Red Handed in a Field

I was planning on doing some mosaicing this weekend... but when I tidied my studio yesterday, I found some raw silk hankies and my dyes. Needless to say, my hands are now a deep reddish colour...

I started my morning with a walk down to the Farmers Market to buy mushrooms for breakfast, I was there so early, they were still setting up.  But sunny early mornings are my favourite time and too soon it will be dark and dingy. I love the feeling of being the only person awake, so Maybe and I headed back home to cook our mushrooms and check on the mordanting fibres.

Threads and Raw Silk in the Mordant Bath

The Acid Dyes are applied...

Then Steamed...

And put on the drying rack...

TAH DAH! - Beautiful Colours to play with.

I now have a whole stack of beautfully dyed silks, threads and wool to play with in some textile/collage/mixed media way. Jung often went out and played to access his sub conscious and recognised the value in being creative, so as I work through my Mindfulness & Coaching course, I need to remember that playing is an essential part of my own needs. That and getting pretty colours.


After lunch of vegetarian scotch eggs bought from the Farmers Market I headed out with fellow artist and friend, helping him to chose locations to film in.  He's making another K-Film and needed countryside for the shots.

So a very creative day today, which after 6 weeks of having children home from school, was much needed!

Next Exhibition

DE MIRABILIBUS PECCI

An Exhibition of Mixed Media Paintings by Christine Gray at The Crompton Tavern, Derby

In 1626, Enlightenment Philosopher Thomas Hobbes, toured the Peak District in the company of the Second Earl of Devonshire. He described the places he visited as 'Wonders' and was inspired to write the poem, De Mirabilibus Pecci, which was translated to English in 1678. This poem inspired early tourists to visit one of Britain's most popular destinations.

I have followed in Hobbes footsteps and explored the areas that Hobbes enjoyed, using a mixture of collage, paint and drawing, I have painted his favourite places in the Peak District. Hobbes's 'Wonders' included Chatsworth House, Peak Cavern, Tideswell and Buxton.

I have also included some of my favourite places in the Peak District and the UK, ranging from Belper where I now live, through Matlock to the White Peak, to some favourite places from my native Anglesey.

find me on Facebook here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/ChristineGrayArtist

PREVIEW NIGHT

Saturday 25^th February, 7.00 – 9.00pm at The Crompton Tavern, 46 Crompton Street, Derby DE1 1NX. Opening times: 14.00 – 23.00 (weekdays) 12.00 – 23.00 (weekends). www.cromptontavern.co.uk  They also have their own blog here:  http://www.cromptontavern.co.uk/Exhibitions/forthcoming-exhibitions

Red Ruff will be singing their 3 part harmonies. Red Ruff is Jen Aitken, Sue Devine and Nansy Ferrett.

They got together early 2011 just because they all love singing... also because they love big boots and red hair!

Red Ruff do a mix of their own material and covers: folk, jazz, blues and rock. And make people smile! Go to their website to hear them sing:

http://www.redruff.co.uk/

Very Exciting New Year

I feel very excited at the moment.  I'm preparing for an exhibition at The Crompton Tavern(more information to follow) and got my cheque in on time for the Derbyshire Arts Trail in June.  I'm joining a group at Banks's Mill in Derby and showing my work there.

I've been reading some historical context of Derbyshire and some of the travel writing.  Daniel Defoe (ca. 1659–1661 to 24 April 1731) was less than complimentary, calling the Peak District a 'Wonderless Wonder' while Celia Fiennes (c.1662-1741) was very scathing of the beer in Buxton. 

'... the beer they allow at meals is so bad that very little can be drunk..'

My favourite writing has been by Thomas Hobbes(c.1588-1679), the philosopher who is credited with being the founder of English moral and political philosophy.  His most famous work is Leviathon, where he presents his thoughts on metaphysics, psychology and political philosophy.  He wrote De Mirabilibus Pecci after touring the Peak District and dedicated it the Second Earl of Devonshire and describes there being 7 Wonders of the Peak.  My aim is to visit and paint all these wonders over the next couple of weeks ready to show at the Crompton.

Revived and Rested

I'm feeling very revived and rested after this xmas break.  I even managed to finish a painting and start a new one.

View of the Mountains from Beaumaris

I was fairly exhausted in the run up to this xmas and very relieved that I now feel recovered.  I also feel very hopeful for the New Year.  I have a instinctual feeling that something good is going to happen and lately I have been trying to practise trusting my instinct.  If my gut feeling says its wrong, then I'm going with it.
Learning to recognise the feeling of instinct or nervousness is tricky though and I have got these muddled in the past.
So I decided to put myself outside of my comfort zone and start applying for competitions. The first one I've applied for is Channel 4's, Show Me the Monet.  They attraction of having my work critiqued and a possible selling show in London was strong so I followed my instinct, ignored the horrible nervous feeling of 'What if I actually get somewhere with this and end up on telly!' and pressed the submit button.
I have also got a list of other competitions to enter and a feeling of great positivity.  I plan on making the Law of Attraction work for me this year!

Mountain View

View from Beaumaris to the Mainland.

My latest painting, again, not sure whether I like it. But I have learnt to do hide it away for a couple of months before I look at it again.  I used my new paints for this, which are very vibrant and colourful, exactly the sort I love to work with.

I've struggled with this painting, at one point, I whited it out and had to return some of the vibrancy.

I also used a board and not paper, which is out of my comfort zone, I feel very precious about using boards to paint on and it was a challenge to let go of having to produce a perfect piece of work.  When working on paper I am happy to make a mess and remain playful, to make mistakes and not feel that I have ruined whatever I am working on.  I'm still trying to find this freedom when working on a different background.

My two wooden frames have been returned to me today, so the challenge will be to cover them in canvas and make two large paintings in the new year.  

View over Belper

This is the same view over Belper as the blue based painting done earlier, but I thought I would challenge myself by using a different pallete. I usually stick to purples and blues so changing the colours I work with was challenging and fun.  I enjoyed doing this painting, elements of it really work for me.

It feels more traditional in style and colour so is a new departure for me, I'm not sure its a route I want to take, I enjoy the abstract element of painting so this is a bit too representative.  I am still enjoying this experimental process of finding my own style and voice using paint.  It feels good to be returning to it and I still feel inspired by the John Piper exhibition I saw during the summer, a quick dip into the book I bought and the inspiration and thrill of looking at his work returns.

More experiments with paint.

This is a painting I've been working on for the last couple of days, it a view of Belper from the fields near my house, where I often walk my dog.  Its one of my favourite views, showing a vista from the Chevin to Alport Heights.

I'm really enjoying playing with paint, but have realised that I have a preciousness about getting it right.  If I start a painting on a canvas or on a board, I put a pressure on myself to get it totally right.  When I work on paper, I'm more relaxed and often I quite like the results.  However, as the image above shows, paper is not always the best thing to work on as it does not carry enough weight to keep it from becoming warped.

So my next challenge to myself is to become less precious about getting it perfect the first time on a board or canvas.

Exhibition Spaces...

I visited the Brewhoue Art Centre in Burton on Trent on Friday.  I was dropping some work off for their Xmas shopping exhibition and also to take the opportunity to have a look around with a view to a potential exhibition next year.

It is a lovely space, but I find myself wondering whether having an exhibition away from my own area is a good idea.  So some more research is needed into the area and what the art scene is like in East Staffordshire.  Its not that far away, but I'm not known around there and a I discovered yesterday when observing the actions of customers at the Muse Gallery Xmas Fayre, people definately do buy from people.  I am still in the early stages of getting my name and face recognised so have to keep taking these chances to get myself known.

I've also decided to persue a line of research that I've been thinking about for a couple of years now.  I read a historical novel (not usually my thing) which was based on a true story.  The story has stayed with me and I re-read the novel, deciding it was time to look further into the truth side and develop a body of work.  Usually I find myself being very open with what I am making, but this feel too precious, too early stages to reveal yet.  I just know I want to make some mixed media pieces.  A friend has pointed out that this would be a good reason to apply for a Grants for the Arts funding, but that feels a bit scary at this stage!

Baron Hill Mansion

I've completed another painting about the old mansion house near where my parents live and thought it was about time I put some of the history of the place down.  There are more photo's on this website which has some amazing shots of the inside not long after it was abandoned. I would credit the author of the pages, but they are anonymous.

The original house was built in 1612 and underwent various changes, some of the dates around the gutterings are from 1835 and most of the architecture is from the early 19th Century.  It was requistioned during the WW2 as accomodation for the polish army (tales of polish soldiers bumping into the Stalin moustachioued local look alike caused much amusement). Fire destroyed the building and it has remained empty and decaying ever since, but has become a valuable source for artists and photographers alike.

I spent many hours running around this old mansion frightening myself with anticipation of coming across a ghost (or the very real gamekeeper) and the place still holds a fascination to me.  I once spent a good 30 minutes nervously pacing as my sister and our friend bravely (studpidly?) explored the cellars and basement.  I was far too sensible and timid to join them, although in hindsight I wish I'd been braver.

Rumours about restoring the old house and converting it into flats have been circulating for the past few years.

Above is my latest painting, which is the view from the opposite side of the first photo (above).  It is much more overgrown now,  this is done using dyes, acrylics, collage and pen & ink drawing. There is a lot more to follow!

New Sketchbook!

Just received my sketchbook for the sketchbook project, I'm looking forward to getting on with it, I chose the subject 'fold and stitch', so will be doing some new experiments in it. I may take it with me to the Tin Ladies Non Birthday Meeting today... it would be good to do some scribbling and eating non birthday cake at the same time.

I've been drawing and using dyes a lot lately. I really enjoy doing this and can loose myself in that flow when drawing, that I can't achieve in other ways, the above image is one that I did last week. I've joined a website that is an artists community and had to pay to subscribe, this is forcing me to produce work as I am inherently quite tight with money, so I want to get my full use out of the site. It's also brought out my competitive side, which I usually keep dormant, I find myself wanting to be at the number 1 spot!

The second image is my interpretation of a photograph I took of some rocks. I enjoyed playing with Oil & Acrylics last weekend and this was the result. I'm enjoying working with mixed media for now.

Memory

This piece is about memory, how some are set and solid and fixed, you can confirm them with dates and photos while others are floating and fragmented, snatches of something, then when you try to share that memory, someone else has a totally different perspective. I grew up by the seaside, surrounded by sea, woods and mountains, this is just a fraction of those childhood memories.