Buk buk buk brrr-awk!
April 24th, 2012 § 5 Comments
Holiday Tales
April 17th, 2012 § 10 Comments
I love the Easter holidays, they force me to get out from behind my desk and into the the sunshine with my little buddies.
I’m not sure who enjoys it more, me or them. Although I have my suspicions.
Our days have been beautiful, crisp, clear and packed with mini adventures.
We’ve discovered Silkie chickens have wild hairdos
It is possible to sneak up on a peacock.
A pony’s nose is lovely and soft in the palm of your hand, but their teeth are not.
And the most beautiful green field in the entire world is in Collingwood.
Hope your Easter break was full of lovely surprises too.
A morning in Brooklyn
March 23rd, 2012 § 5 Comments
Handmade Portraits: Sophie Blackall from Etsy on Vimeo.
Whilst checking out some of the squillions of Etsy films on setting up shop, I stumbled upon this one on the work of Sophie Blackall. It’s such a beautiful, gentle film to watch I was genuinely disappointed that it wasn’t longer. I loved finding out more about the way she works – putting down a detailed monochrome layer of chinese ink and then applying colour washes over the top. I think you can buy the Met poster you see her working on here.
Having been thoroughly inspired I found another Sophie short on Youtube. But even better, it belongs to fifteen short films made for the recent ‘Drawn in Brooklyn’ exhibition at the Brooklyn Library. Each on a different acclaimed childrens book artist, how they work and how they feel about their brilliant, culturally rich neighbourhood.
Such a nice way to spend a Friday morning – in Brooklyn, taking in great illustration and great coffee. Maybe one day I’ll make it back there in person.
Images | Still from ‘Handmade Portraits: Sophie Blackall’, Etsy | The Bridge, Edward Kimber on Flickr |
Post Halloween Hocus-Pocus
November 3rd, 2011 § 13 Comments
I’ve been turning toddler dresses into preschooler skirts, all without eye of newt or a slippery toad – much to the disappointment of our budding zoologists who’d be more than happy to help me find either.
Feeling pretty chuffed at how sweet all three little skirts turned out and how you can’t tell that the bodice of each dress, which had been well dribbled and gooped on, was ever there at all. Love that! … Is that a wart on the end of my nose!?
In other news – just like magic my stitchy mojo has returned strangely coinciding with the arrival of this gorgeous fabric from Belinda. Part of a stunningly beautiful parcel of Gretchen Mist goodies she sent me just before my blog break.
I can’t stop looking at it. It’s so much better in real life than I can capture through the lens. All those sketchy details are lovely and the cloth itself is buttery soft. I’m going to have problems cutting into it for sure. Hmm … I wonder if Belinda has a wart on her nose?! ; )
For more Creative Space hocus-pocus visit here.
Hello Spring
September 8th, 2011 § 19 Comments
Spring has truly sprung. All the tell-tale signs are there – I have an awful *SNIFF!* snotty cold and the littlest possum and I have been madly cramming small jam jars with ‘suburban wildflowers’ (ie. a loose term including anything rangy that no one will miss).
I’m grateful for these scrappy little bouquets. I’m no green thumb, I have no lush borders erupting blossom – but I am working on making my foxy card part of a series of four sleepy woodland creatures. So it’s helpful to peer at the intricacies in each flower and steal design ideas from the best source possible. Of course the upside of having a cold is I can stick my nose right in each one; pollen hasn’t a chance of getting up there… Bees, however, are another story.
Hope you’re enjoying the changing seasons wherever you are. Happy Creative Space Thursday!
Jane
September 2nd, 2011 § 10 Comments
Hi there. Somehow a couple of weeks have snuck between posts. It’s all MOF’s fault (aka a Month of Finishings). After my last post I realized that I am completely serious about it. Yikes, that almost sounds responsible…
But I have to tell you about Jane…
It was fantastic! Was there ever any doubt. I decided to leave the novel till after seeing the film to enjoy it in it’s own right. I’m glad I did, it didn’t disappoint. Mia Wasikowska captured all of the complexities of Jane beautifully. Michael Fassbender was the perfect Byronic lead. And the production design was breathtaking. I particularly loved the wonderfully dark night scenes. Not a single hint of blue ‘moonlight’ in the background. Creaky Haddon Hall was swathed in inky black pierced only by a low flickering flame. Lots of long menacing shadows. Perfectly chilling!
At it’s end I was ejected onto a dark empty street dazed and completely satisfied. Itching to somehow capture that oppressive atmosphere on paper. The contrast between the stoic rigidity of society at the time and the wild natural world all around it intrigues me; feeling reflective of the imprisoned passions within the people themselves. It reminds me of Jane Campion’s ‘The Piano’ that way.
The images above were discovered on Flickr. I love the intense colour and atmosphere in each of them. The first is one of a fascinating series of rare Daguerreotypes owned by Rob Stevens. Some of these priceless objects were dug up in flea markets - imagine that! I love the subjects intense, almost burning, gaze. Such an intriguing portrait.
The two breathtaking landscapes below it are by photographer Irene Suchocki. Do check out her work. Eye Poetry, the name of her site is the most wonderful description of it. Every image has a beautiful narrative quality that I find completely compelling.
I’ll have things to show v.soon thanks to MOF. Sure feels good to say that! What pops up may seem a little all over the place but at least my pile of loose end projects will be shrinking. And now that the spring cleaning bug has bitten that has to be good.
Images | 6th Plate, Rob Stevens | Spying on a Tree, Irena Suchoki | Il Sentiero, Irena Suchoki | Jane Eyre 2011 Movie Poster detail, Design by BLT & Associates | Jane Eyre, Tiffany Lin | Pencil sketch, Alisa Coburn | To view larger or for licencing click on image titles. Images by Rob Stevens and Irena Suchoki are used with kind permission and are subject to copyright.
