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 )

 

” Why must she see owls and not flowers?…”

Heavy rain and multi-coloured carpets of fallen leaves and berries; the water at my house is undrinkable again, resembling watered down beer. On Sunday night I stood in the garden and watched the almost full moon racing through the clouds at a dizzying speed; concentrating hard to see the real picture…the moon moves slowly like an hour hand, while the clouds fly at break neck speed, and I stay still.

Anyway, enough ramblings, I’m writing to report my first Gocco success!! Annoyingly the design was a bit rushed and I’m kicking myself for not taking more care but it seems to be that you have to draw on the shiny side of the paper (thats the only thing I did differently).Unfortunately this is like drawing on waxed paper with a felt pen…there must be another way?

Here is a picture of Lindsey Murray, manning her stall at the Guild Hall last Saturday.We had a funny day, the event was a strange mixture of craft, bric-a-brack and knock off handbags (!) but was a learning curve. I think we learned that it is important to pitch your product to the right market so I’m hoping to work towards getting a stand at the next Designers Marketplace.

Now I’m going to have a look at my new book “Illustration Play -Craving For The Extraodinary” Viction:ary 2003, which just arrived today and is full of inspiring images of contemporary illustration such as collage, embroidery and amazing 3d paper cutting.Time for another log on the stove, there’s a chill in the air.

x

Leaves and Berries

Here are some lovely Rowan berries to get into the Autumnal spirit. The Rowan or Mountain Ash is also known as the Witch or “Wicken Tree” and is supposed to bring good luck if one takes root in your garden. One hasn’t taken root in my garden yet which could explain the lack of people hammering at my door offering me work!

At this time of year the berries look almost luminous on gloomy days and today is certainly one of those. It is cozy though to get the stove going and curl up with my latest bit of design work (some more heat transfer prints on fleece). I also got a chance to follow Lyndsay’s instructions and learn how to put a © watermark on to my images-thanks Lyndsay!

Yesterday I got an e-mail from Helen Stevens at Cleveland College of Art and Design,telling me about an event she is organizing at Middlesbrough Town Hall. It sounds great and I’m hoping to be able to get some stuff together for a stall.Apparently there are still stalls available so anyone who’s interested should take a look at the website, www.designersmarketplace.org.uk. Should be worth a visit anyway and as I’ve said before its about time Middlesbrough made the most of its creative talent.