a rainy Monday inspired this mosaic ... the need to surround oneself with fine things
home comforts and beautiful objet d'art
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
