I LOVE RED: October 2015

Friday, 16 October 2015

Watercolour Glass

Watercolour Glass Dish

I've got a new glass design to add to my collections.

Watercolour Glass has been a bit of an experiment, using up tinted glass cullet placed slightly randomly and decorated with coloured glass "blobs". After the second firing I painted tiny gold stars and then refired at a lower temperature. The tinted glass is 3mm thick (I usually use 2mm Bullseye glass) and so the dish is slightly chunkier and heavier.

I am very pleased with the results so I am planning to make more dishes in different sizes (this one is 30cm). Tinted glass is more expensive than 2mm transparent glass so it does push the price of making it up - particularly if I use my favourite colour, Rhubarb, which is a pinkish-greyish colour. This is because pink/red glass has a gold content which creates the colour.

But I haven't forgotten about the weaving.....

Friday, 9 October 2015

Glass Versus Weaving

Wool yarn from Texere Yarns

It's here! A big package of assorted yarns from Texere Yarns in Bradford ready for my next project. Lots of lovely colours (three shades of black) and some Chinese silk yarn for dyeing too. I love the aqua and pistachio yarn - can't wait to start experimenting.I'm also hard at work in the attic studio creating glass for several events. The new Christmas exhibition opens at Just Makers in Harlow Carr very soon and I also have events in Masham, Saltaire, Kelbrook, East Riddlesden and Headingley in November and December.

Christmas Trees for Harlow Carr

So glass versus weaving - which one will win out? It will have to be glass of course (but I can always weave instead of sleeping I suppose)

I have a weaving diary on Pinterest HERE

Monday, 5 October 2015

Circles and Ovals

Circles and Ovals

I've been getting in lots of practice at this tapestry weaving malarkey.
My warp tension is improving and I'm not tightening the weft too much (although it could still be neater). I have been trying to weave circles and ovals using a wool yarn in flat colour. Placing a piece of white paper behind the warp has made weaving shapes so much easier. I have also woven another practice sample but it is so bad I'm ashamed to show it. It has some soumak that I tried to weave to outline shapes but, when I wove a vertical line, the soumak became thick and messy. I need soumak advice!
I have just ordered a lot of weaving yarn so I am expecting a big box of lovely colours to play with.
Jo X

Weaving on a canvas stretcher

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Red is my favourite colour - can you tell? Let's take a minute here to appreciate it.Red is bright, it is dark, it is the colour of blood, passion and death. Red looks great with black and white. Red is strong and stirs the soul, it comes in many guises and has many names - vermilion, scarlet, crimson, tomato, pillar box, cherry and let's not forget ruby. Red is a great diversifier, it can disguise itself in cunning ways to make pink, orange and violet. Pink is Red disguised as something soft and feminine but with a dagger behind her back. Orange is Red in a good mood, sunny and happy and violet is Red in a complete, mind blowing temper tantrum. Red is the colour of anger, of "seeing red" or the "red mist". It's the colour behind your eyes on a hot day and the colour of migraine. Red is great to wear - on your toenails, on your lips, clothes, hair colour and shoes. There is nothing left to analyse.