"I begin with an idea ... and then it becomes something else"
~ Picasso

Monday 20 June 2011

The sparkle of the sea

I'd love to share with you the things that are inspiring me at the moment and the colours that are finding their way into my work ... aqua seas, turquoise oceans, pale gold, yellow sand beaches and
soft early summer orange tones

this past week I made two hearts
inspired by the colours of the ocean and beach

as I love to do ... I heated the fabrics to resemble watery textures
and added french knots, beads, shells and gold stitches

in a vast turquoise ocean
the limpet shells came from St. Ives beach and I
added a small dangly of seed beads with an aqua accent bead

and there is some text too ... I love the words

in a vast turquoise ocean

I put the hearts in my etsy shop and was delighted
when both sold almost immediately

resting by the water side
so I wrapped each of the hearts as lovingly as possible
in tissue paper with an art tag, thread and a pretty bead or button

this tag was monoprinted on vintage paper (a fish recipe)
with gold angelina fibres, a button and text

and I'm happy that both hearts are on their way to new owners

the weather in St. Ives has been all over the place recently
with thundery skies, heavy rain and squally gusts

but it never stays like that for long before the sun shines again

and since I started writing this post we have had
nothing but rain and Cornish mizzle

so I've been keeping busy painting new beads for the shop
as I've almost sold out save for one packet

and while I had my paints out I've been monoprinting
and painting on bondaweb which I will use on more tags

in the colours I associate with St. Ives

they remind me of beach streams and the seashore's edge
and I'm stitching into the transfers so will show soon

we had more moody skies on Wednesday
and I loved the way the sunlight was falling on the sea

sparkling

Porthminster beach
I also love this painting by Stewart Edmondson
which has that lovely shimmering sunlight sparkling on the sea

I saw his original work in a gallery in Dartmouth earlier this year
and I fell in love with the work of this artist (take a look)

all of his paintings are beyond beautiful

Stewart Edmondson

magic of the sea
also loving this painting by Elaine Pamphillon
which reminds me of the landscape, seascape and countryside
I visit quite often between St. Ives and St. Just

only last week I had a trip on the open top bus
to Geevor, Morvah and St. Just
(more about that in the next post)

the views are exhilerating no matter the weather
but it's almost always very chilly on the open top bus
(worth it though!)

Lamorna
these are a few of the monoprints I made

with acrylics and luminous paints
on vintage recipe pages and tissue paper

love monoprinting - it's fun!

then I tore them up to make art tags for my parcels

this one looks nice tied with thread and a gold anchor button

the luminous paint shimmers like sunlight on the sea
and I added some gold paper, chiffons and a few little beads

the sparkle of the water
this is the other heart I made which is inside this parcel

it has many layers of chiffon ocean
decorated with beads, buttons, copper curls and little stitches

an accent bead dangly

and fibres couched down add a bit of texture

layers of the ocean

this one is called "sun bathed coast"

and now it's on it's way to Australia

more of my textured beads made from Tyvek

inspired by this tangle of fishing nets and rusty chains
from the pier at St. Mawes a few weeks ago

and this is a photograph I took on St. Ives pier
of ropes and fishermens' pots

love that view of St. Ives cottages
through the gap

the colourful ropes inspired a colour study
in this mosaic for Mosaic Monday two weeks ago
(I'm afraid I'm a bit behind with everything)

fragility
1. Broken 2. She saw it differently 3. Skin memory.1 4. || 5. Autumn leaf II 6. My best profile 7. Tansy indigo 8. R036 Mel_Sheridan 9. Mother's day bundle 10. Means 11. Jar No 120 close up 01 12. A snail's pace 13. Ready to bud

thank you to my flickr friends and faves
please click on the links above to visit the artists' photos


found
and any spare moments I get I am beachcombing or
experimenting with textures and colours on my photographs

I hope you found some snippets of inspiration here today
have a wonderful creative week ahead

Carolyn ♥

38 comments:

suzan almond said...

Thank you, lots inspiration, now - to find the time !

Julie Shackson said...

So much to enjoy here! Wonderful post, and I especially love your tags.

Lynda Howells said...

wonderful fibre art, amazing images....love it. sorry your parcel has not arrived yet, l have been ill. On it's way soon promise. happy beach combing. lynda

Deborah said...

So lovely! Great inspiration!

Lyn said...

I always find lots to inspire me on your blog Carolyn
xxx

Janilaine Mainprize said...

I love reading your blogs and seeing your images, always makes me smile - fond memories of Cornwall and St Ives spent with my family - keep them coming

Jensters said...

Its so nice and pretty to see St Ives through your eyes Carolyn....if i'd known those hearts where for sale i would have definitely brought one ;(

Diane Kelsey said...

My favourite colours at the moment as well. I am just about to start a wall hanging and a 3D project using them. Wonderful hearts and photos as always.

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

Thank you ♥

Sandies' Patch said...

I've been getting ou and putting back for weeks my little basket of 'Seaside' as I call it, with just the colours you have been working with...perhaps I should just go for it?!
I must take a photo of it's contents to show you what I mean.
Love your photo of the Sparkling sea, is that going to be one of your cards? I love it, I want to bathe in it! LOL!

I adore those hearts too.

Thanks for sharing,

Sandie xx

Pom Pom said...

Wow! I'm so happy that your gorgeous hearts were snatched up right away! I'm not surprised! They are lovely and meaningful! You are so talented!

Unknown said...

A beautiful and inspiring post, makes me want to take a walk on the beach right now, but think I would be blown off my feet today. Hope all is well in lovely St Ives.

jan said...

Lovely, lovely very inspiring

Clare said...

your work is absolutely stunning - you have to be my fiber art hero - what inspiration -

Gina said...

Such beautiful work Carolyn. The colours are gorgeous.

Diane said...

Beautiful beautiful beautiful as ever - soooooooo much inspiration. Lots of Love. xxxxx

Angie Willis said...

What a fabulous post - I await them with huge anticipation! Your hearts are absolutely exquisite and they sing to me of the sea and shore in your lovely part of the country. I love your tags - when I've bought things from Etsy they've always come packaged with great thought and effort and often the packaging/labelling are little pieces of art in their own right - like your tags.

Anonymous said...

Your work is always so beautiful, Carolyn. Always a delight to come here and gaze.

Anonymous said...

All gorgeous as always. Your heart is amazing. All my favourite sea colours. The tags are little works of art too. Beautiful sea glass and the textured beads do look like tangled net. Brilliant. Love it all!

Nerys Kate Williams said...

I love these colours! Beautiful :)

Sharne Gregory said...

What a lovely post. Your hearts are stuning, I am not surprised that they sold so quickly.

Twiglet said...

Just the usual bit of Carlynspiration then!! All breathtakingly beautiful.
The "magic of the sea" painting is wonderful.
Will have to follow link to Stewart Edmonson.
Thanks for sharing.

Twiglet said...

Should have said Carolynspiration of course!

Iz said...

Oh my goodness, all my favourite colours and favourite sea inspirations - and with beads! Fabulous - thank you!

Shoshi said...

Wow Carolyn - gorgeous, gorgeous as usual! Beautiful colours and textures, and how lovely to pack up your Etsy hearts so beautifully and add those tags too. I wish I had half your imagination.

Sandies' Patch said...

Have done it, photographed my little basket of 'Sea' inspiration on my Leicestershire not quite by the sea blog.
Bet it's no where near the size of your 'sea' inspirational notions!

Sandie xx

K J D said...

Hi Carolyn

Well that was lovely! I especially loved the colourful ropes and your 'finds'

Karenx

Catharina Maria said...

Dear Carolyn , Are you making other hearts for your shop , I love them so much and I will have one for myself .
Love from ♥RINI♥

Julia Guthrie said...

Those hearts & beads are just magical.. I love the sea & am slowly filling my house with driftwood! lol
Have recently started making it into driftwood mobiles & windchimes with shells & charms & feathers.
This post is inspiring me even more now... wish I'd seen those hearts a bit quicker! hehe :) x

cardinal arts said...

your posts are always so full of beautiful and inspiring photos - the colours!
love, love your hearts......lucky people who bought them!!

Gabriela said...

I am a lover of the ocean so this post is like all for me! What a beautiful heart! What a beautiful card...It just made me happy to see it!

Evelyn said...

Lots of beautiful images in your post! I'm glad your shop is doing well and I really love that Stewart Edmondson painting...........♥♥♥

My Creative House said...

Carolyn so many wonderful images of wonderful things, your heart is gorgeous, I can almost feel the seas roar, love the embellishment on it.
Anni

Barb Cady said...

Beautiful beautiful art. Your hearts are exquisite. Truly insirational post. Bless xx

Anonymous said...

The colours are amazing - perfect Cornish sea shades. Not surprised they sold so quickly. Just wish I'd been in there quicker! The painting just shimmers with light and potential energy. even the tags are complete works of art. Lovely. Thank you.

Laura Lea said...

Oh those hearts are so wonderful! Love the colors and your inspiration will last me throughout my whole day. It's like I've got the jolt of summer sun and water soaked into me just from viewing your blog this morning. Thank you for this amazing post of scrumptious stitching!

Emma said...

All your pieces are lovely but my favorites are the beads, I just want to eat them!

Tracy Verdugo said...

I love visiting your blog Carolyn..these little blue hearts are just gorgeous xo