Tuesday 15 September 2015

Work in Progress.

This is as far as I have got with the book I started making on Frances Pickering's workshop at the beginning of the month.  Our theme was the 1920s.   Front cover above and back cover below.
There is still quite a lot of tweaking and finishing to be done.

I am a slow worker on workshops so cheated and traced these first few designs, especially as I am way out of my comfort zone drawing the human figure - as you can see below!   

Some made a book full of shoe or hat designs, others concentrated on architecture, but I decided to go for a bit of everything.  I came across this rubber stamp and thought she was perfect for 'Poor Little Rich Girl'.   I tried to transfer the photocopy of Noel Coward directly onto fabric but it was not a success, so I just used another photocopy and bonded it to the page.

These are pictures from the General Strike of 1926.  My mother worked in London then and travelled to and from by train.   She remembered the volunteer train drivers regularly overshooting the platform and having to reverse so the passengers could get on and off the train.

A little 'flapper' dress.  I have tried to suggest a 1920s bedroom wallpaper with my chosen fabrics and may add a couple more elements to finish the page off.   The dress folds either way and you see the back of it when it is folded to the left.
I still have a lot more drawing to do as well as finishing off the pages I have already started.  I now wish I had tea dyed the fabric first - I'm sure it will be very grubby by the time I have finished, especially the cover.
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I looked up from washing up the lunch things the other day and saw no less than 7 longtailed tits on the fatball feeder.   Needless to say, by the time I had fetched the camera most of them had gone and as you see here, a bluetit has joined in.   There must have been 10 or 12 long tailed tits altogether as several were just hopping about in the honeysuckle above them.   The bluetits are adorable but slightly bossy and when a crowd of them arrived the longtailed tits all went.

Monday 7 September 2015

Too Many Photos!

I have just enjoyed a wonderful weekend Masterclass with Frances Pickering at Hawkwood College, just outside Stroud, Gloucestershire.  It has an atmosphere of faded grandeur and tranquility so the visitor can't help but relax.  The rooms are very comfortable and the food is excellent.  I think most of it is grown or produced on site and the chef(s) really know their business.  We were all talking of dieting this week!
The views from the house are stunning - my photos were taken on my pre-breakfast walk on Sunday morning.
It was a perfect morning. . . . .
. . . . and someone else was up even earlier than I.

I think some of the sheep wanted a lie-in.

The cows were up,
but one lazy pig was still in bed.

In spite of the warm sun there was definitely a feeling of autumn just around the corner.

This lovely lace cap hydrangea was beside the path.

There were twenty of us in the studio which is a perfect place to work in - so light, airy and spacious. Hanging in one window was this delightful piece of stained glass work.  Unfortunately I didn't think to find out who had made it.

Frances gave me permission to take photos of her own work.  Our theme for this workshop was Art Deco or the Roaring Twenties.

Then I went on to photograph some of my fellow students work.











It was fascinating to see the variations in interpretation of our given theme.  I was so busy myself I only had time to photograph about half a dozen student's work and haven't photographed my own yet.  They will have to wait for another post.   This was my third visit and I have signed up for next year and hope that the friends I made this year will be there next September.