See the beauty everywhere
March 1, 2013
I would like to share this video with you all, its of a woman, 109 years old, telling her secrets of a long and happy life…….. she has many gifts, one that spoke to me was seeing the beauty everywhere, even though there can be darkness, still finding optimism and a connection to the beauty of nature will keep our hearts open
Thank you Dawn for sharing this video with me
I give you ALICE HERZ SOMMER
The creative mind
February 28, 2013
Not sure what is going on with my mind at the moment, its kind of all over the place, one minute creating a patchwork of colour, sewing, sewing, sewing, with blocks coming out of my ears…………… Then wanting to sketch with a mapping pen, all inky blots and scratchy lines
Then after the orange spurt on Monday, partly prompted by bitter orange library scheme I am creating for my next project in my day job, like luscious tangy marmalade all juicy and ripe. Partly inspired by the wonderful parrot tulips I treated myself to. But now its purple, the wonderful pinky purple colour that hot beetroot makes when doused in sour cream swirls…….. Deep magenta, oozing damson liquor when baked in a pie. I cooked myself beetroot and courgette with warm lemon yoghurt dressing tonight, the taste was just sublime. As I rubbed the warm skin from the cooked beetroot just couldn’t resist taking a photo of it, Hey presto it turned into a humble beet to kind of Beet Mandala !
from sun to snow
February 23, 2013
Beginning of the week was 10 degrees , blue skies and sunshine, today, Saturday, its thick white skies, flakes a fluttering and snow-capped roof tops and -1 degrees
I love the way snow seems to blanket sound, everything is quiet, like time stands still. The colours of snow reminded me of a piece of work I made . It started life as grisaille painting, a still life of some treasured items of mine , silver and reflective. Taking a photograph of it to study the tonal qualities I started to play with it digitally and turned it to this…………… exactly what today has conjured up for me
I call this my snow mandala
this is the original piece of work , a creative exercise in trying to capture differing qualities of metal, stone, and shiny objects
a day of rest
February 16, 2013
Oh gosh I have so been wanting to have a day off this week to rest and get over some kind of flu thing, Picked a good day, sun was warm, had my two favourite friends with me (daughters’ dogs) did a bit of hand sewing, finished of a small piece of embroidery; A pomegranate, watched a film and slumbered away the day.
Full to bursting with ideas
February 3, 2013
Ideas of all “kinds” have been racing around in that head of mine, from creation myths to creating huge interior projects and drawing out designs or my new quilting obsession.
Its been awhile since I posted anything, I have been sewing, reading, writing , researching and getting ready for the workshop I am facilitating in Malta with two dear friends,
A fruitful time in many ways, designing and detailing an interior design project thats being installed in March, and another in Leamington spa which is the most amazing building see here . Then I have been sewing my first large bed size quilt. Up to now have been practicing on small items, lap quilts, sewing accessories for the kitchen and amassing fabric!
In between all this activity it was my birthday, a very special day indeed, felt very loved by my two children and all my friends.
Here is a pictorial diary of the last weeks……………. Off to Malta Tuesday, so no posts for week !
My new year starts today
January 7, 2013
two weeks of rest and relaxation and I am ready to face the world again. Its been an amazingly fruitful time, as being away from my own environment have felt free of the normal daily burdens that can sometimes reign in the creative process. Towards the end of last year and rather by accident I stumbled into the area of quilt making: making several as christmas presents was quite enthralling. The colour mixes one can achieve is so magical. Being a complete novice and going totally solo with it I seemed to be making it up as I go along ! The quilts so far have just been throw size, but larger bed quilts beckon, although at the moment they do feel rather daunting, not from the piecing side of things, but from the quilting aspect. I can see that I may end up with lots of quilted top pieces and not attempting the quilting. Guess I could always send them away to be quilted
I would like to share this video which I have found on the Contemporary fabrics blog. It’s a catwalk show with designers piecing together patterned fabrics. I found this really inspiring, hope you do too…………………..
So much to say but have to get on with the day job, adios folks, have a great day
sewing and singing, hemming and humming
December 18, 2012
The big presentation is over, have been tying up all the loose ends, putting all the samples, together, double checking codes etc in readiness for admin to start ordering, There are several hundred different items to purchase, some items have to be made up, ie window treatments, cushions etc, furniture has to be placed and with one manufacturer alone there are 140 items, this is one of many suppliers who will be making bespoke items to IDC exacting standards. Then there is all the artwork to sort out, visiting museums, choosing images to be framed and selecting photography from all the great images from Yao and purchasing all the objet d’art that bring the interiors to life. With this design hot of the press I am now ready to start detailing up the next one, an amazing tudor gothic pile in Leamington spa. Have already finalised the layouts, worked on the lighting etc, now I will be detailing all the separate items for the various rooms. The best bit really !
In between all this I have found some soothing time sewing and making quilts, none are totally finished yet, although I am working on it, caught a sneeky few hours before I trottted off down to the studio this morning. Its so nice, sitting and sewing, sometimes singing along, sometimes just humming, something very magical about quilt making. I am a mere novice and can see how one can get hooked , already I have sketches in my art books, little swatches of fabric to record colour combinations, tufts of crewel wool, ideas for crewel work patches, intertwined branches bearing fruit, and some just plains with a real graphic style with huge blocks of colour. There is something really enriching in seeing all the colours build, and amazing when unexpected colour combinations appear as one pieces the blocks together. Magic happens.
I will post some pictures soon, cant let the cat out of the bag yet because there might be spies around, After christmas watch this space.
In the meantime here are some more quilts that have caught my attention
The joys of felted wool
November 26, 2012
The feel of this wool is so soft and so easy to put together. My first ever wool quilt in process……….
Many moons ago I made many starts of hand sewn hexagons, know the type? cutting out paper templates, patches, hand basting the fabric around the patch and then hand sewing together, well not one was ever finished. The idea of using a sewing machine for a quilt was only just emerging, but by me was frowned upon as not being traditional and most of all not PERFECT………
Many years have passed since, and recently when browsing Etsy, I came across this felted wool, so much softer than the normal felt you by and it comes in such beautiful colours and textures. Having purchased many bundles and looking at the rich coloured stacks of fabrics, the idea of making a machine sewn quilt seemed perfectly acceptable! So after watching numerous tutorials on you tube, off I went, and in no time at all the squares were cut and sewn into blocks.
Laying them out and sewing together in the right order and trying to match all the seems was a little tricky. I did not want my usual perfectionism get in the way of the instantaneous joy of working with these beautiful colours, so I tried to disengage the brain and just enjoyed the process of feeling the colours together, so what if two of the same sat side by side or the seams were not perfect joins. I set my intention that the quilt I was about to create was the one I was meant to have and whatever the outcome it would be beautiful to me. So gentle music playing, the rhythmic whir of the machine, the warm soft touch of all these jewel like colours and not too many hours later the “quilt top” was finished. It has a kind of retro look, its rich, colourful and will be oh so cosy and warm.
Now I need to apply the batting and reverse fabric and bind the edges…………………
I have already started another one, this time in cotton, same half square triangle design but in many colourful patterns. But back to the day job today, a week of creating interiors, putting together the final scheme for my latest project for presentation on 6 Dec. Then its on the next one…….
I am still here
November 24, 2012
Does not look like I have been very creative for awhile does it !! Please be assured I have been beavering away ! Apart from painting, sketching and working with paper sometimes, my day job as an interior designer has kept me extraordinarily busy of late.
Working with space and colour, planning space to create dramatic effects, almost like stage sets, these are always playing in mind like virtual 3D. These past weeks the moving images of my thought processes have kind of hijacked my personal work, but I have been keeping a small “toe in” by looking on ETSY to see what others are creating.
I couldn’t resist purchasing this cute little mouse, I have fond memories of having real little white mice as pets when I just started school. This cute little fella, all the way from Chile stands only 3″ high, and is sitting on the shelf in my newly painted dark blue bedroom.
Another find was upcycled felted wool, all naturally hand dyed and purchased from the USA, its been a little slow, but I have been piecing together a woollen quilt, my first ever ! probably be throw size I think. Could really become addicted to quilt making, so much love goes into them and I feel this need to make one for everyone I know !! Picture soon
colourful life
July 22, 2012
Not much time for painting and creating on paper for me of late, although an oil sketch a week or so ago was a wonderful outlet. Its all interior work, drawing, plans, autocad, should it be stone floor, wood floor, lighting issues and on and on. Last project 
putting finishing touches, soon be able to post some images, then another huge project in Derybshire to complete in August. Its a colour filled life at the moment, today full of greens, a beautiful drive through the Peak district, and also blues, love deep blues, magentas, turquoise and green………………. tomorrow? cool blue pool, fitting out a spa.
This is why I have been so busy !!
July 8, 2012
At last, one down and two to go for this year ! for the past 6 months my team and I have been flat out designing many interior design projects for 2012 and beyond, this is one of them, a beautifully proportioned Georgian house. The picture was taken just after midnight on the eve before the launch the following morning, all very quiet and still after three weeks of absolute mayhem !
more pictures to follow
The trees are still talking to me
June 5, 2012
my creative journey continues, the forests of trees that hold such abundance. Somethings calls me when I walk amongst the dancing leaves, the verdant lushness, their vitality and majestic power.
A dear friend posted this beautiful poem, I had forgotten just how beautiful these words were, a poem I had ready many times a few years back, but had faded in the mists of time…………….
deep in the woods
May 1, 2012
another colourful journey
inspired by trees
April 22, 2012
drawing, painting, walking, reading, my spare time is taken up with these things. My days are spend creating interiors, all good stuff, but its not freedom, a lot of constraints. Drawing allows me to express what I sense and just lately its something about the spirit and energy that abounds when I walk in the woods.
My studio has been littered with ideas, written descriptions, and little sketches. my first sketch I would like to capture as a tiny miniature with raised gilding and jewel like colours like a medieval illumination. then through a series of sketches I came up with another tree spirit this time in oils and much biger. Its not finished yet and I am sure will go through many transformative colour changes. But here is where I am for now…………..
creative emotions
December 1, 2011
painting with colour to map our emotions, painting with emotions, colours with name such as pain, loss, fear, sad, happy, joyous, loving.
Been a lot of loss lately for me, reminders of loss, actual loss, and an anniversary of loss. Want to paint it out of me, want to expel the indigo that is flooding through me, the purple, the deepest darkest violet……….. think I will put together a palette of emotions and just paint and see what happens, guess its the intention one puts in the task……..
This guy has a different take on emotions, his is interactive digital painting, see his website Sergio Albiac Just love the colours he works with in these portraits,
