Ships that pass in the night

I have been thinking long and hard about my blog and have been unable to dismiss it, even though i have been using instagram regularly as well as a few facebook groups, but finally i realised that sometimes, a post is necessary. 

I have several streams of work going at present

One hundred faces on facebook and instagram, where the challenge is to do 100 faces in the hopes of improving and fiinding a style.

 

One hundred artworks challenge on facebook and instagram, which is about concentrating on something long enough to make 100 pieces, again in hopes of improving, finding style, and also digging deeper into the topic.  For this one, I am doing layered gelli prints with the theme of leaves which i sometimes embellish and also periodically print on fabric, particularly when i am happy with a set and these i stitch and embellish.

One hundred day project on instagram, which i am behind in by about four or five days (but i don't think it really matters if life gets in the way) there are an huge number of participants on instagram, doing a variety of somethings, from a photo, to an inchie, to a thumbnail, lots of things.  I am, in an effort to improve my digital drawing skills, doing a quick digital sketch each day

And working on finishing the pieces i started in my workshops at AQC on the 15-19th with two tutors 

Ro bruhn

And caroline  sharkey

As well as all the other usual suspects, art journaling, stitching, etc.  

Soon i am going to start posting my WIP finishes weekly. I need to get lots finished for an exhibition later this year.  I'm calling it 52 finishes.  We will see!

Almost over

The february 2015 29 faces challenge is almost finished and for once, I am actually going to complete the challenge!
Here is the first of my next seven faces.  This one is based on a venus painting by Titian, which you can see here.  The reason I am showing it first is that It became a focus of study this week, and all the faces were based on it.

This one was done freehand with oil pastels, just cheap ones.  even though it looks nothing like the original, I was quite pleased with most of it.

This one was done with depia, black and white charcoal and a little bit of gesso.  A skinnier version :-)
Next I did two five minute sketches, which I used as templates.

I free motion stitched them onto two fabric collages.  These are the backs

On the front of the simple line one, I painted one a little.

The more complicated one I left as is.

I still have three more painted versions of this face which are partly finished and will post in a day or three.
These are two quick faces I did with jane davenport's stencils in a tiny weeny tiffany advertisement book that came with a vogue magazine.

This last one is only half a face, but I like it.  I think it counts!

Happy creating!

Another week of faces

I have not gotten much done EXCEPT faces this week for a few reasons, firstly a sick DH, who thinks anything that goes wrong is the end of the world (sigh). and secondly our first hot spell this year, though why it has waited until half way through Feb is a mystery to me.
so, beyond a bit more embroidery this morning

I am actually quite surprised at how much I got done!
So, without further ado, faces 11 to 18 (I am actually a day ahead!).  The first seven are exercises from Pam Carriker's new book

this last one is awful and looks like a nasty little pixie!  They are exercises on faces at different angles and it is clear to me I need lots more work.  I also did a little more work on expressions, but it is not fit for consumption.  I am amazed at how difficult angles and expressions are, but of course a likeness is infinitely harder and I know, because my last face this week is my own and, frankly, parts of it look like me, but not the whole. 

I suppose more practice is in order, but I suppose that is why I am doing the challenge in the first place!  To Practice!

catching up? 2 to 10

It seems like all I have been doing since I came home from visiting a relative, is drawing faces.
I purchased Jane Davenport's "Express Yourself"  Class late last year, but have not actually completed it.  I though the february 29 faces challenge might get me moving.  I posted my first face last week before I went away, and I have been busy the last few days.
Jane's class is a wonderful one and I am enjoying it,

This quite sketchy page is a practice page of expressions.  I will count it as my catch-up page, since there were six faces!  This is why Jane's class is so great.  I can draw faces, but different expressions? Not really.  And of course, she is an Australian teacher!

This quite awful face, was an exercise about laughing.  Can you guess why she looks so strange?  The eyes are too far apart.  That will teach me to measure next time!

This one is much better, but of course it used the same Jane girl Stencil (from Jane's shop) as the expressions up at the top, so really, I didn't have to position anything, it was already done for me.  Jane does say, and I agree, that using the stencils does help you practice drawing the faces and helps with some early success.  This face is neutral, because it is the first of another set of expressions.

As a complete aside, today's face is really a silhouette and in addition, I didn't draw it.  It is a free motion thread sketch done with the sewing machine.

Perhaps after a bit more practice, I might be able to do something like Alice Kettle's work.  Or, maybe a LOT more practice?

Happy creating!

29 Faces

I finally thought I would have a go at the 29 faces challenge.  Starting a few days late, however I find that, with a challenge it is less stressful to me if I break the rules straight away and so I have no need to make my response perfect, lol.
So from time to time, I will post my contributions, probably in groups, not every day
Here is my first go.  It is mostly done with paint markers, but I didn't have skin tones with me, mostly blues and greys.

So she is blue and grey! Let's see what I come.up with next.

Embroidery

I have been doing a little embroidery.  Hand embroidery.  At the moment, I seem to be obsessed with samplers!

One day when I couldn't get moving, I threaded all the embroidery threads in my box and added them to a piece of felt.  It really helps keep you going!
I am doing one with Sue Spargo on Craftsy, which I have showed before.  I am also doing two with rebecca ringquist on creativebug.  I am only just

starting on these.  The stitch combination up the top, I enjoyed, however the red and blue stitches are supposed to be tete de boef or the head of the bull.  Rebecca taught it differently to how I know it.  She used three sepearate stitches, on the right.   I was taught to do it as a fly stitch with a chain tail, at top left.  I also tried reversing the fly stitch and adding the chain below that.  The variations are interesting, and who's to say which is right.  Stitch names are not really that important to me so long as I don't get confused.
The third sampler, is a set of samplers from Christen Brown's book Embroidered and Embellished.  At present I am working on the first one with simple stitches.

I am also doing some crochet for charity for our local CWA (country Women's Association)  branch of which I am secretary.  We have decided that we will start the year with a drive to make hats scarves and blankets for the homeless as winter will be along soon.  This is something I have been wanting to do for so long.

I have been doing a little journaling.  This is this week's page for daily journaling.
Also The Tangled Textiles Group I belonged to has come to an end at challenge 15.  On the page, there is a grid for each of the challengers showing their work.
I thought I might show my grid here for you.

So, a quiet week for me.

Happy Creating!

Another week!

Another week and this week I feel I have done a bit more and been more productive, Even with some saddening family news this week.  I am glad I have been keeping busy, because I think it does help when life happens - having things to do.  Stops you reveling in your own sadness.
But anyhow,  Let's look at what I have gotten done this week.

This is my first bit of embroidery on my Sue Spargo sampler with craftsy.  It has taken me a while to get started, but hopefully I will get some done on Tuesdays at Quilt group which begins again this week.

This is a Thread painted moth I finished during the week.  Not sure what I am going to do with it yet, perhaps it will become a fabric page.

I finished unpicking this piece of printing on chiffon, which had some free motion I didn't like

Another of the fabric and paper collages I am making for Fabric books.

Getting along with my crochet!

Some thread lace leaves.

A teeny tiny embellishment - again for fabric pages.

A page in my doodle book I am working on.  The red leaves are a deli paper page that has been cut - over the top of the green and purple page.

This is a page from week two of Lisa Congdon's Sketchbook Explorations on creativebug.

If you have known me for a while, you might recognise this pile of fabric pages ready to embellish.  I have used my collage background challenges from last year.

And here is one of the pages, with a free motion sketch which has been painted.  Quite happy with this page, but still needs a little more work.

Another fabric page in process.

And finally another fabric page, a two page spread ready to free motion stitch.  It might seem that I am a bit obsessed with fabric books at present and I probably am.  I have been interested for a few years and never yet completed one!  So this year is the year.
My pinterest page has lots of inspiration if you want to look, but the main artists who are inspiring me are Frances Pickering, Ro Bruhn, Jill Taylor, and Annette Bolton and of course Cas Holmes. As usual quite a few UK artist in that group!

Happy Creating!