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Monday, 26 November 2012

Eventually....The Exhibition of Lovely Things


Our Exhibition is going well! . As well as the mixed media pieces most of which you have seen already I have also made some feltidermy which is proving pretty popular! Mr Foxy Renard left the building almost immediately We have all sold several pieces and got commissions to do others. Lots of people have signed up for updates and prospective courses and there's lot of encouraging comments in the book saying they have enjoyed the show. So now it's just a week till it ends. I have several commissions to get under way, so this morning I will be mainly stabbing wool.
These are the new Feltidermy pieces a Hare, Roe Deer Buck and a Badger.

Hare, Roe Deer and Badger, the fox had left the building!

Hare

Hare Eye close up

Roe Deer before horns

The exhibition continues untill the 30th x

Monday, 5 November 2012

Procrastination with AA Milne


Woke up this morning to a glorious and frosty day.....





























Went down the garden passed the veggies with their frost dusted leaves to feed the hens


Then went out and did some fencing with my man, taking a flask of hot chocolate with us we enjoyed the view

After doing a spot of fencing with my husband this morning. It struck me theirs only 2 weeks before the exhibition at Richmond Station.....


































However I am suffering form an Artists worst enemy PROCRASTINATION!!!!!!!!!! ARGHHHHHH! but then that gives me the opportunity to share with you my bestest ever beloved poem.....
by AA Milne and kind of sums it up really!


The Old Sailor (AA Milne)
There was once an old sailor my grandfather knew
Who had so many things which he wanted to do
That, whenever he thought it was time to begin,
He couldn’t because of the state he was in. 
He was shipwrecked, and lived on a island for weeks,
And he wanted a hat, and he wanted some breeks;
And he wanted some nets, or a line and some hooks
For the turtles and things which you read of in books. 
And, thinking of this, he remembered a thing
Which he wanted (for water) and that was a spring;
And he thought that to talk to he’d look for, and keep
(If he found it) a goat, or some chickens and sheep.
Then, because of the weather, he wanted a hut
With a door (to come in by) which opened and shut
(With a jerk, which was useful if snakes were about),
And a very strong lock to keep savages out.
He began on the fish-hooks, and when he’d begun
He decided he couldn’t because of the sun.
So he knew what he ought to begin with, and that
Was to find, or to make, a large sun-stopping hat. 
He was making the hat with some leaves from a tree,
When he thought, “I’m as hot as a body can be,
And I’ve nothing to take for my terrible thirst;
So I’ll look for a spring, and I’ll look for it first.” 
Then he thought as he started, “Oh, dear and oh, dear!
I’ll be lonely tomorrow with nobody here!”
So he made in his note-book a couple of notes:
I must first find some chickens” and “No, I mean goats.”
He had just seen a goat (which he knew by the shape)
When he thought, “But I must have boat for escape.
But a boat means a sail, which means needles and thread;
So I’d better sit down and make needles instead.”
He began on a needle, but thought as he worked,
That, if this was an island where savages lurked,
Sitting safe in his hut he’d have nothing to fear,
Whereas now they might suddenly breathe in his ear!
So he thought of his hut … and he thought of his boat,
And his hat and his breeks, and his chickens and goat,
And the hooks (for his food) and the spring (for his thirst) …
But he never could think which he ought to do first. 
And so in the end he did nothing at all,
But basked on the shingle wrapped up in a shawl.
And I think it was dreadful the way he behaved -
He did nothing but bask until he was saved! 


I lied about the aubergine! x


Monday, 29 October 2012

Masham Makers Market

Masahm Makers Market
Had a fantastic day yesterday at Masham Makers Market, 1500 people visited us in all and lots came to say hello! There was a brilliant selection of Hand made things beautifully photographed by Makiko Hastings in her blog Shin Shin. Not only was the range great but the quality was excellent. I had a succesfull day, many have signed up to do needle felting courses, the faux taxidermy was well received in general and I was asked to be part of a couple of exhibitions. I had a good morning this morning too, as someone has just rung to commission a moon gazing hare for her husband who fell in love with the big man himself at the show yesterday! Better get on with it....

Friday, 19 October 2012

Foxes, Hares and Sheep heads

Needle Felted Fox by Emma Fountain

Here's the  latest creation, I have been doing hares, badgers and other creatures too, but this is just a taster to whet the appetite until I've got them mounted. My friend Keith is making the backing mounts out of local Ash and I am swapping them for a Hare's head!
Warming to my theme I thought about finding the Tup in the kitchen in the summer and decided I would like his head on the wall....
Dalesbread Tup
Even though he looks a bit like Ermintrude from magic round-a-bout with nettles in his mouth he is quite large (about eh size of a Shetland pony) and gave me and my cousin Hat a bit of a shock when we came down stairs to find him panting by the pantry (ha ha) although I'm fairly sure he just wanted to get away from the heat and the flies, we still skirted round the edge of the room to usher him out! I'll forgive him as he is quite hansom devil. I'm looking forward to seeing how he turns out.

Sunday, 14 October 2012

An Exhibition of Lovely Things

Hi chaps i appologise for the lack of postings but have been a little unwell for a long while. I am pleased to say that I am now back in the land of the living and raring to go! In celebration of this my friends Clare Lindley and Sue Godden and I will be having an Exhibition at The Station, Richmond, North Yorkshire. Before that though I will be selling at the Crafted by Hand  North Yorkshire with some of the best Artisans in the region. can't wait!

i have been working on all kinds of mixed media stuff and some faux taxidermy which I will post as soon as it's mounted!


Monday, 23 April 2012

Comfort of Home Coat

felt side

So this is eventually the comfort of home coat - part of the installation i was working on about which i will post next time! betchya can't wait!! ha ha
any way i am going to burble a bit about said coat show it's story, some times it aint pretty but i got there in the end and that's what matters! if you follow the photos down you'll see how it was done!

I gathered the material for the eco print/dye from the garden of the house I was asked to do a response to that was in November last year
I wrapped them up in some muslin  that I had mordented with milk around a few steel cans i left it for a long time and randomly poured stuff over both parcels, milk, vinegar, tea...












After it looked as though  it was cooked I unwrapped it!
one of the parcels
laid out fabric in the Studio at College

Close up of the beautiful colours
I also painted some silk in rust and turquoise and burnt umber and black silk paints and then dyed some wool with a random selection of blues yellows and reds with a bit of black for tone

now came the bit where i laid it all out. it was blooommmiinnnggg EEEnormouse! i hung it in the barn to get a good look at it! and messed about untill i was happy with the lay out - this was in january snow on the ground -14 the water had frozen. I had to decamp to my friends house 5 miles down the road where they had water but it was still freezing my assets and keeping the water warm was not happening. still persiverance is a great thing and severl days later and trips to and fro and it came together!
coat hung in barn first experiment

back of coat second experiment
if I tell you that the orange thing by the bottom left hand corner is a cement mixer you kind of get the size of the thing!






Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Woolsack Olympic Project at Sedgefield Community College

Today I met with the kids from Sedgefield Community College who are making a cushion as part of the Woolsack, Olympic project. The idea being that all athletes will get a welcome gift of a cushion made by someone in the UK that is involved with this project. A local farmer called David and Racheal from the National Farmers Union gave them a talk on how fabulous sheep are and then Thelma Russell and I helped them make a felt square each with a small motif in the middle. The squares were felted from three layers of British Wool using Black Hebridien and Blue Face Leicester in white and oatmeal with a motif cut out of prefelt laid on top. The finished squares will be sewn together nine to a side to form two sides of the cushion.
I am now resting in darkend room weeping.......NOT! They all worked really well and it was a happy day full of fun, what a great group of kids!
I approached our Local school when I got home to see if they would like to take part. They said that they'd would, so i could be posting some more in the near future.

Thursday, 5 January 2012

Free Embroidery, The Dog and The Fish

 I spent Yesterday teaching my self how to free embroider on my ancient machine. I am very pleased this is the frst time I have used a sewing machine and not had to get my 12 year old boy to come and help me!
Anyway I have been developing some more ideas more by doing some free embroidery based round this design using solvy, I am going to felt this on to see how it goes.
Their dog, I like the idea of felt as the protector and the dog who is too, the piece when finished as a carpet or blanket will do the same





Gulping Fish using all sorts of found stuff silk and ink
A close up of a mixed media idea for the fish in the garden of the house we have been asked to do an artistic response to. Apparently no one knew there was even a pond in the garden when they first bought the house as it was so over grown. As they cleared away a load of trees and rubble this pond appeared covered in oil and rubbish. As they were clearing it this white fish rose to the surface to gulp air. It's now fully recovered and is actually a Tench, which are sort of a gold colour. Poor thing. It's about a18inches long and no one knows how it even got there as it's in the middle of town!
Anyway lots of ideas for all sorts of things have come from this story. More from the sketch book when it gets back.
I Went in to college to give my work in (My sketch book has now gone away for a week or too so I will mainly be doing my dissertation and posting things I should have posted before!) and discovered that my compost dyeing is going well. I will post the results next week. I have a load of eucalyptus leaves donated by my lovely cousin from Chichester to do yet more dying this time, hot bundles.