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 Elements theme challenge reveal - Octopus.

This month's Art Elements theme was set by Claire and was Octopus.  Not a subject I was overly familiar with and I struggled...alot!  I have nothing 'concrete' or finished or even started really but I did spend a few evenings doodling and as octopus was on my mind here is a few of the doodles and experiments.  I am sure that everyone else who participated in the challenge will have been far more productive and can show something rather spectacular.. or should that be tentacular? which according the Urban Dictionary means something of many parts which is difficult to manage!  I rather like that word...tentacular...  

So first up was Sharky Malone, actually he was last up and as such I got distracted so I never finished 'colouring' him in - as has been my way just lately my muse is being quite elusive, or is that my staying power for finishing anything!  So Sharky Malone is a shark, obviously and I had this fleeting thought of how Sharky would capture his dinner if he was devious, why of course he would build himself an Octopus Theme Park and fill it with stolen pirate treasure to attract the youngsters.... 

If you can't see the 'story poem' I wrote all over the page here it is...

A plan was hatched by Sharky Malone

Who pretended that he was still at home

But, down at the park, just left of the shell

Was Sharky Malone, disguised very well.

'Come closer little fish, there's treasure to see

Don't be afraid of little old me.....'

I brought some peg doll 'things' the blank wooden wotsits (all technical terms) recently and had this idea I would do a peg doll octopus - I have endless doodles of that but nothing came of it!  I also came across some ply wood (I think) door hanging thingies and as I have Arteza watercolour pens AND Posca pens I decided to see if they would work together on the wood.  They do!  fancy that!  I need to varnish this but I ran out of spray varnish so need to buy some more, then I will hang this on my bathroom door, my kids might have grown up but I think I am regressing!  

Close up of the Octopus door hanging thingie...  I was thinking of costumes for some reason, I think I had been in my wardrobe and spied my dragon onesie - for winter you understand ;)  - and wondered if you could get an octopus one.. I bet you can! 

Just a random doodle in water colour pencil with the same pencil used dry on the top.  

...and another doodle in the sketchbook this time using my lovely Faber Castell Polychromos pencils, oh how they glow with colour and so gorgeous to use...  I like layers and some evenings are just made for sitting and layering....  

That is all from me this month for the challenge.  It isn't very much or very complete.  I doodle a lot!  I can't keep still!  But I thought I would show that although I don't have anything particular I still was thinking of the challenge.  I am looking forward to seeing finished pieces from those that have taken part as I have seen a few 'in progress' photos on Instagram and am intrigued....

Cat

Evie and Beth

Hope

Karen

Kathy

Melissa

Michelle

Rozantia

Sarajo

Tammy

Art Elements Team:

Cathy

Claire

Jenny

Laney

Lindsay

Marsha

Selkie and the sea - Art Elements monthly challenge reveal

Jenny from the Art Elements team launched the new theme challenge at the beginning of this month, Selkies and the sea.

Not an easy challenge!  It wasn't hard to find references to the selkie lore, those mystical  creatures that live off the coast of Orkney and come ashore removing their seal skins and walking amongst the people as one of their own.  There are many stories surrounding the selkies and I have read widely on them, both in wonderful romantic fiction novels where you lose yourself in the words and are transported to the wild shores of the Shetland isles and also the more traditional fairy tale or folk lore that surrounds them.

I have loved the works of Brian Froud in whose art that depicts the fairies and more magical creatures of our richly woven history of Celtic tales he has given form to those which may.. or not.. have ever existed.  As well as many other artists works of selkie genre.  That didn't make it any easier for me to come up with some thing unique to this challenge.  I dabbled a bit with the glass (above) and my little selkie girl was born in the flame.

I doodled 'endlessly' during the evenings in my sketchbook....

using my imagination to create a seal like creature that was uniquely 'my' selkie...

...the many pages I filled in my sketchbooks but still the idea just wouldn't flow....

So I wrote a small .. and unfinished.. story and had the idea to create a small story book dummy for this project but I never got round to finishing it but maybe you can tell the story with your own words using these thumbnail sketches that are the preliminary doodles for my story.

I hope you will join in and follow the blogs below that belong to those that took part in this theme challenge, I am intrigued to see the ideas that this theme generated as it wasn't the easiest challenge but then they are the ones that push you out of your comfort zone and whether you finish them or not you might push yourself to travel a different path......

Guests: 

Paisleylizard.com/blog

Anordinarymiracleday.wordpress.com 

 Ebbeadandmetalworks.blogspot.com

Bay-moon-design.blogspot.com

AE team: 

Lesley

Jen

Caroline

Claire

Laney

Cathy

Niky

Lindsay

Jenny

Reveal for the Art Elements themed challenge of 'white'.

At the beginning of December Claire from the Art Elements team announced that the themed challenge would be 'white'.  To read that blog post click HERE

To me white is not a colour, maybe that is the 'colourist' or 'artist' in me but I have always understood white to be a 'non colour' like black because it isn't present on the spectrum and can only be mixed by the eye mixing light wavelengths - I do love the theory of colour but that is not the topic for this blog challenge.

wooden painted pebble, white acrylic ink

   I love colour.  Big, bold, vibrant colour.  I love contrasting colours or clashing colours.  I love black too because it is slimming! but white in our house and in my life is a no no....I have dogs and cats!  whether that alone makes me avoid white I don't know but because I rarely use it in my art I decided rather than use 'white' for creating I would not use colour.   

I concentrated my doodle sessions with just the white of the paper, but I couldn't avoid using black fine liner pens to define for me the white areas.  I did try using just a pencil but for me the contrast wasn't enough.  So really my challenge is more 'monochrome than white'. 

I started doodling 'dolls'.  I had this idea in my head that I could create a doll like figure in just white.  I did think I would use fabric for this but then decided I wanted to use paper.  Just white paper.  The 'doll' above was originally going to be cut out and have some other outfits to clothe her like the dolls from my childhood that you used to get in magazines - the more I read about paper dolls the more fascinated I have become with them and their history is as old as mankind itself, well maybe not mankind exactly but certainly since paper has been used by scribes.

This little chap and the mouse below were just doodles in my sketchbook.  I did enjoy creating 'just white' doodles although I will admit to be itching to colour them in!

Which brings me to my 'finished' piece.. well actually it isn't finished because I wanted to create more of a world for her but life and Christmas got in the way....

My little fairy mouse, Esme,  from an Art Elements previous challenge  

 has grown on me and I doodle her quite often.  I have got rather attached to Esme as a character, so I decided to create her as an articulated paper doll.  The photo above is the original sketch working out where the pins would go and then separating the 'pieces' to cut out.  Both papers are white and fascinate me that 'white' comes in many 'colours'.

I didn't have any white split pins so I decided to use beads and thread which works really well.  I did attempt to create a tiny articulated doll with beads as the movable parts... it was fiddly!!  

Below is a project I started and probably won't finish because it just didn't hold my attention.  The idea was that I would gather together all sorts of bits of 'white' materials.  So the base is a white felt over laid with white linen.   White ribbon was attached and I glued on a white glass cabochon I fused way back when and I wanted to include paper as a material so I cut out a doodle I had of a dogs head and stitched it on with white embroidery thread.  The idea was to surround the glass cab with white beads and embellishments but I became disillusioned with the lack of colour although all the white materials intrigued me with their different hues and tones.

Below is all the guests and Art Elements team members that have taken part in this challenge, I will be very curious to see what everyone has created.  

Guest Artists

Alysen

Anita

Beth

Cat 

Divya

Elaine

Hope

Jill

Karin

Kathy

Lucy

Rozantia 

Sarajo

Susan

Tammy 

Art Elements Team

Caroline

Cathy

Claire

Laney

Lesley

Marsha

Susan

Art Elements Fairy Challenge reveal.

September's Art Element challenge was set by Caroline of Blueberribeads and she choose 'Fairies' as the theme.

I grew up with The Flower Fairies and the delightful drawings of Cicely M Barker.  I also love the work of Brian Froud and Alan Lee.  There are so many artists out there who specialize in art works of fae, Jasmine Beckett-Griffith, Amy Brown, Linda Ravenscroft as well as less modern artists, Edmund Dulac and of course the Cottingley Fairies by Elsie Wight and her cousin Frances Griffiths, these of course caught the imagination of none other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who weaved a tale so believable that the public were divided as to whether or not fairies did exist.

Once the challenge was set I started to doodle and let my imagination loose, using stories from my childhood to guide me in my fairy quest.  Of all the fairies from the stories of my youth they were mainly in human form.  The Flower Fairies, Victoria Plum  and others.  But my muse doesn't really work with people.  My illustrative doodle above came about after a lovely walk with my dogs watching as Autumn takes over from Summer and the fruits of the hedgerows and orchards swell and colour the landscape.  I may have had a glass of something cold whilst doodling, even fairies like a tipple ..right? 

I researched a bit for animal fairies and was sadly disappointed in their lack.  They are there of course but writers of stories tend to humanize their fae.  I decided to change that!  I also discovered that the words 'fairy' and 'faerie' are a little different in interpretation.  

“Fairy” is a word that has been derived from Latin word “fatum,” which can mean “fate.” “Faerie” is a word that has been derived from Gaelic “fear shidhe,” which means “’man of the shee.”

Read more: Difference Between Fairy and Faerie | Difference Between http://www.differencebetween.net/language/words-language/difference-between-fairy-and-faerie/#ixzz5SOPa9eN4

So I doodled a little more and soon a scene emerged in my sketchbook. 

I decided to have an animal fairy, after all fairy are small 'folk' and in my world (art) animals are dominant.  After doodling some more in my sketchbook, my little scene developed and then to make it 'real'.

I have been exploring (read that as looking and drooling at lots of very talented artists on the web!) paper diaormas.  I really want to experiment much more than I have been doing.  I found in my cupboard a green 'thing' that was given to me by a member of the team (Niky Sayers).  She found it last Christmas and liked it so brought a few of them and gave them to the members of the team who met up in London back in January.  Suddenly I saw this green 'thing' as a mound in my world.  A few little glass toadstools, some paper grass, a wooden plinth and some trees - which in hindsight I would have done differently - with some of my own hand made gold watercolour paint and some 'found' acorns on a beautiful Autumn day walk with my dogs completed my vision... oh and a sprinkling of fairy dust (glitter), completed the look.

I got rather attached to my little mouse and decided to create her in glass too, then she got a name and now my sketchbook is full of little mice hoola hooping, running, playing and having wings! 

Thanks to Caroline for setting the challenge.  I nearly gave up as I really wasn't feeling the 'human' fairy but I am glad I stuck with the muse because I think Esme might go on to be a staple character in my stories and illustrations.

Others who have joined in on this month's themed challenge are below, I hope you enjoy reading their magical journeys this month. 

 Vic

Divya

Alysen 

Kathy 

Tammy 

Kimberly 

Hope 

Alison 

Cat 

Sarah 

Art Elements Team

Jen 

Jenny  

Niky 

Laney 

Claire 

Cathy 

Marsha 

Caroline 

Art Elements Swirl Challenge Reveal.

This month the themed challenge over at the Art Elements blog was hosted by Marsha.  The theme was 'Swirl' and I almost didn't manage it!

All month I 'ummed and 'ahhed over what to do. I came up with nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  I will admit that with less than a week to go I was seriously considering opting out and that made me a little miffed.  I felt I had let myself down.  

This month I have been busy, not just with the last few days of the wonderful heat wave - we are now back to traditional British Summer weather and as I look out of my window on this Bank Holiday Monday in August I see grey clouds and the dull greens of the trees and hedges.  It is a little depressing, even if Autumn (Fall) is coming and the leaves are slowly turning their glorious russet reds and golden browns, the glorious sunshine seems a thing of the past.    Other than lamenting about the weather, another traditional British past-time, I have been moving all my art 'stuff' into my newly decorated studio room and sorting out my new space.  The boy person isn't coming back now, his place has been taken by a fabulous antique oak desk I found on eBay and LOTS of books, paper, paints and pencils.  This is my room!  So I haven't had an awful lot of time in between organizing my studio room and being in my glass studio creating beads to think of challenges but this one was always at the back of my mind. 

I thought about getting out my yarn - now moved into my new room - and practising some free form crochet.  I used to love doing that last winter, but I wasn't inspired.  I thought about getting out my wire, again now in my new room and playing with twisting metals into shapes but that isn't something I have a passion for.  I thought about creating a 'normal' bead with swirls for decoration but was bored just thinking about that as my beads are not my beads unless they have a funny face and tail.

Then....

I was reading Jill's blog Kiln Fired Art  (she is taking part in this challenge too) and reading about her new frame and of course seeing her art work.  It was then I thought to myself, stop trying to create something that isn't you! 

 I have three passions in art, one is writing, one is glass and illustration.  I had discounted the glass for this challenge so it was either writing or illustration... off topic muse I wonder who would be interested in reading a challenge that I devoted to writing... ummm....

anyway...

I decided that I would take inspiration from Jill and do some small illustrations of swirls.  Just shapes and random ideas, then I looked up and out of my window and watched the wind bending the dull green trees and whipping up the dried and dead grass and leaves and wondered if Miss 'Mudge my only cat that was outside at the time, was still anchored on the ground!  The wind was rather fierce that afternoon.  I conjured up, in my imagination, Miss 'Mudge - this is her...

...hanging onto an umbrella, Mary Poppins style, and flying through the wind.  Then I thought an umbrella would be too heavy for her paws - it is no wonder my family worry about me and my weird imagination - so she would be better holding a balloon.  

Then...

I thought, VOILA!!!  my challenge piece will be an illustration of the wind, all swirly on the page.

And so, here it is!  I am not sure if it is finished yet.  I may yet add some more illustrative lines to the wind, maybe darken a few areas?.... I am not quite so sure but what I do know that is that when faced with a themed challenge work to your strengths!  

Hope you like my 'not quite' finished' piece and now I am looking forward to next months challenge, as long as I use the skills I have passion for!

Please come and hop the blogs and see what others have done with this challenging challenge, Swirl, was not an easy one, for me at least.  

Until next time....

Guest Artists:

Alison

Anita

Cat 

Caroline

Jill

Kathy

Karin

Kimberly 

Mischelle

Raven

Tammy 

Art Elements Team: 

Cathy

Caroline

Claire

Jen

Jenny & Lesley 

Laney

Marsha

Susan

Art Elements Horse Challenge Reveal

It is the Horse Challenge reveal for Art Elements, set by Jenny   (click on the link for the original blog post).  This is a LONG blog post and very photo  heavy as I am lucky enough to host two wonderfully talented Facebook friends, Raven from Raven Craft Creations and Paulette Scott from 'across the pond' on my blog who wanted to take part in this challenge but didn't have a blog of their own.  Please grab a beverage of choice and see their wonderful creations.

You have to read through mine first ;) 

Horses don't really feature in my muse, I love to see them from a distance but I am a little afraid of an animal so big and powerful.  I have a wonderful friend who has horses and she brought one round to my garden a few years ago and let me have a go...

This was a few years ago... 2012!  That is Tanya and the bum you can see is Jazz who came with her.  Tanya was very patient with me she knew she had a complete novice and as you can see I was terrified!  All I kept saying was 'where are the brakes!'.  It is a long way to fall when you are looking down from up there, but I did love the experience and probably would try again.. maybe... in the garden...  possibly...

My month this month has been chaotic.  Gordy, my little cat, has been very very poorly and we nearly lost him but all is well now, except we have a few more grey hairs and worry lines but with my energy completely taken with caring for him and general life stuff I didn't create anything complete, but I did dabble.

I found a photo on Pinterest of a lovely horse with a rider and decided to have a go at a unicorn.  I drew the one on the left one Sunday afternoon.  I was tired, the weather was rubbish and I had a lovely time sat doodling.  I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong with it but I carried on regardless.  I showed my husband, who was on his way to work a night shift and he took one look at it and said 'the horn is in the wrong place and it isn't very you, other than that it is ok'.  That put me in a bad mood so on my own I sat and watched a re-run of Speed 2 and sulked!  Then I looked at the drawing again and thought 'he is right.  So I doodled another (not shown).  This one was similar but the horn was moved up.  I showed the husband the next day and he said 'it is better but it just isn't right'.  I tried to tell him unicorns are not real and it is an illustration doodle but something nagged at me.  My third attempt (right) I put away the reference photo and just used my imagination, I work better that way.  I giggled my way through this doodle and when finished I showed the husband.  'That is it' he exclaimed 'that is your style.  It looks gormless'. 

I had to admit he was right!

I did a few horses in glass too, a unicorn - horn in the correct place and a horse and rider.  I might not have completed something 'finished' for this project, although the beads are finished in their own right (and off to new homes ;) ) but I was hoping to do something more but time and life got in the way.

Now I get the pleasure of introducing my first guest for this challenge, Raven from Raven Craft Creations. You can find all the links to visit Raven on Facebook and Etsy beneath her challenge piece, which is amazing!! 

Hello. Yes, my real name is Raven and I am a yarntisan.

I live in the small town of Ligonier here in western Pennsylvania, USA! I have ALWAYS loved to work creatively, however my original medium was food!! I went to Johnson & Wales University in RI and earned my degree in Culinary Arts. I worked in restaurants in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and PA before moving out to Aspen, Colorado right after graduation. Learning to ski (and by that I mean “snowplow”) became a must to say the least! I moved back to PA after one ski season and continued working crazy hours and ALL holidays in restaurants, private clubs and catering companies for the next ten years.

Then, chronic illness caused me to “retire” and go on disability in 2009 at the ripe old age of 30!!

THIS is when the true passion in my story really began. I taught myself to crochet and express my creativity in a way that I could do even on the “not so great” days. It is my outlet, my meditation and my JOY! I love working with quality fibers (none of the scratchy cheap yarn for THIS yarn snob) and making a wide range of products that are functional, artistic or just make people smile. I make everything from clothing to photo props to household decor to one of my favorites, amigurumi toys! I prefer to follow other designer’s amazing patterns so that I can skip all that heavy lifting and just PLAY with my yarn. I get to do what I love every day, work in my pajamas and watch movies and listen to books while on the clock!!! I have a shop on Etsy, a page on Facebook and sell in a local book and gift store in town called Second Chapter Books.

Pattern credit for the sea horse is by Patchwork Moose on Etsy.

Custom orders are always a blast and I love to see where our imagination can take us.

www.facebook.com/ravenscraft.cintron

www.etsy.com/shop/RavensCraftCreations

ravenscraft.cintron@yahoo.com

My second guest is the lovely Paulette Scott and I am lucky enough to own one of her AMAZING dragons... over to Paulette...

I have been a toymaker and seamstress for almost 40 years now. And have been making my own patterns for around 25 of those years.

I wanted to try to see I'd I still had the ability to make a pattern for a new toy..It took almost the entire month to get this little guy made...

I drew the pattern out and thought (wrongly) that I could just jump in and make a unicorn...nope.. I cut out the first one out of satin and, well let's just say it did not look much like a unicorn..( it looked more like a horse that hadn't eaten for over a month.. bad, very bad) made the pattern larger and still, no.. just no...

Next I made the pattern a bit larger through the belly, and made the head smaller...maybe it was the fabric that was the problem, so, I tried velvet, those of you that sew know this was the dumbest thing I could have done....big head and skinny body and legs and when I tried to stuff it....if I wanted something out of a horror movie maybe...nope...

Shrink the head and make the body larger but using up the last of the velvet scraps... oh God help me, I am, upset!?!..Nope didn't work and this one learns to fly across the room...4 tries 4 fails...was my ability to make a pattern lost to age??? One more and if this one fails I give up...

Pull a half yard of fleece out of the scrap box. I cut out the pattern I have adjusted (again) it is looking better... I see it out and it looks a bit skinny but will keep the fingers crossed and stuff it. This one is looking good!! So I sew the ears, horn and eyes on. YES!!!HE IS WORKING!!

Next is the mane and tail, even better!! This guy is going to work!!

Well through the tears and the laughter I found this challenging and almost gave up, but after 4 failures number 5 turned out the way I was hoping it would...Thank You Laney for encouraging me!!

You can find Paulette on Facebook if you want to send her a message.

For even more entries into this challenge please click on the links below

The guest participants are:

Alysen

Anita

Beth

Catherine

Jill

Paulette

Raven 

Sarajo

Tammy

AE Team Members: 

Caroline 

Claire

Jen  

Laney 

Lesley 

Marsha 

Niky 

Sue