Those Adult Books!

Hands up whose been sucked in by the current craze for adult colouring!  Add me to the list!  This week I've spent a couple of hours every evening sitting at my Mum's kitchen table with pencils and a pretty image colouring away. Took me back to my childhood when a new colouring book was a treat bought with my Saturday afternoon sixpence in Woolworths or W H Smiths.

But now in 2015 the queen of colouring is undoubtedly Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford.  Her first book, The Secret Garden, has sold over a million copies and has been translated into 14 languages! Already a very talented artist of course, Johanna's idea to turn her illustrations into a colouring book, and one for adults to boot, has shot her to fame. I came across her books when looking for a colouring book for my mum.  At 91 and in frail health, she doesn't go out now. I thought she might like something other than watching TV or doing crosswords to pass the time but I have to say all the adult books I looked at (and there are many!) were far too intricate for her eyesight. However I was rather taken by Johanna's second book Enchanted Forest myself.

Being a stamping card maker I already use pencils and markers but I was still reluctant to spoil the pages of my new book. After all its easy with cards - you just start again if there's a mistake or blot on the image. However I found some free downloads here and here and set to practicing.

I printed the pages on thin white card and found my Staedtler pencils gave a pleasing result. I also liked the effect of Kuretake Clean Color Brush Pens but sadly my Copics are out as they would bleed through to the other side of the page - disaster!

I finished my first page last night and, oh dear, looks like I've started another already!  Apparently I'm not the only one addicted though. Take a look at the Colouring Gallery on Johanna's website. Some pretty impressive work there! Hmm, might just add my mermaids to its walls.

Do you know Julie?

Julie Arkell that is.  We've been very honored to have Julie as artist in residence right here at Ruthin Craft Centre for the past month and she's been kept very busy with workshops, open studio days and today - on her last day here - there was a 'Walk and Talk' when we learned much more about her artistic background and the creation of the "Away" exhibition.

And what a delightful person she is.  We spent a lunchtime open studio with her last week when we chatted about her work, collecting vintage bits, Wales, the difficulties of overflowing work spaces, and she was quite happy to pose for photos and sign copies of the exhibition publication - I forgot to take mine with me! 

I never know whether photos are allowed at the craft centre - I have never asked as I fear they are not!  However I'm just going to sneak in this photo I took of my friend in the gallery and hope you won't tell anyone.  I'm sure Julie wouldn't mind me sharing it with my select little band of followers and I'm hoping it will encourage you to visit and admire if you are anywhere near in the next month - although Julie is returning home these little creatures will be staying put until the end of November.

Hello dolly!

Unfortunately Easter was a bit of a non-event for me this year.  Apart from working every day over the holiday, I managed to pick up a nasty stomach bug which kept me up all night, and then I fell over my feet at work resulting in large colourful and painful lumps in several places.  Even sitting is uncomfortable and I'm walking like someone who has just celebrated their 100th birthday!  However being less mobile has meant I did at last get down to putting together my lovely Sophie Tilley wooden doll kit (with rather too much help from Titch!).

I'm ashamed to say I've had the kit for almost 12 months but tell the truth I've been rather nervous of painting the face.  Creating faces is one of those steps that can make or break a project but I gritted my teeth and just went for it.  I'm fairly happy with the result.  I painted my doll with acrylic paints and added her features with Sharpie pens.  I then gave her bits and pieces a thin layer of beeswax polish before putting her together.  The wax gives a nice smooth finish to painted wooden pieces and a bit of protection.  I made a rough paper pattern and used a scrap of vintage Laura Ashley fabric for her dress - its not perfect but she is a rather folksy girl so I'm sure she doesn't mind. 

Sophie is soon to add cloth dolls to her range so I'm looking forward to finding a comfortable friend for my wooden doll.

A Japanese Season in Wales

The long awaited Japanese exhibition opened at our local craft centre this week and I managed a quick visit on my way home today.

The main exhibition gallery is looking pretty spectacular - lengths of beautiful textiles hung in human form from the ceiling surrounding a gigantic washi paper lantern.  I'm never sure whether photographs are permitted here but I managed to sneek a couple when no one was looking! 

My visit today had to be quick but I'll definitely be going again - not least because there are lots of interesting events planned and a delicious looking pop-up shop.  I couldn't resist a couple of teeny purchases today - a set of 12 beautiful postcards and a cute little washi paper bunny notepad with matching envelopes. 

If you live within striking distance of North East Wales I'd definitely recommend making the effort to take a look.  There's plenty of information on the website http://www.japanseasonwales.com/.  And its on till 24th June, so no need to rush either.

Brown Paper Packages.......

Everyone likes the postman to call and a few days ago I opened the door to my postie and accepted a very exciting package tied up with string.  And in it was........ a few bits of wood!  BUT these were no ordinary bits of wood - this was beautifully presented wooden doll kit from Sophie Tilley Designs.  I'd been coveting a vintage wooden doll (pictured on the right) on ebay but she sold for much more than I could afford so I was really glad I'd ordered my doll kit. 

I saw Sophie's doll kit on Pinterest (I spend far too much time there) and when I followed the link to her Etsy shop I was  surprised to find it was not based in the US but in North Wales.... in fact only 30 or so miles away from me in the village of Trefriw!  Trefriw is well known to me as my Great Great Grandparents are lying in the churchyard there.  How's that for an enabler!  I've a few projects to get out of the way before I make my doll but I'm enjoying planning her in my head.

Bert Jansch, 1943 - 5th October 2011

I've been listening to Bert and The Pentangle since the 1960s and created this digital scrapbook page after we'd been to see the band in concert at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall in July 2008.  I made my own digital elements by scanning the concert programme and our tickets and saving them as PNG files.  Then it was easy to resize them to fit on my page.  A souvenir of a great night!  And so sad to think we won't see all the band together again.

RIP Bert xx

Blooms, butterflies and fairies

The Scabious is at its very best at the moment in my garden. I love it and so do the bees, butterflies and hoverflies. Definitely worth propagating for elsewhere in the flowerbeds.

And here is Cicely Mary Barker's Scabious Fairy. I recently read about her work as an artist and was amazed to learn that as well as meticulous research of the plant, choosing and sketching the right child model, and writing the fairy's song, Cicely also designed and made up each fairy costume. Not only that, she unpicked and reused the fabrics for the next fairy once the painting was finished. There are 168 fairies in her 7 fairy books - can you just imagine how much work went into them! The wings of the Scabious Fairy look like they come from the Holly Blue butterflies I chase around the garden with my camera. I haven't managed to catch one this year but here's one I nabbed last year.

I'm linking this post to NF Flowers and NF Winged this week - two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Helfa Gelf 2010 (Art Trail)

This weekend is the first of the three North Wales Art Trail weekends and today my friend and I visited Ann, where we learnt about using oil based printing ink, painting and stencilling to make beautifully vibrant prints, Maud, where we made paper beads and added them to the "community" necklace she was creating from the beads made by her visitors, and Sarah, where we were inspired by what she had produced with things discarded by the rest of us (and admired the pretty beach hut - in her garden!) All three artists were so warm and welcoming, inviting us as complete strangers into their homes and even offering us tea. We were so glad we'd made the last minute decision to follow a tiny piece of the trail.

We loved seeing the artists' work spaces and their works in progress. I came home determined to be more creative with all the "stuff" I've been collecting over the years - I've mountains of stuff stashed away; fabric, yarn, old books, magazines, postcards, ephemera, old linen, lace, beads and all the bits and pieces I can't resist picking up at car boots and charity shops.

I'm looking forward to more visits next and the following weekends - there are 125 studios open over North Wales. And if there's an Art Trail near you why don't you visit some of your own local artists and be inspired.