new pages for alphabet books

this time i chose v for vintage and g for glamourous

(bloomin heck i hope i spelt that right). the great thing about joining in swaps and mail art projects etc is that it encourages me to do art (and finish art).

i so love vintage fabric

pretty wedding

shapes and colours

one day i will grow up and i will be tidy

f is for flowers

Some pics from the alphabet altered book swap i'm taking part in. I found working in a children's board book a bit of a challenge especially as the pages i worked on were shaped like an 'f' !

down the garden path

my friend has been busy making her

garden look pretty for the summer

inspiration

my sis is an art teacher in a local secondary school and they recently had an exhibition of students work - as usual I came away feeling really uplifted and inspired by the talent on show. These are a few images from the show. Enjoy!

look at me blogging every day - i'm so smug with myself. Although i still haven't worked out how to do any clever things yet. Like do links and other stuff. but that day will come. it's so nice to get comments and emails from people too and i'm intrigued by the different possibilities available to develop a blog. At the moment it's just a bit of a ritual for me to keep a record of my creative process and to communicate with people. It is interesting to look back at my previous posts and see the random images i selected to upload. I think it's helping a little bit to get things straight in my head about what i want to do in the future.

weddings

I'm going to a posh wedding this weekend as my youngest cousin ties the knot. I think I must have weddings on the brain as I dug out these pictures of a gift I made for my aunty with picture s of her 1960's wedding. There's something I like about making art and giving it away - although I'm not always sure the recipients of my handmade gifts might always agree!

sunny day

It's a lovely sunny day today but I'm hiding inside about to embark on some much needed decluttering. Later I'm going to see my friend's degree show which I'm really looking forward to.

p is for polka dots - some pages from another of the alphabet altered books - this one is my book and It's winging it's way around the UK for others to add their artwork to. SHould be fun to get it back later in the year and see other people's creations.

anyway - i've got to nip out now and bye some dye to 'alter' some of my clothes - i will return...........

lovely lettuce

beautiful shrine

I saw this beautiful shrine near the race course. It was so moving to read the messages friends, family and strangers had left for this young girl who lost her life in a tragic accident.

it's pouring it down today so i thought i'd upload a few photos of a recent trip out to Burton Agnes Hall when the weather was a bit more favourable. I love the strange shapes of some of the bushes in the grounds - i reckon their gardener is a true sculptor.

a little bit of art

Here's a few pages i did for an altered book project - the theme for this book is an alphabet of techniques. i chose stencils and transfers. i like the idea of sending art through the post and participating in projects like these does encourage me to make art and try and finish it!

It feels like there is never enough time to make art and enjoy time with family and friends as well as keep up with all life's mundane tasks and go to work to earn the money and pay the bills.

But actually when I look back over the photographs I have taken over the last month or so I realise that, altough I haven't made as much art as I would have liked to, I have been slightly creative. I've been taking lots of photos, mulling over the themes I would like to make art about, tidying my work room, taking part in an online altered book round robin, started making zines, working in sketchbooks, taking photos and working in creative jobs.

It sounds boring, but to make more time for art I am going to have to discipline myself much more and make better use of my time.

Anyway, here are some pics of some things I've been making recently.....actually, no they're not here because i can't figure out how to put them here...they keep appearing at the beginning of this post.....U'll see them soon in a new post (disorder, disorder)

absence

I haven't been here for a while. A less disordered person would have left a message to say when i would be back but i wasn't really sure myself as to when that would be. Anyway here is a picture from my drawing a day book (turn your head sideways to the left to see it the way it is in the book. Unfortunately, after about drawing 12 I lost the book so the drawings a day have stopped until it turns up again. I have a habit of losing things. I can be sitting at a table doing something (eg drawing using a pen) and then five minutes later the pen has disappeared. I haven't left my seat or moved away - things just lose themselves around me.

Anyway the artwork inspired by packaging hasn't started yet (except in my head) but a few other bits and pieces have started to happen including a zine which is nearly finished. more news about that soon.

it's nice to be back here.