I Don't Know Where The Past Few Months Went

The same old cliche, I don't know where the time went. The past few weeks and the next few coming up have and will have been the busiest I've had since I decided to retire and work for myself. I've been doing lots of teaching, planning new workshops and creating lots of paintings for my exhibition starting next weekend at Tog's Restaurant and Cafe in Castlemaine, in Victoria. The exhibition goes until the end of November. I will be teaching in Brisbane and the Gold Coast for eight days in November. After that I intend to slow down for a couple of months to experiment and hopefully get some on-line workshops  ready for next year. Famous last words.

Following are just a few of the paintings I'll be exhibiting.

Lots of layers of texture and paint on wooden panels. I've created quite a few of these.

These are hand painted acrylic paint on canvases that are framed.

I have six of these.

I'll have at least five of my large acrylic paintings on canvas on show.

This one's not quite finished.

This one is made from my painted papers then collaged onto canvas.

I have a few of these including my lollipop trees and sheep 

I also have some small collage canvases made from an eclectic arrangement of found objects and papers.

I'll try to catch up soon

Thanks for dropping by

Teaching events

I'm slowly catching up with things. I have some fabulous teaching events coming up in the next two years starting with one on July the 14th to the 20th this year, at South Australian Quilt Encounter details here

This is a two day workshop where you take a photo or image and re create it using lots of scraps of fabric, you can be as accurate or as abstract as you like adding stitching and embellishments as you go. I like to add unusual objects to convey certain things. I've used press studs in the last photo to represent hay bales.

I will also be teaching a three day fabric journal workshop using recycled fabrics that we will over dye

old fabrics, recycled clothing, lace, doilies and threads are all dyed ready to use

some buttons can also be dyed too

we will make our own foam stamps that can be used time and time again, for printing on fabric or paper and can be used where ever you use commercial stamps

These are some of the fabrics waiting to be worked on now they are bound into the cover

one of the pages using lots of the dyed scraps

this page has been printed using two of my hand made foam stamps

I would love to meet you over in South Australia if you're there.

It's a great event with lots of inspiring tutors and students.

I'll be back with my August teaching event at Berry Quilting Retreat in the next post

So much for blogging more

I know I said I would blog more, but finding time is so difficult these days. I put lots more on my Facebook page as it's quicker. I really will try harder. I've been busy making lots of samples for workshops I'm teaching this year and next, as well as getting paintings done for an exhibition in October. Below is some of what I've been up to.

I'll be teaching this workshop at the South Australian Quilt convention in July 

this is another sample, in progress, for the above workshop

this is a class sample for a workshop in Link Here Berry NSW I'm teaching in August. we will make our own stamps then paint and print our fabric, this can then be worked back into with stitching and beads. It could also be painted without the stitching and made into fabric lengths.

Catch up soon

Fabric sorting and updating my Etsy shop

As part of my studio clean out I've been sorting my fabrics this past week. The IKEA dvd units make great storage for fabric. I still have lots more to do, but I'm getting inspired to sew again now. I had two of my grandchildren visit last week for an art day. We had great fun and they went home with half of the cast offs from my studio, much to my daughter's horror. They've now converted their bedrooms into studios, great kids.

I've been updating my Etsy shop too. I recently had high quality photos taken of some of my paintings, then had them printed onto a lovely medium weight cotton fabric, by Spoonflower.
They are great to use as a centre piece or a few to make a quilt or patchwork. They can also be put straight into a standard frame or you can add your own scraps of fabric and hand or machine stitching, to make them unique. They would also make very colourful cushions. The details are in my Etsy shop.

some of my fabric stash

the original fabric panel

after more fabric and stitching has been added

detail showing additional fabric, stitching and beads

I'll be adding some more bags, some dyed fabric kits and some jewellery to my Etsy this week.

Thanks for dropping by, I'm really going to try and post more this year.

Cleaning and sorting out my studio

It's been over three years since I had a proper sort out in my studio. Wow you should have seen the mess. I'm too embarrassed to show the before photos. I started working on it around two weeks before Christmas and today I can actually see some major headway. I hope to have it all complete by the end of next week.

In the mean time here's a photo of some of my paints and journals.

Below is the start of cleaning and sorting my markers and coloured pencils

More photos shortly

Thanks for dropping by