Monday 26 August 2013

Travel Kit

We are heading west soon and as long as the fish are biting I anticipate quiet  time for trying out some art exercises, particularly related to colour and colour mixing. (There should be some great photos as well...)

To this end I've made a small travel journal to take with me .....



from an activity in this book............


............using this method.......


(Actually just making the journal was a fun activity.)


For the covers I've used old painted papers (which at the time seemed like they were less than sucessful so were 'filed' (in a pile) in our study. It seems if you wait long enough things will be right for some purpose - and the colours may now be perfect for where we are going .......

For the end papers I used the back of some old watercolour paper that was splotched in some past experiment. These papers will become my palettes for mixing colours.


And inside there are inexpensive sheets of cartridge paper for drawing, watercolour papers and a couple of sheets of canvas (for who knows what? - I've never used it before......)

The rest of the kit will be fairly minimal - Inktense pencils, watersoluble crayons and a few other pencils, pens and odds and sods........


The main thing will be that this little journal doesn't come home with all its pages still pristine white............

Sue xxxx

Note to self: Make sure scissors are in check-in bag - even though they are kids scissors.......

Saturday 24 August 2013

Colouring In

My handpainted fabric was looking a little insipid for the project I had in mind, so, inspired by DMTV  (Design Matters TV) programs my Derwent Inktense pencils were put to work. (As a child Derwent Lakeland were the epitome of colouring pencils and if you were one of the lucky ones to receive some for Christmas you were the envy of everyone in your class -except for the person who got the large tin....)

(This is my collection so far - there are 72 all up - I know you can mix them but the full set would be lovely, wouldn't it?)


If you are not familiar with these pencils they are well worth a play. They are watersoluble ink pencils which can be applied dry like a colouring or watercolour pencil but when the pigment is washed with water they produce vibrant colours which behave like an ink. Once dry they are colourfast and can be worked over again without fear of the colours bleeding. They can be used wet-in-wet or dry into wet or wet with a brush and painted with like a watercolour or ink.


(Something I learned from DMTVis that the picture of the little brush on the side means it's water soluble....makes sense, but it was new to me.......)

They can also be used on fabric. (Sometimes a bit of fabric medium is mixed with the water to ensure colourfastness for things that may need to be washed at some stage.)

My fabric as it was .......


With dry Inktense pencil applied................


The fabric dampened with water to dissolve the pigment where required.....

The dry fabric ready to use.........

The Derwent website (here) has information, colour charts, instructional videos and a wealth of useful tips. Their product ranges these days are better than almost any fabric or chocolate shop....( I said almost...)

I can't show you the actual project yet - part of my 'grand plan' but this technique worked a treat,

Sue xxxx

Sunday 18 August 2013

Tidying Up

How do you know it's time to tidy up? Probably about now.......



One tidy corner probably isn't enough............


Always a good opportunity to rediscover things though..... 

Sue xxxx

Thursday 15 August 2013

Mud

Mud must be one of the most commonly available, cheapest, reusable resources on earth. It has been used for thousands of years to build everything from humble shelters for animals, to a thermally sound home, to triumphs of ancient architecture and design - palaces, places of worship and learning, a resting place for the remains of a nomad and walled cities affording a degree of protection.

It can be fired to make a longer lasting product or simply mixed with dried grasses or grain husks and other readily available materials to give it body and bind it together, then baked in the sun and used in construction. It can be easily mended or replaced when it falls into disrepair or plastered over to help it last longer.

For me it's also aesthetically pleasing. I love the texture, the colour and the way it can blend into the landscape - coming from the earth and yet remaining embedded in the earth.

(Warning - this is another heavy picture post, but I make no apology as they are as much for me as for anyone along for the ride.)































































(And believe it or not, I did cut a lot out........)

Of course, there are also ceramics but I'll save them for another post.

Sue xxxx