Stitching with cloth and vintage papers.. A free textile course

'Earning a living'

What a great time I had at Joan's Textile class it was held at Slack Space  Colchester. This is my little piece, a little more to do, perhaps a outlaws mask to help disguise 'Chopin' to make him look a little more sinister?

The view from an imaginary window...

 

'Holiday cottage'

I'm rather pleased with this one.. reminds me of my holidays..

 

This is the actual view from my kitchen window.. Do you like the leaded glass - An ebay find £0.99p + postage , a bargain!  My hubby made up the wooden frame out of some old floorboards, a quick sand and a little bee's wax, perfect.  

*Notice behind my beautiful collection of 60's/70's kitch bud vases.. An acquired taste some would say...I just love them..

Mixer update.. Next to the window is my new heavy duty  Kitchenaid mixer... Long story.. Which I won't bore you with..bought 3 of the regular kitchenaid mixers from a local department store.. (not all at once I hasten to add) every one had a major fault and got returned. So I gave up and got this beauty.

I'm off to make me some wholemeal seedy bread...mmm..

Charity shop find, OF THE YEAR!

 

Can you believe this find..   I was begining to loose all faith in the charity shop system.. They have got a bit big for their knickers... They are charging a fortune for second/third hand goods.. £6.99 for a ball'ed acrylic jumper I noticed last week...£34.00 for a coat that would'nt keep you warm on a summers day.  

But, hidden amongst all the hideously over priced 'stuff ' was this little lot of treasure.. Mine for just £11.00 including the pastry brush.. A funny thing to be included, but hey it might be the best paint brush I ever use.. 

There are still gems out there, it's just that they take a little longer to find... And it's so exciting when you do.

Pinch and a Punch for the first of the month...

...And I am still pinching myself...

We visited the local Auctions the other Saturday, just because it was rainy and we couldn't get on with the studio, and quite by chance we happened to see these three treasures, well in fact we saw four... One got away.

 

A pen and ink drawing signed Laura Knight

 A pencil sketch signed Vanessa Bell

 And a watercolour signed Edward Wolfe

The Laura Knight is my favorite, she has been a hero of mine for many a year, her sketches dance on the page here is a link  to see more of her work.  Dame Laura Knight was made a Associate of the RA in 1928, being only the second woman after Anne Surymerton.

The Vanessa Bell drawing is foxed but I love it just the same here is a link to Charleston -  Vanessa Bell's home where you can see more of her work and that of other Bloomsbury Group artists.  If you ever get a chance to go to Charleston House, go... It is wonderful.

The Edward Wolfe is one that we brought because my darling loved it, we think that it is of the River Thames but we need to do some research. We think he was also one of the Bloomsbury Group.

As for the one that got away.... A Henry Moore sketch..... Gutted!

Drawing at 'The Big Draw' and...vintage finds

 Venue: Essex University Gallery building.

Emma Cameron was our tutor, she took us on an exploration of 'our art' and 'ourselves as artists'.  Emma had bought some objects in with her... watch, a clock, plastic children's toys, shells, keys..etc. We were asked to choose one of them and draw it very carefully,  looking at perspective and texture...

For my first drawing, I chose a watch, which started off very nicely, using charcoal... as it progressed and got smudged..as charcoal does, the drawing deteriorated and the numbers which were very neat and in the right order, started to... escape.. If you understand my meaning... Boredom was setting in.

Emma analyzed our work and getting us to 'see' what our drawing was saying,  Emma suggested that, "I might be sub-consciously worried about time"... My age I suggested?  "May be" she gently said.  

I had to choose another object... A child's toy, a plastic warrior on horseback, he had lost his sword but he still had his shield... he is in the center of the page above, charging out towards you, with his shadow looking as if it is off in another direction... What is that saying about me??  The watch is still in the foreground, with numerals escaping, and in no particular order "as if time was now irrelevant..", Emma suggested.  The bird at the top of the picture was a shell which took my eye.. that became a bird... Another flight/escape perhaps...   

 

My third and final piece...  What had this morning been all about?? Analyzing myself, my art, my sub-conscious... ?

Penny's dropping... clang, clang!... I was now in full flow...   I found a plastic sheep... and a light bulb goes on!.....  

D'oh!    Take a look in the mirror Julie... !   You always look as if you've been out on a windy day however neat and tidy you try to be....Hedge and backwards also come to mind.  Nature v nurture, was I born like this, or was it taught... I am now laughing...

Had I ever fitted in?????  At school.. Only in the art/needle work rooms? At work.. only with a few of my fellow workers? At home - unbelievable relationship with my father... still on going and not good?....  Luckily I had an amazing mother and have a wonderfully understanding husband and have had three beautiful children.. Who have coped/pulled up, with me.

Now I'm talking to myself.... What is this woman bring out in me.... Asking myself questions...Aaah...

Back to the sheep.. I have never wanted to be a sheep, a follower, one that... 
   
  ...Definition: a docile and vulnerable person who would rather follow than make an independent decision; "his students followed him like sheep" 

That is not me, I don't want to be one of those..when all around me are 'beige sheep' (It's an age thing) I want to wear 'red' and 'Burnt Orange' be 'me' and go in the opposite direction to all the others, complete with messy hair and untidy cupboards, the same goes for my work ~ Admittedly some of it is very neat but there is always an element of the me within...... going the wrong way, looking at things from another angle.. Well at least I hope that I am otherwise I'd better give up now!....    I'm sure a lot could be read into that, but hey that's for someone else...who is far cleverer than me.

Back to the drawing, it wasn't until the drawings went up on the wall did I realise that the shadow of the red sheep was of a Unicorn... Now I want it to be analysed.. 

And the spoon...  Time still popping in to my drawing through another metaphor.. 

What happened to the first drawing, one of the ladies loved it, so she now has it at home... Maybe she could use it to start a bonfire... It was not one of my best...

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Now for my vintage finds... An old wooden box with inlay, and two wonderful metal boxes, one for Milk of Magnesia tablets, in wonderful condition complete with the 'felt' or cotton wool pad to keep the indigestion tablets dry... it's got to be over 50 years old. If it's a day.

The little metal powder box, in nigh perfect condition except for a little dust between the raised lettering, I have no idea how old it could be.. Or what type of powder it was used for?

I now have to decide what to do with the little tins, incorporate them into a doll maybe or sell them on?