Home today...

I'm so excited to have a HOME day today.

Working outside the home is good but for me 

there's nothing more satisfying than being at home 

and getting things done there. My plans are to do

 some printmaking.I worked on a woodblock 

Thursday evening at the Quarry Art Centre's 

"Inky Fingers" Workshop

 and try some reduction printmaking.

I have this self-seeded fern growing next to my back 

door steps. While taking the woodcut photo I noticed 

some little fronds so took some photos of them too.

This one looks like a baby hanging
upside down (like an unborn fetus)

Oh and I was looking through a Mindfood magazine
I loaned from Jane Cunningham (the art journalling coach)
and came across an article about the inner artist.

 As I read I spotted a name I recognised...

 

I feel sort of special belonging to a group of like-
minded people. It's like being part of a family....
The "Learning Connexion Family"

I'm excited to announce that I have 

a new responsibility at work! I'm going

to be taking photos and uploading them on 

The Bach's FaceBook page and promoting

new and existing artists work. I think this will 

be really good for me and I hope to increase 

my confidence in approaching advertising 

outlets to promote creative people and artists 

(like myself!) as a vocation in life but also beneficial 

for the general well-being as a human being.

Over the weekend I made a start on the 

beach tapestry I'm doing for The Bach.

I've decided I'm a Visual learner/worker

and need a coloured picture to work

from so have being adding colour to the 

outline guide the artist has drawn up.

I'm thinking I'm also going to simplify it 

slightly as I believe there is too much detail. 

I also need to make some fabric "ketes" for 

my soap kits in preparation for sending to the 

Riversdale Art Exhibition. I feeling a little stressed

but trying to look at this as an opportunity to

 market myself a little more and trust that it'll all 

come together by next week!

Monday (yesterday) was Art Journalling

 in the morning and we looked at a rather 

controversial topic - sex/ love making!

I can't say I was terribly comfortable but 

permitted myself to work with whatever came

 up for me and go-with-the-flow so to speak.

This morning while checking my emails etc 

I stumbled across an article by Colossal and was

fascinated by these embroidered landscapes 

and plants by Ana-Teresa Barboza

I love the textures, colours and how realistic this looks!

Oh well...keep forging ahead Julia.

You don't know what's around the corner...

4 hours - printmaking

3 hours - art journalling

2 hours - tapestry

4 hours - photography/photo-editing

and webdesign

Update - what I've been doing!

ART JOURNALLING:

I'm really enjoying the Art Journalling Workshops at 

The Quarry each monday from 9.30am to 12.30pm

 

 

 

I'm starting to feel  a lot more comfortable with
 my style and plan to continue the workshops
each Monday as and when I can. I'm finding it
"good therapy" in more ways than one.

PAPER-MAKING:

I was driving to work last weekend and spotted a 

broken (torn) branch on a pohutukawa tree. I'm 

really keen to experiment papermaking with other 

plant materials (especially NZ Natives) so on my way 

back home I stopped to remove some of the leaves.

  After stripping the leaves from the branches

I "cooked" it for several hours on my BBQ.

 It's now "rinsing" ...that is, the leaves are balled up like 

a plum pudding in a bucket of clean water. Every time I 

go outside I change the water until it relatively clearish.

Now for a fine day to make it into sheets of paper!

TAPESTRY:

 I've almost finished this but sadly have run 

out of (pale blue) wool. I'm not sure what to do now.

 I probably should take it along to work and ask Beverley

The Whangarei Community Tapestry Master. I've still 

got the flower stamens to do (in red) and sew in between

the warps where I've used a different coloured yarn.

I'll be glad when this is finished and plan to use it to

 make some cards to sell at The BACH.

Also, I have been commissioned to complete this 

tapestry, designed by Jackie Addenbrook the artist

 that designed the Whangarei Community Tapestry.

 I hope I do Jackie's design justice...

On completion I get to keep the loom!

I've already got ideas floating around in

 my head of what I'll do :o)

The wool...lots of lovely colours!
I've enlarged and printed off sections of the image
which I will colour using pencils or paint to match
 the yarns I've been given use. Here's a closeup
of what been done so far...

I'm going to work on it over the winter months
when I am at work at THE BACH.

TEXTILES:

I have been wanting to make something for the 

my entranceway for some time now. The wall space

 is long and narrow and I wanted it to hang from 

the wooden plaque I'd designed with the wording 

"Home Is Where The Heart Is" hand-written on it. 

 I drew a rough design and decided which

fabrics from my stash I wanted to use.

 Sadly, my house ended up crooked but 

didn't "chuck it away" ...just trimmed the back-

ground fabric to accommodate the annoyingly

frustrating (but once sewn on, stays on) lean-to effect!

This is the wooden plaque (excuse it's grubbiness!)

It was hanging a pre-printed hand-quilted picture

 panel previously.I'll take a photo of it once it is 

hanging up. Also I'm quite been on "having

 a go" making this into a painting.

EXHIBITIONS:

Lastly, I'm going to be exhibiting my soap in the

Riversdale Art Exhibition, Southland next month.

 I've yo-yo'ed back and forth whether or not to 

send stuff down but after talking with one of the 

BACH members, who does Hebel Sculpture

I've decided it's a great opportunity to show off 

my creative work. I plan to make some gift sets

 containing a soap, a handmade healing salve using 

local plant materials, a small piece of pumice stone 

and my handmade/hand-dyed cotton knitted flannels.

I need to trust that it'll be well reached and

 maybe provide a new outlet for sales for me!

NOW TO 

CALCULATE

 MY HOURS 

for my TLC mentor,

Keith Grinter .....

20 hours - art journaling/assemblage

30 hours - tapestry/textile