Unfortunate and fortunate. My right foot.

Today it's not so much what is on my desk, as I can't get to it at the moment, but what is on my lap!

I mentioned in my last post that I had been ill with pneumonia and was at last on the mend....

Well life often throws us a curved ball and within days of that last post I had fallen down my steps and fractured my foot!
I have never broken a bone before and nor do I want to again. Life on crutches is proving tricky as I can't weight bear for around 4 weeks. :(
Things I take for granted are often out of reach, my house has become an assault course, and trips up or down stairs to be viewed with trepidation.


I have started to sketch on my  lap, it is hard to get things easily to hand so I am using what is easy to get hold of.

Sketching with Inktense pencils.

I have used some of the lovely get well flowers sent to me as inspiration.

I have been doodling flowery patterns too.

Also... Big Tah dah...

 I have spent my sofa time learning to crochet, something that until last week had baffled me! Now courtesy of you tube I am beginning a blanket. By the time my cast comes off I want it to be finished. It will be a reminder of how much I take my mobility for granted and how lucky I am to be fit and able bodied ( Usually) Many are not so lucky and it is not a case of enforced rest for a few weeks and the removal of a cumbersome cast.

  

I may be unfortunate, but I am fortunate in so many ways.

linking up to WOYWW this week as I have lots of time to seek out woolly inspiration.;)

 Learning to Crochet

Linking up to  Paint party friday too where I have lots of time to peruse this weeks artful meanderings.

Daffodils

Neocolor crayon and collage on bamboo paper

It's been a few weeks since I last posted having been struck down by a horrible virus, which then left me with pneumonia. I  am not a good patient but lack of energy and breath made doing nothing very easy!!

Feeling the energy levels returning I finally opened my tin of neoocolor crayons for the first time in weeks to do a little sketch.

I am still not up to full speed yet but each day I can do a little more.
I sketched some of my  'get well Daffodils' They are such joyful flowers.
 I added some book-paper petals before the water wash.

And  using picmonkey I  blended the original photograph and the neocolor drawing.

Hope to be up to full speed, blogging and creating very soon.....

Linking to Paint party Friday

After the storm

The skies have been heavy with storms

The year has begun with a roar.

Not the weather for venturing far from shelter.

I have been sewing again, I find it comforting and therapeutic on these dark evenings.

 This piece was the begining of a happy accident, the sort of accident where despite failure something better comes along...

You know the feeling... we have an idea...it starts off well but then begins to go wrong. We struggle with it... but in the end realise it just isn't working...

I  had been contemplating how in my textile seascapes the sea never looks as water-like as I wanted it too. Fabric is just too matt.
 I decided to see if I could fix tin foil to fabric with bondaweb to add some watery sparkle.

Yay!!! It worked!!
 In fact it looked, once I had ironed the foil down to the backing fabric like cosmonaut suit material  ready to use for the next mission to mars!!

Then I made the mistake of adding seagull shapes. This didn't work but I did re-use some of the ink splattered foiled fabric.

 I sewed some sequins and pieced it patchwork fashion together with some fabric papers. I love the shimmery surface.

And below the finished textile panel.

I like the unfinished surround so may leave it like that when I decide how to frame it.

So busy this week totally forgot I needed a birthday card for my Mum.

So here is a super fast way to make one ...

Look through your paper stash for a nice paper napkin.....

Cut out and sew the poppy to some brown card...

Using a white marker draw a quick stem...
quick, easy and sweet......................... :)


Linking to WOYWW

And Paint Party Friday

paper cloth seascapes

Last week I was intuitively collaging,
This week I am still intuitively collaging (photos at the bottom of the post) However it is a slow process of fiddling and in between paint drying and wondering what to do next, I decided to do some seascape embroidery using cloth paper.

 I can't take the credit for coming up with the idea of cloth paper as I know many textile artists use similar techniques.
I use muslin as a backcloth support, covering it liberally in pva glue. I normally use artists quality pva but for this cheap pva does just as well.

Then paper scraps are glued onto the surface and layered in white tissue paper. making a sort of paper cloth sandwich.

I used discarded Christmas wrap torn into strips to make random patterns.

After a bit of drying time and ink spraying you get something like this It is paperish but is stable enough to be machine stitched. It can be cut and appliquéd.

Stitching can be as wild and free as you like,

Embroidered stormy seascape

I love the combination of paper and stitch.

I also used fabric scraps along with the paper cloth.

On this piece I burnt the organza overlay with a heatgun. making little holes to add texture.

And this piece has a tweed fabric edge and some buttons and sequins added.

 And finally
 my intuitive collage has moved along, slowly....

These are some of the steps of the journey so far .....





Thank you for all your sweet comments last week. One comment in particularly filled me with delight  comparing it to Friedensreich Hundertwasser  work!!  One of my FAVOURITE artists!! BIG smile :) Ahhhh if only.....

The journey so far

 Hopefully by next week it may be nearly finished..... possibly ;)

Linking to Paint party friday

Brave intuitive collage

Happy New Year!!

It is good to start the  New year with a bit of a challenge..


A little while back a good friend of mine Swirlygirl was doing a little de-cluttering and gave me this very large unfinished canvas. She was determined she was not going to finish it and wanted me to do something with it. She is a lover of Flora Bowley and her 'Brave intuitive'  art style.

I love intuitive art but it is something which I do not normally do in my collage.
I usually have some idea before I start of where I want to be.

Yes, things may change and plans fall by the wayside.

Colours may not work together, collaged shapes can be altered, but ultimately intuitive collage is something new for me. Starting with someone else's work is a challenge in itself. I didn't want to change it, but yet I wanted it to be 'me'
Hmmmm... a bit of splattered Gesso and marking tape still didn't do it.
Drastic action required.

Sorry swirlygirl... black and white gesso...

Some people see faces in these types of  intuative paintings which they bring out  (Check out Denthe and her fabulous blog) I see landscapes..... I think!

Those little red dots look like trees winding over the hillside

Intuitive collage can get messy, good use for all that discarded Christmas wrap though!

Not finished yet... still squirrelling away, adding some fabric paper elements....

When will it be finished? I guess its all down to intuition. ;)

Happy New year to all my lovely Blog friends  may your new year be filled with love and light.

two stags / paper collage

linking up to paint party friday

2014 review, a paper rainbow roundup!

Well Christmas is almost here and another year almost done....

When it gets to this time of the year many of us look back and reflect on what has been. It helps for me as I think I like to see where I have been, so as to decide where to go next.

 So here is a quick round-up of my years creative highlights.

January, the year began with my mermaid bowl, created with all the discarded Christmas wrapping paper pieces which I glued onto a plain bamboo dish.

February, I finished this large canvas. 'The stag and thistles' incorporates fabric, paint and paper pieces. This canvas was finale of the on-line '29 face challenge' which I took part in, making 29 faces in 29 days. I have completed the challenge several times in the past and to be honest I did get a bit of 'face fatigue' I am not one for quitting and did make it through to the bitter end, although it is unlikely I will do it again. (Famous last words) I know many artists who love the challenge and I admire them greatly, I just think that painting faces is not something that drives me.. I am much more at home representing wild open spaces....

 March, and I was busy decorating small wooden panels, Collaged and painted, some with small dragonflies made from discarded plastic which I heat treated to form the delicate wings.

April, and my little area in Skyeworks gallery made me very happy!

May brought another canvas off the easel, 'messages in the breeze' Made from torn handmade papers and acrylic paints. In ancient folklore Dandelion seeds were said to be able to carry messages to those we love, either in this world or the next.....

June and I took part in my favourite on-line challenge 'the summer of color' This colour combination was red and teal (I think.)  I love the 'summer of color' six week challenge as subject matter is not on the agenda, it is all about working with certain colour combinations, maybe using colours we are frightened of using!

July and some citrasolv paper featured in the foreground pebbles of this canvas 'the island'

August and another on-going theme this year, wild flowers and windswept hills. 'Summer breeze' Paper collage with acrylic paint on canvas.

September and buttercups were my inspiration for this canvas, more torn handmade papers form the flowers.

place to rest (DETAIL)

October and an exciting charity exhibition at Skyeworks housed several of my pieces, one being this
'a place to rest.' Money raised from the exhibition went towards the Skye mountain rescue team.

November, a hark back to summer with 'Wild shores' collaged papers on canvas

December and a return to my first love, textile art. This piece is a paper, fabric and paint, machine  stitched collage.

 My 2014 christmas card

And finally on my workbench today ( sorry to all my WOYWW friends for the gap in my posts ;) ! )  My Christmas cards have just arrived!! I didn't have time to design a special Christmas card  this year so I adapted sketchbook page I made earlier in the year, putting a snowy filter over the top.... Hey presto and a wintry stag!

This is my last post of the year, as like so many of you, for me time is short at this time of year!!
Lots of mince pies to eat and presents to wrap....  ;)

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments over the past year, they mean so much.
May I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New year.

                                                                        Morag xxxx

linking up to WOYWW
and Paint party friday