I LOVE RED

Garden Improvement

2011-08-04T08:31:00.000Z

At last our tiny garden is beginning to look more like a garden and less like a builder's yard with the runner beans, carrots, water cress and poppies romping away in the vegetable patch. The new lawn is growing well, despite the dog constantly rolling on it. It's a big change from the images I posted in May! Hello Sheddy.

Gardening on a budget means that we have to do thing slowly so I try to grow most of my plants from seed or donations from friends but I can often bag a bargain at Old Bridge Nursery in Ilkley. I have bought a beautiful Meconopsis Himalaya Blue which should look wonderful in flower next year.

Whilst cutting back the overgrown ivy I uncovered two objects that I had completely forgotten about, a mosaic I made over fifteen years ago and a Green Man wall ornament. The lizard mosaic was made from small coloured tiles and glass cabochons and, even after 15 Yorkshire winters, not one tile has dropped off.

Now I'm saving up for a garden bench so that we can sit out and appreciate the garden before the summer is at an end. Then there's a potting bench, compost bin, water butt.....

Restoring My Confidence

2011-07-30T21:24:00.000Z

The Stalls, Harrogate

I haven't been making much glass lately, despite buying a lovely new kiln, because I have been too busy with the day job and also organising Handmade events in West Yorkshire. I have been neglecting both my Folksy and Etsy shops and haven't exhibited at a craft fair in over a year. To be honest, I'm never happy with my table display and I think that the way I show my glass makes it look amateur and a bit "cheap".
Then last week I gave a talk on glass fusing to my friend's church group and sold lots of glass, which restored my confidence in my product. So it's time to get back in the saddle and start finding selling opportunities and marketing my glass again. The first gallery to stock my glass designs is The Stalls in Harrogate. Natasha only received the box of glass I posted out yesterday and she has already sold one cupcake dish! This has given me a boost and I am already planning new designs.

Cupcake Dish

As for handmade and designer-maker fairs I am going to start back behind the craft stall. I have been looking at mechandising and window display for retailers so that I can create a more inviting and professional layout. Having visited the British Craft Trade Fair this year I have studied each trader's stand to decide what works and what doesn't. Less is definitely More so I am cutting the clutter and resisting putting out every piece of glass I make. I'll let you know how it goes.

The High Alps

2011-07-17T13:03:00.002Z

Les Haute Alpes

This year's main holiday was a week away in the High Alps in France with my OH, sister and her OH.

We took the Eurostar to Paris and then the TGV to Grenoble, where we collected the hire car to drive to Vallouise. The trains were so clean and efficient with great views of the passing french countryside and it only took 3.5 hours on the TGV!

Clover

The mountains are breathtaking and full of meadows of wildflowers with waterfalls and clean, clear air. We walked high up to 6,000 feet and looked down on the valleys. The cattle wear bells and the sound carries up to the top of the mountains. We saw lots of flora and fauna and even a marmot!

Marmot at Chambran

We stayed in a huge chalet house belonging to our friend and she took us on a few mountain walks, including the village where her ancestors come from, Auillard. We ate at the local restaurant, dining on potato pie and salad.

Les Rhodedondrens

Aside from walking, we also drove to the nearest town, Briancon, which is a walled medieval ville complete with church, boutique shops and lovely restaurants. I love the ochre and pink buildings of Briancon that glow in the sun.

Briancon

The end of June is the ideal time to visit Les Haute Alpes because the tourist season hasn't begun but the weather is warm enough to enjoy being outside. We saw lots of people kayaking and serious climbers in the mountains yet Vallouise is a pleasant, sheltered valley. We sat out on our balcony watching a dramatic storm over toward L'Argentiere that never reached us. The torrent of the l'Onde was a constant backdrop of sound, alongside birdsong.

The Balcony

We really enjoyed our vacances and we were sad to leave at the end of the week, although the drive back to Grenoble was quite spectacular. Meanwhile, I have enough photographs and sketches to begin making art based on my holiday in The Alps. I hope to go back again.

You can see more of my photographs by clicking HERE.

Hello Sheddy!

2011-05-02T14:11:00.000Z

A couple of years ago roots from the horrible eucalyptus next door broke through our sewage pipes causing lots of damage and smell and resulting in our back yard being re-concreted. So, after much complaining that I need a new garden we saved up our pennies to have the back yard dug up and new flag stones laid in the Victorian tradition.

Nasty concrete and our rotten old shed

Back yard in 2009

View from the back gate

The shed was so old and rotten that the only thing holding it up was the things in it! The way it listed to one side made it positively dangerous and a few bashes with a sledge hammer turned the shed into a pile of fire wood.

Since the demolition of the old shed last year and the flagging of the back yard, we have been saving up for a new shed so our "garden" has looked like something out of Steptoe and Son for the entire winter.

But I have great plans for our small back yard and Steve, our friendly builder, made me a raised bed at the bottom with slabs and a low wall.. My lovely Other Half has also made a wooden edged bed for growing vegetables.

Now "Sheddy the Shed" has arrived (yippee!) and we have started to clear the garden of all the debris ready to get some serious gardening done. Hopefully, we will have a new lawn soon and we are saving up for a bench. More garden transformation posts coming soon....

Malham Dale

2011-05-01T09:08:00.000Z

Friday was a public holiday (Yay)! so we took a walk around Malham, starting off at the village to Janet's Foss and then along to Gordale Scar.

It's not a strenuous walk as there isn't much up hill walking until you get to the Scar. There people can climb up the rocks past the waterfall and walk on to Malham Tarn. But, as we had two dogs with us we didn't attempt the climb.

Instead we walked over the fields toward Malham Cove and the weather got warmer and brighter.

All the walls around Malham are made from limestone and they glow a bright white in the sunshine.

The top of the cove has the famous Limestone Pavements, created after the last Ice Age by the slightly acidic water that ate into the soft limestone to create fissures.

It's easy to walk across the pavement and it's fascinating to see the rocks looking like ancient prehistoric bones.

The descent from Malham Cove is quite easy as there are man made steps running down the side that lead to the path back to Malham Village.

Of course a walk wouldn't be a walk if Jackson couldn't carry the largest stick he could find with him. This one was a bit charred and had obviously been used in a camp fire at some time. It was very heavy and gave me a crack across the back of the legs on several occasions.

So our walk terminated at the pub for sandwiches and chips. Thanks for the day off, Will and Kate!

I Love Cake

2011-04-30T17:28:00.000Z

Coffee and walnut cake. Ingredients: butter, caster sugar, SR wheat flour, free range eggs, Fair Trade coffee, vanilla extract, walnuts, icing sugar.

Compared to a Shop Bought Cake. Ingredients: palm oil, sugar, glucose, fructose, invert sugar syrup, dried egg powder, skimmed milk powder, wheat flour, corn flour, modified maize starch, soya flour, disodium diphosphate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, glycerol, emulsifiers, flavourings, potassium sorbate, xantan gum, tragacanth and salt.

What's to compare?

Glass Finds

2011-04-21T18:30:00.000Z

Today in Ilkley I popped into Cakewalk for a chat with Emma and a browse in her lovely shop. Cakewalk is a mixture of hand made loveliness and vintage finds and I was delighted to find three vintage Murano glass animals on a shelf.

I love original Murano glass animals as they remind me of my childhood when we had "nick-nacks" on small wooden shelves. My middle sister collected Whimsy animals and my eldest sister had a Murano deer, complete with little gold chain. This little fish has Millefiore at its centre and also a tiny shard of Gold Stone, which is not a gem stone as those people who sell rocks would have you believe, but is glass.

Aren't these two tiny dogs just delightful? They are less than 2" tall but the detail is exquisite. I have a large shoe box full of this kind of glass, all carefully wrapped in tissue paper. They aren't displayed because I don't want them to break and I don't want to dust them either!

Buying vintage Murano glass is very much a case of "Buyer Beware". Much of the glass you see on eBay is not real Murano, particularly if it comes from Hong Kong or Russia. Vintage Murano animals have a quality to the glass that shows they have been made with a torch and mandrel, not poured into a mould.

Fused Glass Workshop for Jewellers

2011-02-20T11:03:00.001Z

Individual workshops available at Glassprimitif studio near Keighley, West Yorkshire for jewellers.

Design and make your dichroic glass cabochons. This one day workshop will give you the skills to cut, grind and prepare glass for fusing. Glass fusing tuition is also included and your finished cabs will be sent to you by post.

Costs: £40 including materials and kiln time. This workshop will suit glass fusing beginners and is tailored for jewellers. Suggested further workshop: Designing for Fusing.

Workshop dates: Saturday 12 March, Sunday 13 March, Saturday 2 April, Sunday 3 April 2011. 10am to 2pm. Tea/coffee included. Please bring a packed lunch and a notebook.

Tel: 07919302908 or email: jo.artsbiz@gmail.com

Brighton Rocks!

2010-10-02T20:42:00.001Z

Recently I visited my sister for a weekend and flew down to Southampton to celebrate her birthday. We had a lot of fun together, including a shopping trip to Brighton. I love Brighton, it just gets better with delightful shops and eating places, the pier, the beach and The Pavilion.

The Royal Pavilion is completely over the top - a pastiche on oriental architecture and a mix of Chinese and Islamic styles - but it is the white stone that stops it becoming tacky and tasteless (mind you, you should see some of the interiors)!

It's such a striking building, built as a holiday home for George IV when he was Prince Regent (wasn't he the one who died on the toilet)? The gardens are quite pretty - although not very imaginative - and, with the busy road outside, it's not a tranquil place.

However, it has inspired me enough to make a diorama from watercolour paper of the architecture that epitomises The Royal Pavilion. If you want to make a diorama of your own please visit Made In The UK and follow the simple steps to creating your own.

Potfest is the best!

2010-08-23T18:02:00.000Z

It was "Potfest in the Pens" on 6 August and I couldn't wait to get in my car and do the 1 1/2 hour drive to Penrith. I LOVE Potfest because there are over 100 ceramic artists selling their lovely, tactile pots, each pot shouting "buy me"! (and I did).

But this year I had another reason to go to Potfest and that was as an intrepid reporter for

UK Handmade, the on-line magazine and blog that supports designer makers and hand made artisans. So, with camera and voice recorder in hand(s) I spent merry day talking to my favourite people - potters.

One of the most exciting attractions of Potfest is the competition, sponsored by Craft and Design Magazine, where potters submit a ceramic piece on the theme of Altars, Shrines and Markers. I took some pictures of my favourites below.

Jan Lewis Eccleston - "Cod Above"

Stef Storey - "Shrine to Love" Teeny tiny hearts and wafer thin porcelain - gorgeous!

Jackie Needham - "Pilgrimage" I loved this so much that I bought a little bird.

I interviewed four of the potters for UK Handmade - John Hudson, Sue Candy, Ben Nicolson and John Townsend - so please click HERE to read the interviews.

If you are passionate about ceramics then Potfest is well worth visiting for affordable and original pottery.

Bonnie Scotland

2010-08-19T16:44:00.001Z

We just spent a week away in Scotland and a week was not long enough!

We stayed in a bothy (cow shed) in Tynron, Galloway, not far from the Solway Coast. Despite the weather reports it was quite sunny and warm with only a couple of "dreich" days. Most of the time we walked or played with the dog on the beach.

Behind the Bothy is Tynron Doon, a large partially wooded hill that once had an iron age fort. We climbed up to look at the spectacular view over the Scaur hills (and to get a good phone signal). The route down was fraught with danger - particularly when I fell in a slurry pit and had to walk the lat two miles home covered in cow poo....

Along the Solway Coast and some lovely towns and villages wrth visiting - the best of these has to be Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of Fleet. Kirkcudbright (Kir-coo-bree) is the "artists' Town" with The Tollbooth Arts Centre and several galleries. THe best of these is the WhiteHouse Gallery.

Because the climate is quite mild in this part of southern Scotland there is plenty of gardens worth visiting. We went to Cally Gardens, which is in the woods at Gatehouse of Fleet. It has some imaginative planting and is quite informal (a bit junglie) which is how I like gardens to look.

The coast is beautiful. Totally unspoilt - no bucket and spades, no "kiss me quick" hats, no fruit machines or fun fairs. Instead, clean beaches, clear water and plenty of shells. We spent a lovely day at Rockcliffe and another day at Carrick and Brighouse Bays. We walked across the strand to an island and looked in the rock pools.

Jackson features in many of our photos - mostly carrying a stick in his mouth - it's not the same stick in every picture!

Well it was all over too soon and now I am back in Yorkshire, freezing cold and looking forward to my next holiday. To see more photos of Dumfries and Galloway please go to Flickr by clicking on this Link.

This is Love,love,love,love....

2010-08-01T10:08:00.002Z

.... that I'm feeling. OK, so perhaps P J Harvey wasn't singing about lampshades but I am TOTALLY smitten with Lush Designs - particularly their Wild Pig image AND they have a bricks and mortar shop in Greenwich.

Their designs are fabulous and they also sell on-line. I bought some greeting cards from a small gallery in Brighton and resisted buying a teatowel.

Always wanted to be an artist....

2010-07-07T21:24:00.000Z

.... ever since my oldest sister went to study foundation art and brought home a signed first edition of her tutor's new book "Mr Benn - red knight". David McKee's child like drawing and attention to detail had me hooked.

Book illustrator Pauline Baynes became one of my heroes after I read "The Dictionary of Chivalry" by Grant Uden. Her beautiful imagery gives Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham a run for their money (love them too).

Although I can fill a sketchbook with spidery drawing I have never been as good at drawing as my sister, who studied illustration, but I have always had a keen interest in repeat pattern and textiles. So, after foundation, I studied textile design as surface decoration. In the early 1980s there were some great emerging designers coming out of the post-punk era who had a strong influence on my own work. One of my favourites is the very graphic-based Timney Fowler with their stark black and white reworkings of classical design and also Candace Bahouth's tapestries.

A couple of years back I was asked to reproduce some pictures by children's book illustrators onto a library wall in a local school. It was great fun researching different illustrators and even more fun trying to reinterpret their work using acrylic paint. Of course, I could never match their skill but copying someone else's work is a good exercise in learning how they create. You can see how fast Quentin Blake draws with his pen and where his pen has rested before he starts quickly moving the pen across the paper. It was a joy to paint every square in Kipper's blanket (by Mick Inkpen) and also Little Bear's striped pyjamas (by Jane Hissey).

Here is Little Bear but I don't want to show too much of this project as I don't want to fall foul of an artist's copyright. Suffice to say, the library mural was painted to encourage children to read.

Book illustrators have always had a huge influence on my art, probably because they help to tell a story and yet they stand up as art in their own right. Although I can't remember the last time I painted on a stretched canvas (it wasn't good art) I really enjoy painting on loose canvas, such as banners, and on walls. Here is a banner I painted for the ceiling of a primary school.

Summer Garden

2010-07-03T22:50:00.001Z

This year more plants have become established in my garden, despite the harsh winter. Although I lost a penstemon and an oriental poppy my flag iris seems to have appreciated the prolonged cold spell and I am rewarded by a show of different poppies too.

These large peachy pink oriental poppies are too large for the garden now so I am going to split them and pass them on. They are magnificent when they flower but I wish I could prolong the flowering until August.

Most of these poppies have self seeded from the poppies I grew last year and I have taken quite a bit of poppy seed from field poppies but I did go a bit mad and buy some lavender poppy seed on eBay.

I planted up a few pots too with pansies and verbena and nasturtiums (nasturtiums are about to flower) just to fill up some gaps and make a bit of a show on the doorstep. I love orange with hot pink. I also planted flowers up with parsley, coriander and basil and they seem to share the space well.

My dianthus is really thriving this year and has established itself alongside a liatris so I am going to Skipton market this week to buy some more. I planted it alongside the path and the dog keeps stepping on it but it doesn't appear to mind too much.

However, the thorn in my side is my neighbour's overgrown hedge which has taken all the nutrients from my strawberry bed and blocks the light out too. The only things growing here now are herbs in pots and a few poppies. I need a plan for this bed.

I am already planning for the autumn and I am going to risk planting a blackcurrant (ribes) in the front toward the back which will hopefully begin to fruit next year. Although I will probably have to share the fruit with the birds!

To see more pictures of my front garden visit my images on Flickr.

Making an Entrance

2010-06-13T13:04:00.001Z

Hooray! We have a "new" front door which is a huge improvement on the previous front door. This is a solid wood Edwardian door with two glazed panels with red and clear glass.

The neighbours were having a new PVC door fitted and the door was out on the street, waiting for the joiner to take it away. They kindly let me have the door and our joiner-friend Nigel took it away to repair the damage and alter the hinges. Now it's back and has been repainted from bottle green to Farrow and Ball's Cooking Apple green. It's much more in keeping with the house now and what does Jackson think? He doesn't.....

A Walk in the Woods

2010-06-06T11:37:00.000Z

Once a week Jackson and I go on a really looong walk, usually on the moors or down by the river. But, because it was so hot this week, we went to Middleton Woods in Ilkley instead.

Middleton Woods is also known locally as "Bluebell Woods" because of the magnificent display of bluebells. During May the woods become a carpet of shimmering blue.

The woods are full of birdsong this time of year - woodpecker, cuckoo, blackbird, thrush, pheasant and crows.

We had been in the woods the week before I took these photos and the bluebells were fantastic. Unfortunately, this week they are looking faded but I had forgotten the camera the previous week!

We stopped at a bench for a few minutes to rest before working our way back through the woods on a circular walk.

And, of course, the woods are full of sticks - Jackson's raison d'etre!

Copper Beech amongst the beech and silver birch.

At the end of the walk Jackson always gets a dog treat.

Hooray for UK Handmade

2010-05-28T19:38:00.000Z

I am thrilled to have been asked by UK Handmade Blog editor Kirsten Miller (Quernus Crafts) to write a piece about craft fairs and arts markets from the organiser's point of view.
I think UK Handmade is a fabulous website because it works hard to promote hand made artisans and crafters. The on-line magazine is a brilliant read, the blog is very informative and there is also a Forum to share your work with other makers. I have started a group on the Forum called Craft Fairs and Hand Made Markets so, if you are attending an event and want to share please join the group.
I also wrote 10 Top Tips for Craft Fair Traders which you will find here. I have tried to take a different angle rather than saying "bring a pen, money, table cloth etc" that I hope will make traders better business people and get those all-important sales.

Coasters Commission

2010-05-14T20:44:00.001Z

Glass production has been quite slow recently because I have been concentrating on some new designs for Swanky Maison and, as I have such a small kiln, one dish takes three days to fire.

However, I was lucky enough to receive a commission from Michelle of The Crafty Canuk to create a set of coaster for her new kitchen. Michelle has designed her kitchen with a retro style and she wanted the coasters to reflect that. I played around with several designs but wasn't happy with them at first. Then I remembered a dish that I had designed using squares of bright opal glass - I still use the image as my avatar on Folksy so I played around with coloured squares in lime, orange and white on black.

Lime green opal glass looks horrible before it's fired - the sort of pastel green that you used to see in hospital corridors - but, once "cured" in the kiln it is so sharp and limey it zings against the orange. I don't like totally symmetrical designs (I Iearned all about balancing colours and patterns from my quilt making days) so I added a random orange square to throw the design off-balance a little bit.

Of course it wasn't all plain sailing - when is it ever? Six coasters, two firings and a fire polish for each, kiln breakdown half way through production, one coaster slipped whilst firing and then I misplaced one just before I posted them out..... but I got there in the end. Michelle was EXTREMELY patient and I hope they look good in her kitchen.

Here's the one that went wrong - I said a few bad words when I opened the kiln and saw it had slipped. Hey ho! Time to get the hammer out and make some frit!

Here are the coasters in Michelle's new kitchen

If you would like to commission a set of coasters or glass dishes or fishes plase contact me on Folksy.

Stitches through Time

2010-05-06T13:08:00.002Z

My friend Eileen and I were looking through a photo album and reminiscing about our Silsden Quilt Group that we used to attend when the children were small. Not an organised group - more a collection of friends with a love of sewing and a need to spend an evening away from the family!

We were looking at the photographs of our only exhibition, Stitches Through Time, which was held at The Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales in 2000.

This was an idea that three of us had to show a history of quilting in Yorkshire and how quiltmaking has changed from a practical necessity to a past time and also how quiltmaking has had a revival in the past twenty years.

We placed an advert in the Craven Herald requesting the loan of old quilts and we had a great response. We travelled around North Yorkshire collecting up quilts from farms, houses and an antiques dealer. Each quilt was loaned to us on trust so it was a huge responsibility. and there were some beauties! One quilt from Settle still had the original backing papers attached - which were the original hand written milk bills dating back to the 1920s. Another quilt was a fine example of Victorian applique from Long Preston and a crazy patchwork of velvet, silk and embroidery came from Embsay. We even had some adventures whilst collecting the quilts including, getting lost, entering the smelliest house on earth and being chased by a herd of cows!

We had a great time setting up the exhibition with a lot of help from Fiona and Debbie at the Countryside Museum with the old quilts were hung from the walls of the gallery and our quilts displayed on the boards. We had a table to sell small quilts and to demonstrate our sewing skills and Eileen researched the tradition of quilt making in Yorkshire. (There isn't much. Unlike Durham and Wales there isn't a particular style of quilting in Yorkshire - most quilts were made just for practicality rather than heritage).

Although there were just three of us exhibiting at the museum (Eileen, Jane and myself) we each have a distinctive style and colour palette which made for an exciting and contrasting show. Eileen likes earthy tones, using yellows, russets and blues and her quilts explore and rework the American tradition of machine pieced and hand quilting.

Jane has a fascination for tribal and ethnic designs with a vibrant palette of blues, purples, sea greens and jades. She loves African applique and batik fabrics.

I was taught American machine piecing from Eileen and my colour schemes are more "in-yer-face". I love Japanese indigo-dyed fabric and clashing colours.

Jane, Eileen and Jo

So here we all are at the preview evening of the exhibition. (This photo was taken 10 years ago!) The exhibition plus the daily 3 hour round trip to Hawes left us exhausted and we haven't repeated the experience. But we had a fantastic time - quiting, talking to people about quilting and selling our smaller quilts. Since then we have continued to sew separately (Eileen won an award at the Quilter's Guild the following year) and the skills we learned 10 years ago have stayed with us today.

Follow I Love Red 2 for sewing tips, stories and free patterns.

It's Spring....

2010-04-11T16:37:00.000Z

in my little garden!

Swanky Maison

2010-03-07T14:24:00.005Z

My glass dishes are now available to buy on the Shopping Site Swanky Maison.

About Swanky Maison - this new shopping site prides itself in sourcing new designers who create original items for the home. Items include ceramics, glass, textiles, prints and furnishings and... now me!

All glass that I make for Swanky Maison is designed exclusively for the website and you can buy my cupcake glass dishes only from them. I have also started work on a series of dishes based on Seaside Designs, including lighthouse, boats and beach huts (I sold the beach huts yesterday).

I have also listed three glass Sushi Girls on the website, one of my favourite designs. These Sushi Girls have been slumped into deep curved moulds that make them ideal as soap dishes, for sushi, canapes or keeping your earrings in on the bedside table.

I am now working on a series of Matryoshka Doll Dishes, coming to Swanky Maison soon.

Join Swanky Maison on Facebook or visit the website for more home wares.

Glass for Ceramic Artists & Potters

2009-12-21T10:09:00.005Z

Aside from fusing glass I also make stained glass decorations for fun. As fusing glass is so very expensive I save every scrap and every disaster to make frit or re-fuse to make glass blobs. But cathedral glass, which is used as stained glass, isn't really suitale for fusing. This is because I don't know the co-efficiency of this glass and it costs too much to keep firing up the kiln just to experiment. This leaves me with a bag full of scraps that are too small to copper foil!

So what's the answer? Well this glass makes ideal frit for pottery when smashed with a hammer. By placing a layer of small pieces in the base of a pot the glass fuses to the base to create great effects. I use it with porcelain, stoneware and earthenware and finds it behaves in different ways in the kiln. It can crackle or, with finer frit, make a smoother, denser colour. I have used it on unglazed pots and also on slip and even coated it with a clear glaze. (See my example test pots below).

I have some of this scrap for sale here and am selling 200gms for £5, which is a lot of glass and will last for a few pots. I have mixed colours or colour themes and all glass will be safely posted wrapped in bubble wrap in a cardboard carton.

To see more scrap glass visit my Folksy Shop.

All I want for Christmas...

2009-11-25T16:51:00.003Z

The Creative Glass Guild now has its own exclusive gift guide, showing presents and ornaments for all glass lovers.
Sign up for the newsletter (it's free) and browse the wondergful glass items from "Jewelry for Her" to "Home Decor". There's something to suit every pocket including stocking stuffers to elaborate stained glass ware. Oh, and my glass is in it too!
But that's not all - you can see which guild members are offering fantastic savings, free glass and vouchers, available only to newsletter subscribers. AND all subscribers are entered into the monthly prize draw - your chance to win free glass. The Creative Glass Guild also has its own blog featuring the latest in fused, hot torched and cold worked glass.
So Ho Ho Ho from the CGGE.

Why did you do it???

2009-11-04T17:39:00.003Z

WHY did you think it was a good idea to roll on a sheep corpse last week? You have been subjected to three baths in expensive shampoo (don't tell Rachel we used her Australian stuff) which you hate and yet the smell doesn't seem to be dissipating.
It is particularly fetid behind your ears (your best feature) and you seem to wear it like a perfume (eau de stink). Have you wondered why nobody has cuddled you all week? Possibly not - do you even think at all?

You said something....

2009-11-01T16:33:00.005Z

"on a roof top in Brooklyn one in the morning
watching the lights flash in Manhatten
I see five bridges
The Empire State Building
and you said something I've never forgotten" P J Harvey

Rachel and I went to New York for a week of shopping and site seeing. We stayed in the Deauville Hotel - the same hotel where Sid stayed when out on bail for stabbing Nancy. (Amazing)!

So this trip was a bit of a mecca for an old punk - I had to go to The Chelsea Hotel and Bowery. Shame CBGB's no longer exists.

We HAD to do the tourist visit to the top of the Empire State Building and we had been advised to get there early to avoid the crowds.

Rachel at The Empire State Building

We met friends whilst in the city who took us to The Rockefeller Center, the Garment District, Diamond District, Tribeca, Canal Street (yuk) and Little Italy.

Times Square at night.

Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, looking back toward Manhatten.

To commemorate the fire fighters who lost their lives on 9/11

The Dakota Building. Nearby in Central Park is a mosaic called "Imagine" but it was very hard to see as it was surrounded by a group of teenage girls singing John Lennon songs (double yuk)!

The Flat Iron Building, the first "skyscraper" in New York in 1902. We caught the ferry at Battery Park over to Liberty and Ellis Islands. But most of our trip was shopping - with Rachel emptying every American Eagle Store she could find!

Holiday!

2009-10-17T07:51:00.000Z

Back soon!

Shorn the Sheep

2009-10-05T10:29:00.001Z

We are having a lot of fun at work because we have finally launched our Shorn Keighley project for 2010. This project has taken a year of planning, several applications for funding and a lot of work. So what's it all about?

We have commissioned an artist to make a life sized sheep model which has been manufactured into 10 fibre glass sheep. Each sheep will be decorated by the community in the style of a famous artist and will be sponsored by a local business. We have big plans for the finished sheep! We want them to ride on a float at next year's Keighley Gala, be part of the Keighley Festival, graze on Church Green, penned up in the Airedale Centre, race the train on the Worth Valley Railway and make guest appearances at local events. Shorn's final appearance for 2010 will be the Keighley Show.

Shorn already has his own blog and we have a flock of soft sheep ready to travel the world and send postcards from abroad. We will have an outdoor sheep trail around the town and farm visits too.

Why do we need a flock of sheep in Keighley? Keighley was once a wealthy town built on the wool industry and sheep are a large part of the local heritage. Keighley has had mixed fortunes over the years and, although it can match everything Skipton has to offer, is not a tourist destination. We hope our sheep will give local people a boost and bring visitors to the town too.

How much work does Shorn entail for us? Blimey! We have lived, slept and breathed Shorn since September 2007 and, now that we have funding from the Area Coordinator's Office, the real work has only just begun. We still have to plan the logistics of Shorn's storage, transportation, booking events, sponsors, painting workshops and security. Then there's the Shorn spin-offs such as the blog, travelling Shorns, Sheep Market and anything else we can think of.

But it will be worth it by the finish of the project. So many people have been excited by the project so far that we believe that Shorn Keighley is a worthwhile project.

Last of My Summer Garden

2009-10-01T19:10:00.000Z

It's feeling quite autumnal in the mornings now. The air is definitely crisper and cooler. I have planted a lot of dwarf daffodils, including Jetfire and Quail, and plenty of blue and purple alliums for next spring. I have even ordered some pink narcissi which should get people looking when they pop up.
So I got the camera out to take a few pictures of the remaining flowers before the frosts get to them.

The garden furniture has been put away in the shed to protect it from frost damage. I will be wrapping the Buddha Head in bubble wrap soon.

There has been a late display of field poppies and I have plenty of seed for next year - including some lavender coloured poppies.

Because of the amount of rain we have had this year my nasturtiums have been free of greenfly. I guess there's something to be said for a rubbish summer...

This Liatris looks very pretty mixed with a coral coloured carnation.

I need to buy lots of winter flowering pansies and polyanthus now to fill those empty pots.

If you like gardening you'll love this website -Blotanical.

Recycle - Reuse

2009-09-28T18:42:00.000Z

Recently, at work, we had the bright idea of recycling old Ladybird books to make note books. We had a lot of fun making them but we were left with a lot of lovely illustrated pages.

Then I remembered that Lynsey of Swirlyarts makes recycled envelopes and gift tags so it made sense to send them to her to make use of. I got a lovely surprise when I received one of her large hand made envelopes packed full of small recycled envelopes and gift tags. The illustrations are from The Lives of The Composers.

So thank you Lynsey for the wonderful gift. If you would like to find our more about Swirlyarts visit her on Folksy and Etsy.

Making Gift Boxes

2009-09-21T20:50:00.002Z

I got fed up with how expensive gift boxes for jewellery had become so now I always make my own for craft fairs. I use origami paper or stiff gift wrap for the lids, the bases I make from magazine pages.

These boxes were made from Beatles album covers gift wrap. The paper makes the ideal boxes for cufflinks and are fun to make too. The great thing about using patterned paper is that each box comes out with a different design. Plain paper boxes are rather tedious to make.

Each box has a small square of wadding in it to stop the cufflinks from rolling around. These boxes were made from a 15.5cm square piece of paper. To make the base fit use 15cm square of paper for the base.

I learned to make these boxes by following a short film on You Tube (see below). These boxes won't survive in the post unless they are placed inside a cardboard box but they are great to use at craft fairs.

The film.

Friday Afternoons!

2009-09-18T19:42:00.006Z

2pm on a Friday comes around and I'm free from work! Yippee! I zip straight home, grab the dog lead, jump in the car and we both head for the hills....

One of our favourite walks is on Addingham Moorside, although we only do this once a week as it is rather strenuous.

The first part of the walk, up to Silsden Nab, is the steepest. It's good to get the worst part out of the way.

View of Silsden from the Nab with Cowling Pinnacle in the background.

Hurry up!

Walking along the path toward Addingham.

View of the wind turbines at Chelker Reservoir in the distance.

Beamsley Beacon with Addingham village in the middle distance

Turn right over the wall and start the final ascent to the bench on the top.

The footpath.

The bench is on the far right of the picture.

Here it is, at last!

Riddlesden Moor stretches out behind. To the left is Ilkley Moor, roughly 3 - 4 miles of walking (but not today)!

Interesting! What have we here?

Well fancy that! It's a stick.....

Looking down on the valley below. It's a shame that blogger doesn't have smell-o-vision because the heather is in full flower and everything smells dry. It's also a shame there isn't any sound - you can hear the curlews from here.

Well worth the walk!

How great is this bag?

2009-09-11T20:09:00.000Z

Thom bought this super-cool bag for college from Top Man and I really love it. It's a reproduction of an original design. You can almost see the tennis rackets sticking out of it! (Squint your eyes and use your imagination).

Pen-y-ghent (or Are We There Yet)?

2009-09-08T18:14:00.002Z

So, last bank holiday Monday we decided to take a walk up Pen-y-ghent, one of the three peaks. It overlooks the small village of Horton in Ribblesdale in the Yorkshire Dales.

The weather wasn't too bad for the last day of August in the UK (it was dull but warm) and, once we had started the walk the cloud over the crag lifted. It's a shallow uphill climb for the first couple of miles.

We stopped at a bank of scree for a chocolate break - I insisted - and looked down on Hull Pot (the one filled with water).

View across the valley with Horton in Ribblesdale in the distance.

The climb got steeper toward the top and the guide books said it was a "short sprint to the top". Ha ha! I wasn't sprinting, I can tell you.

Jackson sit! Sit I say! Stay still for the camera! Oh never mind....

The views from the top are spectacular although it is very windy up there. Fortunately, there is a sheltered bench to sit on. Other people were there eating their sandwiches - much to Jackson's delight. A dribbling dog is not attractive!

The descent is much quicker and steeper. Jackson hopped from rock to rock but my Sister-in-law's little dog panicked and had to be helped down by a kindly stranger. Everyone else leapt around like mountain goats leaving me to plod my way down. Not impressed!

At the bottom it began to rain that diagonal sleety Yorkshire rain. I had brought a hat and waterproof clothing (unlike some people) and had a change of clothes waiting in the car. Typical me, though, I fell over in the mud in front of a group of people.

Well, that was five and a half miles and is the least strenuous of the three peaks. I'm looking forward to climbing up Great Whernside and Ingleborough next, although I could never do all three in one day. We adjourned to the pub for some cheer and I fell asleep over my drink.

For more pictures of Pen-y-Ghent visit my Flickr.

Somebody Buy Me These!

2009-09-05T21:54:00.001Z

I'm in love with these fabulous red shoes! They are absolutely wonderful.... buy me these shoes because I want to be buried in them. They are hand made and available from Suzhou Cobblers.

Christmas Decorations

2009-09-03T18:39:00.000Z

It's not too early to get them. I commissioned Natalie from Mung Beans to make me a set of momiji christmas decorations for Christmas 2009 and here they are. Each one has been carefully made with great attention to detail.
Now, if I put them away I MUST remember where they are in December!

Visit Mungbean on Folksy.

Make Jewellery

2009-08-31T07:35:00.002Z

I was Shop of the Month in the August edition of Make Jewellery! It's a really good magazine with lots of jewellery making projects, prize draws and features. September's issue should be in the shops today!

Patchwork and Quilting

2009-08-28T21:41:00.003Z

I'm seriously into this sewing thing at the moment. It's addictive! So far I have made a selection of bags and am about to embark on a patchwork quilt for my Mum. She needs one to throw over the back of her sofa and she asked for one of mine. But they are looking rather faded with washing so I am starting from scratch.

I have several quilts in my house - my favourite is this one that hangs in the bedroom. It is inspired by Japanese kimonos when they are spread out and I bought up lots of kimono fabric from quiting shows. I designed the quilt myself and pieced it with indigo cotton fabric. I then hand-quilted it with sashiko thread. It took hours to make!

So, back to my Mum's quilt. Her favourite colours are blues and greens so I have pulled out an assortment of these from my stash. This is my design, it looks like a mosaic tile
and should be fairly simple to make into blocks (I hope)! Once I had laid out the chosen fabric I decided that blues and greens would look too dull so I have added an ivory-white triangle and a red triangle (I love that shade of red). Here's the first block - only 14 more to go....

Sew and Sew

2009-08-25T21:22:00.005Z

My Mum taught me to sew on an old Singer hand machine that was her Grandmother's (which makes it over 100 years old) and I still have the machine too! She taught me how to lay out a patte rn so that it was economical with the fabric - much to annoyance of my needlecraft teacher, who made me unpin it all and follow the instructions. At school I spent a year making an apron but at home I made patchwork cushions, tea cosies and needle cases.

When my children were small I started making patchwork quilts in earnest and, tutored by my American neighbour Eileen, learned to piece on the sewng machine and hand quilt. We made a lot of quilts and we even had an exhibition of quilts old and new at the Dales Countryside Museum. It was so much fun - we travelled around North Yorkshire borrowing old quilts from local farms and houses to show alongside our "modern" quilts. There was one quilt that still had the backing papers inside, cut from old milk bills and a beautiful example of an applique chintz quilt. It was an exciting exhibition with Eileen, Jane and myself sitting there publicly quilting.
So I have the sewing bug again and have dusted off my old Frister Rossman electric sewing machine and dragged the basket of fabric pieces out of the attic cupboard. I'm making bags and have created prototypes for three designs - a tote/shopping bag, an evening bag and a messenger bag. I have so much scrap material that I had forgotten I had including chintz, brocade, cotton and silk. Enough to go into bag production!

Prototype evening bag showing chocolate silk lining.

Too unstructured, more like a bag for a bridesmaid.

Prototype Evening bags #2

They need a gusset to make them more 3 dimensional and a magnetic clasp. They have a small pocket inside.

Protoype Messenger bag.

The binding is too thick and bulky.

Prototype Messenger bag #2.

Has a wooden toggle and an inside pocket.

Prototype tote bag.

Fully lined. Needs an inside pocket.

Tea Time!

2009-08-22T15:14:00.001Z

My Sister Gill's favourite drink is Redbush (roobois) tea. she drinks it with milk, I drink it without. So this picture's for you, Sis!

Keighley - Airedale Town

2009-08-19T16:50:00.003Z

During March 2009 comedian Mark Steel visited Skipton for his radio 4 show - Mark Steel's in Town. It was hilarious - so funny that my partner had to stop whilst driving in case he crashed!
One of the butts of Mark Steel's jokes was Keighley, where I work, which made it even funnier. But then I got thinking - I spend a good deal of my working life out and about in Keighley. What makes it a better town than Skipton?

Skipton has a castle but we have Cliffe Castle, the Victorian home of Henry Butterfield. It has extensive grounds and is packed full of treasures, history and art. Parking is ample and, even better, it is FREE!

Like Skipton, we have a steam railway but you don't have to drive out of town to travel on it. The Worth Valley Railway journeys from Keighley train station to Oxenhope, stopping at Ingrow, Damems, Oakworth, Haworth and Oxenhope. The Railway Children was filmed on the railway.

Keighley has many fine examples of Victorian architecture as it was once a wealthy town built on the wool trade. Cavendish Street, with its shops and glass canopy, links the train station with the commercial centre... and that glass canopy certainly keeps us dry on wet days!

Keighley Library is another architectural gem. Recently restored and modernised, it still retains it's original features. It's worth visiting the lending library upstairs to look at the murals.

Both our town centre shops and our market are undercover. Very sensible when you think how unpredictable the Yorkshire weather can be. You can wait for a bus under cover and park undercover too. There's plenty of parking on Hanover Street and Scott street and it's cheaper than Skipton.

On sunny days it's so pleasant to eat outside in the Town Square, surrounded by trees. Or visit Church Green, at the end of North Street, another peaceful spot.

Keighley is a place of cultural diversity and there are plenty of places to worship - the most stunning is the Emily Street Mosque. Just got the minaret to finish...

... and if it's culture you are looking for then visit the Arts Factory, Keighley's only contemporary gallery. Admission is free.

More culture? A few yards from the Arts Factory is The Picture House on North Street. Parking is in Scott Street, across the road.

Keighley is vibrant with colour thanks to the Keighley In Bloom committee and its local sponsors. The roundabout at the end of Showfield looks fantastic at the moment (particularly if you like orange).

A short bus/train ride away from the town centre are: wonderful East Riddlesden Hall, a National Trust property with a very large duck pond and historical Haworth, home of the Brontes. For more about Keighley and why it is worth a visit go to LoveKeighley.com

August Garden

2009-08-16T19:30:00.003Z

Around mid-August my garden seems to have a bit of a "swan song" when everything blooms and then dies off suddenly. Every year I promise myself that I'm going to plant something up for autumn interest and every year I forget! If you have any suggestions of plants that will extend the flowering season (but not too tender) then please comment below.

Alchemilla Mollis just before the heads turn brown. Next to it is an Apricot Sage - a bit of an impulse buy as it won't survive outside in the winter, but it smells fabulous.

My Mum and Dad bought me this deep red Geum last year from Parcevall Hall and it has really flourished.

Lilium Longiflorum in a pot to protect it from the b*ggers, the slugs! Pots are great for filling in bare spaces.

Bright orange Day Lily which is spreading quite rapidly. The colour zings against the green.

Crocosmia Lucifer. I always wanted one of these and the first one I ever planted came up orange (!) Obviously it was mislabelled. But placing red, pink and orange together looks like Guatemalan woven textiles.

I'm digging up my strawberry patch soon as I am replacing it all with lavender. The neighbour's hideous laurel has made the soil so poor and shady that I think only rosemary and lavender will
give the patch some colour. I quite fancy wild strawberries in a pot next year.

There are still some plants in my garden that are flowering - I have a very nice apricot coloured Dianthus and a purple Liatris and an assortment of wild poppies too. Unfortunately, I haven't had ANY success with my three iris as they never recovered from the chomping they got from the snails earlier in the year. But I'm considering replacing them with alliums and also getting a few varieties of Delphinium. Almost time to get the gardening books out....

Markets are the Future

2009-07-31T17:41:00.005Z

I haven't traded at a market for a few years now and, as I now organise arts fairs at work, I thought I'd better get some practice in, selling my own stuff.
Markets and fairs are a great marketing opportunity, a way to meet your customers, test trade your goods and gauge public interest. They can either be really well attended with lots of buyers or spectacularly dismal, like the Great British Weather.

Last weekend I showed my stuff at The Royal Arcade, Keighley as part of a small but select group of crafts people. I was surprised at how well I did, particularly as the footfall wasn't brilliant. We were very lucky with the weather and, although we were competing with a big event at Cliffe Castle, Louise of Blue Ginger worked hard to bring the public into the arcade.

So there I am, writing to artists who take part in our Arts Markets about how to set out an eye catching display but not actually taking my own advice! This display looks a bit jungly although I'm quite pleased with my hand written labels.

There's definitely room for improvement when it comes to display and I'll have another shot at it tomorrow at the Craft Fair in Cavendish Court, Keighley to celebrate Yorkshire Day. I'm booked to do the Saltaire Arts Trail Maker's Fair in September so, by the time that comes around, I should be more experienced at display.

Inside Royal Arcade, Keighley. For more images visit Flickr.

The Great British Summer

2009-07-04T21:22:00.004Z

Am I the only person in the UK NOT complaining about the hot weather? I know it's humid, I know it's sticky but, come on guys, it doesn't happen here too often! Remember last year?

In celebration of the good weather I decided to treat my front garden to some furniture and I have been looking out for two fold up metal chairs and a table. So I was pleased to see this set in B & Q and, even better, reduced by 30%. I didn't know that just SEEING it was going to be the easy part.
I then tried to buy it.
But I couldn't buy it because it wasn't in stock and there was a possiblity that it was discontinued. But I couldn't buy the display furniture because it might not be discontinued. But I couldn't expect anyone to call me and tell me if it was either discontinued or not because "we don't do that". When I pointed out that it was probably illegal to advertise something that was no longer for sale I was told "hey, I only work here 2 days a week".
So I paid for the item (that might be discontinued) because that way I could guarantee that someone would eventually call me - or so I thought.
Nobody called.
I called them. "Yes, the computer says it's in stock".
So I go to B & Q. The computer says No. But I can come in on Wednesday because it will be there.
I call on Wednesday. "The computer says it's in stock but I'll check the warehouse and call you".
Nobody called.
I call the next day. "The computer says it's in stock but I'll check the warehouse and call you".
Somebody called.
"I can't see it but someone will call you tomorrow".
Nobody called.
I called. "The computer says it's in stock but I'll...."
Stop! Do not say you will check the warehouse and then call me back. BECAUSE NOBODY CALLS! I want to speak to the manager.
"I AM the manager". (In the words of my daughter - oh crap!)
Please help me, please, please, please because I am trapped in Goundhog Day. The next day someone calls. The furniture is here - come in and collect! Hoorah! I get there, I sign for it, someone brings it on a trolley, the trolley is too heavy for me to manouver to my car. Nobody offers to help. I struggle out of the door, ramming stationery objects and another customer kindly helps me to get it into the car.
So here it is. Rant over - here are a couple more pictures of the front garden

Bling Bling!

2009-06-21T17:28:00.004Z

I've got the jewellery making bug at the moment and am driving my family mad by spreading all my stuff over the table and constantly dropping beads on the floor.

I visited a car boot sale last weekend and picked up this "swag" for a bargain. There are assorted earrings, necklaces and thin chains, mostly broken pieces and I couldn't resist two silver plated tiny spoons (don't know what to do with them yet). I have been "deconstructing" these all week and, with the addition of Swarovski crystals, silver findings, crimp beads and tiget tail I have made a collection of vintage jewellery. (I am particularly) proud of an earrings, bracelet and necklace set that I made out of a fake diamante necklace.
I'll get the camera out and take some photos of the results. I'm hoping to sell these at the Crafts Market in Royal Arcade, Keighley on Saturday July 18.

And the Winner is......

2009-06-18T20:22:00.004Z

Congratulations to Chantal of Here Pretty Kitty who's name was drawn out of a hat to win bag of glass goodies. Incidentally, her suggested name was Tomomi. What did she win?

A fused glass magnet
A set of glass coasters
A pair of dichroc etched glass drop earrings
A glass fish pendant
A pair of opal glass cufflinks
A glass bead bag charm
A 25% off voucher from Glassprimitif

Thank you to all who entered - I was thrilled to have so many participants. I'll be in touch with you all.

Name That Magnet!

2009-06-07T08:28:00.005Z

Your chance to win a glass goody bag from Glassprimitif

This Funny Face Magnet needs a name. To enter the draw just comment on this post with your suggestion to name this happy chap (or chapess).
The Rules:

You may enter only once
All comments will be vetted before posting
Closing date: 17 June 2009 6pm
Your name suggestion will go into a hat and be drawn after 17 June
Winner will be notified and receive a bag bursting with goodies!

This draw is a bit of light hearted fun and I hope you will take part.

Making Totem Poles

2009-06-03T18:43:00.006Z

Last term I have been busy at a local primary school helping years 3 & 4 (7 - 9 year olds) create totem poles from cardboard tubes.

We began by looking at the symbolism and meanings of totem poles carved by the native American peoples of north-west Canada such as the Tlinglit. We read about the different magical powers each animal has and we began by drawing thunderbirds, owls, beavers, frogs, eagles and wolves. When each child had decided on their design we then drew our totems to fill an A4 size piece of paper. This design would become the template that would be painted onto the poles.

But first we had to make our flimsy cardboard tubes more solid and this meant the messy task of slapping papier mache over the tubes using newspaper and paste. It took three layers of mache to bulk up the tubes and attach them to the bases. The bases are two wooden boards. Here you can see Emily's fierce owl with bulging eyes.

Some of the children had designed their totems with wings which needed to be attached to the pole. At first we tried sticking them with papier mache but the cardboard shapes became really soggy and would slide down the pole. Also, the poles wouldn't stay fixed to the boards with mache alone. This was very frustrating! Then I found a box of mod roc (plaster bandage) and we used strips of this to hold the cardboard shapes in place. We also wrapped it around the bottom of the tubes to fix them to the boards. Even messier!
Above - Charlotte's savage lion.

This Thunderbird by Rose was the most successful of the winged totems. By the time we made this we realised that the most effective way to make solid wings was to cut an aperture in the tube and slot the cardboard shapes into the holes then secure them with papier mache.

Next the totems were given an undercoat of cream emulsion paint (we mixed the colour ourselves using white emulsion and adding a tablespoon of red, yellow and blue acrylic paint). This was to cover all the newsprint and provide a base colour for the painting. Here you can see Harriet's rabbit and the base pattern designed and painted by Jessica. You can also see how much mod-roc is holding the base together!

The totems were painted with acrylic paint in bright colours. This was fun but also chaotic because everyone wanted to paint at once so I decide that everyone had to work in pairs - one as painter and one as assistant. This meant that the assistant would hold the pole steady whilst the painter did their "thing". The following week they swapped places. Fiona was a bit too enthusiastic painting her butterfly and was leaning heavily on the pole - so this pole lists to one side but, hey - that's art!

Once all the painting was finished the poles needed two coats of protective varnish. We used an acrylic varnish which washed out of the brushes with water and didn't give off fumes. But the poles were still a bit unsteady so we balled up gobs of wet mod-roc and threw them down the tubes. Once they dried the poles were more stable (but they will never survive a high wind). Here is Sarah's dragon.

So we now have four totem poles completed although what we are going to do with them I am not sure. I know I'm not supposed to have favourites but Jack's toucan is brilliant. OK, so he has taken some artistic licence by changing his thunderbird into a toucan (how many toucans live in north-west Canada?) but he produced a wonderful totem after struggling to draw the original toucan.

And why do we have 2 totem poles on bases and two totem poles without? Well I had this idea that we would have two 8 foot poles by joining the tubes together but this meant that no-one would be able to paint the top of the poles as they couldn't reach. The children did suggest that they lower themselves from the ceiling on ropes like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible but even I couldn't get that to work! So now we have four 4 foot totem poles, two free standing and two wobbly ones.

I can't begin to tell you how much fun it was to work with a team of enthusiastic and lively children to make these totems. Some of our planning and problem-solving was hilarious, team work was excellent and their imagnations are terrific. To see more totems by Years 3 & 4 just click on this link.

Glass Magnets by Glassprimitif

2009-05-10T07:54:00.004Z

I've been looking for something new to make (I get bored easily) and found a packet of magnets that I bought a million years ago for some project or other.

So here they are: Funny Faces Magnets now for sale on Folksy and Etsy. They were such fun to make. I cut squares of glass from scrap Bullseye and added features from glass stringer. Stringer can be a pain to use sometimes because, if it's not glued firmly before fusing, the little b*ggers roll off onto the kiln shelf (grrr)!

Fully fused glass cabochons with magnets securely fixed to the underside. Each magnet has a different expression and will hold your important papers to the fridge. Take a closer look at Glassprimitif on Folksy.

Suicide Glass!

2009-04-04T20:09:00.004Z

Fused glass and razor blades are made for each other! With the latest craze of Steam punk* these glass items seem to fit right in.

I fused my first Blade Dish about four years ago and I have been making them occasionally since. They are a combination of float glass (picture glass) which gives the glass a greenish tinge and red enamel powder sandwiched between the glass. Oh, and don't forget the razor blade. Because steel blades are so thin they don't cause fractures when fused.

My first dishes were always shallow, because I worried that a deep slump would cause the blade to fracture the glass. But as you can see from the deeper dish (above) the metal is flexible enough to bend and slump with the glass.

The ultimate steam punk accessory must be the Rock n Roll Suicide pendants. I wear one to work sometimes and I always get comments (and sometimes funny looks). As David Bowie said "Your too old to lose it, too young to choose it..."

Pendants and dishes are now available for sale on Folksy and Etsy.

* "Steam Punk is a sub-genre of fantasy and fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era —but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy." Wikipedia.

Glass Hearts at Glassprimitif

2009-03-25T19:30:00.003Z

I was recently asked to make some glass hearts for a customer who wanted to give them as gifts at the Race for Life Event.

The hearts are quite simple in design and are made from a combination of pink, white and clear glass so that each one is different. The customer bought four of the glass hearts and is pleased with the hearts and I have listed the rest on Etsy for sale.

So now I am coming to the end of my obsession with hearts (I think...) and am casting around for a new idea for designing glass. Watch this space!

Folksyfinds.com

2009-03-24T22:22:00.005Z

I have just joined the team at Folksyfinds.com, a blog about Folksy artists and artisans for Folksy fans.

So what's it all about? Well Folksy is a new UK social selling site for artists and designers who make "hand made" to sell their gorgeous crafts. Although it's no longer in it's infancy (more of a teenager now) Folksy is still growing and finding it's niche in the social selling world. Folksy has recently introduced international shipping, allowing it's sellers to ship their goodies abroad and increase sales too.

Where there's Folksy there are also folk and what does every hand made selling site need? A promotional blog, that's what. So Folkyfinds has been devised and launched by photographer Dan Jackson and he kindly invited me onto the editorial team. It's been a bit of a challenge for me (I had to learn to navigate my way through Wordpress and I'm a Blogger kind of gal) but I have posted my first entry this week - Hearts are Trumps.

Please take a look and why not subscribe to the site? You have nothing to lose and you will gain some great information and promos about Folksy.

Funky Folksy Fish

2009-03-15T21:47:00.005Z

The latest catch of fabulous fused glass fish have just landed fresh from the kiln.

I love making these fish because I get to play with so many different colours of glass to make different combinations of fish. I start with the basic template drawing and cut lots of fish "bodies" from off-cuts of opal vanilla and clear glass. I have even used Uroboros irridescent glass in bubbles and stripes. Irri glass looks flat and colourless until it is held up to the light, then the oily colours of irridised glass sparkle and catch the light.

So, every fish starts as a basic shape that I can add shapes cut from bright glass and play around with. I make some fish in opal glass and some in transparent glass to make each one different. I have my favourites, of course, such as turquoise with cranberry transparent glass and orange with lime green opal glass. If I think there might be a subtlety to the colour combinations I change it fast! Tasteful? Moi? I like positioning their eyes (made from glass blobs) too, so that each fish has a different expression.

Next comes the laborious task of grinding all the shapes so that I don't get any strange knobbly, misshapen bits after firing. Then the wash, rinse and dry before gluing the component parts together. Attaching the metal hangers is always a bit tricky and, if the glass doesn't fuse over the top, the hangers will pop out. (Which results in much gnashing of teeth). Once dry, it's everyone into the kiln for a fry-up so that they come out smooth, glossy and sleek.

These fantastic fish are being listed on Folksy all this week. They will make the perfect Easter gift or look great on the bathroom wall.

Why Twitter?

2009-03-13T10:33:00.004Z

Yesterday I attended a seminar on social networking at Bradford Crafts Centre by Chi-Chi Ekweozor of RealFreshTV.
One of the social networks discussed was Twitter, which Chi-Chi favours above Facebook. Now I am a big fan of Facebook as a promotional tool for both Glassprimitif and for Keighley Arts Factory because, through my business page and group, I can target my audience locally. By local I mean increasing the foot fall to the gallery and also increase UK sales to my folksy shop. I am not as keen on Twitter because I wonder how it's possible to make those all important relationships on such a frenetic site?
Question: everyone is madly posting links (Buy my latest ..... See my blog..... Visit my shop.... ) but are we actually bothering to look at the links? I would have to spend ALL my time on Twitter to look at, and comment on, every link I am sent. Also, Twitter seems so "trivial" to me, does it really have a long shelf life as a promotional tool?
I think I need convincing - Chi-Chi was so enthusiastic about Twitter that she has made me think that Twitter may well be a valid marketing tool but the jury's still out in Primitif World!
If you have an opinion on Twitter please let me know.

Mother's Day in the UK

2009-03-10T20:05:00.008Z

It's Mother's Day on Sunday 22 March and what better gift to send to your Mum than a glass heart pendant?

Why choose glass? Well it lasts a lot longer than flowers - making it so much better value for money. You have a great choice of colours and Glassprimitif can send your glass heart direct to Mum, anywhere in the UK, provided you order it by Wednesday 17 March at Folksy.com
Of course, if you are in the USA you can be confident that your gift will arrive in plenty of time for May 10 by ordering from Etsy.

These delicate glass Polka Dot Hearts are made from opal glass and have an Aanranku silver plate bail attached. They look great hanging from a cord or sterling silver chain.

Price Reductions

2008-12-26T10:10:00.003Z

It's time to clear out some of my old stock to make way for new glass so I'm having a sale on Etsy and Folksy.

There are great reductions on glass decorations and pendants at Folksy. *Pendants are now half price (reduced from £10 to £5) and glass decorations are £3 for four (reduced from £1.50 each).

Over at Etsy I am having a sale of cufflinks. Reduced from $20 to $15, that's a saving of $5! All cufflinks are made with layers of Bullseye glass and silver plate studs.
Look out for new glass dishes on Etsy and Folksy from January 1, 2009.

* Sale does not apply to all pendants on Folksy, check for SALE item.

Folksy - a New UK Site

2008-12-22T20:35:00.004Z

This week I joined a new hand made selling site from the UK, Folksy.
Folksy is a Beta site (test) and international shipping won't be available until February 2009 but, from what I have seen so far, it looks good. It has a great selection of sellers including some of my favourites - Buri Boo, Fibrespace and Asking for Trouble. I'm also really impressed with the Making section with tutorials and how-tos and I like the graphics and layout.
However, like all new site there are some teething troubles and I would like to be able to batch my items into sections. But it's early days yet.
Watch this space!

Yet more about collaborations and commissions

2008-12-14T20:33:00.006Z

My good friend and glass artist Lawatha makes the most wonderful fused glass pendants and her signature designs are beautiful silhouettes in sepia or black on opal glass.

Like most glass artists worth her salt, Lawatha does suffer from copy cats and has found, like most of us, that the internet is not just a great way to get your work seen but it also a great way for others to copy. Now, Lawatha knows that she does not have copyright for "off the peg" designs but it is a bit galling when others use these designs along with her titles and descriptions too.

So I sent Lawatha some drawings I had made of some of MY original artwork so that she could test them and see if they fused onto glass. Here you see my "Circles Tree" design and also "FrouFrou Fish" (our little joke). Like the professional artist Lawatha is, she respects my copyright and has the right to use my designs and sell her glass.

Here is what she made. I was absolutely bowled over by her pendants and I hope they sell really well for her.

If you would like to commission me to draw some original artwork for you please contact me and I'll be happy to discuss it with you.

More commissions and collaborations

2008-12-13T13:02:00.004Z

I recently received a request from a customer, via Etsy, to make a dish with a red gingko leaf design fused onto it.

I started with some drawings. Deep shapes cannot be cut into glass unless a Taurus saw is used as it will fracture under the stress. Of course, I don't own a Taurus saw, just a glass cutter and a grinder, so I had to plan where I could make cut lines that wouldn't make the glass leaf look "pieced" together. The final drawing was redrawn in thick black marker pen so that I could see the design clearly through the glass.

I made a prototype of the design in float glass so that I could work out any problems before I committed to the final piece. As you can see, I didn't spend enough time grinding the curved shapes on the leaf and the curves flattened out slightly when fused.

Because this is a flat design (the customer didn't want any additional texture or glass blobs) I wanted the actual red leaf to have some depth so I bought a sheet of streaky red and clear Bullseye glass from my favorite glass suppliers, Warm-Glass UK.

Streaky glass is tricky stuff. The streaks of color are random so it's hard to position the leaf design so that the best streaks are used. I only had one sheet so I couldn't afford to make any cutting mistakes. Of course, the best streaks were in the centre of the glass so I have lots of small pieces left!

I fused the leaf onto opal white and clear Bullseye glass and then slumped it into a dish mold. Fortunately the line between the leaf parts has fused closely together and has not made the deep ridge that you see in the prototype. Next, I emailed the image of the finished dish to the customer and awaited her verdict.

Success! The dish was shipped off to Germany and here is her feedback:

"The dish has safely arrived this morning. Simply great! Many thanks."

Commissions & Collaborations

2008-09-19T18:58:00.017Z

Working to some-one else's specifications on a commissioned piece of glass can be a either a joy or a nightmare. Fortunately for me, most commissioned glass has been a happy experience.

It helps immensely if the customer has an understanding of the versatility and the limitations of fused glass and that the customer can convey the idea so that I can visualise the glass. The perfect customer is also one who will come back and ask for alterations that are workable and not impossible.

Most of my designs start out with a doodle or a drawing in a sketchbook. If working with color is the main element of the design I use watercolors to translate colors onto the page. Although not a perfect match, the transluscency of watercolor paint is the closest I am going to get to transparent glass. These designs were for a commission for quiltmaker Carolinasquirrell who makes the most amazing strip quilts from the selvedge edge of bolts of cloth. She wanted two sun catchers in transparent colored glass based on the strip quilt design.

After emailing my initial designs and color schemes we finally came up with the design of colors in blocks of three with the metal hanging wires fused at a corner of the glass so that it hangs at a right angle.

Here is the finished design for both quilt sun catchers. They measure 4.5" and are made from transparent Bullseye glass. I really enjoyed the experience and look forward to working with Carolinasquirrell again in the future.

Glass Suncatchers

2008-09-12T19:11:00.008Z

I'm not sure why these are called suncatchers as there hasn't been much sun to catch this summer in the UK! Perhaps they should be called Lightcatchers.

Each of these glass pieces has been made using both transparent and opaque glass in bright colors. the inspiration for them is, of course, patchwork quilt block patterns. All suncatchers are for sale on Etsy.

Monet's Garden is created from transparent colored glass frit fused onto clear float glass.

Impressionist Garden is again float glass but with glass tangles fused in three colors.

Patchwork Glass is a combination of Bullseye opal glass on clear glass. It has been tack-fused to give ita raised profile.

Last, but not least, Rainbow Glass is a ladder of transparent glass colors on clear glass.

Each glass suncatcher has an ornate copper wire to hang from.

Glass Quilts

2008-09-07T14:28:00.007Z

Two of my favorite patchwork books are Freddy's House by Freddy Moran and Kaleidoscopic Quilts by Kaffe Fassett. Both books are a feast of color and bold patterns. So patchwork quilt blocks are the source of my glass designs for fall/winter.

Here are some examples of my glass designs in dishes and jewelery. I have used traditional quilt patterns such as Flying Geese, Nine Patch and Pinwheel and combined these with Bullseye glass to create bright fused glass. I have mostly use transparent color glass on white or vanilla opal glass as the transparent colors retain their jewel-like quality when fused. The pendants and earrings are based on the solid quilt block colors of Amish quilts and I have used opaque glass stacked together to create mini-blocks.

Below is a large glass wall decoration depicting a patchwork star. I am making a series of suncatchers that can also be used as wall pieces or hung in the bathroom too.

All this glass can be purchased from Etsy, Shaw Galleries and Keighley Arts Factory.

Gone Fishing......

2008-08-03T15:37:00.016Z

More fish, fresh from the kiln. These funky fused glass fish are made from Bullseye glass and are such fun to make. Each fish has a wire loop to hang in the window or in the bathroom ort anywhere at all.

Billy the Fish available for sale at Etsy

Monty the Fish available for sale at Dawanda

Tango the Fish available for sale at Dawanda

Simon the Fish available for sale at Etsy

Celeste the Fish available for sale at Dawanda

Ethelred the Fish available for sale at Etsy

Cecil the Fish available for sale at Dawanda

Calypso the Fish available for sale at Etsy

2008-08-02T16:49:00.028Z

As I recently posted a tutorial on making accordian books here are a few of the books I have made. They have all been shown in exhibitions.

"My Son Tom" is an accordian book made from brown paper and plant fibre paper with a wooden toggle as a fastener. It measures 3" (8cm) square. The pages are a long strip of plant fibre paper that has been folded three times to form pockets. I made this book when Tom was nine and each pocket contains an item that means something to him.

The first pocket contained 3 coloring pencils but they were pinched when I took the book into a school where I was teaching book making workshops (!) The text reads, Tom likes to draw. The next pocket contains a rusty washer from his collection - He likes to collect things. Then I made a minitaure version of his favorite book, Shadowmancer - Tom likes to read. I illustrated a cartoon of the cat - and he loves our cat. I made two miniature playing cards - Tom enjoys card games and finally popped in a photo of him with a cheeky face - He hates peas!

It was fun to make although, now he's older, I don't think he's too impressed now!

RATS is a passage from Robert Browning's Pied Piper of Hamelin, a poem I learned at school. The paper is standard cartridge that I dyed with inks on wet paper before cutting and gluing the pages together.

I printed the word RATS with wooden block lettering and made the illustrations in relief by sticking the cut out shapes with sticky fixers. The roofs of the houses are pages from an old book that I dyed with ink. The book was so old that the paper began to disintegrate when wet!

The layout for the lettering took a long time as I had to space it correctly. I attached the pages together with wire so that, if the book is not handled correctly, it scratches you - like rats!

The book below is about walking my dog. We take a long, strenuous walk on the moors every day as he needs a lot of exercise.

I started with an old ordnance survey map that I bought in a charity shop and cut out "windows" for each page. The paper is again dyed but this time I dripped acrylic inks onto the wet dyes. Acrylic inks are wonderful - the colors are so vibrant and, being heavier in body than the dyes, will repel the dyes to leave fuzzy edged bright colors.

As this was about a walk in the autumn I took my camera and got shots of the moors, when the heather is very deep purple and the bracken begins to turn gold. I used these images as thumbnails throughout the book. The silver line running along each page represents the path we took, I created it by sponging silver acrylic paint between two torn strips of masking tape, using a damp sponge.

The book pages are stitched together using silk thread that I dyed and then sponged randomly with silver paint. On the cover I made a tiny book with ordnance survey pages. The book measures 5" (13cm) square.

Playing with clay and PotFest 2008

2008-07-26T18:48:00.010Z

When I return to teaching in the autumn I will be doing some slab building with the pupils. Oh joy! I don't know much about clay (apart from the fact that I don't have the patience for it). So I booked a workshop with my friend and ceramic artist Sally Storr for a lesson in slab building.

So here is my first attempt with clay (don't laugh). It is a vase made by wrapping clay around an empty toilet roll tube and adding a base. I used a plastic mat to impress some decoration and punched the "button holes" with the head of a screw.

Here is a close up of the detail made with the plastic mat. If I make up some paper clay I should be able to fire the children's pots in a barbeque (hopefully). I have five weeks of the school holidays to get it right.
So, all fired up with enthusiam (fired up, geddit)? I visited Potfest at Penrith today. 100 selected potters and ceramic artists showing off their wares. It was wonderful! I could have remortgaged the house just to buy pots if I could. Here is a gorgeous Turtle Dish made by Spring Studios that I bought. Not only is it beautifully designed but I love the attention to detail, such as the feet and handles.

I bought this cat bowl (not for the cat) because it was quirky and fun.

I also love this elephant bowl made from thin porcelain.

So the next Potfest is from August 8 - 10 so I may have to take a visit there too!

Ripon Cathedral

2008-07-23T21:30:00.008Z

Yesterday I took my parents to Ripon Cathedral, in North Yorkshire, for a visit. The cathedral has some fabulous staoined glass, both medieval and contemporary. It was really difficult to photograph but, if you like stained glass, please enjoy.

Parcevall Hall

2008-07-20T19:14:00.012Z

Today I took my parents to Parcevall Hall in North Yorkshire. Parcevall Hall is a retreat with fabulous gardens, at Skyreholme in the Dales National Park.

The gardens are open to the public and cover 16 acres, with both formal gardens and woodlands. As the gardens are laid out on a steep hillside they are terraced and are quite Italianate in style.

No garden would be complete without water and there is both moving water and formal ponds. The water lilies looked absolutely charming and the round pond had beautiful koi swimming in it.

Each garden has a colour theme, these hot red beds are my favourite. There were astilbe, crocosmia Lucifer, geum, geranium, penstemon and these amazing scarlet double poppies. (Oh for some seed)! I bought a red potentilla for my small garden from the plant shop.

The garden gates are slightly oriental in style and the Yorkshire stone walls make a perfect foil for the plants.

But the most wonderful thing about Parcevall Hall is the view, sweeping across the valley and looking up to Simons Seat. Skyreholme must be very well sheltered because the trees haven't been distorted by the wind and the garden appears to survive our harsh winters.

Oh look! It ISN'T raining. But this is summer in the UK.......

View more pictures of Parcevall Hall on my Flickr.

Vive La Difference (again)

2008-07-12T21:37:00.006Z

This year's french vacation was to Brossac, in the Charente region of France. We went san enfants this time, instead we accompanied my eldest sister and her husband for a week of R & R.

We stayed at a beautiful 18 century manoir with bags of character, totally unspoiled, plenty of wildlife and, if a car drove past, this seemed to be an event! The boulangerie was a couple of miles down the road in Brossac and there was a fabulous restaurant overlooking the lake nearby.

Early in the morning and early evening was the best time of the day to see the wildlife. It seemed to get very hot from 11am to 8pm but, once the temperature had cooled slightly, the buzzards came wheeling overhead, searching for carrion. At dusk we saw bats swooping and there were plenty of swifts too. During the day we saw the occasional hen harrier and we had a friendly swift who would sit in the tree every day, chirruping and clicking.

The views across the Charente countryside are fabulous with woodland, corn fields and rolling hills.

Accordian Books

2008-07-03T18:22:00.029Z

I really enjoy making small books such as notebooks, matchbooks, stitched books and books with small pockets and pop-ups. From making the first proto-type the possibilities are endless and you need very few tools either.
There is such a great range of papers and cardstock available today to make hand made books with. I have used pre-printed gift wrap and good quality cartridge paper to make this small accordian folded book but I also like to dye my own paper and use batik papers too.

You will need:
1 sheet A3 cartridge paper
1 piece of card stock
1 sheet fancy paper (for your book cover)
pencil
scalpel or similar cutting knife
ruler
bradawl
cutting mat or board
good quality paper glue
thin ribbon (not shown)
sharp scissors (not shown)

First, cut 3 pieces of card stock, using a ruler and scalpel. Accurate cutting is key here. 2 x 3" square (8cm) and 1 x 1" x 3" (3cm x 8cm). Next cut a piece of your fancy paper 7.5" x 3.5" (19cm x 9cm).

Cover each piece of card stock with an even coating of glue. I have used a gel glue but, if your paper glue is a particularly thick kind, leave it for 30 seconds to dry slightly before placing it on the fancy paper. I position the card stock on the paper "by eye" but you may want to measure the position and mark lightly with a pencil on the back of the fancy paper.
Make sure you leave a tiny space between each piece of card so that folding the book cover will not overstretch your paper.

To avoid smudging the glue onto the paper it is advisable to make your book in stages. I place the book cover under a heavy weight (such as a book or the cutting mat) and allow it to dry for 30 minutes. If you do not press your book flat the thin glue will cause it to warp and become misshapen.
Once the glue is thoroughly dry, use sharp pointed scissors to carefully snip the edges of the fancy paper, as shown above. You should also make a small vertical cut at each end of the book's spine. as shown below. This will prevent the paper from bunching around the spine.

Carefully fold down and glue the paper edges over the card stock, taking care not to over-wet the paper with glue. Resist the urge to fold the book yet, instead place it under a weight for another 30 minutes.

Once dry, cut two lengths of thin ribbon and glue these onto the inside of the book, back and front, as shown above. Leave to dry whilst you make the book pages.

Constructing the pages. You will need to measure and cut two strips of cartridge paper 2 3/4" (7cm) x the length of an A3 piece of paper. Draw a guide line on the back of each paper 2 3/4" in from the edge and score your pencil line with a bradawl. Take care not to press too hard with the bradawl or you will tear the cartridge paper.
Now fold the paper along the scored line. Your first fold will be a mountain fold (as shown above) and the pencil mark will be at the back of the paper. This pencil mark won't be visible when the book is finished.

This is how you fold accordian-style pages. If your first fold was a mountain fold then your next one will be a valley fold (the shape of the fold is self-explanatory). You won't need to measure and mark each fold with a pencil and bradawl as long as you fold CAREFULLY and accurately. Fold both strips of paper in this way until you get to the end.

You should have a small strip of surplus paper at the end. I call this piece the "tail". Cut the tail from only ONE strip of paper, you will need the other one.

One strip of paper won't give you enough pages for your accordian book so you need to join two strips together. Take the "tail" from one strip of paper and glue it to the second strip. Make sure that you glue a valley folded piece to a mountain folded piece and that the tail is at the back of your paper (you don't want the tail to be seen when the book is finished). As shown below.

Once dry, fold all the pages together. They should spring apart as you let go to form an accordian.

Nearly finished! Glue the back of the first page to the inside of the front book cover. The first fold facing upwards should be a valley fold. Make sure that your page covers the edge of the ribbon. Press it firmly and leave to dry. (Don't place it under a weight or you will squish the book cover).

Repeat the process by gluing the back page to the inside back cover and leave the book open to to dry.

When dry, carefully fold the pages up and tie the ribbons together to hold them in place.

Voila! You have just made a delightful book that you can fill with drawings, notes, photos or collage. Here are some sites you can buy handmade books.

Kupokiley

Staceyhandmade

Giftshed

Paint and Print on Canvas

2008-06-21T21:00:00.026Z

Paint and Print is a project that I have recently taught at a local secondary school. The students who created these canvases are in Year 7 (11 and 12 year olds). I hope you will agree that they did a fantastic job by producing amazing art work designed by themselves.
The aim of the ten week project was to make a large piece of wall mounted art, using different techniques of painting and printing. The brief was for the students to study different styles of masks and their meaning including tribal, Venetian, theatre and horror masks.

The objectives of the project were:

to explore various types of paint and print media

to understand the properties and limitations of the paint and print media

to use color theory to obtain a satisfactory outcome

to make their own printing tools

to consider the elements of good design

So how was it done? First the students were asked to select either cool colors or warm colors and, using diluted acrylic paints, applied these to the surface of the canvas using sponges.
Once dry, masking tape was placed on the painted canvas and a thick coat of acrylic paint was applied with a sponge. The students then had the choice of applying different printed elements to the canvas either with the masking tape intact or removing the masking tape before printing.
The printing applications were as follows:
bubble wrap and/or corrugated cardboard, painted with a thick layer of acrylic paint.
Collograph (string on card) printing blocks, painted with metallic acrylic colors before applying to the canvas.
Printing foam scored with a pencil and printing ink applied with a roller before applying to the canvas.
Commercially bought foam stamps painted with acrylic paint before applying to the canvas.

Once the surface had been decorated and the masking tape removed (tearing off the masking tape is such fun)! the canvas was ready for the masks. Each student made a template of a mask from paper and positioned the template onto the canvas before drawing around it with a soft pencil. The mask was painted in a solid color and, when dry, decorated with Jones Tones foils on a transparent glue base.

The Learning Outcomes. As well as learning about planning and design compostition, color theory and the properties of paint, the students also learned that materials behave differently on different surfaces. One of the "problems" of painting on an absorbent surface, such as on fabric or on a wall, is that a dense surface will absorb color but reflect very little light back (unlike white paper, for instance). For example: purple acrylic paint applied directly from the bottle will look black on a non-reflective surface. To achieve a better purple it is advisable to add a small quantity of white paint. Although the paint looks lilac on the palette it will dry to a darker shade. Another problem of color on canvas is one of contrast. Subtlties in shades and tints are lost on a large surface that is viewed from a distance so it is better to employ color "jumps". What I mean by that is, the subtle changes from yellow to tangerine, to orange, to vermilion, to red will be lost in this type of painting. It is advisable to change colors from yellow- orange - red without the subtlties in between.

A further limitation is that of paint handling and working cleanly, particularly in printmaking. Acrylic paint is notoriously difficult to manipulate when painting complex shapes onto thick absorbent canvas and students learned to mix the paint to the exact consistency to make its application easier. Printmaking is a messy business and students were advised to clean their area and printmaking tools thoroughly, particulary as they used oil based inks and turps to clean them up with.

Each student created a unique piece of art, using techniques that can be applied to other painting and print making assignments. a project such as this can be adapted for any age group, the older the student the more elaborate the finished piece can be.

Our Front Garden

2008-06-13T19:36:00.011Z

Our front yard is tiny but I have managed to cram a path, patio and lots of plants into it. Amongst the flowers I am growing parsnips, carrots, mangetout, and strawberries. At the moment all the flowers are delicate colors but the summer blooms of lily, crocosmia (Lucifer), nasturtiums and marigolds are beginning to show.

The space is so small that I lean over the garden wall to wed it. Still, I find lotsof wildlife there - including birds, insects, the occasional sleeping cat and the scourge of my garden, slugs!

I need to grow some herbs in the yard as they are good space fillers and smell good when I am out there. In the autumn the virginia creeper will turn red against the wall and make a bit of a show. A garden is a constant work in progress and I need to replace the ugly lavender bushes that I bought last year with a dwarf Munstead variety along the edge of the path.

Of course, I'm not the only person who likes to blog about her garden. Shasglasscrafts grows magnificent iris in her garden in Tennessee and she has a lot more space to play with than me!

Glass Fish

2008-05-25T18:28:00.010Z

One of my favorite glass items is fish. They are great fun to make because I can play with so many different combinations of colors.

Here is Sammy, a pendant made by Smokeylady54, using one of my glass fish in her creation. She has added her opwn lovely lampwork beads and leaves, as well as pearls and Swarovski crystals. The toggle on this piece is Sterling silver and the necklace is just under 22" long.

Sammy is for sale at Smokeylady's Etsy store . I also have some glass fish in my Etsy store too. Below are "Sid and Nancy", two punky fish waiting for a home.

Inspiration is all around

2008-05-20T16:09:00.002Z

My two previous blogs about Sources of Inspiration looked at becoming "ideas-rich" and ways of presenting ideas for design (sketch books, design boards, scrap books etc).

Even the most mundane items can become a source of inspiration, you don't need to search the net for good design ideas, you are living with them. Here I have taken my camera to record a few ideas from around the home, focussing on color, texture and pattern. Textiles and tableware are both a great source for ideas and take a look in the fruit bowl too!

Any of these images will be useful to the glass artist, textile designer or graphic illustrator.

I am also addicted to glossy magazines and catalogues from shops such as The Pier which are packed full of color, texture and pattern. I keep a small note book with themed pages and, when I am stuck for inspiration, I take a few minutes to look through this book. Below are some example pages.

Colors of Provence, France

Natural color and texture

Black, cream and white

Why not browse Etsy and buy yourself a note book to keep your ideas? To view more pages from this notebook visit my Flickr.

A Walk to Bronte Falls

2008-05-09T21:21:00.013Z

Last Bank Holiday Monday 5 May we took the dog for a walk to Bronte Falls. Here he is, keen to get moving.

We walked from Penistone Hill in Haworth to the Falls, a short walk of roughly 4 miles there and back, no strenuous climbing, just a gentle path. We could see across the valley to Stanbury and Oldfield. Below is Stanbury village.

The weather was hot and hazy, therefore the light quality was quite poor. This image is looking across the valley toward Lancashire, the Falls are below.

Once there we stopped to sit and paddle our feet in the beck. The original bridge was washed away in a flood so the Bronte Society paid to have a new one made. I don't know if the Falls had a name in the 19th century (someone enlighten me) but they are now named the Bronte Falls because the sisters lived at Haworth.

We intended to walk up to Top Withens, a ruin of a farmouse, said to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights, but I had forgotten to bring a drink and, as my tongue was dragging on the ground from thirst, we walked back into Haworth and adjourned to the pub.

Here is Jackson, entertaining himself and anyone who was passing, by digging for stones in the beck.

Spaghetti Glass

2008-05-03T11:13:00.009Z

More experiments with float glass products. This time I have been messing about with a tub of mixed glass "tangles".

After some disappointing results with bubble powder I have had success with the tangles. They are in assorted colors and are different thicknesses of hollowed glass, similar to stringers. These tangles are all 82 coe, making them compatible with float (picture) glass.

Noodles is a fused glass dish, now for sale on Etsy. I would, ideally, like a wider color range but I am quite pleased with the outcome.