Hooped Ladies & muchos thanks x

Firstly thanks you so much for all your kind, supportive and encouraging comment to the last post!
I really appreciate it and it has helped me to place some of the uneasy feelings I was having about writing tutorials. I love this wonderful Blogging community ! xx

As promised I wanted to share some of this things Ive been working on all last week.
Continuing with the hooped ladies with owls I wanted to return to my old interest of using old photographs as the starting point for a piece. I had a few gems for a recent carboot sale which were perfect subject for what I wanted to try.

I loved their poses and expressions, also the black dresses is a look I wanted to try as a hooped lady!

Im really pleased with their stern, formal looks! and I love the lace details ( Ive been holding that bit of old nighty for ages ready for a project just like this!!)
I think Ive worked through my 'hooped lady with owl' obsession for this week! I am feeling the need for a bit more texture going on and some slow stitching. I really want to start a patchwork quilt (just for me and our bed because we need one in the winter) so I  am thinking I will combine that desire along with all the new dyed samples I have been making and try a few samplers ideas, trying out some patchwork, layering, slow stiches and machine embroidery.....well thats what Im thinking...not sure what will appear.

Its been a bank holiday in the UK today and we had a very succesful day at a carboot sale, selling ( & trying not to buy to much!) we made a huge amount of money for us, selling stuff that would otherwise have just gone to the charity shop. the princely sum of £70 is going to start our new tent fund! ready for some outdoor fun in the summer.....I picked up some lovely bits of printed stuff, a great music score from the 1940s, 1001 patchwork patterns! and an amazing book entitled "Enquire within upon everything" printed in 1870!!! I shall scan some very soon its fab.

Hope your weeks have all started well
xx jenny

Im in print!!

I feel a little shy about this but Im in print!! a tutorial about my owl brooches.
I feel a little funny about it because Im not sure tutorials are the right thing to do ( feels like trade secrets) but then I like the fact people may be inspired to have a go . I am really pleased to see my stuff in a magazine. My mum is very pleased and thats a great thing!!
Sew hip is a UK based magazine full of craft projects on the shelves in most good news agents!
Ive been working hard on some more of the hooped ladies over the last few days, I will post some pics tomorrow  xxxx

new Hoop framed works

 I have been so busy while my lot have been away (they are back today! yeah!)

I had somewhat of a revelation on sunday! I heard that an exhibition I really wanted to see was closing that day and seeing as I was minus family I jumped on a train to manchester to go have a look.

Manchester city art gallery is a wonderful place with a great permanent collection full of some victorian gems! I went to see the Ron Mueck pieces that were finishing that day, just 3 peices but they have to be seen in the flesh to be appreciated ! I knew that if I made the effort to go see the mueck work i would also get the chance to go spend some time with the pre raphaelite work that I have always love since I was a very little girl.

Muecks work was amazing the scale is staggering and the detail breath taking well worth running to see. But it was in the victorian paintings section that I had my revelation. I have alway loved the pre raphaelite's work particually Rossetti and Burne Jones but never really learnt much about them or the symbolism they used, I just responded instinctively, they are beautiful pictures of beautiful women with beautiful fabrics and nature all around them. I realised that the way i try to draw faces has a look of Rossetti and Burne Jones! by no way do I do it as well as them, its more of a style , the shape of eyes and lips and noses, I was so pleased to notice the conetion, I really gave me the confidence I had been lacking to just draw the way that comes naturally and not change , I spend time in fornt of a few of the painting I love drawing they faces and trying to understand how they structure the whole painting. A wonderful task and one I think I need to do much more of.

Anyway before going to Manchester, I had ideas for hoop framed embroiderd drawings of ladies with owls but wasn't sure how they should look and was doubting my drawing style. after the revelation I found the confidence to just go for it, I looked at some of the poses from the paintings and used those within the work, I am over the moon with the finished pieces. I need to try lots more ideas using my new found confidence now ! see what you think, theres more pics on my flickr page if you like what you see. I now have to concider whether I want to put them in my shop or not yet??

sketches and new doll!

Here are some sketch book pages I promised a while ago they were the start of ideas for possible dolls or embroidered works I wanted to share now because I have finished the doll that developed from here! she dosent have a name yet and her owl isnt quite finished but her she is!

a few new brooches

Just a few more Brooches in my shop started them a while ago and since thing are running low in my shop Ive finished these ready for sale, theres a few more photos on my flickr page.

slow stitching

As its the Easter holidays I haven't had as much time as Id like in my studio this week, and when I have Ive just been finishing off a few more brooches for my shop.

Its been a nice week with the family all around, but a little unstructured which has left me a bit flity- by which i mean I'm not sure what I should be doing and Ive been pacing a lot ! to calm my mind I decided a bit of hand stitching would be good therapy. I have all these lovely shades of naturally dyes muslin's and have wanted to use them for a while. I also have been thinking about the dresses for the dolls Ive been making a lot and liked the idea of vintage pages under fabric, this was a good time to experiment.  As I began working the holes revealing certain words just developed and I love this idea! The bottom of the piece has  a ordinance survey map under it, another idea I want to take further.
A very satisfying project to calm my busy mind.

My lot are away from Saturday for a few days, Im secretly really looking forward to some peace and time to just make all day without having to stop to make lunch and tea and bedtimes!!!! guilty pleasures! They will be having a nice time though with the grandma in Suffolk (Ruth McCabe- shes an interesting artist)I will defiantly be getting in the garden as well to ready things for the growing season cant wait to get some dirt under my finger nails!.
xxx

sketches in stitch!

Whilst playing with the dolls heads, testing out ideas I started this little piece, only on a scrap of canvas, mainly trying out a face but the owls just extended from her and I kept going.
 Its not one of my favorites but I love how it just appeared without me really intending it to!

Ive been doing some sketches for some Owl - lady hybrids this weekend, I think the dolls may end up being experiments in this way, I will photograph sketchbook pages when its light and share my plans tomorrow.
My family are going away for a few days to see the in laws at the end of the week so Im looking forward to a bit of uninterrupted making!!! how very exciting x

Flock of Owls

Continuing the Owl theme, Here is my Flock of Eagle Owls!
quite a large piece for me about 9x7" I will put n my shop later tonight. I have on the go a flock of mixed owls same sort of size, will post when theres anything to show!

This week my life outside my art is all about being a proactive/pushy parent for me! really trying to sort out any club or interest either of my children has ever shown an interest in! also Joes school for September! we have a place at the local primary school but Ive been wanting the impossible and trying to get him a place at an amazing school in the country side just a little outside of our town, keep all fingers and toes crossed for us, we had a very positive meeting with the head and now just have to wait to see if there's any movement with people excepting and not excepting their offered places....Just booked Jesse a place at Camp Quest for the summer in an attempt to provide her mind opening experiences, she was born a little philosopher and we wonder if the week may signpost her to ways she could explore that either as future studies or just for fun!
All feels a bit scary trying to make the right choices for your children when A- there are so many choices and B- its such a responsibility! what if we get it wrong......and breath.....rant over....till next time.
X

Owl brooches

see more of them on my flickr page 

All last week I was busy with these guys! I'm really loving the 1970 look Ive got going on, that wasn't what I was aiming for but just love they way they have turned out. They are all large brooch size so maybe small art pieces, they all have raised fronts which is a natural occurrence when you embroider heavily around the outside of the pieces but they remind me of cameo brooches so Ive stuck with it.
Im going to put them in my shop over the next few days.

I'm working on a larger piece now with a whole flock of these guys all jumbled in together. will let you have a look as soon as Ive started it!