Within these walls

Layer 2!

Taken me ages to adding the next layer, keep getting in from work doing the stuff that needs doing and falling asleep. Not really creative although have spent a lot of time thinking about doing the next layer. But have finally added more acrylic paint and added highlights with oil pastel.

Am going to try out some of the Prima stone effects paste next and maybe some art stones. Just to get a little more "stone" onto the background painting. The idea is to add more "living" elements using embroidery silks but I don't have any and have totally lost where I put my embroidery silks anyway. I know they are somewhere but just don't know where somewhere is!
So will see if the stone paste works as I want them to be like stone angels and the living bits to represent what is hidden beneath.

Within these walls

After about five different attempts at within these walls I'm currently working on idea number 6! this is the base layer. I have decided to work on some stone angels. I found some beautiful photographs on Pinterest of angels from cemeteries. Sounds a bit odd but they really are beautiful stone statues. So have decided to start with them as my "wall". Not sure what to do next but have laid down the first layer. Have a lot to do to it, will go for the dark areas and get some tones and shadows in next I think. Then again it might all end up being painted over with Gesso tomorrow!

Have to love gelli printing!

Well been busy thinking about Barking Mad and then about Beaches (our next meeting on 13th May) and decided to have a Gelli printing day. This usually means covering every available space in printed pieces of paper. So started by printing off leaves from the garden and over printing them with textures. This worked really well and I printed a few on fabric and a few on paper. Also printed a few on rice paper which came out well.

Leaves over printed with hessian

This came out really well looks like reflections close up. It was leaves overprinted with some stringy cloth that I got from Poundstretcher at Halloween - it's called Creepy Cloth.

More leaves with creepy cloth over printing!

This one had lace over printing

and of course good old bubble wrap - always makes brilliant textures.

These two were printed onto muslin. They are much brighter than this.

So I am hoping to use these as part of Barking Mad. Not sure how yet but will think of something. Might work something into the books we made with Pauline as the one I did has lots of browns and yellows (of course!) on it. Thinking of tearing and layering and adding some structure pastes through stencils to get a leafy bark like feel. Any ideas welcome!

Also did the same Creepy Cloth ( it is awesome!) with blues and it looks very sea like. Also used some jute string which made a fab pattern only to me it looks more like some strange virus or bacteria rather than sea rope! 

What is everyone up to ??? Anything creative that you are doing I can add them to the blog just let me have the pictures!!!!

Tag day update!

Here are some of the finished tags ! They are amazing, love the designs and the colours. I've not finished mine yet but getting there !

Please bring in your tags to the next meeting if you haven't finished and I can add them! 

Meanwhile I finished my Cracks piece

this wonderful piece was also finished but I am so sorry I cannot remember who has created it ! Please let me know! 

Averil finished her Beneath my Feet piece! 

And has started Barking Mad! 

Forgot to add Sheila's stencil work on Beneath my Feet from the previous meeting! I love the stencil and finding inspiration in the things we take for granted. Can't wait to see what you do with it! 

April meeting

We had a very busy evening this April with lots of different activities going on. The theme was Barking Mad. I am of course well behind on the themes and have just finished my Beneath my Feet piece. Have been very taken with lessons on Intuitive Painting and my Beneath my Feet piece came from a lesson by Alena Hennessy. It started on a box canvas and ended up being fused to paper. Had to  grunge up the paper though as it didn't seem to go with the rest of the picture. I basically started with just painting colours and inks where I felt they needed to  go, I had to add some circles as I just love circles and then it started to look like a path. I opted to turn the canvas and build on my path with fabric circles that I fused to the canvas with Bondaweb.
Have to say that I am really pleased with the result.

I have also started a book based on the elements which is what I want to add my tags from Angie's day to. I've finished the Earth piece and am now working on air- this is the painted and printed backgrounds, going to stitch them with the machine and add some hand sewing later. The background is made from strong cotton fabric which I have coated with 3 layers of gesso. I then added paper (torn and randomly placed using matt medium) and some structure paste. I painted over the top with a thin extra gesso layer. Then I added the colour using inks and acrylics. Surprisingly this will still go through the sewing machine!

This one is water, I did try some acrylic (matt medium) transfers but they didn't work very well. I did have more luck with the Prima matt medium although managed to transfer my fish upside down! 

Again this is just the background, I have to add more machine stitching and then hand sewing over the top

Mel has also been experimenting with structure paste which I think is a wonderful medium. Here are some pieces that she is working on.

Is it me but I can see a face in the one above! 

Below are the textures she has created from fabric manipulation. I would love to see these coloured perhaps with dyes or inks??

Pauline was printing this evening. I love her prints and using natural objects to create some fabulous printing. These could be backgrounds or pieces by themselves.

Ellen finished her Barking Mad piece or is this Cracks?? I love the layered organza the colours are so beautiful.

Averil brought in her beautiful felted vessels and also her three dimensional stitched structures that she created through Sheila's workshop. I am so sorry I missed it I would have loved to do this one! 

Ellen brought her's too! 

Tag day!

What a wonderful day we had with the fantastic Angie Hughes!

It was wonderful to see so many of us and also to welcome some new faces too. I thoroughly enjoyed myself printing and selecting fabrics to create my tags. We had quite a variety of themes, some people sticking with the Indian theme and some trying out new ideas possibly based around our group themes.
Here are some photos from the day!
Apologies if I labelled any wrong ( some I don't have labels for but let me know and I'll add them!) I take photos and forget to label them on the day!

The next few I know belong to Mel! Love the theme! 

Love the printed textures on these ones! 

Think these are Averil's fabulous work! 

I think this one belongs to Ellen, love the butterfly, there should be butterflies on everything!

Love the wrapped threads on this one, what a wonderful way to say Barking Mad perhaps??

But thank you so much Angie for an amazing day. I really enjoyed it, it was the perfect remedy to a hectic week. I'll post more photos of the finished tags as soon as I get them!