Berry theme reveal for Art Elements

Karen from the Art Elements team hosted this months themed challenge, the first one of 2020.  You can see her post HERE

It has been so long since I took part in a challenge as my motivation to do anything art related has been at an all time low.  So much has happened over the last few months and I am worn out emotionally and mentally, throw in the cold and grey days and I have celebrated getting out of bed in the morning and getting dressed!  

Time has come to push oneself to do something other than wallow in self pity and greyness, so I decided to start small.  Don't think too much, I told myself, just think berry and do a little something once in a while.  So I did.  Here are my three little somethings that came about because I was thinking of the berry challenge.

First up is Strawberry Nellie.

I had my first Facebook show of 2020 and was making characters (in glass as beads) for that.  It was a struggle to get going and find my whimsical muse but I am pleased to say that getting into the studio and just turning on the torch has kicked started my arty needs and the grey days are starting to become a bit brighter.  

The other 'somethings' are really just 'doodles' but art is art and creating is good for the soul, even if it is on scrap bits of paper! 

I threw everything at this doodle.  On watercolour paper, I started with a dip pen and some ink that Secret Santa from the team sent me for Christmas.  It is a delicious green ink - which you probably can't see because I then layered over it many times as I got 'into the groove' and found that time stood still and I enjoyed 20 minutes of 'arting'.  I grabbed the Arteza watercolour pens on the desk, I wanted a bit of brightness in my life, but it was too bright, so I dulled it down with a white Posca paint pen which I admit I over did it so I grabbed the purple Posca paint pen, then I went back to the dip pen but this time with black ink.  I stopped just in the nick of time I think, I rather like this mixed media piece and I am going to cut it out and use it as a book mark as it has all the qualities of art I like, colour and lines.  It is simple and it is over worked but I will use it to mark the pages in my book so I remind myself that all 'funks' come to an end eventually.

Lastly a Posca paint pen doodle on wood.  It was a Sunday afternoon, it was grey and miserable and damp and dreary and again I wanted some colour.  The great thing about Posca pens is they are so vibrant, the down side is they are so vibrant!  I enjoyed messing about, again for probably only 20-30 minutes, mixing, layering, smudging....  

A doodle a day keeps the misery away ;)  

No doubt everyone else that has taken part in this month's challenge will have produced something a little more significant than my doodles so join me in hopping the blogs below....

Art Elements Team

• Laney
• Karen
• Cathy
• Lesley

Our Guest Contributors

• Sarah Raines
• Karin Grosset Grange
• Divya
• Bay Moon Design
• Tammy Adams

Art Element Tidepool Theme Reveal Blog Challenge

Last month Lesley from the Art Elements team posted the challenge of Tidepool and today, 31st May is the reveal.  (click on the link to read the original blog post).  

May has been a busy month for me as I am getting ready for the Flame Off  which is a glass fair in Uttoexter.  I am both exhibiting and teaching a small class of 12 on Saturday 2nd June getting people hooked on the art of whimsy beads in glass making.  My little cat Gordy has been recovering from last months set back so I have been spending a lot of time with him getting him active and 'fattened' back up. We have had lots of lovely sunshine which has been great for getting Gordy into the garden but not so great for glass bead making as it has been too hot by 11 in the morning to light the torch and cook in the studio.

I was however inspired by the theme of Tidepools.  I remember as a little girl we lived in Cornwall near the beach and I loved walking on the sand after a good storm - I do love a good storm.  The waves would be crashing to the ground splattering foam and sea weed across the beach.  The smell of salt and fish, of damp sand and mildewy rocks that are seeing the sunlight after the dark of the storm, assaulted your nose.  The skies would be coloured in pink and purple with fading grey on the horizon and the tidepools, or rock pools as we call them here in the UK would be teeming with life.  You could see starfish, anemone, sea weeds in all shapes and colours, small fish and limpets that had been trapped as the sea receded.

These memories sent me into the studio very early in the morning to create glass fish, in my style...  

 ..and every good tide pool has to have a shark.. right!

I had fun creating my tide pool fish in glass, obviously they are not your normal visitors to these little rock pools nestled by the cliffs here in the UK but you just never know they might just live there if you look hard enough.

On a rummage through my cupboards of art supplies and beads I came across this beautiful cabochon by Jenny , one of the members of the team, she had gifted me this piece when I first joined the team.  I love the colours and the swirls, it just reminds me of water and Pisces.  I am a Piscean.  So using it as my muse I painted some goldfish (I am still learning my watercolours but loving the journey, I am finding painting so restful and relaxing... which after years of hating them and being so frustrated by my efforts I am finding using them something of an enigma!  

This finished doodle illustration is not perfect, far from it and the fish are not as whimsy as I imagined nor are they realistic enough to pass scrutiny in the art circle BUT I rather like it!  I love the colours and of course the 'doing' was something that gave me much pleasure.  I stuck this on the front cover of my new sketchbook so I get to touch it and see it every day. 

As with the 'sketchbook' piece I have found I am quite taken with creating mixed media flat illustrative work at the moment.  I like creating levels of depth and combining cut out pieces to give a more 3D but yet still flat look.  The other thing I have found is that when creating a 'full sized' finished piece of work I get easily bored and distracted.  This is quite a revelation for me as I have never really understood or 'been into' mixed media pieces but I have found, I think through creating small glass sculpture animal beads and then dreaming up silly stories for them, that that is my niche.  Small but lots of it!  

I have been reading a lot of fantasy stories on my Kindle - another move from the norm for me.  It wasn't until my ....ahem...  40s ....that I realized I love these stories of magic and folklore, before I read widely but it was biographies and classics like Little Women, Where Angels Fear to Tread as well as more modern works like The Colour Purple,  and the likes of Joanne Harris, Lollipop Shoes and Chocolat.. but I digress...

My latest, reading, passion has been for stories of Selkies and the sea which has set my imagination off for this challenge.  

I wondered what you would see if you gazed into a rock pool and there amongst the star fish and the shells was a Selkie in seal form.....

I used very rough watercolour paper for the 'base' or background, tinted in shades of yellow ochre, light violet for shadows and maybe a touch of grey.  On this I painted star fish, shells, rocks and sea weed as well as the Selkie himself.  I cut these out and arranged them how I wanted using a raised mount to give me depth.  On the mount I put my person looking in and some more shells and rocks.  I wanted to give the illusion of ripples on the water, another level and for this I used some clear film cut into ripply shapes.  I rather like the over all effect and have plans to create more like this.  This way I can indulge in my love of quick, immediate and 'movement' in designs, small pieces and link them all together.

I hope you will hop around the other blogs that took part in this themed challenge and I will try and do the same over the weekend, although as this weekend I will be melting glass in Uttoexter I suspect it will be early next week before I am able to do that.

Guests

Raven

Kelly 

Cat

Kathy 

Tammy 

Alyson

Elaine 

Mischelle 

Deborah  

Anita 

Jill

Shirlee

Sarajo 

AE Team Members:

Caroline

Cathy

Claire

Jen 

Laney 

Lesley 

Marsha 

Niky

Sue

Lindsay
Jenny Davies-Reazor 

Tree Challenge

 Caroline from Art Jewelry Elements gave a challenge at the beginning of September - how time flies as now we are at the end of September! - for a Tree Themed Challenge and I said 'go on then I will play', then promptly did nothing for two weeks.

Panic set in last week and I realized that the month end was dawning and I had no ideas so I picked up my doodle book (most people call it a sketch book I just doodle in mine....) and was flicking through it and found this doodle...obviously it fit the theme.  

I LOVE eyes, I doodle them all the time and this one morphed into the finished doodle is now.

The other night I sat with doodle book on my lap watching the TV and this fellow arrived in the bark of a tree trunk....

...another evening doodle this time I was thinking about my dog walk and the ancient woods I walk through, a corridor of trees that can feel very spiritual and very ecclesiastical and I was reminded, during my doodle, of many Sundays spent in church listening to the organ and so doodled some music notes.  This doodle is actually quite flat and I really couldn't get  a good feel to it so was a bit disappointed but all doodles should be for pleasure and we shouldn't judge ourselves too harshly....

Before glass I used to do much more fine art, mainly pets and their portraits but sometimes I did trees too.  I was once told that to become more able to study a face, be it human or animal then practise 'seeing' trees as each one is different like a face they have unique lines.  Both of the drawings below are artist grade coloured pencil and ink.

This has to be one of my favourite paintings and it hangs in my bathroom.  It is approx 4ft wide and is painted with acrylic.  I am not a painter my use of the brush can be quite messy and I end up with more paint on me than the canvas, I prefer pencil, but I went through a stage of painting and produced many paintings, most of which featured a tree or animal.  This one was inspired by a wonderful trip with friends to Symonds Yat near to me on the River Wye on the border of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire within a few miles of Monmouthshire and the Welsh border.

Even in glass the trees, or more the spirit of the woodland, finds its way into my beads and small sculptures.  The first two beads are my take on the Green Man.

This one is supposed to represent the bark of the tree...

Oddly in glass my muse is whimsical, I suppose really my drawing is now too, being too serious doesn't suit me and I am known for my beads with bums.  This little chap was inspired by my love of everything whimsical, he is the Tree Spirit or Elemental and came about after my looking at the work of Brian Froud.

...and.. this is Trevor and Trevor was inspired by the Tree Theme Challenge....   It is time for all good squirrels to start collecting nuts as Autumn descends the leaves turn golden brown  and ruby red and Trevor here is told by his wife to buck his ideas up and start contributing to the family's stash of food for the Winter and to out into the driving rain and collect enough acorns to stock the larder. Poor Trevor is seriously hen pecked, in fact it has been known that Trevor is a frequent visitor to the hen house just to get some peace for an hour or so!

So after thinking I didn't have a single idea about using trees in art it turns out I have been immersed in a forest of ideas for a good few years!!

I am looking forward to reading all about those that took part in this challenge and seeing the ideas that others have come up with, if you want to blog hop with me here are the links....

AJE Team

Jennifer Stout Cameron

Lesley Watt

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Laney Mead

Niky Sayers

Cooky Schock

Cathy Spivey Mendola

Caroline Dewison

Guests

Brooke Bock

Karin Grosset Grange

Merja Sundström

Cindy Martin Shaw

Allison L Norfleet Bruenger

Melissa Trudinger

Kathy Lindemer

Gloria Allen

Shai Williams

Tammy Adams

Mona Arnott

Terri Del Signore

Art Jewelry Elements Blog Hop Head Pin Challenge.

*blows dust off blog.....*

I have recently joined Art Jewellery Elements via Facebook having long admired and read their posts via their blog and am a very proud member of the 'staff', yes I am one who will write stuff, interesting, intellectually entertaining stuff every month...how do I get myself into these things.....  so I thought that why not jump feet first into a challenge which had less than 24 hours left for the sign ups and about 4 days to create a 'something' that was brilliant!

So sign up I did.  Then instantly worry and debate my sanity.

The challenge is head pins and I 'luckily' had some in my bead box that I made last year.  I don't make head pins as a rule so this really was a lucky find.  These head pins are lampworked glass berries, holly and mistletoe on copper wire.  I had (!) 7 - read on why I had! and a lone holly leaf glass bead.   After a long walk down at the river with the dogs musing on what on earth I was going to create, I had a brilliant  *light bulb moment*....

I would create a sculpture of wire and beads and it would be fabulous.

I obviously forgot the last time I used wire was circa 2000 - head pins not included in this realization.  I just don't make jewellery.

So I gathered my supplies, a vague idea of a sculpture in my head, grabbed a piece of paper and dashed off a doodle of a wreath/garland being held by a fabulously crafted wire robin - the latter will get completed but I ran out of time.. 

The supplies I collected together was some seed beads in greens and silver and gold, some copper wire in various gauges, I found in my stash a rather cute silver tone charm of a Christmas stocking, some silver balls, the head pins and the glass bead.

Next came the quick doodle of the design. I am rarely this organized but with the lack of time I figured it was a good idea.  I thought the scale was about right in the doodle for the garland, in hindsight when I get round to making the bird (should I get round to making the bird) the bird is going to have to be HUGE for the design to work. 

First up bending the thicker copper wire into a round-ish shape.  Not that easy when you are round-ish challenged.. thank goodness for salt pots, I wrapped the wire around the salt pot and it was the perfect size. 

And this is why there 'was' 7 head pins.  As I have already stated, I don't make jewellery and during my wire wrapping of the first head pin I was a little bit over zealous with the wrap and the glass berry bead came away from the wire, I could have glued the wire back in but if anyone has seen me with glue they will know that wouldn't have ended well so I just had to use 6 and be a bit more careful.

Three on and three to go.  I was just seeing how the design would work out with the 6 pins.  After the breaking disaster I did decide to use some seed beads on the wire to separate the glass berry and the wrap and make me less heavy handed in the wrapping.  

We are all wired on including the glass holly bead.. Now to make it look pretty.

I decided to go with the gold seed beads and the green ones, they are different sizes which helped with the over all effect.  

I was quite pleased with how it was going but it really did lack a 'something'.

So I dived back into my cupboard of beads and found some little green drops I liked and promptly spilt beads all over the dog, carpet, table.....  I really should have got out my bead board....

I wired the drop beads in groups of three and the balanced look I wanted started to come through and look right, despite me breaking the 7th head pin.  I added the cute silver stocking charm and declared my head pin challenge a success.

I am still wondering about making it into the sculptural piece with the wire bird - that has yet to be born - so will have to carry on with the wire and my doodle.....

To see more of those that joined in the challenge here are the links ..

Guests:

Alison Herrington

Renetha Stanziano

Karin Grosset Grange

Gloria Allen

Deb Fortin

Cate van Alphen

Mona Arnott

Shai Williams

Sarajo Wentling

Kathy Lindemer

Solange Collin

Brooke Bock

Melissa Meman

Patricia Handschuh

Tammy Adams

Melissa Trudinger

AJE Team Members:

Caroline Dewison

Lesley Watt

Cathy Mendola

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Susan Kennedy

Laney Mead

Diana Ptaszynski

Lindsay Starr

Niky Sayers

Its Friday!

 

I don't have much to say tonight, which is something coming from me, other than the rain lashing down at the windows after a very mild October day, I am sat at the computer with a cup of tea, I really know how to rock a Friday night.

 

I just listed these head pins, the blue ones, in my Etsy shop but to be honest I just can't find the energy or the inclination to list anymore so I am calling it quits for the evening.  I might make myself some cheese on toast I have a fancy for that right now, and sit in front of the television for an hour before going off to bed to read my book, like I said, I know how to rock on a Friday night!

 

Blue icicle head pins now in the Etsy shop.

Head pin bouquet of lilac buds and leaves.

 A couple of buttons.

A two holed button.

Another head pin bouquet.

Have a fun Friday, it can't be more exciting than mine!!

Wordless Wednesday and a few favourite beads of the week.

My beads can be found on eBay.com or click the Etsy link in the side bar to your left. 

Just beads and weird days.

 

Saturday's are odd days, they are neither a Friday; working day, nor a Sunday; resting, sort of as much as you can on a Sunday for a family that are not particularly religious or follow any family rituals of a Sunday nature.  Saturday's are weird.

 

I walked the dogs, then I came home, no one was here, I stood in the lane talking to people for about an hour, in my wellington boots, then the delivery man came and the postman, I was still in my wellington boots, then I came in, had a cup of tea and went to the studio shed whilst my husband returned home from a night shift and snored his way through the motor racing he had recorded, in the guise of catching up, meanwhile, Izabel snuggled and snoozed on the sofa, Gordy languished in his old cat tree, not the impressive tower in the hall but the more used small version now behind the sofa in the living room and Defi and I went to the shed and listened to the audio book from Terry Prachete, I am still unsure as to whether or not I like all of Prachett's books, I love the witches in his stories but the other characters just don't do it for me but listening is easier than reading them......

 

I was commissioned to make a Robin bead this week, I made a few and have offered them up for made to order in my Etsy shop, I love them, they are cute and colourful and well....Christmassy; don't shoot the messenger, it was a commission remember!

 



I have been making some very LONG focal beads, rather pleased with these two, the top one has been described, not by me, as romantic, I was thinking Victorian elegance when I was making it so I think that fits, the one below is my version of grape vines; I am wondering about my sculptural beads I rather like the more 'solid' versions too, maybe I should try sets like this style?  Who knows and next week is still a day away.

 



Its Saturday night and tonight I am going to finish this crochet poncho I have been working on for weeks, photos will follow in a day or two.  I have been looking at crochet lace and I really wanting to have a go, it looks so delicate and I am wanting to make some lace jewellery with the beads I have been making, so many ideas go round in my head at one time, the luck of the 'artiste' I suppose, but the down side being not enough hours in any one day!

 

 

Have a great Saturday evening and I will chat tomorrow, this Blogtoberfest and 31 days of writing challenge is keeping me blogging!!

Wordless Wednesday.

 

Well, almost wordless anyway; headpins. 

 

These sold this afternoon but I will be making more!