Come Draw With Me at Studio 61

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the morning at Studio 61 in Lea, near Matlock.  I was asked to facilitate Come Draw With Me, a drawing session that is taking place every Thursday morning (10.15-11.30am) as Ruth Gray, who usually runs the session had caught the lurgy that is invading Derbyshire at the moment.  At this rate we will have to take ourselves up to Eyam and into quarantine.

It was a quiet session and I managed to catch up with a commission I've been asked to do for a mosaic mirror.  It was quite lovely to sit in a space, surrounded by beautiful items and just draw.  With no telephone, no internet, no housework or other materials shouting for my attention.  Just me, some paper and pencils and an hour where I didn't do anything else.

Come Draw With Me is running throughout October as part of the campaign for drawing and Karina's Studio 61 is well worth a visit.  She has lots of events planned, including a ladies pamper evening and a christmas shopping evening. 

You can follow this Link to go straight to Studio 61's website.

Ruth Gray, Jenny Oldknow and Me - all cosy in the snug at Studio 61

Why the Make Me An Offer Sale...

Why am I having a sale where people can get my artwork at rock bottom prices?

Several reasons....

I don't like selling my work.
I have a lot of artwork.
I have limited space.
People tell me they have no money but love my work.
My dislike for capitalism.


So basically, if anyone likes a piece of work, they can have it for a donation.  I will not be offended if I only get offered a £1.  This isn't about the money.

I feel that lately things have got too focussed on money and this is my kick back to it.

I want to keep making because I enjoy it not because I want to make money from it. 


So if you really truly enjoy a piece of my artwork and woudl like it, then offer me something. It doesn't have to be money, it could be a piece of your work, your time or something else you can do... just put it out there and see what comes back...

To view the artwork on offer follow the link to my Facebook page.

Getting a little bit personal.

I want to write a really personal blog entry. But I'm not sure how to proceed.

My life has taken so many changes in the last few years, I'm not where I thought I'd be, but perhaps I'm where I need to be.  Along the way has included a lot of ups and downs, medication, self medication, no medication but misery,  a lot of loneliness and a lot of wonderful friends made, lost and refound and kept.

I finally found my place where depression is not welcome, but sometimes comes in uninvited.  I might only allow him to stay for a day before pulling on my running shoes and challenging him to keep up.  But sometimes he will stay for longer, taking a part of me, turning it to stone and locking me into my own head, leaving me feeling that I've lost part of myself along with the car keys.

He's been visiting for the last 20 years of my life and I am only just learning to accept that I have to acknowledge my occasional visitor, I just don't welcome him with wine anymore and but insist we have an early night.

My ego is of a size that I want to make my world about me and in learning to accept myself for who and what I am.   I've also come to the realisation that if anyone chooses not to accept who I am then I can't do anything about that, because that is more about the other person than it is about me.

While I don't let this part of my life define who I am, it is after all, just an extra with one line, I'll talk to anyone who wants to chat more about this subject and how it affects the lives of those around us.

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!

Summer 2012

Kampa Museum, Prague.

Its all been quiet on the blogging front this summer, mainly because I have been having a FANTASTIC holidays.  In the last couple of months I have run the Race for Life, raising money for cancer research uk, taken my kids climbing and horse riding, started yoga classes, been to Prague with my five very clever and talented sisters, been to Wales to visit my parents and spent lots of time on the beach.  I have also set a five year plan of moving back to North Wales to be nearer the sea.

I have also been researching where I want to go next with my life, I have become disillusioned with the art world and got fed up of trying to promote myself and 'make it' within the art scene.  Not anyone's fault, I just don't like having to promote myself.

So after a summer of soul searching and reading and walking, I realised that I love creativity more than I love fine art.  I enjoy the actual making, but really not that concerned with the piece after that.  I don't know how to value my work in monetary terms, because money isn't a priority in my life, even though I do need it for bills, food etc....

This led to me deciding to enrol on a Mindfulness and Life Coaching course, I want to combine this knowledge with creativity and work with other people exploring how creativity can be used for positive purposes.  So from being fairly disillusioned, I am now boinging with energy and excitement over the future and what it will bring.  I'm not giving up my own artwork, but will be making purely for the pleasure of making without having the pressure of selling and promoting myself.

Kutna Hora

Kutna Hora

A lovely walk today

I enjoyed a really nice walk today in the sunshine, taking lots of photos of things to inspire...

all for illustration research. No more words just pictures.

A couple of hours of printing...

I had to make a difficult decision yesterday.  I had to buy gelatin if I wanted to explore a new printing technique and as a vegetarian this didn't sit well with my ethics and VegeGel just wouldn't do.  However, my plan is to experiment with the gelatin plate and if I think I will be using it a lot, then I will invest in a Gelli Plate, a synthetic reusable version.

So to the horror of my children, yesterday saw me heating gelatin to make a printing plate, which this morning, I retrieved from the back of the fridge and had a play with with a roller and some acrylic paints.  I'm really happy with the results and feel that I now have a stock of printed cards to work into, over print and experiment with to make them really stand out.

Gelatin Plate.

Leaf prints from this mornings experiments.

I've really enjoyed making these this morning, a creative couple of hours with some interesting results, its the type I enjoy.  I used to really enjoy making collographs when I was at art college so this type of monoprinting is a return to a way of working that used to free my imagination.

I'm now planning how I can make these more individual, with designs from my own imagination.