Finding Inspiration

Finding what you like

2011-08-21T04:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it can take a while to realise what it is about a style that really gets your enthusiasm. I've realised that over the top decoration is not for me but a judicious use of materials and embellishment is my preference. Here are some of the things that caught my eye on a recent trip out.

A sunny day at Blickling Hall

2011-08-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

Just a peaceful stroll in the gardens at Blickling Hall, Norfolk

The Silk Route

2011-05-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

You can see my handpainted silks at the Hobart Gallery, Blickling Hall, Aylsham, Norfolk from May 25th to June 5th every day from 10.30 am to 5 pm. I will be exhibiting with other members of the Norfolk Craft Guild so you will be able to see crafts in ceramics, marquetry, hand smocking, knitwear, raffia hats and bags, jewellery, wood turning and wooden toy making, fused glass, embroidered textiles, linocut prints, cross stitched pictures, beadwork, bronze resin sculptures and hand made cards. Something for everybody!

Sheena's scarf

2011-05-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

I can put the progress pics on the blog now that Sheena has received her scarf from Sarah!

The warp tied and spaced.

Beginning the weave with the weft yarn of alpaca and cotton.

Adding the inlay yarn, a hand dyed pure wool.

The inlay yarn was added along the length at random intervals.

The finished scarf off the loom.

Work in progress

2011-04-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

Still playing about with different yarns, I chose a plain tweed for the warp and variegated pure wool for the weft with hand dyed pure wool used for the inlays. I decided to space the warp threads but in the finished piece the definition was lost in the variegated yarn. The second pic shows the finished scarf.

It's amazing what you find!

2011-02-26T10:31:00.000-08:00

Last year I visited the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace, London. Before we even got inside I thought that the Rose window looked a good source of inspiration so I took a pic. Once inside it still looked amazing! The show had loads to look at but one yarn that caught my eye was from the House of Hemp. I didn't buy any on the day but sent for some by mail order.

I decided to use it for a weaving project and wanted to do a check design so I warped the loom using the three colours.

Here's the finished result!

I like the colours together but wasn't happy with the edges of the weaving, not tidy enough for me. I might have to cut it up and use it for another project!

Looming ahead

2011-02-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

Decided to warp up the loom and get weaving! I'm using a 2 shaft rigid heddle loom and sampling with various yarns before deciding on a project.

Norfolk Craft Guild

2010-10-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

We have now completed our second week of our autumn exhibition at the Loft Gallery, Blickling Hall, Aylsham, Norfolk, only one more week to go. We have had lots of interested visitors and lots of lovely comments about the work on display. I thought that I'd share some of the photos that I took of the displays, so here they are. If you haven't been yet it's well worth the visit!

Festival of Quilts 2010

2010-08-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

I have just spent a wonderful Sunday at the NEC in Birmingham at the Festival of Quilts. This is the major quilt event in Europe and has an international flavour. Lots to see, lots to buy, enthusiastic demonstrators and fantastic workmanship in the quilts on display made it thoroughly enjoyable, even to a non-quilter like me! The following pics are just a few that caught my eye as we were walking around, so feast your eyes!

Blakeney Craft Guild

2010-07-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Every year in July I take part in the month long exhibition at Blakeney on the north norfolk coast. There is a lovely mix of crafts from textiles through to pottery, wood, metal and glass. The exhibition is staged by the committee so that all crafts are mixed together which makes you see something different every time you walk round the two rooms. We have visitors that come back year after year and many are already buying their christmas presents! There is usually a demonstration taking place, I always demonstrate my silk painting when I am on stewarding duty. I have included a few pics taken on one of the days that I was there, you can see that the weather was glorious which makes eating lunch outside a real treat.

Pass the salt please!

2010-07-03T03:21:00.000-07:00

One technique that I have always used from the word go is the application of salt to move the paint around the silk to create patterning. You can use any type of salt, the following pics show the results using coarse sea salt. Finer table salt will give less dramatic patterning but will be equally unique. After applying paint the salt must be placed while the paint is still wet but not flooding. You then leave the whole frame to dry naturally making sure that the frame is not disturbed. When dry brush off the salt, fix the silk and then wash to remove all traces of salt.

Frame showing the salt applied to wet paint.

The patterning increases dramatically the longer that the salt is left to work.

The finished silk taken off the frame, salt removed, fixed and washed ready to use.

I used the silk pieces for my silk fronted notebooks.

Tulip mania

2010-05-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

Highly prized in the 17th century by the Dutch, the tulip gained a remarkable following leading to tulip mania. Tulips became a status symbol and sold for vast prices. Undeniably beautiful I took this photo this week of tulips growing. I love the strong bold image and this has inspired my folksy picks this week. Click on each pic to take you to the folksy shop.

Multicolour Folksy Friday

2010-05-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

With the Guild exhibitions coming up soon, one aspect that puts craft shows in a different light is the demonstration table. At both the Blickling Hall and Blakeney Craft events you can usually see a designer maker working on their craft and giving an insight into their working practise. At Blakeney last year I had a piece of silk stretched on a frame which I had freely outlined with small flowers. The idea was that visitors to the table could have a go and paint a flower, and many did! I like to think that I might have encouraged some to take up the craft. Here's the result of that day...

...so my folksy friday picks are multicolour florals, very uplifting. Click on the pic to take you to each shop.

Folksy Friday

2010-04-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

Tenuous link with my last blog, as I had used peach yarn my friday picks all have a peachy look! Aren't they gorgeous? Click on the pic for a link to each folksy shop.

Looking to the past

2010-04-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

I have just come across some of my sketchbooks that I worked on for my City and Guilds in machine knitting. I still have the original garments, I can't bear to part with them! One project that I worked on was based on historical influences. Looking through books on the history of costume design is fascinating and as I lived in an edwardian house at the time I was drawn towards the fashions from that era. I had already designed a floral repeat pattern using a flower motif from an inlaid 18th century cabinet panel.

Trying colourways

Final garment sketch and colour swatch

Final garment with plainer sleeves

Just a little alcohol goes a long way...

2010-04-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

Any of you that paint on silk will be familiar with the alcohol technique. For those of you that don't paint on silk you may be surprised to know that it doesn't mean having a wee dram before starting the project.

Alcohol is used to displace the dye to form patterns by painting onto dry unfixed dyed silk. It will only work with dyes, not silk paints, as long as the silk dye has not been fixed. My sequence of pics show the process in stages.

1. After stretching the silk on the frame I painted it using 3 colours of water based dye. I didn't blend the colours, I let them find their own edges.

2. When the dyes have dried I can start to 'paint' using the alcohol. You can see the shapes starting to appear as the dye is pushed to the edges of the brush shape.

3. More alcohol is added. I was going for vague flower shapes.

4. Texture was added to the background by adding spots of alcohol with the tip of the brush.

5. The alcohol will dilute the colour of the dye so more colour can be added if it's starting to look too washed out. I also added more spots. Sometimes it's difficult to know when to stop!

6. The finished piece of silk taken off the frame but before I have fixed the dye. The fixing process is a lengthy steam using an old steamer over a saucepan of simmering water being very careful not to let any water touch the silk. Not sure what I'll use it for yet, it's about 45cm square, any ideas?

Folksy Friday

2010-04-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

We all need friends in this world, especially when times are tough. My Friday picks have friendship as a theme.

1. Berry bunny and friends fabric button set from incy wincy stitches2. Best friends forever duo tags from Jupiter Rocks3. Friends card from Cardmadfairy's Card Creations4. Turtle and friends pincushion from linziloop5. Friends wooden pendant from Zoe Woods6. Running friends and puppy resin necklace from A Resin Revival

Join a craft guild

2010-04-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

A craft guild is a fantastic organisation to belong to if you are a designer and creator. Self-regulated with a committee of members ensures that a high standard of workmanship is maintained. I belong to two craft guilds in Norfolk, the Norfolk Craft Guild and the Blakeney Craft Guild. Both offer opportunities to exhibit in good locations at an affordable cost with the support that a guild has at its heart.

You must be willing to participate in the activities that a guild organises, sit on the committee if invited, and enjoy the social events that are planned. I have been a member of the Norfolk Craft Guild for some years now, having first been the newsletter editor and am currently the membership secretary. We have seen an increase in the number of designer makers applying for the guild lately, word must be getting around that it's good to share!
There are a number of guilds listed on the Craft and Design magazine website pages, find them here.
I have included work by some of the members of the Norfolk Craft Guild which show a diverse range of craft skills.

1. Rosie Hart - Ceramics2. Julie Hurst - Raffia hats 3. Peter Kingsland - Wooden toys4. Hazel Aldridge - Pewter embossing5. Alan Lansdell - Glass engraving6. Suzanne Lake - Wooden home decor

Bloomin' lovely!

2010-04-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

Chosen from some of my favourite shops on Folksy

Click on the pics for more info 1. Flower jug from Caroline Green Pottery2. Flora folk art original from Vintage Twist3. Rose bath bomb from the Sleepy Valley Co4. Antique tearose necklace from Secret Garden Jewellery5. Tattered rose necklace from CocoAngelRose6. Tea cosy set for two from Pretty Goods

A knitted tale

2010-04-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago I used to be an obsessive machine knitter, a day couldn't go by without knitting a tension swatch or trying out a new punchcard design. I have a City & Guilds in machine knitting, taught it at adult education classes and formed a partnership with two other friends from the same course to sell our machine knit patterns at the national Knitting and Stitching shows. Great days but sadly one of the partners emigrated to America so we wound up the company after 4 years of designing. I don't knit anymore but lately have felt the urge to get the wool out again... so my folksy theme this week is knitting!

Click on the pic to take you to the item1. Handknitted handbag from Handmade by Louisa2. Custom skinny scarf from WildCat Designs3. Alpaca lacy fingerless gloves from J and J Alpacas4. Spiral bag - knitting pattern from Claire Crompton5. Handknitted striped cushion from Sue Wright Handknits6. Beret beanie and brooch corsage - knitting pattern from CraftConfections

Fabric design

2010-04-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (SCVA) is hosting two exhibitions which run until May 2010. I have visited the Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau but have yet to see the Artist's Studio, food for thought for another day.

The Anderson Collection is a wonderful show of art nouveau pieces collected by Sir Colin and Lady Anderson which includes work by Tiffany, Galle and Lalique. There are some stunning brooches which took my breath away. You have to see the pieces themselves to really appreciate their beauty. After soaking up all this inspiration, I sketched out a design for a fabric repeat.

One piece in the exhibition I also liked is the Tudric pewter clock by Archibald Knox, his lines are very clean. The stylised plant forms in my sketchbook are influenced by this.

I tried different colourways on the computer before deciding which ones to have sampled.

So far I've had 2 colourways sampled but I will play about with more colours to give variations...what do you think?

Glass with class

2010-04-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

If you have some free time this easter weekend you could visit the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich to see the stunning art nouveau glass in the Anderson Collection. In the meantime I have found several pieces of glass from folksy sellers that you might want to collect!

1. Fused glass ring by Rosie Maguire2. Handmade fused glass bowl by David Stephens Glass Art3. Handpainted tulip glass vase by Clare's Creations4. Ant on leaf suncatcher by Light the Fused5. Glass sushi dish by Glassprimitif 6. Glass face on canvas by LW Fused Glass

Folksy Five on Friday

2010-03-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend the clocks go forward, spring is here! The colour that makes me think of spring is yellow, so here's my yellow selection for Friday.

Coaster from the Mosaic Garden

Necklace from Jewellery Studio

Handmade soap from Soak Sensations

Bookmark from D & K Designs

Heart wreath from Dreamstar

Gallery hunting

2010-03-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

I love going to exhibitions and galleries to see what's going on creatively, it often sparks ideas if you've hit a blank spot. We have just visited St. Jude's Gallery at Itteringham, a small village in north Norfolk. The artist, Penny Bhadresa, was there last Saturday at the opening of her solo show featuring linocut prints, quite beautiful.

Feeling peckish by now, we seemed to stumble upon the Old Workshop Gallery in Corpusty en route to Holt. It's amazing what you find tucked away, the velvet brooch came from there.

On to Holt, after feeding our faces, to Bircham Gallery, it has loads to see and I fell in love with a bright blue dichroic glass brooch, have to put in a hint for my birthday!

Some of the up and coming exhibitions at the Bircham Gallery.

Just thought that I'd show my efforts at lino printing on silk.

Folksy Friday Five

2010-03-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

What else could it be but butterflies!

Butterflies in blue

2010-03-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

My good friend Tracey has a butterfly obsession, so spurred on by her enthusiasm (it's very catching!) I decided that butterflies would be my ongoing theme for this year. Butterflies are such a fantastic source of inspiration, they have it all, shape, colour, texture. Coupled with this and to keep the Norfolk theme going, the swallowtail butterfly is a native species so looking for a local connection is always a good starting point.. However decided to keep the swallowtail shape for later and began a project for a butterfly scarf. So sketchbook at the ready, here goes...

Played around with shapes cut from card.

Page for swallowtail shapes.

Playing about with a piece of painted silk.

My idea is to dye a length of silk using steam fix dyes, which give a lovely soft handle to the silk, and overprint using silk paints mixed with a thickener. I made my printing blocks from foam sheets, it's easy to cut, and stuck them onto some odd bits of wood that I had lying around. It was easier to paint the thickened colour onto the block with a brush which gave the added bonus of brush marks. This project is ongoing so I'll keep you posted!

Taking a workshop

2010-03-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

I run Make and Take Workshops together with my very good friend and fellow crafter, Hazel. I teach silk painting and Hazel teaches pewter embossing (on different days!) The way we run them is for the tutor (me or Hazel) to take the workshop with the other doing the tea and biscuit runs and also to join in with the make with the rest of the students. This way we have a real feeling of each others craft and what it entails which helps when we are selling each others work at craft events. It also makes us realise why we do the craft we do and what draws us to it.
I decided to take the idea of working from a photo into a workshop, so we booked a village hall, sent out details to our mailing list and geared up for the day ahead. Workshops are always fascinating to take part in, whether you're the tutor or student. I'm always amazed at the results, some from students that have never painted before.
Here are a few photos of the students work taken on the day.
The nice thing also was one student, Jenny, bringing her painted silk back to show us, framed up and saying that she was proud to hang it on her wall. That's a result!

Off to the coast

2010-03-12T04:26:00.000-08:00

After all that cake what better way to walk it off than with a trip to the coast? I mean the stark beauty of the north Norfolk coast, bracing in all it's glory. Every summer for the past four years I have exhibited at Blakeney for a month and like to take the opportunity to explore and take pics. Some I turn into photographic cards, sometimes I use the photos as a springboard for silk painting. This photo of Holme-next-the-Sea inspired one of my silk paintings...

After stretching and pinning the silk on a frame, I used a silver outliner to put in the definitions of the shapes that I wanted to create.

Using the photo as a guide (and with a lot of artistic license!) I painted the silk using iron fix paints, these are similar to a let-down acrylic and flow beautifully. The foreground was given some texture by adding salt to wet paint and letting the salt absorb the colour creating patterns on the silk.

The finished painting.

Notecard made using recycled card and a photograph of the silk painting.

I've found other Folksy sellers who are also inspired by Norfolk! Here they are -

Linoprint by Ed Boxall

Linoprint by Fiona Carver

Wood engraving by the Lapwing Printworks

Teacup ride at Cromer greetings card by I like

Fab Five on Folksy

2010-03-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

As I was inspired by Bettys for my cake designs, I thought that some cake designs by Folksy makers would make your mouth water - here they are, enjoy!

Handmade ceramic cupcake pincushion by Lauren Ceramics

Tea party charm necklace by She Draws

Cup cake wooden trinket/pencil box by AnnieFloribunda

Hot cross bun pincushion by Fabric Fancies

Cakes by Dainty Pastimes

Cakes and colours

2010-03-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

Today I took part in a colour therapy workshop, run by a friend, in my lunchbreak at work. I hadn't done one before so didn't know what to expect. The hour was taken up with meditation using colour as the focal point. The hour passed so quickly and I came out feeling energised, with my brain eager to start on anything creative.

Sometimes we need to take time out just to clear a space for new ideas to take shape or sometimes we can get inspired by what we see and experience...

I took this photo in Harrogate at Bettys teashop last Easter after we had a fabulous late lunch consisting of a three tiered cake stand filled with yummy sandwiches, a cream scone and various cakes as well as a lovely pot of tea. As we couldn't finish the whole lot the rest was put in a box tied with ribbon for us to take away and eat later (we did!)

Even though we were stuffed, we still had to experience the shop full of even more delights. Out of this fab trip to Bettys my tea cosy designs came about, followed by cards and notebooks.