MIXED MEDIA

I havn't got a photo to show but I did make a start on sorting out my studio yesterday and managed to create 3 empty drawers in the storage unit. The next job is to clear some shelves and rearrange my collection of stones, pots etc so that I can make use of the space on top of the unit for some equipment. I was supposed to be keeping that area clear to set up still-lifes but I don' t seem to be doing much of that type of painting lately so I could probably afford to take some of that area for painting materials so that they are readily to hand. Mind you, by the time I get it all sorted out it will probably be wintertime and too cold to work out there! A friend of mine once suggested that I just roof over the garden and have the whole thing as a playroom, sorry,studio. She probably had the right idea. However much space I have I will always spread out into the kitchen, bedroom, spare room, lounge..... I think it has something to do with the artist's mind....that's my excuse anyway :))

We had a busy day yesterday. As the pic shows our fence was looking the worse for wear and wobbled alarmingly in a high wind so we have had it replaced (no photo of the new one as the gardens a tip! especially after it rained and the fence man tramped a load of mud across the grass, bless him). We treated ourselves to this piece of driftwood a couple of years ago as I have a thing about driftwood and am always on the lookout for it when we go away. Not that I have ever found anything like this on a beach here.

The beautiful irises are in our pond in the garden and the wilderness on the right is our garden last year when we tried to turn the small area of lawn into a meadow. It didn't work out too well, altho it was lovely till the grasses took over, so our plan for later this year is to make it more of a mediterranean garden with gravel and pots.

I havn't had any time for painting so far today so I thought I would post a couple of pix of "one I made earlier". Apologies if I have posted either before - I've got a poor memory! lol The square piece was inspired by an article in Stitch magazine and was my first attempt at stitching

and beading. I really enjoyed doing it as I love shells and shiny things so I was in my element. When I did the other piece I had a rock pool in mind. I painted a piece of calico with inks and then laid on various threads and fibres and used bondaweb or wonderunder and net to hold them in place and then stitched and beaded on top. I really enjoyed doing this - it was inspired by the Bead Journal Project 2007 altho I will have to wait and see whether they repeat it next year to take part in it officially.

I won't be posting tomorrow as I am going to Art in Action near Oxford. Fortunately I am not driving, my friend and mixed media teacher Hazel is taking us in her car. There will be 40 marquees there of artists and craftspeople so it should be a bumper day out with plenty of opportunities for photos and maybe just a little shopping (sshh don't say it too loud, my DH isn't far away!), as if I havn't got enough art stuff! Let's face it, you can never have enough really can you? I blame it on my artistic temperament.....no will power lol :))