DANGER “explosive atmosphere”!!!

I’ve been looking in my old “concept journal” from Minor Project at CCAD. These journals continue to provide ideas and research information so I’m actually heartbroken that the one I did for Major Project, with all my bear imagery, got lost by the college. ( If anyone sees it around the place PLEASE let me know ). These images are quick water colour sketches and heat transfer prints; I think I need to get a better camera though…

I had some more interest from a gallery today so I really do need to get some work ready to show them otherwise I will have missed the boat again. At the moment I’m waiting for new Gocco supplies and still struggling with the ink jet printer which is SO  frustrating as I needed to print out some cv’s and a job application form, grrr.

Bear Hugs

Doodling at silly o’clock at night last night; I still think bears not owls. And on a related subject, look at the sign I saw today in the field next to my parent’s house…I’ve never noticed it before and its actually hilarious in a bitter sweet way ( oh, and quite appropriate for Guy Fawkes Night too). I’m going to make some T-shirts…there’s inspiration all around us! x

(Reading: “The Winter Book” Tove Jansson)

“One For Sorrow” ?

A little bit of good news today as I got a call to say I’ve sold a piece of work at the Saltbox gallery!

The Magpie was a print and embroidery sample for Minor Project during my degree at CCAD and its sale has given me hope that my new policy of NOT saluting Mr Magpie every time I see a solitary one, is actually bringing me luck. On this basis I think I will turn all superstitions on their heads and make a point of walking under ladders, putting new shoes on the table eating late blackberries!

I’ve been messing about with my bear drawing, creating brushes and simple repeats. Now I need to test my printer to see if the nice man in Ink to Print has managed to unblock the magenta print head.

Tomorrow I will be in York, helping Lindsey Murray with her stand at the Guild Hall…an early start so wish me luck, I’m not so great at mornings!

Have a good weekend.Enjoy Halloween x

“The owls are not what they seem…”

I think Autumn might be my favorite season. The rusty colours, smell of musty leaves, damp earth and slight decay mixed with the smoke from the wood stove and seasonal bonfires.Even the food of the season is cozy comfort food in shades of orange and brown! ( Pumpkin soup, baked potatoes and toffee apples).

Yesterday was a murky,foggy day, darkness drawing in fast (” oh no not another of our trips out in the dark!” said the kids) but we went to Thorpe Perrow Arboretum and scuffled through the leaves, trying to catch the falling ones before they landed so we could make wishes ( I did, but its a secret what I wished for).Aren’t the white Rowan berries lovely?

I didn’t get any pictures but I fell in love with the huge Eagle Owls in the falconry center, with their giant teddy bear eyes….must draw more owls.

Back on the mountain during one of my coffee and inspiration sessions with Lindsey Murray, I decided to give up on Gocco for the time being and revert to my old favorite, heat transfer. The first print worked really well on a piece of dyed curtain fabric but I’m not so sure of the pink background below;and the second print is always a little paler.

Now I need to do a few household chores before I get ready for a rare tv night, watching “Natural World” at 8pm ( a documentary about…..BEARS, surprise surprise!).

Magic Beans?

Another Gocco disaster! Jake thinks the screens might be duds or maybe the bulbs, since the image was only partly burned onto the screen. I drew a much more bold design this time, thinking it would be more likely to work, but have ended up consigning another useless screen to the stove’s flames.My only hope now is to stock up on some new supplies and hope that solves the problem…any ideas anyone?

Well, today’s events at work mean I may be having to take my design and artwork a little more seriously which is not necessarily a bad thing. I’m pleased to say that last week I managed to complete a group of six designs for New Leaf and will be starting some new things tomorrow after a trip to town on the hunt for some fabric.There’s also the chance to take part in a few craft fairs in the run up to Christmas; so off I go to have a think about what to sell to make my fortune…what I need is a cow to swap for some magic beans.

“Meek Bears …Affable Wolves”

Messing about with my heat transfer paints today and brewing endless coffee on the stove.These two sad looking bears are quick doodles using left over heat transfer papers, I like the way you can keep layering and reusing the papers to get very subtle effects.

If I were fantastic at paper cutting, like Rob Ryan or someone, the effects could be amazing. Must invest in some new blades for my knife…

I just discovered the blog of Trend Bible who contacted me after my graduate show at New Designers (2008). In the end they didn’t use my work which is a shame because it looks like a really interesting publication; some great inspiration and research, and they’re based in the North East.

Well, its time to put another log on the fire and do a bit of stitching.

(Listening to : “The Imagined Village” Various Artists/Real World – a contemporary reworking of English Folk music, including a great version of Tam Lyn by Benjamin Zephaniah and Eliza Carthy)

Caffeine and Sugar

A wild party in the village to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday this weekend,so it was nice today to have a quiet time getting down to some work and recovering from the excesses.

My motivation was helped by Lindsey coming up armed with a huge box of jelly teeth (an odd concept…toothbrush shaped sweets…) and a drawing board.Lindsey also works at the Golden Lion and is another of Osmotherley’s artists,currently in her final year of CCAD’s Textiles and Surface Design Degree. So ,coffee and sugar fueled we worked and put the world to rights all day. It really is so much easier to work sometimes when you are not alone and distracted by everything ;so thanks Lindsey and Good Luck to all the CCAD 3rd years!

Now I must do a bit more sewing and then I need to start the last Haruki Murakami  book on my list ” The Elephant Vanishes”, it had better be good, I’ve been saving it because the next one isn’t due to be published in English until 2011( I suppose I could try to learn Japanese before then!)

Until next time – here is a sign that I should have taken more notice of! ;@)

Fragile

Well I spent ages drawing this flowery bear last night but initial Gocco experiments were a total failure. I’m not entirely sure why , which is annoying because one of the major drawbacks with Gocco is that many of the parts can only be used once…and they’re not cheap or easy to find.After I’d ordered it I found out about another system called EZscreen which I’m wishing I’d gone for instead…oh well, you live and learn.

I’m not at work tonight because I’m still battling the cold…but here are a couple of images that have cheered me up today…a big fat bumble bee, busy in the garden yesterday and a funny group of characters outside a deli in Cape Cod that came in an e-mail from my parents today.I wish I could just jump on a plane and fly out there tomorrow, it looks fun.

I’ve just found out that today (Oct 15th) is “blog action day for climate change”. I was reading Olive Bites and will now follow some of her suggestions for eco computer use by switching off ( after changing my homepage to Blackle ) and going to bed to read “Sputnik Sweetheart” by candlelight.

Summer Games

It must be a sign! The rainbow yesterday landed exactly on the name of my house, now…, where’s that crock of gold?!

Yesterday was Osmotherley’s annual decent into madness, “Summer Games”. Starting as a fun day out for all the family, it soon degenerates via the yard of ale, crash the crocks and welly tossing;although this year the inter-pub tug of war was banned due to health and safety fears (hmmm, the yard of ale is “safe” then?!) Anyway, I’m feeling a little fragile today (no I didn’t do the yard!) but managing to do a bit more to these small pieces which I’m planning to frame as a series of about 6.

It was so encouraging to have my work admired by so many people last week and  I’m beginning to realize that the pieces that get the most comments are those that have got “feeling” behind them.Out of adversity and all that…my bears are part of an ongoing story, made out of love rather than the intention of making money, so ultimately more satisfying I think…

The exhibition in York turned out to be really useful, with quite a few invitations to run workshops and give talks.So, even though I’ve been feeling a bit sad and nostalgic about the excitement and promise of this time last year, I guess so long as you keep trying the handles, new doors will always open.

Now tonight I must have an early night with a lovely Lush”Karma” bath and a new book to start.

(Listening to: “Owner of a Lonely Heart” dance version. Reading: “Amsterdam” Ian McEwan. )

“12 Hours of Sunset”

Looking west this evening, my phone pictures never do it justice , but the sky ranged from lead grey to vanilla (“I’ll see you in another life when we are both cats”) and gold . I spent ages watching a curlew, I love the sound they make- so mournful and yet it managed to wring a smile out of me.

Looking down from the new bridge at Blow Gill…the river has smoothed out the rock and it’s an almost stupidly beautiful place, if it weren’t for the nasty old ants that mean you can’t stay still for a moment.

So, today I’ve been printing out labels for the work that I will be taking to York next week and reading the Hand and Lock book I bought for inspiration (lovely book but unlike Ario, rubbish delivery times and maddly expensive p&p)Its time I got some fresh inspiration because my muse left today, flying away though those big grey clouds to Vancouver ( hopefully not using the compass above or he’ll end up in Australia- because some fool printed it backwards-I’ve just noticed!).

So…next time I write I promise I’ll be cheerful, this blog isn’t about to become an introspective misery memoir! Here’s wishing Gazz all the fun and adventures a boy could wish for and don’t forget to watch out for bears! x

4,708 Miles West

Today I got down on my knees in the vegetable patch and searched for signs of life… I found microscopic beetroots and tiny spinach seedlings. It’ll be a long time before a meal can be made from that crop! We had a lovely evening walk and came across a woodpecker’s nest full of screeching babies, some tiny pink flowers I’d never seen before (must look them up) and a gamekeeper who invited me to his wedding.

I’m enjoying just randomly doodling in my sketchbook at the moment. The green cow parsley and flowers are a heat transfer sketch for a t-shirt and the page also includes fabric collage and stitch as well as bits of a map of Canada.The bear is a quick sketch of brown bear from Berlin Zoo which I saw on TinyHappy earlier in the week. ( I’m not sure how I feel about zoos though, bears need to be free I think)

Time to head up the apples and pears now and read a bit more of “Atonement”.Don’t forget its CCAD’s degree shows (including Textiles and Surface Design at Hartlepool) next week; opening night is the 4th of June.