspirational people.

Meanwhile, Two days left to tidy up sketch books and finish sewing and putting things together. The dress above is a final piece,discharge printed wool serge, applique and embroidery with chiffon layer. The book cover is by Angela James.
Wish me luck!