Zodiac quilt is coming along nicely...

It's only 3 months to go and we will have completed our 12 blocks on the 2012 Bead Journal Project. WOW! It's gone so fast... I've now actually finished beading my blocks, but I still have to embellish them with the appropriate crystals and coloured beads.

Each zodiac has so many associations and I thought I'd make a flat reference guide that would look great on the wall, and be totally useful too.

I've started working round a few of them- I've done 6 now... but I've got 3 months now to finish them all and then start embroidering the texts around the piece.

Here's how it's looking now...

Once this panel is done I'll be adding coloured panels around the outside with the seasons and symbols.

Sun, Sand and Cement

I've been meaning to make some stepping stones for my garden for a long time- just not got round to it due to other projects... but with hubby off for 2 weeks and nowhere to go I thought I'd use the time to do "my" projects and have a holiday too.

As a test run for the cement mix I did a sun and moon using molds from Ebay, but I think they won't be strong enough to handle foot traffic so I painted them up and decided to make a wall plaque for each. As I'm heavily into the Elements alot of my work is tied in to them, either just by colours or reference to the actual element, I thought it the perfect theme for the garden.

 

Acrylic paints cover cement beautifully, but I did paint a sizing layer of diluted PVA on first. Because I used a cement mix of 1 part cement; 2 parts fine sand and 1 part sharp sand, mixed with water and a splash of PVA to plasticize the mix, it settled into the mold nicely and I only had 2 air bubbles, despite some vigourous tapping to dispel any air!

The sun had some fine detail, the moon very little, and the celtic knots are shallow but with lots of detail. Even the knots came out well using that mix. These were also painted with acrylics. Once it's all together it will be waterproofed and sealed.

I laid out my pattern on a table to gauge placement and scale, then set up a trough using one of my silk-painting frames covered with thick plastic. This allows the concrete to be poured into a former that will be easy to remove and remain clean. I also used two straws to create holes at the top for fixing later- it would be impossible to guarantee drilling wouldn't damage the plaque or chip a section out.

I made up a stronger mix for the concrete; 1 part cement, 1 part fine sand, 1 part sharp sand and 1 part fine aggregate. I added PVA to this mix too. This was poured into the former, leveled with a trowel and the sun placed in the centre. With a little wiggling and pushing she settled in nicely and then there was the big rush to add the celtic knots and all the glass nuggets in their respective places. It set a little too quickly so I ended up gluing the tiny mirror tiles in some places. 

I think the overall effect worked out well enough, although I love precision and accuracy, sometimes it's nice to be rustic and natural, especially once it gets a bit weathered and mossy.

 

The coloured nuggets were sunk into the mix, but the clear were added later using an acrylic polymer medium. Once it was completely dry I used a Gedeo waterproofing liquid all over the plaque, and sealed with an acrylic gloss varnish.

This is the sun plaque finished, onto the moon soon... and then I will have the concrete mix perfected for the stepping stones. I'll be using the sun and moon molds again, but the glass will be sea glass that I've been collecting for the last few years.

Poetry and art...

I read this on Facebook;

She is a wild one
Who turns her face to the wind.
Her eyes glow in the night...golden..
As if the Sun lived within her.
The aroma of the earth as it receives the falling rain
is her perfume.
She laughs--Oh! How she laughs
in the presence of turmoil and bluster!
For deep in her soul...
There is a summers day. 

It was written by an arting friend Jerene B Dunn and since reading it I've had an image going round in my head... to the point where I had to sit and play quickly in Photoshop to get something down on virtual paper. It's not exactly what I had in mind, but the colours and layout are right... will work on a painted version sometime soon, then I will get the feeling right.

Here she is...

Digital compilation of a number of pieces of my artwork, played with in layers on CS5

BOS adventure continues....

It's been a lovely couple of days... sitting with piles of paper, beads,gel and ribbon up to my elbows around me, I'm totally- literally- immersed in my bookmaking!

Having finished the cover, which I decided to make rather than a whole book, simply because I know I'll fill these up quickly and I'd like to keep the same cover for a while.. (maybe a new one each year as work continues) rather than spend all this time creating it and needing a new one in a few months! 

So yesterday I worked on the section headers, the front page and dedication pages etc.

 I also managed to get some better pics in daylight....

 

 I'm happy with the outside now...so onto the insides...

  The front pocket and endpage. I saved lots of birch bark over the last few years  and loved including it in the book. I also used the soft lino cut I did a few days back to make an embossing for the centre.

 

 The first few pages are inked and are for my dedication, goals, index etc....

 In my many hours of searching and learning I came across some rather nice backgrounds, which I'm sorry to say I can't refind to add a link (thankfully I'd saved the PDF's as I found them) . Being me I didn't want to use them as unchanged pages, I always add my own work, so I collaged them with some lovely textured heavy papers.

This is how they are all laid out. I inked and stamped the titles the same as the front pages. The main area will be for detailed indexes...

Now I need to get all my notes together and start to add them in... and begin the long journey...

Can't wait, but am kinda nervous too!! Having spent so long making it just right, I don't want to mess it up... and I'd better dedicate it first.... Oh, just thought, I need to add a feather in there somewhere... a work in progress indeed!!

Materials used;

Felt, leather, ribbons, angelina, brass beads, silver beads, semi-precious crystals, cord, wool, bone,bark, vinyl, plastic, papers, cards, inks, stamps, book pages, wire and probably a few things I've forgotten!

New Year, new plan...

It's taken a bit of planning and time but yesterday I spent a day with my sewing machine... it's been a while. I promised myself  that this year I would do what I've been thinking about for a long long time... and actually start living by what I believe, rather than just float on through in a vacuum.

So having performed my first blessing for Brighid, and a little self contemplation, I got my stash of bits I'd been collecting for my new BOS and began making it. 

Here it is finished, well the outside anyway, I've got more ideas for the inside.

Now the fun of making entries and filling it up....

Playing with lino...

I desperately wanted to make some stamps for several projects, and I can't find gel packs for making stamps at a reasonable price anymore, so needed an alternative.

I've lino cut before but it hurts my hands now so wanted something a bit easier to cut. A friend suggested "Easy carve" so I had a look online. My regular art shop actually had some small circles in, which saved me time and postage..woohoo! - once I decide on a project I NEED to get on with it!
So I spent yesterday cutting out symbols in the circular lino. It is almost rubbery and it is very difficult to get pencil or pen to draw on it, so accuracy with design can be a problem... even Sharpies didn't work!

Despite that, and working virtually freehand, I managed to get close enough to what I wanted... well, these things are supposed to be "irregular and personal" aren't they? If they were precision cut I may as well have bought them...

So here they are, my first 10.... I have more to do, and you can buy it in a sheet so I can get some bigger designs cut too, which will help for my calendar for next year.

Even with the drawing issue, they were quite nice to work with, and alot easier to carve than tradition hessian lino, so I would recommend them.

I've just tested them out on my Valentine ATC envelopes and they print ok too, if you use a brayer rather than an acrylic block (like normal rubber stamps)

The one thing I didn't think of though, doh!, was reversal... so my 2012 stamp is only good for embossing.... and with my new Bigshot I'm putting it to good use already- they emboss beautifully too. These little gems will be doing alot of work in the near future.

xx

Zentangles and Doodling...

Wow- I've been doodling for years, but never once realized there was a whole cult thing going on with them...zentangles, with courses and instructors...

Here's one of my favourite sets, I usually work in sets of three. I don't always use colour after, but these just begged to be played with....

Doodling is great when I'm struggling for inspiration, or putting off a bigger project. I must admit though, even my doodles have to have a certain amount of  organisation and tidyness, guess I'm a chronic control freak after all...


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