Journal Quilt Catch-Up

Finally catching up on CQ Journal quilts! I've actually got quite a few in various stages of completion- the decision was about what to finish off. I decided in the end on those that most linked to what I was up to in the relevant months - like looking at sketchbooks it brings back memories when you look at them again September was Moss Month - both a moss identification course at Flatford Mill and joining the British Bryological Society and participating in their annual conference and field meeting. This was held at Wakehurst Place with special permission to enterTilgate Wood with its' wonderful exposed tree roots and 'lower plant' assemblages on the sandstone rocks.

I wanted to test out some new fabric sheets from Craftycomputerpaper - they worked a treat with high density of colour. I also had some offcuts of mosses printed out on fabric from a much earlier project which I added for a change of scale. I also tried out 2 new threads for the quilting : Madeira 'polyneon' in neon pink and Madeira FS metallic no 20 in Emerald colour.

Octobers JQ was based on enjoying my drawing evening classes, getting to grips again with pencil and ink. On a gessoed section of old Durham Quilt , I drew some honesty seed pods directly in ink and Inktense pencils.
In November, visits to Kew revealed the wonderful textured doors of Queen Charlotte's Cottage in the Conservation Area ( best visited at bluebell time but the autumn leaves were pretty good).
On a sheet of fabric treated with 'Golden Digital Ground' I printed a photo of the old oak door(un manipulated in Photoshop) then stitched it with Madeira FS Metallic no 20 in gold/bronze. It really shimmers! Just goes to show that crumbly door subject matter can be found nearer to home than Greece!
I'm still deciding what to do for Decembers JQ - probably a door again so I can hang 4 pieces together for exhibition. I'm sure I'll find lots of inspiration in Tunisia over Xmas but as we don't get back until 29th that might be cutting it rather fine - just have to anticipate.

After a days interviewing for next years sandwich student I was too late ( and too tired) for my evening class so went instead to preview of 'Craft in Focus' in Richmond. There were so many things I coveted but settled on another sculptural scarf from Tammy Childs - this time in red (Christmassy treat!) . So nice to talk to maker in person - she doesn't have an industrial overlocker/sewing machine but her machine mechanic probably wished she did!

Digital Firework Effects

It started off with trying to take night shots of Brentford from Kew Bridge on my way home from work(below) But the screen kept showing the shaky hand symbol and the picture was blurred so I thought- what if I deliberately shake the camera during image capture. Result- fireworks!!

I promise, no editing in Photoshop, just dodgy digital photography!

Thames Valley CQ Group Meeting

Another splendid Thames Valley CQ meeting organised by Sandy. Linda Seward talked to us about publishing ( I knew she'd written some books but so many.....!! ) After a quick lunch we had a tour around South Hill Park. Being among creative folks, we found inspiration everywhere -the views of trees outside from the printing studio( above).

The tools in the jewellery studio

A scratched light box in the printing studio

The contrast of metal and wood on the 'acrobat ' sculpture

I couldn't resist giving a test run of my sketching gear for Tunisia with my home-made watercolour sketchbook and in discussions over tea,received lots of advice from people who'd done bookbinding courses on how I might achieve what I want. And that was besides all the textile related stuff! This group is such a find.

In the style of Rothko

Best evening class yet- a lesson in use of colour and easy abstraction , sort of Rothko-esque meets MondrianWe started off with a sheet of newspaper (Evening Standard in this case) and then placed a piece of tracing paper over it and drew round some of the blocks of text, banners or pictures. Not the same bit of newspaper shown here but you get the picture. Then we transferred the traced image onto watercolour paper by scribbling with pencil on the back of the shapes of the tracing paper and then tracing over the shapes again from the front - I can't think how many years it it since I did that!
Meanwhile using acrylics in primary colours we painted over the newspaper page itself. I rather like how the text and ghosts of images show through the paint ( some people who had the sudoko or crossword pages had some interesting results) Then picking out the areas liked/disliked and using in my case a more restricted colour palette, painted on the watercolour paper with the transfered shapes, thinking about layers and quality of paint and brushstrokes The results were so varied - some people had picked out tiny little squares (and were then cursing at the amount of tracing involved!) , some had concentrated on large blocks but all were based on the newspaper layouts . It was a great way to produce abstraction fairly painlessly and in a restricted time frame . Worth further exploration.
We have a break next week as our tutor has been nominated for a teaching award but then we have 2 weeks to work on our own project - what to choose?!!

Collage - Art Every Day Month

I was looking for a photo montage programme to show what I've been working on so far for Art Every Day Month and look what I found!
I think I could have a lot more fun with Shape Collage - does it count as art?

Sewing Circles

Saturday we had an outing up to town to see Moctezuma exhibition at the British Museum ( and for me to stock up on some art materials at Cornelissons) As we came out of Tottenham Court Road tube station, the rain was horizontal and we decided to dry out first over lunch at Savoir Faire. ( our favourite place to eat in Central London). Having visited museums in Mexico City , the exhibition didn't interest me so much as it did Ian. More to my taste is a printing course associated with the poster exhibit' Revolution in Paper'
Sunday was spent catching up with my backlog of Journal Quilts, starting off with the current challenge for BQL - Drunkards path based on circles. I've enjoyed acquiring new skills ( and revising old ones) through these monthly challenges - this month I had a go for the first time with invisible thread and the applique foot on my sewing machine ( tho' I gave up on invisible thread and went for the 'rustic' look' )

Someone had given a link to this method of making circles by wrapping fabric and template in foil and pressing with iron- magic!

Drunkards Path A
Drunkards Path B

I spend an absorbing half hour trying out different layouts of 'Drunkards Path' - which do you prefer, A or B?

Leaves like Georgia O'Keefe

Another interesting session at my drawing evening class. We'd been asked to bring leaves in and I'd collected loads at Kew but not as many as the tutor-the tables were smothered with them, quite a sight. After a brief exercise in using complimentary colours for shading, we had about an hour to choose some leaves, look at the colour and paint them in either watercolour or acrylic. While we could have observed just one leaf in detail, she encouraged us to do a layered leaf study in the style of Georgia O'Keefe whose work she had some images of. I wasn't so familiar with these as the close-ups of flowers and desert imagery and eagerly took up the challenge. I liked that it was moving away from botanical accuracy into abstraction. More of that next week - we'll be doing Rothko-esque colour fields but with newspapers and acrylics. Can't wait!
Great Quote from O'Keefe: "I hate flowers - I paint them because they're cheaper than models and they don't move".