a hello from Cornwall

Just popping by to say hello.  I'll be catching up here in a couple of days.  A family visit followed by a mild recurrence of my illness (not connected lol) have had a slight impact on what I've been able to achieve in the last couple of weeks.  I've finished my samples for week 20 (glazes) and week 21 (embedding) for the Surface Treatment Workshop and have also started on week 22 (pours).  I just need to have a little photo session but here is an "in progress" shot from my phone ...

Meanwhile, talking of "pours" ... I found my neighbours' decorators' paint can rather interesting ...

and this lovely view started my day off beautifully this morning ... love that sky!

See you soon ... x

I love a storm called Doris!

a bracing walk around Mousehole harbour this morning

with storm Doris sending waves crashing over the pier walls

it was super spectacular and sure blew a few "cobwebs" away

one thing inspires another

a rainy Monday inspired this mosaic ... the need to surround oneself with fine things

home comforts and beautiful objet d'art

1.  # 3361 "Paper 37"  2. walk at Portwrinkle  3. beach finds  4. papierschale - paper bowl

5. girl at table 6. inside  7. stitch sample  8. small and medium bowls  9. feather and two leaves

10. flat dish with flower motif  11. little white bowl   12. fabulous mail day  13. shells and bubbles

it has rained steadily all last night and most of the morning here in this part of Cornwall

the garden needed the rain badly and it gave me the opportunity to have a catch up here at my blog

after a very busy time with my textile work, very busy at home organising renovations

and also a very busy time in my social life with lots of visitors, meet ups, activities and events

 

there is a lot I could share ... there is too much to share

so I shall contain this post to the things that are happening right now

my thought process, working samples and my work for Festival of Quilts

I take photographs most days ...

 

I've realised lately that I use my camera to record my surroundings

as another way of keeping a daily record of what I do, my thought processes, observations,

capturing the weather, the light, what's growing in the garden, beach finds

things on my desk that catch my eye and help me to look more closely ...

 

I enjoy still life and pushing things around to create a moment in art

transient imaginations ...

how each shell has it's own beautiful patterns and tones of colour

some of my beach finds have their own underwater garden growing on the outside

I love the gathering part of my textile work ... the delicious selection of fabrics

threads, sea embellishments and text to create a new storytelling

 

and I cannot help whiling away the moments

to create soft and beautiful images with gathered layers

especially using textile textures to create the softness

 

nesting seagull on linen

 some images are grungy to create a mood

 

in these images I was trying to achieve the feeling of looking at the scene through an aged window

the nostalgic feel of a vintage seaside hotel ... from years ago

... a memory perhaps ...

 

and since I moved to Mousehole I have become even more aware of the power of the sea

of nature, elements and it's effects, the weather can change so quickly

the seas get rough at a whim and I am learning about past shipwrecks and poignant loss of life

 

"watching over them"

 I am drawn to capture the same view over and over

each time the sunlight shimmers in a different way or clouds gather to express a mood

 the colours change, the day moves on, small boats sail past, fishermen go to sea ...

 

the shimmer is mesmerising, the sea sparkles dance

and the silver rooftops are a reminder of constancy ...of familiarity

they are waiting and watching for the fishermen's return

on the textile front
I had a great many projects on the go at once ... it was exhausting!

 

and as I am working on an entry for Festival of Quilts as well as working for two textiles shows

I've had to make myself a schedule so that I can focus on my deadlines

 

June - entry for Festival of Quilts and one "process" sketchbook

July - work for "Seeds and Pods" and supporting sketchbooks

Aug/Sep/Oct - work for "The Crow Show" and supporting sketchbooks

 

in addition to the above I hope to update my etsy shop from time to time

and have work for sale in Coast, a beautiful interiors shop, in Mousehole

(there are other things in the pipeline too ... but will announce later)

this is my "process" sketchbook that I began working on for "Crow Days" with friend Jo

 

I am using the sketchbook to explore colour and texture through different mediums

I began by putting a "viewer" on one of my own paintings

looking at shape, colour and texture

 

and explored the image using different mediums

I worked on about 10 different mediums but just showing 3 here

 

then ... one thing inspires another and I made some prints exploring colour

these are colour studies using paint, magazine papers, fabrics and yarns

using magazine pages to create small mosaics

exploring tones of colour from my original image

these are satisfying to create

 

I also use small pieces of my own work (prints) amongst the magazine patterns

 

then the colours inspired some mixed media collages

(magazine pages, my own prints, acrylics, oil pastel and watercolour)

 

really exploring the use of mixed media, colour, shape, texture

and cutting them up into smaller pieces to create another mosaic

all these samples are inspired by my initial image and a series of photographs

I have taken called "watching the dark sky" inspired by the moods and weather out at sea

and the effect of the weather on the Cornish landscape and seascape

 

my work during the rest of June will be continuing on with this theme

and my finished piece will be shown at Festival of Quilts UK in August (6-9 Aug)

and also at The Crow Show in November ... with supporting sketchbook

 

this is painting on linen ... ready to be stitched into

adding texture to a small painting

 

a small mixed media piece in progress ...

print with watercolour and hand dyed silk ready for stitching

 

and using the image to add texture to a photograph of two small boats out in the bay

finally, if you are a lover of colourful abstract art (as I am)

I'm sure you will not fail to be inspired by the wonderful work of Linda Styles

a ceramicist and painter from this part of Cornwall

 

just click on the arrow to be blown away ...

 

thank you for reading today
I will try to catch up with some things I've missed (in separate posts)

as you can see I don't stop just because things go a bit quiet around here!

best wishes, Carolyn

moon gazing

last night ...

I watched the big big moon in a soft pink sky

I watched the pink deepen to a hazy dusk

 

I saw ...

craters and stars on the moon's surface

I stayed a bit longer and watched the sky grow dark around the moon

and a wisp of a cloud passed by ...

a soft pink glow settled around the moon

reflections of the setting sun

 

still daylight somewhere on our small planet

 

the moon glow shimmering across the sea

goodnight beautiful moon