Wanderlust 2018

Happy New Year to you all!

I hope 2018 is a happy and creative year for you.

I have signed up to do an online mixed media course,

Wanderlust 2018

with Everything Art, and I am really looking
forward to a year of adventure in mixed media.

Caversham Artists present their Christmas Gala

Caversham Artists are holding their Christmas Gala tomorrow at St. Andrew's church hall.

Come and buy handmade and original gifts and Christmas cards.  My handmade cards and

stitched pictures will be on sale.

November at Harcourt Arboretum

November must be one of the best times to  visit Harcourt Arboretum . The acers were showing their full glory on the Acer Walk. 

Birthday Cake For Oscar Wilde

I am involved in a collaborative art installation in Reading. Designed by Caversham florist, Marc Allridge, and featuring more than 80 lilies handmade by local artists, it takes the form of a birthday cake for Oscar Wilde. It is on display at Haslams Estate Agents in Reading until the end of October, and then will be at Reading Museum.

The birthday cake showing my lily

The birthday cake

The birthday cake

My lily

Close up of my lily

Wrapped stems and flower parts

Lilies for Oscar Wilde

Starts today! A collaborative art project I am involved in.

Lilies for Oscar Wilde

More information and photos will follow.
#LiliesforOscarWilde

Negative Space Painting

Some pages from my sketchbook. This week I have been working on a Matisse theme, painting
negative space. I used black gesso , which covered the page well, and white acrylic which was not as successful.The writing was done with a PebeoMixtion pen and gold foil.

Painting negative space with black gesso and white acrylic

,

Black gesso and Pebeo Mixtion pen with gold foil

Sketchbook pages

Reading on Thames Festival

Reading on Thames Festival has been taking place this week. A new arts festival, there were a number of events. I went on a trail at View Island, armed with a map and i pod, walking round the island, stopping at the marked points to listen to the soundbites. I liked the idea of it, but question the relevance of some of the chosen texts to the setting. The Life of Pi is about the open ocean, and the Banyan Tree is native to India, which is a leap in one's imagination. "Echoes Around View Island" was created by "Beautiful Creatures".The soundbites are available to download online.

You can read about this festival here:_ 

http://readingplaceofculture.org/reading-on-thames-festival/

Pebeo Art Supplies

This week I attended a demonstration of Pebeo art supplies. The best bit was when we got to test the products

I was very impressed with all the products I used.

The approach I had was just to experiment with them in my sketch book and see 

what happened.

The products I used were:-

acrylics

black gesso

Mixtion Relief 

Modelling paste

Texture gel (sand)

Bindex

Gel gloss

Deco markers

stencils

Holiday Journal from France

Here are some pages from the art journal I started whilst on holiday in France.

Although I wanted to work on my journal when we were away, I found that I 

didn't really have time, what with sightseeing, eating long French lunches and swimming

in the pool. I collected tourist leaflets and ephemera and took photos when we were out. I also made notes in a rough book of where we had been, and worked on it when we returned home.
We stayed in the Lot region, a very pretty area with beautiful old bastide towns,
 lovely rivers and scenery. 

Flip Flop Books

This week in my Mixed Media group we made " Flip Flop " books,

under the tuition on Janina Maher. We all had a kit and produced

two small books in a reversible cover.

It was great fun, and I am really pleased with my books!

You can find Janina at

janinamaher.artweb.com

Holiday Journal

I have set myself a challenge to make a holiday art journal. I'm fairly new to art journalling, although I am familiar with many mixed media techniques. So it's the first time I have done this. Limited by the materials I brought with me - sketchbook, pencil case, brush pens and travel watercolour palette, made me creative in using found objects for my journal pages.

Pages printed with brush pens on plastic bag

Collage of gift wrap paper

Collage of newspaper from plane

Printed leaves

Art journal pages

I have been preparing journal pages with collage, using old, tattered music manuscript.

Black and White Journal

This morning I have been working in my Black and White journal with my mixed media group.

The sketch book was made in India and has textural hand made paper pages. My journal pages are collages, made from a variety of paper sources.

More about Caversham Open Studios

Caversham Artists held their Open Studios at the weekend. It was great to see so many visitors, despite the heavy rain on Saturday.

Jane with her work

Jane's work on display

Mixed  media garden piece

Hand embroidered butterfly

Caversham Open Studios 2017

Caversham Artists Open Studios is next weekend, Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st May from 11 till 5.
I will be showing work in mixed media and collage. The pieces I have created are firstly mono printed on a gelatin printing plate to create a textured background, then stamped using wooden print blocks and found objects. Some pieces are completed with hand stitch. Each one is individually created. I will be exhibiting at Venue 3, 14 Kidmore Road
 #4openstudios #caversham # #arts #crafts

www.cavershamartists.wordpress.com

The Feeling of Spring

Spring is in the air at the Garden Centre.

Such  beautiful markings and unusual colour

Display for Spring

Lovely bright,rich colours

This bee came out in the sunshine

Delicate blooms