end of winter textiles and paintings

this week began with some most welcome sunshine

a few hours in the garden weeding and pruning the hydrangeas

and picking spring flowers for pressing

I love moments amongst the flowers in my garden

the fresh air, sea breeze and time to really think

valuable time to reflect on important matters and regain perspective

last year I started keeping a flower diary

a note of what was newly flowering or coming to it's end of life

and "what to do" in  my  garden throughout the year

I enjoy plants that naturally find their way to my little plot

a happy mix of wild and cultivated

I'm quite happy when a profusion of forget me nots, wild garlic and hyacinths

sit happily next to the bulbs and shrubs I have purposely planted

the delicate purple and yellow crocuses are finished now

they have a short but valuable life span

(I must make a note to press a few next year)

when I got down one of my heavy books from the shelf to press this year's flowers

I found this pressed cornflower from last year

faded ... but still holding it's blue in a subtle, beautiful way

***

I finished spring cleaning my studio

 (after recent building work caused dust to settle on everything despite using dust sheets)

I went at it thoroughly including going through boxes of artwork from college

and, finally, cutting up design boards and work that will now go in sketchbooks

I feel so much better for having a clean, tidy studio and space to work again

with areas where I can leave paintings to dry

and stitched work in progress ...

on Monday Jo came over to me for, what we call, a "crow day" 

we like to get together for sewing and professional development

work on new projects, techniques or try out new materials

Jo wanted to have a go at one of the techniques from Mandy Pattullo's book

so we chose to work on a small stitched collage

this is my calico base with selected fabrics placed on the top and pinned down

inspired by my view and recent weather I chose to use pale neutral tones

that remind me of Cornish winter skies, sea, mist and rain with a hint of pale blue

at this stage my sample looks a little like a mood board

I used a variety of soft linens, wools and some previously worked textile pieces

melted textiles that I hand painted and stitched with silver thread

and sand coloured frayed silk

melted textiles

the pieces are only pinned at present, but I have begun to stitch them down

and consider where to place found objects and embellishments

I will continue on with the stitched collage as the week progresses

also on my work top this week ...

the crackle paste samples and some small paintings

these are inspired by end of winter landscapes and seascapes
recent misty weather in Mousehole and breezy St. Ives

thank you for visiting and have a lovely day x