Polyfiller pages cont.....

So I am keeping a side book which is far less formal along side the sketchbook. This way I am not without anything after it goes. I have been trying to gather like a visual alphabet on stone inscription and rock art. There were some sketches I did last night.

The poly filler pages are now getting painted, for those who have worried I painted the card with gesso first so it had soething to lock onto. It is very durable so far - I am hardly delicate :)
Painted with yellow and gold mixed
Painted with copper mixed with a brick red emulsion tester pot, and rubbed back with a damp piece of kitchen paper.

More layers of colour to come

What I've been up to

Not the most interesting pieces of work at this stage but here are the grounds of a spread and a cover from my sketchbook. I used polyfiller and a water bottle lid, credit card and a piece of card with "teeth" cut into it. I used this to score lines in the polyfiller (spackle for our american friends) I am going to paint these up now and se how they look, so far I am pleased.

Have been doing some observational drawings in my notebook too, which I will photocopy to use in my sketchbook. These will follow

Sketchbook pages 3 and 4 - ink and found tools ala Gina

I was chatting away with Gina the other day as she has been working on a sketchbook. She was drawing with found tools, particularly spaghetti. So I thought I would give it a go. The first page I did was with a feather, gosh it was harder than I thought. Here's what I did.

I then tried spaghetti, not quite as bad as the feather but I like how they have turned out. I added some metallic green pen and copper metallic pen to the page too.

I am going to revisit these pages with some ink as Gina has done in her post today.

Now or my dilemma - this sketchbook paper is pants!!!!! to say the least. I have to decide what to do - do I take the book apart and change the paper? or continue to glue into the book and save the hassle of rebinding???????????????????

WHAT WOULD YOU DO???????

new layout

had to add a new background as my old one was deleted. Never mind like this one too :)

Strip ease part 2

Here is the stitched piece i did for strip ease crusade. A lady I really like and admire retired from school at the end of this year and another colleague made her a memory book and o i thought this would be the perfect thing to put in there for her. I did it in our national colours "white" (ish), green and red. I hand dyed with tea and coffee some fabrics and tore them into strips. I then hand stitched in tea dyed crochet cotton and bleached back the red cotton velvet for the heart so it didn't look so stark. Here's a detail.....

I then added some free machining, I wanted welsh words - she was the Head of Welsh you see. I wrote -"Curiad calon ein cymuned"which means Heart beat of our community.Here's the finished piece I think she liked it
notice the circular stitching, based on the cup and ring markings in my sketchbook

Sketchbook project and Big thanks to those who sponsored me

Well I dirtied my sketchbook :) I did a big smudgy blob of black on the inside front cover and shut the book :) Had to get over the newness some how. I have chosen below the surface for my theme and have decided to look at stone inscriptions. So after a mega net trawl this is what I have started with. I intend to visit the Margam stones (local display of inscribed stones) but haven't done that yet. I used Michelle's "Strip ease" challenge as the basis of these 2 pages. So I set forth to make some stoney backgrounds, I used acrylics and a piece of clear film packaging from a toy to do some mono printing, fast and loose as I think I needed freeing up. I tore this and added it to my splodgy page. I used an old cotton reel to print in copper the border. I then set forth with the biro - LOVES A BIRO :)

Oh and I deliberately left the inside front cover quite sparse as they intend to stick a pocket on there so was futile to do more.

Next page, I layered my torn pages, taking care to follow Michelle's advice on tearing with and against the grain. I added some old dictionary page - with the word permanent on one bit - and then as a lucky find in the dictionary colour plates I found a picture of radar, well I thought it looked like my cup and ring markings so commandeered it for this page.

This was how the page stood, but knew the black square was too "stuck" on so I set out with the trusty biro and colour pencils to tie things together. I love how this turned out, has the subtlety and wearing of the rings just like in some pics I have found and the mono prints have been given their rightful centre stage.

Love the way this is going but craving colour now, so have to work away from the literal soon and start playing.

Now then a HUGE thanks to those who have sponsored me, a great cause Cancer research. I did my 5 K in 46 min which is a mega achievement for the 20 stone girl of a year ago, here's me my work colleagues, the stunning Bindy and Kay( Far right - mother and daughter magic) they have got me through the last few months, and the gorgeous girls from my gym. Nicky in the centre came 5th the little demon :) and of course my little Ellie who plans to run next year. I really enjoyed it, was not easy but feel so empowered :)

Prom and other things

I had a fab time at the prom this year, ots fitter so danced till my sides ache like mad today. Anyway other things first, Here is this years crop of my daughters dahlia, "ELLIE TAYLOR"

So I did some tea and coffee dyeing for my sacred stones work, going to do some sampling for the sketchbook as I think this is important for me right now to have cloth in hand (keep me sane)

So here are the girlies, don't they look stunning. I have taught all of these and most were in my upper school classes. Just gorgeous

Here are our Prom King and Queen - However, there were 2 sets as one of our total delights won too. Mair - the stunner is my TOP star of this year and made this dress herself :) Clever cloggs. So bright and talented and will go very far. Cameron (they did not come together but are both wearing Welsh tartan as it happens) is the biggest gentleman you could come accross, He looked after the other young man who won the joint Prom king prize with a grace and maturity way beyond his years.
Here's me in my il- fitting dress, unfortunatley I have lost loads off the chest area and so this didn't fit well. I am very disappointed and will be ripping the top off soon and making a strapless top for it I will say.

a cracking prom and a lovely night.

Prom is upon us again

and as per I have left it late and have nothing to wear. So I "found" some fabric that was at the back of a cupboard and it was bright burnt orange. Wasn't sure if I could carry it but in the end I thought sod it go for it. None of my previous outfits FIT so needs must. (Have a back up dress from the charity shop at £4 - which will appear soon as it is missing something and I might ask advice :)

So this was my inspiration...

It is caled the Slinky dress by Jansmin Di Milo. So I couldn't handle how deep the V was so took that up, didn't think the frill on the midrif was a good plan as much as I loved it as it would draw the eye to a "problem zone" :) so set to work on this......

I changed the "straps" as they looked very broad and old womany, so gathered them up and made a band from a scrap and now it looks very Grecian :)

It is very long at the mo, but will be shortened to heel length, managed to squeek out a little train/fish tail thingy :) Just the zip to go in and I have a dress. Photo's on Saturdayafter the prom :)