Thursday 31 March 2011

patchwork crochet

anyone know how u join crochet squares together?

shell and bone

it was weird drawing these two things one after the other. I drew the skull first but when i went on to the shell i started seeing a skull in it. Brian Cox was telling us the other night that everything on earth is composed of the same chemical elements...and now i'm kinda wondering if skulls and shells are made up of similar stuff? drawing one seems a bit like drawing the other.


And what happens on a sheeps head (or whatever this thing was before it died and i drew it)...where it's skull becomes it's horns? What happens to the skin around the horn?...it cant just stop otherwise it would just peel back and little beasts would be able to crawl inside. How weird that horns are just bones sticking out.


oh well..i'm going to make some eggy bread.

plump

we've been making cushions around here...

and now we've got a lot of plumping to do

Sunday 20 March 2011

1000 birds

n

If you haven't already visited
the blog of my friend
and colleague, Makiko Hastings,
then I recommend that you do.
Not only will you
but you will see
her wonderful studio being built and
her perfectly yummy ceramics being made.
Desperate to do something to help
her beloved Japan and her
compatriates at a time of such
unimaginable crisis,
Maki is now working on her
raise money for
We need to get behind her.
please visit Maki's blog and show your support

Tuesday 1 March 2011

st ives palette

one of the things i don't like about blogger is that its such a bloomin faff to get pictures in the order that you want them (aaargghh). I've just tried dragging this lot around and its taking forevever so here they are in the wrong order. now that little rant is over...what i wanted to say is...
one of the things i like about blogging (says she who hasn't been around here much for decades)
is the distance it gives you from your artwork, a chance to record and look again with a slightly altered eye or perspective.
i've always known that i love st ives in cornwall. it's a special place for me and one of the things i love about it is the colour. the light is special in st ives and i just love the colours of the sea, the sky, the white washed houses, the cobbled streets, the weathered boats and the rugged rocks.


i didn't realise how much this had seeped into my bones until i took these photos for this blog.


in response to a recent post
helen commented that my painting reminded her of rusty boats by the sea which put a happy smile (thanks helen) on my face because i luuurrrrve rusty boats by the sea.

i didn't realise as i was painting these (unfinished as usual) canvases that they remind me of st ives...all chalky and weathered


I'm sure there's some boat shapes in there too

perhaps even a harbour wall
but this is the picture (above) that most surprised me its like i subconsciously painted the rocks the sky and the sea in my sketchbook. Even the potato print when i stamped it twice on the page came out as the cornish flag (the cornish flag is the coolist ever..a white cross on a black background). st ives must be calling me.
the final hidden message came when i checked the photos i'd taken - on top of a sketchbook i bought in st ives last year.

ahhhh if only it wasn't so far away and so expensive to stay there...house swap for the summer anyone?