summer time

During the months of August and September, The Cubby Hole is holding an exhibition of arts and crafts.  One of the features will be a collection of canvases entitled 'Summer'.  I decided to use fabric, stitching and beading on my piece, oh, and a bit of 'dumphing' too lol :)  

It's not finished yet, but I'm so pleased with how it's coming along.  I'm so looking forward to this exhibition, it should be a fantastic collection of a range of arts and crafts.

WOYWW - down on the floor

... doing a bit more on my first big painting!  Working to such a large scale means I'm finding alternatives to my usual tools.  The watered down acrylic worked 'ok' in the garden water spray bottle, but I'd have preferred more of a 'mist' than a direct spray.  I am pleased with my large 'A' though, cut from newspaper and used as a mask.  The piece still needs some more work but I'm happy with what I've done so far :)  I even did some planning in my sketchbook!

And I have exciting news!  At the moment I have a craft room in the cellar.  Although there are worktables down there, it just ends up as a dumping ground and storage area.  Our house has an open plan attic and Malc and I are moving up there, swapping rooms with our middle son.  As long as I keep it tidy I'm allowed half of the room as a studio - I feel so grown up!  So going up and down three flights of stairs is keeping me fit this week!!!

Looking forward to picking up some organisational tips from all you WOYWWers [that's What's on your workdesk Wednesday for those of you who haven't come across this fabulous idea - a good nosy at what others are up to!  Head on over to The Stamping Ground for a look:)]

starting my first BiG painting :)

1m x 1m canvas

The vicar at my church saw my paintings last week and asked if I'd paint one for the prayer room in church, during a service!  So last night saw me painting on the stage, trying NoT to get paint on all that lovely wood panelling LOL.  I'm thrilled with what I managed to get done as I've wanted to work on a large canvas for ages but it was a bit of a scary thought!

I used my usual materials - bubble wrap, sequin waste and acrylic paint [but not my baby wipes yet] and cut my own stencil from funky foam.  Next step is more stencilling, and creating some large letter stamps and masks :)

It really felt like I'd come 'full circle' doing this as it was as I watched Graham Hudson from the Mustard Tree painting in a service in May 2010 to raise money for a trip to Mexico that I realised that I could do what I do in my journals on a canvas!  Thanks Graham, for the inspiration :)

EDIT:  Thanks so much for your lovely comments everyone.  I thought no-one liked me anymore as there were no comments all day, then Julie reminded me I'd put comment moderation on!!!  I've been having problems with spam comments advertising unsavoury things, so need some kind of moderation, but I've gone back to word verification instead so I know you are there :)  

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 ....:)

canvases are go!

It's definitely canvas month in my house!!  I've been wanting to get some of my own artwork on our walls so have been busy with canvases recently, and now it looks like I'm busy teaching them too!  This one includes 3d embellishments made from Makin's Clay and is similar to the one I'll be teaching at Paddy's Stamping Place on Saturday if you'd like to join me.  Then I've got two canvas classes coming up down at The Stamp Attic in Wantage, Oxford - one with grungepaper embellishment (yes, Wendy does have grungepaper!!), then one with wax.  :)  I just love playing with all this paint :) :) :)