my first exhibition - yikes!!

ExperienceArt

The Mustard Tree, Oldham Road, Ancoats, Manchester

7.30pm

The Mustard Tree do a fabulous job working with people in Manchester who are homeless.  Ten artists are exhibiting there tonight, including professional, established artists and those just starting on the journey.  We are each donating a piece to be auctioned to raise money for the charity.  

I was asked to contribute to the exhibition back in May/June but found the transition from art journal to canvas very, very difficult - my mind kept interfering!  Happily I settled into my 'art journaling' mood this week and just enjoyed putting paper, paint and ink onto canvases, not thinking about what others would think about it or whether they'd like it on their wall!  I'd happily put them all on my wall so ....:)

Steampunk Art Exhibition, Oxford

I just LOVED this exhibition and could have stayed looking at some of the pieces all day!  Not something my soon-to-be-fifteen son understood!  Although the children enjoyed it, they didn't want to stay as long as me. It's on 'til Feb '10 though so I may get another trip in, especially as I'm teaching at The Stamp Attic at the end of November :)

I didn't take loads of photos; I wasn't sure at first that you were allowed, but you could as long as flash wasn't used.  Don't you just love this dog?  And the same artist, Stephane Halleux, made some people too...

At the beginning of the exhibition there were some helmets and goggles, which were fun, but my very favourites were the clocks by Eric Freitas.  I would just love one of these in my house

In fact, there were a few pieces I would love in my house!  How funky to have such different pieces around.  I'd love to learn metalwork and clockwork so I could make something like this.

Sorry about the shadow on the wall, the pieces were brightly lit.  Aren't those words fabulous thought,' three' and 'six'.  Of course there were a lot more pieces but I don't want to spoil it for those who can visit.  I will share some more photos another day though.

It's my choice of colours for the play date cafe tomorrow.  The posts get published at midnight EST which is too early for me to get up, but those in the US will probably wait up to see them, I know the rest of the design team do :)  I've loved meeting lots of new people through this challenge this week, and would like to say a special thankyou to all those who visited my blog for the first time and/or became followers :)

off on a trip

I've been working on the next play date cafe colour challenge today so I can't show you I'm afraid.  Except to say it's my choice of colours this week so I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone does with them :)

I thought I'd show you a page from my ideas journal.  I've kept these for a number of years now and use them to make notes on workshops, try out new products, stamps or ideas, and keep a record of artists I admire.  When Julie gave us her colours, I needed to get my journal out to play with the supplies I had in those colours as they're not ones I use very often. I also wanted to use my new character constructions stamps in the piece so I stamped them up to get a feel for the images.  Playing like this before settling down to an idea really helps me get the ideas flowing. Although sometimes they just 'happen', like RSS week 8, that one I just sat down and made!  How do you get your ideas flowing?  Do you keep an ideas journal, or do you just get stuck in?

I'm off to Oxford in the morning with my three children.  We're going to see the first Steampunk Art exhibition [my husband declined the offer, it's not very 'him'!], I can't wait!!!  Squeezing in a trip to Wendy's Stamp Attic of course whilst we're down there :)