'During May'

After all my pithering about, thinking of how I could put three Huglies into the Shirehall Open for possible selection, I opted to try three embroideries instead (all at the eleventh hour I might add). I heard today that 'During May' had been selected. I'm really, really pleased as the exhib runs for two months and a is very popular.

Must go then, as I'm working on an envelope embroidery and it's very difficult not to spend all of my precious evenings reading blogs and staring at Flickr !

Pin Boards

I don't know about you but I do love a
good nosey around other people's houses, so I thought you may like a few more pics of inside my studio.
I know you can't really see much detail in the view of my desk, but this is the general look of the place. I end up working in a 2" square on my desk, very untidy, but I think it shows that you are busy if you have an untidy work area
;-) Mind you most of the space is taken up with my button collection. My friend Maureen gave me a set of bone buttons today, at work, it made my day!
Anyway the other two pics are the top and bottom of my pin board. As you can see mainly greetings cards, Orla and Poppy Treffrey feature. I recently purchased a beautiful brooch from http://www.melanietomlinson.co.uk/ her work is stunning.
Art of the Stitch at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Mmmmm, the jury is out on that exhibition. I like to come out of exhibs buzzing but did'nt from that one! Oh and there is a photo on the pin board of my husband before we married in 1983/84, he looks like a child! Pre-married life, kids, mortgage, rising costs and bills, family etc ;-)
Well better go......thanks for stopping by.

New work

Here is my latest textile collage entitled

'flowers' ~ spent ages thinking that title up!!! Anyway, I really enjoyed making this. I never work to a sketch/plan with these pieces, I just start with an image, such as the one above 'Joan's Flower Shop', which was from a vintage envelope and then away I go, adding and taking, sewing and embroidering. It's all about placement. I backed it with a lovely piece of linen which has an embroidery transfer ironed on, a Budgie! Well why not!

Moo love

I am so pleased with my mini calling cards from Moo......

they are so small and cute but have enough info. on the back to make them very personal. It's great that I can give a card with a photo of a Hugly to someone who has maybe purchased a Hugly. Appropriate information! I've ordered stickers too, so I'm looking forward to receiving those. Just brilliant.

Handmade

Firstly ~ thank you all for your suggestions with framing the Huglies. I think I'm going to give up on the idea, as I have really left it too late to do a proper job! I really must get my act together, I always leave things to the last mo.

So changing the subject, I have posted some pics of a few handmade cards, which I am putting together for the aforementioned Stafford Shirehall Gallery. I think the man in his fairisle tank top is a scream! Can't say I enjoy making them though. V boring!

We had quite a to do at College today, a fire gutted part of the College in the night. Thankfully no one was hurt, but I had to turn all of the students away ~ some were thrilled, as you would expect and other gutted, as they had travelled to get into College. Unfortunately it seems that there has been water damage to the library and all the books may be lost (some extremely old).

Well I had better get on with some work, thanks for visiting. x

Dilemma

I need your help...please!

I dragged my poor husband down the M6 (not literally) to Ikea at 8pm last night to try and find some kind of frame for my Huglies ~ as the Stafford 'Open' at the Shire Hall ~ call for entries ~ happens this Friday. Although this is not a craft based show, I asked advice from one of the staff and she said they could be entered under 'mixed media'. Anyway I thought it was worth a try, as the exhib is for two months (good showcase, me thinks). Of course, Ikea only had one type of box frame which was not deep enough, so we had to have a search for the best next thing and ended up buying three fabric~cy storage boxes, as per photos.

I thought the Huglies looked quite good dangling from the edge but I don't think they are high enough in the box and does the box look cheap? I bought them thinking they could be mirror plated to the wall quite easily (if they were accepted of course)! Your thoughts and comments would be most welcome, as I am all at sea!

A few views

A few views of inside my 'retreat'.


















I can't tell you how obsessesed/possessed I am by bird's nests. Much to the annoyance of the family.... because I walk everywhere peering into hedges and not looking where I am going. I obviously don't touch any nests, but if I find one in the winter that has come adrift, well my day is made! I look upon them as a sculpture of the finest order. A thing of exquisite beauty. Talking of birds, each morning I drive past a Rookery. The way their scruffy nests sit high in the trees and wave in the wind. Soon they will have privacy with the leaves emerging. The shape of the Rook is perfect to me too.
Oh my gawd, it did'nt take me long to start rambling , did it?
I have been watching a pair of Blackbirds build a nest in the ivy at the bottom of the garden for the last couple of weeks...anyway, something (maybe a Sparrowhawk) got one the the birds, will not go into detail!! :-( The nest occupants...all gone. I can't tell you how upset I was and actually still am. I know it's nature but my goodness I find it upsetting.
Any road up, back to the studio, and it's contents, of which there is quite a bit! I think that is a rabbit skull in one of the pics. I can cope with that, but my sister got me a sheep's skull, of which, I could'nt cope!
I adore anything found on a beach. I could spend the rest of my life beach combing and be a very happy girl/mature woman. Maybe it is the same as going into charity shops and finding a lovely....it's the unexpected find that makes me all glad inside. Buttons ~ as yes, buttons ~ I have 100's ~ can't get enough of them. I will be talking alot about buttons and probably you will be thinking omg she's never whittering on about buttons again, is she?
Hanging in the pic on bottom left, is a handmade Fairy made by Jayne Lennard. She is my favourite mixed media artist. She exhibited in the Fairy and Folklore Exhib along with Julie Arkell that toured (maybe still is) UK over the last year. Her work is exquisite and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and managed to buy this little Fairy made by her. Oh and the heart in the frame is made by Vicky King.
Anyway I'm really enjoying this indulgence of going on about myself, so I had better close for today.
I just wanted to thank you all again though for your fantastic support. I have been so touched and made so happy by all the kindness passed my way. x

Meet 'the girls'

I thought you might like to meet my girls ~ Maude, Maureen, Moira and Betty! The three are Plymouth Rock Bantams and Betty is a Pekin. They are good girls other than Betty who is an awkward madam and never does as you would wish. If the three girls go into their pen, Betty will go in the opposite direction. I have had them two years in July, and although they are not the greatest of layers, I love them to bits and I'm only sorry I can't cuddle them, they just don't like it.

Veronica Hugly

I made Veronica Hugly yesterday and the general consensus of the family was 'creepy'!!!! Any thoughts?

My studio

Hello!

I have been pithering and dithering ...thinking about having a blog for ages. So after some wonderful encouragement (I will come back to this), I am going for it right now. I jumping in at the deep end. Whey hey!

Well I don't really know where to start, but an explanation of what I intend this blog to cover, I suppose would be a good start.

I live in Staffordshire, right smack bang in the middle of the UK. I am lucky enough to have a purpose built studio in the garden, which I adore.

I work at Stafford College of Art on Reception and managing the Art Shop. I have good days and bad days like anyone who works BUT I really would love to be able to give it up and concentrate on my obsession...my art and craft. I relish every moment I have to work in my studio.

So I wondered if you would care to share with me ~ what I find inspiring, exciting, jaw dropping, beautiful, my studio and work? And lots more besides. Can't promise all of this all the time and this is exactly why I have not started a blog before 'Have I got anything interesting to say'? Well let's give it a go!