Beautiful Bernina

Let me introduce my new swiss companion...
Bernina!!!

Last week I took my digital Janome machine to be serviced. I'm pretty rough on my sewing machine and it was in need of a bit of attention. Well the shop had several used reconditioned machines, one being this wonderful Bernina. For the sewing savy Bernina machines are known as the Rolls-Royce of the sewing world. The best things to come out of Switzerland, Bernina and Toblerone!
I have aLWAYS wanted one but didn't think I could afford one, until now.
well maybe this one isn't new, but my goodness she is wonderful! I think I was meant to find her!

 Started with a bit of playing about to see what she could do. Thought I would make some Daffodils as I have photographed them recently.

 She is so quiet and sews so easily.

Then onto making some wee cottages on papercloth.

working on larger pieces of papercloth, creating texture..
Having fun seeing what is possible!

Spring sunshine

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd
A host of dancing Daffodils;
Along the Lake, beneath the trees,
Ten thousand dancing in the breeze
(William Wordsworth)

The last few days have been filled with lovely sunshine, and then on friday snow!..
This was Eilean Donan castle last week before the snow... It did look glorious! Those Daffodils really were dancing in the sunshine.
Many of you may recognise the castle as it graces shortbread tins and 'visit Scotland' posters, and who wouldn't want to visit if the sun shone like this every day!

 Eilean Donan is about ten miles from the Skye bridge.

Daffodils blanket the ground in the woods on the Island...celandines too are starting to peep through the earth and open their small yellow flowers.

 Primroses too...

Yellow daffodils picked from the garden...
captured in my sketchbook.

Finally for those curious souls who are waiting to see a little of what I am busy with.....

 I will reveal once finished, but I think you get the idea of where my mosaic paper clay pieces are going!

Spring jewels

I have begun a new spring crochet blanket..... inspired by the little flower jewels of April.

And the soft fleece like feel of new Lambs..

I do love spring, new life and light after months of dark and cold.

On my work desk some different jewels of colour. Little pieces of paperclay. Individually cut, moulded and stamped. washed with acrylic paint.

What am I going to use them for?
Well I will reveal soon.  ;)

Tibor Reich exhibition

Tibor Reich workdesk

Tibor Reich? I hear you ask, who was Tibor Reich?
I thought I would share some recent photos of my trip to Manchester's Whitworth Gallery and the fascinating exhibition of his work.

The Whitworth is looking fabulous after it's 15 million pound facelift!
Although you may not have heard of Tibor Reich, if you are a 'Baby Boomer' then his textile designs will fill you with buckets of nostalgia. Even if the nostalgia is not familiar the influence his textile designs have had on contemporary design is obvious.

Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1916, Reich studied architecture and textiles in Vienna before moving to the UK in 1937. In 1946 he set up Tibor Ltd, and introduced Colour into the drab interiors of post war Britain.

Printed fabric

The bright and modern designs must have been a breath of fresh air to those used to dark and sombre furnishings and fabric.

 His fabrics were used by famous furniture designers of the 50's and 60's, G plan and Ercol.

Many moons ago I started my time at Art college with the intention to go into textile design, although I meandered down a different path I still have a love of pattern and I found it fascinating how Reich used photographs to create abstract fabric designs. This was based on a sweetcorn cob.

This fabric is based on a photograph of cracked mud. Before the world of digital manipulation the photographs he took were cut up and rearranged into pleasing patterns and then hand drawn as fabric designs.

His fabric designs were stylish and aspirational even gracing the seats of Concorde in the 1960s. Being an Architect he designed whole houses and interiors.

He also created tiles and ceramics

Little ashtrays free given to clients in the late 1960's

He drew such wonderful quirky faces.

This is an original design drawing for a ceramic piece.

I loved this patchwork of his fabrics!

 These are some original drawings for fabric designs. Beautifully drawn and painted.

This was a very well presented exhibition that brought  history to life in such a successful way!

Two Liverpool galleries and making paper beads

I've been quiet on the blog front recently, as I have been busy, both getting out and about and also working hard in the studio

Firstly I wanted to share my recent trip to Liverpool and the Tate where the Matisse works to know by heart exhibition is on at the moment..

I adore visiting art galleries, I always leave inspired, my head filled with new ideas.

I have always loved Matisse and this small exhibition  spans Matisse's life and as it's centre piece is the iconic 'The snail' collage.

It is a huge collage, about 3 metres square, and as a collage artist it was lovely to be able to get up so to one of his most famous 'cut out pieces'

There was a very exciting children's workshop going on at the time, looked like lots of fun!

Why visit one gallery when you can do two! So I also visited the Liverpool walker Gallery and the wonderful pre-raphaelite

Beauty and Rebellion exhibition.

 The exhibition concentrated on the links with Liverpool and the pre-Raphaelite movement. The city played an important role as many wealthy art collectors of the time were based in the city and commissioned works by artist such as Dante Gabrielle Rosetti and Sir John Everett Millais

Liverpool already has a fantastic Pre-Raphaelite collection housing works such as Dante's dream

The exhibition added many more to this with some beautiful works lent from private and public collections. There were many highlights, Monna vanna was one of them! 

unfortunately photography wasn't allowed in the pre-Raphaelite exhibition although I did take photos, where allowed, in some of the other rooms.

Monna Vanna wikepedia

Here are a few other pieces I found of interest,

This is Michael Raedecker's 'mirage' which is a combination of acrylic threads on linen.

The trees really seem to jump off the linen background.

This made me smile! A toilet' loophoniun' by Fritz Spiegl !   

 I also liked the collection of china fragments, I love collections of things, and the idea of displaying broken fragments of the past really appealed to me.

finally a little peep at what I have been up to in the studio.....

WIP

Lots of tearing and sticking going on...
Making paper beads too..... there is a connection... I will share once it is done. ;) if you are interested in learning how there are loads of you tube tutorials. I'm just making basic paper beads although you can do some amazing things to make them really exciting!

making paper beads